Life in siheyuan era

By the time Bang梗 and the other three reached the courtyard, it was already packed. Those in front remained silent, while those in the back craned their necks, some even standing on tiptoes. Xiaodang jumped up several times, finally spotting Yuan Shi, and shouted, "Uncle Yuan."

She waved her hands, jumping up and down to get Yuan Shi's attention, who then instructed two security guards to forcefully pull the four of them through the crowd.

Once inside, Xiaodang eagerly looked towards the circle formed by the security guards. Two green figures were locked in a grapple, shoulders touching, arms entwined, legs entangled. Suddenly, one of the green figures was thrown out, landing with a 'thump.' Zhou Zhiyuan stood his ground, laughing and saying mockingly, "Wu Zi, hurry up and admit defeat, call me 'big brother.'"

The green figure flipped over and stood up. It was then that everyone noticed the difference between the two green figures: the one who had been thrown had collar badges, while the one standing did not.

Moreover, everyone had clearly heard the one who was thrown called 'Wu Zi.' So, they all looked at Zhou Zhiyuan.

Sure enough, Wu Zi shouted, "Zhi Liao, it's two-two, a tie! This round, you were the one who went down."

Zhou Zhiyuan was actually called 'Zhi Liao'? Hearing this nickname, someone immediately burst out laughing. Xu Lao San followed with a 'ha' sound, then quickly covered his mouth.

Hearing the laughter, Zhou Zhiyuan glanced at him. Xu Lao San immediately prepared to take a few steps back, but the crowd behind him was pressing tightly, leaving him nowhere to retreat. Xu Lao San immediately shouted, "Boss, I didn't laugh."

Xu Lao San was also using a trick, a classic case of 'I'm not hiding anything,' which immediately drew another burst of laughter.

Zhou Zhiyuan withdrew his gaze and turned to Li Wu, saying, "No respect for seniority! How dare you give our old squad leader a nickname!"

Li Wu immediately retorted, "Who's your old squad leader? Back then, you were the first squad leader, and I was the third!"

Zhou Zhiyuan laughed, "I'm still the boss! Little Three, take this!"

As he spoke, he lunged forward. Li Wu met him head-on. Just as their arms were about to entwine and their legs interlock, Zhou Zhiyuan suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

"What's wrong?" Li Wu asked, surprised.

"The posture is wrong. Let's do it again." Zhou Zhiyuan's reason was baffling.

The two then separated. Zhou Zhiyuan began to stretch his neck, saying, "Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration and created a deadly move, a guaranteed one-hit kill!"

Hearing him, Li Wu immediately became more vigilant. This kid really had the ability to create new moves on the spot.

But Zhou Zhiyuan actually started to walk backward, saying, "The distance for using this move needs to be five meters."

As he spoke, he took five steps, then turned around to check the distance between them, and said loudly, "Wu Zi, take two steps back. This distance isn't enough."

Li Wu took two steps back and shouted, "Make your move!"

Zhou Zhiyuan replied loudly, "Get in position! One-hit kill!"

With that, Zhou Zhiyuan bent his knees and waist, assuming an attacking stance. Li Wu immediately mimicked him. Just as the two were about to pounce, a tall figure appeared at the entrance of the Hongyun Hall, shouting, "Are you two never going to stop? Come inside for a drink!"

Zhou Zhiyuan immediately abandoned his attacking stance and walked inside, shouting as he went, "Old Platoon Leader saved you! Otherwise, it would have been a one-hit kill!"

Li Wu was definitely not convinced by this, and immediately retorted, "The Old Platoon Leader saved you, right? He knew I would break your deadly move and then counterattack!"

"You're so stubborn," Zhou Zhiyuan said.

"My hands and feet are even tougher!" Li Wu wasn't going to lose the war of words.

But Zhou Zhiyuan ignored him and walked up to Shen Lanyin with a big smile.

Shen Lanyin reached out to smooth his hair and gently pat the dust off his body. Zhou Zhiyuan turned to Li Wu and shouted, "Envy, jealousy, and hate, right?"

Li Wu coldly replied, "Mind your own business."

Shen Lanbo gently shook his head, then waved his hand. Xu Lao San quickly arranged for two security guards to come over and help Li Wu pat the dust off his body.

Seeing that the fight was over, the crowd dispersed, discussing among themselves as they went. "You didn't see the beginning. They were really fighting, or rather, wrestling. They were really thrown around, thump, thump!"

That was one group's discussion. Another group was discussing something else, "That General Manager Zhou is really funny. 'The posture is wrong, let's do it again,' and 'envy, jealousy, and hate.'"

A third group was talking about something else entirely, "That woman is really beautiful. She must be General Manager Zhou's wife, right?"

"General Manager Zhou is handsome, and he became a general manager at such a young age. He must be very rich..." That was definitely a woman talking.

Bang梗 and the other three returned to the lobby in silence. When the waiter saw them come in, he quickly asked, "General Manager Zhou must have defeated the other guy, right?"

In the hearts of these waiters, Zhou Zhiyuan was invincible. After hearing the customers' description of the situation, they immediately said, "That was just a friendly spar between comrades. If they were really fighting, our General Manager Zhou would finish it with one punch."

The waiter wanted to prove how powerful their General Manager Zhou was, and immediately started discussing it with the customers at that table.

At this moment, Huaihua whispered to Xiaodang, "Sister, ask Second Uncle for some money. I'm a little short."

Xiaodang replied unhappily, "Why don't you ask?"

They were both afraid of Shen Lanyin, while Bang梗 remained silent. So, Tang Yan asked, "Is Second Aunt not good to you?"

She had been amazed by Shen Lanyin's beauty earlier. Seeing her smooth Zhou Zhiyuan's hair and pat the dust off his body, she immediately knew that this was Second Uncle's wife. Now, hearing them talk about this Second Aunt, and Xiaodang and Huaihua both said they were afraid, Tang Yan immediately asked.

Hearing her question, Huaihua looked at her, picked up some food with her chopsticks, and didn't say anything. But Xiaodang replied, "Second Aunt is very good to us, and her relationship with my mom is also very good, but she's very strict with Shuhua."

Xiaodang's reply sounded strange at first, and Tang Yan needed to think carefully.

Shen Lanyin was very good to them, but they were not Zhou Zhiyuan's biological nephews and nieces, while Zhou Shuhua was Zhou Zhiyuan's biological nephew. Judging from the scene that day, Zhou Zhiyuan doted on this nephew.

Thinking about it this way, Tang Yan suddenly understood. Precisely because Zhou Zhiyuan doted on Zhou Shuhua, Shen Lanyin was very strict with Zhou Shuhua, because he was Zhou Zhiyuan's biological nephew. This was the responsibility of a second aunt.

But Shen Lanyin was polite to Bang梗 and the others, because they were not related to Zhou Zhiyuan. Bang梗 and the others understood this principle.

Understanding this issue required a mental shift, but fortunately, Tang Yan made that shift.

At this moment, Xiaodang also revealed the mystery to her, "Second Uncle spoils children, and he dotes on his own two sons, so Second Aunt strictly manages the children, including Shuhua."

Hearing Xiaodang say this, Tang Yan asked strangely, "I heard your brother say that Second Uncle has also hit the children."

"Is that what you call hitting?" This time it was Huaihua's turn to speak. "Two slaps on Shuwen's little butt. Shuwen didn't even feel any pain, but my dad scolded him a few times, and then Grandpa Zhou and Grandma Lin teamed up and chased him out of the courtyard. If it weren't for Second Aunt pleading, he definitely wouldn't have avoided a beating with a belt."

What Huaihua said was the truth. Zhou Shuwen and Zhou Shuhua were fighting over a hat. Zhou Zhiyuan wanted to make Zhou Shuwen understand the principle of seniority, so he gave Zhou Shuwen's little butt two slaps, but Zhou Zhining saw it, and Zhou Zhining reprimanded Zhou Zhiyuan a few times, which was then heard by Zhou Dehou and Lin Shurong.

So Zhou Dehou immediately decided to take action. He could do without his son, but he couldn't do without his grandson. He and Lin Shurong teamed up to chase and beat Zhou Zhiyuan, making Zhou Zhiyuan lose all face in front of the younger generation.

This story was widely talked about in the courtyard, and Xiaodang and Huaihua were eyewitnesses, but they didn't know the inside story.

Zhou Zhiyuan's two slaps were definitely not soft. Although he didn't use much force, he could still make Zhou Shuwen cry.

But he still underestimated Zhou Shuwen's resistance to being hit. Zhou Shuwen only grimaced after receiving two slaps, but this grimace was seen by Zhou Zhining.

And Zhou Zhining knew Zhou Shuwen's resistance to being hit. Seeing him grimace, he immediately knew that Zhou Zhiyuan had used force, and immediately scolded him.

Then Zhou Zhiyuan realized that he had made a second mistake: he couldn't hit the children in front of his parents.

Lin Shurong wielding the belt was still within his expectations, but Zhou Dehou raising a stick took him by surprise.

The neighbors in the courtyard all said that Zhou Dehou had a good temper, but the fact was that Zhou Dehou's temper was well-managed by Lin Shurong.

Zhou Dehou's temper wasn't very good when he was young, and he had gotten into many fights outside, until he met Lin Shurong, and his temper gradually improved.

But that day, he couldn't help it. Hearing Zhou Zhining reprimand Zhou Zhiyuan, and knowing that Zhou Zhiyuan had hit his second grandson, this fire suddenly burst out, and he rushed out of the house, grabbing a stick and raising it.

Zhou Zhiyuan's first reaction when he saw this scene was to leave. "A light beating is acceptable, a heavy beating requires escape." Zhou Dehou had already raised the stick, so what was he waiting for?

This was the true story. What Xiaodang and Huaihua saw was only the surface, and Zhou Zhining wouldn't tell Qin Huairu, "My dad used to have a bad temper. Zhiyuan's personality is like his."

Zhou Zhining had always thought so, but he ignored his own temper, which wasn't very good either.

This was the real situation. The so-called seeing is believing, but the fact is that seeing is not necessarily believing either, just like Zhou Zhiyuan fighting with Li Wu. No one understood that the final deadly move was just to end the fight. Two-two tie, Zhou Zhiyuan and Li Wu both saved face, so let's just end it there.

That's why Shen Lanbo appeared at this time. Appearing earlier or later wouldn't have been appropriate.