Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

Zhou Jianguo's fingertips twitched slightly.

The two hundred yuan note swayed in the lamplight before he stored it in his system space.

Listening to the howling wind and snow outside the window, he got up and walked to the flour bag in the corner.

When I brought He Yushui back just now, the girl didn't go back to the main house of the He family. Instead, she clutched the case filing receipt and locked herself in a small side room.

The look in his eyes when he walked in revealed a ruthless determination to burn away the past ten years.

Zhou Jianguo knew that He Yushui was now a nail driven into Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu's Achilles' heel.

He regained his composure and scooped out a full bowl of fermented bean curd.

Light the fire, add coal, and take the pot off the heat.

A bright blue flame leaped from the stove, and the heat dissipated the chill in the room.

A spoonful of milky white lard was poured into the pan with a "sizzle".

The rich aroma of oil, mixed with the smoky fragrance of scallions, filled the small house.

This is thanks to his master-level culinary skills; even a simple bowl of oil-splashed noodles becomes irresistibly delicious in his hands.

Zhou Jianguo held a large bowl, picked up a mouthful of chewy, translucent noodles, and coldly glanced out the dark window.

At this moment, at the entrance of Hongxing Courtyard Hutong.

Sha Zhu waded through the snow, his thick back slightly hunched under the weight.

He had Banggeng, who had just been brought back from the hospital, lying on his back. The little rascal's right leg was in a cast, and he was in so much pain that his lips were turning purple and he kept groaning.

"Silly Uncle...it hurts..."

"Bear with it, we'll be home soon!" Sha Zhu's face was throbbing with veins, and his anger was burning fiercely.

He was repeatedly questioned by the security department and the police about the source of the huge sum of money, and his patience had long since worn off.

The two had just stepped into the courtyard house.

Sha Zhu's heart skipped a beat.

Normally, if there's any commotion in the courtyard, the windows would be crowded with curious onlookers.

But tonight, the entire intermediate court is completely dark.

"Grandpa! Old Yi! Wake up!"

Sha Zhu yelled at the top of his lungs, "Hurry up and come lend a hand, Bang Geng is freezing!"

The cold wind whipped up white frost, but there was no movement in the main house of the Yi family.

"These heartless bastards are sleeping like logs!"

Sha Zhu was furious and, carrying the stick, headed straight for Yi Zhonghai's house.

Upon reaching the door, his pupils contracted; the Yi family's gate was ajar, and a cold wind was rushing in.

He kicked the door open, and after seeing the scene inside, blood rushed to his head!

The room was a mess; the octagonal table was overturned, and teacups were shattered all over the floor.

The usually composed older woman was now slumped against the table leg, blood streaming from her forehead onto the floor.

"A middle-aged woman!" Sha Zhu roared, his mind going blank.

"Pillar...quick, stop shouting..."

I heard the sound of teeth chattering behind me.

Sha Zhu turned around sharply and saw Yan Bugui carrying a chamber pot, trying to sneak into the house.

He strode forward, grabbed Yan Bugui by the collar like an eagle snatching a chicken, and lifted the old man off the ground.

"Uncle! What happened to the Yi family? Was they burgled or attacked by spies?"

Sha Zhu sprayed Yan Bugui's face with his saliva.

Yan Bugui's face turned purple with suppressed anger, and he cried out in a voice trembling with sobs:

"It wasn't a thief...it was the security department! Old Yi has been arrested!"

"Bullshit!" Sha Zhu's eyes widened in fury.

"It's true! He embezzled ten years' worth of child support payments, a total of seven hundred and twenty dollars!"

Yan Bugui struggled desperately: "Zhou Jianguo dug up the evidence, and Liu Haizhong personally led people to say he's a fraudster!"

boom!

These words shattered Sha Zhu's worldview.

In his heart, Yi Zhonghai was his biological father.

That exemplary man actually stole his own sister's life-saving money?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Sha Zhu was so angry that his whole body was shaking with fat. He shoved Yan Bugui away, and the old man collapsed on the ground like a lump of mud.

"That's all lies! You're just jealous of this old man, so you've teamed up to swindle him!"

Sha Zhu's eyes were bloodshot as he reached back to untie the ropes binding Bang Geng: "I'm going to the security office to rescue him!"

"Pillar!"

Qin Huairu screamed and pounced on her.

She understood all too well: with Yi Zhonghai gone, the Jia family's meal ticket was gone by half.

If even Sha Zhu gets caught, Qin Huairu will really starve to death in the winter!

She clung tightly to Sha Zhu's arm, tears streaming down her pale face, looking utterly desolate.

She leaned into Sha Zhu's arms, her voice soft enough to melt hearts, yet every word pierced the heart:

"Zhu Zi, are you crazy? That's the security department! Going there is suicide!"

"Sister Qin, don't stop me! They're throwing dirty water on this old man's head!"

Sha Zhu was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

Qin Huairu clutched his collar tightly, tilting her head back, her eyes filled with grievance:

"Don't you understand? There's no embezzlement involved! It's all a conspiracy! It's Zhou Jianguo's conspiracy!"

Upon hearing the name Zhou Jianguo, Sha Zhu tensed up.

Seeing that she had grasped his weakness, Qin Huairu immediately reversed her attack:

"This old man usually doesn't even eat fine grains; he gives all his money to our hospital. Would he really be greedy for that little bit of money?"

"It's Zhou Jianguo! He wanted to be the local tyrant in the compound, and to get revenge on us, he deliberately forged documents to frame that old man!"

She unleashed her final, deadly weapon: "Think about it, he didn't even spare a child like Bang Geng, he crippled my son's leg, what else wouldn't this monster do?"

"Silly Uncle..."

Banggeng, who was clinging to his back, also wailed, "My legs hurt so much... Zhou Jianguo said he's going to kill us all, you have to save me!"

The combined attack completely destroyed what little rationality the silly pillar had left.

The goddess's tears, the godfather's wrongful conviction, and the adopted son's disability.

In his limited brain capacity, these fragments quickly pieced together a single answer: Zhou Jianguo was the root of all evil.

The truth doesn't matter anymore; what matters is killing Zhou Jianguo.

"Zhou Jianguo..."

Sha Zhu squeezed out those three words through gritted teeth, his eyes turning ferocious.

The veins on his forehead bulged.

"Even if it costs me my life, I'll skin him alive!"

Looking at Sha Zhu's distorted face, Qin Huairu lowered her head, a glint of triumph flashing in her eyes.

The fiercest mad dog in the courtyard has finally been locked up on the Jia family's dilapidated ship.

"Zhu Zi, take the sticks back inside first; the child can't stand the cold..."

Qin Huairu sobbed, her voice returning to its previous weak and feeble tone.

Sha Zhu didn't say a word, and carried the stick back to the Jia family.

After settling the children in, he didn't stop for a moment, turned around and strode into the snow.

He walked through the middle courtyard and stood in front of the moon gate in the back courtyard.

He plunged his feet into the knee-deep snowdrifts, letting the fierce wind tousle his hair.

Sha Zhu stared at the bungalow in the backyard, which was lit by a warm yellow light, his eyes bloodshot, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

On this deserted, snowy night, he made the most solemn vow in his heart:

Blood debts must be repaid in blood!

And behind that warm window.

Zhou Jianguo picked up the large bowl and drank the last mouthful of delicious noodle soup.

Then, he stood up and placed the steel kitchen knife in the center of the cutting board.

Who's got the nerve to barge in here tonight?