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

In the central courtyard, the cold wind swirled with withered leaves across the blue brick floor.

The eight-immortal table was placed in the very center, but the overall layout had changed drastically.

Liu Haizhong sat imposingly in the main seat, holding an enamel mug in both hands, his chubby face glistening with excitement.

Yan Bugui huddled on the left, his glasses bandaged, a pen hovering over his tattered notebook, his eyes darting around, ready to record the "new old man's" highest instructions.

Three meters in front of the table, Yi Zhonghai, who once held sway over the compound, now stood with his head bowed and his hands clasped together.

Although he tried his best to straighten his back, the slight trembling of his trouser legs betrayed his inner panic.

He was standing next to He Yuzhu.

This former war god now looks like a drowned rat.

The cotton-padded jacket, which was covered in oil stains, now had a smell mixed with ammonia.

The crowd surrounded them, three layers deep.

Qin Huairu hid in the shadows at the very back, her eyes scanning back and forth between the empty spaces where Yi Zhonghai and Zhou Jianguo were.

"Cough cough—!"

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Liu Haizhong took a deep breath and coughed, which made Yan Bugui's hand tremble, and the tip of his pen almost pierced the paper.

"Um... everyone be quiet! Quiet!"

Liu Haizhong put down the teacup with a loud "bang".

He looked around and saw that although his neighbors had kept quiet, their eyes were full of mockery as if they were watching a monkey show. There was no respect whatsoever.

This made Liu Haizhong very unhappy.

"Today's meeting has a very clear theme!" Liu Haizhong drawled, his knuckles clapping loudly on the table. "It's a criticism meeting about the former Uncle Yi Zhonghai and Comrade Sha Zhu for seriously violating factory rules and tarnishing the reputation of the compound!"

He paused, glanced at Yi Zhonghai, and grinned from ear to ear:

"In the past, some people ran their own dictatorships, formed cliques, and protected bad elements! This almost caused our advanced compound to lose its red flag! Now, on behalf of the new leadership, I will eliminate these bad apples and restore a bright and just environment for everyone!"

The words are grand, but they not only don't fit together, they also have a cheap, amateurish feel to them.

A few low laughs came from the crowd.

"This second uncle is far more obsessed with officialdom than with his abilities."

"Shh, let people hear us. He's the local tyrant of this little corner of the earth now."

Yi Zhonghai listened to the discussion, his face ashen, but his years of self-cultivation allowed him to remain calm.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, slowly raised his head, and squeezed out three parts sorrow and seven parts grievance from the wrinkles on his face.

"Old Liu..." Yi Zhonghai's voice was hoarse, "We've been neighbors for decades. I take responsibility for this, I admit it. But don't you all know what kind of person I am?"

He turned to face his neighbor, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Why would I cover for Sha Zhu? Isn't it all for the sake of the compound's reputation? Sha Zhu is a rascal, but he's helped everyone a lot. Now look what's happened. Who in our compound will dare to help each other in the future? I was just confused for a moment. I wanted to maintain neighborly harmony and didn't want decades of friendship to be ruined!"

This is a concept substitution tactic.

Many of the easily swayed neighbors softened.

"That's true, the old man is usually quite fair."

"Silly Zhu may have a foul mouth, but he's a real work ethic..."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu, who was standing nearby, straightened up, his head which had been drooping.

That reckless, unruly spirit returned, and he stubbornly shouted:

"Exactly! Can you call what the cook did stealing? I took it! Besides, I took it to help the Jia family's orphans and widows. What, doing a good deed is considered a crime?"

Seeing that the wind was about to change, Liu Haizhong became so anxious that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He opened his mouth to refute, but his limited knowledge was no match for the old fox Yi Zhonghai.

Just then.

"Click."

A crisp cracking sound of a sunflower seed shell breaking was particularly jarring in the quiet meeting room.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Zhou Jianguo was seen sitting on the outermost millstone at some point.

He sat with his legs crossed, a handful of sunflower seeds in his hand, and an indifferent look in his eyes.

Seeing everyone looking over, Zhou Jianguo blew the crumbs off his fingertips.

"Maintaining unity? Master Yi, it would be a loss to the crosstalk world if someone with your eloquence didn't go to Tianqiao to tell stories."

Zhou Jianguo's voice was soft and unhurried.

"They call stealing public property 'neighborly assistance,' and shielding criminals 'protecting their reputation.'" Zhou Jianguo stood up, clapped his hands, and slowly walked to the center of the crowd.

The crowd instinctively made way for him.

"Following your logic, if someone becomes poor, does that mean they can just steal steel or parts from the factory? And as long as they help their neighbors, they're not only innocent, they get a big red flower?"

Zhou Jianguo stopped and looked down at Yi Zhonghai: "Master Yi, this isn't about maintaining unity, it's about instigating crime and dragging everyone in the hospital, young and old, into prison."

boom--!

This is what is meant by killing someone by destroying their spirit.

The neighbors, who had just thought Yi Zhonghai's actions were understandable, suddenly sobered up and their expressions changed drastically.

"That's right! Stealing is stealing. If we get implicated, will we still be eligible for awards?"

"I almost got tricked by that old bastard!"

Liu Haizhong laughed.

Although the limelight was stolen, this was a brilliant finishing move!

"That's right! Comrade Jianguo's awareness is truly high!" Liu Haizhong slammed his hand on the table, causing water from his teacup to splash everywhere. "Yi Zhonghai, you're trying to mislead us! This is extremely malicious!"

Yi Zhonghai's face was deathly pale as he stared intently at Zhou Jianguo, his eyes filled with resentment.

The carefully cultivated public image he had built was shattered by this kid's few words.

"Zhou Jianguo! You're destined to have no offspring!"

When Sha Zhu saw Yi Zhonghai get the short end of the stick, he instantly lost his temper.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he brandished his large, fan-like hand, ready to charge forward. "Who do you think you are, speaking here? You outsider, an adopted son! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

The women around screamed and backed away in fright.

Zhou Jianguo didn't even blink.

He didn't even adopt a defensive stance; he simply stood there, his nostrils flaring slightly, before raising his hand and waving it in front of his nose.

"stop."

Zhou Jianguo took a half step back, looking disgusted.

"Silly Zhu, don't move. If you move again, that smell will knock everyone out."

Sha Zhu froze, his hand, which had been raised in mid-air, awkwardly stopped.

"Your stench of excrement has seeped into your very being, hasn't it?" Zhou Jianguo's gaze was sharp as he looked Sha Zhu up and down. "Looks like shoveling latrines hasn't brought you to your senses yet? Or perhaps you haven't had enough of that pit and want to relive the experience?"

"vomit--"

Someone in the crowd couldn't help but gag.

The neighbors, who had initially come to watch the spectacle, now covered their mouths and noses, retreating with expressions of disgust, clearing a vacuum around Sha Zhu.

"It stinks...no wonder it smelled sour earlier."

"Stay away from it, don't get it on your body, this smell can't be washed off."

Sha Zhu is the most concerned about his reputation in this life.

At this moment, this disdain was more painful than death.

His face turned a deep purplish-red, and he opened his mouth to curse, but found that no matter what he said, it was all pale and powerless in the face of this real "smell".

Magic attacks are the most lethal.

Zhou Jianguo ignored the stray dog, turned around, and looked past Sha Zhu, locking his gaze on Yi Zhonghai, who was trying to curl up into a ball.

This is the main course for tonight.

"Yi Zhonghai, stop acting, you've gone too far."

Zhou Jianguo's voice was eerily calm, but to Yi Zhonghai it sounded like a death knell.

"You keep talking about the compound and the neighbors. But what have you actually done?"

Zhou Jianguo stepped forward, staring intently into Yi Zhonghai's cloudy old eyes: "Your so-called morality is just the chain that controls the compound; your so-called retirement is nothing more than finding an obedient puppet!"

"Suppressing Xu Damao is because he's shrewd and hard to control; scheming against the Jia family and having Qin Huairu leech off Sha Zhu is to keep Sha Zhu firmly tied to this courtyard, so he can take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die!"

"To hide your selfish motives, you expect everyone in the hospital to live according to your script. Anyone who disobeys is disrespectful to the elderly and children, and disrupts unity!"

Every word is piercing, every sentence cuts to the bone.

"You seem fair and impartial, but you're actually the most selfish, hypocritical, and sinister old coin in the entire hospital!"

"You...you..."

Yi Zhonghai's pupils contracted sharply, and his breathing became rapid. His finger trembled as he pointed at Zhou Jianguo, his lips quivering. He wanted to retort, to rebuke, but no sound came out of his throat.

They've already stripped you bare, how can you still defend yourself?

Shame, fear, and despair surged in like a tide.

"Well--!"

Yi Zhonghai rolled his eyes, his body swayed violently twice, his legs gave way, and he fell straight backward.

"An old man!"

Sha Zhu was shocked and, disregarding the smell on his body, grabbed Yi Zhonghai, who was about to collapse to the ground.

The entire room fell silent.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to have stopped.

Liu Haizhong stood frozen, holding his teacup. Looking at the tall, imposing young man in the center of the room, his initial sense of accomplishment vanished.

He suddenly realized that the main character in tonight's show was never his bangs.

Zhou Jianguo stood there, seemingly without any official position, yet he appeared like a mountain, pressing down on everyone and making it hard for them to breathe.

"Alright, Second Uncle."

Zhou Jianguo suddenly turned around, casually waved his hand at Liu Haizhong, who was stunned, and said in a relaxed tone:

"The person has been criticized, the reasoning has been explained, and the play has been watched."

He brushed the remaining sunflower seed shells off his hands, didn't even glance at the half-dead Yi Zhonghai, and walked out.

"You can clean up the mess later. See you later."

Liu Haizhong only came to his senses after Zhou Jianguo's figure disappeared behind the moon gate.

He glanced at his stunned neighbor, then at Yi Zhonghai, who was slumped in Sha Zhu's arms. He opened his mouth, but could only manage a dry, stammering sentence:

"...Meeting adjourned! Meeting adjourned!"

This farce ended abruptly.

In the corner, Qin Huairu looked in the direction Zhou Jianguo had left.

Her body was still trembling slightly, but in those peach blossom eyes, besides fear, a flame of madness seemed to have ignited again.

This man is too ruthless.

But it is precisely because of its ruthlessness that... if one could hold this knife in their hand, perhaps that would be the only way to survive.