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

In the crowd, someone couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up:

"That deaf old lady treated Director Li so badly before, always causing him trouble. Why should she pay her? If it were me, I wouldn't even give that money to a dog!"

"Exactly! If it were me, I'd rather she just died already. Making me pay? Dream on! What a pipe dream!"

"I'm not paying for this. What's it to me? If you ever come to me with this kind of thing again, don't blame me for being rude! Get lost!"

Li Jianguo said the last two words to Liu Haizhong, his smile vanished, and his eyes, though calm, revealed an undeniable indifference.

Liu Haizhong was humiliated, his face turning red and then white, and he slunk away.

Turning around, I was right in front of Yi Zhonghai's face.

Yi Zhonghai stood at the back of the crowd with an expression that said, "I knew this would happen." His eyes were hard to tell whether he was gloating or had expected it.

Liu Haizhong's mind went blank for a moment, and he instantly understood—

be cheated!

"You bastard Yi Zhonghai! You were just waiting for me here! Using me as a pawn?!"

"Second Uncle, what are you saying? I asked you for help, and you readily agreed. Don't blame me now!"

Yi Zhonghai quickly took a step back, trying to clear himself of any wrongdoing.

Liu Haizhong fell silent, trembling with anger.

But the way everyone looked at Yi Zhonghai became even more strange, carrying a sense of unfamiliarity as they re-examined him.

"Uncle, you...you know about all the messy things Sha Zhu did before, right?"

Someone suddenly blurted out a comment.

Everyone couldn't help but recall how Sha Zhu had repeatedly caused trouble for Li Jianguo. With Sha Zhu's brains—all brawn and no brains—he certainly wouldn't have come up with such underhanded tricks. There must have been a "master" behind him, guiding him and urging him to be the scapegoat.

Did not expect ah did not expect.

This seemingly honest, kind, and fair old man actually had such a vicious and deep mind.

Faced with those probing, suspicious, and even somewhat disgusted gazes, Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words in his defense and explain himself.

But it turns out that nothing I say seems to make a difference.

The more you describe, the darker.

In the end, he could only swallow his anger and suffer in silence.

Apart from Li Jianguo, everyone else in the hospital who was supposed to donate did so reluctantly.

Yi Zhonghai took out five yuan from his pocket and put it into the tin box containing the money. With these scraps of money in his pocket, he rode his old bicycle alone to the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, the deaf elderly woman had already completed her surgery and had been wheeled back to her ward.

Having just had her leg amputated and suffered so much, the deaf old woman's face was as white as a sheet, her lips were dry, cracked, and peeling, like parched earth. She lay there limp, as if all her energy had been drained away.

Yi Zhonghai walked to the bedside, took the crumpled wad of money out of his pocket, and placed it on the bedside table:

"The people in the compound know you're badly injured, so they chipped in some money. It's not much, but it's a token of their appreciation."

The deaf old woman's cloudy eyes slowly rolled, staring at the stack of money, then at Yi Zhonghai's face. Her throat felt tight, and she asked in a hoarse voice:

"Li Jianguo... that little bastard, he paid up too?"

"How is that possible?"

Yi Zhonghai sneered, his face full of undisguised mockery and disdain:

"That petty, vindictive guy, would he even part with his money? They say the richer people are, the stingier they are. I didn't believe it before, but looking at him now, I really understand. He's a real miser!"

Hearing that Li Jianguo hadn't contributed a single penny.

The deaf old woman's wrinkled, age-spotted face instantly contorted, like a crumpled piece of paper. The light shooting from her eyes was as vicious as a poisoned arrow, as if it wanted to pierce through the wall and go straight for Li Jianguo's head.

"That little bastard! He's truly vicious! My injury this time is ultimately his fault! If he hadn't caused so much trouble, why would I have gone to confront him? Why would I have fallen?! And he won't even pay a single penny?! Why didn't this heartless scoundrel die in the Northwest back then?! Why wasn't he buried alive?!"

The foul language that came out of her mouth was like a burst dam, gushing out all sorts of dirty water, saying the most offensive and vicious things.

In the past, they still maintained a certain air of authority as elders, putting on a show.

Now that she's all alone, and has suffered so much, losing a leg, she doesn't care about anything anymore, she doesn't want any pretense, all that's left is naked, insane hatred.

He cursed for a long time, until his voice was hoarse and he was completely exhausted, before he finally stopped.

The ward fell into a deathly silence.

Only the occasional sound of nurses' footsteps echoed in the corridor, along with faint groans from the distant wards.

There was a few seconds of silence.

The deaf old woman suddenly spoke, her voice extremely low, so low it seemed to float from underground:

"Yi Zhonghai, I'm asking you—do you want to kill that little bastard Li Jianguo?"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up instantly.

It was a kind of light that came from being suppressed to the extreme and then suddenly seeing a glimmer of light, almost to the point of madness.

"Yes! Of course I want to! I dream of killing him! I wish I could skin him alive and tear his tendons out with my own hands! But he's a director now, everyone in the factory counts on him, they treat him like a treasure, how could I possibly do anything about it? What can I do?"

He could only think about this in his mind and vent his frustration in his dreams.

If given the chance, even a ten percent chance, he would be eager to kill Li Jianguo immediately and make him disappear from this world completely.

Lately, he's been dreaming about how to find something to hold against Li Jianguo, how to ruin his reputation, and how to kill him.

If it weren't for the principle of "a life for a life," he would have wanted to do it himself, even if it meant dying together with his victim.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's gritted teeth and blazing hatred, the deaf old woman laughed.

That smile, under the pale hospital room light, had an indescribable eeriness and sinister quality, like a venomous snake that had been hibernating for a long time and had just awakened, flicking its tongue.

"It's up to you. I have a way to take his life, and it'll be a death sentence."

"What?!"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the elderly woman lying on the hospital bed, missing a leg and appearing to be on her deathbed.

It was only at this moment that he suddenly realized—

The oldest and seemingly most harmless "elder" in their compound was actually so...unfathomable and extraordinary.

Over the years, it seems he has never truly understood her.

All I knew was that she was an elderly woman living alone without any children. Because we lived in the same courtyard, I took extra care of her and treated her like an elder.

Now it seems that this old lady is probably... not a simple person.

"You...you really have a way?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice changed, filled with uncontrollable trembling and excitement.

"certainly."

In the deaf old woman's cloudy eyes, a ruthless and crazed light, completely different from its usual appearance, flashed. That light was like that of an old wolf that had lain dormant for many years, finally baring its fangs—cold, bloodthirsty, and determined to succeed.

"This time, I will make him suffer eternal damnation. I will kill him completely. I will make sure he dies without a trace, leaving not even a bone fragment behind. Otherwise, I will not be able to quell the hatred in my heart."

That look in his eyes, that tone of voice, that chilling aura emanating from him.

Even Yi Zhonghai felt a jolt of surprise upon seeing it.

This old woman... she probably had lives on her hands before.

The thought flashed through Yi Zhonghai's mind like a bolt of lightning, illuminating something before quickly disappearing.

But then he suppressed it.

impossible.

At her age, what can an old lady possibly do? She's probably using her past connections to find people with influence to help her.

As long as Li Jianguo is dead.

Anyone can do it.

That night.

Most of the people in the compound were sleeping soundly.

But in those two hospital rooms, two people lay awake in the darkness, each lost in their own thoughts, unable to sleep all night.

The thought that Li Jianguo might soon be dead filled Yi Zhonghai with barely suppressed excitement and anticipation.

the next day.

Li Jianguo got out of bed refreshed and full of energy.

He carefully tidied up the drawings he had made the day before, put them in his briefcase, and prepared to go to work.

On the way, he habitually signed in.

Point your finger in the air.

Ding--

They received two cloth coupons and fifty catties of grain coupons.

And... a pack of ten bags of potato chips?

Li Jianguo couldn't help but laugh.

This system is really interesting; it not only includes things from this era, but occasionally it also pops up things from later times. However, those from later times are very rare to draw.

Li Jianguo wasn't particularly interested in snacks, but he would occasionally miss the taste. He put the items into his system space, and in a good mood, he pedaled his bicycle onward.

In this era of scarcity, his meager reserves were enough for him to eat and drink well.

It should be said that no one in the whole country eats as well or as lavishly as him.

When Li Jianguo passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, he saw White Rabbit milk candy on the counter. He had an idea, stopped the car, and went in to buy a pound of it.

This is a childhood memory.

The milk candies of this era are made with genuine condensed milk, without any unnecessary additives or artificial flavorings. They're sweet for children and also provide some nutrition.

Peel one open and pop it into your mouth.

The rich milky aroma slowly melts on the tongue, sweet and soft.

Li Jianguo squinted, and his pedaling became lighter.

I feel much better now.

When he arrived at the factory, the workers greeted him with smiles, their eyes filled with undisguised respect and affection.

At the steel rolling mill, Li Jianguo is now like a mascot.