I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Liu Haizhong then calmed down, rubbing his hands together and laughing, "Old Yi, you've thought of everything! What about Old Yan? What's he doing?"

"Old Yan is in charge of 'getting some fresh air' in the yard."

Yi Zhonghai turned to Yan Fugui, his eyes brimming with an undeniable air of authority. "You don't need to shout it out loud. Just casually mention to the aunties in the courtyard, 'I saw a strange girl sitting in the back seat of Director Zhou's car earlier, and the two of them were getting quite intimate.' That's all. With so many people talking, this rumor will quickly become distorted. In less than a day, the whole courtyard will know that Zhou Weiguo brought a woman home. We'll give this kid a boost in reputation."

Yan Fugui frowned and shrank back: "If Zhou Weiguo finds out I said this, won't he come after me?"

"What are you afraid of?" Yi Zhonghai patted his shoulder, the force so strong that Yan Fugui staggered. "Just say, 'I only heard it from someone else,' what can he do if he denies it? Besides, once we take him down, will he still be able to act arrogantly in the yard?"

Seeing that Yan Fugui was still hesitating, Yi Zhonghai took out five ten-yuan bills from his pocket and slammed them on the table: "This is a deposit of 50 yuan. The remaining 150 yuan will be given when Lao Liu and I become the managers again. If you don't do it, don't even think about getting a share of the grain coupons or awards for outstanding employees in the future."

These words completely blocked Yan Fugui's way out. He stared at the money on the table, swallowed hard, gritted his teeth, and nodded: "Fine, I'll do it. But I'll only mention it briefly when I'm chatting with the aunties, and I won't care about anything else."

"And Dongxu," Yi Zhonghai said, turning to Jia Dongxu, "Once we've calmed things down with Natasha, you watch my signals and report this to the neighborhood committee. Zhou Weiguo, as a cadre, is having an affair; the neighborhood committee will definitely have to handle it!"

Liu Haizhong was so excited his face turned red, as if he had already put on the foreman's Zhongshan suit: "Alright! Let's do it tonight! I refuse to believe we can't deal with that Zhou Weiguo kid!"

While the others were talking, Yan Fugui secretly stuffed the money into his pocket, thinking to himself: "I'll take 50 yuan first. If things don't work out, I can just say I didn't do anything. Who will take that seriously?"

The group whispered and discussed the details for a while before dispersing.

In the east courtyard, Tian Zao, after their lovemaking, lay on Zhou Weiguo's chest, her fingertips gently stroking the marriage certificate in her hand. It was more of a piece of stiff paper with a red stamp than a certificate.

"Honey, are we getting married already?"

She murmured, her eyes filled with a daze, "Internet cafe, time travel, marriage, it's like a dream, it's so amazing."

Zhou Weiguo raised his hand and ruffled her hair, feeling a sense of unreality: He had already dressed up, so why did he also bring Tian Zao along?

Tian Zao suddenly sat up, her eyes wide: "No! We have to hide right away! Natasha will be heartbroken when she gets back! It's all your fault, not even discussing something as important as getting a marriage certificate. I was so excited I forgot about it!"

As she spoke, she got up and rummaged through drawers, from the bedside table to the corner of the wardrobe. Finally, she tiptoed and stuffed the marriage certificate into the gap between the picture frame on the wall and the wall, then dusted it off before letting out a sigh of relief.

Zhou Weiguo watched her finish her fuss before slowly speaking, "Tian Zao, actually, Natasha asked me to get the marriage certificate with you! And Natasha, Lou Xiao'e, and I..."

"Lou Xiao'e?" Tian Zao turned her head sharply, her eyes narrowing instantly. The next second, she straddled his waist, grabbed his vest, and shook him. "Tell me the truth! What's your relationship with Lou Xiao'e? Don't think I haven't read novels. Isn't she Xu Damao's wife? How is she involved with you?"

Zhou Weiguo was taken aback: "You actually saw it? I thought you were just bragging to me."

"Absolutely!" Tian Zao proudly raised her chin. "I'm not a celebrity all the time. During my illness, I spent every day lying in bed reading novels. Oh, don't change the subject! Tell me, what's wrong with Lou Xiao'e?"

Having no other choice, Zhou Weiguo explained Lou Xiao'e's situation and how Lou Zhenhua wanted him to take care of his daughter.

Tian Zao pouted and pinched his arm: "Good heavens, you're entrusting your daughter to you after just one meeting with her father? I don't believe it at all!"

.............

Yan Fugui left the Yi family's house, tucked the fifty yuan deposit into his pocket, and his steps became lighter as he headed straight for his own courtyard.

As soon as he entered, he grabbed the third aunt who was sewing shoe soles and recounted Yi Zhonghai's instructions, adding at the end, "There'll be a hundred and fifty yuan left after this is done, so you'd better pay attention!"

The three women's eyes lit up instantly. They stuck the needle into the cloth, grabbed their sewing basket, and headed for the central courtyard.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Aunt Er, Aunt Sun from the front yard, and a few others sitting together pasting matchboxes. She deliberately dragged out her words as she sat down on the stone bench: "Hey, have you all heard? The Zhou family has a new girl. I wonder what she does!"

"The Zhou family? Zhou Weiguo? I haven't seen him!" Grandma Sun looked up and asked blankly.

The three women immediately covered their mouths, making a move to get up: "Oops, I let it slip! Never mind!"

This piqued everyone's curiosity, and the second aunt grabbed her arm: "Old Yan's wife, don't keep us in suspense! Tell us, what's going on?"

The three women glanced around and lowered their voices, "You know that Director Zhou's house is occupied by expert Natasha, right? She's a top technical expert in Russia, and she's very obedient to Director Zhou. But today I saw Director Zhou bring a pretty young girl back to the east wing, and the two of them were holding hands, being very affectionate! What do you think will happen if word gets out that they're leaving the foreign expert out in the cold and refuse to help the steel mill anymore?"

"Shut up! What are you all spouting nonsense about!"

A stern voice suddenly rang out, and the faces of several middle-aged women turned ugly upon hearing it. They looked up and saw Yi Zhonghai walking out with his hands behind his back, followed by Liu Haizhong, who also had his hands in his pockets. After all, Yi Zhonghai used to have some authority in the courtyard, so everyone immediately shut up.

Yi Zhonghai frowned and scolded the three aunties: "You're an elder too, how can you slander an outstanding cadre for no reason? Does their relationship mean they're having sex? Maybe it's just a platonic relationship! Putting aside the facts, Weiguo is the pride of Nanluoguxiang. He's a young director; don't you dare ruin his reputation!"

From the crowd, Aunt Sun retorted indignantly, "What do you mean by ruining a reputation? Uncle, you used to be so upright, how come you're acting like some other people, deceiving your superiors and hiding things from your subordinates? Have you lost all your integrity?!"

When Auntie Er saw that Auntie Sun was talking and even glanced at her own husband, her face instantly turned long. She slammed the matchbox in her hand on the table, stood up, and turned to walk back home. Liu Haizhong probably didn't understand what she meant at all, and stood aside with his hands in his pockets as if nothing had happened.

Yi Zhonghai sighed, feigning helplessness: "Weiguo is still young, I just want to give him a chance to correct his mistakes! Even if he made a mistake in a moment of confusion, we, as his elders, should help him correct it, shouldn't we?"

P.S.: Please urge me to update more and give me good reviews. Thank you!