"You shameless widow He! You're heartless yourself, and you raised a daughter who's just as heartless! What has our Su family ever done to wrong you? We've been neighbors for so many years, and I've tolerated plenty from you, you old widow! All those times you stole little things like needles and thread, I never bothered arguing with you. But now look at you—you even went to the Inspection Office to report our Su Yun! Your whole family is a bunch of scoundrels. Even the dogs wouldn't eat your conscience!"
As Chen Xiu'e cursed loudly, she smashed bowls and plates. With Su Baoguo acting as her little assistant, the two of them quickly destroyed the He family's makeshift kitchen.
After wrecking the kitchen, Chen Xiu'e marched over and began banging on the He family's door.
"Widow He, you black-hearted coward! Do you think hiding inside will stop me from dealing with you?"
"Get out here right now!"
Su Baoguo picked up broken pieces of bowls and dishes from the ground and threw them toward the window.
"Ouch!" came He Hua's quiet cry from inside.
Hearing movement in the house, Chen Xiu'e pounded the door even harder and shouted louder.
"Widow He, if you've got the guts, come out and confront me! You had the nerve to report us, so don't hide inside like a turtle!"
"Come out!"
At that moment, Su Wenshan—who had been squatting nearby smoking a pipe—stood up and walked to the window. Using the lit end of his pipe, he poked at the window paper. The thin paper immediately began to smoke when it touched the flame.
"Oh my! Director Su, you can't do that!"
Aunt Gao pushed through the crowd and arrived with Officer Qin from the neighborhood committee.
Hearing Aunt Gao's voice, Su Yun also poked her head out from her own kitchen, watching while she continued picking vegetables.
Aunt Gao and Officer Qin walked to the He family's door. First they tried to calm Chen Xiu'e and Su Wenshan, then Aunt Gao raised her voice and shouted toward the house.
"Widow He! I've brought Officer Qin from the neighborhood office. Since she's here, come out and explain everything clearly. If you keep hiding, I'll call a meeting of the entire courtyard and have your family driven out of this place!"
Hearing this, Widow He's anxious voice came from inside.
"No! You can't drive us out! Why should we leave? We didn't do anything wrong!"
Chen Xiu'e was furious and immediately kicked the He family's door.
Meanwhile, Su Baoguo quietly gathered more broken shards and tossed them all through the window.
Aunt Gao pretended not to notice. She said impatiently to the people inside,
"If you don't come out right now, I'll call the meeting immediately. Everyone's already here anyway, so we won't even need to notify anyone. Tonight we'll drive your family out and free the room for someone else!"
Hearing this, Aunt Wang in the crowd spoke excitedly.
"I think that's a great idea! My three kids are always jumping around, and our house hasn't been big enough for ages. If the He family gets kicked out, I'll rent their place!"
Another aunt quickly added,
"My youngest son is about to get married, and we've been worrying about where he and his wife will live. If the He family moves out, that house should go to my son—it would be perfect for a wedding!"
Doctor Jiang's husband, Chen Jie, leaned against his doorway and watched the He family house across the courtyard with interest.
"As for who rents the house, that can be decided later. But since they're hiding inside and refusing to come out, why don't we just remove their door and see how they keep hiding then?"
His suggestion immediately received approval from several people.
"That's right—let's take their door off first! Otherwise we'll all be stuck here and no one will get to eat dinner!"
"Come on, a couple of people help out…"
Inside the house, Widow He heard that people were about to remove their door and panicked.
"No, no! Don't remove the door! …We'll come out!"
The He family's door finally opened slowly.
Chen Xiu'e had been guarding the entrance the whole time. The moment she saw Widow He's timid old face, she grabbed her by the hair and dragged her outside.
"Well, Widow He—you finally came out!"
"You wretched woman! Your heart is black, and you even gave birth to a daughter who's worse than you! No wonder you became a widow so early!"
As she spoke, Chen Xiu'e beat her furiously, yanking out a large handful of Widow He's hair.
Widow He grew desperate and tried to fight back, but Aunt Gao and Officer Qin quickly stepped in to stop Chen Xiu'e.
"Comrade Chen, stop!" Officer Qin said. "I've already learned about the situation. What He Hua did today—reporting Su Yun—was a complete false accusation. The He family is at fault, and our neighborhood office will deal with it. Please let Widow He go first."
Reluctantly, Chen Xiu'e released her.
Widow He immediately collapsed onto the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing dramatically.
"Oh heavens! How can we live like this? A whole group of people came to bully us—a helpless widow and child! They smashed our kitchen and are threatening to drive us out… He Daguang, open your eyes and see this! Your wife and children can hardly survive anymore!"
Officer Qin didn't indulge her performance.
"Widow He, if you keep making trouble, I'll call He Cheng's workplace and inform them about what He Hua did. When that happens, your son He Cheng might lose his job."
"This has nothing to do with my son!"
Widow He scrambled to her feet and hurriedly explained.
"This was all caused by that useless girl He Hua herself! Our family didn't know anything about it, and my son is completely innocent!"
As she spoke, Widow He rushed back into the house, grabbed He Hua by the ear, and dragged her outside.
"Officer Qin, this useless girl is right here. You can punish her however you want—just don't involve my son!"
Throughout the entire scene, He Cheng never appeared and didn't say a single word. He hid completely.
Since He Hua had already come out, Officer Qin turned to Chen Xiu'e and asked,
"Comrade Chen, He Hua falsely accused Su Yun. How would you like this matter handled? The neighborhood office usually has two options: compensation or punishment."
Widow He immediately said, "Our family has no money!"
"Punishment!" Chen Xiu'e answered without hesitation. "We don't want compensation. I want He Hua to receive the punishment she deserves!"
Officer Qin nodded.
"Very well. For the next month, He Hua will be responsible for cleaning all the public toilets on this street. Everyone can supervise her. If anyone finds that she's slacking off, you can report it to the neighborhood office. Each verified report will be rewarded with fifty cents, and the money will be paid by Widow He's family."
Hearing this, Widow He slapped He Hua across the face and snarled,
"Did you hear that? If you dare slack off, I'll beat you to death myself!"
He Hua pursed her lips, feeling utterly humiliated. Her heart was filled with resentment.
It's all Su Yun's fault!
Why wasn't Su Yun the one suffering?
It wasn't fair.
She would make Su Yun disappear. She had to!
After the matter was resolved, Aunt Gao warmly escorted Officer Qin away. The neighbors gradually returned to their homes, leaving only Aunt Wang chatting with Chen Xiu'e for a while.
Su Yun had already prepared dinner. Now the family closed their door and sat down to eat.
Chen Xiu'e vented her anger by taking a huge bite of steamed bun, then another bite of shredded radish, yet she still wasn't satisfied.
"Letting He Hua clean toilets for just one month is far too lenient! She almost ruined our Xiao Yun's entire life this time!"
Su Wenshan said in a deep voice,
"Tomorrow I'll secretly loosen a few tiles on the He family's roof. When it rains, they'll learn their lesson."
Chen Xiu'e rolled her eyes at him.
"Do you really need to handle such a small matter yourself?"
Su Baoguo immediately understood.
"I'll do it! I'll do it! I've already thought of ways to deal with He Hua. This time just leave it to me!"