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

The train swayed on the tracks for three or four hours before finally slowly pulling into the Beijing station.

Looking out the train window at the scenery, Zhou Weiguo couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and reflection). He thought to himself, "High-speed rail is so convenient in this day and age. Such a short distance would have taken almost no time in my previous life. But in this era, a train journey takes so long."

After leaving the station, Zhou Weiguo hailed a rickshaw and headed straight for the courtyard house.

Upon arriving at the courtyard house, he glanced at his watch, then at the half-open gate, and slipped inside. He moved silently without encountering anyone. With a gentle push, Sha Zhu's door opened.

Zhou Weiguo looked around the room and found that Sha Zhu wasn't there. Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Sha Zhu walked in.

The moment Sha Zhu saw Zhou Weiguo, a joyful smile instantly bloomed on his face. He excitedly grabbed Zhou's hand: "Uncle! How come you're back so soon? Today, an old man came to see me, subtly trying to get me to help the Jia family. He even asked me to beg you to write a letter of forgiveness for Jia Zhangshi, and he tried to pressure me by using the entire family's influence. I refused, and he stormed off in anger."

At this moment, He Yushui also came out of the inner room. When she saw Zhou Weiguo, she happily ran up and hugged him, calling out "Uncle, Uncle" repeatedly.

Zhou Weiguo first comforted Yushui before slowly saying, "Zhuzi, Yushui, I've seen your father."

Upon hearing this, the two of them trembled violently, and tears instantly welled up in He Yushui's eyes.

While comforting Yushui, Zhou Weiguo briefly recounted his encounter with He Daqing.

Before he could finish speaking, He Yuzhu's eyes were already bloodshot, and he muttered blankly to himself, "He Daqing didn't abandon us, he didn't ignore our lives. That old bastard Yi Zhonghai, he deserves to die!"

Zhou Weiguo patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder, his tone steady: "Don't look so dejected. I'm here. The evidence is conclusive that Yi Zhonghai embezzled the money your father sent. I'll go to the post office again tomorrow, and then we can call the police and deal with him."

Upon hearing the words "call the police," He Yuzhu's eyes flickered, and he hesitated, asking, "Uncle, what will happen to Yi Zhonghai if we call the police?" He Yushui also looked at Zhou Weiguo with curiosity.

Zhou Weiguo's eyes were icy, his tone devoid of warmth: "He embezzled other people's money; he'll definitely be sentenced, maybe even executed. He's caused you and your sister so much suffering over the years; he must pay for this with his life!"

Seeing that He Yuzhu was still somewhat hesitant, Zhou Weiguo softened his tone: "Yuzhu, if you have any concerns, just say so."

After hesitating for a long time, He Yuzhu finally spoke: "Uncle, I don't know how to say this. Before you came, I always thought Yi Zhonghai was the best elder. He helped me a lot over the years. But now I know that he wasn't genuinely taking care of us; he had ulterior motives. But to be honest, I don't really hate him. After all, he's just a neighbor, an outsider. I hate He Daqing more. Even after knowing why he went to Baocheng, I still hate him. I hate that he didn't explain things clearly to us back then, I hate that he didn't contact us first, I hate that he had so many other options, yet he chose Yi Zhonghai to take care of us."

Looking at his sister's reddened eyes and aggrieved expression, he clenched his fists, his inner conflict surging like a tidal wave: "But, if I don't call the police, I feel I don't have the right to forgive Yi Zhonghai on Yushui's behalf. Those past few years I was out trying to earn money to support the family, and I was still young, so I couldn't possibly consider her feelings. The suffering Yushui went through is something I can't understand. Uncle, I'm really torn right now, can you give me some advice?"

Listening to He Yuzhu's story, Zhou Weiguo also began to have doubts. To be honest, he didn't want to kill Yi Zhonghai off so easily—he hadn't yet figured out the reward mechanism of his positive energy system.

He felt that dealing with Yi Zhonghai should fall within the scope of the positive energy system's rewards, but he was also afraid that if he killed Yi Zhonghai directly, he would lose a significant source of rewards in the future.

Zhou Weiguo pondered for a moment, then patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder and said, "There are two ways now. One is to directly imprison Yi Zhonghai, even to the point of being forced to eat peanuts; the other is to use this deposit slip and evidence to threaten him. Over the years, he has embezzled about 1,100 yuan from you. We won't go too far; just make him pay ten times that amount, and then force him to write a voluntary donation agreement to prevent him from going back on his word and retaliating later. This way, we can teach him a lesson, make him return what he's embezzled, and you can also get a considerable sum of money to improve your lives."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu's eyes flickered, and he looked at Zhou Weiguo with surprise: "Uncle, you're being too ruthless. Isn't that a bit too much?" He Yushui nodded in agreement as well.

Zhou Weiguo's lips curled into a cold smile: "Too ruthless? When he was ripping you off all these years, didn't you think it was excessive? That old bastard Yi Zhonghai, profiting from human suffering while pretending to be a good person! Ten times the compensation is too lenient! If we don't teach him a lesson, he'll find new ways to scheme against you in the future. Think about it, have all the suffering you've endured all these years been for nothing? Have you just let Yushui's grievances go? If we don't expose his true colors, will he ever learn his lesson? Besides, I just don't want to kill him, I never intended for him to continue living so comfortably."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu shuddered as he looked at Zhou Weiguo, muttering, "My uncle isn't afraid." He Yushui, however, nodded firmly, "Uncle, I think you're right."

The next morning, Zhou Weiguo took He Yuzhu and his sister to the post office. With the help of the staff, they successfully retrieved detailed records of He Daqing's remittances over the years, each one matching the information on the stubs. Now, the chain of evidence was finally complete. Zhou Weiguo carefully collected all the evidence and, with Zhuzi and Yushui, headed straight to the courtyard house.

At this time, the courtyard was like any other. Qin Huairu was washing clothes in the middle courtyard, while the half-grown Banggeng and the Yan family's children were chasing and playing in the yard. It was only because Banggeng was still young at this time that he probably didn't have any children to play with.

Qin Huairu was taken aback when she saw Zhou Weiguo. She thought to herself, "Didn't the old man say that this guy surnamed Zhou went to another place? How come he came back with Zhuzi? How am I going to ask Zhuzi to bring lunchboxes for my family at the hospital-wide meeting that night?"

Qin Huairu walked over, swaying her large hips with feigned enthusiasm: "Oh, Zhu Zi, you're back! Why didn't you go to work today?"

Sha Zhu was stunned when he saw Qin Huairu's appearance.

Zhou Weiguo was so angry that he kicked Sha Zhu in the butt.

Qin Huairu was also startled by this. While He Yushui covered her mouth and chuckled, the three of them went straight home, completely ignoring Qin Huairu.

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