He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

After reading the letter, Yi Zhonghai remained silent, put it in his pocket, and went to He Daqing's house.

After quietly opening the door to He Daqing's house, they quickly closed it and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching for things.

Based on his understanding of He Daqing, the family would definitely have left some money; otherwise, what would happen to He Yushui, who was so young?

However, when Yi Zhonghai entered He Daqing's house, he was seen by Jia Zhangshi, who was sewing shoe soles by the window.

Hearing the sounds coming from inside again, his heart stirred, and he quickly got up and ran towards He Daqing's house.

Upon opening the door, one sees a messy room, and Yi Zhonghai is holding a large stack of banknotes.

An excited Jia Zhangshi also whispered:

"Since you've already received a share, you don't want me to tell He Daqing that you came to steal, do you?"

Yi Zhonghai turned around in a panic and, seeing it was Jia Zhangshi, breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"He Daqing has left Beijing. This money was entrusted to me to leave for He Yuzhu and the others."

Madam Jia Zhang also sneered, pointing to the overturned cabinet and clothes scattered on the ground:

"If He Daqing really asked you to get the money, you wouldn't have reacted like this. Do you really think I, Jia Zhangshi, am a three-year-old child?"

He hurriedly tried to snatch the money from Yi Zhonghai's hand.

Yi Zhonghai also shouted loudly:

"Okay, stop fooling around. I'll give you some; I still need this money."

Just as Jia Zhangshi plopped down on the ground and was about to shout "Old Jia!",

Yi Zhonghai's deep, sinister voice came from beside my ear:

"Xiaohua, this matter has been approved by Madam. If you ruin Madam's plans, even if your mother were to come back to life, it would be useless. Besides, your mother is just a maid."

Upon hearing the word "Madam," Jia Zhangshi covered her mouth and looked towards the backyard, a hint of resentment flashing in her panicked eyes.

"Back then, besides the steward who gave him some private money, Liu Haizhong's father died for that old tutor and had nothing left. His son even had to live nearby like a bodyguard to protect him."

Her mother, as her personal maid, was given away to a foreigner to sleep with and never returned. The next day, she was found dead in the street, wrapped in a white cloth. Even after marrying Old Jia, she had Yi Zhonghai pretend to be a good brother to trick Old Jia into renting this courtyard.

After He Daqing's father was poisoned, he tricked He Daqing into returning under the pretense of mourning. Now he wants to drive him away again. I'm afraid he's after He Yuzhu or He Yushui.

"That old hag has been controlling her whole life, and now she might even want to control Dongxu and the others."

"What should we do? That damned Jia Gui! Why didn't he buy a three-courtyard house for Dongxu outside? Why did he have to buy it here?"

Yi Zhonghai looked at the silent Jia Zhangshi and chuckled:

"Xiaohua, we're on the same side. I'll take care of Dongxu too. Take this money first, but don't say anything carelessly."

With that, he pulled out ten large black stones and threw them at Jia Zhangshi's head before walking out the door.

Jia Zhangshi stared blankly at the coins on the ground, then at the mess in the house, and couldn't help but sob.

In the passageway between the middle and front courtyards, Yan Bugui cautiously peeked out to look at He Daqing's room.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai emerge and stuff a large wad of money into his pocket, and then hearing Jia Zhangshi's weeping from inside the house a while later, my heart was filled with turmoil.

After waiting for a long time and seeing that Jia Zhangshi had also returned to her own room, he quietly walked into the middle courtyard and glanced at He Daqing's house through the open door.

I was so scared that I was covered in sweat.

"Robbers! How could I have believed Jia Gui and ended up in a bandit's den?"

Yan Bugui scrambled back to the front yard, quickly closed the door, and gasped for breath.

Even the appointment certificate from Red Star Primary School on the table couldn't comfort the terrified Yan Bugui.

The day passed quickly, and when He Yuzhu returned home from work that night, he was furious to see the open door and the mess inside. He shouted:

"There's a thief! There's a thief!"

My house was burgled.

The loud shouts attracted the attention of residents from the front, middle, and rear courtyards.

After seeing more and more people through the crack in the door, Yi Zhonghai's anxious wife leaned against the door, smoked a cigarette inside, and then went out.

Cuilan, carrying the rainwater, followed closely behind.

"Zhu Zi, it's me, Yi Zhonghai."

"Your father left me a letter. He said he went to live in Baocheng with a widow. This is 100 yuan that your father asked me to give you."

Yan Bugui, standing nearby, looked at the thin stack of banknotes and inwardly groaned. He warned himself not to get too close to Yi Zhonghai, that bandit. During the day, he had seen a thick wad of banknotes. He Daqing's trip to Baocheng was definitely suspicious.

The onlookers cheered loudly when they saw the 100 yuan, while some envious people in charge, including He Daqing, kept making sarcastic remarks.

"That He Daqing abandoned his family and children; he's a real scoundrel."

Upon hearing this, He Yushui burst into tears:

"Ah, Father, I want Father, where are you?"

"Brother, does Dad not want us anymore?"

He Yuzhu's face turned bright red, and he glared at those who had made sarcastic remarks.

However, a 15-year-old boy was no match for an adult. He was quickly beaten, his face bruised and swollen, and he collapsed to the ground, curled up, covering his head. Seeing this, He Yushui cried even harder.

Yi Zhonghai deliberately waited a while before stepping forward to pull away the men who were beating He Yuzhu, and then said to He Yuzhu on the ground:

"Zhu Zi, I have his address in Baocheng. I'll take you to see him in a while; I want to ask him why he abandoned you."

He Yuzhu snatched the slip of paper with the address written on it and 100 yuan, and angrily shouted at the rain:

"Don't cry, I'll take you to him."

As he spoke, he picked up the rainwater and ran out of the courtyard gate.

Yi Zhonghai watched He Yuzhu's departing figure and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Forget about Zifang Bowen; I, Yi Zhonghai, can strategize from my own home.

Then, smiling, he looked around at everyone and noticed that Xu Wude wasn't there, and only his son, Xu Damao, was on the outside. Remembering the three old men the wealthy old lady had mentioned a few days ago, he quickly said:

"If you all respect me, Yi Zhonghai, you can ask me for help with anything in the future."

"Of course, small matters are fine, but for big matters you'll have to go to the neighborhood committee. However, I've received news that in order to detect hidden spies, each courtyard will now have three elders in charge. If you choose me, I'll handle everything for you, big or small."

The people around also shouted:

"Support, support,"

"I'd support you even for that 100 yuan."

Hearing the supportive voices, Yi Zhonghai nodded happily.

Upon hearing that the person in charge of the courtyard was also acting like a manager from his time in the factory, Liu Haizhong, who was on the outermost edge, squeezed in and shouted, "I want to be a manager too!"

When the people around saw that it was Liu Haizhong, a fifth-level worker in the factory, neither agreed nor disagreed.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Liu Haizhong and said:

"Okay, now that we've added Liu Haizhong, who else wants to be the old man serving the courtyard?"

The onlookers looked at the level 5 and 6 workers in the factory, then at themselves, a mere apprentice, with the best they could manage being only level 2 workers, and fell silent.

Yi Zhonghai looked around and noticed that Yan Bugui, who was standing at the outermost edge with his head down, not daring to look at him, also spoke loudly:

"You might not know this, but Yan Bugui from our front yard is now a teacher at Hongxing Elementary School. Your children will likely be studying there in the future, so I suggest he be included as well."

Everyone agreed that it made sense, and Yan Bugui passed the resolution unanimously.

Afterwards, Yi Zhonghai told the old lady everything that had happened that day. The old lady looked at the order Zhonghai had written down and nodded, instructing him to give it to Deputy Director Wang of the neighborhood office. She added that if there were any doubts, he could simply say that the wealthy old lady in the backyard had taken charge.

Yi Zhonghai nodded and left.

The wealthy old woman also closed her eyes and said...

"Yi Zhonghai acts like a big shot, and I'm on welfare, so it's perfectly legitimate for him to have his wife come and serve me."

"Liu Haizhong, acting as the second uncle, is a good-for-nothing who can't accomplish anything great; he'll behave if you scare him. But he's still one of our own. What a tiger father, a dog son!"

"As for Yan Bugui in the front yard, he's just an outsider, insignificant, and he can't possibly cause any trouble."

……