My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 46: Eating Mutton in the Courtyard

As soon as Yi Zhonghai stepped out of his house, he saw Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong arrive at the Intermediate People's Court at the same time.

He quickly stepped forward to greet them and asked, "Old Yan, Old Liu, are you two here also about the East Wing?"

Liu Haizhong, being impatient, blurted out, "Old Yi, I heard from my wife that Zhang Lei has even produced the deed for the east wing. Is that true? This is outrageous!"

Yan Fugui frowned as well, agreeing with a puzzled expression, "Yeah, Lao Yi, tell me what's going on? Didn't Zhang Lei already have a back house? How could he get the deed for the east wing? This whole courtyard is in chaos!"

Yi Zhonghai listened to their conversation and knew perfectly well that they were both jealous, especially Yan Fugui's family, who had many children and a cramped house and were desperately in need of housing.

He immediately said, "You two, don't be in such a hurry. I just found out about this myself. But I also heard that Zhang Lei tricked Jia Zhangshi today. I was just thinking of going to the Jia family to ask about the details. Why don't you two come with me?"

Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance and nodded in unison: "Okay, let's go together. We have to find out exactly what's going on."

As the three of them approached the Jia family's gate, they heard Jia Zhangshi complaining from inside the courtyard. She was pulling Jia Dongxu aside and berating him: "Dongxu, you have no idea how infuriating that bastard Zhang Lei is! He badmouthed me in front of so many people, and then suddenly jumped onto the wall, telling me to try and catch him if I dared. Tell me, with my physique, if I could climb up there, wouldn't pigs be able to fly?"

Upon hearing this, the three people outside the door couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Jia Dongxu's face flushed red and then turned pale as he awkwardly advised, "Mom, how can you describe yourself like that? People will laugh at you if word gets out."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat, stepped inside, and asked bluntly, "Mrs. Jia, tell the three of us what exactly happened today? Also, does that house in the east courtyard belong to Zhang Lei?"

When asked this question, how could Jia Zhangshi give a clear answer? She originally wanted to ask Zhang Lei for clarification, but Zhang Lei had tricked her, and she had long forgotten about the important matter.

Jia Zhangshi hurriedly grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm, her face contorted with grief, and said, "Uncle, you've finally arrived! You have no idea how outrageous Zhang Lei has been while you're all at work!"

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's hand clinging to him, Yi Zhonghai quickly pulled it away, frowning as he said, "Jia Zhangshi, just say what you want to say, stop pulling and tugging. Do you even know anything about what happened in the east wing?"

When he glared at her, Jia Zhangshi's voice immediately dropped, and she stammered, "I...how would I know?"

Seeing her like this, Yi Zhonghai was furious: "You don't know? Then why were you making such a scene at the east courtyard gate?"

Jia Zhangshi stubbornly retorted, "Wasn't I just angered by that little bastard Zhang Lei?!"

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from Jia Zhangshi, Yi Zhonghai turned to the two people beside him and said in a deep voice, "Old Liu, Old Yan, since we can't get anything out of her, let's go directly to Zhang Lei and ask him. We are the heads of the courtyard, and we have to get this matter straight, otherwise we won't be able to explain it to the other neighbors."

Yan Fugui nodded quickly and chimed in, "Old Yi, you're right. This matter in the east wing concerns the rules of the entire courtyard. It's a big deal for everyone. We need to let everyone know the whole story. We can't leave it like this, unclear and ambiguous."

Liu Haizhong quickly chimed in, "Old Yi, you're right, this can't be delayed, let's go now!" With that, the three of them started walking out.

Seeing the three of them turn to leave, Jia Dongxu quickly chased after them, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Master, I'll go with you!"

Yi Zhonghai glanced back at him and nodded.

Soon the four of them arrived at the entrance of the back building. The gate to the courtyard of the back building was open, and they could see Zhang Lei and the other three sitting around the table in the courtyard eating.

As soon as the four arrived at the door, a rich aroma of mutton filled their nostrils.

Yan Fugui immediately sniffed the air, smacked his lips, and said, "This smells amazing! It smells like mutton!"

Like the other three, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

Meanwhile, Zhang Lei, who was eating mutton in the yard, saw the four people coming over, but he didn't seem to want to get up and continued eating slowly.

An old man stood at the door and cleared his throat.

Seeing that Zhang Lei didn't react, he could only awkwardly say, "Zhang Lei, are you eating?"

Zhang Lei swallowed the mutton in his mouth, looked up at them, and asked indifferently, "Hey, old man, what brings you here?"

Yan Fugui stepped forward and asked in a gruff voice, "Zhang Lei, is this mutton you're eating?"

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Uncle, you guessed right. This is mutton. Look, it's a whole big bowl full."

As he spoke, he slurped as he ate, then took another bite of the thick pancake and exclaimed dramatically, "Wow, it's so delicious!"

At this moment, the four people standing there were even more hungry.

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at the group and said, "I'm sorry, everyone, but this is all the mutton we have. One bowl each is just right, and there's nothing left."

Standing behind, Jia Dongxu was so hungry he kept swallowing his saliva.

An old man looked at Zhang Lei and said in a low voice, "Alright, you guys eat first. Your second uncle, third uncle, and I came here to ask about the east courtyard."

At this moment, Zhang Lei said, "Uncle, don't be in such a hurry. You all go to the Intermediate Court and wait for me. After I finish eating, I will say it in front of everyone in the court."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Yi Zhonghai felt embarrassed to stay any longer. After all, the mutton soup smelled too good; if he didn't have some self-control, he would have almost succumbed to temptation by now.

The group left quickly, and as they left, Yan Fugui couldn't help but take a few more breaths in Zhang Lei's yard.

Looking at Zhang Lei, Ye Shuqin said, "Honey, did you move the table out to the yard to eat just to tempt them?"

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "You figured that out."

Ye Shuqin laughed and said, "You're so obvious, who wouldn't notice?"

Zhang Lei sighed and said, "Alas, I miscalculated a bit. I didn't expect that old hag Jia Zhangshi wouldn't come."