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

He stood at the gate of the courtyard, lit a cigarette, and watched as the person was shoved into the car.

When the smoke cleared, the courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Everyone, you can leave now."

Li Jianguo said.

The crowd did not move.

He repeated, "That's all. Those who need to cook, cook; those who need to feed the chickens, feed the chickens."

This time they moved. But they didn't walk fast, taking a few steps and looking back every now and then, whispering in hushed tones, like a swarm of startled flies.

"My God, what's wrong with our department this year?"

"Who knew, one after another they got into trouble..."

"That deaf old lady usually seems like such an honest person, tsk tsk."

"Honest? Can an honest person become a spy?"

"That's true..."

Sha Zhu entered the courtyard at this time.

He walked very slowly.

Her feet dragged, the soles of her shoes scraping against the ground with a soft, rustling sound. Her head was lowered, obscuring her face; only the loose flesh at the back of her neck was visible, trembling with each step.

Second Uncle was the first to see him.

"Why?"

He paused for a moment, then blurted out, "Why are you back?"

He regretted it as soon as he said it. The way he said it made it sound like he was hoping the person wouldn't come back.

Sha Zhu ignored him.

He seemed not to hear, or perhaps he heard but didn't care. He just kept walking forward, towards Li Jianguo's country.

Someone tried to stop them.

But nobody actually reached out.

Li Jianguo's door was ajar.

Jiang Min was inside the house.

She had calmed down a bit and was now sipping her malted milk powder slowly. Her eyes were still red, but they were no longer trembling. She looked around and suddenly said:

"This room of yours doesn't look like a bachelor's place at all."

Li Jianguo was peeling an apple for her. He stopped, looked up at her.

"Why doesn't it look like it?"

"It's too clean," Jiang Min said. "I've been to the single dormitory in my dad's factory. The smell, the cigarette butts on the ground—it's all different from here."

Li Jianguo smiled.

"Then I'll take that as a compliment."

He handed her the peeled apple, and Jiang Min reached out to take it. Their fingers touched briefly before separating. The apple peel was peeled very long, a single, winding strip that lay on the table.

The door was pushed open.

I didn't knock.

Li Jianguo's face instantly turned cold.

He turned his head and saw Sha Zhu standing at the door. He just stood there, neither coming in nor leaving. The expression on his face was like crying, and like laughing, but in the end, it was neither; only a gray, bewildered look remained.

"Get out."

Three words.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was cold. So cold that Sha Zhu took half a step back, then stopped.

Jiang Min stood up.

She recognized the man. The son of the man who had kidnapped her. Her fingers instinctively clenched the apple, so tightly that a piece of the apple flesh dented.

Sha Zhu's gaze lingered on her face for a second.

Then he knelt down.

His knee slammed into the ground with a dull thud.

"Director Li," he said, his voice hoarse and panting like a broken bellows, "I beg you, please let my father go. I'll do anything for you from now on, I'll do anything for you."

He started moving forward.

They moved on their knees.

His knees slid on the ground, dust settling on his trousers. He took two steps toward Li Jianguo, then turned to Jiang Min, reaching out to touch her leg.

"Lady, I'm begging you—I'll give you anything you want, really, anything at all—"

Jiang Min's face turned pale.

She remembered the day she was tied up. She remembered the feeling of having a black cloth blindfolded. She remembered the taste of the rag stuffed in her mouth. She backed away, backed to the table, but couldn't go any further.

Li Jianguo made a move.

Lift your foot.

踹。

Sha Zhu fell backward, crashing to the ground with the back of his head hitting the threshold with a thud. He struggled to get up, but before he could, the second kick landed.

This time he flew out.

It really flew. It flew from inside the house to outside, then slammed its back on the ground and slid half a meter away.

Those who hadn't yet completely dispersed in the courtyard gasped in surprise.

"Goodness, this Director Li..."

"Serves him right, who told him to provoke her..."

Xu Damao stood in the crowd, his mouth stretched almost to his ears in a wide grin. He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"You idiot Zhu, you still have the nerve to beg Director Li? Don't you know what kind of mess your family has made? You brought this on yourself, you deserve it!"

Sha Zhu lay on the ground, not moving.

It took him a while to catch his breath before he slowly struggled to his feet. As he looked up, he saw Qin Huairu push open the door—the door of the Jia family's residence.

Their eyes met.

Qin Huairu's face turned pale instantly.

She saw Sha Zhu's eyes. There were no tears, no hatred, nothing at all. Just emptiness. A frightening emptiness.

The door slammed shut.

Qin Huairu leaned against the door, her chest heaving violently.

"What are you dawdling about!"

Jia Zhangshi's voice came from the inner room, sharp and piercing.

"You're never satisfied with anything you eat, and you're useless at everything you do. Our Jia family is truly unlucky to have married you—"

Qin Huairu did not respond.

She walked towards the stove, head down. Her hands were still trembling. Her mind was filled with that look in her eyes. Empty. Utterly nothing. But that was more terrifying than anything else.

Sha Zhu was still kneeling at the Jia family's door.

He knelt for quite a while.

He stared at the door, staring and staring, his lips moved. He didn't make a sound, but you could tell from his lip movements.

Two words.

You despicable person.

He slowly got up and started walking back. He paused briefly as he passed Li Jian's house, not daring to look inside. He stopped for a moment, then continued on his way.

In the room.

Li Jianguo handed the second peeled apple to Jiang Min.

"Ignore him."

Jiang Min took it and took a bite. As she chewed, she suddenly said, "Wasn't I quite embarrassing just now?"

"Where is it embarrassing?"

"Squat down like that."

Li Jianguo thought for a moment and said, "It's not shameful. I'm watching."

Jiang Min remained silent.

She took another bite of the apple, her eyes gazing out the window. It was getting dark. A stray cat was perched on the courtyard wall, licking its paws.

"The interrogation results are in."

Director Zhang arrived the next morning.

He put the materials on the table, found a chair, sat down, took a sip of tea, and then began to speak.

"Those two cowards, Yi Zhonghai and Director Wang, confessed everything as soon as they went in. Director Wang paid the fine and was released. After all, he's retired, so those past incidents can't be investigated much."

Li Jianguo nodded.

Where is Yi Zhonghai?

"He's recruited a lot." Director Zhang smiled, but the smile wasn't very pleasant. "He helped a lot with things like the deaf old lady's case. Even when you were shot, he was the one who helped pass on the news."

Li Jianguo's eyebrows twitched.

"We've set up surveillance there," Director Zhang said. "We'll take them all down after we finish interrogating the deaf old woman."

"Where's the deaf old lady?"

"Her," Director Zhang leaned back in his chair, "was quite tough at first, admitting she was a spy and refusing to say anything else. But then a few tricks were used, and she spilled everything. She implicated everyone, superiors and subordinates alike. This time, they're in for a rough time."

He paused, then said, "He can't escape the death penalty."

Li Jianguo remained silent.

Birds are chirping outside the window. They're chirping very happily.

"The factory's punishment for Yi Zhonghai has also been announced." Director Zhang pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "He's been demoted two levels and given a major demerit. Now he's a level three worker, with the same treatment as a new recruit. With the major demerit, he won't be eligible for any benefits or promotions in the future."

He handed the paper to Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo glanced at it and put it on the table.

"Does he know it himself?"

"I told him when I came out." Director Zhang stood up, patted his pants, and said, "Alright, I'm off. I have to go."

He walked to the door, then turned back.

"Director Li, you are truly my lucky star."

Li Jianguo smiled but didn't reply.

Yi Zhonghai returned in the afternoon.

He walked very slowly. Even slower than Sha Zhu last night. Every step felt like walking on cotton, soft and yielding.

Upon entering the courtyard, I saw Uncle Erda squatting at the entrance, picking vegetables. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he saw me.

"Oh, the old man's back?"

The way he called out "Grandpa" was sarcastic and unpleasant.

"I thought you were like the deaf old lady, never to come back."

Yi Zhonghai stopped.

He stared at Liu Haizhong for a long time. Liu Haizhong felt uneasy under his gaze and was about to curse when Yi Zhonghai suddenly lowered his eyes and continued walking forward.

Liu Haizhong was stunned.

This isn't right. This old man doesn't usually react like this. He should be yelling back, glaring at me, he should—

"Pooh!"

Liu Haizhong spat on the ground.

"What the hell?"

An elderly woman was hanging clothes out to dry in the yard. When she saw Yi Zhonghai come in, she paused for a moment, then continued. After hanging up the last piece of clothing, she carried the basin into the house without glancing at him once.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the middle of the courtyard.

I stood there for quite a while.

He didn't know what he was doing standing there. He didn't know where to go. He just stood there, like a dried-out piece of wood.

Finally, he walked towards Li Jian's house.

"An old man!"

Xu Damao's voice came from the side, it was very shrill.

"Are you going to cause trouble for Director Li again?"

Yi Zhonghai stopped in his tracks.

He turned his head, looked at Xu Damao, his lips moved, and finally he only managed to squeeze out one sentence: "I will apologize to Director Li."

Xu Damao was stunned for a moment.