Chapter 19: The Stick Pierces the Tire—Chen Mo’s Public Trial Before the Entire Courtyard

Chen Mo’s roar was full of vigor, echoing clearly throughout the entire quadrangle courtyard.

Doors and windows across every household flew open, and heads popped out one after another.

"What’s going on?"
"Sounds like Chen Mo. He seems furious."
"Who is he holding? Is that... Banggen?"

Inside the Jia family home, Qin Huairu and Mrs. Jia felt their hearts drop at the sound of the shouting.

"Mom, it must be Banggen causing trouble again!" Qin Huairu was frantic.
"That little brat!" Mrs. Jia cursed as she headed outside. "I’d like to see what kind of trick Chen Mo is trying to pull this time!"

As soon as the two stepped outside, they saw Chen Mo holding Banggen by the collar, dangling him in the center of the courtyard like a dead dog. Banggen’s face was deathly pale, and his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

"Chen Mo! Let go of my grandson!" Seeing the scene, Mrs. Jia immediately prepared to throw a tantrum.
"Stand still!" Chen Mo’s eyes flared, his voice cold as ice. "Take one more step and see what happens!"

His gaze was sharp as a blade, startling Mrs. Jia into stopping in her tracks.

At that moment, the driver followed him in. Pointing at Banggen, he said to the crowd, exasperated, "Everyone, judge for yourselves! This little bastard punctured the tires of the car I drive for Factory Director Yang! Two of them! Brand new tires! This is a Volga! A single tire costs enough to feed your entire family for a year!"

"What?!"
"Punctured the Director’s car?!"

The courtyard erupted in chaos. This was far more serious than petty theft! That was the factory director’s vehicle! If this were to be investigated, Banggen’s life would be ruined!

Qin Huairu felt the world spin and nearly collapsed. She rushed forward and slapped Banggen across the face. "You wicked child! How could you do such a thing!"

Banggen burst into wails.

"Realized it's time to hit him now? Too late!" Chen Mo sneered. He tossed Banggen onto the ground and swept his gaze across the crowd, finally landing on Yi Zhonghai. "Uncle Yi, you are the manager of this courtyard. Tell me, how should this be handled?"

Yi Zhonghai stepped out of his room, his expression ghastly. He dreaded courtyard meetings, especially those involving Chen Mo. He glanced at the sobbing Banggen and then at the livid driver, sighing inwardly. The Jia family was clearly in the wrong, and they had poked a hole in the sky.

"Chen Mo, look... Banggen is still young and doesn't know any better. How about... how about we have the Jia family pay for the damages?" Yi Zhonghai suggested tentatively.

"Pay?" The driver was incensed. "Pay? With what? Do you have any idea how much one of these tires costs? They’re imported! You can’t even buy them with money! Besides, this is my dereliction of duty. If the Director blames me, I could lose my job! This cannot just be swept under the rug!"

"Then... what do you suggest?" Yi Zhonghai was at a loss.

Chen Mo remained silent, watching them quietly. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He walked to the center of the courtyard and cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Dear neighbors, my parents were both workers at the steel mill who sacrificed their lives for the factory. I grew up in this courtyard, essentially an orphan."

He began by playing the victim, casting himself as the vulnerable party.

"I was sickly and weak as a child, and I appreciate the care many of you showed me. But how have some others treated me?" His gaze swept slowly over the Jia family. "The pension my parents left behind was 'borrowed' under false pretenses and has never been returned. Anything of value in my home was either stolen or snatched. When I was dying of illness, no one cared. Now that I’ve learned some medicine and can earn my own living, and my life is finally getting better, others are jealous."

"First, they incited the child to steal meat from my home. I taught him a small lesson, yet they show no remorse. Now, they’ve escalated it to puncturing the factory director’s car! What are they trying to do? They are trying to destroy me!"

Chen Mo’s voice grew more passionate, filled with grievance and anger.

"I am just an orphan, with no one to rely on. I just want to live a quiet life. What have I done wrong? Just because I have no father or mother, am I meant to be bullied by the Jia family like this?"

His words were moving and sincere; those who heard them felt sorrow and shed tears. Many of the elderly women in the courtyard began wiping their eyes.

"Sigh, that boy Chen Mo really is pitiful."
"The Jia family is truly heartless! Always picking on the honest ones!"
"That kid Banggen has been ruined by Mrs. Jia. Stealing needles as a child, stealing gold as he grows, and now he dares to puncture a car!"

Public opinion swayed instantly in Chen Mo’s favor.

Qin Huairu’s face turned pale. The moral high-ground tactics and tearful pleas she usually relied on were being used against her by Chen Mo, and they were a hundred times more effective. She felt like a clown.

"Chen Mo, what... what do you want?" Qin Huairu asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't want much." Chen Mo looked at her and smiled—a smile with a hint of cruelty. "Call the police? Send Banggen to a juvenile detention center? I don't have the heart for it. After all, he is still a child."

Qin Huairu and Mrs. Jia felt a wave of relief.

"However," Chen Mo’s tone shifted, "the death penalty may be avoided, but the living punishment is unavoidable. If a child commits a wrong, it is because the adults didn't teach him well. The responsibility must be borne by the adults!"

His gaze nailed onto Mrs. Jia’s face like a spike. "Mrs. Jia, as his grandmother, you’ve taught him to steal since he was small. Which household in this yard hasn't had things swiped by him? You are the true culprit!"

"I... I didn't!" Mrs. Jia retorted, though her voice lacked conviction.

"No?" Chen Mo sneered. "Fine, then let’s account for it one by one! The pickled vegetables that went missing from the Third Uncle’s house, the cured meat from the Second Uncle’s windowsill... wasn't that all your Banggen? Do you want me to call everyone over to confront you?"

Mrs. Jia’s face turned white instantly, and she couldn't utter a word.

"So, for today’s incident, I won't ask you to pay, and I won't call the police." Chen Mo said each word clearly. "I want you, Mrs. Jia, to pay the price for your grandson and for your own past actions!"

"What... what do you want to do?" Mrs. Jia looked at him in terror.

Chen Mo pointed to the open space in the courtyard and then to the broom in the corner.

"The Third Uncle’s 'guilt-induced illness' has been treated well enough. Now, it’s your turn."

"Starting tomorrow, you, Mrs. Jia, will be responsible for cleaning the entire courtyard! The front, middle, and back sections, including the public latrine! Twice a day, morning and evening, without fail! Until I am satisfied!"

"What?!" Mrs. Jia shrieked. "Make me clean the yard? And the latrines? You’re dreaming!"

For a woman who had run roughshod over the courtyard her entire life, being forced to do such dirty, exhausting work was worse than death.

"You don't want to?" Chen Mo’s expression darkened. "Fine."

He turned to the driver. "Sir, I apologize for the trouble. Please go to the police station now. Tell them the factory director’s car was maliciously damaged and the suspect is Banggen Jia. Also, inform the officers that this child has a history of theft and refuses to reform. I believe they will handle this justly."

"Right!" The driver nodded and prepared to leave.

"No! Don't go!" Qin Huairu dropped to her knees, grabbing the driver’s leg, crying out, "Sir, I beg you! Don't send Banggen to the juvenile center! If he goes in there, his life will be ruined!"

Mrs. Jia was terrified as well. No matter how arrogant she was, she knew what the police station meant. She didn't care about her own reputation, but she couldn't risk her precious grandson’s future.

"I... I'll do it! I'll clean it, okay!" Mrs. Jia collapsed onto the ground, sobbing loudly, all her strength drained. "I'll do it! Please, don't take my grandson!"

Chen Mo watched Qin Huairu wailing on her knees and Mrs. Jia sprawled on the ground, his face devoid of sympathy.

Pitiful people always have hateful traits. If they had known this would happen, why act the way they did? This was the result he wanted. Using their own tactics to break them, and using what they valued most to hold them hostage.