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

Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look, and saw Zhou Weiguo's two bodyguards leading the way with serious expressions, followed by Director Wang, whose face was so gloomy it could drip water, walking quickly towards the open space of the Central Court.

As soon as Director Wang entered the courtyard, his gaze locked onto Yi Zhonghai in the center. Before Yi Zhonghai could react, he immediately launched into a tirade: "Yi Zhonghai! Are you looking for trouble? If you don't want to stay in this courtyard, I'll take you to the neighborhood office!"

Yi Zhonghai was taken aback by the scolding and quickly put on an innocent look: "Director Wang, what's wrong with you? I was just trying to maintain harmony in the courtyard and resolve neighborhood disputes!"

"Resolve disputes? I think you're creating them!"

Director Wang interrupted him angrily, "I just sent Xiao Chen to the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill to verify! Yu Li's department was working overtime today, and she didn't leave the factory area at that time this afternoon at all. She only got back to the hospital half an hour ago in the car arranged by Chief Engineer Zhou! Your claim that Yu Li injured the ganglion this afternoon is pure nonsense and a blatant attempt to frame her!"

These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly causing an uproar among the crowd.

The neighbors all turned to look at Yi Zhonghai, their eyes filled with contempt and anger, and accusations rose and fell: "You, Yi Zhonghai! You wronged people without even knowing the truth!"

"You used to be a big shot, how could you do such a despicable thing!"

"I think he's just deliberately using any means necessary to extort money in order to favor the Jia family!"

Upon hearing Director Wang's clarification, Yu Li gripped Sha Zhu's hand tightly and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Sha Zhu was furious. Pointing at Yi Zhonghai, he shouted, "Did you hear me? Yi Zhonghai! You old bastard, you dare to frame my wife! You have to give us an explanation for this!"

Yi Zhonghai's expression changed drastically, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he hurriedly waved his hands to explain, "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I didn't understand the situation and believed what others said..."

But Director Wang didn't give him the chance. Today's incident had already disgusted her enough, and she had also lost face in front of Zhou Weiguo. Now, she was filled with anger towards Yi Zhonghai. "Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? I think you have ulterior motives! Since we're on the topic, I have something to announce. Just today, Yi Zhonghai went through the divorce proceedings with Zhang Cuilan, and then got a marriage certificate with the deaf old lady!"

"What?!"

This statement was even more impactful than the previous clarification, and the courtyard instantly erupted in excitement!

Some of the unsuspecting neighbors were stunned, their eyes immediately filled with disgust and contempt as they looked at Yi Zhonghai, their curses growing even fiercer: "My God! Yi Zhonghai, you're a beast! You didn't even spare the deaf old woman who was so old! You're a complete animal! And Zhang Cuilan was so good to you, even helping you take care of the deaf old woman, and you treated her like this?!"

"No wonder I didn't see Zhang Cuilan today. I never thought you were having an affair with that deaf old woman. You're utterly shameless."

"That's right, you can know a person's face but not their heart. This is absolutely disgusting. How can the people in our compound ever face each other again after you've done this? You should get out of our No. 95 compound."

Yi Zhonghai's face turned deathly pale as he stared at Director Wang in disbelief. He couldn't understand why Director Wang would reveal such a thing in public. It shouldn't be like this! He felt that Director Wang should have covered it up for him. "No! It's not what you think! It's Zhou Weiguo, it's all Zhou Weiguo's fault..."

No one paid him any attention. His words were instantly drowned out by the crowd's curses. His face turned pale, and he trembled all over. His previous righteous indignation was completely gone.

After a long while, he finally couldn't bear so many contemptuous and angry looks. His mental defenses completely collapsed. He screamed and pushed away the people around him. Like a stray dog, he stumbled back to the back house in the backyard, slammed the door shut, and never dared to come out again.

Director Wang watched Yi Zhonghai's disheveled retreating figure, her brows still furrowed. Only after hearing the door slam shut did she turn away, turning to the whispering crowd in the courtyard and saying in a stern voice, "Alright, everyone, quiet down!"

Once the scene had completely quieted down, Director Wang continued, his tone carrying an undeniable authority: "I'll say it again, we've thoroughly investigated the matter of Bang Geng's injury today, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Yu Li or He Yuzhu! Yu Li was working overtime at the factory all day; there are attendance records from the steel rolling mill and testimonies from her colleagues. She simply didn't have the time to commit the crime!"

He paused, glancing specifically at Qin Huairu, whose face was pale, in the crowd, and emphasized, "I'm telling you this: from now on, neither Qin Huairu nor anyone else is allowed to use Bang Geng's injury as an excuse to cause trouble for Yu Li and He Yuzhu! Anyone who dares to disobey my advice and insist on harassing them won't be lenient; I'll take them directly to the neighborhood office for serious processing!"

As soon as Director Wang finished speaking, Qin Huairu's face turned deathly pale, her expression filled with panic and helplessness.

She cursed Yi Zhonghai a thousand times in her heart. She had originally hoped that by relying on Yi Zhonghai, she could get Sha Zhu to obediently pay for Bang Geng's medical treatment without having to spend a penny herself. But now her plan had completely fallen through, and she absolutely did not want to touch her little bit of savings that she had painstakingly saved.

Just when everyone thought she would give up, Qin Huairu's eyes darted around quickly, and she instantly had an idea. The next second, she knelt down on the ground with a "thud," her knees hitting the concrete with a dull thud.

She lifted her tear-streaked face, her eyes timid, her voice pitiful, and she pleaded with her neighbors, looking like a helpless, manipulative woman: "Neighbors, please, please have some compassion and help me! Bang Geng is still in the hospital waiting for surgery. If we can't raise the money, his leg will be useless, and he'll be crippled! I'm a woman raising a child alone, it's not easy for me, I really can't afford that much money. Please lend me some money to save Bang Geng, I promise I'll find a way to pay you all back!"

Director Wang's face turned extremely ugly the moment he saw Qin Huairu's behavior.

She'd seen this kind of scene countless times at the neighborhood office. Qin Huairu's acting might fool unsuspecting neighbors, but it couldn't fool her at all: "Alright, Qin Huairu, stop crying here! In this day and age, who's having an easy time? Everyone's struggling. Since you say you have no money, that's simple. I'll talk to the steel mill and have them pay your wages in advance to cover the child's surgery. So don't keep asking everyone for money!"

No sooner had Director Wang finished speaking than Xu Wude's wife stepped out from the crowd, hands on her hips, glaring at Qin Huairu with disgust. "That's right! Qin Huairu, how dare you borrow money? When has your Jia family ever paid back what you borrowed? You shameful thing!"

When Xu Wude's wife exposed her debt in public, Qin Huairu's cheeks flushed red instantly. She was both ashamed and angry, and a flash of hatred quickly crossed her eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

She slowly got up from the ground, dusted off her knees, and instead revealed a strange smile, looking at Xu Wude's wife and saying, "Aunt Xu, I haven't congratulated you yet! Your Da Mao has married a wonderful wife today, a perfect match made in heaven! I'm here to congratulate you, aren't you, Second Aunt?"

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