Chapter 28: The Lively Courtyard House

Upon returning home empty-handed, Widow Qin was subjected to a barrage of ridicule from Jia Zhang, whose gaze was full of disdain and scorn. The news about the afternoon purchase of three fat pigs at Cafeteria Three had already spread far and wide, and Widow Qin had boasted to everyone that the whole family would have meat for dinner tonight.

But the reality was quite different. After being egged on by Chen Liang, Shazhu finally came to his senses and broke the usual routine—he didn’t bring back any lunch boxes today.

Her three children clamored noisily for meat, especially Banggen, who wouldn’t stop making a fuss. Now, with the elder mocking her and the young ones causing a ruckus, Widow Qin grew even more resentful toward Shazhu for not bringing home a meal.

After some commotion, when it was clear that Widow Qin truly had no meat to offer, Banggen hatched a plan: if there was none at home, surely Shazhu’s house would have some. He could just go steal it! Without further hesitation, Banggen stopped his tantrum, got up from the floor, and dashed straight to Shazhu’s house.

Widow Qin and Jia Zhang were unfazed; in their eyes, the “loyal dog” wasn’t even worth considering as a real person.

Banggen felt that at Shazhu’s place, he was practically family—he could come and go as he pleased. But when he found the door tightly shut, he kicked it open with a loud bang.

Shazhu, tidying up his room, was instantly displeased when Banggen barged in. Love for the house extends to those within, but hatred does the same—since Shazhu disliked Banggen’s mother, he had no reason to care for her son.

He was about to scold Banggen when the boy, acting as if nothing was amiss, demanded, “Shazhu, where’s your meat? Hurry up and hand it over, I want to eat meat!”

Shazhu couldn’t help but laugh, “If you want meat, ask your mother. Why are you asking me?”

Then, with a stern face, he continued, “And who are you calling ‘Shazhu’? If you can’t speak respectfully, get out! Kids like you aren’t welcome here!”

Banggen, proud and stubborn, was enraged by Shazhu’s words. He stepped forward and kicked Shazhu, shouting, “What else should I call you? I’m telling you, I want meat right now, and—”

At this point, whatever patience Shazhu had left evaporated with Banggen’s kick and insolent words. Furious, Shazhu grabbed Banggen by the collar and, with a forceful shove, tossed him out of the house.

Banggen’s cries immediately drew Jia Zhang, who had been mocking Widow Qin. Banggen embellished his tale, and Jia Zhang erupted in anger.

She kicked open Shazhu’s door with a bang, just as Banggen had done.

The door seemed to complain: “You want to argue, fine, but why do you keep kicking me?”

“Shazhu, you’ve got some nerve, daring to hit my Banggen! I’m telling you, this isn’t over!”

Already agitated, Shazhu felt Jia Zhang’s outburst was adding fuel to the fire. But he kept his basic composure, grabbed Jia Zhang by the arm, pushed her out the door, and barked, “Get out!” Then he locked the door behind her.

Jia Zhang tried to shove the door open, but failing that, she flung herself to the ground and began a dramatic performance, crying out, “Oh son, you died so young! Now we orphaned widows are bullied, and no one cares for us…”

Her crying, shouting, and threatening to hang herself successfully drew the entire courtyard’s residents. It was the dead of winter, and entertainment was scarce, so any commotion was a crowd magnet—even neighbors from the adjacent Chen family courtyard came to watch.

All this noise in the courtyard had nothing to do with Chen Liang, who was currently dining at the Zhao family’s house.

As soon as the money from selling the pork came into his hands, Chen Liang eagerly rushed to the department store.

He was a well-known figure there; the moment he entered, the lady at the pastry counter recognized him.

“Hey! Isn’t that Accountant Liu’s brother-in-law? Looking for her?”

“Yeah, just need to talk to my sister-in-law. Auntie, you carry on.” With that, Chen Liang hurried away!

He was all too familiar with this routine. Sure enough, the pastry lady—regardless of whether she knew the customers—turned and asked, “Hey, do you know who that was just now?”

The customer was bewildered. What a question! How would I know if you don’t tell me?

The pastry lady continued, muttering to herself, “That’s Chen Liang, the second son of the Chen family, Accountant Liu’s brother-in-law here at the department store.”

She glanced at the still-confused customer, “Do you know Liu Siyuan from our store?”

The customer finally played along, “That I do—she’s a beautiful girl!”

The pastry lady lowered her voice conspiratorially, “Do you know what happened between them?”

Now, this piqued the customer’s curiosity, “Did something happen between them?” he whispered back.

“They went on a blind date, believe it or not. Little Liu was actually interested in him, but Chen Liang wasn’t willing…” She went on, gossiping away.

A few other ladies in line couldn’t resist and joined in, whispering among themselves for several minutes.

Eventually, the queue grew restless. Someone stepped forward to remind the pastry lady to hurry, as many people were waiting. Annoyed at being interrupted, she scowled, “Why queue? Not selling today!”

Yes, sales staff in this era were rather domineering. If not for the sign across from the counter reading “Do not assault customers without reason,” she would have slapped the person who dared interrupt her gossip.

That’s why the department store manager had her stationed here—without those eight big characters to keep her in check, she would have gotten into another fight with customers!

After leaving his own legendary story behind at the department store, Chen Liang finally wound his way to the office area.

It wasn’t that Chen Liang wanted to trouble his sister-in-law—if he had cash and ration tickets, he could simply buy what he needed, and no one would say a word. But society at that time was all about connections.

If Chen Liang wanted to buy a big item like a bicycle without going through his sister-in-law, she might not say anything outwardly, but who knows if she’d resent him for it?

Buying a bicycle at the department store was simply not something that could bypass his sister-in-law—after all, in everyone’s eyes, passing up a good deal made you a fool.