The entire courtyard is full of villains

"Hey, whatever." Silly Zhu looked dismissive, but his heart was bleeding.

"She's much better than your Sister Qin, isn't she?" Xu Damao deliberately brought up a sore spot.

Sha Zhu, feeling embarrassed, shoved Xu Damao and said sullenly, "I'll let you off the hook since it's your wedding day. Get lost!"

"Hahahaha!" Xu Damao burst into laughter, then turned around and saw He Yushui coming out of the east wing. He immediately took out some candy and handed it to her. "Yushui, it's my wedding day today, so here are some candies for you. Give some to your brother too, so that some people won't have a sore throat in the middle of the night."

“Brother Da Mao, you…” He Yushui was also very troubled. Her silly brother and Xu Da Mao seemed to be born to clash; the two of them had never gotten along well even once.

P.S.: Life is tough, salute to every brave warrior who stands tall!

Chapter 199 A gasp of cold air

Having finished showing off in front of Sha Zhu, Xu Damao had accomplished most of his fun for the day. Next, he dutifully introduced his wife to the others in the courtyard, distributed candy, and then led Liu Suying and the little girl back to his room.

But as soon as he left, the people in the courtyard gathered together.

"Hey, have you seen the woman Xu Damao brought? Isn't she pretty?"

"She's really pretty. Look at her, she's one of the best in our department."

"But why does this woman look like she's not a young woman?"

"Yes, yes, I had the same feeling. There was a little girl behind her, could she be her sister-in-law?"

Several experienced people shook their heads and said, "This woman must have been married before. Xu Damao probably married a divorcee."

Someone immediately retorted: "Xu Damao comes from a good family and has a good job. Even if he's not doing well, he shouldn't marry a divorced woman."

The two sides immediately got into a heated argument over this topic.

Yi Zhonghai's new wife, Hu Tiehua, knew the truth: this woman was most likely married before, and she smelled a "similar scent" about her—she was definitely a widow.

However, she didn't say these words to his face; she just kept them to herself.

Two days later, everyone in the courtyard figured it out: Xu Damao had indeed married a divorced woman, a widow with a child.

The whole courtyard was in an uproar: "How could Xu Damao marry a divorced woman? Although Liu Suying is quite good-looking, how could Xu Damao's family agree to it?"

Meanwhile, at Xu Fugui's house, Xu Damao and Xu Fugui sat trembling with fear, while across from them, Xu Damao's mother jumped three feet high, scolding her father and then her son, and then her father.

"Xu Damao! Why can't you control your lower body? No matter how beautiful a widow is, she's still a widow! But you, other women get married before having a son, and you got married and 'bought one, got two free'—a daughter! Go get a divorce right now!"

"Mom..." Xu Damao had a headache. He had been having such a good time these past two days that he didn't want to leave. If Xu Fugui hadn't called him over today, he wouldn't have dared to come. "Now that I'm divorced, and my wife has gone back to the village, the village chief is making a scene at the commune. What am I supposed to do?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao's mother also felt a bit of a headache. Xu Fugui had told her that day that this matter couldn't be made a scene, otherwise Xu Damao would be finished, but she was still upset.

"Mom." Seeing that his mother was silent, Xu Damao quickly stepped forward and said, "Let's just make do like this for now. After a year or two, when this matter fades away, I can just get a divorce from her, right? Anyway, I'm a grown man, so I won't lose anything."

"What do you mean there's no loss?!" Xu Damao's mother grabbed Xu Damao's ear. "You'll be a divorcee! Lou Bancheng won't choose someone like you then!"

"Lou Bancheng?" Xu Damao was somewhat surprised. "How does this matter involve Lou Bancheng again?"

Xu Fugui said quietly, "Originally, your mother and I were thinking of having you become Lou Bancheng's son-in-law..."

The head of the task force frowned deeply as he looked at the two police officers who had been brought back by the local police station early that morning.

The two men had messy hair, swollen faces, and tattered clothes, looking like two refugees who had just fled to Beijing from elsewhere.

"What were you two thinking?" The team leader slammed his fist on the table in exasperation. "I sent you two to supervise someone, and instead of supervising them, you got them mistaken for thieves and taken to the police station! Come here and explain yourself!"

The older policeman was so ashamed he couldn't lift his head, while the younger policeman looked indignant: "Team leader, this really isn't our fault, it's that Xu Damao's fault! Why did he have to run off to the countryside for no reason?"

The team leader laughed in exasperation, "He's a proper projectionist, where else would he go if not to the countryside?"

"Team leader!" the young policeman gritted his teeth, "Why don't we arrest Xu Damao! That bastard's having an affair!"

"Snapped!"

The team leader threw a stack of documents at his face: "They got their marriage certificate!"

"Huh?" The young policeman was dumbfounded. "When did they get their marriage certificate?"

“Just yesterday morning,” the team leader said coldly.

"But... but they just did it the night before last..." the young policeman said anxiously.

"Did you see it? Can you testify?" The team leader's barrage of questions left the young police officer speechless.

"Alright." The team leader's anger subsided considerably when he saw their miserable state, leaving only a look of disgust. "Go back and rest for a couple of days. I'll assign someone else to handle this."

"Yes……"

Watching the two slink away, the team leader couldn't help but slap his forehead.

Xu Damao is a real headache.

Those who had been watching Xu Fugui and Xu Damao for the past two days hadn't noticed anything unusual. The background checks on the two had also come out: Xu Fugui used to be Lou Bancheng's driver, and he only learned the skill of projecting movies after the liberation, which was not the "family heirloom skill" that Xu Damao boasted about.

Both father and son only know how to project images; they are completely incapable of doing delicate work like photo developing and printing.

So who is it?

Could it be Zhang Erhe?

However, Zhang Erhe's methods were completely unrelated to this case. The people who had been following Zhang Erhe for the past two days also discovered that he only went to his workplace and home, living a very simple life, and basically did not go anywhere else or have any unusual contact with anyone.

The case suddenly reached a dead end.

In the office of the steel rolling mill.

Zhang Erhe held the phone, listening to Wu Qian on the other end recount the whole story of Xu Damao's marriage, and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"So that's how it happened with Xu Damao getting married..."

Strictly speaking, this whole thing is really his fault. If he hadn't messed with Liu Haizhong, Xu Damao wouldn't have been targeted; he wouldn't have been followed, and he wouldn't have caused all that trouble, let alone been caught red-handed by the militia captain.

Now look what happened, Xu Damao married a widow with a child.

"No matter what, at least he'll have a girl to take care of him in his old age and see him off when he dies. I guess I've done something virtuous!" Zhang Erhe muttered to himself.

But... why is the feng shui of this courtyard getting stranger and stranger?

Yi Zhonghai married a widow, and Xu Damao also married a widow.

or……

Zhang Erhe rubbed his chin, starting to make plans in his mind.

Should we find a widow for Sha Zhu as well?

Three widows in one courtyard—that must be quite amusing.

However, the widow that Sha Zhu marries should be a bit fierce, preferably the kind who can keep him completely under her thumb, otherwise there won't be much fun.

When the time comes, with three real widows and Qin Huairu, the "living widow," there will be four widows making a drama, and this courtyard will be quite lively.

Zhang Erhe smacked his lips, feeling that life was becoming more and more hopeful.

wrong……

The Jia family also has Zhang Cuihua, that widow, plus Wang, the widow in the main room, and the old deaf widow...

Well, this courtyard house is practically a "widow's courtyard house"! Are you trying to summon a dragon by gathering seven widows?

"If this feng shui isn't good, we'll have to find someone to take a look." Zhang Erhe shivered involuntarily and touched his arm. "If it doesn't work, we'll have to move out of here. This courtyard is incredibly eerie; why are there so many widows here?"

Chapter 200 Liu Haizhong, You're Back

The task force's meeting room was filled with smoke, as it was full of heavy smokers.

Deputy Director Cheng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said in a deep voice, "Tell me, how should this matter be handled now?"

"Team leader!" someone shouted, raising their hand first. "Judging from the current situation, we've already checked the photos and letters submitted, and they don't seem to be forged. It's highly likely that this is true. Since Liu Haizhong's family are relatives of a traitor, why don't we follow the procedure for relatives of traitors?"

"I object!" another person immediately stood up to retort. "Although the photos and letters cannot be found to be forged, we cannot be 100% certain that they are genuine. We have already visited Chengde County, and Liu Jiangzhong did not act as a traitor at that time, nor did he have any experience in treason. We cannot deny the future of a family based on a letter and a photo, can we? I think this is inappropriate!"

The two sides each held their own version of events and began arguing.

"Director Lü," the head of the task force said directly, "you tell me."

"Team leader, this is what I think." Director Lü pushed up his glasses and slowly began to speak, "Based on our investigation, Liu Haizhong's family really doesn't seem to have any suspicion of being traitors. In that case, it's not in accordance with regulations for us to keep them locked up indefinitely."

"We can release them first, and then keep a close eye on this courtyard house. No matter what, if their family was framed, then there must be something wrong with this courtyard house. If we keep an eye on the courtyard house for a long time, we will definitely be able to find some clues."

"If we keep Liu Haizhong and his family locked up like this, the person who framed them will continue to hide in the shadows. Rather than that, wouldn't it be better to release them and lure the snake out? What do you think?"

“It is possible,” Deputy Director Cheng changed the subject, “but Liu Haizhong was arrested in such a high-profile manner this time. If we don’t give him a reason to release him, won’t the people hiding in the shadows on the other side become suspicious?”

Director Lü sat up straight and continued, "Here's what I'm thinking, Chief. Liu Haizhong's family used to be small landlords and rich peasants, but after they sold off all their land, Liu Haizhong took advantage of this loophole and claimed to be a poor peasant. If we inform the steel mill that Liu Haizhong concealed his family background, and that's why we arrested him, then we'll have a suitable reason to release him. What do you think?"

"Okay, that's fine." Deputy Director Cheng thought for a moment and nodded. "In that case, it's the best solution at the moment."

So the municipal bureau directly sent a document to the steel rolling mill, explaining the reason for Liu Haizhong's arrest, and then notified the steel rolling mill to punish Liu Haizhong.

At the steel rolling mill, Director Yang frowned upon seeing the security department's report: "What's wrong with the veteran workers in this factory? They keep getting into trouble one after another!"

So he called another meeting to discuss Liu Haizhong's matter.

Zhang Erhe also attended the meeting. Upon hearing the report, he sneered inwardly: It seems the police can't find anything, so they're planning to play the long game and use Liu Haizhong as bait.

Okay, let's keep fishing and see if you can catch any fish in the end.

Without Zhang Erhe stirring things up, the meeting quickly reached a conclusion: Liu Haizhong was demoted five levels to a second-level blacksmith for concealing his family background, and was barred from taking any further grade exams for five years.

This effectively shattered Liu Haizhong's dream of becoming an official. After all, the record was in his file, and with this stain on his record, Liu Haizhong's life was essentially over.

Liu Guangtian was brought up to the office of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Looking at Director Lü, Liu Guangtian asked nervously, "Director Lü, how is the investigation going?"

"Sit down, Guangtian." Director Lü gestured to the chair opposite him. "We've investigated the matter, and there are no results yet. However, we've found that your family's class background is problematic; it was concealed by Liu Haizhong. At the very least, your family should be classified as rich peasants, not poor peasants."

Liu Guangtian was somewhat at a loss: "This..."

“But your act of reporting is commendable.” Director Lü’s tone softened as he changed the subject. “We have taken action based on your situation. Liu Haizhong has been reported to the steel rolling mill for disciplinary action, and his class status has been changed back to that of a rich peasant.”

"If you choose to sever ties with him now, your status should not be changed."

“Then… I choose to sever ties with him!” Liu Guangtian blurted out almost immediately. He had long ago made up his mind to break off his father-son relationship with Liu Hai.

“Alright, since you’ve chosen to sever ties with him, I’ll have the neighborhood committee open a separate household registration for you.” Director Lü nodded and added, “Guangtian, although this matter hasn’t been fully investigated yet, your courage to report it is commendable. In addition, since you’ve chosen to sever your father-son relationship with Liu Hai, we’ve found you a temporary job so that you can have a better life in the future. If you don’t mind, you can take it.”

"No problem, no problem!" Liu Guangtian never expected that his failed report would result in him getting a job. Although it was a temporary job, temporary workers also had the opportunity to become permanent employees.