Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

The two men followed at a distance. They were former reconnaissance soldiers, and they followed people very quietly.

We've arrived at a new place.

He Daqing stood beside a large rock, clutching a rope in his hand. Jiang Min was tied to the other end of the rope.

When Jiang Min saw Li Jianguo, tears streamed down her face. She tried to call out, but her voice was too hoarse to utter a sound. From the day she was tied up until now, she had almost thought she wouldn't survive. She had spent the whole night in the cave, freezing cold, hungry, and terrified, her mind filled with countless wicked thoughts. Now, seeing Li Jianguo, she felt completely weak.

"The person has been brought. Release them."

When Sha Zhu saw He Daqing, he was so excited that he trembled all over.

"Dad! Dad, save me!"

He Daqing ignored him and stared at Li Jianguo.

"Put them together."

The two of them let go at the same time.

Jiang Min stumbled over and buried her face in Li Jianguo's arms, trembling all over and crying so hard she couldn't speak. Li Jianguo held her, feeling her shaking violently. He patted her back without saying a word.

Then he looked up.

"Arrest them."

The two people darted out from behind the tree with astonishing speed.

He Daqing was startled.

"Impossible! I tripped them up!"

The scout who held him down laughed.

"That thing? You underestimate us."

He Daqing was pinned to the ground, his face pressed against the dirt. Li Jianguo walked over and looked down at him.

"He Daqing, kidnapping. You know your own crime. Spend your last days with your son."

"No—you can't do this!"

He Daqing suddenly started howling.

"You agreed! You signed the document! Release my son!"

Li Jianguo ignored him.

"take away."

He Daqing was dragged away. Sha Zhu was also taken away. When the father and son were put into the car together, He Daqing was still howling, so loudly that even the birds on the mountain flew away.

When Li Jianguo brought Jiang Min back, Director Yang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was alright, and almost sat down on the ground.

"It's alright, it's alright..."

He repeated it several times, his eyes even turning a little red.

News of He Daqing's arrest spread rapidly. Kidnapping and rescuing a death row inmate—two crimes combined, he was doomed.

The people in the courtyard were in an uproar again when they heard the news.

"Good heavens, is He Daqing really courting death?!"

"The He family...has been wiped out?"

"That's right, Sha Zhu will be executed tomorrow, and He Daqing will be soon too. Only He Yushui is left, poor girl."

When the deaf old woman heard this news at home, she smashed the cup in her hand on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"waste!"

She gritted her teeth, her face contorted with wrinkles.

"Useless thing! How could you get caught like that!"

She sat in the house all afternoon, and only when it got dark did she quietly go out and head to Yi Zhonghai's house.

He Daqing and Sha Zhu were locked up together.

The father and son embraced and wept bitterly. After they finished crying, He Daqing began to feel afraid. He squatted in the corner, staring at the corridor outside the iron railings, his fingers digging into the cracks in the floor tiles.

"Officer," he suddenly spoke, his voice terribly dry, "I... what will happen to me?"

The police officer on duty outside looked up at him, his eyes cold.

"What do you mean? Kidnapping Secretary Jiang's daughter and trying to save a death row inmate, both of those things combined make you just like your son—you'll be executed on your death sentence."

He Daqing's face turned pale.

"No... I don't want to be shot, I don't want to die..."

He started shouting, and his voice grew louder and louder. Sha Zhu quickly pulled him away.

"Dad! Stop shouting! Solitary confinement is no place for humans!"

He Daqing ignored him and kept shouting. The policeman stood up and banged his baton against the railing.

"Say it again and I'll put you in solitary confinement!"

Sha Zhu grabbed He Daqing with all his might and dragged him back to the corner. He Daqing huddled there, trembling all over, no longer shouting, but tears streamed down his face.

The news of He Yushui's fainting came the next day. Her colleagues took her to the hospital, and when she woke up, her eyes were swollen like peaches.

"My dad...my brother..."

My colleague nodded but didn't say anything.

He Yushui cried again. From now on, she would be all alone.

Li Jianguo was not greatly affected.

There was an impact, too—his relationship with Jiang Min was much closer than before. The day he rescued her, she hugged him and cried for a long time. Later she let go, but her eyes were different.

When her father picked her up, Li Jianguo didn't have time to say much. It's alright, there will be other opportunities.

I got up in the morning and signed in as usual.

More supplies. Various tickets, various kinds of food, piled up. Li Jianguo didn't even glance at them, just tossed them into his spatial storage.

The last thing made him pause for a moment.

"A spirit dog?"

He clicked on it, and a puppy appeared in the room. It looked a bit like a husky, with bright eyes, and as soon as it came out, it came close to him and rubbed against his legs.

Li Jianguo picked it up and took a look.

"What can this thing do?"

The puppy seemed to understand, and with a strong struggle, it broke free from his grasp and bit his finger. The bite was quite accurate, but it didn't hurt; it just held onto it.

Li Jianguo was delighted.

"Okay, this is interesting."

He thought about it and realized the dog was useless to him. He wasn't in a good enough position to need a dog's protection. Giving it to Jiang Min would be more suitable.

He took the dog to find her.

Jiang Min saw him at school after class, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm bringing you something."

The puppy popped its head out from his arms.

"Wow!" Jiang Min's eyes lit up. "So cute!"

"It's quite smart. It will stay with you and protect you. It's just a little small right now."

"For me?" Jiang Min blushed, took the puppy, hugged it tightly, and looked down at it. "What's its name?"

"You name your dog."

Jiang Min thought for a moment, looked at the puppy's round belly, and smiled.

"Let's call it a meat bun! Look how fat it is..."

Li Jianguo couldn't help but laugh. "Meat Bun," that name... it's alright, I guess.

He looked at Jiang Min and suddenly didn't want to go back so soon.

Do you have class later?

"Classes are over for today."

"How about... we go out for a walk?"

The two left the school and walked onto the main road, only to find a huge crowd of people, all surging in one direction.

"What's wrong?"

An older man nearby overheard this and kindly offered an explanation.

"Don't you know? Two scoundrels are paraded through the streets today, they'll be shot tomorrow! You're all here to watch the spectacle!"

Li Jianguo then remembered that Sha Zhu's execution was today.

He wasn't in a hurry to leave and stood by the roadside with Jiang Min, watching.

"That's the guy who kidnapped you. He'll be paraded through the streets from here in a bit." He pointed to the crowd. "He'll be executed tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Min pursed her lips and remained silent, but there was a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.

After a while, the procession arrived.

Sha Zhu and He Daqing were being escorted, walking slowly. The two of them looked dejected, like wilted eggplants.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

"You bad guy! Die!"

A rotten vegetable leaf flew out and landed on Sha Zhu's face with a "smack".

It was like a floodgate had been opened. Rotten vegetable leaves, torn shoe soles, and clods of dirt rained down on people. Some picked up stones to throw, but were stopped by the police—otherwise, it could have really caused a fatality.

Sha Zhu was hit so hard he couldn't open his eyes. He kept his head down and didn't utter a sound. As he walked, he suddenly raised his face and looked into the crowd.

He saw Qin Huairu.

He suddenly jolted awake and struggled like a madman.

"Qin Huairu! You bitch!"

He roared at the crowd, his voice cracking.

Qin Huairu lowered her head, desperately trying to shrink back behind the people. But everyone around her turned to look at her, pointing and whispering. She couldn't stand any longer, turned and ran, faster and faster, without looking back, looking utterly disheveled.

Li Jianguo looked in that direction and only caught a glimpse of a back view before it was quickly swallowed up by the crowd.