Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

With red eyes and a stiff neck, he tried to force his way in:

"Get out of my way! That's my father. Let me in. I'm looking for my father. Why are you stopping me?"

The office staff stood firmly in front of the door, and the two pushed and shoved each other, their argument growing louder and louder.

In the office, Liu Jianguo watched as Sun Shan pushed a house sale agreement and a small stack of money in front of He Daqing. He Daqing signed the agreement with trembling hands, pressed his fingerprint, and stuffed the money into his pocket.

Just then, the sound of arguing outside the door came through clearly.

Liu Jianguo listened intently, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, and said to Sun Shan:

"Old Sun, things are done. Come to the yard tonight if you're free. Is that Sha Zhu outside? Let him in; it's time for the two of them to have a reunion."

Sun Shan responded and went outside, speaking in a deep voice to the two who were still struggling:

"Stop arguing. Sha Zhu, Director Liu wants you to come in." The office staff then let go.

He Yuzhu glared at the person who was blocking him, straightened his crooked collar, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

He Yuzhu rushed into the office and immediately saw the figure sitting in a chair, wearing an old cotton-padded coat, with his head down—it was his father, He Daqing, who had abandoned him and his siblings for many years and had not been heard from since.

He Yuzhu froze on the spot, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions: shock, resentment, grievance, and a barely perceptible glimmer of hope. This culminated in a trembling, resentful question:

"You...how did you even know to come back?"

He Daqing was already seething with anger after hearing Liu Jianguo's description of Sha Zhu's heroic deeds. Now, seeing his son not only showing no remorse but also acting as if he were accusing him, his pent-up anger exploded instantly.

He stood up abruptly, and without thinking, swung his arm and slapped He Yuzhu hard across the face.

The slap was loud and crisp, completely stunning He Yuzhu.

He Daqing was still not satisfied, and while cursing, he struck her several more times on the head:

"You bastard, how dare you talk to me like that? When I left, I arranged a job for you. I saved every penny to send money to Yi Zhonghai every month, and I left the house to you both. And what did you do? You let your sister Yushui almost starve to death, you heartless wretch."

"Are you even human? Huh? If I hadn't come back, would you really have become that old bastard Yi Zhonghai's son? Don't you have a brain? Huh? Can't you tell the difference between good and bad people?"

He Daqing grew angrier the more he cursed, and his men didn't stop either.

He Yuzhu was completely stunned by the sudden beating and cursing. His face stung, but he didn't dare to fight back. Perhaps he was intimidated by his father's power, or perhaps his deep-seated guilt was touched. He just held his head and stubbornly endured the beating.

Liu Jianguo sat behind his desk, coldly observing the farce of the father-son reunion. Seeing that the time was right, he slowly spoke:

"Alright, Mr. He. A couple of slaps to vent your anger is enough. Business is more important. I've already given you the payment for the house, so why don't you hurry up and get the paperwork done at the housing management office before they close?"

He Yuzhu was dazed from the beating. Covering his face, he looked blankly at Liu Jianguo, then at He Daqing, and stammered, "Buy...buy what house? Who's buying the house?"

He Daqing's eyes widened, he raised the hand that had just hit someone, and roared:

"I'm happy to sell my house. I'll use the money to buy another place and move out. That way, you won't be fooled by that old bastard Yi Zhonghai every day. What, you have a problem with that?"

Looking at his father's large, fan-like hands, He Yuzhu subconsciously shrank back and didn't dare to utter another word.

He Daqing, panting heavily, forced a smile at Liu Jianguo:

"Director Liu, don't worry! I'll go to the housing management office right away! Tonight... tonight I'll definitely get that room available for you!"

As he spoke, he pocketed the money and glared fiercely at Sha Zhu.

Liu Jianguo gave a faint "hmm" and watched He Daqing leave. He then glanced at He Yuzhu, who had a slap mark on his face and looked dejected, as he walked out.

After He Yuzhu left, he picked up the internal phone on the table and called the office of Deputy Director Li Bing:

"Li Bing, find an excuse to go to the propaganda department or the workshop and tell Qin Huairu that we have guests at home tonight and to cook for a few more people."

After dealing with the He family's affairs, Liu Jianguo buried himself in his desk and began reviewing the documents and work reports that had piled up for several days.

It wasn't until the sky outside the window gradually darkened and the office building became quiet that he rubbed his throbbing temples, looked up, and realized that it was well past the end of the workday.

How come being a section chief is more tiring than running fieldwork?

They're just like the donkeys in the production team.

He secretly decided that he should let Li Bing share more of these routine paperwork tasks in the future.

When Liu Jianguo rode his bicycle back to No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, it was already close to dusk.

As soon as I entered the front yard, I saw a group of neighbors gathered around the moon gate in the middle yard, whispering and discussing among themselves.

What surprised him even more was that Qin Huairu was standing with Tang Jingxian on the outskirts of the crowd. Qin Huairu was even affectionately holding Tang Jingxian's arm, and the two were whispering to each other, looking very harmonious.

Huh? When did they become so close? A question crossed Liu Jianguo's mind.

Liu Jianguo pushed the cart a few steps forward, pushed through the crowd, and saw what was happening inside.

He Daqing was seen angrily grabbing Uncle Yi Zhonghai by the collar of his cotton-padded coat, spitting almost onto Yi Zhonghai's face, his voice booming so loudly it could be heard throughout the entire courtyard:

"Yi Zhonghai, you old bastard. You better explain yourself clearly. The money I send you every month is for you to give to my daughter Shazhu and Yushui. You've turned your back on me, you haven't given me a single penny. You almost starved my daughter Yushui to death, are you even human? Huh? What kind of wicked scheme are you plotting now? Are you trying to trick that idiot Shazhu into taking care of you in your old age and seeing you off when you die? You even want him to recognize you as his father? Bah! Keep dreaming."

Before he could finish speaking, He Daqing swung his arm and delivered another solid slap to Yi Zhonghai's face.

"Snapped!"

A sharp crack rang out, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai's head lolled to the side from the blow, and he staggered backward, leaving five clear finger marks on his face.

Liu Jianguo stood at the back of the crowd, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

"Good! Well done!" he thought to himself.

Bringing He Daqing back was definitely the right move.

In front of the entire hospital, we completely tore off Yi Zhonghai's hypocritical old face.

Let's see how he tries to pretend to be a moral exemplar in the future.

This scene was even more effective than if he had taken action himself.

Yi Zhonghai covered his face, looking at the pointing and whispering gazes of his neighbors, and listening to the barely suppressed murmurs.

"Really? An old man doing this?"

Sending money every month! How heartless!

"No wonder the rainwater was so thin back then, like bean sprouts..."

"He wants Stupid Zhu to be his son? He really dares to dream!"

He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, his whole body shivering. He knew that the image of a dignified old man he had painstakingly cultivated for so many years was completely ruined.