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

Overjoyed, but feigning difficulty, she said, "Grandma, your request is really putting me in a difficult position. Oh well, I won't make things difficult for an old woman like you who is already in her fifties."

However, Yi Zhonghai's transition period has a time limit, a maximum of three months free. If he hasn't moved out by then, he'll have to pay three yuan a month in rent. Your rear room is clearly stated in the documents that you can live there for free as long as you're alive. But the money must be settled today, not a penny less! Also, Yi Zhonghai must sign a voluntary donation agreement to avoid any reneging.

As he spoke, he took out a pen and paper, slammed them on the table, and stared at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the deaf old woman, then stopped hesitating. He crawled under the bed and pulled out a large iron box, counted out ten stacks of banknotes, put the loose change into his pocket, and handed the box to Zhou Weiguo. He then wrote three voluntary donation forms as requested—one for the money and two for the house—signed his name, and stamped them with a red clay seal. The deaf old woman also signed and stamped hers.

After finishing all this, Yi Zhonghai slumped onto the stool, as if all his strength had been drained.

Zhou Weiguo carefully checked the documents and put them away after confirming they were correct. He Yuzhu and He Yushui nodded to him after counting the money.

Zhou Weiguo stood up and looked at Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman: "Now that the matter is resolved, we won't go out and join the fun. Comrade Yi probably has a lot to explain to the neighbors, so we won't cause any trouble. Remember to go to the neighborhood office together tomorrow morning to transfer the property." After saying that, he took He Yuzhu and his sister home with the box.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the neighbors still sitting in the courtyard, quickly composed himself, and stepped out.

He forced a smile, walked up to the crowd, cleared his throat, and explained, "Neighbors, I'm so sorry. There was a misunderstanding between me and Zhu Zi's uncle earlier, but we've cleared it up now, it's nothing serious."

However, there are always some troublemakers who can't stand that Yi Zhonghai can just brush this matter off with a few words.

Young Xu Damao, wearing his father's oversized vest and with a stick-thin frame, stepped forward and said, "Grandpa, could you please tell us what's going on? Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

As everyone burst into laughter, Yi Zhonghai shook his head helplessly and said, "Since everyone is curious, I'll take this opportunity to tell you the whole story."

"Back then, He Daqing left in a hurry, entrusting me to look after Zhuzi and Yushui. Cuilan and I have no children of our own and little experience in raising children, so we could only help with food and drink. Later, Daqing sent living expenses for the children, but Zhuzi would get angry with me whenever I mentioned He Daqing. Since he entrusted me with this, I couldn't just abandon him, so I saved all the money, thinking I would return it to him when the children were older. Over the years, Cuilan and I have been helping Zhuzi with our own money. Zhuzi's uncle just arrived and didn't know the situation, which led to the misunderstanding. Now that it's all cleared up, please don't take it to heart."

After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, he noticed a puzzled look on the face of an older woman below. She had wanted to go inside earlier, but he had quietly shaken his head to stop her before leaving. Now, seeing her hesitate, he could only sigh softly.

It has to be said that Yi Zhonghai almost believed his own words, as if every word was an undeniable fact.

Meanwhile, Jia Dongxu stood up, his eyes sparkling, and asked, "Master, how much money have you saved for Zhuzi over the years?"

Yi Zhonghai glanced subconsciously at the main room and said vaguely, "The Qing Dynasty gave a generous amount the first time, and then a fixed ten yuan every month. Let's leave it at that for today, there's nothing more to say, everyone can leave."

Jia Dongxu quickly clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Master is so generous! He truly deserves to be called the elder of our courtyard!" Under his lead, everyone followed suit and clapped, the applause sounding sparsely but in a continuous chorus.

Inside, He Yushui's cheeks were puffed out in anger as she grumbled, "Uncle, look at them! Humph!" Zhou Weiguo smiled and comforted her, "Silly girl, remember this: there's no such thing as getting everything in this world. We've gotten so much money and a house; that's the biggest bargain. Yi Zhonghai went to all this trouble just to protect his reputation. If we just sent him to the police station, we'd only get a small metal box and 1,600 yuan inside, right?"

He Yushui nodded, seemingly understanding, while He Yuzhu looked completely clear-headed: "Uncle is right, Yi Zhonghai's move is called sacrificing the cannon to save the king!"

"It's a case of sacrificing the pawn to save the king!" Zhou Weiguo laughed and kicked him in the butt.

He Yuzhu, with a grin on his face, replied nonchalantly, "It's all the same, all the same."

After joking around with He Yuzhu for a while, Zhou Weiguo invited the two to sit down. His expression suddenly turned serious, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Yuzhu and He Yuzhu: "Today's incident has thoroughly offended Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong. From now on, you must be much more careful in your actions. Liu Haizhong is manageable, but Yi Zhonghai is vindictive and might resort to some underhanded tricks. We don't cause trouble, but we're absolutely not afraid of trouble either. If anyone dares to come looking for us, teach them a lesson they won't forget!"

His tone shifted, becoming more serious: "And Zhu Zi, you'd better stay away from Qin Huairu. That woman doesn't seem simple. I'll find you a good girl and arrange a few blind dates."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu's ears turned red, and he looked completely at her mercy. Seeing this, Zhou Weiguo felt a chill run down his spine and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Yuzhu, come home early one evening these next couple of days, show off your cooking skills, and invite Xu Damao over for a couple of drinks too."

Zhou Weiguo had no other choice. In his past life, whether it was the original film or television adaptation, as long as Xu Damao interfered, Sha Zhu's blind date would definitely fall through. In order for Sha Zhu to live a happy and stable life in the future, taking the initiative to get closer to Xu Damao now can be considered as preparing for the future.

At first, He Yuzhu nodded earnestly at Zhou Weiguo's words, but he became somewhat displeased when he heard about Qin Huairu. If Zhou Weiguo hadn't glared at him fiercely, he would have almost asked why on the spot. When Xu Damao was mentioned, he jumped to his feet: "Uncle! Xu Damao is a complete scoundrel! Why did you think of inviting him for drinks?"

Zhou Weiguo was startled and thought to himself: Could it be that Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman had instilled hostility towards Xu Damao in Zhuzi so early on?

"Zhu Zi, be honest, do you often cause trouble for Xu Damao, and when you fight him, do you always choose to use your groin muscles?"

He Yuzhu looked completely innocent and hurriedly defended himself, "Uncle, don't wrong me! I did get into a few fights when we were kids, but I've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to argue with him!"

"Then why do you hate him so much? Is it Yi Zhonghai, or is it that deaf old lady gossiping in your ear?"

He Yuzhu looked shocked: "Uncle, how did you know? Yi Zhonghai and the old lady in the backyard always say that Xu Damao is a born bad seed, and they tell me to stay away from him and to hit him in the groin if he dares to cause trouble. But I've never really gone all out!"

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