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

How difficult is it to get bicycle tickets?

They struggled to get it but couldn't, while this kid got it delivered to him.

I'll definitely grab any opportunity to say something sarcastic.

"We mustn't let Director Yang's good intentions go to waste—"

Li Jianguo smiled.

"Isn't this an excellent courtyard house?"

He glanced at the onlookers around him.

"Could there be a thief?"

"That's definitely not the case!"

The old man immediately denied it.

His excellent courtyard house is his pride, and he will not tolerate any tarnishing of it.

"That'll solve it, won't it?"

Li Jianguo raised an eyebrow.

"There are no thieves in the yard. I live in the backyard, and I don't believe a thief could run into the backyard to steal a car without being caught."

The old man was so choked up that he couldn't speak.

Just then, Jia Zhangshi rushed to the front of the crowd.

Upon seeing Li Jianguo, he immediately started yelling at the top of his lungs without saying a word.

"Li Jianguo, pay up!"

"Oh, Aunt Zhang, that's not fair!"

Xu Damao was the first to react, and he sneered.

"What did Mr. Li owe you that you're asking for money right away? Are you crazy?"

"If it weren't for him, would my dog ​​have been so badly injured?"

Jia Zhangshi stood with her hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke.

"His teeth are all gone! And he has a huge bump on his forehead! He has to pay compensation!"

Jia Dongxu had just returned home and hadn't even entered the door when he heard his mother's voice, so he quickly ran inside.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Son, you've finally arrived!"

Jia Zhangshi grabbed his arm as if she had found her pillar of support.

"We have to stand up for Mom!"

"Mom, what happened? Tell me."

Jia Dongxu patted her hand, his gaze sweeping around, lingering on Li Jianguo and Xu Damao for a few more seconds.

"With me here, no one can bully you."

"It's him!"

Jia Zhangshi pointed at Li Jianguo.

"Bang Geng went to his house today and fell badly! He knocked out his teeth and got a huge bump on his head!"

"What?"

Jia Dongxu was taken aback.

"Is the steed injured?"

His first reaction wasn't to ask how badly his son was injured or how he was injured, but to turn and stare at Li Jianguo with fire in his eyes.

"You injured my son, you have to pay me back!"

Li Jianguo looked at the mother and son and a smile appeared on his lips.

He knew the Jia family was no good, but he never expected them to be this arrogant.

Aggressive and confrontational, are you even planning to resort to violence?

When Jia Dongxu rushed over, Li Jianguo pushed his hand away and slapped him hard across the face.

Snapped!

It was crisp and clear.

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned.

"Did the pheasant get injured at my house?"

Li Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, but each word struck a chord in everyone's ears.

"I locked the door properly when I left. How did he get in? Did a goby sneak in? Hmm?"

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

"yes."

Xu Damao was the first to react, his eyes lighting up.

"The door was locked, how could he squeeze in? Has your pheasant become a spirit?"

He was laughing when he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Goodness, are they going to steal something?"

He stared wide-eyed and exaggeratedly looked around.

"Is there really a thief in our compound?"

"What? A thief?"

The third uncle was the stingiest and most miserly; his face turned pale as soon as he heard there was a thief.

"No, I have to go check it out!"

He lifted his foot to walk towards Li Jian's house.

"Uncle, you don't even have two cents, who would steal from you?"

Someone shouted, and everyone burst into laughter.

The old man stopped awkwardly.

"My family is poor, but Li Jian's family is rich."

A thief broke into the compound and stole Li Jianguo's things; this is no small matter.

We've lived here for so many years, and while there's been some noise and commotion, we've never actually had a thief.

The old man secretly rejoiced.

Li Jianguo was robbed?

If he weren't short on cash this month, he would have at least bought a bottle of wine to celebrate.

However, he was an old man, so he couldn't show it on his face.

"Cough cough."

He cleared his throat and looked at Li Jianguo and the Jia family with a serious expression.

"Could there be any misunderstanding in this?"

He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back.

"The Jia family has lived in our courtyard for so long, and we've watched Banggeng grow up."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces.

"Over the years, our courtyard has always been an excellent one. We've had our share of arguments, but we've never had a thief."

He looked at Li Jianguo.

"How come Li Jianguo had it as soon as he arrived?"

He's a philanderer.

After saying that, he added a grand-sounding sentence.

"Of course, we're not saying it's because Li Jianguo is so high-profile. After all, he's the one who lost the things; he's the aggrieved party. But this matter... does seem a bit strange."

"What the old man said is true."

Sha Zhu was overjoyed.

Seeing Li Jianguo finally get his comeuppance after so long is as refreshing as eating an ice-cold watermelon on a sweltering summer day.

"Our compound has always been fine, how come a thief suddenly appeared?"

He responded in a sarcastic tone.

"Could it be that someone has done something wrong, and this is a case of retaliation?"

That's a very unpleasant thing to say.

Before Li Jianguo could even speak, Xu Damao stepped in to help.

"Silly Zhu, stop being so sarcastic."

He glanced sideways at Sha Zhu.

"I think someone is jealous of Master Li's wealth and is deliberately causing trouble."

He gave a cold laugh.

"Hmph, everyone in the neighborhood lives about the same life. Everyone knows how many pairs of worn-out shoes each family has. What's there to steal? Now that someone's doing better than you, you're feeling resentful, aren't you? So you resort to petty tricks?"

Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Li Jianguo spoke up to stop it.

"Alright."

He raised his hand and pressed it down.

"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we go inside."

Li Jianguo's words made sense, so everyone followed him to his house.

Jia Zhangshi didn't see anything wrong with letting Bang Geng steal.

It was something I took from my own home, so it wasn't stealing—it was all bought with those three hundred yuan.

Feeling confident, I went along too.

As soon as Li Jianguo reached the door and picked up the lock, he knew someone had definitely entered the house.

When he left home in the morning, the lock was facing up.

Now it's flipped over.

Take the key to unlock the door and push it open.

The scene before them stunned everyone.

"Good boy/girl."

Xu Damao peeked inside.

"That mouse is really something. It can rummage through everything in the cupboard—it's practically a spirit!"

No one replied to him.

The situation is indeed serious.

Broken bowls and plates littered the floor, with white porcelain shards scattered everywhere.

The clothes that were taken out of the closet were scattered all over the floor, with sleeves draped over the stool legs and collars dragging on the ground.

Books and pages were scattered everywhere, some even stained with oil.

It's a complete mess.

Nobody would believe it if you said there wasn't a thief.

"This really is a burglarized place!"

Uncle Er squeezed through the crowd from the back and his eyes lit up when he saw the scene.

Looking at the old man who had just been humiliated, she felt her chance had come.

He stopped, cleared his throat, and began to speak in an official tone.

"Our hospital has always been peaceful and quiet for so many years. There have been occasional arguments, but nothing this bad has ever happened before."

His gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally settling on the Jia family.

"This kind of thing happened so soon after Li Jianguo arrived; it must be dealt with seriously."

He stretched out his belly.

"Call a hospital-wide meeting!"

Every college-wide meeting was presided over by an old man.

Shouldn't it be his turn this time?

"Don't worry, Li Jianguo. Since you're a member of the Siheyuan family, we'll definitely give you justice today."

"What do you mean by 'bangs'?"

Jia Zhangshi was furious when she heard this.

"My dog ​​only took a few things from him, right? Those things were all bought with our money, so what? Why are you acting all high and mighty?"

"Ugh, you!"

Liu Haizhong couldn't win an argument with a shrewish old lady, so he angrily puffed out his beard and glared at her.

"No need to trouble yourself."

Li Jianguo spoke calmly.

"Since it's theft, just call the police."

He turned and walked out.

"I'll go now."

The police station isn't far; it only takes three to five minutes to get there by bike.

"No!"

As soon as Li Jianguo said he was going to call the police, the old man got anxious.

Li Jianguo stopped and turned around.

"What's it to you if I lose something and call the police?"

He looked at the old man with disdain.

"Get out of the way. Don't block the way."

"You're not allowed to call the police!"

An old man forcefully blocked his way.

"Things within the hospital will be resolved at a hospital-wide meeting. Anyway, I won't allow you to call the police."

"Sir, what are you doing?"

The old man was baffled.

"The street-level selection process will begin soon."

An old man had a sullen face.

"Our courtyard has been awarded the title of 'Outstanding Courtyard' for so many years, are you just going to hand it over to someone else?"

"Oh, the selection process is almost here?"

The old man slapped his forehead.

"How could I have forgotten about that!"

Everyone then realized what was happening.

Before we knew it, it was time for the annual selection again.

"Right, right, right, we can't call the police now."

The third uncle nodded repeatedly.

"No word of a thief in the courtyard can be heard."

This excuse instantly united the three old men.

No one else in the courtyard thought anything was wrong.

Xu Damao was unwilling to give up and continued to muddy the waters.

"Why can't Mr. Li call the police when his things are stolen?"

He pursed his lips.

"Aren't you being a bit too nosy?"

"Xu Damao, what's this to you?"

Sha Zhu is driving him crazy.

"How can it be alright?"

Xu Damao took a step back.

"I'm also part of the institute."

He pointed at Li Jianguo.

"Besides, Mr. Li is an engineer. Do you think he's like you, whose house is so runtled up that all you have are a few old quilts?"

"Hey, you!"

Sha Zhu was about to make a move when he said that.

Xu Damao was prepared and ran two steps to the side.

"What I said is unreasonable?"

He scanned them one by one.

"Master Li is an engineer, on par with the experts and professors in the factory. If he really lost something important, who among you could afford to pay for it?"

He looked at an old man.

"Sir, can you afford to pay for this?"

Then he looked at his second uncle.

"Second Uncle, do you really have this skill?"

Finally, he looked at Sha Zhu.

"Not to mention Sha Zhu—a lousy cook, what can you expect from him?"

Xu Damao felt he had played very well this time and couldn't help but look at Li Jianguo.

"Master Li, do you agree with what I said?"

This is a request for praise.

Li Jianguo nodded approvingly.

"What Xu Damao said is exactly what I wanted to ask."

He pointed at Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu.

"If my things are lost and production is disrupted, can you take responsibility?"

"Can you afford it? Or are you capable of it?"

He paused.

"If you say yes, I won't call the police today."

Sha Zhu was slow to catch on, and upon hearing Li Jianguo say this, he instinctively wanted to say, "I can."

Xu Damao spoke first, trying to sow discord.

"Use your brains and think about this carefully. Who is Mr. Li? What is his status? An engineer! His casual scribblings are highly valuable outside. If he loses a piece of paper or something important, who among you can take responsibility? You'd all be preparing to go to jail, wouldn't you?"

It wasn't a pleasant thing to say, but it hit the nail on the head.

The people who had initially dismissed the matter were now completely stunned.

"Can a torn piece of paper really be worth money?"

Jia Zhangshi still didn't believe it.

"Grandma, if you don't read books and don't know anything, don't meddle."

The third uncle showed off his knowledge.

"The bicycle you ride, the radio you listen to, the machines in our steel rolling mill—weren't they all designed by engineers? Didn't they all have to be drawn on blueprints first? They're priceless treasures."

Madam Jia was starting to panic.

Seeing Banggeng peek out of the house, she rushed over and grabbed him.

"You brat!"

The slap landed heavily.

"I only let you take food, why are you touching those papers and books? You always get the worst grades in school, why are you touching those things for no reason?"

Snapped!Snapped!

Two heavy slaps landed on his back, and Banggeng almost fell to the ground.

"Milk!"

He looked at his grandmother with a wronged expression.

But who cares about him right now?

Sha Zhu, who was about to blurt out "I'll take responsibility," couldn't say it now.

An old man silently stepped aside from Li Jianguo.

No one dared to stop them.

Li Jianguo glanced at the location of everything in the room.

"The crime scene must be preserved exactly as it was."

His gaze swept across the faces of those people.

"I've memorized the location of everything. If I come back and find anything has been moved, I'll tell the police. Don't even think about doing anything while I'm gone."

He didn't trust these people.

"Mr. Li, why do you need to go call the police yourself?"

Xu Damao quickly jumped out to fawn over him.

"I'll go call the police. It's not far anyway."

His eyes darted around.

"How about I borrow your bicycle?"

He stood on Li Jianguo's side, secretly delighted to see the people in the courtyard getting their comeuppance.

"Okay. Thank you for your help."

Why not have someone run errands for you?

Li Jianguo readily agreed.

"Go by bike, hurry up."

Just as Xu Damao was about to leave, the deaf old woman came out of the house with Qin Huairu's help.

She walked unsteadily into the middle of the crowd, leaning on her cane.

His cloudy old eyes swept over the crowd, finally settling on Li Jianguo.

"No one is allowed to call the police today!"

The cane slammed heavily on the ground.