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

As soon as Qin Huairu thought of it, tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string, her voice choked with sobs: "Chief Engineer Zhou, you know I only make eighteen yuan a month, and I have to support my child... My mother-in-law... Waaah..." Before she could finish her sentence, she was drowned out by her sobs.

When the neighbors who were watching saw her crying so sadly, they immediately realized that everyone in the courtyard knew what kind of shrew Jia Zhangshi was. She ate a lot but did nothing, and all she did all day was bully Qin Huairu. Most importantly, that shrew loved to stir up trouble. If she really came back, not only would Qin Huairu's family not have peace, but the whole courtyard would never have any peace.

The third aunt's eyes darted around, and she quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "For the country, we old neighbors all know what kind of person Jia Zhangshi is. Our courtyard has never had a good time since she came back. If you want to speak up for her, you should speak up for Jia Dongxu instead."

Qin Huairu's bitterness deepened, but she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

She couldn't very well shout in public, "Please don't let my mother-in-law and husband come out," could she? But the thought of Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi being released from prison filled her with fear, so she could only bury her head even lower and use her sobs to cover up her panic.

"Oh? That makes sense."

Zhou Weiguo raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll find out about Jia Dongxu's situation in the labor camp. If he's doing well, I'll put in a good word for him. Qin Huairu, don't get too excited then."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu could no longer hold back and collapsed to the ground, bursting into tears.

Several middle-aged women rushed over to persuade them.

Zhou Weiguo just rolled his eyes, then turned and walked into the yard while holding the child.

But after taking only two steps, a warm voice suddenly came from behind: "Oh, this must be Chief Engineer Zhou Weiguo from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, right?"

Zhou Weiguo stopped and turned around, only to see a middle-aged man with a face somewhat similar to Xu Damao walking quickly toward him with a big smile on his face.

"Hello, Chief Engineer Zhou!"

The middle-aged man extended his hand, saying, "I am Xu Damao's father, Xu Wude. I've heard from Damao that a promising young cadre has come to the institute, and I've always wanted to pay him a visit, but I've never had the chance."

Zhou Weiguo raised an eyebrow, not shaking the hand, and said in a flat tone, "Comrade Xu Wude, I heard that those two groups of people from the Political Security Department came with you?"

Xu Wude's smile froze instantly, and he quickly waved his hand: "This is absolutely slander! Chief Engineer Zhou, please don't misunderstand! We just happened to run into them outside the courtyard and came in together."

He explained urgently, "My wife and I are preparing to move back into the compound. How could we possibly say something that would offend you? You're the only cadre in our No. 95 compound. Who would be foolish enough to go against you for no reason? Don't you agree?"

Zhou Weiguo watched as Xu Damao's expression changed faster than flipping through a book, and sneered inwardly. No wonder Xu Damao was such a scoundrel; it turns out the root of his problem was here.

In his "friend or foe identification" system, Xu Wude was initially marked in red, but in a short while, he turned in green, showing that he had thoroughly grasped the essence of "if you can't beat them, join them."

"Yeah?"

Zhou Weiguo smiled enigmatically, "But I heard that both groups of police officers followed your Xu Damao into the hospital?"

Xu Wude's expression grew increasingly agitated, and his voice rose several decibels: "This is a complete injustice, Chief Engineer Zhou! My Da Mao simply didn't know the situation and led the police around. Now Da Mao and Sha Zhu are as close as brothers, how could he possibly do something like this behind the scenes to sow discord?"

He patted his chest and assured them, "Don't worry, leave this to me! I'll find out who's been gossiping behind our backs and deliberately trying to sow discord between us. It must be someone who's unhappy seeing you and Da Mao getting close, so they're deliberately spreading rumors! We have no grudge against each other, so there's no reason for us to go against you, don't you think?"

Zhou Weiguo looked him up and down and had to admit that Xu Wude was much more eloquent than Xu Damao, who could only deceive young girls.

He waved his hand: "Perhaps I really misunderstood. Alright, I need to go home and take care of the kids. You guys chat here."

With a "click," the courtyard gate was closed, cutting off the view from the outside.

Xu Wude finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and pulled Xu Damao and Tao Ling towards his house.

As soon as he entered the house, Xu Damao grabbed his father's arm in a panic: "Dad, do you think Uncle Weiguo really knows we were the ones who reported him? We really can't afford to offend someone like him!"

Tao Ling quickly poured a glass of warm water and handed it to Xu Wude: "Honey, drink some water and calm your nerves."

Xu Wude, his mouth dry, gulped down a mouthful of water, shook his head, and sighed, "This is my fault. I was too hasty. I originally thought that since Zhou Weiguo was related to the Lou family, the higher-ups would definitely not sit idly by and would deal with him sooner or later. I wanted to take this opportunity to settle things between you and Da Mao, but I didn't expect his influence to be so great that even the Municipal Bureau and the Political Security Department couldn't do anything about him."

He turned and glared at Xu Damao, his tone stern: "From today onwards, you better keep your thoughts of targeting Zhou Weiguo to yourself! Unless you have the ability to slap him to death, don't mess with him, understand?"

Xu Damao was almost in tears, his face contorted with distress. "Dad, stop dreaming! How could I possibly beat him? He could crush me with a single finger! It's all my fault for nagging you about these things. Now I've tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. Our family might even be hated by Uncle Weiguo. What are we going to do?"

Tao Ling looked at the father and son, her expression grave, and said, "Husband, I don't think Zhou Weiguo fully believed what you just said."

"Nonsense, of course I know he didn't believe it completely."

Xu Wude shook his head helplessly, "But I have to say those words. If you make a mistake, you have to accept the punishment; if you get beaten, you have to stand up straight. Since we can't afford to offend him, no matter what he says or does, we have to endure it."

Tao Ling nodded, as if she had made a great decision: "Honey, how about... we give the last things I took from the Lou family to Zhou Weiguo? As an apology."

Xu Damao panicked upon hearing this and hurriedly waved his hands, "Mother, please don't make a fuss! How could someone of Uncle Guo's rank possibly lack your gold and silver? We've already offended him terribly, how could he forgive us for something like this?"

"You're still too young and inexperienced; you don't understand the ins and outs of this."

Xu Wude glared at him. "To a leader like Zhou Weiguo, we nobody's are no different from ants in his eyes. Let me ask you, if an ant were to swagger around in front of you, or even poop on you, how would you react?"

Xu Damao was taken aback, scratching his head: "Ants pooping? I can't even see it, I don't have time to get angry at it. Dad, what time is it, are you still joking with me?"

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