Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

"Rain, ride your bicycle to the factory's security office and have them call the commune where Xu Damao shows movies. Tell him that a thief broke into his house and got caught in a mousetrap. Tell him to find someone to cover his shift and that they'll come back and handle it themselves. Also, tell Qin Huairu that she works at the factory."

"Wanqing, go to the subdistrict office and report this to Director Wang. Also, go to the Jiaodaokou Police Station. This matter involves suspected burglary, and the police must determine the nature of the crime."

"Second Auntie, Third Auntie, you all stay here and keep watch. Nobody go in. Protect the scene and wait for the neighborhood committee and police to arrive."

Zhang Dabiao's words were well-organized, and everyone nodded in agreement. Yu Shui and Mu Wanqing immediately ran out to take care of the arrangements.

When Jia Zhangshi heard that the police and the neighborhood committee were going to be called, she turned pale with fright.

"Zhang Dabiao! You son of a bitch! You dare call the police! I'll fight you to the death!" Jia Zhangshi cursed loudly from inside the house.

Zhang Dabiao completely ignored her and turned to Qin Jingru, saying, "Let's go back and continue eating peanuts. This is going to cause a lot of trouble."

Zhang Dabiao knew exactly what was going on. Xu Damao had gone to show a movie and wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest. As for today's incident, the neighborhood committee and the police station would only get the person out and take them to the hospital; the specific compensation and legal classification would have to wait until the aggrieved party, Xu Damao, returned to clarify things.

It's still uncertain whether Xu Damao can completely control the Jia family.

However, making the Jia family suffer a bit can at least add some fun to their otherwise mundane lives.

But Xu Damao, that bastard—couldn't you have bought a few more mousetraps?

So stingy, so lacking in class!

------------

The next afternoon, around lunchtime.

Xu Damao pushed his bicycle, with Lou Xiao'e, who was heavily pregnant, sitting on the back seat, and walked into the courtyard covered in sweat.

Yesterday, the factory called the commune to find him. After telling them about the burglary and how he'd been caught in a mousetrap, Xu Damao immediately exploded. But his film screening duties couldn't be delayed. No matter how busy he was, unless someone in his own family had died, he couldn't neglect showing movies to the farmers!

He persevered until noon today, handed over the work of packing up the equipment and transporting it back to his apprentice, and then rushed back to Beijing, picking up Lou Xiao'e and hurrying back as well.

Lou Xiao'e, who loved watching plays in the courtyard, couldn't miss the spectacle of the Jia family's misfortune.

He entered the yard without disturbing anyone. As soon as he entered the backyard, Xu Damao saw that his kitchen was in a mess, with several pools of dried blood and bloodstains splattered everywhere, just like a crime scene.

"Oh my God! Has this house been attacked by bandits?!" Xu Damao threw down his bicycle and rushed into the house.

The house had already been searched by people from the neighborhood committee and the police station. The mousetraps had been taken away as evidence, but the bloodstains and messy footprints on the floor were still there. The drawers of the chest of drawers were half open, clearly indicating that they had been rummaged through.

However, after checking, thankfully the nutritional supplements hadn't been stolen.

Lou Xiao'e, leaning against the doorframe, stared at the horrific scene inside, her face turning pale with fright: "Da Mao, this...this is what Jia Zhangshi and Bang Gengqian did? How dare they?"

Xu Damao gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury: "Why wouldn't they dare? These two bastards, they're daring to steal from me!"

Xu Damao was trembling with anger. Those high-grade nutritional supplements he had painstakingly acquired were all for Lou Xiao'e to improve her health. If Bang Geng really stole them, he would be heartbroken.

"Let's go! Let's find an old man! This matter isn't over yet, we must hold a hospital-wide meeting!" Xu Damao pulled Lou Xiao'e towards the central courtyard.

The atmosphere in the Intermediate People's Court was extremely tense at this point.

Yesterday, people from the neighborhood committee and the police station came and took Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng from Xu Damao's house directly to the hospital. Banggeng's right middle finger was fractured, and a piece of flesh was torn off his toe, making him look like a rice dumpling. Jia Zhangshi's heel was scraped, and she had applied mercurochrome; she was walking with a limp.

Upon hearing that Xu Damao had returned, the grandfather and grandson went out and sat at the entrance of the side room in their courtyard. Qin Huairu stood beside them, her eyes red and swollen, clearly having cried all night.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the middle of the courtyard, his hands behind his back and his brow furrowed. He hadn't been able to sleep all night because of a headache. What was wrong with the Jia family? They were always causing trouble.

But he still favored the Jia family, after all, he was counting on Sha Zhu to support him in his old age, and Sha Zhu's heart was entirely with Qin Huairu. Even if it was just to fawn over Sha Zhu, he had to suppress this matter.

"Uncle! Look at my house, look what it's been ruined!" Xu Damao shouted in his hoarse voice as soon as he entered the courtyard.

Hearing the commotion, the people in the courtyard came out carrying their rice bowls or palm-leaf fans. Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui also rushed over from the back and front yards, respectively. The three old men set up their positions in the middle of the courtyard, and the courtyard meeting began informally.

Zhang Dabiao moved a small stool and sat in the shade by the entrance to the east courtyard, leisurely cracking open a handful of melon seeds. He wanted to see how Yi Zhonghai would handle this mess today.

Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and adopted his usual air of an old man.

"Da Mao, you're back. Director Wang from the neighborhood committee and the police officers came to check on things yesterday. Bang Geng and Aunt Jia were indeed injured and are still recovering."

As soon as Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, he focused on the Jia family's injuries and made no mention of the theft.

Xu Damao immediately objected: "Uncle, what do you mean by that? They deserved to be injured! What were they doing at my house? Cleaning my house? They were stealing!"

Yi Zhonghai frowned, his face darkening. "Da Mao, you can't be so harsh. Bang Geng is still a child; he was probably just curious and went to your house to play. You've filled the whole house with mousetraps—is that to keep mice away? You're keeping people away! What if an innocent person gets hurt?"

"Bullshit!" Xu Damao cursed, pointing at Yi Zhonghai's nose and yelling, "It's my own house! I can set as many mousetraps as I want! Even if I set a landmine, that's my prerogative! If that bastard hadn't broken into my window, would he have gotten trapped? Why didn't it get your grandpa trapped?!"

Xu Damao's words, though crude, were not without merit, and the neighbors watching the commotion nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, what kind of good person would climb through someone else's window for no reason?"

"It's obvious they're going to steal."

Yi Zhonghai's face turned red from Xu Damao's retort, but he still tried to defend himself: "No matter what, it's a fact that the trap you set hurt people. Bang Geng's finger is broken, and Aunt Jia's foot is injured too."

"If you hadn't set so many mousetraps in the house, they wouldn't have gotten hurt. You, Xu Damao, have to bear part of the medical expenses and the subsequent nutritional costs."

The neighborhood committee, the police station, and the factory did handle this matter yesterday, but it wasn't what Yi Zhonghai meant.

He's making a mountain out of a molehill to extort money from Xu Damao.