Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

In this day and age, everyone knows how important these hats are.

Everyone heard clearly how awful Jia Zhangshi's insults were.

Jia Zhangshi's face turned deathly pale instantly, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

No matter how outspoken she was, she knew that some things couldn't be said carelessly, especially when it came to "military dependents" and "cadres." If things were to escalate, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Ignoring the pain on her face, she looked to Yi Zhonghai for help.

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat, and he cursed inwardly that Jia Zhangshi was a fool who spoke without thinking and gave others a handle to use against her.

He knew he couldn't let Li Zhenhua hold onto this point any longer; he had to muddy the waters as soon as possible.

"Ahem!"

Yi Zhonghai coughed heavily twice, stood up, and put on an expression of deep sorrow and concern for the overall situation.

"Section Chief Li! You're exaggerating! You're exaggerating!"

He walked to the center of the field, first glancing helplessly at Jia Zhangshi, who was "frightened," and then spoke earnestly to Li Zhenhua.

"Section Chief Li, Comrade Jia Zhangshi is a rough person, not very educated, and she was injured today, so she's emotional and her words were a bit harsh, perhaps even inappropriate. But we're all neighbors in the same compound, we're all in the same neighborhood, why make such a big deal out of it?"

He then changed the subject and began to employ his "moral blackmail" tactic.

"Our institute, and even our entire neighborhood and the whole country, have a fine tradition of respecting the elderly and caring for the young! Comrade Jia Zhangshi is old and an elder. You younger generation, especially you who are cadres, should be more cultured and magnanimous, shouldn't you? If an elder says a few words to you, even if they are a bit harsh, we should just listen. How can you always shout for violence and label people like that?"

As Yi Zhonghai spoke, he felt increasingly justified, and his tone became more and more sorrowful.

"Section Chief Li, you're new here today, so you might not know the situation. Why is our compound consistently rated as an advanced and civilized compound? It's because we're united! We help each other! We respect the elderly! But what you did today—first you physically assaulted Comrade Jia Zhangshi, and now you're trying to label her with a few angry words. This...this is truly disheartening for us long-time residents! You've not only damaged neighborly unity, but you've also destroyed the fine traditions and good atmosphere of our compound!"

His words were evasive, completely omitting the fact that the Jia family had seized the public housing and taken the initiative. Instead, he focused on the two points of "respect for the elderly" and "unity," standing on the moral high ground to firmly pin the heavy accusations of "disrespecting the elderly," "undermining unity," and "lacking the cultivation of a cadre" on Li Zhenhua.

Moved by Yi Zhonghai's "righteous" words, some of the neighbors began to whisper among themselves, thinking that the old man was right. After all, no matter how wrong Jia Zhangshi was, she was still an old woman, and Li Zhenhua, as a young man and a cadre, should indeed be more magnanimous.

Liu Haizhong nodded repeatedly, thinking that Yi Zhonghai's words were very insightful and in line with his idea of ​​how a "leader" should speak.

Faced with Yi Zhonghai's seemingly fair but actually biased arguments about "respecting the elderly and caring for the young" and "unity within the compound," Li Zhenhua was not fooled at all. Instead, he sneered, his face full of undisguised sarcasm.

Yi Zhonghai.

Li Zhenhua directly named names, omitting even the word "comrade," and his voice was as cold as ice.

"Stop spouting nonsense about tradition and unity! I hit her! Because she deserved it! First, she occupied public housing without permission; second, she obstructed normal factory operations and verbally abused support workers; and third, she attacked me! That was self-defense!"

His sharp gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on Yi Zhonghai's feigned sorrowful face.

"You keep accusing me of undermining unity? I'd like to ask you, it's actually condoning or even instigating the Jia family to seize public property that's the root cause of damaging state property and collective interests! You want to stand up for the Jia family? Fine! There's no need to waste time holding this ridiculous, pointless hospital-wide meeting!"

Li Zhenhua's voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable forcefulness.

"Call the police! Call the police now! Let the officers from the police station judge this! I'd also like to see whether, when the police arrive, they take away Jia Zhangshi, who illegally occupied public housing, caused trouble, and insulted military families and cadres, or take away me, the head of the security department, who was allocated housing according to regulations and was forced to defend myself!"

The words "call the police" struck Yi Zhonghai's heart like a heavy hammer.

His expression changed instantly. Call the police?

That would be outrageous!

If this matter gets to the authorities, the Jia family will definitely be in the wrong, and Li Zhenhua's official status will be a shield. At that time, let alone gain any advantage, Jia Zhangshi might really be in deep trouble!

His tactics of taking sides and trying to smooth things over in the courtyard will inevitably be exposed.

"No! We can't call the police!"

Yi Zhonghai blurted it out almost without thinking, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible panic.

"Let's handle this within the compound! What will people think if word gets out? Our compound is an advanced unit every year, and this little thing has escalated to the police station. It'll make the whole neighborhood lose face! It'll have a terrible impact!"

He forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, as if he had gone through a difficult period of "deliberation," and then slowly spoke, revealing the "solution" he had long planned.

"Alright, Section Chief Li, no matter what, it was wrong of you to hit someone, and Comrade Jia Zhangshi was indeed injured. I think, in order to show unity and to compensate the Jia family, you should take a loss and exchange your three rooms for the room the Jia family is currently living in. The Jia family has many people, so it's only right that they live in more spacious rooms. As for you, it doesn't matter where you live. That way, we can let bygones be bygones, and we can still be good neighbors."

This seemingly compromise solution is actually utterly shameless!

In exchange for Jia's small, dilapidated house, Li Zhenhua would exchange it for three newly renovated rooms.

No sooner had Yi Zhonghai finished speaking than Jia Zhangshi objected before Li Zhenhua could react!

Upon hearing that it was just a "change" instead of a "compensation," she immediately jumped up from the bamboo chair, no longer caring about pretending to be injured, and screamed.

"Exchange? Why should we exchange?! No way! Old Yi, are you out of your mind?! He hit me, so he has to pay! He has to compensate our family for those three rooms! Get him out of here! Get out of this yard! That's what justice is!"

Jia Dongxu also chimed in from the side.

"Yes! Compensate for the houses! Absolutely! Not a single house less!"

This family's greedy nature has been completely exposed!

Looking at this absurd scene before him, Li Zhenhua finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, his laughter filled with endless mockery and contempt.

"Hahahaha...Great! Great! I've really seen something new today!"

After he finished laughing, his eyes suddenly turned cold, like two icicles piercing Yi Zhonghai.

"Yi Zhonghai! Who do you think you are? You dare ask me to pay for the house? You dare decide who gets the house?"

Li Zhenhua stepped forward, his finger almost touching Yi Zhonghai's nose, his voice echoing like thunder in the courtyard.