Courtyard House: Wudang Disciple Sweeps Through the Compound

Just now, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu came to his door crying and begging him to help pay off their gambling debts.

Yi Zhonghai is a shrewd strategist and would never do such a losing business.

So he came up with an idea: to organize donations from all the neighbors in the neighborhood to help Jia Dongxu pay off his debts.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui initially disagreed with Yi Zhonghai's proposal.

Yi Zhonghai had already made his plans, so he first showered Liu Haizhong with flattery and praise.

Liu Haizhong was simple-minded to begin with, and after being flattered by Yi Zhonghai's few kind words, he became dizzy and confused, and was unwittingly led astray.

Yan Bugui is much smarter than Liu Haizhong and is not so easily fooled.

Knowing his tendency to take advantage of others, Yi Zhonghai secretly slipped him ten yuan and told him to use the money to make a donation.

In this way, Yan Bugui not only doesn't have to pay out of his own pocket, but also gains a reputation for being charitable.

Yan Bugui secretly calculated for a moment and felt that this deal was a sure thing, so he immediately agreed.

He had already made his plans in mind: when he donated money, he would only take out five yuan and keep the other five yuan for himself.

Even if Yi Zhonghai knew, he wouldn't be able to say anything.

It's just a short meeting, but you can make a net profit of five yuan. Why not take advantage of such a bargain?

The Jia family of five had arrived at the Intermediate People's Court well in advance.

Qin Huairu held Xiao Dang in her arms, her face streaked with tears, looking pitiful, which drew frequent glances from those around her.

Jia Dongxu followed behind with his head down, not daring to utter a sound.

Jia Zhangshi stood there with a stern face, not saying a word, her expression gloomy.

Little Banggeng was still young and didn't understand what had happened; he just stood beside his grandmother with a bewildered expression.

The neighbors in the courtyard gradually arrived.

As per the usual practice, it was Liu Haizhong's turn to take the stage and give the opening remarks.

But once Liu Haizhong opened his mouth, he started rambling incoherently and illogically, spouting a lot of irrelevant nonsense before finally stopping, handing the floor to Yi Zhonghai.

"Ahem." Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat, picked up the enamel mug on the table, took a sip of water, and then raised his voice, "Everyone, please be quiet."

"As everyone knows, our courtyard house has always been a well-known advanced and exemplary courtyard."

"This honor is hard-won, thanks to the unity, friendship and mutual help among the neighbors. Everyone gets along like a family in this courtyard."

As the old saying goes, when one place is in trouble, help comes from all sides.

"If you lend a helping hand to someone today, they will naturally extend a helping hand to you without hesitation when you encounter difficulties in the future."

Yi Zhonghai stood there and launched into a long, eloquent speech full of high-sounding platitudes.

But the neighbors in the audience felt something was wrong as they listened, and their faces showed expressions of confusion.

Seeing the impatience on everyone's faces, Yi Zhonghai knew the time was ripe for the prelude, so he changed the subject and got to the point: "Right now, the Jia family in our compound is facing some difficulties."

"Dongxu is a young and naive boy. He was tricked and has now incurred a debt of several hundred yuan."

"Everyone knows how difficult life is for the Jia family. The entire family of five relies on Dongxu's income to support them, which is a huge burden."

"Therefore, after discussing it together, the three of us uncles decided to hold this donation meeting today, hoping that everyone can contribute money or effort to help the Jia family."

With a crisp, crackling sound—

As soon as Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, the entire courtyard was plunged into an uproar.

The neighbors in the courtyard immediately gathered together, whispering and discussing among themselves, creating a lively scene.

"What kind of nonsense is this? They actually want us to donate money? Our money doesn't grow on trees!"

"That's right! I heard that the people who came to collect money today were chasing gambling debts. They expect us to donate money for that? Is there no justice in this world?"

"Alright, alright, everyone, quiet down."

Yi Zhonghai raised his hand to quell the noise, then cleared his throat and said, "Well then, as the oldest man in the courtyard, I'll first express my opinion: I'll donate twenty yuan."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out two brand-new "big unity" bills from his pocket and placed them steadily into the donation box in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, his gaze fell on Liu Haizhong, who was standing next to him.

Liu Haizhong, this slightly dim-witted fat man, has always been extremely competitive and naturally did not want to lose to Yi Zhonghai in terms of momentum.

He immediately took out twenty yuan from his wallet, waved his hand and said, "As the second oldest man in the courtyard, I'll also donate twenty yuan."

Then, everyone's eyes fell on Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui rubbed his hands together and said with a troubled expression, "As everyone knows, my family situation is special, and my salary is not as high as Lao Yi's and Lao Liu's. I'll just donate five yuan."

As he spoke, he slowly took out a crumpled five-yuan bill from his pocket and carefully placed it into the donation box.

Witnessing this scene, Yi Zhonghai felt a surge of anger rising in his heart.

He personally gave Yan Bugui ten yuan to donate and make a show of support, but this guy secretly withheld five yuan.

Isn't this clearly a deliberate attempt to lower the donation expectations of others in the courtyard and intentionally disrupt his plans?

Neighbors came forward one by one, all with reluctant expressions on their faces; no one was willing to take out money voluntarily.

Upon seeing this, Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat. He realized that the situation was completely out of control and that he needed to find a scapegoat to divert everyone's attention.

His gaze swept quickly across the crowd and instantly locked onto Sha Zhu, who was standing to the side.

"Zhu Zi, your brother Dong Xu has always been so kind to you, always thinking of you. Now that he's in trouble, shouldn't you lend a hand?"

Yi Zhonghai put on a stern face, his tone full of accusation.

"Uncle Yi, I... I borrowed all my money from Sister Qin, and I don't have a single penny in my pocket right now."

Sha Zhu looked helpless, scratched his head, and explained in a wronged tone.

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze immediately turned to Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu felt a sudden panic when so many eyes were on her, and a hint of guilt and unease appeared on her face.

Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu cast two cold, questioning glances at Qin Huairu.

This restless woman borrowed money from Sha Zhu and dared to keep it a secret from her family, not handing it over. She's getting bolder and bolder.

The neighbors in the courtyard, all eager to see what would happen, started discussing it amongst themselves.

Sha Zhu is truly a fool. He gave all the hard-earned money he made from working from dawn till dusk to Qin Huairu. He's hopeless.

Standing at the back of the crowd, He Yushui was filled with resentment.

She hated the scheming Qin Huairu, loathed the greedy Jia family, and felt utterly hopeless about her stubborn brother.

At this moment, her desire to escape this place of trouble became stronger than ever before.

Let this fool, blinded by so-called emotions, fend for himself here.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down and stop talking."

Seeing that the discussion was getting more and more heated, Yi Zhonghai quickly raised his voice to stop them.

"Zhu Zi has always been kind-hearted and righteous. He is always willing to help those in need. Everyone should learn from his kindness."

He paused, then looked at Sha Zhu and said, "How about this, Zhu, I'll lend you twenty yuan first. That should be enough for you to buy some rice, flour, and cooking oil, right?"

As soon as Yi Zhonghai said this, the entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned by his outrageous move, and for a moment no one dared to speak.

Not long after, a deafening burst of laughter suddenly erupted in the courtyard.

Chen Wenqi finally couldn't hold back and was the first to laugh out loud, his voice hearty and tinged with undisguised sarcasm.

As Chen Wenqi's laughter spread, the others in the courtyard could no longer suppress their laughter and joined in, creating a lively scene.

Upon hearing the laughter filling the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai was instantly enraged, his face turning a deep purplish-red.

"Chen Wenqi, what are you laughing at! What time is it? Be serious!"

He angrily pointed at Chen Wenqi and scolded him, then turned to Zhou Shuqin: "Zhou Shuqin, you need to discipline your son! Besides, your family's income isn't low, you should at least show some support for the Jia family."

"Heh, Yi Zhonghai, do you really think we're all fools, letting you pull our wheels around?"

Chen Wenqi stopped laughing and asked with a cold laugh, his tone full of disdain and sarcasm.

"Chen Wenqi, shut up! This is none of your business, a junior, interrupting!"

Yi Zhonghai trembled with anger and shouted sharply, trying to suppress Chen Wenqi with the aura of an elder.

"Why isn't it my son's turn to speak?"

Zhou Shuqin immediately stepped forward, blocking Chen Wenqi's path, and retorted indignantly, "Uncle Yi, aren't you being a bit too arrogant? You won't even let people speak?"

"Zhou Shuqin, is this how you discipline your child? Teaching him to be disrespectful and talk back to his elders in public?"

Yi Zhonghai's anger intensified, and his tone became increasingly harsh and sarcastic.

"How I raise my children is none of your business, someone who doesn't even have children of their own!"

Zhou Shuqin retorted angrily. She was usually gentle, but as a mother, she was exceptionally strong when it came to matters concerning her children, and she would not give in the slightest.

"You...you're absolutely unreasonable!"

Yi Zhonghai was speechless after being rebuked, and was so angry that he was furious.

After all, one shouldn't insult someone by revealing their shortcomings, nor should one hit someone in the face. Although he privately treated Banggeng like his own son, he was indeed childless in public. These words undoubtedly hit his sore spot, making him feel both humiliated and angry.