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

The weather is cold, but people's hearts are even colder.

The news from the neighborhood committee spread like wildfire: because of Xu Damao's mess, this year's "Advanced Compound" designation was completely ruined.

This means that the half-pound of brown sugar and two pounds of wheat flour that everyone had been eagerly anticipating for a year were all fed to the dogs.

The dozens of neighbors in the middle courtyard hunched their shoulders, their hands tucked into their sleeves, their faces blue with cold, but their eyes were fixed on Zhou Jianguo's door in the backyard.

When interests are harmed, one always needs to find a scapegoat.

"That bastard Zhou Jianguo is too selfish. Xu Damao was wrong, but by stepping on him, he wiped out all the benefits for our entire hospital!"

"Exactly! My son was waiting for that sweet soup, and now it's all ruined."

Just as the resentment was reaching its peak, Second Uncle Liu Haizhong walked out with his hands behind his back.

Yi Zhonghai coughed up blood and lay flat on his back, while Liu Haizhong felt that the sky above his head had finally brightened.

He specially changed into that gray Zhongshan suit that he only wore for major meetings, and held a tea mug in his hand, exuding an air of officialdom.

"Bang—!"

The teacup slammed heavily onto the stone table. Liu Haizhong cleared his throat, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Comrades! Old Yi isn't feeling well, but this compound can't be without a leader for even a day!" Liu Haizhong's voice boomed, his face practically screaming "I want to take over!" "Today, I, the second uncle, will temporarily take over the duties of the first uncle and uphold justice for everyone!"

"Second Uncle, what do you suggest we do? Who will compensate us for our losses?" someone in the crowd started to grumble.

Liu Haizhong's eyes darted around: "What do we do? Whoever caused the trouble should take responsibility! Xu Damao is in jail, but there's someone else who fanned the flames! Zhou Jianguo, for personal revenge, disregarded the collective interest—this is typical behavior of a bad element! He must be brought to justice!"

"Yes! Liquidate the accounts! Make him pay!"

"Take Xu Damao's assets and confiscate them!"

Once the door of greed is opened, these seemingly kind neighbors instantly transform into man-eating beasts.

"Squeak—"

The door opened.

Zhou Jianguo leaned against the door frame, still wearing his faded work clothes, holding a handful of spiced peanuts in his hand, slowly peeling them.

His expression of watching a grand spectacle only fueled the fire in his bangs.

"Zhou Jianguo! How dare you even eat here?" Liu Haizhong pointed at him, spitting everywhere. "You colluded with the capitalist's daughter to frame our neighbors and ruin the reputation of this compound. You have to give everyone an explanation for this!"

Zhou Jianguo spat out a mouthful of peanut skins, which floated lightly to the ground.

"Second Uncle, you're putting that label on me a bit too harshly. Xu Damao was arrested by Zhao Gang from the security department on charges of embezzlement and hooliganism. How did it become that I framed him? So you know more about the law than the police?"

Liu Haizhong's face stiffened, then he became enraged: "Stop talking nonsense! Everyone saw it yesterday, Lou Xiao'e gave you an iron box! That's Xu Damao's stolen money! It's our workers' hard-earned money! You must hand it over!"

These words caused an uproar throughout the entire hospital.

"Hand it over! Zhou Jianguo, you can't keep it all to yourself!"

"That's our money!"

Aunt Liu rushed out as well, pointing at Zhou Jianguo and screaming, "You jinx! You don't deserve that money and that house!"

These people are so skilled at moral blackmail that it's almost heartbreaking.

"Nation-building..."

Before you see him, you hear his voice.

Qin Huairu appeared carrying Bang Geng, whose legs were wrapped in bandages.

Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were red and swollen, perfectly capturing that fragile and vulnerable feeling.

"Second Uncle is doing this for everyone's good." Qin Huairu first offered Liu Haizhong a way out, then turned to Zhou Jianguo, her tone humble to the point of being pitiful. "Jianguo, you saw it too, Da Mao went in. It's such a waste to leave that house empty. I beg you, please give me the key. Five of my family are crammed into one room, and with this leg... we don't even have a place to recover. Considering he's the only son of the Jia family, can you bear to do this?"

"That's right! Housing allocation! This house should go to the Jia family!" Sha Zhu, that sycophant, arrived late but not late, grabbing a shovel and trying to rush forward.

Zhou Jianguo looked at the group of people, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

[System notification: Group greed detected.]

[Decision: Use the special item – "Truth or Dare Bad Luck Sticker" x2.]

Zhou Jianguo's lips curled up slightly. "Since you're sticking your face out here, then I won't be polite."

"Second Uncle, Sister Qin, that's really touching." Zhou Jianguo threw down the peanuts in his hand, dusted off his hands, and walked step by step to the square table. "Want the Xu family's things? Okay, let's sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk."

He walked over to Liu Haizhong, patted him on the shoulder, and then casually slapped an invisible talisman into his back.

Immediately afterwards, as he passed by Qin Huairu, he lightly brushed the hem of her dress with his fingertip.

Two beams of golden light entered his body, and the show began.

"Zhou Jianguo, you're smart to know what's good for you!" Liu Haizhong was overjoyed, thinking the kid was finally scared. He immediately straightened his back. "As the temporary head of the household, let me say a few more words. Actually, I asked Zhou Jianguo to pay money not for everyone's sake, but for—"

"So that I can quickly bribe Secretary Wang at the factory!"

Liu Haizhong's voice suddenly rose, and with the amplification effect, it sounded like a loudspeaker broadcasting, instantly spreading throughout the entire alley.

The entire room fell silent.

Liu Haizhong stared wide-eyed in horror, desperately trying to cover his mouth, but it was completely out of control, like a flood bursting its banks: "What are you talking about, the honors of the compound? What do I care? I just want to take advantage of Lao Yi's downfall and quickly find the 'small fry' Xu Damao has hidden! With the money, I'll give the factory director a few old hens and slip him five hundred yuan, and I can become the deputy workshop director! Then, anyone who doesn't listen to me, I'll make their life difficult, fire all of you peasants, and let my son take your place!"

"Old Liu! Are you crazy!" Auntie Er was so frightened that her face turned green, and she rushed over to cover his mouth.

"Don't touch me!" Liu Haizhong flung his wife away, his eyes bloodshot and his face contorted with rage. "And this house, for Qin Huairu? Dream on! After I've looted everything, I'll sell this house to Old Sun from the factory. That's two hundred yuan a month! Once the money's in my pocket, I can spend it however I want. You bunch of idiots want compensation? Go starve!"

"Whoosh—!"

The crowd erupted in chaos.

"Liu Haizhong! You old beast! You're using us as pawns?"

"Who just said it was for justice? Bah! You power-hungry bastard, your behavior is utterly disgusting!"

The situation spiraled out of control. Liu Haizhong frantically slapped himself while shouting, "To tell you the truth, I'm still eyeing Old Yi's retirement money. Anyway, that old man has no descendants..."

"Cough cough cough!" Yi Zhonghai's heart-wrenching cough came from inside the room, probably because he was so angry that he was about to pass out.

Before everyone could even process this bombshell, Qin Huairu suddenly erupted.

She pushed away the stick in her arms, and her once pitiful face was now twisted like a vengeful ghost.

"The house! That's my house!" Qin Huairu pointed at Zhou Jianguo, her voice shrill and piercing. "Zhou Jianguo, do you think I'm begging you for Bang Geng's sake? I wish you were dead right now! The day you burned my firewood, I should have put arsenic in your medicine pot! I want this house so that when Bang Geng grows up, he can lead a group to beat you, this dead childless wretch, to death!"

"It's good that Xu Damao was arrested. That eunuch doesn't deserve a house! Once I take the house, I'll find a way to poison you at your next meal and steal all your possessions! You fatherless and motherless beast deserve to be a stepping stone for the Jia family!"

Sha Zhu stood frozen in place, the shovel in his hand falling to the ground with a clatter.

"Sister Qin... what... what did you say?" Sha Zhu's voice was trembling.

"What are you saying? Tell the truth!" Qin Huairu had gone mad, lunging at Zhou Jianguo to grab his face. "I want to kill you! Kill all these people in the hospital who are watching this spectacle! You all deserve to die! You're all less than a finger of my son's!"

Everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost and took three steps back in unison.

Liu Haizhong represents greed and wickedness.

But this Qin Huairu... this is a matter of life and death!

This is a wolf in sheep's clothing!

"They've gone mad...they've all gone mad..." Aunt Liu collapsed to the ground, trembling with fear.

Zhou Jianguo coldly observed the mess; the "Truth or Dare: Bad Luck Post" was about to expire.

The two collapsed to the ground as if their bones had been removed, their eyes shifting from madness to extreme terror and despair.

Her public persona has completely crumbled.

The "Second Uncle" and "Good Daughter-in-Law" masks they had cultivated for over a decade were torn to shreds by their own words.

"Have you made enough of a scene?"

He slowly pulled a neatly folded official document from his pocket and unfolded it in front of everyone.

"Look carefully. This is the 'House Management Agreement' signed by Ms. Lou Xiao'e, Xu Damao's first wife, when she was going through the divorce and asset preservation process."

Zhou Jianguo pointed to the red stamp on it, scanned everyone present, and finally stopped on the face of the man whose bangs were swollen like a pig's head.

"The agreement was reviewed and stamped by Director Wang of the Subdistrict Office. Xu Damao is involved in a criminal offense, and the property is currently under seizure and preservation. According to the law, it shall be managed by me, Zhou Jianguo, until the case is closed."

He shook the paper, and the crisp sound was louder than a slap.

"In other words," Zhou Jianguo stepped forward, his aura overwhelming, "from this moment on, anyone who dares to touch this house, anyone who dares to cross the threshold, is illegally occupying private property and damaging security evidence! This is a serious criminal offense! It will land you in jail!"

"Anyone who wants to accompany Xu Damao to operate the sewing machine, feel free to come up and give it a try!"

A deathly silence.

"He Yuzhu, weren't you going to help Sister Qin snatch a house?" Zhou Jianguo glanced at Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu shuddered, shaking his head violently, his eyes darting around: "No, no, no, Jianguo, I... I was blinded by greed, I won't split it, I'll get out of here right now."

After saying that, he picked up the shovel and ran faster than a rabbit.

Zhou Jianguo sneered and turned to Lou Xiao'e behind him, whispering, "Sister, get the lock."

Under the despairing gaze of all the birds in the courtyard, Zhou Jianguo deftly hung a huge padlock on the Xu family's gate.

"Snap!"

The sound of the lock being closed completely extinguished the greed of all the birds.

Zhou Jianguo turned around and led Lou Xiao'e to the backyard.

As soon as he stepped through the moon gate, he paused slightly and turned around abruptly.

In the shadows, a small figure hurriedly hid back.

It's a stick-shaped pun.

Zhou Jianguo was not afraid at all; instead, he laughed.

[Ding! Extreme negative emotions detected.]

[Congratulations, host, for completing the "Everyone Dies" achievement. You have received the following reward: Advanced Space Modification Card x1.]

[Black Market Update: Top-tier item – "Factory Production Safety Accident Induction Card"; Special item – "The Mysterious Man's Pledge of Allegiance".]