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

Looking at her pitiful appearance and listening to her tearful story, Sha Zhu felt a surge of protectiveness and heartache.

"Oh dear!" He slapped his thigh. "The kids want some meat? What's the big deal? Even if Li Jianguo is stingy, would he deprive two kids of meat? You wait here, I'll go get it for you right now! Don't cry, what's there to cry about? I'm here for you!"

He uttered the last sentence, "But I'm here for you," with remarkable ease, completely unaware of how inappropriate it was for a single man to say such a thing to a married woman. After saying it, seeing the gratitude and dependence in Qin Huairu's eyes, he felt a surge of pride and immense satisfaction.

"Silly Zhu, really... thank you so much." Qin Huairu slightly raised her eyes, looking at him with teary eyes, and a grateful smile appeared on her lips. "You're so kind."

That look in his eyes, that tone of voice, it was like there were hooks in his mouth.

Sha Zhu's heart skipped a beat, and he smiled somewhat foolishly. He turned around and walked towards Li Jianguo's country, his steps becoming lighter.

He lifted the curtain and went straight into the room.

The room was warm and lively. Zhao Erlu and a few others were eating around the table, the atmosphere was just right.

"Hey, Brother Shazhu is here!" Zhao Erlu, with his sharp eyes, immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Erlu's here too." Shazhu smiled, but felt a little awkward seeing Zhao Erlu. Zhao Erlu had witnessed the whole embarrassing incident in the courtyard today, and now that they were face to face, it was inevitable that he would feel a little embarrassed.

"Brother Shazhu, is something wrong?" Zhao Erlu looked at him with some surprise. It was lunchtime, and he had come uninvited, which was a bit impolite.

"I'm looking for Master Li." Sha Zhu smiled and turned his gaze to Li Jianguo, who was sitting in the main seat.

Li Jianguo picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly without even lifting his eyelids.

"What is it?"

"You've made some meat, haven't you?" Sha Zhu said matter-of-factly, with a hint of order in his tone. "Shouldn't you share some with the old folks and children in the yard? The Jia family next door is so hungry from your meal today that they're almost crying. The deaf old lady just got back too; she's so old, she should be treated to something."

The more he talked, the more convinced he felt he was in the right. As he spoke, his gaze fell on the bowls of food on the table, and he even subconsciously reached out to pick up the clean bowls and chopsticks.

"Let me tell you, living in the same courtyard is all about neighborly harmony. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative, right? You're an engineer, you must understand that. Alright, don't touch it, I'll help you divide it up and send some to Banggeng, the deaf old lady, and the three old men, so they can try your cooking. Hey, your food is really authentic!"

His actions were so smooth and natural; he really didn't act like an outsider.

Not only Li Jianguo, but even Zhao Erlu and the others standing nearby were dumbfounded. They had seen impolite people before, but they had never seen anyone this impolite. Were they treating someone like their own personal kitchen?

The group exchanged glances, their eyes fixed on Li Jianguo with a strange look.

Li Jianguo remained seated, steadily picking up food with his chopsticks, his face expressionless.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Sha Zhu assumed that he had agreed, so he reached out even faster, almost touching the rim of the bowl.

"Snapped!"

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the bowl, a pair of chopsticks fell like lightning, striking the back of his hand heavily.

The crisp sound was particularly clear in the noisy room.

"Wow!"

Zhao Erlu and his group were so shocked they almost jumped up.

They witnessed it with their own eyes: just from being flicked with chopsticks, Sha Zhu's hand swelled up rapidly before their very eyes, forming a high, alarming red ridge. That was not the strength a normal person should possess.

"Awooo—!!!"

Sha Zhu froze for a second, then a heart-wrenching scream erupted from his mouth. He clutched his hand, his whole body arching like a shrimp, trembling with pain, cold sweat instantly pouring down his forehead. He didn't dare touch his hand at all; the back of his hand was swollen terribly, and the entire back of his hand was swelling at an alarming rate, like a rising dough.

"My hand! My hand is broken!!!" he cried out, a grown man with tears and snot streaming down his face, his voice distorted by pain.

"Don't worry," Li Jianguo slowly stood up, looking down at him with icy eyes, "it's not broken, just a fracture."

He stood in front of Sha Zhu, his figure completely enveloping Sha Zhu.

"My things, who I give them to, who I don't give them to," he said, each word like a shard of ice hitting Sha Zhu's face, "are not up to you to decide."

He leaned down slightly, staring into Sha Zhu's terrified eyes.

"Next time, if you're so impulsive, I'll just chop it off for you."

Stared at by that gaze, Sha Zhu felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, chilled to the bone, and even temporarily forgot the excruciating pain in his hands. He stood there dumbfounded, his mind completely blank.

Several seconds passed before he reacted, overwhelmed with pain, fear, and grievance. He cried out, "You... how could you be so cruel! It's just a few pieces of flesh! How could you be so petty and vicious!"

He couldn't understand why what he considered a matter of course would result in a brutal beating.

"mean?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of Li Jianguo's lips. The next second, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Sha Zhu by the collar, exerting force with his arm.

Sha Zhu's body, weighing over 100 pounds, was lifted up with one hand like a weightless tattered sack, and then thrown out the door with a thud.

It really was thrown away.

With a muffled thud, Sha Zhu landed heavily on the blue brick ground in the yard, letting out another scream.

"I'm willing to be stingy with you, why don't you think about why?" Li Jianguo's voice came from inside the house, filled with undisguised disgust. "Get out!"

Sha Zhu's howls were so loud and penetrating. The residents of the courtyard, who had been watching the commotion closely, rushed out of their houses almost immediately upon hearing the noise.

And so, they witnessed the scene that they would never forget—Shazhu, like a sandbag carelessly discarded, was thrown out of the house by Li Jianguo with one hand and slammed heavily to the ground.

Everyone was stunned; the courtyard was deathly silent.

Even Yi Zhonghai, the old man who had been beaten by Li Jianguo before, felt a surge of fear and relief as he stood in the crowd. He subconsciously touched his still swollen face, secretly thankful. Li Jianguo definitely hadn't used his full strength when he hit him. Otherwise, he would probably be in even worse shape than Sha Zhu.

Is this even human?

The thought popped into the minds of everyone present almost simultaneously.

---

"You...you shouldn't scare the old lady!"

The deaf old woman felt her confidence, which had been built up by her age, deflate instantly like a punctured balloon when she was stared at by Li Jianguo's cold gaze. But she was unwilling to be intimidated by a junior like that; that would be too humiliating. She banged her cane hard, trying to regain some of her composure and make herself appear less guilty.

"Even a child understands this principle—sharing is a virtue. Don't you, an adult, understand?" she retorted sharply. "Is this how your parents taught you from a young age?"

Li Jianguo looked at her, his lips slightly upturned, the curve of which was filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"My parents taught me to share," he said slowly, "but they didn't teach me that just anyone deserves to share."

His gaze slowly swept from the deaf old woman's face to the faces of everyone present, and finally returned to the deaf old woman.

Do you think you deserve it?

"you--!"

The deaf old woman couldn't catch her breath, her face turned purple, and she swayed, almost falling over. She gasped for air, her chest heaving violently, and strange hoarse sounds came from her throat.

"Fine, fine..." She caught her breath, her finger trembling as she pointed at Li Jianguo. "I'll see how you manage to live in this compound! Such a selfish person, it's simply... simply..." She was so angry she couldn't speak, finally only able to hurl a vicious remark, "I really don't know how you became an engineer!"

She slammed her cane down, turned abruptly, and staggered toward her house.

Li Jianguo watched her retreating figure, his mocking smile deepening. Dealing with this kind of old lady who relied on her age and threw tantrums required absolutely no effort.

The deaf old woman stormed to the bottom of her front steps. Her mind was filled with hatred and rage, and she wasn't paying attention to her footing. Suddenly, her foot struck a smooth, round pebble, and she instantly lost her balance.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, she suddenly fell forward and crashed heavily into the edge of the steps.

"Awooo—!!!"

Another scream pierced the night sky.

This courtyard is really lively today. One howl after another rises and falls, like a symphony of screams, dazzling and overwhelming to watch.

Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events.

Madam Jia was the first to react, blurting out, "What...what happened? How did the old lady fall at her doorstep?"

That shout woke everyone up.

Sha Zhu was still rolling on the ground in pain when he heard the noise. He didn't care about himself anymore and scrambled to his feet. He staggered over to the old lady and reached out to help her.

"old lady!"

The deaf old woman's face contorted in pain, and her vision blurred. She sensed someone coming to help her and instinctively reached out to grab them, trying to use them to stand up. However, her grab landed squarely on Sha Zhu's injured, swollen hand, which looked like a steamed bun.

"ah--!!!"

Sha Zhu let out an even more piercing scream than before, the pain making him jump up and instinctively fling his hand away from the old woman.

The deaf old lady had just been helped up halfway, and before she could even stand up straight, he flung her like that, causing her to lose her balance again and crash heavily back to the ground.

"Ouch!"

"ah--!"

The old lady's and Sha Zhu's voices instantly formed a duet, a harmonized one at that, each more miserable and louder than the other. Listening to it in the night, it had an indescribable absurdity and humor.

"What are you all standing there for!" Uncle Liu Zhonghai, the second oldest, reacted the fastest this time, immediately stepping forward and loudly directing, "Hurry! Get them to the hospital! Get the old lady and Sha Zhu to the hospital! If anything bad happens, who can bear the responsibility!"

His command jolted everyone in the courtyard awake, and they sprang into action, some lifting people, others searching for vehicles—it was utter chaos.

An old man named Yi Zhonghai, standing to the side, gave Liu Zhonghai a meaningful look. This old rascal had always wanted to usurp his power, and today he'd finally gotten his chance.

Liu Zhonghai, however, was very excited. He not only loudly directed everyone but also personally took charge, running around and showing great enthusiasm. When he passed by Li Jianguo's door, he stopped and looked at Li Jianguo, who stood at the door, indifferent to everything before him. He couldn't help but put on the airs of an elder and spoke earnestly.

"Li Jianguo," he sighed, "even if they were in the wrong to begin with today's incident, what you did was far too harsh. After all, we're neighbors, we see each other all the time. As the old saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. What will you do if you ever need your neighbors' help in the future?"

Li Jianguo looked at the old man who was always looking for an opportunity to lecture people and couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.

"Just the people in this yard?" He raised his chin, his gaze sweeping over the neighbors who were carrying someone and in a chaotic mess. "Each one of them, what do you think they can do to help me?"

He shook his head, his tone calm yet exuding absolute confidence.

"Sorry, I really don't need it."

Liu Zhonghai was speechless, his face flushed red. He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. He knew Li Jianguo was telling the truth. He also knew that Li Jianguo wouldn't listen to him at all. He didn't have any major conflicts with Li Jianguo to begin with, and didn't want to make things too tense over this, so he could only sigh awkwardly and turn away.

Qin Huairu, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, suddenly spoke up with tears in her eyes, looking at Li Jianguo with disapproval.