Courtyard House: A Great Musician! Red Songs Resound Worldwide

He walked closer, looked her up and down, and then asked, "You... are you Li Chaoyang, the new guy who moved in?"

Li Chaoyang also took a closer look at the old man, nodded and said, "Yes, I am. Are you the person in charge of this courtyard?"

"Hmm." Yi Zhonghai made a sound through his nose and nodded.

"My name is Yi Zhonghai. I am an eighth-grade fitter at the steel rolling mill, and also the old man in charge of this yard."

After briefly introducing himself to Li Chaoyang, Yi Zhonghai suddenly changed his demeanor and asked with concern, "I just heard from Aunt Zhang that there was a thief in your house. What happened? Was the damage serious?"

Li Chaoyang held up the plate in his hand and said with a smile, "Actually, it wasn't a big loss. I just forgot to lock the door when I went out to see off a guest, and someone took a plate of braised pork..."

As soon as he finished speaking with a calm expression, everyone in the courtyard gasped in shock!

Upon hearing the strange sound, Li Chaoyang subconsciously looked around again, only to see everyone staring in disbelief.

When they saw him looking over, they all started whispering amongst themselves...

"Did I just hear that right? Is this young man saying he lost a plate of braised pork?"

"Just a plate of braised pork, and that's all?" This is what everyone...

"And they said it wasn't a big loss... If a plate of braised pork isn't a big loss, then how big would it be?"

"Don't listen to this kid's bragging. If he really lost a plate of braised pork, how could he still be laughing!"

"Exactly! If I lost a plate of meat, I would have dug up the entire yard!"

"That's right! That's a whole plate of braised pork... My family doesn't even dare to eat it during Chinese New Year..."

"Come on, he's definitely lying... He just started working, how could he possibly afford braised pork!"

"It's not impossible. Didn't you see him buying a bicycle and other things today?"

"The bicycle was covered with big and small bags!"

"What? He even has a bicycle?" The young man who said this looked surprised, clearly a bit behind on the news.

Hearing these strange comments, Li Chaoyang turned around with a somewhat odd expression.

But then they saw that the corner of Yi Zhonghai's mouth was twitching slightly, almost unconsciously...

"Wow... it's just a plate of braised pork... why are you so surprised..." Li Chaoyang was a little confused.

He believed that having lived here for so long, he had gained a considerable understanding of this era...

Back when I was at Harbin Institute of Technology in Dalian, braised pork was a rare treat, but it wasn't nearly this extravagant...

If someone really has an insatiable craving, they can always grit their teeth and afford it...

But he never imagined that Harbin Institute of Technology was one of the first key universities established in China since the founding of the People's Republic.

In this day and age, that would be considered a lightning rod at the very top of an ivory tower!

Can the conditions there compare to those in this tenement?

Moreover, college students receive a monthly government subsidy, so they don't have to worry about their families.

Many people here rely on a single salary to support their entire family... so how could they afford braised pork?

Being able to feed the whole family and keep them from going hungry is already a remarkable achievement!

If someone can occasionally let their family members have a little meat, then they're an exceptionally capable person...

Just as Li Chaoyang was listening to the people around him whispering and exaggerating, he felt somewhat speechless.

Suddenly, one of the guys screamed, "Hey! What's this thing? It's soft!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chaoyang was still wondering if he had stepped on the plate of braised pork that had fallen to the ground when his brother exclaimed in surprise.

"Is this the braised pork you were talking about?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked over with curiosity!

The man didn't seem bothered by the dirt at all; he pinched the braised pork, which was covered in mud, between his fingers and even squeezed it hard twice...

The oil and water that had seeped into the meat seeped through the surface mud and was squeezed out...

"It really is braised pork!"

Wow, there's so much left on the ground!

"Who the hell did this?! Such a waste of food!!!"

At this moment, Qin Huairu's mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, started cursing in an extremely exaggerated manner!

"What a fine plate of meat... and it's been wasted like this, what a tragedy!"

"I wonder who did this. Aren't they afraid of divine retribution?"

Chapter Thirty-Three: Madam Jia Zhang: "Aren't you afraid of divine retribution for wasting such a good plate of meat!"

"Alright, old sister-in-law... stop scolding. Even Li Chaoyang, the owner of the lost item, doesn't seem to care. Why are you so upset about it?" This time, Uncle Yi Zhonghai's tone was gentler as he kindly advised Jia Zhangshi to stop talking.

After saying that, Yi Zhonghai turned around and looked at Li Chaoyang with a still somewhat strange expression.

"Didn't you see who took your braised pork?"

Perhaps because Li Chaoyang used the word "take" when he made his statement, he didn't use the word "steal" again.

"When I came back after dropping someone off, I found that the meat was gone, so I went out into the yard to take a look."

"I saw someone walking out of the courtyard gate and shouted."

"As a result, that kid threw down the plate and disappeared in a flash."

"When I caught up to the gate of the courtyard, I could only make out that it was a small child, about this tall," Li Chaoyang said casually, gesturing to indicate the height.

But he remained calm, and Jia Zhangshi, who had just been shouting that she would be punished by heaven, was dumbfounded when she heard this!

Moreover, the onlookers all turned their heads and focused their attention on Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu, who had just squeezed through the crowd to stand beside Jia Zhangshi.

Not only that, everyone looked at them with suspicion...

Dozens of people all turned to look at him, making Jia Dongxu look extremely uncomfortable...

"Why are you all staring at me? It's not like I stole the meat!"

"Didn't you hear people say it's just a child..." Jia Dongxu's voice trailed off as he realized something.

In the entire courtyard, only their family has such a big boy... and he's especially mischievous.

But thinking that his son had been doing his homework in the room the whole time, Jia Dongxu still tried to remain calm and argued.

"Even if he saw a child stealing the meat, it doesn't necessarily mean it's my son!"

"Maybe he's not from our department. How could he see clearly in the pitch black outside?"

At this moment, Madam Jia Zhangshi also awkwardly chimed in, "That's right!"

"There are plenty of little brats in our alley as big as my son!"

"Why are you all fixated on my grandson?"

Despite their vehement explanations, the eyes of the crowd remained filled with suspicion.

Seeing this, Li Chaoyang's expression grew increasingly strange.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if what he saw was actually a joke.

Besides, he doesn't even know Bang Geng... It's already quite impressive that he can remember the important people in this compound.

How could I possibly remember what that little brat looked like?

And just as Jia Xudong said, the yard was indeed pitch black just now, and he only saw a small child.

Even if that idiot stood right in front of him now, he wouldn't be sure...

He was merely making reasonable doubts based on the club's glorious record.

However, seeing everyone's suspicious looks, he also had a strange thought...

Is this what they mean by "the eyes of the masses are discerning"?

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai, who was in front of Li Chaoyang, coughed twice and spoke.

"Sister-in-law...please don't get agitated. Nobody said it was your son who did it..." Yi Zhonghai's eyes twitched as he spoke, but he still tried to calm Jia Zhangshi down with a friendly expression...

"There's absolutely no need for you to hurl such insults."

"After all, everything needs evidence, especially something as serious as theft!"

No sooner had Yi Zhonghai finished speaking than Xu Damao, whose face had been flushed just moments before, shamelessly jumped out again!

"That's right... Just like the old man said, we're just watching you."

"Nobody said your son was the one who stole the meat!"

"Besides...who knows if this kid accidentally knocked over the plate of meat himself."

"Maybe they're still trying to frame your family and make them pay money!"

"Stop talking!" Lou Xiao'e suddenly grabbed Xu Damao, stopping him from saying anything more.

After pulling him aside, she glared at Xu Damao and whispered, "Are you stupid?!"

"Isn't it obvious that Li Chaoyang doesn't care at all about losing a plate of braised pork..."

"Is someone like that someone our family should mess with?"