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

Only Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu remained by the octagonal table.

Yi Zhonghai slumped onto the bench.

His usually calculating old eyes now revealed a look of panic.

"Grandpa..." Qin Huairu hugged her shoulders, her teeth chattering from the cold, her voice trembling with tears, "What are we going to do? If Shazhu really gets beaten up... won't our whole courtyard be implicated? Banggeng is still inside..."

"Shut up!"

Yi Zhonghai looked up, his eyes fierce, which made Qin Huairu instinctively shrink back.

"Qin Huairu, you better keep your mouth shut." Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice. "That money Sha Zhu earned was his own! It was money he painstakingly saved up to get married! It has absolutely nothing to do with He Daqing! And it has even less to do with Baoding!"

His hands trembled as he reached for the pipe, but he grasped only air and a handful of cold wind.

"If the higher-ups find out this money is connected to He Daqing who escaped, not only will I be out of jail, but I'll be going to jail too!" Yi Zhonghai stared at Qin Huairu. "If you want to cut off the Jia family's food supply, then go ahead and spout nonsense!"

Startled, Qin Huairu forced back the tears that had just welled up and could only nod frantically.

At this moment, inside the house in the backyard.

Zhou Jianguo sat by the stove, leisurely browsing the system panel.

With a light tap of the finger in the air, the [Black Market Module] is activated.

An item floated silently in the redemption section—[He Daqing's expedited registered letter (including copies of remittance stubs from previous years)].

Item Description: A registered letter sent by He Daqing. Because remittances over the years have been lost without a trace, and last month's remittance, though signed for, has received no response, and he even received an abusive letter from Sha Zhu, He Daqing specifically attached copies of all remittance slips, requesting an audit.

"In the original story, this letter was intercepted by Yi Zhonghai and became the chain that allowed him to control Sha Zhu for the rest of his life."

Zhou Jianguo's eyes were slightly cold.

For so many years, Yi Zhonghai has been withholding the living expenses that He Daqing was supposed to give to his children. This is not just greed; it's profiting from others' misfortunes and ruining the lives of Sha Zhu and Yu Shui in order to create a compliant retirement machine for himself.

That old bastard deserves to die.

"exchange."

A crisp system notification sound rang out.

"Host, please specify the delivery method."

Zhou Jianguo stroked his chin, his gaze seemingly piercing through the wall, landing on the fat man in the middle courtyard who dreamed of being a grandpa.

"It is to be delivered by a stranger by postman at 7:30 tomorrow morning. And... make sure our Second Uncle Liu Haizhong intercepts this letter."

Want to become an official? Well then, I'll give you a great opportunity.

……

The next morning.

The atmosphere in the courtyard house remained oppressive.

The turmoil from last night has not subsided, leaving an unsettling atmosphere.

Yi Zhonghai got up earlier than anyone else by the pool in the central courtyard.

He had dark circles under his eyes, but he forced himself to stay alert and chatted with several passing residents while brushing his teeth.

"Hey, Lao Li, off to work? Don't take last night's incident to heart. We've watched Sha Zhu grow up, what bad intentions could he have? That money, he really saved it up little by little. That kid is honest, just not good with words..."

Yi Zhonghai tried his best to maintain his dignified and respected demeanor, attempting to cover up the lie with words.

Several residents nodded obsequiously, exchanged a few perfunctory words, and hurriedly slipped away.

Nobody's stupid. Zhou Jianguo explained things so clearly yesterday. Anyone who believes Yi Zhonghai now is a huge victim.

"Sizzle—"

Zhou Jianguo carried the washbasin and slowly swayed out, the basin hitting the edge of the sink with a crisp sound.

Yi Zhonghai's hand froze as he brushed his teeth, and foam dripped down the corner of his mouth, making him look particularly comical.

Zhou Jianguo didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly squeezing out toothpaste as if the person standing next to him wasn't an old man, but a wisp of air.

This silent contempt was even more painful for Yi Zhonghai than being verbally abused.

Just then, a rapid bicycle bell suddenly rang out from the front yard.

"Ding-ling-ling—!"

Immediately afterward, a strange, raspy voice boomed from the gate: "No. 95, Hongxing Courtyard! There's an urgent registered letter from Baoding! To He Yuzhu! Who's in charge?"

The words "Baoding" reached Yi Zhonghai's ears.

"Clatter!"

Yi Zhonghai dropped his toothbrush on the ground, splashing white foam all over his trouser leg.

Baoding! He Daqing!

A letter at this time?

If that letter gets exposed...

An overwhelming panic instantly engulfed him.

Yi Zhonghai didn't even bother to wipe his mouth. He ran like a madman towards the front yard. He was so fast that he didn't look like a fifty-year-old man at all. It was as if a vicious dog was chasing him.

"That's Sha Zhu's letter! I'm his uncle! I'll receive it!"

Yi Zhonghai ran and shouted, his voice cracking.

However, someone was faster and more anxious than him.

Second Uncle Liu Haizhong was already strolling around the front yard with his hands behind his back.

He was so frightened by Zhou Jianguo's beating yesterday that he didn't sleep well all night. His mind was filled with thoughts of how to distance himself from the bad guys and how to take back the old man's position.

Upon hearing the letter from Baoding, Liu Haizhong's keen sense of smell exploded.

He rushed forward and, using his weight advantage, blocked the postman who was about to take out the letter.

"I am the second eldest uncle of this compound! The compound is currently conducting a strict investigation, and this letter involves important information; I am responsible for handling it!"

With his bangs swaggering, Liu Haizhong stretched out his hand with an air of authority.

"Old Liu! What are you doing!"

Yi Zhonghai rushed over, panting, his eyes red. He reached for the envelope, shouting, "This is Sha Zhu's family matter! I'm He Yuzhu's guardian, it's none of your business!"

Although Liu Haizhong was fat, he was a blacksmith by trade. He stuffed the letter into his coat and glared at him, saying, "Old Yi, why are you in such a hurry? I've never seen you so attentive to letters before! Is there something shady in this letter?"

The two men faced off at the hanging flower gate, the air thick with tension.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors gathered around.

Even Qin Huairu, clutching acacia flowers, shrank back in the crowd, her face pale and her eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty.

At this point, Yi Zhonghai no longer cared about appearances; all he knew was that this letter absolutely could not be made public!

Exposure to light means certain death!

"Liu Haizhong! This is an invasion of privacy! Give me the letter!" Yi Zhonghai shouted angrily, veins bulging on his forehead, as he reached out to snatch it.

"Oh my, sir, the way you're doing this, if you didn't know better, you'd think it was a spy meeting, and you were about to destroy the intelligence."

A lazy yet chilly voice drifted lightly from behind the crowd.

Zhou Jianguo had somehow found himself standing under the covered walkway.

His gaze was like a knife, sweeping across Yi Zhonghai's flustered face before finally settling on Liu Haizhong.

"Second Uncle, we were just discussing the issue of unclear funding sources and enemy spies yesterday. No sooner had Sha Zhu gone in than an urgent letter arrived from Baoding. What if this letter contains some infiltration orders or evidence of fund transfers…?"

Zhou Jianguo paused for a moment: "This old man is going to such lengths to hide it, could it be that he's trying to... destroy evidence?"