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

"Director Li is right. People shouldn't have too many crooked thoughts. Look at those guys, look at them now!"

"How come we never realized before that the deaf old lady and her group were these kinds of people? They really hid it well."

"Who knows? You can know a person's face but not their heart. You can't see into someone's heart; who can truly understand another?"

The gossip didn't last long.

Everyone was busy making a living, and soon they dispersed, each returning to their own house to cook or feed the chickens.

in the hospital.

When the deaf old woman was brought to the hospital, she had already fainted.

The emergency room doctor looked up, saw this group of people, and paused for a moment:

"It's you again? How many times this month has this happened? And how did you get hurt this time?"

Yi Zhonghai quickly stepped forward, bowing and scraping as he explained:

"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry to trouble you. Two people bumped into each other and fell. One landed on the other's leg, and it might be a fracture. Please take a look."

The doctor glanced at the deaf old woman's limp, oddly shaped leg, and his expression instantly turned serious:

"An elderly person of such advanced age being crushed like that is in serious danger! Get them to the emergency room immediately for X-rays!"

The test results came back quickly.

Everyone gasped in shock.

Comminuted fracture of the femur.

The bone was broken into several pieces, and there were other complications.

At her age, with such severe injuries, even if she wanted to treat them properly, it would be nearly impossible. Even if the bones were fixed, given her body's metabolism and recovery capabilities, they would never heal back to normal. Moreover, she had been injured several times before, which had already depleted her resources and completely ruined her health.

If left untreated, it will eventually lead to large-scale tissue necrosis due to impaired blood circulation.

By then—

The person is gone.

After an emergency consultation, several doctors came up with the only, and most brutal, solution:

Amputation.

That was a clean and efficient procedure. As long as infection is prevented after the surgery, with current medical technology, there shouldn't be any major problems.

The deaf old woman had slowly woken up by then. As soon as she opened her eyes, she heard the words "amputation".

Her cloudy eyes rolled upwards suddenly, and with a gurgling sound, she fainted again.

Finally, it was Yi Zhonghai who signed his name on the surgical consent form.

His hand, gripping the pen, trembled violently.

He didn't have much money to begin with, and his family's savings had been almost entirely depleted by these troubles over the years. Now that the deaf old woman was hospitalized and had her leg amputated, who knows how much more money she'll need afterward.

After settling things at the hospital, Yi Zhonghai, dragging his legs that felt like they were made of lead, returned to the compound alone.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, the crowd that had been eagerly waiting swarmed around me:

"Sir, how is the deaf old lady? Is it serious?"

Yi Zhonghai raised his eyelids, glanced at them, his face expressionless:

"The situation is bad. The doctor said amputation is necessary."

After these words were spoken, the courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned.

"W-how could it be so serious? It was just a fall and a bump, wasn't it?"

"Jia Zhangshi was too heavy. When she was pressed down, it caused a comminuted fracture. The bones were all broken and couldn't be set, so they had to be amputated."

Yi Zhonghai's explanation was as plain as he was describing the weather, yet it sent chills down everyone's spines and left them sighing in dismay.

He got old and didn't get to enjoy his retirement for long. Instead, someone broke his leg, and he ended up having to have it amputated, leaving him disabled.

This deaf old lady is truly pitiful.

In the room.

Jia Zhangshi pressed her ear tightly against the door, not daring to breathe.

Upon hearing the news, she was completely stunned, her mind went blank.

What followed was an overwhelming sense of lingering fear.

This...this is the leg she broke!

What if that deaf old woman, that crazy woman, wakes up and tries to cause her trouble? With that old woman's temper, what wouldn't she do? She could absolutely ruin her family!

"This...this wasn't my doing! She clearly lost her balance and tripped me! Who knew she'd be so unlucky as to break it in one go! What does this have to do with me?!"

Jia Zhangshi huddled alone in the room, curled up on the bed, hugging her knees, muttering to herself to bolster her courage, like a frightened bird.

Even if the deaf old lady comes knocking on her door, she'll have something to say and be able to clear herself of any wrongdoing.

yard.

Yi Zhonghai then went to see his second uncle Liu Haizhong and third uncle Yan Bugui.

"Let's hold a general meeting for the whole facility. The deaf old lady is an elderly person living alone and is also the oldest resident in our facility. Now that such a big thing has happened, we need to have a plan."

In the past, when he wanted to hold a hospital-wide meeting, he would just wave his hand and raise his voice, and everyone would come.

Not anymore.

If he wants to hold a meeting, he has to bring along the other two old men, otherwise no one will listen to him.

Soon, the courtyard was filled with people again.

"Uncle, why another meeting? It's already dark, can't a man have a moment's peace and quiet so he can go home and have a hot meal?"

The person being pulled out of the house looked impatient and resentful.

Yi Zhonghai unusually refrained from scolding him—after all, no one would listen anyway, and he didn't have the confidence to do so.

"Please be patient, everyone. It won't take more than a few minutes. I had no choice but to ask you all to come today. The deaf old lady is in the hospital, and the doctor said she needs an amputation. I had to let you all know about this."

"Amputation?!"

Everyone was quite shocked.

Aside from the years of war, this word has been rarely heard. A deaf old woman just fell, and it was so serious that she needed amputation?

"Then... will the deaf old lady die?"

The third woman suddenly spoke, but her eyes glanced intentionally or unintentionally toward the deaf old woman's dark, empty room.

Her family is the largest, and their house is the most cramped. Her sons are all grown up, and it's difficult for them to even turn around when they're all crammed together.

If the deaf old lady were to pass away...

Will they get to live in that house? Anyway, the deaf old lady has no children, so the neighborhood will probably give priority to the poorest families in the neighborhood, right?

Yi Zhonghai glanced at her, puzzled as to why the usually quiet Third Aunt was suddenly interested in this, but he still shook his head.

"If the surgery is successful, you should be fine. However, you'll definitely have difficulty moving around afterward and will need someone to take care of you."

A hint of disappointment flashed in the old woman's eyes. She didn't say anything more, lowered her head, and seemed to be lost in thought.

Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and began to get down to business:

"Over the years, the deaf old lady has been an elder in our compound, and she's helped us in various ways, like bringing us water and food. Now that she's sick and hospitalized for such a major operation, we should all do something to support her, shouldn't we? How about we all chip in to cover the medical expenses?"

He used to ask for donations directly and confidently.

I wouldn't dare do that now.

Their attitude was incredibly polite, even using the cautious phrase "let's put it together," showing no sign of being forceful, for fear of inadvertently provoking public anger.

More money?

No one was wealthy; everyone was struggling to make ends meet.

Immediately, everyone's faces turned ugly, as if they had swallowed flies.

"Doesn't the deaf old lady have any money? She's a recipient of the 'Five Guarantees' (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), doesn't the neighborhood committee give her any money?"

"It's true that she's a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), but amputation surgery is expensive. The money from the local government isn't enough. She'll definitely have to pay part of it herself."

"More money... Our family can only contribute two yuan at most. Any more than that, and we won't be able to save a single penny this month. The whole family will starve."

"We only have two pieces at home, that's all."

Although everyone was unwilling, they still paid out of consideration for face.

However, compared to the blind "donations" of the past, this time everyone was very cautious, giving as little as possible, with almost every family only reluctantly taking two or three yuan.

Seeing that everyone had contributed money to some extent, only Li Jianguo's house remained completely silent, with the door tightly shut.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes darted around, and he leaned close to Liu Haizhong's ear, lowering his voice:

"Second Uncle, you see, Director Li is also from our institute, and he's a leader, no less. If he doesn't get involved in this, it'll seem like we're excluding him, and that won't sound good if word gets out. Why don't you... go and ask him? It's all the thought that counts, it doesn't matter how much money it is."

Liu Haizhong had long wanted to show off his power and establish his authority in this compound.

These past few days, watching Yi Zhonghai get humiliated has given him immense satisfaction; he's been looking forward to a chance to show off his "second uncle" status.

Now that Yi Zhonghai has actually lowered his stance and "asked" him for a favor, he acted impulsively and agreed without thinking:

"Okay! We're all from the same compound, we'll run into each other all the time, I'll go talk to them!"

After saying that, he strode confidently toward Li Jianguo's door, his round belly protruding.

In the room.

Li Jianguo was hunched over the table, drawing blueprints under the dim light.

The materials are ready, and the engine can be developed entirely independently, without having to rely on others. Tomorrow we'll replace a few key components, and then we can start working on performance upgrades.

These are not major problems.

Once the materials are in place, the performance will be visibly improved.

Thinking of the weapons and technologies he had seen at international exhibitions in his previous life, weapons that seemed straight out of a science fiction movie, Li Jianguo's eyes revealed an undisguised longing.

I really hope that one day, these things will become a reality in his hands, one by one.

"Knock knock knock".

"Director Li? Are you home? Could you come out for a moment? I need to discuss something with you."

Liu Haizhong's voice rang out from outside the door, respectful and even with a hint of cautious flattery, completely different from the arrogant and haughty manner he used when speaking to others.

Li Jianguo put down his pen, got up, and opened the door.

"What's up?"

"Hey, Director Li, it's like this, our hospital is raising money for an elderly deaf woman, you know. The doctor said her leg might need amputation, it's quite serious. You see...why don't you want to contribute? Even a little something is appreciated, right?"

Liu Haizhong rubbed his hands together, forcing a smile, and looked at Li Jianguo expectantly.

Li Jianguo looked at him, and a slow smile crept onto his lips.

A half-smile.

"Do you think I could still reciprocate those feelings for her?"

In a word.

Not too light, not too heavy.

But it was like a nail, pinning the bangs to the spot.

He opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time, his smile frozen.

To be honest, these people could at least say "a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative" when it came to the deaf old lady. They had received some small favors from her in the past, such as lending her a needle and thread or giving her a piece of pickled vegetable.

But Li Jianguo had absolutely no connection with the deaf old lady.

Not only are they unrelated, they are also enemies.

From the day he moved into this compound, the deaf old lady, taking advantage of her seniority, constantly sought to make trouble for him. Every time, she would instigate trouble, trying to drive him away and ruin his reputation.

At a time like this, when something goes wrong, how dare they still have the nerve to come to Li Jianguo's door and ask for donations?

That's absolutely shameless.