Siheyuan: Starting from the Old Society

"I know, why are you rushing me?" Sha Zhu responded impatiently, but secretly complained in his heart. Deputy Director Li in the factory has always been at odds with him. Today, the leader came to inspect and he must be looking for trouble again.

Thinking of this, Sha Zhu was filled with anger. He quickly put on his clothes, ate a few mouthfuls of steamed bread, and hurried out.

As soon as I reached the gate of the courtyard, I saw Xu Damao, a kid, riding a bicycle and rushing out.

"Hey! Xu Damao, wait for me!" Sha Zhu shouted at Xu Damao's back.

Xu Damao turned his head and saw that it was Sha Zhu. He showed a disdainful smile on his face: "Hey, isn't this the 'chef' in our courtyard? Why, you don't want to ride your '28 big bar' today?"

Sha Zhu hates it most when people talk about his bicycle. It is a precious gem that he bought after saving up for a long time, and he treats it like a treasure.

"Go to hell! I'm saving my bicycle for when I get married, what do you know!" Sha Zhu replied unhappily.

"Marry a wife? You? Hahaha..." Xu Damao laughed as if he had heard a big joke. "With your conditions, you still want to marry a wife? I think you'll forget it in this life!"

Sha Zhu hated it most when people said that he couldn't get married. His face turned red, and he pointed at Xu Damao's nose and cursed: "Xu Damao, don't be so proud! Sooner or later, I will make you kneel down and beg me!"

"Oh my, I'm so scared!" Xu Damao patted his chest pretending to be scared, then rode his bicycle and ran away. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "Shazhu, I'm waiting for the day when you make me kneel down and beg you! Hahaha..."

Sha Zhu stamped his feet in anger, but he could do nothing. He looked at Xu Damao's receding back, clenched his fists tightly, and swore in his heart: Xu Damao, just wait, one day, I will make you pay the price!

At this moment, Sha Zhu suddenly felt something hard in his hand. He spread out his palm and found that the "Nine Yang Magic Skill" that appeared in his dream actually appeared in his hand...

Sha Zhu shuddered, sobering up. Under the dim street light, he saw only four big characters printed on the cover of the book in his hand: "Barefoot Doctor".

"Barefoot...doctor?" Sha Zhu scratched his head, his mind full of questions. He struggled to open the book, and took a look under the street light. It was full of folk remedies for treating colds, fevers, diarrhea, and injuries, which made him dizzy.

"This thing... can open up the Ren and Du meridians?" Sha Zhu muttered, and the little spark of hope in his heart suddenly went out. He was so angry that he threw the book to the ground, "I feel like I was fooled by the old man! He said he was a peerless master, but I think he is a peerless liar!"

Sha Zhu returned to the courtyard cursing and swearing, with a rage in his stomach, and happened to see Xu Damao bragging to some neighbors in the yard, saying that he had bought a new bicycle, a Forever brand, with a crossbar, and that he was the only one in the entire courtyard!

When Sha Zhu heard this, he was furious. Why? Xu Damao's grandson was always idle and only knew how to steal. How could he buy a bicycle while he didn't even have a bicycle bell?

"Hey, isn't this our hospital's chef? You're back?" Xu Damao was sharp-eyed and spotted Sha Zhu at once. He greeted him sarcastically, "What's up? Are you working overtime again to cook for the boss today?"

Sha Zhu was already angry, and he got even angrier after hearing this. He walked a few steps to Xu Damao, stiffened his neck and said, "It's the leader's business if he eats. What's your business? Besides, you're a movie projector. If you don't show your movie properly, what's wrong with you? Do you want to ride your bicycle to the sky?"

"Hey, silly Zhu, you are just jealous because you can't eat grapes!" A skinny man next to Xu Damao said, "Da Mao is now a celebrity in our factory's publicity department. What's wrong with riding a bicycle? Maybe he can even ride a motorcycle in the future!"

"That's right, Shazhu, stop being so jealous!" Another short and fat man chimed in, "Da Mao makes a living based on his own ability, but you can only cook a little and you're always trying to take advantage of us. Don't you even know who you are?"

Sha Zhu's face turned red after hearing what they said. He clenched his fists and wanted to rush up to argue with them, but he knew in his heart that he alone could not win the argument against this group of cunning people.

"What's the matter, Sha Zhu? Do you still want to hit someone?" Seeing that Sha Zhu didn't say anything, Xu Damao thought that Sha Zhu was afraid, and he became even more complacent, "I'm telling you, I'm not afraid of you! If you dare to do anything, I will go to the factory to sue you, and then you will be in big trouble!"

Sha Zhu was so angry that he was shaking all over. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence: "Xu Damao, you wait for me!"

After saying that, Sha Zhu turned around and left. He was holding back a fire in his heart. He couldn't swallow this anger! He must find a way to vent his anger and make Xu Damao kneel down and apologize to him!

Late at night, Sha Zhu lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep, his mind full of Xu Damao's smug face. Suddenly, he remembered the book "Barefoot Doctor" that he had thrown in the corner.

"Barefoot doctor... barefoot..." Sha Zhu muttered to himself, and a bold idea emerged in his mind.

Sha Zhu shuddered, and felt that the book "Nine Yang Magic Skill" in his hand was like a lump of ice. He rubbed his eyes. The alley was empty, so where was the weird old man?

"Hey, silly Zhu, why are you sleepwalking here instead of going home in the middle of the night?"

Sha Zhu was startled and turned around. It was the third uncle in the yard, Yan Bugui, who was staring at him with suspicion.

“Uncle, I, I’m not…” Sha Zhu stammered, not knowing how to explain.

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and looked at the book "Nine Yang Magic Skill". "Hey, what the hell is this? Nine Yang Magic Skill? What kind of nonsense book are you reading, you silly Zhu? Superstition is not popular these days!"

Sha Zhu quickly put the book into his arms and said vaguely: "No, nothing, just a book, a picture book..."

Yan Bugui wanted to ask more, but Sha Zhu ran away as if his butt was on fire.

When he got home, Sha Zhu's mind was full of the old man's words and the book "Nine Yang Magic Skill". He hid the book under the bed and tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

"Silly Zhu, what's wrong with you? Why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night?" Qin Huairu complained sleepily.

"No, nothing..." Sha Zhu didn't dare to tell Qin Huairu, for fear of being laughed at by her.

The next morning, Sha Zhu went to the steel mill with two dark circles under his eyes. Along the way, he was thinking about the book "Nine Yang Magic Skills". Although he was illiterate, the illustrations in the book were vivid and the moves looked extremely mysterious, which made him itch.

"Silly Zhu, why are you so distracted today? Are you thinking about your Qin Huairu again?"

The person who spoke was Ma Hua from the cafeteria. He was often bullied by Sha Zhu. Seeing how dispirited he looked, he couldn't help but mock him.

"Go away, go away. Do you miss her? I wish I could stay away from her!" Sha Zhu cursed angrily.

"Oh, is the sun rising from the west? How could you, a fool, say such a thing? Aren't you always around Qin Huairu, almost working like a slave for her?" Another cook, Liu Lan, also joined in the fun.

"Okay, stop talking!" The canteen director couldn't stand it anymore and scolded, "Hurry up and work, don't chat here!"

Sha Zhu was chopping vegetables, but he was getting more and more upset. He thought of the old man's words last night, the powerful force he promised, and the people he wanted to take revenge on. An impulse surged in his heart.

"No, I have to find someone who can read to help me see what this book is about!" Sha Zhu made up his mind.

After getting off work in the evening, Sha Zhu did not go to Qin Huairu's house to show his courtesy as usual, but went straight to the house of the deaf old lady in the yard.

Although the deaf old lady's ears were not very good, her eyes were very sharp. She saw at a glance that Sha Zhu was different: "Zhu, what's wrong with you? Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Sha Zhu hesitated for a moment, but decided to confess to the deaf old lady: "Old lady, I, I met a strange old man last night..."

He told the deaf old lady everything that happened last night and took out the book "Nine Yang Magical Art".

The deaf old lady took the book, flipped through a few pages, and her brows gradually frowned...

Sha Zhu shivered and rubbed his red hands. In this broken alley, the wind seemed to be able to penetrate through the cracks in his bones. He put the "Nine Yang Magic Skill" in his arms and turned around to leave this damn place quickly.

"Silly, what are you doing here?"

A sarcastic voice came from the entrance of the alley. Sha Zhu knew who it was without turning around - it must be Xu Damao's grandson!

Sha Zhu cursed inwardly, but he didn't dare ignore it, so he could only put on a fake smile and said, "Hey, Brother Xu, you're still out strolling so late?"

Xu Damao walked over in square steps and caught a glimpse of the yellowed book in Sha Zhu's arms. "Oh, what kind of treasure is this? It's hidden so well!"

"It's nothing," Sha Zhu quickly stuffed the book into his arms, "It's just a broken book, worthless."

Xu Damao was such a smart guy that he could tell at a glance that Sha Zhu was hiding something, and he became even more curious. He grabbed Sha Zhu's arm and said sarcastically, "Sha Zhu, after all, we live in the same courtyard. If you have any good stuff, you should let me open my eyes!"

Sha Zhu was so hurt by Xu Damao's grip that he hated Xu Damao's domineering face the most, but he didn't dare to offend him, so he could only smile and say, "It's really nothing to see, Brother Xu, please don't embarrass me."

"I'm making things difficult for you? I'm just concerned about you!" Xu Damao said, using more force in his hands. "What good things can you have as a bachelor? Did you steal something shameful?"