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

The deaf old woman's eyes widened suddenly.

His face was full of disbelief.

The deaf old woman slammed her cane heavily on the ground, making a dull thud.

"Stop spewing nonsense!"

Her voice was shrill, like torn fabric, but it couldn't hide the panic in her eyes.

His cloudy eyes darted rapidly in their deep-set sockets, scanning every face in the yard before finally fixing their gaze on Li Jianguo.

This is fine.

Those guys who were just now so arrogant and jumping up and down cursing, now looked like they'd been choked, their faces turning pale and then red.

Yi Zhonghai's knees buckled first.

He took a half step forward, then stepped back, his hands intertwined, his knuckles turning bluish-white.

"Director Li, could we... could we each compromise?"

His voice was low and ingratiating, but the smile was frozen on his face, looking worse than crying.

"I still trust my old neighbors in this compound; I'm sure none of them would do something like stealing chickens or dogs..."

He gestured to the side with his chin.

There stood seven or eight security officers, guns at their waists, their shiny black leather boots gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

There were also several police officers from the local police station nearby, holding notebooks and scanning the crowd with eyes like knives.

At a single command, these men could storm into every room, tear off the bed boards, pry up the floor tiles, and scrape off a layer of plaster from the walls.

As soon as Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, a chorus of agreement arose from the crowd.

"Yes, Director Li, we're neighbors in the same courtyard, we see each other all the time..."

"This whole mess is so ugly, how are we supposed to get along in the future!"

He pushed his bangs forward, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He rubbed his hands together, his face trembling.

In the corner, Jia Zhangshi gripped the arm of the stick tightly.

Her fingernails almost dug into her grandson's flesh, and the boy grimaced in pain, but dared not utter a sound.

Jia Zhangshi stared intently at the security personnel, her heart pounding like a drum.

The things in the house...

The pots, pans, cloths, and food that were taken from other people's homes filled half a room.

These past few days, Banggeng has just been released from the juvenile detention center and is itching to get his hands dirty. He's become quite adept at sneaking in and picking locks, and she's turned a blind eye to it, even keeping watch for him.

If those people rush in...

Jia Zhangshi shivered, and felt a heat in her crotch.

Li Jianguo coldly swept his gaze across the faces of these people.

His gaze was like an icicle, piercing through them one by one, causing them to lower their heads.

"I gave you a chance just now, but you ignored it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated everyone's ears.

"Now you want to play a tragic role?"

The corner of his mouth curled into a smile, but it sent chills down one's spine.

"It's too late."

These two words were like two giant rocks, silencing the courtyard completely.

Yi Zhonghai's legs went completely limp.

He grabbed Sha Zhu by the collar, shoved him forward, and pressed him down hard on the shoulder.

"Weren't you being quite the yeller just now?!"

His voice cracked.

"Quickly kowtow to Director Li and admit your mistake!"

Sha Zhu was forced to kneel on the ground, his knees hitting the bluestone slab with a dull thud.

He was seething with anger and turned to glare at Yi Zhonghai, but the deaf old woman's eyes made him feel uneasy.

That look seemed to say: Do you want to kill us all?

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth, pressed his forehead against the ground, and slammed it hard.

"Director Li, I was wrong..."

His voice was muffled, as if it were being squeezed out from between his teeth.

His eyes darted around in his bangs and moved too.

He grabbed the boy by the back of his collar, pulled the skinny boy out of the crowd, and pinned him to the ground.

"A great joke!"

His voice was as loud as thunder.

"Tell me, did you steal it?!"

All eyes immediately turned to the child kneeling on the ground.

After Banggeng returned from the juvenile detention center, he seemed like a completely different person.

He doesn't like to talk, doesn't like to go out, and stays indoors all day like a shadow.

Now that he was pinned to the ground, he raised his head, but his eyes were staring straight ahead, frighteningly empty.

"I didn't steal the documents."

His voice was flat, without much variation.

Jia Zhangshi let out a howl and pounced over, raising her hand to slap him, but was stopped by Liu Haizhong.

The two of them took turns criticizing and advising, making quite a scene.

But it's obvious to everyone that this was an act for Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo just stood there, like a nail driven into the ground.

He only spoke after they had finished making a scene.

"Don't try to play these tricks on me."

His voice was still so cold.

"If we don't find that document today, none of you will escape."

He turned his head to look at Director Yang and Director Zhang.

"Give the order, stop wasting time talking to them."

Factory Director Yang nodded, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

He had heard that the courtyard was in chaos before he came, but he didn't expect it to be this chaotic.

It's useless to be nice to this group of people.

"search!"

He gave the order.

The security officers and police officers immediately split into several groups and rushed into each room.

Only a few armed men remained guarding the courtyard, their guns pointed intentionally or unintentionally at the crowd.

Soon, clanging and banging sounds came from inside the house.

The cabinet made a dull thud as it was pushed over.

The sound of the bed board being overturned.

The crisp sound of pots and pans hitting the ground.

The people in the courtyard were on tenterhooks as they listened to these sounds.

Time passed by, second by second.

Suddenly, an officer rushed out of the deaf old woman's house.

"Report!"

He was holding a cloth bag in his hands.

"No file found, but this was found!"

The cloth bag was opened, revealing several gold bars and a few pieces of jewelry, which gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

The courtyard was in an uproar.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the gold bars.

A deaf old woman?

That lonely old lady who always wore a tattered cotton-padded coat, leaned on a cane, and tremblingly said that she was a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans).

Where did she get so much money?

"This...this..."

Some people stammered and couldn't speak.

"Could it be that what Director Li said is true? She's not a recipient of the 'Five Guarantees' program at all?"

Director Zhang's expression changed instantly.

He had handled countless cases and met numerous enemy agents; that vigilance was almost instinctive.

"Go to the street!"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Investigate her background, find out her identity, trace her family back three generations!"

Immediately, someone responded and left.

The deaf old woman's face was as white as paper.

She hid those gold bars under the floor tiles for so many years.

She thought everything was foolproof.

But these people even pried up the floor tiles.

Just then, someone rushed out of Shazhu's house.

"Report!"

He was carrying several pieces of clothing in his hand.

Women's clothes.

The courtyard erupted in chaos once again.

A single man's house contains women's clothes?

The gossip was so intense that everyone's eyes lit up.

"Hey, isn't that the dress Qin Huairu wore this summer?"

Some people with sharp eyes recognized it at a glance.

These days, fabric is expensive, and a whole family might not be able to afford a new set of clothes in a year.

Qin Huairu wore that floral dress for several months in one summer; who in the courtyard hadn't seen it?

"What?"

Jia Zhangshi's voice was as shrill as a pig being slaughtered.

She stared intently at the clothes, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"That little bitch... she really is..."

She couldn't bring herself to continue the tirade.

She knew that Sha Zhu had feelings for Qin Huairu, and for years she had pretended not to know, encouraging her daughter-in-law to take advantage of Sha Zhu.

But she never imagined that the two of them could actually get together.

In the corner, Jia Dongxu, who had been sitting in a chair wrapped up tightly, suddenly looked up.

His eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

"Foolish Pillar—"

These three words were squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a deep-seated hatred.

He couldn't stay in the hospital any longer and was just carried back this afternoon.

As soon as I entered the house, I heard that my wife had been arrested and taken to the police station.