Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Widow Li wiped her eyes and said tearfully, "Neighbors, I'm just a widow, and the old lady saved up every penny to buy me a new pair of underwear."

"I washed the clothes and hung them out to dry in the yard today, but when I went to collect them just now, they were gone! I saw Brother He Daqing loitering around where I hang my clothes to dry today, and I suspect he took them!"

Her words immediately caused an uproar in the courtyard.

"He Daqing? That can't be."

"Why not? Don't you know He Daqing's hobbies?"

"It's truly embarrassing for Widow Li, a woman, to lose something like this."

Standing in the crowd, Liu Haizhong was overjoyed when he heard Widow Li identify He Daqing.

He had always felt that He Daqing and Lin Weidong were close, and now was the perfect opportunity to kick Lin Weidong when he was down and make things difficult for him.

"I think it's him!"

Liu Haizhong shouted, "He Daqing, confess honestly! Did you steal Widow Li's things? At your age, doing such a despicable thing is shameful!"

He Daqing turned pale with anger, waving his hands repeatedly: "It wasn't me! I didn't steal it! Widow Li, you can't make false accusations!"

"Who else could it be but you? I clearly saw you loitering near my clothesline!"

Widow Li persisted, crying and shouting, "If you didn't steal anything, dare we search your clothes?"

"Search! We must search!"

Liu Haizhong immediately chimed in, then turned to the crowd and shouted, "Everyone, don't you think we should search him? If he didn't steal anything, a search could clear his name!"

Incited by him, the people in the courtyard also joined in the clamor: "Yes, search them! If they didn't steal anything, they have nothing to fear from being searched!"

Seeing this, Yan Bugui turned to look at Zhao Xiulan, who was standing to the side. After all, she was the deputy director of the subdistrict office, and this matter required her approval.

Zhao Xiulan frowned, feeling uneasy, but she couldn't resist the urging of the crowd. She also thought that if He Daqing really hadn't stolen anything, a search could clear his name, so she nodded slightly.

With Zhao Xiulan's tacit approval, Yan Bugui immediately said, "Since everyone agrees, He Daqing, you should cooperate."

Upon seeing this, Widow Li immediately stepped forward and, before He Daqing could react, reached into his pocket and began rummaging around.

Not long after, she pulled a pair of women's underwear from He Daqing's shirt pocket, held it up to the crowd, and shouted, "Look everyone! These are my underwear! He really did steal them!"

"He Daqing, you've gone too far!"

Immediately afterward, Widow Li glared angrily, pointed at He Daqing's nose, and yelled, "I treated you like an older brother, and you actually did this kind of thing! How can you face me? How can you face everyone?"

Yan Bugui also feigned a look of disappointment, shaking his head and saying, "Daqing, how could you do this? At your age, doing such a scandalous thing, what will the children think of you?"

Liu Haizhong was even more smug, fanning the flames from the side: "I knew it! It had to be him! This kind of person should be sent to the police station!"

The neighbors also criticized He Daqing, their eyes filled with contempt.

Zhao Xiulan and Lin Jianjun looked surprised, never expecting He Daqing to do such a thing.

Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu stood aside, their faces extremely embarrassed. They wanted to defend He Daqing, but they didn't know what to say.

Only Lin Weidong, seeing the shocked, angry, and aggrieved expression on He Daqing's face, felt a sense of doubt.

He felt that although He Daqing was somewhat lecherous, he was definitely not the kind of person who would do such a despicable thing; there must be something fishy going on.

He stared at Widow Li and asked, "Widow Li, you say these underwear are yours, what proof do you have?"

Widow Li was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Weidong to ask such a question. She instinctively replied, "This is mine! How could I mistake my own things? It can't possibly belong to someone else!"

Lin Weidong's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. He turned to look at Sha Zhu, winked at him, and said, "Brother Zhu, I remember you've been wearing Uncle He's clothes recently, haven't you?"

Sha Zhu paused for a moment, then suddenly realized and nodded quickly: "That's right! I overslept this morning and didn't have time to find my own clothes, so I wore one of my dad's shirts to work. At noon, I noticed a smell on the shirt, so I came back to change!"

"Then what's with these underwear?" Widow Li immediately retorted.

Qin Huairu, who was standing to the side, had already reacted. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at Sha Zhu, saying with a hint of embarrassment and anger:

"These underwear are mine! I hung them out to dry in the yard this morning, and somehow the pillar wore them away. I thought they were lost!"

Sha Zhu scratched his head sheepishly, his face full of embarrassment: "Oh dear, this was really an accident! I was in such a hurry to get dressed this morning that I didn't notice I had anything in my pocket. I'm so sorry!"

The situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, and everyone in the courtyard was stunned. The murmurs gradually subsided.

Widow Li's face turned pale and then red, and she stood there at a loss.

At this moment, the deaf old woman came out leaning on her cane, glanced at Lin Weidong, and said, "No, these underwear clearly belong to Widow Li. I've seen her wear these before!"

She wanted to help Widow Li prove her innocence, since they were finally on the verge of success and couldn't just let it end like this.

"This is mine! How could I mistake my own things? Deaf old lady, are you getting old and have you made a mistake?"

The two had conflicting accounts, and the dispute remained unresolved.

Zhao Xiulan frowned and said, "Alright, since no one can produce conclusive evidence to prove whose underwear it is, let's leave it at that."

"From now on, everyone should be more careful and keep their belongings safe so that this kind of misunderstanding doesn't happen again."

Widow Li wanted to say something more, but the deaf old woman stopped her with a look.

She knew that continuing the argument would be pointless and would only expose more flaws, so she reluctantly shut her mouth. This seemingly lively college-wide meeting ultimately ended inconclusively.

After the crowd dispersed, Lin Weidong returned to the west courtyard. Suddenly, a system notification sounded in his mind: [Ding! Host skillfully broke the deadlock. Reward: New type of bulletproof vest technology]

Lin Weidong never expected that simply helping He Daqing out of a predicament would earn him such a valuable reward.

This new bulletproof vest technology is undoubtedly a huge boost to the country's military industry.

In the corner, the deaf old woman watched Lin Weidong's retreating figure, her eyes filled with resentment and malice.

She never expected that Lin Weidong would be so clever, seeing through her and Widow Li's conspiracy at a glance and cleverly defusing the crisis.

She realized that as long as Lin Weidong was still in this courtyard house, her plan would be difficult to succeed.

"Lin Weidong," she murmured softly, secretly resolving that only by eliminating him could she achieve her goal.

Upon returning home, He Yuzhu immediately asked He Daqing what had happened. Only then did He Daqing explain the whole story.

"Dad, I told you long ago that Widow Li is no pushover. Look at how well she's dealt with Jia Zhangshi. Now, who would dare to mess with Widow Li?"

He Daqing said regretfully, "It's also my fault for being bewitched and thinking she deserves pity."