Siheyuan: I live next door to Xu Damao, my last name is Cao

Liu Haizhong's chest was rising and falling violently, and his heavy breathing was particularly clear in the silent courtyard, like the sound of an old bellows.

Although his hands slowly loosened, the vicious look he glared at Yi Zhonghai with seemed to be able to eat him alive.

Every breath seemed to be venting the anger in my heart, and that anger seemed to ignite this cold winter day.

"Uncle Liu, calm down first. It's not worth it to get yourself hurt by this."

A young neighbor walked over quickly, his face full of concern, his voice soft and soothing, trying to calm Liu Haizhong down.

He reached out and gently patted the shoulder of the man in the fringe, doing it very carefully, for fear of touching his sensitive nerves again.

"Yes, Uncle Liu, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. If you keep making trouble like this, things will only get worse and worse."

An old lady also quickly agreed, her eyes full of worry and her brows tightly furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

Her hands were clasped nervously in front of her, and her eyes showed her worry about the conflict.

The third uncle wiped the dense beads of sweat from his forehead. The sweat slid down his weathered cheeks, leaving traces on his wrinkled face.

He panted heavily, dragged his slightly tired body to Liu Haizhong, and advised earnestly: "Old Liu, everyone knows that you are anxious, but being impulsive won't solve the problem. We still have to sit down and have a good talk. We can always come up with a solution."

As he spoke, he pulled Liu Haizhong's arm, trying to get him to sit down first, but Liu Haizhong stood there stubbornly.

Liu Haizhong listened to everyone's consolation and his tense body relaxed a little, but the anger and helplessness on his face were still like a lingering haze.

He sighed deeply, and the sigh was long and heavy, as if carrying all the pain and suffering of these days.

"What else can we do?" He smiled bitterly, his voice full of fatigue and despair.

"My son was forced to flee so far away by Yi Zhonghai, and Yi Zhonghai shirked his responsibility and refused to help me find him. If I wasn't really desperate, I wouldn't have thrown a tantrum like this and made a fool of myself."

As he spoke, his eyes became slightly red and his voice choked unconsciously, which made people feel pity for him.

He raised his hand and wiped the corners of his eyes with the rough back of his hand, trying to hide his vulnerability.

Yi Zhonghai was sitting on the ground. When he heard this, his face turned pale and red, like an overturned palette.

He opened his mouth and instinctively wanted to refute, but when he looked around and saw the dissatisfied eyes of his neighbors shooting at him like sharp arrows, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He knew better than anyone that he was in the wrong. He had not tried hard enough to look for Liu Guangqi these days, and now things had turned out like this, and he was not free from blame.

Yi Zhonghai lowered his head, his hands hanging limply at his sides, his fingers nervously tugging at the corners of his clothes, his heart filled with guilt and struggle.

Seeing this, the aunt walked over quickly, squatted down, patted Yi Zhonghai's shoulder gently, and said in a gentle tone:

"Lao Yi, don't just stand there. Hurry up and apologize to Lao Liu. We are all neighbors living in the same yard. We will see each other every day. The right thing to do is to resolve the conflict and work together to find Guang Qi."

Her eyes were full of expectation, hoping that Yi Zhonghai would listen to her advice.

Yi Zhonghai hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood up with a hint of embarrassment and guilt on his face, like a child who had done something wrong.

He took a few steps towards Liu Haizhong and stammered, "Old Liu, I'm sorry. It was my fault. I didn't look after Guang Qi properly these days. I... I apologize to you."

Yi Zhonghai's voice was very low, as if he himself lacked confidence.

Liu Haizhong snorted coldly and turned his head away, obviously not accepting Yi Zhonghai's apology.

"What's the point of apologizing? What I want is for my son to come back safely!"

He said unhappily, his voice full of anger and resentment.

Liu Haizhong clenched his hands into fists, his joints turning white from the force, but the anger in his heart was still burning fiercely.

At this time, Cao Wei, who had been standing aside, had a cunning look in his eyes and began to fan the flames again.

He raised his voice and deliberately said, "Second Uncle, he apologized lightly, who knows if he is sincere. He promised well before, but what happened? He still didn't do anything."

As Cao Wei spoke, he glanced proudly at his neighbors, as if he was showing off his own "cleverness".

Xu Damao followed behind and said sarcastically, "That's right. Maybe in a few days he will act like nothing happened and forget about looking for Guangqi."

The shrill voice echoed in the yard, sounding particularly harsh to the ears.

He also shrugged exaggeratedly, with his usual gloating expression on his face, as if he was watching a wonderful farce.

The third uncle glared at Cao Wei and Xu Damao fiercely, his eyes seemed to be able to spit fire, and shouted loudly: "You two stop making trouble here! Now is not the time to pursue responsibility, we have to find a way to bring Liu Guangqi back."

His voice trembled with anger, and his body leaned forward slightly, as if he was about to rush up and teach the two men a lesson.

When Cao Wei heard what the Third Uncle said, he immediately curled his lips, looked disapproving, and raised his voice to refute: "Why isn't it time to hold someone accountable? Yi Zhonghai was so quick to take the money from others, so he must pay a price now. Don't you think so, Second Uncle?"

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding neighbors were in an uproar. Everyone was whispering to each other, with expressions of surprise and curiosity on their faces, discussing in low voices whether Yi Zhonghai's acceptance of money was true or not.

For a moment, the yard was in an uproar, with all kinds of speculation and questioning voices rising one after another.

Some neighbors gathered in twos and threes, whispering in low voices, talking about Yi Zhonghai's daily behavior and style of doing things.

Their expressions were either solemn, dissatisfied, or confused, and everyone had their own opinion on the matter.

Other neighbors kept shaking their heads and sighing, seeming helpless and out of control in the face of this sudden storm.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong had not yet had time to express his opinion.

Xu Damao's shrill and piercing voice could not wait to be heard, like a noisy crow fanning the flames, "Yes, we can't let him go so easily!"

While Xu Damao was yelling at the top of his voice, he glanced at Yi Zhonghai with his cunning eyes, with his usual ugly face of gloating hanging on his face, as if he was enjoying a wonderful farce with relish.

Liu Haizhong was exhausted and angry, but after hearing what Xu Damao said, he couldn't help but feel moved. He frowned slightly and fell into a brief contemplation.

Looking back on these days, he had been exhausted and worried about finding his son who had been missing for many days, but Yi Zhonghai was unusually indifferent and perfunctory about it.

Thinking of this, Liu Haizhong felt more and more that what Cao Wei had just said made sense.

After all, Cao Wei had always stood by him and spoke for him, so Liu Haizhong deeply agreed with what he said, and nodded repeatedly in agreement, echoing:

"That's true. No matter what, he should be made to pay some compensation. We can't just let it go like this."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Cao Wei and asked anxiously, "Then in your opinion, how should we ask for compensation?"

His eyes were full of anticipation, as if Cao Wei could give him a perfect answer.

When Cao Wei saw that his words had produced such a remarkable effect, he couldn't help but feel secretly delighted in his heart.

But on the surface, he still maintained a serious and unsmiling look, and said solemnly: "Since Yi Zhonghai has a special liking for accepting money, then we should let him pay the money. In this way, the money we get can be used to find Liu Guangqi."

As soon as the words fell, the eyes of Liu Haizhong who was standing next to him suddenly lit up, as if he had discovered a dazzling star in the dark night.

He thought to himself: This is a really great idea!

In this way, not only will Yi Zhonghai suffer, but he will also pay the price he deserves.

And for your own family, you don’t need to spend too much money and energy.

Thinking of this, the corners of Liu Haizhong's mouth rose unconsciously, revealing an imperceptible smile, as if he had witnessed with his own eyes the embarrassing scene of Yi Zhonghai obediently paying the money.

However, after hearing these words, Yi Zhonghai's face suddenly became as gloomy and ugly as blue iron.

It's like the gloomy and dark sky before a storm is about to hit.

I saw that he clenched his fists tightly. Due to excessive force, his fingernails were deeply embedded in the palms, and even the protruding blue veins were clearly visible on the back of his hands.

At the same time, Yi Zhonghai was furious and kept cursing: "Cao Wei, you are a complete bastard and a bastard! It's so hateful!"

As he thought viciously, he clenched his teeth so tightly that his cheeks bulged high and his face was full of resentment and indignation.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was staring at Cao Wei, his eyes full of resentment and hatred, as if he wanted to cut Cao Wei into pieces and execute him by slow slicing.

Because his anger reached its extreme, Yi Zhonghai's body began to tremble slightly involuntarily. Even the ground he was standing on seemed to be able to feel his burning anger, and thus made a slight vibrating sound.

It just so happened that Cao Wei also saw Yi Zhonghai's expression, and he looked at Yi Zhonghai with a mixture of laughter and tears.

Then he turned to Liu Haizhong and said, "Second Uncle, it's not enough for you to agree. You have to ask First Uncle if he is willing to pay."

After saying this, he raised his chin provocatively and looked at Yi Zhonghai, as if to say that this farce was far from over.

When Yi Zhonghai heard this, he almost died of anger.

He pointed at Cao Wei, his fingers trembling, and wanted to say something, but was too angry to speak.

I saw the old lady standing aside anxiously, staring at the chaotic scene in front of her. The impatience and anger in her heart intertwined, making her feel uneasy.

She hurriedly walked to Yi Zhonghai, bent down, and whispered in his ear: "Old Yi, calm down first, don't get angry. If there is anything, we can discuss it slowly. We can always find a solution. Don't get angry and make yourself sick!"

After saying this, the aunt took a deep breath, straightened up suddenly, faced everyone, and shouted at the top of her voice: "Everyone, please be quiet for a while! Stop arguing! What kind of noise is this! We must think about this matter carefully and work out a proper solution. How can we let it go on like this!"

As she spoke, the old lady did not forget to open her slightly thin but powerful arms and waved them left and right vigorously, trying to separate the two parties who were arguing fiercely.

Her eyes were filled with anxiety and deep helplessness, and a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead due to excessive tension.

At this time, the third uncle who had been watching the fight nearby also nodded and agreed: "That's right, what the first aunt said is very reasonable! We neighbors should live in harmony and take care of each other. Why do we have to argue so hard when something happens?"