The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

Intermediate People's Court.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui stepped forward and persuaded the onlookers from other courtyards who had come to watch the commotion to leave.

Don't wash your dirty linen in public. Resolve matters in your own yard behind closed doors, so outsiders don't laugh at you.

Yi Zhonghai looked gloomy, his hands clenched into fists inside his sleeves, his knuckles turning white. In addition to his uncontrollable resentment, he also felt the fear of losing power.

Losing the bet not only cost him money, but also shattered the foundation of his rule at No. 95 Courtyard, which he had painstakingly built up over the years through various insidious schemes. This led to the biggest crisis of his rule since he created the No. 95 Courtyard Dynasty and ascended to the supreme position of the eldest master.

With the collapse of the traditional courtyard house dynasty, the cause of elderly care will inevitably be destroyed as well, and all the hard work and effort will be in vain.

No, absolutely not! We must plug this loophole that could shake the very foundation of the nation!

If it's not plugged, the usually obedient residents, Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui who covet the throne of the old man, and Liu Hao and Ye Juan who have turned his courtyard upside down, will definitely swarm in through this gap.

They dragged him off the throne, tore him to pieces, and left him disgraced and despised by all.

Yi Zhonghai turned his head to look at the Empress Dowager, the deaf old woman, who ruled from behind the curtain and was ruthless and scheming.

The deaf old woman understood, took a few steps forward, and looked around with an unquestionable air of authority.

"Shut up, all of you! What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket!"

In the past, the deaf old lady was quite intimidating; people in the neighborhood would not only respect her but also call her "old lady" with deference.

However, after Liu Hao questioned the deaf old woman last night about whether she was a true family member of a martyr, the old woman dared not answer directly, which has made the residents of the courtyard begin to suspect that the deaf old woman was faking her status as a family member of a martyr.

Just now, Ye Juan imitated the deaf old woman's tone and mocked her. Who would be afraid of this lonely old woman who was in cahoots with Yi Zhonghai?

No one took the deaf old woman seriously; they just wanted to see how she could make amends for Yi Zhonghai.

The deaf old woman was shrewd and naturally realized that no one respected her anymore.

She glanced sideways at the west wing, her eyes filled with resentment. "Those two damned little beasts, can't they behave themselves? Why do they have to make trouble for us?"

"Everyone should understand Zhonghai. Jia Dongxu was Zhonghai's apprentice. That kid was unlucky and passed away early, leaving behind an orphan and a widow. Zhonghai is a man of great loyalty and righteousness, so he definitely had to lend a hand!"

"Zhonghai was indeed negligent in the matter of the donation. He was tricked by Jia Zhangshi. You all saw it; Jia Zhangshi would complain about being poor every few days. Zhonghai had no choice but to help because of his mentor-disciple relationship with Jia Dongxu!"

As the deaf old woman finished speaking, her eyes turned cold and fierce as she stared at Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui.

"Besides, you donated money and food voluntarily. Did Zhonghai hold a knife to your throats? Or did they tie you up and rob you?"

"Are you all brainless? A few words of encouragement and you've forgotten how good Zhonghai has been to you? Or do you want the people from the Foreign Languages ​​Department to laugh at our No. 95 Compound?"

The old deaf woman was indeed cunning. Her combination of soft and hard tactics made Yi Zhonghai's scheming and favoritism appear as loyalty and righteousness, while also suppressing the dissatisfaction of the crowd with her face.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui felt uneasy under the deaf old woman's gaze and dared not lead the disturbance any longer.

This is also the deaf old woman's cleverness. As long as she can subdue Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui and make the two stewards obedient, the people in the courtyard will not dare to cause trouble.

Seeing that the situation was under control, the deaf old woman nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Yi Zhonghai.

"Zhonghai, you need to return everyone's money. Return the full amount donated. You need to be more careful in the future and not be taken advantage of again."

"Kindness is a good thing, but you have to distinguish between people and things. You are too soft-hearted, which is why that greedy Jia Zhangshi took advantage of you. In the end, your good intentions were wasted."

These words not only paved the way for Yi Zhonghai to save face and pinned the blame for the fraudulent donations on Jia Zhangshi, but also subtly reminded the residents of the courtyard that Yi Zhonghai's original intention was to do good, but he was just being used.

Yi Zhonghai immediately stepped forward, his eyes red, and bowed repeatedly as he spun around.

"It's my fault, Yi Zhonghai, who has let everyone down. Before Dongxu passed away, he asked me to take care of his wife, children, and elderly parents. How could I not help him?"

The group looked at each other, and after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this was indeed the case.

Yi Zhonghai did indeed favor the Jia family, almost to the point of siding with Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, but it was understandable!

Humans are not plants or trees; how can they be without feelings? It's perfectly normal for Yi Zhonghai to show some favoritism towards his apprentice's dying entrustment.

"I will have the Jia family return all the money and grain that everyone has donated over the years. From now on, I will never donate anything to the Jia family again."

After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, the crowd cheered loudly.

Yan Fugui raised his hand excitedly and said, "I've kept track of all the donations. I'll go get the ledger."

After saying that, Yan Fugui turned around and ran to get the account book.

Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief, walked up to the deaf old woman, and said in a low voice, "Thank you, ma'am!"

The deaf old woman sighed and advised, "What are you thanking me for? Don't fall for those two ruthless little beasts, Liu Hao and Ye Juan, again. You can't outsmart them. Learn to plan before you act, and don't fight battles you can't win!"

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened. He knew that this time it was his own fault for not thinking things through and for underestimating Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu's greed.

He knew that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had saved money and would give Qin Huairu some money in private.

But he never expected that Qin Huairu would be so ruthless, actually taking all of Sha Zhu's money.

"Oh, old lady, I was just too impatient, that's why I fell for that little bastard Liu Hao's trick!"

"Learn from your mistakes. We lost this time, so we must learn from the experience. We should remain still and wait for the right opportunity. Without my permission, don't provoke this vicious couple again."

Yi Zhonghai nodded heavily.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"By the way, ma'am, have you asked Director Wang if the west wing is really Ye Juan's private property?"

The deaf old woman frowned slightly as she recalled what Director Wang had told her that morning.

Director Wang's exact words were that it was indeed private money, and that Ye Juan's family background was not simple.

As for how complicated it was, Director Wang didn't say.

The deaf old woman guessed that, just as Xu Damao had boasted, Ye Juan's adoptive parents were cadres.

But her position was definitely not high, and she was not valued at home. Otherwise, why would they marry Ye Juan to Liu Hao, a poor boy with no parents and no relatives?

Having lived for so many years, she had seen countless people, but she had never seen a girl with Ye Juan's looks before.

If her adoptive parents were high-ranking officials, they would definitely have chosen a suitable family for Ye Juan.

Even the sons of high-ranking officials would not hesitate to marry Ye Juan.

"It's their private property. You can't drive them away; you can only destroy them. Do you understand what I mean?"

A ruthless glint appeared in Yi Zhonghai's eyes.

"Understand!"

Soon, Yan Fugui ran back carrying his family's heirloom abacus and account books.

When everyone gathered around to take a look, they discovered that starting with the first donation on April 15, 1955, the donations had been made 27 times in total. The most donations were made during the three years of hardship, including 6 donations in 1959, which were made every two months.

I was shocked when I looked at the total amount, which was 1352.42 yuan.

Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai, and Liu Haizhong donated the most: Sha Zhu 400, Yi Zhonghai 280, and Liu Haizhong 250!

许大茂45，闫阜贵28块5毛，其他住户总共捐了348块9毛2。

What about food?

Yan Fugui quickly calculated with his abacus: apart from the 680 yuan owed to Sha Zhu Yi Zhonghai, the total amount of grain to be refunded was 920 yuan!

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Qin Huairu, who was holding the locust flowers and looking lost in thought, then looked at the hanging flower gate with resentment.

Jia Zhangshi took the money and ran away, and Sha Zhu chased after her.

Getting the money back from Jia Zhangshi is harder than turning Liu Hao into a second Sha Zhu.

That little bitch Ye Juan is so vicious! Giving money to Jia Zhangshi was clearly intentional.

"Plum Blossom, go get the money!"