My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 19: The Chapter Arrives at the Courtyard House

Zhang Lei and the three women quickly arrived at their destination and found the courtyard house at No. 95.

It was a vermilion lacquered wooden door, with carved lotus scroll patterns on the lintel. Although somewhat mottled and faded, it still revealed the exquisite craftsmanship of its time. The door piers were carved from bluestone, with drum-shaped patterns, exuding a rustic elegance. Traces of carved railings and painted beams remained under the eaves, and the roof tiles on the upturned eaves, though covered with some dust, still hinted at their former grandeur.

Looking at the courtyard house in front of him, Zhang Lei couldn't help but sigh softly, "We've finally arrived."

According to various speculations, this courtyard house was once the residence of a prince's concubine, and some even say that the deaf old woman in the courtyard was that concubine. The specific origins are long lost to history. Zhang Lei has no memory of the courtyard house's ownership. He only knows that it was very close to the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, and the residents were mostly workers at the mill.

Zhang Lei composed himself and led the three women into the courtyard.

In the front yard, Uncle Yan Fugui was watering the flowers with a watering can when he saw several people entering. He put down the watering can, frowned, and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

Zhang Lei strode forward, greeting him with a smile, "Hey, Third Uncle, how come you don't recognize me after just a few days?"

Yan Fugui squinted at him for a long time, then suddenly his eyes widened, and he exclaimed in shock, "You...you're Zhang Lei? Weren't you dead?"

Zhang Lei's brows furrowed instantly, and he said irritably, "Hey, Third Uncle, how can you talk like that? What, are you hoping I die? Cursing me the moment you see me?"

Yan Fugui finally snapped out of his shock and hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no, no, I just heard, I just heard..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly seemed to remember something. Ignoring Zhang Lei's surprised expression, he turned around and ran quickly towards Yi Zhonghai's house.

Zhang Lei was also bewildered by Yan Fugui's actions. Looking at Yan Fugui, who was already running towards the Intermediate People's Court, and then glancing at the three women following behind, he could only wave his hand and say, "I don't know what's going on either."

Yan Fugui quickly ran to Yi Zhonghai's house, then, panting heavily, said, "Old Yi, Old Yi, come out quickly, something terrible has happened."

Yi Zhonghai opened the door and saw Yan Fugui. He said in surprise, "Old Yan, what's wrong with you? As the third eldest uncle in this courtyard, you need to be more composed. You need to learn to be more composed."

Yan Fugui looked at the calm-faced Yi Zhonghai and cursed inwardly, "Calm my ass!" Then he said, "Old Yi, it's bad news, Zhang Lei, that kid Zhang Lei is back alive."

Upon hearing Yan Fugui's words, Yi Zhonghai also became agitated and exclaimed, "What? Zhang Lei is back?"

Yan Fugui said, "He's back. What are we going to do now? What about his house?"

Yi Zhonghai quickly calmed Yan Fugui down, saying, "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. I'll go find Dongxu and get some answers on what exactly happened."

Meanwhile, Zhang Lei was still explaining the layout of the courtyard to the three women. He looked at the front yard, then the middle yard, and finally the back yard. After the explanation, Zhang Lei led the three women into the west wing and back to the rear building.

As Zhang Lei spoke, he introduced the property with a smile, saying, "You know what? This entire back building belongs to our family, including the yard behind it. You can plant some flowers there if you like."

However, as Zhang Lei was about to take out his keys to go inside, he found that the door was already open.

A bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart. He quickly led the three women to the main courtyard of the back building. Seeing that the door of the middle room was open, he quickly went inside.

Just as I opened the door, I heard an accusing voice coming from inside: "Which bastard disturbed my rest!"

At this moment, Zhang Lei saw that it was Jia Zhangshi inside, and immediately flew into a rage, cursing, "Jia Zhangshi, you old slut, what are you doing in my house?"

Jia Zhangshi was lying on the bed, squinting and throwing a tantrum, when she looked up and saw that the person who came in was Zhang Lei, and she was instantly stunned.

Jia Zhangshi glared at him and asked, "Zhang Lei, you little bastard, weren't you supposed to be dead out there? How come you're back?"

Zhang Lei was so angry that the veins on his forehead throbbed. He cursed, "Jia Zhangshi, you're the one who's dead outside! This is my house! What are you doing here? Explain yourself!"

Instead of panicking, Madam Jia Zhang stubbornly retorted, "What's there to explain? This is my home now!"

Zhang Lei was almost laughing in exasperation, and retorted, "Your home?"

Jia Zhangshi raised her chin and said smugly, "Yes, the eldest uncle had already divided it up at the meeting. This largest room belongs to our Jia family, and I'm living here now."

Zhang Lei glanced at the two rooms next door and asked, "What about the other two rooms?"

Madam Jia became even more arrogant, her nostrils practically pointing to the sky: "The next room is for Second Uncle, and the next room is for Third Uncle. We've already divided up the three rooms. You little bastard, get back to where you came from and don't disturb my rest!"

Zhang Lei looked at the smug Jia Zhangshi and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, so you guys play it this way, huh? Fine, then you can wait for the police to come and arrest you."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei threaten to call the police, Jia Zhangshi jumped up and yelled, "What are you doing, you little bastard? You've gone too far! You dare call the police?"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's cursing, Ye Shuhua was furious. He stepped forward and slapped Jia Zhangshi's fat face, cursing, "You're as thick as a vat but no waist, all you have is your waist except your butt. I'll teach you a lesson about your mouth."

Zhang Lei was also a little confused by Ye Shuhua's actions, but he quickly realized that Ye Shuhua was standing up for him, and he was also smiling as he watched Ye Shuhua scold Jia Zhangshi.

Seeing Ye Shuhua, Jia Zhangshi was immediately enraged and used her dirty hands to grab at Ye Shuhua.

Zhang Lei reacted quickly, sticking out a leg and tripping Jia Zhangshi's foot. With a "thud," Jia Zhangshi fell face-first to the ground like a big toad, making the others cover their mouths and laugh.

Looking at Zhang Lei and his three companions, then at herself, Jia Zhangshi sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and shouted, "Help! Someone help! Murder!"

Her shouts quickly attracted the attention of the neighbors in the courtyard.

Soon, the people in the courtyard arrived at the back building. Seeing the scene before them, someone asked in confusion, "Zhang Lei? Are you Zhang Lei?"

Zhang Lei looked at everyone and then nodded.

When everyone saw Zhang Lei, they all started whispering among themselves.

Soon, Yi Zhonghai and several others strode over, looked at Jia Zhangshi on the ground, and then asked, "Jia Zhangshi, what happened?"

When Jia Zhangshi saw Yi Zhonghai approaching, she felt as if she had seen a savior and hurriedly cried to him, "Uncle, come quickly! That little bastard Zhang Lei is going to kill me! You have to help me!"

Yi Zhonghai looked at Zhang Lei and said directly, "Zhang Lei, how could you hit your elders? Don't you know anything about respecting the elderly and caring for the young? This is a crime, don't you understand?"

Hearing Yi Zhonghai immediately accuse him, Zhang Lei stood up and said, "Yi Zhonghai, which eye of yours saw me hit her?"

Yi Zhonghai looked at Jia Zhangshi on the ground, then at Zhang Lei, and said, "Zhang Lei, do you think your Aunt Zhang would wrong you? If you hadn't hit her, how could she have accused you?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yi Zhonghai and said sarcastically, "Oh, Yi Zhonghai, whatever Jia Zhangshi says goes. If she told you to die, would you go and die?"

Everyone was stunned by Zhang Lei's bold words.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was so angry at Zhang Lei's words that he broke out in a sweat. He then roared, "Zhang Lei, I'm talking to you about the beating, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yi Zhonghai disdainfully and said, "Oh, so you know it's nonsense? Yi Zhonghai, ask all these people around here, who saw me hit Jia Zhangshi with which eye? Let him stand up and say it!"