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

In the end, he could only grab Qin Huairu by the hair and drag her towards the courtyard.

"Get the hell home!"

Qin Huairu followed without saying a word, staggering along.

That afternoon, the crying coming from the Jia family's house could be heard throughout the entire courtyard. No one tried to stop it. Qin Huairu deserved to be beaten; she brought it on herself.

Yi Zhonghai is back too.

He walked as if sleepwalking, stumbling along. His hands were still trembling when he pushed open the door.

He went to find the deaf old woman.

You lied to me.

The deaf old woman was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) when she saw Yi Zhonghai's appearance, and her heart skipped a beat. But she didn't show it on her face.

"Yi Zhonghai, don't get agitated, let me explain to you slowly."

"Explain what?" Yi Zhonghai took a step closer, his eyes bloodshot and terrifying. "Bang Geng is my son! Why did you lie to me? He's my only son, and now he's going to be executed—all because of you!"

The deaf old woman shrank back.

"What do you want me to say? Tell you that Banggeng is your son?" Her voice hardened. "Think about it, Qin Huairu had just married into the city when her husband was your apprentice. If your affair with her had been exposed long ago, would you still be alive? Besides, how can you be so sure that Banggeng is your son? Qin Huairu has more than just you as a man."

Yi Zhonghai was stunned.

The deaf old woman struck while the iron was hot.

"Qin Huairu is revealing this now just so you can save Bang Geng, right? Jia Dongxu is a good-for-nothing, so she can only turn to you. Regardless of whether Bang Geng is yours or not, she'll say he is."

Yi Zhonghai's shoulders slowly slumped.

Through the window, he saw Jia Dongxu kick Qin Huairu out of the house again. She lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

He actually felt a little sorry for him.

Just because she is that child's mother.

The deaf old woman stood up and walked to the window.

"Jia Dongxu, stop hitting her. No matter what, she gave you two daughters. Your outburst is just doing what some people want."

Jia Dongxu looked up and saw the deaf old woman, then saw Yi Zhonghai behind her, his eyes filled with hatred.

"You're all cut from the same cloth! He's a lover, and you're just a wicked old man!"

The deaf old woman wasn't angry; she just sighed.

"Think about it, who really started this? That bastard Li Jianguo is hoping we'll kill each other. He said the missing documents were state secrets, but which of you actually saw those documents? These past two days, he's clearly trying to wipe us all out. Fighting amongst yourselves at a time like this, do you have a death wish?"

She lowered her voice and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Kill that kid first, we'll deal with the rest later."

Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth, flung his hand, and left.

Qin Huairu got up from the ground, picked up Xiao Dang who had run out, and timidly went into the house.

in prison.

When Sha Zhu was taken inside, He Daqing was kneeling on the ground, muttering incantations.

"May God bless my son, that he may be reborn into a good family and not suffer in his next life..."

"dad."

He Daqing turned his head and saw Sha Zhu; his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He plopped down on the ground and shrank back.

"Who? Who are you? Are you a human or a ghost?"

Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Dad, I'm not dead! They said Bang Geng stole the stuff, it has nothing to do with me, so let me go!"

He Daqing froze for a few seconds, then suddenly pounced on Sha Zhu, hugging him and stroking him all over. As he stroked him, tears began to fall.

"Good...good...it's good that you're alive..."

The father and son hugged and cried for a while, then He Daqing suddenly remembered something, and his smile froze on his face.

Sha Zhu doesn't have to die. But what about him? His sentence remains unchanged.

Sha Zhu finally realized what was happening. He hugged He Daqing and burst into tears.

"Dad, it's all my fault!"

He Daqing didn't speak, only wept. He had thought his son was going to die, so he risked everything to kidnap him, willing to risk two lives for one. Now his son was alive, but he was going to die. What kind of situation was this?

After crying his fill, Sha Zhu wiped away his tears, a fierce look appearing in his eyes.

"Dad, this is all that bastard Li Jianguo's fault. Don't worry, I'll definitely kill him and avenge you."

He Daqing nodded, his eyes shining with the same light as his son's.

"People like that don't deserve to live."

The deaf old woman's home.

Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman were still discussing how to kill Li Jianguo.

"We can't be lenient this time; we have to kill him," Yi Zhonghai said.

The deaf old woman nodded: "We've let him off too easily before. This time we need to plan meticulously and strike decisively."

As they were talking, the courtyard suddenly became lively.

Xu Damao was the first to run out and saw Li Jianguo and Director Zhang leading a group of police officers in.

"Director Li, Chief Zhang, what's going on?"

Li Jianguo ignored him. Director Zhang, holding the documents, spoke loudly:

"The deaf old woman was a spy trained by the enemy years ago, and she has been lurking here all this time. We're here today to arrest her."

Xu Damao was dumbfounded.

"What? A spy? Director Li, you must be mistaken. She's an old lady who's lived with us for so many years..."

"The evidence is conclusive," Li Jianguo said. "We'll find out the rest when we get back and investigate."

Police stormed into the deaf old woman's house.

Before the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai could react, they were dragged off the kang (a heated brick bed) by two policemen.

"The deaf elderly woman is suspected of espionage; the evidence is conclusive. Take her away!"

Yi Zhonghai panicked immediately. He knew all too well the deaf old woman's identity, and he knew even more what she would say if she were taken away. He rushed forward and stood in front of the police.

"You can't take her away! She's a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans)! Even the neighborhood committee can't do this!"

Everyone in the courtyard came out at the sound. Lately, one exciting event after another has happened; it's impossible to keep up.

Xu Damao leaned closer to Li Jianguo and whispered, "This old man is protecting her so much, could he be an accomplice?"

Yi Zhonghai, with his sharp ears, immediately retorted, "Xu Damao, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Director Zhang frowned. If the neighbors started making a fuss, this person would be difficult to take away. He glanced at Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo nodded slightly.

"If you don't believe me, then please show me the evidence."

Director Zhang opened the document bag and took out a photograph.

"This is a graduation photo from the enemy's spy school back then. The young woman in the middle is the deaf old lady in front of you."

The crowd crowded around to take a closer look. The person in the photo did indeed bear a resemblance to the deaf old woman in terms of features.

"And there's her resume," Director Zhang continued. "After graduation, she was sent to Shanghai and participated in numerous espionage activities before infiltrating our ranks. Her so-called sacrificed son was also fabricated."

The courtyard erupted in uproar.

"My God, are spies right among us?"

"We've lived together for so many years, and I never noticed!"

"That old lady really kept it well hidden!"

Xu Damao opened his mouth wide, unable to close it for a long time.

"Director Zhang, where did you get these materials from?"

Director Zhang smiled and pointed at Li Jianguo.

"I have to thank Director Li for this. He provided everything. At first, I didn't believe it either, so I went to verify it myself, and everything was true."

All eyes turned to Li Jianguo.

The way Xu Damao looked at him was no longer just admiration, but downright awe.

The deaf old woman's face changed instantly upon seeing the photograph. It was the only evidence she had left in the organization; even the negatives had been destroyed. How could it have ended up in Li Jianguo's hands?

Upon seeing those detailed documents, her legs began to weaken.

Her only thought was: something has happened in the organization, and it's someone at the top.

She stared intently at Li Jianguo, her gaze sharp as a knife.

Who exactly is this person?

The deaf old woman was, after all, a trained person. After a brief moment of panic, she forced herself to calm down.

"The woman in this photo only bears a slight resemblance to me. You're concluding I'm a spy based on that alone?" She turned to Director Zhang. "Director Zhang, you can't just listen to his side of the story. Li Jianguo and I have a long-standing grudge; he'd love for me to die. How could an engineer like him have such detailed information? Don't you find it suspicious?"

Director Zhang looked at Li Jianguo.