Chapter 57 Who is the Despotic Huang Shiren

"Rain, you mustn't do anything foolish. This is the new society, and the people have stood up to become their own masters. Those local tyrants and evil bullies will never dare to oppress us common folk again."

"Brother Aiguo is right. We'll invite my father over right away and have those old bastards who persecuted you taken out and shot."

Yi Zhonghai rushed into the room. Seeing He Yushui holding a rope and sticking her head into the noose while Li Aiguo and Wang Ruxin desperately grabbed her legs to stop her, he was completely dumbfounded.

He Yushui had actually tried to hang herself!

Thank goodness Li Aiguo had arrived in time. Otherwise, as the primary elder of the courtyard, he would have been implicated as well.

"He Yushui, my child, whatever is troubling you so much? You must never seek your own end."

Terrified, Yi Zhonghai shuddered and stumbled forward to dissuade her.

At that moment, the residents all surged inside.

Auntie Liu felt a pang of deep heartache as she looked at He Yushui, who was acting so desperately. He Yushui was such a good girl; seeing that she usually had no one to take care of her, Auntie Liu often helped her fetch water and do laundry. Now, she had actually been driven to the point of hanging herself by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong. It was simply hateful.

The residents were also stunned by He Yushui's suicide attempt, and their gazes toward Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong turned hostile. They had all heard that over the past few days, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong had repeatedly sought out He Yushui for talks. To drive a living, breathing person to hang herself—such a thing was something only local tyrants and evil bullies could do.

Catching a glimpse of the figure of Director Wang from the neighborhood committee appearing outside, Li Aiguo quietly pinched He Yushui's calf.

Stung by the pain, tears welled up in He Yushui's eyes and spilled over like beans. Realizing his cue, she cried out at the top of her lungs, "Yi Zhonghai, relying on your status as the courtyard's chief elder, you're forcing me not to sever my brother-sister relationship with Silly Zhu. I won't live another day!"

He Yushui was fully immersed in her role by now. With that wretched and indignant expression, anyone who saw her would think she was the White-Haired Girl, while Yi Zhonghai was naturally cast as the tyrannical Huang Shiren.

Unwilling to play the role of Huang Shiren, Yi Zhonghai hastily waved his hands. "Girl Yushui, you've misunderstood. I'm doing this for your own good."

"No matter how much of a fool Silly Zhu is, he is still your own brother."

"You are brother and sister, bound by blood. No matter what happens, you must help each other and stay united so that your path ahead can go further."

At this, Liu Haizhong also earnestly chimed in, "You're family after all; how can there be grudges that last overnight? Silly Zhu might very well be sentenced this time. If you sever ties with him at a time like this, how heartbroken he'll be."

It was sheer impulse that had enabled He Yushui to come up with the idea of a fake hanging. When it came to facing the old foxes in the courtyard, she was truly no match for them. Just like that, before she could even say two more sentences, she was easily manipulated.

Seeing He Yushui's face turn flushed and unable to speak, Yi Zhonghai felt a surge of triumph in his heart. *Is that it? A total rookie. I almost let this little girl bluff me today.*

Just then, a cold voice rang out in the room.

"Yi Zhonghai, are you saying that as long as people are relatives, no matter how grave the mistakes they commit, one is never allowed to sever ties?"

Signaling Wang Ruxin to pull He Yushui down, Li Aiguo walked to the center of the crowd and spoke slowly.

Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned pale. "That's different! Those comrades—their family members belong to the landlord class or reactionary bandits; they are class enemies. Silly Zhu is of commoner origin."

"How is the way Silly Zhu treats He Yushui any different from a local tyrant and evil bully!"

Li Aiguo turned and pointed at He Yushui. "Look at this, everyone. Silly Zhu is a ninth-grade chef with a monthly salary of thirty-two yuan. There are only two people in their family. Even if they ate white-flour steamed buns every single day, they couldn't possibly spend all that money."

"Yet He Yushui is as thin as a bamboo strip, her clothes are covered in layers of patches, and even her shoes are hand-me-downs from Wang Gangtie."

Upon hearing this, the looks the residents cast toward He Yushui were laced with a hint of pity.

"Indeed, the girl He Yushui is truly pitiful."

"A while ago, the He family ran out of grain, and this girl was so starved she had to peel the bark off the tree by the entrance to eat."

"Ah... so that was why the bark on that tree was gnawed off. I was wondering why it looked so bare."

"Silly Zhu really is a piece of trash. Instead of living a proper life, he goes around giving cornmeal to neighbors. What a fool."

"Silly Zhu isn't a fool at all. He wasn't just giving away cornmeal, he was giving away corn..."

Amidst the murmurs of discussion, Qin Huairu's face flushed red, yet she had no way to retort. After all, neither Li Aiguo nor the residents had mentioned her by name. If she jumped out now, it would be a guilty conscience betraying itself.

Still, she could not simply let her reputation be ruined. Once one Silly Zhu went inside, a second Silly Zhu would eventually appear in the courtyard. If her reputation was ruined, everything would be over.

Qin Huairu's large eyes darted around. Catching sight of Mrs. Jia squatting on the ground, watching the spectacle with great relish, a plan hatched in her mind.

Nudging closer, Qin Huairu whispered, "Mother, if He Yushui severs ties with Silly Zhu, there's bound to be a division of family property. Those things we borrowed from Silly Zhu in the past—He Yushui might just demand them back."

With Silly Zhu unable to come out, whether He Yushui lived or died, and whether the He family split up or stayed together, was none of the Jia family's concern. Today, Mrs. Jia had come purely to watch the drama unfold and hadn't intended to meddle. But now, the drama had somehow landed on her own doorstep.

A chill ran through Mrs. Jia's heart. She abruptly stood up, akimbo, and cast a sideways glance. "Li Aiguo, what nonsense are you spouting? Silly Zhu's actions were called showing concern for his neighbors, and it showed high ideological awareness. Since your own ideological level isn't as high as his, stop spouting rubbish here."

"Showing concern for neighbors? Heh..." Li Aiguo chuckled.

"If Silly Zhu were by himself and wanted to give away all his family property to your Jia family, I wouldn't have any objections either."

"But He Yushui is his sister. He inherently had the responsibility and obligation to raise her."

"Instead, he took He Yushui's rations and gave them to your family—he was playing the generous host at someone else's expense."

"Since that's the case, He Yushui has every right not to consider Silly Zhu family anymore."

Having been rebuffed, Mrs. Jia opened her mouth to hurl abuses, but remembering the two slaps she had received last time, she hastily swallowed the dirty words back down.

Watching Mrs. Jia's embarrassment, Xu Damao chimed in with a sarcastic tone, "Mrs. Jia, weren't you always fierce before? How come you're not a match for Li Aiguo?"

The residents laughed among themselves. "Can Li Aiguo be compared to ordinary people?"

Though Li Aiguo hadn't been home all day, the news had already spread throughout the residential compound. Everyone was saying how formidable Li Aiguo was—he had just obtained his driver's license and immediately became a train engineer.

Even more envied was the fact that he would earn over a hundred yuan a month in salary, higher even than Yi Zhonghai.

Someone had even remarked, "Li Aiguo has great skills, a good background, and high political reliability. The authorities might just transfer him to drive the express train."

Had Li Aiguo heard these rumors, he surely would have marveled at how fast the Chaoyang masses spread news.

Xu Damao's words ignited Mrs. Jia's anger. Rolling up her sleeves, she lunged forward to scratch Xu Damao. "If I can't handle Li Aiguo, I can certainly deal with you!"

In the past, faced with Mrs. Jia's pig-like bulk, Xu Damao would undoubtedly have fled in panic, holding his head. But today, Damao had backing—his father, Xu Jixiang, was standing right there watching the fun.

Shielding Xu Damao behind him, Xu Jixiang said coldly, "Mrs. Jia, what are you trying to do?"

"What am I doing? Naturally, I'm going to deal with that foul-mouthed son of yours!"

Though she talked tough, Mrs. Jia knew very well she was no match for Xu Jixiang. Ever since liberation, Xu Jixiang had worked as a film projectionist. Their family didn't have a bicycle, so all the projection equipment relied entirely on being carried by hand and shoulder. Lugging one or two hundred pounds of equipment, Xu Jixiang could stride like the wind across rural fields—he was far from someone Mrs. Jia could handle.

*You have reinforcements? Well, I, Mrs. Jia, have reinforcements too.*

*Where is Dongxu?*

Lifting her voice, Mrs. Jia shouted toward the back, "Dongxu, come help your mother!"

Jia Dongxu shrank his neck and hid behind Qin Huairu. He had already experienced Xu Jixiang's heavy slaps firsthand.

They hurt terribly.