Siheyuan: Awakening Psychic Powers and Snatching Lou Xiao'e from Her Husband

Lou Xiao'e had just left when the Xu family began organizing a whole-courtyard meeting. As Yi Zhonghai beat the gong, Cheng Yu was stewing a partridge, its savory aroma filling the central courtyard. Xu Fugui laid out wine, Yan Bugui worked his abacus, and Liu Haizhong puffed out his belly. They all wanted nothing more than to use the pretext of "mutual aid" to tear a fatty piece off the Cheng family's pork.

Cheng Yu ladled out a bowl of soup, blew on it, and handed it to Xiao Xuan. The little girl cupped the bowl in both hands and squatted on the threshold, sipping it in tiny mouthfuls. Now and then, she looked up, her round eyes gazing through the glow of the gas lamp at the adults in the courtyard, squabbling like chickens circling inside a cage. Yi Zhonghai stood up and said, "Cheng Yu, come over and sit down," three times. Cheng Yu only replied, "My little sister hasn't finished eating yet."

Xu Damao suddenly burst out of the back courtyard and shouted, "You, Cheng, are stealing my girl!" Cheng Yu set down his spoon and looked over the crowd at him. In an unhurried voice, he said, "Your corner is in someone else's yard, and you still have the nerve to call it your corner?" Amid the laughter across the courtyard, Xu Damao's face turned so red it looked ready to bleed. Yi Zhonghai held his gong mallet halfway up, unsure whether to strike or lower it.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Please do not imitate.