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

Zhou Weiguo took a breath and continued, "You know, if the workers aren't well-fed, they won't have the strength to work, and the quality of their work will inevitably decline. Lowering the quality of work will affect the factory's production tasks. Wouldn't you say that's disrupting the country's production?"

Workers who lower the quality of their work will be punished, with reduced wages and fines. Once punished, could workers become dissatisfied? In the long run, could workers become dissatisfied with the kitchen, the steel mill, or even the country?

"Having reached this point, do you think there's a possibility of it triggering even greater hidden dangers or conflicts? Don't you think this is creating public division?"

Zhou Weiguo finished speaking in one breath, then let out a long sigh. He then scanned the crowd, looking at everyone as if to say who agreed and who disagreed.

Everyone in the room gasped in shock upon hearing this.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi looked terrified, He Yuzhu stood there dumbfounded, and even the police officers were still shaken.

A young policeman standing nearby thought to himself: "These intellectuals are not to be trifled with. Bringing a lunchbox can lead to such a serious crime? Even the literary inquisitions of ancient times weren't this bad! From now on, if anyone in the station dares to bring a lunchbox, I'll break their legs!"

Zhou Weiguo's eyes were sharp as he scanned the crowd one by one.

Yi Zhonghai trembled uncontrollably, Jia Zhangshi's face was filled with panic, He Yuzhu looked at him with admiration, and even the leading police officer's eyes flashed with a hint of fear.

He shook his head helplessly, sighing inwardly.

He didn't want things to escalate to this point, after all, Director Wang had already subtly reminded him beforehand.

But Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi's arrogant behavior just now made him unable to tolerate it any longer.

He had to teach those two a lesson, otherwise the resentment in his heart would probably keep him up at night.

Just then, a piercing scream tore through the air.

"Zhou Weiguo! You heartless bastard! Are you trying to destroy the Jia family? You're utterly despicable! All we wanted was a few boxed lunches, and you've twisted the truth like this! I'll scratch you to death!"

While hurling sharp curses, Jia Zhangshi lunged at Zhou Weiguo.

Zhou Weiguo remained unmoved, and the police officer beside him, acting on his professional instincts, quickly pulled out his baton to block him.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zhangshi was determined to cause a scene and rushed straight at the police officers.

The officer instinctively hit her on the shoulder with a stick.

"Ouch!" Jia Zhangshi screamed, clutching her arm and collapsing to the ground. She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Murder! The police are killing people! Help! The police are in cahoots with Zhou Weiguo to harm honest and upright people!"

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai was extremely conflicted.

He hoped that Jia Zhangshi's outburst would sway the police officers and result in a lenient sentence; however, he also worried that her tantrum would completely enrage the officers and bring him even harsher punishment.

Just as he was at his wit's end, the lead police officer spoke up with a stern face: "Jia Zhangshi, do you want to experience being locked up again, like last night?"

These words were like a spell that froze her in place. Jia Zhangshi instantly stopped crying and obediently stood up, her tone changing completely: "I'm sorry, my tone was a little harsh just now."

After saying that, he slunk back to his seat.

The police officer looked at Zhou Weiguo helplessly: "Comrade Zhou Weiguo, tell me your demands."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

All eyes turned to Zhou Weiguo.

He cleared his throat and said firmly, "First of all, Jia Zhangshi instructed Bang Geng to steal and vandalize my house. There's no room for negotiation on this. The Jia family must compensate us. The direct losses alone are no less than 60 yuan. As for how to deal with Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai, I believe the comrades will give a fair judgment."

Yi Zhonghai could no longer hold back. He rushed to Zhou Weiguo, grabbed his hands tightly, and stammered, "Weiguo, you've misunderstood me! I really didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted Zhuzi to get along well with the neighbors in the courtyard. If you don't want that, I'll just stop letting Zhuzi help the Jia family from now on, okay? There's really no need to make such a big deal out of it!"

Then, he lowered his voice and threatened, "For the country, Zhu Zi has been bringing lunchboxes from the factory for quite some time now; yesterday he brought four large ones. In terms of misappropriating state property, he's far more serious than us. After all, we only have the idea, we haven't acted on it yet. How about we both back down today? I don't think you want things to escalate to a point of no return, do you?"

Zhou Weiguo couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this, and turned to ask He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi, what's the deal with those boxed lunches you occasionally bring back?"

He Yuzhu stammered and couldn't speak for a long time.

Zhou Weiguo's eyes sharpened: "Speak up if I tell you to, don't force me to take action!"

He Yuzhu shuddered in fright and quickly explained, "After I started cooking for the private kitchen, Director Yang sometimes entertained friends. Since the meals were late, it wasn't appropriate to give him money directly, so he asked me to pack one or two lunchboxes in advance for each meal as a kind of hard work fee."

Yi Zhonghai stared wide-eyed at He Yuzhu in disbelief: "Zhuzi, why didn't you tell me about this before? Didn't you secretly take these lunchboxes?"

He Yuzhu's face was grim, and he stammered, "Director Yang forbade us to say anything to outsiders. As long as I cook well, I'll definitely get my share of the benefits... How could I dare to take the lunchbox myself?"

The police officer, witnessing this scene, already understood what was happening.

Most likely, the steel mill manager was using the mill's resources to entertain his friends. He Yuzhu was just a cook, and this lunchbox served as both compensation for his labor and hush money.

Everyone looked at Yi Zhonghai with strange eyes, and he was so anxious that his face turned red.

Zhou Weiguo's lips curled into a cold smile: "Old Yi, I wonder what Director Yang Weimin's reaction would be if he knew you forced Sha Zhu to say these things?"

Ignoring Yi Zhonghai's pale face, he turned directly to the police officers and said, "Comrades, I have stated my demands. How to proceed is up to you. If there are no problems, I will take Zhuzi away."

The police officer was secretly annoyed, thinking that this guy was really not someone to mess with, making such a big fuss over such a trivial matter. He quickly said, "Okay, we have recorded the situation clearly. We need to report it to our superiors. You can go back now. We will contact you again if needed."

As soon as Zhou Weiguo and He Yuzhu left, Yi Zhonghai hurriedly grabbed the police officer: "Comrade, can I go home for a bit? I just need to go back and arrange some things, I'll be right back."

The police officer shook his head helplessly: "It wouldn't normally be a big deal, but that comrade just now put it this way, so we have to report it to our superiors for a meeting. Tell me who you want to talk to, and I'll send someone to call them."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai quickly said, "Please arrange for someone to go to our yard and invite my wife and the deaf old lady here. Thank you very much!"

At this moment, he was pinning his hopes on the deaf old lady's connections to help him get through the crisis, but he was also unsure whether the old lady's connections could actually help.