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

As soon as Yu Shui saw Zhou Weiguo, she immediately threw herself into his arms, turned around, and stared intently at Yi Zhonghai without saying a word.

Zhu Zi looked embarrassed, scratched his head, and said, "Uncle, I don't know what happened either. Yi Da... Yi Zhonghai said he has something he wants to tell us?"

Zhou Weiguo looked at Yi Zhonghai with a half-smile and said in a cold tone, "Speak, Lao Yi, just say what you have to say."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai remained unusually calm. Even though many curious neighbors had gathered around him, he did not hesitate at all.

He took two steps back and, with a thud, knelt directly in front of Zhu Zi and Zhou Weiguo.

This sudden action startled Zhu Zi, who jumped up and instinctively tried to help Yi Zhonghai up, but Zhou Weiguo grabbed him.

This scene instantly stunned everyone in the courtyard.

"Holy crap? What is Grandpa Yi doing?"

"Has Grandpa Yi gone mad? He actually knelt down in public before Zhou Weiguo and He Yuzhu?"

"What's going on? This is outrageous, it doesn't make sense!"

Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Yi Zhonghai kowtowed three times to Zhou Weiguo and Zhu Zi.

"Zhu Zi, Wei Guo, Yu Shui, I, Yi Zhonghai, have indeed done too many wrong and terrible things in the past. I am here today not to ask for your forgiveness, but only to have peace of mind. I promise again that I will never cause trouble in the courtyard again, nor will I have any conflict with you. I ask for nothing else, only one thing: I, Yi Zhonghai, may have done many bad things, but if you want revenge, come at me. Please, please do not harm Cuilan and the child in her womb."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zi became agitated and was about to speak when Zhou Weiguo pulled him behind him.

Zhou Weiguo's eyes were icy as he looked at Yi Zhonghai with a half-smile, his tone full of sarcasm: "Old Yi, aren't you thinking too simply? You could be ruthless to other people's children and scheme against their daughters, but now that you have a child of your own, are you scared? You've chickened out because you're scared? When you schemed against He Yushui when she was not even five years old, did you think about this day?"

A flicker of guilt crossed Yi Zhonghai's eyes, followed by three more heavy kowtows, his voice pleading, "For the sake of the country, I ask for nothing else, only that you don't harm the child and Cuilan, they are innocent!"

"Innocent? When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent! What makes you say Zhang Cuilan is innocent? And what makes you say the child in her womb is innocent? According to you, He Yushui and He Yuzhu, who were five years old back then, were guilty? You're ridiculous!" Zhou Weiguo retorted angrily.

Yi Zhonghai shook himself, gritted his teeth, and continued, "For the sake of the country, I only beg you to let them go. If you have any grudges, come at me! No, if you have anything to vent, just tell me, I'll handle it myself. My hands are still useful; if you really can't swallow this, I'll use my legs..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Yi Zhonghai, don't try to ruin us here! I have no interest in your hands or feet, do whatever you want with them. I don't care about Zhuzi and Yushui, but you'll never get my forgiveness in this lifetime! In other words, you bullied my two nephews, I'm being lenient by not killing you, why should I forgive you? Just because you knelt down and kowtowed a few times? Dream on!" Zhou Weiguo interrupted mercilessly.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. He slowly stood up and walked towards the backyard without saying a word.

He Yuzhu looked at Zhou Weiguo with a blank expression and asked, "Uncle, what exactly does Yi Zhonghai mean by this?"

He Yushui also hugged Zhou Weiguo tightly, her eyes full of curiosity.

Zhou Weiguo smiled and tapped He Yushui's nose, asking, "Yushui, don't you understand either?"

He Yushui quickly nodded.

Zhou Weiguo patiently explained, "Rain, you must remember that people must always have a sense of awe. Once people lose their awe, they are no different from beasts. Because they will only act according to their own desires, and nothing can frighten them, or rather, there are very few people or things that can make them wary. The reason Yi Zhonghai is like this now is because he has a weakness, something he wants to protect and is afraid of losing. But you must remember not to be deceived by other people's outward behavior. For example, in the mountains around Beijing, some villages occasionally encounter bears or wolf packs. If these wild animals don't harm people, we can avoid provoking them; but once they harm people, we must find a way to get rid of them. Because once they have tasted human flesh, they will not be able to resist eating people again when they are hungry. Do you understand?"

He Yuzhu still looked at Zhou Weiguo with a confused expression, while He Yushui nodded as if she understood, and whispered, "Uncle, do you mean that even if Uncle apologized to us, even if he's changed for the better now, but he hurt us in the past, we can't make up with him and we have to stay away from him? Because we don't know when he'll hurt us again?"

Zhou Weiguo smiled and tapped He Yushui's forehead, praising, "That's right! Yushui is really smart!"

He Yuzhu was still completely confused. He scratched his head and looked at the two of them with bewilderment.

At this moment, Ersheng came out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "Uncle Weiguo, the food is ready. You can eat now."

Zhou Weiguo looked at Ersheng, who had come up empty-handed, and laughed, scolding, "I told you to bring two lunchboxes home for your family, why didn't you listen?"

"Uncle Weiguo, you're making me look bad! My family has received so much help from you. How could I possibly accept a lunchbox when I'm just cooking you a meal?" Ersheng said embarrassedly.

Zhou Weiguo's expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "Ersheng, I can't let you keep cooking for me for free, can I? This isn't something that can be done in a day or two."

"Uncle Weiguo, don't worry! As long as we brothers are alive, we'd be willing to cook for you for the rest of our lives! Alright, Uncle Weiguo, I won't disturb your meal any longer, I'll head back now. Zhuzi, I'm leaving, they're waiting for me over there." With that, Ersheng walked straight out the gate.

Zhou Weiguo didn't stop them, but he already had a plan in mind: he would have to talk to the neighborhood committee later and have the Wu family's rent waived. It was only a dozen yuan a month, and while there was no need to be too particular about favors, he couldn't keep pretending to be oblivious. He would help the Wu family when a suitable opportunity arose in the future.

He Yuzhu then realized what was happening and hurriedly ran to Zhou Weiguo, saying with a displeased expression, "Uncle, why did you ask Ersheng to come and cook for you? Why didn't you ask me to cook for you? Uncle, do you think my cooking skills are inferior to Ersheng's? Let me tell you, my cooking skills are definitely better than Ersheng's. If you don't believe me, I'll take you to ask my master!"

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