Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

Lin Yurou glanced at Li Weidong and said, "He looks familiar, like I've seen him somewhere before."

"It's alright, of course you've seen it before."

Li Weidong raised an eyebrow. "The one who came to the compound before and went on a blind date with Liu Guangqi."

"Oh? Won't that lead to a fight!"

Lin Yurou was taken aback. "Liu Guangqi just said he went to pick up his girlfriend!"

"A fight is impossible; who would dare to make a move?"

Li Weidong stroked his chin. "But if they have a fight and get all red in the face, they definitely won't be able to escape."

Lin Yurou was quick-witted and immediately guessed that this was a scheme orchestrated by Li Weidong.

She frowned: "Brother Dong, you..."

"That's right, it was me who orchestrated it, pushing things step by step to this point."

Li Weidong's voice was low and calm, but with a hint of coldness. "From the day I brought those two bastards into the factory, I never intended for them to have an easy time."

He paused, then continued, "Even before I came back, they dared to plot against our family. Yan Bugui had his eye on the work station, and the Jia family coveted the money and the house. Sha Zhu wanted to marry you, and Yi Zhonghai was even more disgusting, planning to adopt Xiao Xi so that she could become Bang Geng's wife when she grew up."

"Liu Haizhong is trying to steal the house and the job. Those bastards have probably already divided up the loot in private."

They're pushing you step by step.

Li Weidong sneered, "Hmph, this isn't over yet."

Lin Yurou was taken aback for a moment, then tentatively asked, "That Jia Dongxu... it wouldn't be you...?"

"I won't get blood on my hands."

Li Weidong's expression turned serious. "I originally planned to send him to prison, but who would have thought he would die first. I'm still investigating whether it was an accident or if someone sabotaged it behind the scenes."

Lin Yurou finally breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to see Li Weidong go down the path of crime.

As they were talking, Liu Haizhong, with his pregnant belly sticking out, swaggered into the backyard. His steps were light and airy, as if he were walking on cotton, his face was flushed, and his voice was very loud.

"Old woman, come out! Come out now!"

Liu Haizhong stood in the courtyard and shouted.

Zhang Cuihua poked her head out of the house: "The husband's back? Wash your face first, I'll hurry up and cook. Tianqi went to pick up his girlfriend, he should have been home by now."

"Why aren't they back yet? Oh right, Tianfu went to catch cicadas."

Liu Zhonghai waved his hand smugly: "No rush, I have some big news for you! I've been promoted to an officer, hehe, I've become a team leader!"

"Really?"

Zhang Cuihua's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course it's true. He was just appointed, and he's in charge of more than a dozen people."

Liu Haizhong puffed out his chest. "Once you take this step, everything will go smoothly from now on. The next step is workshop director!"

"Oh, I knew you were cut out to be an official!"

Zhang Cuihua rubbed her hands together excitedly, "Tonight is a double celebration!"

Just as the two were enjoying themselves, they saw Liu Guangqi walk into the yard with his head drooping and looking dejected.

"Guangqi, where's your boyfriend?"

Zhang Cuihua quickly asked.

"That's it... They didn't like me and told me not to go again."

As Liu Guangqi spoke, tears streamed down his face. "Xiao Juan left with her classmate, without saying anything else."

"Someone snatched it from us? Who the hell did that?!"

Liu Haizhong was furious when he heard this. This was a slap in the face to him, the team leader!

Just then, Ding Xiaojuan and Yan Jiefang came out of the house together.

"Xiaojuan, what are you doing here?"

Liu Guangqi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw this. "Yan Jiefang, what are you doing holding my girlfriend's hand?"

Who is your boyfriend/girlfriend?

Yan Jiefang said with a disdainful look, "She just went on a blind date with you, she didn't like you at all."

Liu Guangqi gripped the wooden stick tightly, veins bulging on his forehead: "Xiao Juan and I are classmates, and we're already in a relationship! If you keep spewing nonsense, I'll report you to the neighborhood committee or call the police!"

"I'll cripple you today!"

Liu Guangqi swung his stick, ready to charge forward. Yan Jiefang snorted coldly, grabbed a shovel from the side, and slammed it into the ground.

Liu Guangqi stopped abruptly. He didn't want to crash into the metal.

"Liu Guangtian! Are you blind? Didn't you see your older brother was about to fight someone? Get him!"

Liu Haizhong shouted at the top of his lungs.

Liu Guangtian rolled his eyes and took a step back: "Pah, are you out of your mind? Do you still think this is like when Yi Zhonghai was the boss, and everything could be settled privately in the courtyard? If I make a move, I'll be arrested immediately."

"You'll lose your job!"

Li Weidong stood aside and slowly said, "Yan Jiefang, don't be afraid. Whoever makes the first move, go all out against them. This is self-defense; you can kill them without consequence."

"Clang—"

Liu Guangqi dropped the stick in his hand. He chickened out, afraid that Yan Jiefang would really kill him with a shovel.

Ding Xiaojuan stepped forward, pointed at Liu Guangqi's nose, and yelled, "I have absolutely nothing to do with you, Liu Guangqi! And you, you're going to say I'm your boyfriend outside? Apologize! Otherwise, I'll call the police right now!"

"I...I..."

Liu Guangqi's mind was buzzing, and his tongue was tied in knots.

"What's going on? Yan Jiefang, you want to fight?"

Yan Bugui squeezed through the crowd. A crowd had already gathered in the backyard, all there to watch the spectacle.

Li Weidong caught a glimpse of Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai standing in the crowd.

As soon as Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu arrived home, they saw Yan Bugui rushing towards the backyard. Puzzled, they didn't even bother to greet the deaf old lady and quickly followed to see what was going on.

"What's going on? I'm dating a classmate, and the Liu father and son want to beat me up!"

Yan Jiefang gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at Liu Haizhong. "Liu Haizhong, Liu Guangqi, come at me if you dare! I'll take on both of you one-on-one and see who falls first!"

"Yan Bugui, look at your son! He calls me by my full name, he doesn't know any manners at all!"

Liu Haizhong was so angry that his face turned purple.

"Screw your rules!"

Yan Jiefang, tilting his head, roared, "My surname is Yan! Yours is Liu! We're completely unrelated, who do you think you are, my elder?"

"When you two were about to beat me up, why didn't you talk to me about being an elder or a junior?"

Yan Bugui was overjoyed to see that his son had brought home a girlfriend on his own, saving him the cost of a matchmaker.

He stared coldly at Liu Haizhong: "Old Liu, do you think my son is some bastard without parents?"

"He stole someone else's girlfriend and he thinks he's in the right?"

Liu Guangqi's eyes were red as he stared intently at Ding Xiaojuan standing next to Yan Jiefang, his teeth itching with hatred.

Ding Xiaojuan stepped forward, her voice rising: "Who's your boyfriend? Just because I went on a blind date with you doesn't mean I have to marry you! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll call the police right now!"

Yan Jiefang curled his lip, his voice sharp: "That's free love, the country encourages it now. What, Lao Liu, are you planning to go against the country's policy?"

Liu Haizhong's face instantly changed color, and he jumped up and down as if he'd been doused with boiling water. His round belly bounced up and down several times as he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "That's not true! Don't jump to conclusions!"

He's only been promoted to group leader for a few days. If someone accuses him of opposing the national call, how will he ever be able to get by again?

Yan Bugui smirked and smugly snorted, "That settles it. Our Yan family is magnanimous and won't stoop to your level, Old Liu."

Liu Haizhong, however, persisted, gritting his teeth and shouting, "But he has no respect for his elders! He doesn't take me, his second uncle, seriously at all! Old Yi, you were here too, this can't just be let off the hook!"

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward with a grim face, his tone dark: "That's right, this unhealthy trend must be stopped. Do we still want our institute's reputation as an advanced institution? We need to hold a institute-wide meeting today to thoroughly criticize Yan Jiefang!"

He was on edge—this disrespectful attitude towards elders must not be allowed to take root; it was all that little brat's doing. Thinking of this, Yi Zhonghai glared fiercely to the side.

Li Weidong calmly withdrew his gaze, a smile playing on his lips.

"A hospital-wide meeting?"

Yan Jiefang's face was full of sarcasm, his laughter laced with venom: "Old Yi, do you still think you're the head of the household? Liu Haizhong, who do you think you are, your second-in-command?"

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were both stunned, then their faces turned bright red, as if they had been slapped twice in public.

They then suddenly realized that they were nothing anymore.

Yi Zhonghai mentally replayed the image in his mind: from now on, when these young people see him, they'll call him "Old Man Yi" in a nonchalant way.

He left. His heart felt like it had been doused with hot oil, burning and aching.

The extensive network of respecting and caring for the elderly, painstakingly woven over seven or eight years, was torn to shreds by Li Weidong in just a few days.

At this moment, Sha Zhu jumped out, his voice rough: "Well, Yan Jiefang! You dare to challenge an old man like me? Believe me or not, I'll beat you until you throw up today..."

"You dare to move a muscle?"

Yan Jiefang didn't even lift his eyelids, his voice lazy: "Someone with a criminal record dares to be arrogant? I'll send you back to jail in no time."

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, but swallowed the rest of his words.

He really didn't dare to move.

Those few days in the detention center, with their stale cornbread that could kill someone and their bland, unsalted soup, really took a toll on him. Seven or eight people in the same cell ganged up on him, and even the strongest fists couldn't withstand the relentless onslaught; he was quickly subdued.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath, suppressing his surging blood: "Zhu Zi, go back!"

The gazes of his neighbors were like needles piercing his heart, each one a barrage of mockery, disdain, and schadenfreude. Yi Zhonghai's heart sank, as if a stone had fallen upon him. He knew that today's birthday banquet was likely doomed.

Li Weidong felt a surge of satisfaction watching this and couldn't help but nod—he hadn't expected Yan Jiefang to be such a formidable fighter; he'd have to give him a bonus later.

He waved to Yan Jiefang: "Jiefang, come here, come here."

The smile on his lips couldn't be hidden: "You've got someone to entertain you tonight, haven't you?"

"Xiaorou, bring out two cans of food. One is braised pork, and the other is beef."

Li Weidong said calmly, "Take another carp out of the water tank."

Yan Jiefang quickly waved his hand: "Just pay me when I get my salary. Be careful these few days. If you really don't have enough, just let me know and the finance department can give you some in advance."

"Brother Dong, thank you so much! I still have enough money to last until the end of the month."

Yan Jiefang was full of gratitude. "I was just about to go grocery shopping. This will save me some money."

Lin Yurou felt a little reluctant, but since Li Weidong had spoken, she obediently did as he said. She picked up two cans and handed them over: "The carp are in the water tank, Lieutenant, you can catch them yourself."