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

The next day, at the execution ground.

The people in the courtyard had already made plans to go see this "excitement" together. The night before, Xu Damao came and knocked on Li Jianguo's door.

"Director Li, Sha Zhu is being executed tomorrow, everyone in the hospital is going, are you going?"

Li Jianguo was initially reluctant to go, but then he thought that he was also a party to the matter from beginning to end, so he might as well go and see.

"Okay, call me tomorrow."

He got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night and glimpsed light coming through the window of the Jia family's house next door, and saw shadowy figures moving around.

He glanced at it but didn't pay much attention. These people, no matter how much they try, can't come up with anything interesting.

The next morning, the courtyard was in an uproar.

It's the off-season at the factory lately, so everyone has free time, and a group of them headed out. The third uncle was riding his bicycle, whispering to the second uncle as he rode.

"The He family is finished. Only Yushui is left, poor girl."

"What's so pitiful about it? Would you have ended up like this if you had just behaved yourself?"

As Li Jianguo came out of the house, a group of people hurriedly greeted him, speaking politely and with a hint of awe in their eyes.

We've arrived at the execution ground.

There were so many people, packed tightly together in layers. Even before Sha Zhu was brought in, the entire area was filled with people standing on tiptoe to watch the spectacle. Everyone from the courtyard had arrived as well: the deaf old woman, the Jia family, and Yi Zhonghai—not a single one was missing.

Li Jianguo stood waiting, when he suddenly remembered that he hadn't signed in today.

"System, check-in."

More supplies. Food, supplies, and a bunch of coupons. He was feeling a little disappointed when something suddenly popped out.

"Character background file?"

He opened it, and the bag in his hand suddenly felt heavy. He squeezed out of the crowd and found a secluded corner to open it.

Upon looking at it, I was stunned.

It contains detailed information about the deaf elderly woman. It details her training in a spy training program in her youth, the forged identity documents, and evidence of her bribing the local street office to secure her place as a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly without family support). Everything is clearly written down.

Li Jianguo put the document away, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Now let's see how you try to jump around.

As he walked back, the crowd suddenly stirred—Sha Zhu had been brought in.

He was so thin he was just skin and bones, and he staggered as he walked. Behind him were heavily armed soldiers, their dark gun barrels pointed at him. Sha Zhu glanced at the gun barrels, his legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.

"It wasn't me...it really wasn't me..."

He cried so hard that tears streamed down his face, and he could barely speak.

A chorus of disdainful sneers erupted from all around.

"With that kind of character, how dare you do bad things?"

"Coward!"

Some people muttered under their breath:

"Could it be that he's truly innocent?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately retorted loudly:

"What injustice?! He brought it on himself! Stealing state secrets, what else is there to do but die!"

The murmurs immediately stopped.

Sha Zhu was dragged to the execution site, where he knelt, his whole body limp as mud.

"Ready—"

The executor raised his hand.

Just then, a person rushed in from outside the crowd, covered in sweat, and whispered a few words in the person in charge's ear.

The person in charge's expression changed drastically.

"Suspend the execution!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu collapsed to the ground, then began to laugh, laughing so hard he couldn't breathe, tears streaming down his face.

The crowd erupted instantly.

"What happened?"

"Aren't you going to execute them?"

"Is there more to the story?"

Li Jianguo was also stunned.

Director Zhang squeezed through the crowd from a distance and waved to him.

Li Jianguo walked over quickly.

"Chief Zhang, what happened?"

Director Zhang sighed, looking gloomy.

"We just received news that the thief wasn't Shazhu, but Banggeng. The evidence is now conclusive."

"What?"

Li Jianguo's mind went blank.

He subconsciously recalled the light from the Jia family's window last night.

"Impossible! They investigated for so long and couldn't find anything, how come they suddenly have evidence?"

"I'm puzzled too," Director Zhang said, rubbing his temples. "But the evidence has arrived—Bang Geng's signed and fingerprinted confession, it's all written clearly. The higher-ups have ordered the execution to be suspended until the matter is clarified. I still have to write a self-criticism."

Li Jianguo nodded and didn't say anything more.

Director Zhang had already turned and left, his face ashen.

"Detain all of the Jia family members—Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, Qin Huairu, and Banggeng!"

Police rushed into the crowd to arrest people.

Jia Zhangshi was the first to explode:

"Why are you arresting me! Why are you arresting me!"

She scratched and bit, leaving several bloody marks on the face of a policeman. Jia Dongxu also struggled desperately, while Qin Huairu kept her head down and remained silent, frightening Bang Geng to the point of turning pale.

In the struggle, Jia Dongxu suddenly caught sight of Yi Zhonghai in the crowd, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot:

"It was him! He's the one who did it!"

He roared at Yi Zhonghai:

"You were up to no good when you treated me to drinks last night!"

Madam Jia Zhang also realized what was happening and burst into a tirade of curses:

"Yi Zhonghai! You old bastard! I'm not finished with you!"

Jia Zhangshi's mouth was like a sloppy slop bucket, spewing out all sorts of filthy words.

When Banggeng was pulled out of the crowd, his legs went weak. He turned to look for Qin Huairu, his eyes filled with terror, his lips trembling, wanting to call out "Mom," but no sound came out.

Qin Huairu was also stunned by the scene.

But she reacted quickly—the moment the stick was grabbed, she rushed out. Not towards the police, but towards Yi Zhonghai.

Fingernails. Teeth. Use everything that's available.

"Yi Zhonghai, you beast! Bang Geng is your son! You're going to kill him! You're not human!"

The moment these words were spoken, the entire execution ground fell silent.

Yi Zhonghai stood there, still clutching Qin Huairu's collar, his face showing an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"What did you say?"

His voice was trembling.

"What you're saying is definitely a lie, isn't it?"

Qin Huairu burst into tears, her face covered in tears and snot.

"Bang Geng is my first son. You figure out when that was!"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale instantly.

He took a step back, then another, and then plopped down on the ground. He looked as if all the blood had been drained from him; he lay there limp.

Jia Dongxu jumped up.

"Qin Huairu! You're not human!"

Madam Jia was stunned. Her grandson, whom she had cherished for so many years, wasn't a member of the Jia family? She refused to believe it, shaking her head and muttering, "This is absolutely false. Banggeng is my grandson, that's my grandson..."

But seeing Qin Huairu's appearance, she also began to feel uneasy.

Then came the wailing and cursing.

"Qin Huairu, you shameless slut! Our Jia family has no daughter-in-law like you! Why don't you just die!"

Yi Zhonghai was still sitting on the ground.

His mind was buzzing, a complete mess. He'd never had children of his own, raising Sha Zhu like a son, and now he was suddenly being told—he had a biological son. The one he'd almost personally sent to prison. The one who stole the documents and was about to be shot.

What did he do?

He remembered. He had asked the deaf old woman. What had he said back then?

"A quick calculation tells you Banggeng wasn't born yours. Look at him, how does he resemble you? He's the son of the Jia family."

He believed it.

I foolishly believed it.

Yi Zhonghai suddenly stood up, facing the direction of the deaf old woman's house, and let out a roar.

"Deaf old woman—you lied to me—give me back my son—"

The Jia family members were arrested. Sha Zhu was also taken back. The crowd around the execution ground dispersed, but not completely; they lingered, whispering amongst themselves, their faces showing the excitement of someone who had just watched a spectacle. These days, they didn't see the execution, but they witnessed something far more exciting—adultery, illegitimate children, cuckoldry—it all happened.

At the entrance of the police station.

When Jia Dongxu came out, the sun was so bright it hurt his eyes. He squinted and walked a few steps, then suddenly turned around, grabbed Qin Huairu, and slapped her across the face.

It snapped with a crisp sound.

Qin Huairu staggered a couple of steps, covered her face, and remained silent.

"You bitch! You cheated on me!" Jia Dongxu kicked him again. "I've raised your son for nothing all these years!"

Those who hadn't gone far immediately stopped.

It would be a shame to miss such a lively event.

"What are you looking at? Look again and I'll beat you up!"

Jia Dongxu roared, his eyes red.

Some people in the crowd were unhappy.

"You've already shouted it in the street, and you're not letting people see?"

"What kind of skill is it to hit a woman?"

"Maybe it's because he's impotent that his wife found someone else."

One sentence after another, like knives. Jia Dongxu's face flushed red and then turned pale. He wanted to rush up and hit someone, but this was in front of the police station, and he didn't dare.