Siheyuan: Start with a big car

Brother Qiang? It doesn't sound like a serious name.

Liu Guangtian suddenly became angry.

"Zhang Li, stop talking nonsense. No matter if you cheated us or that Brother Qiang you mentioned asked you to do it, you have to pay us back now. If you really have difficulties, find Brother Qiang and we can talk it out face to face. Don't fool us here."

Zhang Li covered her face and cried so aggrievedly. She sobbed and said:

"I... I don't know where Brother Qiang is. He just told me to do this. I really had no choice. Please let me go. I... I really don't have any money to give you."

Liu Guangtian was so angry that he clenched his fist and wanted to slap Zhang Li twice to teach her a lesson and stop crying and saying useless things. But just as he raised his hand, his eyes suddenly caught sight of the Plum Blossom watch on Zhang Li's wrist.

The watch shone with a light luster under the sunlight, the dial was exquisite, and the strap also looked very textured. Liu Guangtian was familiar with this watch. He knew that this kind of plum blossom watch was not cheap in the market, at least more than 100 yuan.

Liu Guangtian's expression suddenly changed. He thought to himself, Zhang Li keeps saying that she has no money, but she wears such an expensive watch. Isn't this obviously fooling people? He snorted coldly, grabbed Zhang Li's wrist, showed her the watch, and said unhappily:
"Humph, you still say you have no money? Look at what you're wearing on your wrist. This Plum Blossom watch is worth at least a hundred dollars. If you really have no money, can you afford to wear this thing? Don't act pitiful in front of me here, take off your watch quickly and use it to pay for part of the money first!"

Zhang Li was so frightened by Liu Guangtian's grab that she trembled all over. She subconsciously wanted to retract her hand, but Liu Guangtian held it tightly and she couldn't get away at all. She looked at her watch in Liu Guangtian's hand, and her heart was in a panic. She cried and said:

"This... I can't give you this watch. It was given to me by Brother Qiang. If I lose it or give it to you, Brother Qiang will beat me to death. Please, let me go. I really have no choice."

Yan Jiecheng also saw the watch and said with a frown:

"Zhang Li, stop using this Brother Qiang to scare us. Since this watch was given to you by Brother Qiang, it means you have a special relationship with him. So you should contact him immediately and ask him to solve this matter and pay us back the money he owes. Otherwise, we will take this watch today and use it as a partial payment."

Liu Guangtian also echoed:
"That's right, stop talking nonsense here. Either pay me back or use this watch as collateral. It's your choice!"

Zhang Li felt aggrieved and helpless. She really had no choice but to grit her teeth and reluctantly take off the Plum Blossom watch from her wrist and hand it to Liu Guangtian under the pressure of Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiecheng.

As she handed it over, she said in a tearful voice, "Okay, I'll give you the watch, but you have to know that Brother Qiang is not someone you can easily mess with. If he knows that you took my watch, he will definitely not let you go, and you will be in trouble."

Liu Guangtian originally thought that the watch could at least be used to pay for some of the money, so he planned to let Zhang Li leave. After all, it is not good to push a woman too hard. But when he heard what Zhang Li said, he was immediately enraged. He widened his eyes and said angrily:
"Humph, you still dare to threaten me? I want to see what this Qiang brother can do to me! Do you think I will be afraid of you if you say that? Dream on!"

As he spoke, Liu Guangtian's eyes inadvertently fell on Zhang Li's feet. He saw that Zhang Li was wearing a pair of exquisite lambskin shoes. The shoes looked soft and finely crafted, and should be worth a lot of money.

Liu Guangtian's heart moved, and he immediately pointed at Zhang Li's feet and said, "Humph, you still dare to scare me here? Since you said Brother Qiang won't let us go, then well, this watch is not enough to pay off the debt, you should also take off the pair of lambskin shoes on your feet to pay off the debt together!"

Zhang Li was shocked when she heard this. She subconsciously took a step back, holding her feet tightly with both hands, and said with horror:

"You can't take off these leather shoes. They are my favorite shoes. And... and I didn't wear any other shoes. If I take them off, how can I walk? Please, let me go. I really have no other choice."

Yan Jiecheng watched from the side, and couldn't help but feel a little distressed. Although he now knew that Zhang Li had deceived him, the friendship they had in the past still remained in his heart. He frowned, looked at Liu Guangtian, and gently persuaded him: "Liu Guangtian, forget it, don't go too far. She is a woman, and it is indeed difficult for her to walk without shoes. Let's not force her to this extent."

When Liu Guangtian heard this, he said unhappily, "Yan Jiecheng, you are trying to be a good guy here. I don't care if she can walk well or not. She cheated us out of our money, so she has to pay it back with something. If you feel sorry for her, then fine, as long as you give me the 100 yuan you owe me, I will never ask her to take off her shoes. How about that? It's up to you."

Yan Jiecheng was stunned when he heard this. He knew that he still owed Liu Guangtian the 100 yuan, but he couldn't just take it out. He opened his mouth and wanted to persuade Liu Guangtian, but he felt that he was in the wrong. After all, this matter was caused by his trust in Zhang Li.

Helplessly, Yan Jiecheng could only sigh silently, swallow the words that were about to come out of his mouth, and said nothing more.
Liu Guangtian didn't care about Zhang Li's pitiful pleading. He was only thinking about making up for his losses. Seeing that Yan Jiecheng didn't say anything, he turned his attention to Zhang Li again and threatened her fiercely:
"Zhang Li, I don't have that much patience to waste with you. If you don't give me the shoes, humph, I really won't be polite. I will beat you up right away and let you know the consequences of lying to me!"

Zhang Li was extremely desperate at this time. She knew in her heart that Liu Guangtian was a man of his word. She had just been slapped by him for resisting. If she angered him again, she didn't know how badly she would be beaten.

But she really couldn't bear to part with this pair of lambskin shoes. They were her favorite shoes and she would clean and maintain them carefully every time she went out. And now she didn't wear any other shoes. If she took them off, how would she walk later?
But when she thought of Liu Guangtian's ferocious look and his merciless threats, Zhang Li was trembling with fear. After hesitating for a long time, she still couldn't persuade Liu Guangtian, so she could only grit her teeth, bend down slowly and reluctantly, and start to untie her shoelaces.

Her hands were shaking so badly that it took her a lot of effort to untie her shoelaces. Tears kept welling up in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the ground.

Finally, Zhang Li took off the pair of lambskin shoes. She held the shoes in both hands, as if holding her broken heart, with reluctance and humiliation on her face. Then she slowly handed them to Liu Guangtian, still begging in a low voice: "Please, Liu Guangtian, just take the shoes and let me go. I really know I was wrong." Liu Guangtian took the shoes, took a look, and muttered: "Hmph, that's better." He thought to himself that this pair of shoes should be worth a lot of money, which can make up for the loss to some extent.

Zhang Li's eyes were filled with hatred at this moment, staring at Liu Guangtian, as if she wanted to engrave his appearance in her heart. She gritted her teeth, her cheeks bulged, and the hatred in her heart was like a raging fire. In this humiliating situation, she glared at Liu Guangtian for the last time, then turned around and limped away quickly, her back revealing endless embarrassment and unwillingness.

Liu Guangtian, holding the watch and shoes he had just gotten from Zhang Li, was about to leave triumphantly. He was thinking that the Plum Blossom watch and lambskin shoes should be able to sell for a lot of money, which could more or less make up for his loss from being cheated.

But before he could take a few steps, Yan Jiecheng stepped forward and blocked his way. Yan Jiecheng frowned and said seriously, "Liu Guangtian, don't leave in a hurry. I also have a share of this watch and shoes. You can't just take them all. If it weren't for me, would you be able to find Zhang Li so easily? We worked so hard together to stop her, and these things should be divided equally."

When Liu Guangtian heard this, his eyes widened and his face was full of displeasure. He said angrily: "Yan Jiecheng, don't play tricks on me. If I hadn't threatened and beaten her, would I have been able to get these things from Zhang Li? You, on the other hand, were just trying to stop me, feeling sorry for that woman, and now you're thinking about these things. No way!"

Yan Jiecheng got angry when he heard what Liu Guangtian said. He raised his voice and said, "Liu Guangtian, what you said is wrong. We came here together to ask Zhang Li for an explanation. I have been helping her all along. How come I am left out? If you are so unreasonable, there is no way we can have a good discussion."

Liu Guangtian actually understood Yan Jiecheng's personality and knew that once this guy got serious, he was not someone to be trifled with. He knew that if he didn't give Yan Jiecheng a portion of these two things today, Yan Jiecheng would definitely not let him go easily, and new troubles might arise.

But how to separate the watch and the shoes? This is really a difficult problem. Liu Guangtian frowned and pondered in his mind.

At this time, Yan Jiecheng said, "Liu Guangtian, I think we can sell the watch and shoes at the pigeon market, get the money, and then split it between the two of us. This is fair and saves trouble. What do you think?"

Liu Guangtian thought this method was feasible. He also wanted to cash in these things as soon as possible to make up for his losses. So he nodded and said, "Okay, let's do as you say. But it's getting dark now. If we want to go to the pigeon market, it's definitely too late now. We can only wait until tomorrow morning."

Yan Jiecheng also looked at the sky and saw that it was indeed getting dark, so he said, "Well, we can only wait until tomorrow morning. So what should we do with the watch and shoes now? We can't just keep them."

Liu Guangtian thought for a moment and said, "How about this? We each take one thing, and then we meet outside the pigeon market tomorrow morning. Then we can sell the things together and divide the money. What do you think?"

Yan Jiecheng thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Okay, that's settled. I'll take the watch, and you take the shoes."

Liu Guangtian had no objection. He tightened his shoes and said, "Okay, it's settled then. Don't forget to meet outside the pigeon market tomorrow morning. If anyone doesn't come, don't blame me for being rude!"

Yan Jiecheng responded: "Don't worry, I will definitely be there on time."

Just like that, the two men reached a temporary agreement, each took something, and then parted ways, each heading towards their own homes.

Zhang Xiuhua waited at home, wondering where Liu Guangtian was doing and why he hadn't come back yet.

Just when she was getting impatient, she finally heard the door open. She hurried out of the room, ready to give Liu Guangtian a good scolding.

But when she saw Liu Guangtian holding a pair of women's shoes, her eyes widened and her face turned pale. She was stunned for a moment, and then a burst of anger rose from the bottom of her heart.

"Liu Guangtian, you are a heartless man! Where have you been? You came back with a pair of women's shoes. Did you have an affair outside? Tell me, what is going on?" Zhang Xiuhua put her hands on her hips and started cursing loudly at the top of her voice. The sound echoed in the room, making people's ears buzz.

Liu Guangtian was already feeling unhappy because of the incident between him and Yan Jiecheng, and he became even more angry when Zhang Xiuhua scolded him as soon as he entered the door.

He frowned and said impatiently, "What are you yelling about? This has nothing to do with anything. It's not what you think. This is a long story. Can you please stop going crazy here?"

Zhang Xiuhua was furious when she heard this. She walked up to Liu Guangtian, pointed at his nose and cursed: "I'm crazy? Liu Guangtian, you still think you're right, don't you? You brought back women's shoes and you didn't let me ask? If you don't explain this to me clearly today, I'll never let you go!"

Liu Guangtian looked at Zhang Xiuhua's furious expression and knew that if he didn't explain the matter clearly today, there would be no peace in the family. But if you really talk about it, it is indeed quite complicated. He sighed helplessly and prepared to tell Zhang Xiuhua the whole story.

After hearing this, Zhang Xiuhua became even angrier and pointed at Liu Guangtian's nose and said, "Are you a fool? Yan Jiecheng knew to take a watch, but why did you come back with this pair of broken shoes!" (End of this chapter)