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

"Slandering me?"

"Never learn your lesson?"

"You're saying Jia Dongxu's car accident has something to do with me?"

Every word he said was met with a slap in the face.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

At first, she still had the strength to cry and scream, and wanted to fight Li Jianguo to the death.

After two blows, her face was swollen so badly that her eyes were squinting into slits. She opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound.

Li Jianguo then dismissively tossed the person to the ground.

Jia Zhangshi lay on the ground, unable to cry anymore.

She glared fiercely at Li Jianguo, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. The resentment in her eyes was so thick it seemed to drip water; she wished she could kill him with her gaze.

Li Jianguo didn't care at all.

"If you spout nonsense and slander me again..."

His gaze swept coldly across everyone's face.

They lingered on Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu for a couple more seconds.

Those two seconds felt like two knives pressed against their necks.

"It's not as simple as just getting a beating."

Yi Zhonghai quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze.

He stared at his toes, at the mud spots on his shoes, and at the cracks in the frozen ground.

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But looking at Li Jianguo's expression and eyes, she didn't dare to utter a sound.

The words that were in his throat were swallowed back down.

"Ah—Waaaaah—"

Jia Zhangshi came to her senses and started wailing again.

As she cried, the pain in her face intensified. The more it hurt, the louder she howled, and the more she howled, the more it hurt. Her howling filled the entire courtyard, making everyone feel uncomfortable.

"Auntie, don't cry."

An older woman, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward and offered a few words of advice.

She squatted down next to Jia Zhangshi, reaching out to help her up, but not daring to actually touch her.

"Dongxu still needs your help."

Finally, persuaded by several older women, Jia Zhangshi sat back down in her original spot.

Sitting against the wall, his shoulders shrugged, and he was muttering something under his breath.

The entire hospital meeting has been in complete chaos since then.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the crowd, unsure of what to say.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He opened his mouth again, but still no sound came out.

Just then, a noise came from the main gate.

Footsteps.

Someone has come in.

Qin Huairu walked in from outside, her steps hurried.

She made the decision to come back this time on her own.

But if she didn't come back, she really couldn't bear to leave her two young children at home.

I haven't paid attention to them all day.

When Jia Dongxu had the accident, she hurriedly handed her two daughters over to a neighbor and went to the hospital with him.

She knows her mother-in-law all too well.

The mother-in-law never cared about her two daughters, who were both girls.

When the mother-in-law comes back to pack her things, she certainly won't think of the two girls.

She hadn't seen her child all day, and as a mother, her heart felt like it was being torn apart.

After much deliberation, I decided to come back.

Jia Dongxu was doing well, so she entrusted him to the nurses and the woman in the next bed and rushed back.

To my surprise, as soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw that a hospital-wide meeting was being held.

The courtyard was full of people, who formed a circle around Yi Zhonghai, who stood in the middle.

"Why are you back?"

The moment Jia Zhangshi saw Qin Huairu, she was filled with rage.

She sprang up from under the wall and rushed to Qin Huairu in a few quick steps.

"You lazy wife, not taking care of Dongxu in the hospital!"

She reached out to hit someone.

The hand rose, and the slap was about to fall.

"Mom, I'm worried about the two children, so I came back to check on them."

Qin Huairu shrank back and quickly explained.

She hunched her shoulders and covered her face with both hands.

"Dongxu has been handed over to the nurses and the lady in the next bed; they will take care of her."

"All you ever do is worry about are those two little brats!"

Jia Zhangshi was hurling the most offensive insults at her.

"In your heart, are your two little girls more important than your man?"

"Can't a whole courtyard of people take care of two little girls?"

"Would you let them starve? Die?"

The more they insulted him, the uglier it got.

He cursed so fiercely that spittle flew everywhere, and the flesh on his face trembled.

Qin Huairu felt wronged and dared not utter a sound, so she could only lower her head and endure the scolding.

She looked down, staring at her toes and the mud on her shoes.

His pitiful appearance was so heartbreaking that everyone around him couldn't bear to look at him.

"Alright, alright!"

Yi Zhonghai stopped Jia Zhangshi from speaking.

He took a step forward and stood between the two of them.

"There are so many people watching in the compound, there's no reason for him to hit his wife."

He called Qin Huairu over.

"You've come at the right time. We're having a hospital-wide meeting to donate money to Dongxu."

Qin Huairu's eyes lit up when she heard the word "donation".

The light burst forth from the depths of his eyes, impossible to hide.

"Your family has had a tough time too."

Yi Zhonghai looked like he was thinking of her family, his face full of wrinkles that exuded compassion.

"Now the family has lost another breadwinner, and the hospital fees and the nutritional expenses for recuperation will be considerable."

"There's not much we can do, but if everyone chips in a little, it'll at least lighten your burden a bit."

Is this for real?

Qin Huairu was naturally happy.

Given their current situation, Jia Dongxu is already ruined, so they should avoid using their savings and save them for later.

She immediately showed a grateful expression, walked to the middle of the crowd, and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

He bent over, his head almost touching his knees.

Thank you everyone!

Her voice was choked with sobs, trembling with just the right amount of trembling.

"Dongxu hasn't woken up yet, but the surgery was considered a success."

"This money is a godsend for us!"

"That sounds nice!"

Jia Zhangshi suddenly let out a cold snort.

The cold snort came from his nose, filled with disdain.

"What's the point of thanking them?"

"Li Jianguo earns over a hundred yuan a month, yet he only donated one cent!"

"Your man is in this state because of him, and you're thanking him?"

Jia Zhangshi really has a case of forgetting the pain once the wound has healed.

It's only been a short while, and he's already forgotten how humiliated he was when he was beaten. He's forgotten how he was kicked away, and how his face got swollen.

When she heard about the donation drive, she thought she should ask for as much as she could.

I never expected this daughter-in-law to be so stupid, bowing and thanking me for such a small amount of money.

Her eyelids are too shallow; she doesn't look like herself at all.

Whenever this topic comes up, Jia Zhangshi can't help but talk about Li Jianguo.

Qin Huairu was stunned.

This was the first time she had ever heard of someone donating only one cent.

Li Jianguo is handsome and has a high salary, so why is he so stingy?

Thinking about it this way, even Sha Zhu seems to be better than him.

Sha Zhu at least contributed ten yuan.

Qin Huairu, who was initially quite interested in Li Jianguo, has now lost most of her interest.

She knew that Li Jianguo had a lot of money.

Her eyes lit up, and she immediately had an idea.

"Mom, please don't talk about Director Li like that."

She pretended to scold Jia Zhangshi, her tone as soft as if she were coaxing a child.

Then she bit her lip and looked at Li Jianguo with a pitiful expression.

Those eyes were watery, holding something indescribable.

"Director Li must have his reasons for doing this."

"I believe he is a kind-hearted and good person."

That's such a hypocritical statement.

A mocking smile curled at the corner of Li Jianguo's mouth.

The smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Everyone in the compound knows that in these recent clashes between the Jia family and Li Jianguo, the Jia family has lost so much that they've almost completely lost face and substance.

Now Qin Huairu is here acting like she "knows him very well," trying to exonerate Li Jianguo?

It looks awkward no matter how you look at it.

"Qin Huairu, you're saying that against your conscience."

Even Xu Damao couldn't stand it anymore.

He stepped out from beside the pillar and took two steps forward.

"You're such a good actor."

He looked at the woman and shook his head inwardly.

When this woman heard that Li Jianguo only donated one cent, she must have been furious.

It's unbelievable that he can still put on such an "I understand you" act on the surface.

"I wasn't acting; I was telling the truth."

Qin Huairu looked at Li Jianguo with her red eyes and spoke in her defense.

The red in his eyes was just right, neither too intense nor too faint.

Suddenly, she changed the subject and put on a pleading expression.

The expression changed so quickly, as fast as turning the pages of a book.

"Director Li, whatever prejudice you may have had against our Jia family before."

"You can hit me, scold me, or punish me, I'll accept it all."

"I'll do whatever you want."

"Please help us."

"We will be eternally grateful and will serve you like a slave, never able to repay your kindness!"

As she spoke, her body went limp, and she was about to kneel down.

Knees bent, body slumped downwards.

It's a classic case of praising first and then criticizing.

No matter how nicely you talk, in the end it still comes down to money, doesn't it?

Li Jianguo smiled and shook his head.

"I've donated the money, that's all."

He pointed to the penny in Yi Zhonghai's hand.

That crumpled bill was still clutched in Yi Zhonghai's hand.

"Isn't a penny money?"

"This point..."

Qin Huairu's next words caught in her throat, and she couldn't say them.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

This isn't right.

Doesn't this person care about their reputation?

Everyone else donated, and she even said so, yet he only donated one cent?

"Not enough?"

Li Jianguo looked her up and down.

The gaze swept from her face to her body, and then back from her body to her face.

"Given the relationship between the Jia family and me, I would even think that this one penny is too much."

Qin Huairu was speechless.

She looked at the wad of cash in Yi Zhonghai's hand, her heart pounding.

This amount of money is probably not even enough to cover Jia Dongxu's medical expenses.

"Director Li, I apologize for what Dongxu said before."

She bit her lip, and her eyes reddened again.

It was even redder than before, so red that the whites of its eyes were tinged with pink.

"But lives are at stake now, please have mercy and help us."

Seeing the woman he cared about about to kneel down, Sha Zhu felt incredibly uncomfortable.

He rushed over and helped Qin Huairu up.

He grabbed her arms with both hands and lifted her up.

"He's cold-hearted and ruthless; he's unwilling to pay this money, so why are you begging him?"

"Isn't this just asking for humiliation?"

"Silly Zhu, don't say that."

With Sha Zhu's help, Qin Huairu stood up and looked at Li Jianguo with a wronged expression.

That expression seemed to say: If you don't donate, I'll have to keep acting.

Li Jianguo wasn't buying it at all.

His gaze shifted, and he suddenly looked at Yi Zhonghai, who was standing aside and had been keeping himself out of the situation.

That old guy just tried to morally blackmail him.

Now let this old bastard experience what it's like to be kidnapped.

"Shouldn't there be a distinction between close and distant relatives when donating money?"

Li Jianguo suddenly shouted.

The sound wasn't loud, but everyone heard it.

"Sir, you agree, don't you?"

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat.

That jump was both heavy and fast.

I have a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Li Jianguo's next sentence came right away.

"If you ask who in our compound is closest to the Jia family, it's definitely Uncle Jia."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, uttering each word one by one.

"Jia Dongxu is an apprentice of an old man, and they are like father and son."

"Now that such a big thing has happened to the Jia family, shouldn't Uncle do everything he can to help?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Damao immediately followed.

"Director Li is absolutely right!"

He slapped his thigh, making a loud "slap slap slap" sound.

"If we're talking about kind-hearted people and good folks in our neighborhood, this old man is definitely the first one!"

"Who says you can't give a thumbs up to an old man?"

"If an old man can go to great lengths to help others, how much more so would he help his own apprentice's family?"

"The old man will definitely treat it as his own business and take care of it wholeheartedly!"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned as green as night.

The green is tinged with black, and the black is tinged with blue.

He initially said he would donate one hundred, raising the price because he was afraid the Jia family would be too greedy. He also wanted to shut others up—since he had already given his share, what could anyone say?

I never expected that Li Jianguo would use this trick to mess with him.

"In that case, it's really unreasonable for an old man to give me 100 yuan."

Li Jianguo suppressed a laugh and continued speaking in the same vein as Xu Damao.

"Uncle, Jia Dongxu is your apprentice."

"Since ancient times, a teacher has been like a father; in terms of closeness or distance, he is closer than a biological son."

"Aren't you being a bit too stingy with your apprentice?"

"Only a hundred?"

"It should be at least four hundred, right?"

"A master cannot be too stingy with his apprentices."

He glanced at the crowd.