The entire courtyard is full of villains

Director Qian thought for a moment and said, "Then this is most likely a misunderstanding. The thief was caught red-handed and stuffed the stolen goods onto his person to escape. Since he has no prior record, Director Wang, you should take him home today and give him a good talking-to so he can stay away from trouble in the future."

Director Wang frowned and nodded.

Zhang Guowei suddenly spoke up: "Director Qian, can I see the person who filed the report today?"

He carefully examined Lü Zhengpan and found that the man was unfamiliar and did not seem to be one of Zhang Erhe's people. He was then slightly relieved: "It seems that I was overthinking it. It shouldn't be a setup."

At the entrance of the police station, Yan Bugui followed the three leaders out dejectedly.

"Yan Bugui, stop watching the excitement!" Director Wang was the first to reprimand him.

"Director Wang, what about my bicycle..."

"You've already registered. We'll let you know when we get back to you."

Upon arriving at the courtyard gate, Director Wang gave Yan Bugui another stern lecture. But when Yan Bugui stepped into the courtyard, he was greeted by the surprised and strange looks from his neighbors.

"Dad!" Yan Jiecheng rushed over. "Weren't you arrested by the police?"

"Who told you I was arrested?"

"Oh, Dad!" Yan Jiecheng slapped his thigh. "This morning someone came to the courtyard to report that you and someone else were caught by the police for pickpocketing! I went to several police stations but couldn't find you. Which station arrested you?"

"Bullshit!" Yan Bugui roared in fury. "I've been framed!"

“But…” Yan Jiecheng swallowed hard, “But now everyone in the hospital knows you were arrested by the police for stealing!”

"puff--"

Yan Bugui coughed up another mouthful of blood, and everything went black before his eyes.

That's it, it's all over. Even if he's released, his reputation... can never be completely cleansed.

At the barbecue restaurant, Lü Zhengpan and Wu Qian sat facing each other, while Zhang Erhe sat sideways in the main seat.

"Second Brother, how did this go?" Wu Qian picked up a piece of mutton with his chopsticks and asked, turning his head to the side.

"That's fantastic!" Zhang Erhe laughed. "I heard the news at home at noon. Yan Bugui's reputation as a 'thief' is now truly cemented. Even if it's not shit, it's still shit when mud falls down your pants!"

Wu Qian smiled and lowered his voice: "Second brother, isn't this old bastard always making up lies to ruin your reputation? We'll just give him a taste of his own medicine."

Zhang Erhe nodded, then turned his gaze to Lü Zhengpan beside him: "Well done. Da Pan, thank you for your hard work."

Lu Zhengpan quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Second Master, you're too kind! Brother Wu is doing me a favor by asking me to do something for him."

“We’re all family, no need to be so formal,” Zhang Erhe waved his hand. “Just call me Second Brother like Qian’er does.”

"Hey! Second Brother!" Lu Zhengpan's face lit up, clearly very happy.

“Da Pan,” Wu Qian continued, “that bicycle…”

"Don't worry, Third Brother, I've already had my Uncle ride it back. By now... it's probably almost completely disassembled."

"That's good," Zhang Erhe nodded. "Tell my uncle not to show his face in Beijing recently."

"Don't worry, my uncle never goes to the city. If my third brother hadn't said he wanted to find a new face, I wouldn't have bothered to bring him out of the mountains."

Zhang Erhe took out ten yuan from his pocket: "Da Pan, take this money."

Lu Zhengpan's face flushed red: "Second Brother! Third Brother came to me saying you needed manpower, and I came because of your reputation! You give me the money... and that's it...!"

Seeing that he was really anxious, Zhang Erhe put the money away: "Alright, since we're brothers, giving money would only make us feel distant. How about this, when I buy meat for the steel mill later, I'll get some for your family."

"That's great!" Lu Zhengpan's eyes lit up. "Second brother, you don't know, ever since the ration was reduced before the New Year, if it weren't for Third Brother sharing two ounces of meat with me, we wouldn't even be able to afford a meal of meat dumplings at home!"

"Okay, I'll get you five pounds later. We'll not only have dumplings, but also a good stew of braised pork."

"Thank you, Second Brother!"

"Hey," Wu Qian interrupted with a laugh, "Stop thanking me like that, the meat's getting cold! Hurry up and eat, this barbecue season is getting shorter and shorter... I heard they've run out of lamb lately."

Chapter 116 This is nothing yet

When people are happy, they are in high spirits, and this barbecue was especially enjoyable.

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Zhang Erhe declined Wu Qian's offer to see him off—the guy had drunk even more than him. He asked Lü Zhengpan to take Wu Qian home, and then slowly pushed his bicycle back home.

Just as they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, they saw Yan Jiecheng carrying Yan Bugui on his back, staggering into the courtyard.

"Hey!" Zhang Erhe stopped his bicycle and deliberately raised his voice, "Isn't this Teacher Yan, the newly minted 'pickpocket' of Nanluoguxiang? What's up, Lao Yan? Where have you been showing off?"

Yan Bugui struggled to lift his head from his son's back, his lips trembling as he asked, "Zhang Erhe...did you do this?!"

"What's wrong?" Zhang Erhe asked, feigning ignorance.

"If you're so capable, do it openly! Using such despicable methods behind our backs is ruining our family's reputation!" Yan Bugui was trembling with anger.

"What's wrong, Lao Yan?" Zhang Erhe calmly took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and asked with a smile, "Judging from your tone... are you dissatisfied with the current result?"

Seeing his smile, Yan Bugui's expression changed drastically, and his tone softened instantly: "Erhe... I've lived in this compound for almost ten years since I moved in in 1950, so we're old neighbors... Could you please be lenient and let our family off this time?"

"Spare your family?" Zhang Erhe exhaled a smoke ring and sneered, "Old Yan, what nonsense are you talking about? This isn't me targeting your family at all."

"No, no, no! Erhe, I misspoke! I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have spread your family's lies..."

"No way!" Zhang Erhe interrupted him. "How can that be a lie? Didn't your family's Jie Cheng say it was true? Not only did I hit my father-in-law, but I was also dismissed from my position as deputy workshop director at the steel rolling mill because of it—isn't that what you all said?"

Holding a cigarette, he slowly walked up to Yan Bugui, his voice low, only the two of them could hear: "Old Yan, do you want to draw a line? Do you want me to forgive you?"

Yan Bugui nodded hurriedly.

The next second, Zhang Erhe actually stubbed out his cigarette on Yan Bugui's forehead!

"Ouch!" Yan Bugui cried out in pain.

Zhang Erhe leaned close to his ear, his voice icy: "This is nothing! It's a long way off! The best is yet to come! Old Yan, you need to take good care of your health; you'll have endless good fortune ahead of you!"

After saying that, he turned to leave.

"Erhe!" Yan Bugui cried out, clutching his forehead and ignoring the pain.

Zhang Erhe turned around, a smile still on his face, but his eyes were already cold and menacing: "What?"

Yan Bugui froze, terrified by that look, and the rest of his words stuck in his throat; he dared not utter another sound.

Zhang Erhe ignored them and went straight into his house.

Inside the house, his father-in-law and his family had all arrived. When Guan Xue saw him return, she got up, despite being heavily pregnant, to pour him some water.

"You sit down, I can do it myself."

Guan Xue refused, and insisted on going over to pour him water and hand him a towel: "Erhe, wipe your face."

"Father-in-law, are you bringing my mother-in-law here to stay for an extended period?" Zhang Erhe asked while wiping his face.

“Yes,” the old bald man nodded, “Guan Xue is almost eight months pregnant, so I’ll send your mother over to take care of her.”

"That's good. Guan Xue, is the room next door ready?"

"It's already packed up."

"That's good." Zhang Erhe turned to his brother-in-law, "How's it going at the factory, kid?"

"That's good, brother-in-law." Guan Linpeng smiled shyly. "Our section chief knows about my relationship with you and has been quite considerate of me."

"That's good. If there's any task that Corey can't complete in the future, just take it on and come to me. I'll get it done for you. We have to be grateful for their kindness!"

He turned to Guan Xue and said, "Go and get that carton of cigarettes from home for Lin Peng."

"Brother-in-law, this..."

"Take this. When a man is out in the world, cigarettes pave the way, and alcohol paves the way. There's no relationship that can't be built with a single cigarette." Zhang Erhe patted his brother-in-law's shoulder. "You've just started working and don't have any savings yet, so take this first. When you get your salary, just buy your sister some good food."

Guan Linpeng nodded gratefully.

"By the way, does your factory have a cook named Nan Yi?"

"Yes! Brother-in-law, how did you know?"

"I asked around. How good is his cooking?"

"There are usually no private kitchens in the factory, but he really does cook the dishes in the big pot quite well."

“Well, the guy doing the kitchen work at the steel rolling mill right now is Sha Zhu from the yard, and I don’t get along with him. If things don’t work out, we’ll get Nan Yi promoted and kick Sha Zhu out of the way.” Zhang Erhe pondered. “These next few days, you can ask around the factory about this Nan Yi and see what kind of person he is. If he’s alright, let me know; if he’s just like Sha Zhu, then we’ll find someone else.”

"Okay, brother-in-law, I understand."

After the family finished dinner, Guan Linpeng rode his bicycle to take his father-in-law home. Zhang Jiao, on the other hand, insisted on sleeping with her maternal grandmother that night.

As soon as Zhang Erhe lay down on the bed, Guan Xue snuggled into his arms.

"Erhe," she asked softly, "did you orchestrate the events at the Yan family today?"

"Yes," Zhang Erhe readily admitted. "How about it?"

Guan Xue's eyebrows shot up with delight: "You don't know, do you? The courtyard was so lively this afternoon! Yan Bugui came back and heard that the news of him being a 'thief' had spread like wildfire throughout the city. He couldn't catch his breath and fainted on the spot!"

Your cousin, Jia Zhangshi, was still making sarcastic remarks, saying he was guilty! Yang Ruihua suddenly rushed out of the house and had a fierce fight with Jia Zhangshi! Later, Yi Zhonghai saw that Yan Bugui was barely breathing and quickly had Yan Jiecheng take him to the hospital...

"No wonder I saw Yan Jiecheng carrying him back just now; he probably thought the hospitalization costs were too high."

“Of course,” Guan Xue covered her mouth and whispered, “The Yan family used to be very frugal, but now they’re practically splitting every penny in half! Their boys are always hungry and just sit at the door, staring intently at people coming and going in the yard… Even our Jiaojiao and Xiaoyu don’t dare to play at the door anymore.”

Zhang Erhe snapped the light off and crawled into bed: "Yan Bugui still wants to beg for mercy from me today."

"So what did you say?" Guan Xue asked, turning to the side.

I told him—this is nothing!

At this time, the Yan family's house was pitch black. To save electricity, they basically didn't turn on the lights at night.

Yan Bugui was still wrapped in that old cotton-padded coat, sitting listlessly by the bed, his figure appearing particularly hunched in the darkness.

"Old Yan, go to bed early," Yang Ruihua advised from the side.

"I can't sleep... I can't sleep!" Yan Bugui cried out in anguish, his voice trembling. "How can you all be so carefree? Tonight I wanted to beg Zhang Erhe for mercy, but that little beast... he's determined to destroy our family!"

"Old Yan, was Zhang Erhe really behind this today?"

"It's definitely him!" Yan Bugui gritted his teeth. "That's that little bastard's style—he doesn't strike until he's deadly! He's determined to ruin our family forever!"

"Then... what should we do?" Yang Ruihua's voice was full of worry.

"What else can we do? Let's just get through this period first..."

"Old Yan," Yang Ruihua mustered his courage and finally brought up the most pressing issue, "our family's food... isn't enough either. Let's send Jiefang to the countryside and exchange some sweet potatoes with Zuojiazhuang."