My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 157: Xu Damao fanning the flames from behind the scenes

The deaf old woman standing in the crowd shook her head and slowly said, "If parents are not kind, their children will be unfilial."

Upon hearing the deaf old lady's words, everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing that she was right.

However, some people asked curiously, "Speaking of the Second Uncle, he's incredibly good to Liu Guangqi. Doesn't he always give the best things in the house to his eldest son?"

At this moment, someone else chimed in, "Could it be that yesterday's wedding was so disastrous that Liu Guangqi is too ashamed to stay in this courtyard?"

He does not mean that.

Aunt Er heard all these words and felt a mix of emotions, an indescribable sadness.

Zhang Lei, who rushed over from the back building, saw that the crowd was almost dispersed and immediately sighed, "I'm late, I'm late!"

He was filled with regret, thinking that if he hadn't been so affectionate with Ye Shuhua that morning and hadn't gotten another injection (a thick needle), how could he have missed such a big event?

Then Zhang Lei's eyes darted around, and he moved closer to the person next to him, starting to inquire about what had just happened.

The men next to Zhang Lei, seeing the cigarettes he offered, accepted them without hesitation, lit them, and then vividly recounted to Zhang Lei the events of Liu Haizhong fainting and Liu Guangqi leaving a note and running away.

The men spoke with great enthusiasm, as if they had witnessed Liu Guangqi's departure the previous night.

As Zhang Lei listened, he would occasionally glance towards Liu Guangqi's room, his face full of curiosity.

After listening for a while, Zhang Lei began to embellish the story, saying, "Guangtian, Guangtian, let me see the note Guangqi left."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, Liu Guangtian also came over and handed him the note.

Zhang Lei casually handed Liu Guangtian another cigarette. Liu Guangtian was overjoyed to see the cigarette and quickly took it.

Zhang Lei looked at the note and said with feigned regret, "Guangtian, your brother is really something. The Jia family turned your brother's wedding upside down yesterday, how could he just leave without a word?"

Liu Guangtian shook his head and said, "How would I know? I was already asleep when he left last night. Only Liu Guangqi knows what he's thinking."

Zhang Lei sighed, looking regretful, and said, "Your brother is just too headstrong. He left without a word. If it were me, I'd definitely demand compensation from the Jia family for yesterday's losses! Your father put a lot of effort into the food, drinks, and the banquet, and now he's lost everything, becoming a laughingstock. It's really a shame for your family!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangtian's eyes lit up instantly.

Zhang Lei said a lot, but he didn't quite hear it all. However, he heard the word "loss" very clearly.

Liu Guangtian slapped his thigh and said through gritted teeth, "No way! I can't let my family lose so much for no reason. I have to go to the Jia family and demand an explanation!"

Seeing his impulsive behavior, Zhang Lei quickly pulled him back, feigning concern, "Guangtian, calm down! We're all neighbors in the same courtyard; this is too embarrassing. Besides, do you think you can fight against that old hag Jia Zhangshi all by yourself?"

Liu Guangtian was taken aback. Upon reflection, he realized Zhang Lei was right; he couldn't handle the tantrum-throwing Jia Zhangshi by himself. So, he turned to Zhang Lei and asked urgently, "Then what should I do?"

Zhang Lei stroked his chin, feigning deep thought, and said, "Go find your dad! He's the second most important man in the neighborhood. With such a big thing happening in the family, there's no reason he shouldn't step up. Besides, do you know how much your dad spent on all those banquet ingredients?"

Liu Guangtian immediately craned his neck and asked, "How much?"

"300 yuan! A full 300 yuan!" Zhang Lei held up three fingers, emphasizing his words. "And that doesn't even include other miscellaneous expenses for the banquet."

Upon hearing this number, Liu Guangtian gasped, his eyes widening: "So many?!"

At that moment, a surge of hatred welled up in Liu Guangtian's heart. Liu Haizhong really had no idea how much money he owed his eldest son—300 yuan! He'd never even seen so much money before, let alone spent it!

He gritted his teeth, his eyes hardening: "I understand, I'll go to the hospital right now! Let's see what Dad has to say when he wakes up!"

After saying that, Liu Guangtian turned around and ran towards the courtyard gate, his steps were incredibly fast.

Watching Liu Guangtian's hurried departure, Zhang Lei shook his head, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

Liu Guangtian is truly "filial".

When his father collapsed and was carried away, he didn't even follow him; but when the topic of 300 yuan came up, he suddenly remembered to go to the hospital to see his father.

What a fucking filial son!

While Zhang Lei was talking to Liu Guangtian, Xu Damao was also quietly listening nearby.

In fact, Xu Damao also hated the Jia family, hated Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu, after all, he had been made to eat so much "shit" yesterday.

There's no reason not to retaliate.

Now that he sees Zhang Lei stirring up trouble for the Liu family and getting them to take the lead, Xu Damao has no choice but to lend a hand.

Thinking of this, Xu Damao's eyes lit up, a wicked smile appeared on his lips, and he quietly retreated to the back of the crowd, starting to plan how to stir up trouble later.

Soon, news of Liu Guangqi's escape from the courtyard overnight spread like wildfire throughout the entire compound, with all sorts of versions circulating.

Some say that Liu Guangqi couldn't stand Liu Haizhong's strict discipline and favoritism, which is why he ran away overnight.

Some people say that it was because the wedding was ruined by the Jia family yesterday, and he felt ashamed and couldn't stay any longer.

Some people say that it was actually the new bride, Zhao Qing, who disliked the atmosphere of the courtyard house and insisted on taking Liu Guangqi with her.

The various accounts became increasingly outrageous, yet increasingly believable, stirring up a great deal of discussion throughout the entire courtyard.

However, the most widely circulated and convincing version of the story is that Jia Dongxu, the "human shit cannon" of the Jia family, ruined the Liu family's wedding, forcing Liu Guangqi to flee the courtyard house with his wife overnight.

Of course, the reason this claim spread so quickly and so widely is that there must be someone behind it fueling the flames.

That person was Xu Damao.

To further escalate the feud between the Liu and Jia families, Xu Damao directly paid out of his own pocket to hire a few gossipy women at the alley entrance who loved to stir up trouble.

He gave each of them five yuan and told them to spread the word at the gate of the courtyard, in the alley, and even in other courtyards.

These gossipy women, having received the money, worked incredibly hard, talking animatedly with spittle flying everywhere:

"Hey, have you heard? The eldest son of the Liu family in the Intermediate People's Court ran away with his wife on their very first day of marriage!"

"Why did they run away? It's because the Jia family disgusted them!"

"At the wedding, Jia Dongxu, that cripple from the Jia family, did it on purpose! He deliberately defecated in front of so many people at the banquet, just to embarrass the Liu family!"

"He ruined a perfectly good wedding, making it stink so badly. How can the newlyweds possibly stay there? The Liu family's reputation has been completely humiliated by the Jia family!"

These words, passed through the mouths of gossipy women, quickly spread throughout the entire alley and even to several nearby streets.

In no time, the news of "Jia Dongxu defecating at his wedding" and "the Liu family's newlyweds running away in anger" became the biggest laughing stock in the surrounding streets, and also brought the conflict between the Liu family and the Jia family to the forefront, making it irreconcilable.