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

West Courtyard.

Tonight we'll just have something simple to eat: the roast duck from Quanjude that Ye Zhen bought, the braised beef, braised mutton, and braised lamb liver from Yueshengzhai, and a pot of white rice. That'll do.

At the dinner table, Ye Zhen ate a bowl of rice and raised his glass to Liu Hao.

"Brother-in-law, I toast you!"

"Dry!"

Liu Hao raised his glass and downed it in one gulp, while Ye Zhen also tilted his head back and finished his drink.

Recalling what happened at the gate earlier, he asked, "Brother-in-law, I feel like there's something off about the people in your compound. Could you tell me why? I'm moving in next week, so I want to be mentally prepared."

Ye Juan swallowed the roast duck in her mouth and said with a smile, "This is nothing. The people who were really suspicious have already been sent to jail by your brother-in-law. The rest of them are just rotten fish."

"Let me tell you..."

Ye Juan was very talkative, and she recounted with great enthusiasm how she and her husband had fought against the elderly care group, and how they had successively sent Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady, and He Daqing to prison.

She didn't mention that she had teamed up with Li Huaide to deal with Yang Xingguo and Sha Zhu, to prevent Ye Zhen from talking nonsense and ruining Liu Hao's reputation.

Ye Zhen's eyes lit up as he listened, his blood boiling with excitement.

He was a restless person by nature, causing trouble everywhere since he was a child. If he wasn't bullying his classmates and neighbors today, he would be leading a bunch of cronies into fights tomorrow.

I've decided to turn over a new leaf and start anew. I can no longer do those despicable things that oppress the good and kind. But I can still teach those beasts in courtyard number 95 a lesson.

"Yan Fugui is a disgusting old man with bad character. He teaches at the school but is only misleading students. I wrote a letter of complaint and sent it to my uncle, and he got him expelled."

Ye Juan paused for a moment, then realized it made a lot of sense.

Moreover, according to Liu Hao's analysis, Yan Fugui's salary is definitely not as low as the 27.5 yuan he always talks about.

Therefore, this shrewd man conceals his true salary and pretends to be poor, firstly to give himself an excuse for being stingy, and secondly to make it easier for him to take advantage of others.

It's absolutely harmful for someone so morally corrupt and malicious to be a teacher, especially one who teaches Chinese!

"Cousin-in-law? Is it my eldest cousin-in-law?"

Ye Zhen nodded: "That's right, my cousin was transferred to the position of Party Secretary and Director of the Beijing Municipal Education Bureau last year, didn't you know?"

Ye Juan then remembered that her eldest cousin, Kong Bingzhong, had been transferred back to Beijing from northern Shaanxi last year.

"Alright, you've been doing nothing these past few days, so go take a stroll around Hongxing Elementary School and do some on-site investigation to see if Yan Fugui has committed any illegal or disorderly conduct at the school. We can't wrong an innocent person, nor can we let a bad one go free!"

"Okay, I'll go tomorrow!"

Ye Zhen accepted the task without hesitation and treated it as a serious matter.

……

Night, midnight.

The north wind howled, and the temperature dropped to minus seven or eight degrees Celsius.

The door to the west wing of the backyard opened gently, and Xu Damao peeked out furtively, surveying his surroundings before slipping out like an eel. He carefully closed the door and crept towards the central courtyard.

They had only taken a couple of steps when the door to the east wing across the street opened.

Xu Damao was startled and quickly dodged around the corner.

It was pitch black, and he couldn't see who came out, but Xu Damao recognized him by his body shape and outline—it was Liu Haizhong!

Liu Haizhong closed the door and sneaked out.

Is this old idiot out stealing someone at night instead of sleeping? Or is he a thief?

Xu Damao was full of questions, and only came out after Liu Haizhong had gone far away. He slipped into the middle courtyard and came to the door of the west wing.

The door wasn't locked. He leaned against it and listened to make sure no one was inside before pushing the door open and going in.

The room reeked of a strong mixture of odors, including foot odor, sweat, mildew, and rancidity, which nearly suffocated Xu Damao.

"Pah! That bastard Sha Zhu is really filthy! Doesn't he ever wash his stinky socks and clothes?"

Xu Damao muttered something under his breath, suppressing his nausea, and took out his flashlight to turn it on. The scene inside the room immediately stunned him.

Was it burgled?

The small room was ransacked, with tattered clothes scattered all over the floor, and the bed was empty; all valuables were gone.

No need to guess, it must be Jia Zhangshi's stick!

Xu Damao shrugged, plopped down on the bare bed, exhaled a breath of cold air, and took out a cigarette case to light one.

"Hey, that piece of trash Zhu should be freezing in jail, right?"

"Hahaha, serves you right!"

Xu Damao was overjoyed at the thought of Sha Zhu being arrested and sentenced, and his mood was extremely pleasant.

What excited him even more was that Qin Huairu, whom Sha Zhu had been craving for all these years, who had been fawning over him like a dog, was about to be his conquest.

Tsk tsk, I really feel sorry for Sha Zhu!

That scoundrel is really pitiful. He lost his mother when he was young, and before he came of age, his father was driven away by the two old, childless women, Yi Zhonghai and Deaf Old Lady, who plotted to make him take care of them in their old age.

Qin Huairu treated him like a meal ticket, using her beauty to lure him in, putting him on a dog leash and keeping him tightly bound.

He stole supplies from the factory, wasn't it all to support the Jia family?

And what was the result? He didn't gain any benefits; instead, he landed himself in jail.

Even if you ate Qin Huai Ru, it would still be somewhat acceptable!

That's so tragic, so stupid, so foolish!

Of course, Xu Damao would not pity Sha Zhu; he would rather this idiot be shot at!

There's always a reason why someone is pitiful. Sha Zhu's miserable end is a result of his inherently bad nature; he was both stupid and wicked, and he brought it all upon himself.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, making Xu Damao shiver.

He threw away the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, stood up, and hugged Qin Huairu, who had crawled in.

"Oh, Sister Qin, you've finally arrived."

Qin Huairu twisted her body and said in a coquettish voice, "What's the rush? I have to wait until the three children are sound asleep with Jia Zhangshi before I dare to come out."

Xu Damao, his hands moving all over his body, said impatiently, "Hehe, don't waste time, hurry up!"

"Ouch... your hands are so cold!"

Qin Huairu almost cried out from the cold as Xu Damao's hand reached into her collar. She pulled it out and said irritably, "You warmed it up yourself before coming here!"

"Can't I put my hands inside to warm them up? Did Jia Zhangshi take all the bedding to your house?"

Qin Huairu nodded helplessly.

In the afternoon, when Jia Zhangshi learned that Sha Zhu had been arrested by the security officers of the Ministry of Metallurgy and the police, she was so angry that she almost fainted. After regaining her senses, she immediately took Bang Geng and looted everything in the side room.

In Jia Zhangshi's words, since Sha Zhu is going to jail anyway, the Jia family will keep these things for him.

Tonight, she told Jia Zhangshi about her plan to trap Xu Damao, and Jia Zhangshi did not object and tacitly agreed.

Is it possible to disagree?

There are five people in her family, and she is the only one with an urban household registration.

She was employed by her spouse, and only she herself obtained urban employee status and grain rations. Her children's household registration was not transferred with her, and there was no policy for transferring household registration together!

Previously, with Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu supporting them, they lived a comfortable life.

How are we managing to get by now?

If we don't resort to some tricks, the whole family will starve to death!

"Sister Qin, here, take this 80 cents!"

Xu Damao couldn't wait any longer. He took out eight mao from his pocket, stuffed it into Qin Huairu's hand, and puckered his lips to kiss her.

Qin Huairu skillfully stuffed the money into her pocket, wrapped her arms around Xu Damao's neck, and the two lay down on the bare bed...