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

He turned to Xu Damao and explained, "The Bai family brought this on themselves. They've done plenty of shady things for the Japanese in the past, so they deserved to be investigated and punished. The Lou family didn't even need to run away. Lou Bancheng's judgment is still accurate; he had already voluntarily handed over all his light and heavy industries, keeping only a few daily necessities factories, and in the end, he even donated those factories. In my opinion, as long as nothing goes wrong, the Lou family will be fine for the time being."

He changed the subject, sounding somewhat puzzled: "I don't understand either, why do they insist on running away... Hey, why am I talking about this with you? Don't overthink Lou Xiao'e's matter, she's already gone abroad. In this day and age, it's not hard for people like them to find a way to leave the country, but it's not so easy for them to come back. They'll definitely be arrested as soon as they return."

"Father, Mother, I'm telling the truth!"

Xu Damao slapped his thigh in frustration, "Lou Xiao'e lives in our courtyard, in the same courtyard as Zhou Weiguo! There's another woman with her, dressed like an angel, so beautiful. That woman speaks with a really strange accent, and she says she's from Hong Kong, constantly saying 'your mainland, your mainland'!"

Xu Wude was taken aback at first, then his eyes darkened as he narrowed his gaze and scrutinized his son: "Da Mao, don't talk nonsense, you absolutely can't say things like that. The Zhou Weiguo you're talking about, is he the section chief in your compound?"

"Dad, he's the chief engineer now!"

Xu Damao quickly corrected him, his tone full of awe, "Zhou Weiguo is the undisputed boss in our compound, and even more so at the steel mill. Even the factory director has to listen to him. All the old men in the compound were brought down by him. Oh, and by the way, a female expert, a real beauty, used to live in his side courtyard. She even had a child with him!"

Xu Wude listened with surprise and couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing! To make a goose expert willingly have his babies, this kid really has some skills."

"Dad, that's nothing!"

Xu Damao quickly waved his hand, his tone exaggerated, "If he had only married a goose expert, I wouldn't admire him so much. You know what? He also married a girl who works at the neighborhood office, and then immediately arranged for her to get a job at our steel rolling mill. Zhou Weiguo lives alone with two girls in the same courtyard. Although they say to outsiders that he and the goose expert are siblings, how can siblings just live together and suddenly have a child?"

A glint of light flashed in Xu Wude's eyes. He stepped forward and grabbed Xu Damao's arm: "Are you sure you're not kidding me? So, Zhou Weiguo not only has a legal wife, but he's also living with the goose expert and had a child with him. Now he's even brought Lou Xiao'e and a Hong Kong woman into his own yard?"

Xu Damao was taken aback when he was grabbed, and nodded subconsciously: "Yes, Dad, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Xu Wude stared at him like he was an idiot: "Are you stupid? A Hong Konger? These days, how many Hong Kongers are there on the mainland? The Lou family probably went to Hong Kong. I guess Lou Xiao'e secretly ran back to see her lover. I bet they've been involved for a while now. Zhou Weiguo is really something, attracting so many women. Impressive!"

His tone became excited, and he slapped his thigh: "No, this is a golden opportunity! Wandering around with women, even potentially involving group sex, this is a golden opportunity! Da Mao, tell your dad, do you want to advance your career at the factory?"

Xu Damao shuddered, instantly understanding his father's meaning, and stammered, "Dad, you...you don't mean to..."

Xu Wude nodded, his tone resolute: "It's not me going, it's you and your mother. Regardless of whether this is true or not, reporting it will show that we have a firm political stance and are activists. Remember, it must be anonymous. You and your mother go separately and don't go to the same place. If we can get commendations later, your mother's temporary job will be promoted to a permanent position, and your cadre promotion might all be secured."

Xu Damao was still hesitant, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Dad, Zhou Weiguo has a lot of influence in the factory. I heard that even the factory director has to listen to him. I'm afraid that if I offend him, I won't be able to stay in the factory in the future."

Are you stupid?

Xu Wude scolded him with exasperation, "I already said I wanted to remain anonymous! Besides, what factory manager doesn't want to be in charge? What makes him think the factory manager should listen to him?"

He patiently persuaded him: "Just the fact that he's involved in promiscuous relationships is enough for your factory manager to have a hand on him. If he really has connections in Hong Kong, do you think he'll have a good outcome? In either case, if you secretly tell your factory manager about this, your promotion will be guaranteed, right? If in the end, the person has a strong background, you'll be reporting anonymously, and it won't affect you."

Xu Damao's eyes lit up instantly, and he turned and rushed outside: "Dad, I'll get on it right now!"

But as soon as he turned around, Xu Wude grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back. "What's the rush? Let me finish!"

Xu Wude lowered his voice, "Don't go to the police station. It's too low-level. They might just suppress it and it'll be forgotten. You won't get anything in the end. Most importantly, anonymous reports from the police station are unreliable. They might find out in no time. I know a leader from the Political Security Department when I used to show movies. What do you think...?"

He whispered something in Xu Damao's ear.

Tao Ling, who had been so excited when she heard the words "promoted to a permanent position," couldn't contain herself any longer and turned to pack her things to leave.

Xu Wude quickly stopped her: "Are you crazy? Trying to steal credit from the child?"

He looked at Tao Ling and said, "Don't go to the Political Security Department, go to the Investigation Department of the Municipal Bureau. They handle these kinds of things too. I know a leader there. Although I've only shown them a few movies, it shouldn't be a problem for him to keep things confidential. You and your daughter each take one. No matter how much they try to steal the credit, as long as you both get an award, your promotion and his advancement are both guaranteed. It's like getting three benefits from one fish."

Xu Damao looked bewildered: "Dad, Mom and I only eat two meals at most, how come we eat three?"

"What you two want is 'merit,' what I want is 'affection.'"

Xu Wude rolled his eyes at them, "After living in No. 95 Courtyard for so many years, if we make good use of this relationship, we might be able to find a way to move back in."

Xu Damao was even more surprised: "Father, Mother, are you moving back to the courtyard house? You're not living in the Lou family's little courtyard anymore? Didn't Lou Bancheng ask you to help look after the yard?"

Xu Wude's face instantly darkened: "What do you mean, 'live'? That little courtyard was taken back by the higher-ups last month. Your mother and I are now crammed into the cinema's dormitory."

Xu Damao was taken aback, and a troubled look appeared on his face: "Dad, Mom, the movie theater dormitory is only a few square meters, how can anyone live there? Why don't you move back to the courtyard house? I still have room there."

Xu Wude chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "Da Mao, don't worry about this, I have a way. You guys go take care of your business. I'll go try to curry favor and see if I can move to another place."

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