“Why so fast!”
Bai Lan walked toward Xu Jianbei as he entered, casually taking the satchel hanging from his shoulder. The bag was bulging—clearly containing important documents and valuables.
Xu Jianbei trusted Bai Lan with the bag and smiled. “Many hands make light work!”
Quite a few people had helped at the screw factory, and now that he was at the courtyard, many neighbors were helping too. With each person carrying one item, it probably wouldn’t take ten minutes to unload everything. The things he was moving to the courtyard this time were mainly clothes, books, a new bed, a dressing table, and a desk.
The bed, dressing table, and desk were furniture he and Bai Lan had ordered together. The courtyard room was only about ten-plus square meters—half a room—so the cabinet he’d made was a stackable modular unit.
The term “modular cabinet” was something Bai Lan had taught him.
“You go ahead and have everyone put the things away. I’ll keep an eye on things here.” Bai Lan smiled and gave the man a gentle push, indicating she would help out here.
Xu Jianbei nodded cheerfully. “Be careful. Don’t let anything fall on you.”
“Oh my, don’t you two have to be so clingy in broad daylight?”
A sarcastic voice suddenly came from the side. Bai Lan looked over, and sure enough, it was Xu Jianbei’s sister-in-law, Su Xiaomei.
This woman was truly annoying!
Although Bai Lan felt the woman didn’t really affect her, she kept popping up in front of her, which was quite unpleasant to see.
Before Bai Lan could say anything, Xu Jianbei shot back unceremoniously, “Sister-in-law, no one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak. You’re always so nasty with your words. Are you looking down on me?”
The truth was, Su Xiaomei just didn’t like Bai Lan and had blurted out the comment without thinking. She never expected Xu Jianbei, that brat, to be so rude.
She immediately slapped her thigh, ready to wail. But meeting Xu Jianbei’s cold stare, she swallowed the words she was about to say.
Xu Jianbei sneered, “Since Sister-in-law looks down on me so much, I suppose you won’t want the coal I’m getting either.”
Then he turned to Bai Lan with a smile. “When the coal arrives, your family should take more. We don’t need that much.”
Bai Lan watched Su Xiaomei’s face change from white to red to green and back to white. Holding back a smile, she nodded seriously at the stern-faced Xu Jianbei. Her tone was earnest as she said, “Alright, got it. That works out perfectly since my family wants more coal anyway.”
Seeing Bai Lan play along so well, Xu Jianbei gave her a quick nod. Then he turned and went back outside to continue moving things.
The two of them interacted as if Su Xiaomei was completely invisible. This made Su Xiaomei so angry she nearly blew smoke from her head. Moreover, Xu Jianbei had essentially deducted the coal that belonged to her family. Su Xiaomei was both furious and livid. She wanted to lose her temper but was afraid of offending Xu Jianbei even further, causing him to pull some other stunt.
But she couldn’t just give up on the coal. If Xu Jianbei refused to give it to her, she would go complain to her in-laws. However, before she could air her grievances, Miao Daju, who had witnessed the whole exchange, gave her a harsh glare. “Su Xiaomei, if you have a problem with our old Xu family, then get a divorce while you can and marry someone better. Don’t spend all your days stirring up trouble at home.”
Su Xiaomei: …
Bai Lan, who had been holding back her laughter, finally burst out at this. She laughed a few times, caught her breath, and thought to herself—the weather today was really beautiful!
Over there, after finishing her scolding of Su Xiaomei, Miao Daju turned to Bai Lan with a beaming smile. “Xiao Lan, Jianbei is hosting a few friends for lunch at home today. You’ll join us, won’t you?”
Ever since Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei had started seeing each other, she had never formally set foot in the Xu family home. Xu Jianbei, on the other hand, had visited the Bai family many times and had eaten there several times.
The two families lived in the same courtyard, with a straight-line distance of no more than fifty meters. Yet Bai Lan had rarely gone to the west wing.
Now, hearing the invitation personally from Miao Daju—though Bai Lan had already agreed to have lunch with Xu Jianbei and his friends—she still felt a little awkward. Not because she was unwilling, but because she always found interacting with Miao Daju a bit uncomfortable. She supposed her mindset hadn’t fully adjusted yet.
Even so, Bai Lan actually had a good impression of Miao Daju. So she naturally smiled and nodded in agreement.
Their interaction, seen by others, gave the impression that this future mother- and daughter-in-law got along quite pleasantly.
—
In contrast, the existing mother- and daughter-in-law pair—Widow Hu and Gao Qingqing—looked like they were about to come to blows.
“Where are your eyes looking? Where?!”
Widow Hu pressed one hand on Gao Qingqing’s shoulder and interrogated her in a low voice. She was also aware of the shame—the courtyard was bustling with people. Some moving things, some making coal briquettes. If anyone had seen Gao Qingqing’s disgraceful behavior and spread the word, the Hu family would lose all face.
Gao Qingqing didn’t dare raise her voice either. Though she desperately wanted to shout that she didn’t like Hu Aimin and preferred a strapping man like Qin Tang, she didn’t dare. But she really wasn’t willing to settle for Hu Aimin. It made her feel degraded.
So Gao Qingqing widened her eyes at Widow Hu and said, “During the matchmaking, you promised that after the wedding, you would give me that bankbook and find me a city job. You haven’t followed through on any of that.”
Widow Hu felt no guilt upon hearing this. She had given a five-hundred-yuan betrothal gift. That was enough to buy a golden statue of a person.
If it weren’t for the fact that rural girls were easier to control, she never would have chosen her. But instead, she ended up with someone as restless as Gao Qingqing—unwilling to live a good life, constantly letting her eyes wander. This made Widow Hu even resentful of the matchmaker, Station Chief He.
“I don’t care. Until you fulfill those conditions, I won’t consummate with Hu Aimin.”
With that, Gao Qingqing glanced toward Qin Tang again, her expression highly provocative.
But luck wasn’t on her side this time—Hu Aimin caught her looking.
Days into the marriage, and he still hadn’t even touched his wife’s hand. Hu Aimin already had a fire burning inside him. He more or less knew he was being despised. And he was being compared unfavorably to Qin Tang.
Today, he had come out specifically to compare himself with Qin Tang while making coal briquettes. Now, seeing Gao Qingqing in such a state, Hu Aimin was overcome with fury. He actually raised the iron shovel in his hand and hurled it directly at Qin Tang.
The move came out of nowhere. Everyone was either moving things, making coal briquettes, or at least watching the drama. No one expected Hu Aimin to suddenly snap. Many people couldn’t even react—they just gasped sharply.
Just then, Bai Lan swung the satchel hanging from her shoulder straight at Hu Aimin.
—
The bulging green satchel smacked Hu Aimin right in the head, sending him stumbling back several steps. Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
Bai Lan also relaxed. Then she suddenly remembered that the satchel contained Xu Jianbei’s entire life’s savings. She had no idea if any valuables inside had been damaged.
But given the situation, if she hadn’t acted, Qin Tang would likely have had his head split open.
By then, Qin Tang had already reacted. He landed two punches on Hu Aimin, then bent down and picked up the satchel from the ground.
“Thank you, Bai Lan!”
Qin Yan, who had been watching from the sidelines, trembled in fear. Seeing her brother moving, jumping, and even throwing punches, she immediately shouted her thanks to Bai Lan as well. Then she kicked Hu Aimin, who was already on the ground, a few times.
The whole incident, from start to finish, might sound long in description, but less than two minutes had passed.
The moment her son hit the ground, Widow Hu snapped to attention. Without a second thought, she rushed toward her son—not before slapping Gao Qingqing twice across the face.
By the time Widow Hu reached Hu Aimin, Bai Lan had already retrieved the satchel and slung it back over her shoulder.
And the owner of the satchel, Xu Jianbei, was just leading several young men into the courtyard, carrying bed boards.
Stepping into the courtyard and seeing the scene, Xu Jianbei immediately asked Bai Lan what had happened.
Bai Lan quickly summarized the incident and asked, “I hope I didn’t break anything inside the bag?”
Seeing Bai Lan’s adorable, worried expression, Xu Jianbei smiled and shook his head. “It’s just documents, money, and ration tickets.”
Meaning—anything else valuable was hidden away, not in there.
Bai Lan understood and nodded happily. Nothing valuable broken, and she’d saved someone—how wonderful.
While they were talking, Widow Hu had already started arguing with the Qin siblings.
—
“What are you doing? Why are you hitting my son?”
“Hu Aimin tried to kill me—why shouldn’t I fight back?”
“My big brother almost died! You’re not saying anything about that!”
The Qin siblings’ fighting spirit wasn’t as fierce as Widow Hu’s, but united, they fired back at her.
The commotion in the courtyard was too loud. Uncle Qin and Auntie Qin ran out of their house and immediately pulled their son and daughter behind them.
Uncle Qin, as the man of the house, wasn’t about to lay hands on a woman like Widow Hu. But since Hu Aimin had tried to smash his son’s head with an iron shovel for no reason, Uncle Qin wasn’t going to let him off.
He reached down, grabbed Hu Aimin by the foot, and dragged him out of Widow Hu’s arms. Then, with one hand gripping Hu Aimin’s collar, he landed several punches.
The whole sequence was smooth and fluid. Before anyone in the courtyard could react, Hu Aimin was already yelping in pain.
Bai Lan stared in shock and shook Xu Jianbei’s arm. “Uncle Qin… Uncle Qin is incredible!”
Xu Jianbei deeply agreed. “I’d heard people say Uncle Qin was a combat hero, but it never really registered. Right now, though, I’d believe he could tear apart an enemy soldier barehanded.”
Uncle Qin was the head of the textile factory’s security department and also a veteran. Although he was a burly man, he’d always been a softie, giving people the impression that he was easy to push around.
But no one would think Uncle Qin was easy to push around anymore.
“We’ve been neighbors for decades. This is the first time I’ve seen Old Qin lose his temper.” Several elderly men and women nearby sighed.
Naturally, everyone also learned that Hu Aimin had suddenly gone berserk and tried to smash Qin Tang’s head open.
Though no one knew why, Hu Aimin had indeed made the move—and many had seen it. There was no denying it.
Instantly, everyone began pointing and murmuring about Hu Aimin, accusing him of trying to kill Qin Tang. How vicious!
—
The turn of events had completely caught Widow Hu off guard. But she was no ordinary woman—after her husband died, she had managed to secure compensation from the textile factory. She had raised her son and daughter alone and found jobs for both of them. This showed Widow Hu was not someone to be underestimated.
Seeing that the entire courtyard was blaming her son, she knew she couldn’t let this continue. If it went on, her son’s future would be ruined. No matter what was really going on, she had to put up a good front.
So Widow Hu slapped her thigh and wailed, “My son acted on impulse! He didn’t mean it! He’s so small—how could he possibly raise an iron shovel to hit Qin Tang? Qin Tang could lift my son with one hand!”
This argument was quite unreasonable. Everyone had eyes—dozens of eyes had seen Hu Aimin’s move. Trying to twist the truth like this—wasn’t she treating everyone like fools?
And what was Hu Aimin doing right now?
He had been thrown back to the ground by Uncle Qin. He was still yelping, clearly having been beaten badly.
Hearing her precious son’s cries, Widow Hu sobbed, “You’re trying to drive us poor widows and orphans to our deaths!”
It was a familiar line—the neighbors in the courtyard had heard it for over a decade. Now that it came again, everyone just waited to see Widow Hu make more of a fool of herself.
But contrary to expectations, Widow Hu didn’t follow the script. Instead, she turned and ran toward Gao Qingqing, who had been covering her face. Then she grabbed Gao Qingqing by the hair and dragged her directly to the center of the courtyard.
The sudden twist caught everyone off guard.
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