Traveling back to 1966, starting by living in a cowshed.

Chapter 120 Provoking the Birds 3

Lin Zhou ignored Qin Huairu and the other two who were anxiously explaining to Sha Zhu. His gaze, like a precise arrow, passed over the heads of the people around him and locked onto Xu Damao, who was watching the commotion from the outer edge of the crowd.

Xu Damao stood with his arms crossed, squinting at Sha Zhu's exasperated appearance, a gloating smile on his lips. His smug demeanor made it seem as if the farce in the courtyard had nothing to do with him.

But when he saw Lin Zhou's gaze fall on him, Xu Damao's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly surged into his heart.

"You must be Xu Damao?" Lin Zhou's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a penetrating quality, reaching Xu Damao's ears steadily, and also drifting into the ears of everyone around. "You don't have children either, do you?"

These words were like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, and the courtyard erupted in deafening laughter.

"Hahaha! Xu Damao? He could never have children!"

"He married two wives, but neither of them laid a single egg. Is there even a need to ask?"

"That's right! The first one, Lou Xiao'e, has been gone for so many years without any news; the second one, Qin Jingru, has also been with him for many years, but her belly is still flat!"

The rising and falling laughter was like countless needles piercing Xu Damao's heart. His face flushed a deep purplish-red, he trembled with rage, pointed at Lin Zhou, and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time: "You...you're talking nonsense!"

When Qin Jingru, who was standing next to Xu Damao, heard these words, she was first stunned, and then she froze as if she had been struck by lightning.

Over the years, she has suffered a lot of grievances because she was unable to give birth to any children for Xu Damao.

Xu Damao would often punch and kick her, and call her a "hen that doesn't lay eggs".

The neighbors in the courtyard would gossip behind her back, saying that her womb was not cooperating. She silently endured it all, and even genuinely believed it was her fault, secretly shedding countless tears because of it.

But now, Lin Zhou's words had a wake-up call for her. Yes, Xu Damao had married two wives but had no children; how could the problem lie with her?

Qin Jingru's eyes instantly reddened, and the grievances and anger that had been building up for years erupted like a volcano.

She abruptly broke free from Xu Damao's grasp, pointed at his nose, and screamed shrilly, "Xu Damao! So it's because you can't have children! You useless thing! All these years you've hit me and scolded me, it's all been a lie! I'm not done with you! I want a divorce!"

Her voice was shrill and indignant, which drew sighs from the people around her.

Xu Damao was flustered by Qin Jingru's outburst. Seeing the increasingly disdainful looks around him, he became furious and retorted loudly, "Who says I can't have children? When Jingru and I got married, she was pregnant but had a miscarriage. Everyone knows that, right? And that Lou Xiao'e! That woman can't have children! It has nothing to do with me!"

To prove himself, he shouted almost hysterically, as if that would mask his inner turmoil.

"Oh? She got pregnant and then miscarried, what a coincidence?" Lin Zhou raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile curving his lips, and then casually added, "Lou Xiao'e has already given birth."

"boom!"

This seemingly casual remark was more devastating than any of the previous ones, instantly shattering Xu Damao's rebuttal.

Xu Damao froze, as if he had been frozen in place, his eyes wide open, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, but he couldn't utter a single word.

His mind went blank, with only Lin Zhou's words, "Lou Xiao'e has already had a child," echoing repeatedly in his ears.

Lou Xiao'e has a child? How is that possible? She was with me for so long back then, and there wasn't a single sign of pregnancy. How could she have a child after leaving me?

Could it be... could it really be my own problem?

The thought gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, leaving him cold and ashen-faced.

The surrounding laughter seemed to turn into countless sharp knives, piercing him mercilessly.

His earlier smugness vanished, replaced by endless panic and embarrassment.

Lin Zhou was too lazy to look at Xu Damao's dejected appearance anymore. He turned his gaze to Qin Huairu, who was pale and swaying beside him.

Qin Huairu was still in the midst of the chaos from earlier when she heard about Xu Damao's miserable state. Just as a feeling of sympathy arose in her heart, Lin Zhou's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Qin Huairu," Lin Zhou's voice turned colder, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure, "I heard that back in the steel mill, you played the 'trading buns for buns' game? And that you and Master Yi stole grain from the cellar in the middle of the night? Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, the laughter in the courtyard abruptly ceased, becoming so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All eyes turned to Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai, who was standing in the corner.

"Steamed buns for steamed buns"? What adult present couldn't understand the implications of that?

Back then, Qin Huairu worked at the steel rolling mill. With her good looks, she flirted with her male colleagues, exchanging a few steamed buns for ration coupons or other benefits. This affair had been the talk of the town in the factory for a long time, but no one dared to expose it in the courtyard.

The statement about taking food from the cellar with Yi Zhonghai in the middle of the night is particularly intriguing. A cellar is a secluded and hidden place; could a lone man and woman be there in the middle of the night simply to take food?

Qin Huairu's face instantly drained of color. She staggered back a step, her lips trembling, wanting to refute, but found herself unable to utter a word.

Those were the pasts she desperately tried to cover up, the fig leaf she used to maintain her virtuous image, but now Lin Zhou had ripped them off in public and exposed them to the sunlight.

Yi Zhonghai's face was extremely grim. He gripped his pipe tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. A flicker of panic flashed in his cloudy eyes, but he forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "Nonsense! How can you talk such nonsense, young man? This is slander! Get out of our courtyard immediately; you are not welcome here."

Lin Zhou completely ignored his explanation and his gaze, like a mine sweeper, fell on Yan Jiecheng, whose face was deathly pale in the crowd.

Yan Jiecheng is Yan Bugui's eldest son. With Sha Zhu as the head chef, he runs a small restaurant and lives a comfortable life.

He had originally come back with Sha Zhu to watch the excitement and squeezed into the crowd, but when Lin Zhou's gaze fell on him, his heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously shrank back.

"Yan Jiecheng," Lin Zhou's voice remained calm, yet it carried the weight of a death sentence, "don't you have children either?"

The moment the question was asked, the courtyard fell completely silent.

The crowd looked at each other, their eyes filled with numbness and shock.

This courtyard house has really stirred up a hornet's nest today!

First, Yi Zhonghai was unable to have children, causing his wife to bear the blame for her entire life. Then, Sha Zhu was tricked by Qin Huairu and became the scapegoat for the Jia family.

Then Xu Damao was confirmed to be infertile, which became common knowledge. Now even Yan Jiecheng is being asked in public if he doesn't have children!

These bombshell revelations left everyone dizzy and almost numb.

Yan Jiecheng's face turned bright red, and he wished he could disappear into the ground. He and Yu Li had been married for so many years but had no children, a fact that had always been a thorn in his side, and he dared not mention it to anyone.

But now, Lin Zhou has asked him this question in public, causing him to lose face completely.

Yan Bugui stood aside, stamping his feet in frustration, but dared not step forward, and could only watch helplessly as his son was humiliated in public.

Yi Zhonghai's hypocritical mask was torn off, the marriage between Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu cracked, Xu Damao became a laughing stock, and Yan Jiecheng was extremely embarrassed...