The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

The three members of the Zhou family then withdrew their gaze.

Zhou's mother finally couldn't hold back her questions any longer: "Zhiming, what exactly is your master's identity? How come even Zhao Yong from our courtyard recognizes him and is so polite to him?"

"Mom, I don't know the specifics very well." Zhou Zhiming scratched his head. "I only know that my master knows a lot of leaders, and he's even familiar with Deputy Director Li from Dad's factory."

"You silly child, why have I never heard you mention this before?" Zhou's mother gave her son a reproachful look.

Zhou Zhiming chuckled: "Mom, you didn't ask me either."

"Fine! And now it's my fault?" Zhou's mother pretended to slap him.

"Alright, alright!"

Zhou Mingqiang, standing to the side, chuckled and tried to smooth things over, then looked at Zhou Zhiming and earnestly advised him:

"Zhiming, you must listen to your master from now on. Also, we'll pay back the hundred yuan your master advanced us, slowly, once we get our salaries. Got it?"

"I understand, Father." Zhou Zhiming nodded solemnly.

......

Li Kaixin returned to courtyard number 93. As soon as he pushed open the gate, he sensed that something was off.

Everyone in the courtyard gathered in the front yard, where several candles illuminated the yard brightly.

He pushed his bicycle to his parents and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Dad, Mom, why are you both staying in the front yard?"

"Kaixin, did you get Zhu Xiaohua from courtyard number 94 to pay you two hundred yuan?" Mother Qin Xiuli stepped forward.

Li Kaixin's expression tightened: "What's wrong, Mother? Has she come to cause you trouble?"

"Kaixin, you don't know, just now, that old shrew came to our door with her husband and son, all looking very aggressive!" Aunt Zhao chimed in.

"Dad, Mom, are you alright?" Li Kaixin quickly looked his parents over carefully.

Father Li Mingde chuckled and patted his son on the shoulder: "Kaixin, don't worry. So many neighbors are here, how can they possibly get away with this?"

"Kaixin, don't worry, with us here, how can they possibly get away with this?" Many neighbors in the courtyard echoed with laughter.

Aunt Zhao then came closer, her face full of curiosity: "Kaixin, what exactly happened? That old shrew didn't explain clearly before, she just kept yelling that you cheated her out of two hundred yuan."

Her question prompted everyone to look at Li Kaixin with curiosity.

Li Kaixin didn't hide anything and recounted how she went to check on the house at No. 94 courtyard that morning, found it had been vandalized, and how the street office staff came to investigate and handle the matter, and how Zhu Xiaohua agreed to pay compensation.

Upon hearing this, everyone erupted in uproar, filled with righteous indignation.

Aunt Zhao slapped her thigh and raised her voice, "These shameless bastards! Kaixin, you should have called the police and arrested them all!"

"Yes, yes, they shouldn't have gotten it so easily!" Aunt Liu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Listening to everyone's chatter, Li Kaixin felt a warmth in her heart and sincerely said, "Thank you all for today, uncles and aunts."

"Kaixin, what are you saying? We're all from the same courtyard, there's no need to be so formal," Uncle Wang waved his hand and said with a smile.

The others in the courtyard nodded in agreement, their faces beaming with goodwill.

Seeing this, Li Kaixin silently kept this neighborly kindness in her heart.

Then, remembering something, she quickly asked, "By the way, Mother, you and Father didn't give her any money, did you?"

"Of course we didn't give it to her!" Mother Qin Xiuli said decisively. "Two hundred yuan is not a small amount. Why should we give it to her? Besides, she was in the wrong, so we have even less reason to give her the money."

After this was finished, Aunt Wang stepped forward with a smile: "Kaixin, we've already mentioned the housewarming party to your parents. When are you free to come back this afternoon?"

Li Kaixin didn't answer immediately, but turned to look at his parents with a questioning look in his eyes. His father, Li Mingde, nodded to him.

Li Kaixin then turned to Aunt Wang, revealing a gentle smile: "Thank you, Aunt Wang and all the uncles and aunts. I'm free from tomorrow until the day after tomorrow."

"Alright, let's set the date for the afternoon of the day after tomorrow! Everyone in the courtyard will be on holiday, so there will be more people to prepare the banquet." Aunt Wang immediately made the decision, her face beaming with joy.

After deciding on the time for the banquet, everyone stood and chatted for a while before gradually heading into their own homes.

At night, Li Kaixin lay in bed, tossing and turning, thinking about how to deal with Zhu Xiaohua's family.

Since things have escalated to the point of involving my parents, if I don't take action, won't I truly become a pushover to be manipulated by others?

As he thought about it, he gradually came up with an idea. With the food supply becoming increasingly tight, he decided to move across the street from her house. He was sure she would buy food from the pigeon market and the black market.

Thinking of this, Li Kaixin calmed down and fell into a deep sleep.

On the other side, at Zhu Xiaohua's home.

The middle-aged man frowned, taking puffs of his cigarette. Zhu Xiaohua paced back and forth in the room, restless and anxious.

"Stop walking, you're making me dizzy," the middle-aged man said irritably, stubbing out his cigarette.

Zhu Xiaohua stopped, her voice trembling with tears: "Husband, what are we going to do! That's two hundred yuan, and we still have to sweep the yard for a year!"

"How would I know what to do!" the middle-aged man retorted impatiently.

Zhu Xiaohua instantly flew into a rage, pointing at her husband: "So, Yang Houping, you dare to yell at me? If you hadn't suggested going to that kid's room to cause trouble, would we have had to pay these two hundred yuan?"

"I sent you to cause trouble, but I didn't tell you to leave any evidence! Now you're blaming me? I've never seen anyone as stupid as you!" Yang Houping slammed his hand on the table.

The young man sitting to the side also looked embarrassed; his father's words had included him as well.

He quickly tried to smooth things over: "Father, we just didn't expect that kid to come so suddenly. Mother didn't think that much of it either."

Yang Houping fell silent for a moment.

This was something he hadn't expected. The kid suddenly wanted to move in, and he hadn't anticipated that the other party had already bought the house as his private property.

His original plan was to first have his wife vandalize the house, then report the kid for wasting public resources. After the housing management department reclaimed the house, he would have his son apply for it. A vandalized house would likely be looked down upon by those insiders, making it easy to acquire.

But unexpectedly... Yang Houping sighed heavily.

Zhu Xiaohua was furious and had nowhere to vent her anger. Recalling what she had seen by the window that morning, she became even more convinced that Lu Chunhua had betrayed her.

She turned and faced the wall next door, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Lu Chunhua, you childless wretch! You'll die a horrible death!"

Lu Chunhua and her husband in the next room heard the cursing, glanced at each other, and showed no emotion on their faces; they had long been used to it over the years.

This time, however, the two of them felt not angry at all, but rather rather pleased.

Lu Chunhua smiled and shook her head, whispering to her husband, "Judging from that sound, he must be getting angry because of what happened today."

Lu Chunhua's husband hummed in agreement; he had also heard about what had happened today from his wife.