Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 127 The Power of Money Activated, the Entire Academy Launches an Attack! (8k)

"Jia Zhangshi, what business is it of yours? Why are you meddling in this mess?"

Tao Cuilan was already annoyed enough, but then Jia Zhangshi brought her daughter-in-law Qin Huairu over to dredge up old grievances, and she exploded.

Li Hongbing's matter hasn't been resolved yet, and Jia Zhangshi is causing trouble again, trying to ruin their family.

"How did I get involved in this? I'm here to demand justice!"

Madam Jia sneered and said to Qin Huairu beside her, "Huairu, tell everyone, did that brat Xu Damao secretly say bad things about our Dongxu to you? Since everyone is here today, tell everyone what Xu Damao said to you back then."

This grudge had been bottled up in Jia Zhangshi's heart for a long time, and she had never forgotten it!
Now that we've finally got a chance, we're going to make Xu Damao pay it all back.

"I……"

Qin Huairu hesitated when she realized that everyone's eyes were on her.

Seeing Qin Huairu like this, Madam Jia immediately stood up for her, saying, "Huairu, don't be afraid. With me here, no one will dare to do anything to you today."

"Jia Zhangshi, stop making trouble. This matter happened so long ago, and now you're trying to turn around and bite us again. What exactly do you want?"

Just as Qin Huairu was about to speak, Xu Fugui's face darkened. He happened to see Yi Zhonghai rushing over from the Central Courtyard and immediately questioned, "Old Yi, what do you mean by this?"
I only reconciled with the Jia family because of you. Now that so much time has passed, is this matter still not over?
"Do you, Yi Zhonghai, still stand by what you said?"

When Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu got married, it was Yi Zhonghai who stepped in to mediate between the Jia and Xu families, allowing them to put aside their past grievances.

and.

When Jia Dongxu got married, Xu Fugui gave a gift to the Jia family. The Jia family held a banquet in the courtyard and even asked Tao Cuilan to help with the work. The two sides have officially reconciled.

In other words.

From now on, no one can use Xu Damao to disrupt the Jia family's matchmaking process or cause trouble for the other party.

Jia Zhangshi's current actions clearly violate the original agreement between the two families.

"Old Xu, don't get agitated. Let me talk to your wife about this first."

Yi Zhonghai felt utterly helpless, yet he had no choice but to pull Jia Zhangshi aside and whisper, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing all this time, on New Year's Day?"

Yi Zhonghai felt incredibly exhausted.

The story of Xu Damao ruining Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu's blind date was actually just Jia Zhangshi's one-sided account. Even if Qin Huairu could testify later, if Xu Fugui and Xu Damao insisted on denying it, there was nothing that could be done about it.

Moreover.

The reason why Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu's blind date failed was not because Xu Damao interfered, but because Jia Zhangshi looked down on Qin Huairu, a country girl.

This is common knowledge throughout the entire courtyard.

Even if we have to blame someone, we can't put all the blame on Xu Damao.

It is said that it is better to resolve enmity than to let it fester. Xu Fugui was, after all, the eldest son of the family in the courtyard. Yi Zhonghai did not want to see the feud between the Jia family and them continue. So, he took advantage of the opportunity of Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu's wedding to mediate and get the two families to put aside their grudges and reconcile.

The situation between the Jia and Xu families is ultimately different from that of Li Hongbing.

Even if they want to reconcile, Li Hongbing has to agree first.

Jia Zhangshi's current act of bringing up old grievances is undoubtedly a slap in the face to Yi Zhonghai, the mediator.

That's why Xu Fugui stepped forward to question him.

“Master Dongxu, don’t worry about this. I’m going to get my revenge today, or I won’t be able to sleep well.”

Jia Zhangshi didn't care about all that. The reason she reconciled with the Xu family before was, although it was because of Yi Zhonghai, but the main reason was that she couldn't do anything about the Xu family and Xu Damao.

Now that the opportunity has come, she can't afford to miss it.

"Sister-in-law..."

Knowing that Jia Zhangshi had already made up her mind and wouldn't listen to him no matter what he said, Yi Zhonghai's heart sank.

Sometimes, he really had no way to deal with Jia Zhangshi.

If Jia Zhangshi is allowed to cause such trouble, the knot that was originally untied with the Xu family will probably be tied up again.

And the knots have grown deeper.

Even if it is proven that Xu Damao really did it, so much time has passed, what good would it do for the Jia family?
It's just another enemy.

The key is.

Jia Zhangshi's current actions are tantamount to unilaterally violating the original settlement agreement, and Yi Zhonghai, as the intermediary who came forward to mediate and guarantee, will also have his reputation trampled on.

This is not only a slap in the face to the Xu family and Xu Fugui, but also an indiscriminate attack on him.

If something like this happens again, I doubt anyone will be willing to step forward or pay any attention to them.

They go back on their word and have no credibility whatsoever.

Fortunately at this time.

Wang Guihua, who had just come from the Intermediate People's Court with Yi Zhonghai, brought the deaf old lady out from the back main room.

"Zhang girl, you've grown some guts, haven't you? Coming here to cause trouble, disturbing this old lady's peace and quiet during the New Year..."

Seeing Wang Guihua helping the deaf old woman over, the crowd made way for them. The deaf old woman, who had come to Jia Zhangshi's side, raised her cane as if to strike.

Although Li Hongbing initially refused to acknowledge the deaf old woman as his ancestor and publicly contradicted and mocked her, scaring her into the hospital and causing her to lose all her authority as the "ancestor," her status in the hospital was greatly diminished.

No matter what, the deaf old lady was the oldest person in the courtyard. Even if people stopped treating her like an ancestor, they wouldn't openly challenge or oppose her like Li Hongbing did.

Aside from Li Hongbing, the deaf old woman's arrogance and condescension still had some effect on the people in the courtyard, especially Jia Zhangshi.

Yi Zhonghai and his wife were close to the deaf old woman and always treated her with respect. Even Jia Dongxu, her apprentice, was treated the same way. Jia Zhangshi didn't dare to disobey in public and was immediately frightened into running away and begging for mercy.

"Grandma, I won't do it again."

"I was wrong about this."

"I won't pursue this further, okay?"

"What's the point of apologizing to me? Go tell Xiao Xu."

"Grandpa, I was wrong, I was confused just now..."

"..."

With the appearance of the deaf old woman, Jia Zhangshi apologized to Xu Fugui in public and admitted her wrongdoing. Xu Fugui and Tao Cuilan, the couple, gave up and breathed a sigh of relief.

If Jia Zhangshi really starts making trouble, they'll have a real headache.

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi had actually been pinned down, Li Hongbing was somewhat surprised, but he had to admit that the combination of Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman was "powerful".

In the entire courtyard, besides fists and slaps, probably only the two of them could control Jia Zhangshi.

"Alright, there's nothing else going on, why are you all gathered here?"

After suppressing Jia Zhangshi, the deaf old woman did not leave immediately. Instead, she leaned on her cane, looked around at everyone, and pounded the floor heavily, urging them to disperse: "It's the New Year, are you all so idle? Hurry up and disperse, go do what you were supposed to do!"

Faced with the deaf old woman's actions, no one dispersed and no one uttered a sound.

Jia Zhangshi has calmed down, but the matter between Li Hongbing and the Xu family is still unresolved!

Whether the deaf old woman did it on purpose or was unaware of what had just happened, she actually dispersed the crowd at this moment.

This move was undoubtedly a direct confrontation with Li Hongbing.

It was clearly an attempt to undermine Li Hongbing.

Seeing that no one listened to her, the deaf old woman felt extremely embarrassed. Her face darkened, and she deliberately avoided looking at Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru, as if she didn't know they were there. She continued to act like she was old and said, "What's wrong? Do you all think that I'm too old to speak?"

“You old bastard surnamed Deaf, this is none of your business. Don’t act like an old man and go back to your room to rest! It’s freezing outside. If you catch a cold or fall down, you’ll be bedridden and need someone to take care of you. You’ll be better off then.”

Li Hongbing could tell that the deaf old woman was deliberately causing trouble, so he immediately stopped being polite to her and didn't hold back at all.

This deaf old woman really doesn't learn her lesson.

He had only been behaving himself for a short time, less than half a year, and he was too lazy to bother her anymore. Now he thinks he can do it again?
"Li Hongbing, how dare you speak to the old lady like that?"

When Li Hongbing spoke rudely to the deaf old woman, especially with that malicious "threat," Yi Zhonghai's expression changed immediately, and he reprimanded him on the spot.

"Yi Zhonghai, how I speak is none of your business."

Turning his gaze to Yi Zhonghai, Li Hongbing mocked him directly in front of everyone, "Are you still trying to use that old-fashioned logic of your elders to intimidate me? You've been behaving yourself for a few months, and now you think you're something special, don't you know who you are or what your surname is?"

Since Jia Dongxu got married, Li Hongbing, the Jia family, Yi Zhonghai and his wife, and the deaf old woman have not communicated for several months and haven't said a word to each other. Now, whenever either side opens their mouth, their words are full of hostility.

Today, Jia Dongxu caused this trouble, and Li Hongbing was still holding back to settle accounts with him. But then the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai couldn't hold back anymore and jumped out again.

Neither the deaf old woman nor Yi Zhonghai likely knew that this matter was related to Jia Dongxu, otherwise they wouldn't be so calm.

As for what the deaf old woman did just now, it was nothing more than trying to trip up Li Hongbing and annoy him.

Their behavior is like a toad crawling on your foot—it doesn't bite, but it disgusts you.

After confronting Yi Zhonghai, Li Hongbing ignored his and the deaf old woman's embarrassed expressions and said directly to Xu Fugui, "Uncle, this is a matter between our two families. Xu Damao's actions were not fair, but I won't make things difficult for you. Please have someone bring Xu Damao back so we can clarify things face to face."

I just want to know, our two families have no grudge against each other, why did Xu Damao do this? Once the matter is cleared up, you can discipline Xu Damao however you want, I just need an explanation and an apology, and that's the end of it.”

"Row!"

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Xu Fugui nodded emphatically.

Li Hongbing only needs an explanation and an apology; that would already be considered lenient.

Xu Fugui was not unable to accept this plan; on the contrary, it made him feel relieved.

The pressure is too great.

If Xu Damao really did this, regardless of whether Li Hongbing asked him to or not, he would teach that brat a lesson and let him know why the flowers are so red.

If we don't discipline him, his life will be ruined.

Xu Fugui never expected that Li Hongbing would be so easy to talk to today.

……

at the same time.

Just as Xu Fugui began arranging for people to go find Xu Damao, Jia Dongxu, who was secretly observing from the other side of the Intermediate Court, was on high alert.

Finished!

Jia Dongxu realized that he seemed to have gone too far.

Knowing that Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru hadn't known each other for long and had only been dating for a couple of days, she originally wanted to do something sneaky, but she didn't expect things to develop beyond her control.

If they were allowed to find Xu Damao at this point, Chen Xueru might discover that the person from that time was not Xu Damao and find out that he was the one who did it.

Regardless, Jia Dongxu knew he couldn't stay in the courtyard any longer, otherwise Chen Xueru would see him and completely expose him.

It would be best if Xu Damao didn't come back either.

While Xu Fugui was still arranging for people to look for Xu Damao, Jia Dongxu took the lead and ran out.

Jia Dongxu left the courtyard and, luckily, found Sha Zhu and Xu Damao outside. The two seemed to be arguing and playing around.

"Xu Damao, Shazhu, what are you doing?"

Upon discovering this, Jia Dongxu quickly stepped forward and called out.

Upon seeing Jia Dongxu appear, Sha Zhu was overjoyed and immediately shouted, "Jia Dongxu, help me hold down this kid Xu Damao, and I'll cook for your family for free later."

"Damn it! Jia Dongxu, if you dare to help Sha Zhu, I'll never forgive you!"

Jia Dongxu's sudden appearance, coupled with Sha Zhu's enticing offer, made Xu Damao panic.

In terms of fighting prowess, Xu Damao is definitely no match for Sha Zhu.

However, after all these years, having made so many foolish mistakes and endured so many beatings, Xu Damao has also developed his speed.

If it weren't for his own two legs, he would have been caught up by Sha Zhu and beaten to a pulp long ago.

It was because of this reliance that Xu Damao dared to provoke Sha Zhu time and time again, even though he knew he couldn't beat him.

However, Jia Dongxu's appearance now is very likely to break the current "balance" and put him in Sha Zhu's hands. Xu Damao has no choice but to be anxious.

"Hey, we're all neighbors in the same courtyard, we've been playing together since we were kids, why are you doing this to yourselves!"

Having learned about Sha Zhu and Xu Damao's situation and knowing that they might have quarreled again, Jia Dongxu was secretly pleased and immediately took the initiative to "make peace," saying, "How about this, I'll pay for you to go outside and find a place to drink. You can talk about any conflicts directly without hurting each other's feelings."

"Jia Dongxu, are you going to treat us to drinks?"

Jia Dongxu's words stunned both Sha Zhu and Xu Damao.

This doesn't resemble Jia Dongxu at all.

He's not usually this generous.

"Jia Dongxu, what tricks are you playing? You're not trying to help Sha Zhu scam me, are you?"

Xu Damao was suspicious and didn't easily trust Jia Dongxu, so he immediately questioned him.

Why would I cheat you?

Jia Dongxu chuckled and said to Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. I'm in a good mood and wanted to find some people to drink with, and I just happened to run into the two of you."

Sha Zhu, aren't you good at drinking?

Next time I drink with my master, I'll invite you too.

"Xu Damao, you've probably never even tasted alcohol in your life. Don't you want to know what it tastes like?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu was immediately tempted.

Every time Sha Zhu saw Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu drinking behind closed doors, he felt very envious and wanted to join them.

Unfortunately, Yi Zhonghai didn't take him along at all. After all, when he and Jia Dongxu were drinking, the master and apprentice would definitely have some things to say, some of which Sha Zhu couldn't hear.

Once, Sha Zhu took the initiative to suggest joining them, but Yi Zhonghai refused him entry, saying he was too old to drink.

Now that Jia Dongxu has brought this up himself, it's really hard for him to refuse.

Meanwhile, Xu Damao, who was standing not far away, argued somewhat shamelessly, "Who said I've never drunk alcohol? This alcohol is spicy and doesn't taste good at all. I don't know why you guys like it so much."

After the New Year, Xu Damao was only sixteen years old. Xu Fugui had never allowed him to touch alcohol before, but Xu Damao had secretly tasted a sip, though he hadn't tasted the "true essence" of the wine.

"Who told you this liquor is spicy? I bet you've never drunk alcohol before, and you don't have the guts to do it."

Hearing Xu Damao's argument, Jia Dongxu laughed and deliberately mocked him before saying to Shazhu, "Shazhu, let's go by ourselves, without that brat Xu Damao. He even said the wine is spicy, it's hilarious."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu also laughed out loud and belittled Xu Damao, saying, "Fine, let's just go by ourselves. Xu Damao hasn't even grown his hair yet, what's he doing trying to drink alcohol like that!"

"grass!"

Provoked by Jia Dongxu and looked down upon by Sha Zhu, Xu Damao immediately refused to back down and said, "Let's drink! Who's afraid of who? I'll go with you!"

"Okay, then I'll take you along!"

Seeing that Xu Damao had taken the bait and that his goal had been achieved, Jia Dongxu couldn't help but break into a bright smile.

soon.

Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, who had been bickering, surprisingly put aside their prejudices and, led by Jia Dongxu, went to find a small restaurant for drinks.

Although most of the restaurants and eateries in the city have closed down, some of the privately owned taverns and eateries are still open. Otherwise, Jia Dongxu wouldn't have brought this up and tricked Xu Damao into going out.

……

at the same time.

Just as Jia Dongxu was using a diversionary tactic to lure Sha Zhu and Xu Damao away for drinks, the people Xu Fugui had sent to find Xu Damao had already left the courtyard one after another.

only.

With Jia Dongxu getting involved, finding Xu Damao won't be so easy for them.

Since Jia Dongxu intended to get Xu Damao away, he would naturally take them somewhere far away, perhaps even very far, to drink.

the other side.

As Xu Fugui's men set out, Li Hongbing looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Yan Jiecheng, who was watching the commotion in the crowd. He said, "Yan Jiecheng, can you run an errand for me? Go to my master and tell him that I have something to do at home today and can't come over for lunch. I'll give you a thousand yuan, how about it?"

With something like this happening today, it's estimated that it won't be resolved anytime soon. I probably won't be able to have lunch at Guo Youzhong's place, so Li Hongbing had to find someone to go and deliver the message.

"no problem!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng, who was chosen by luck, immediately agreed without any hesitation.

Yan Jiecheng is fourteen years old and still in school. He just started junior high school and has no income at all. Yan Bugui is stingy and naturally wouldn't give him any pocket money.

Even this morning, while everyone else received a thousand yuan in New Year's red envelopes, Yan Bugui only gave him five hundred yuan.

He earns a thousand yuan for running an errand, which is equivalent to two New Year's red envelopes.

The other teenagers in the courtyard, even those much younger than Yan Jiecheng, all looked at him with envy when they saw Li Hongbing hand over such a good job to Yan Jiecheng.

Running errands is something even a child who knows how to buy soy sauce can do.

only.

Guo Youzhong's place wasn't far from here, but Li Hongbing was worried about him, so he could only send Yan Jiecheng, a grown-up, to go.

The round trip is quite far. If Yan Jiecheng were to take the tram or bus, he probably wouldn't be willing to spend the money. Moreover, the errand fee given by Li Hongbing would probably not even cover the cost of the ticket, and he might even have to pay out of his own pocket.

The current buses and trolleybuses charge fares based on distance, with tickets divided into two to five segments, corresponding to prices of five, seven, eight, and nine hundred fen, which are equivalent to five to nine fen in the second series of RMB.

The shortest two-segment tickets all start at 500 yuan. Even without paying for the journey, Yan Jiecheng would have made a wasted trip.

However, for the 1,000 yuan delivery fee, Yan Jiecheng had no complaints, even if he had to run there himself.

Fortunately, Li Hongbing had considered this in advance. Before Yan Jiecheng could even start running, he said to him, "You ride my bicycle! Be careful on the road, and come back as soon as possible!"

When Sha Zhu and Xu Damao borrowed his car to learn to ride, Yan Jiecheng also learned along with them, and Li Hongbing knew that he could ride.

"Thank you, Brother Hongbing!"

Upon hearing this good news, Yan Jiecheng's eyes lit up, and he even called him "brother".

In the entire compound, apart from Xu Fugui's public bicycle, only Li Hongbing has one bicycle. Normally, no one even has the chance to touch it. Even if Li Hongbing doesn't pay for running errands, as long as he's willing to lend him his bicycle, Yan Jiecheng is happy to make the trip for him.

"Don't!"

Seeing that Li Hongbing was lending his bicycle to Yan Jiecheng, Yan Bugui, who was standing to the side, was worried and quickly stopped him, advising Li Hongbing: "Hongbing, you should let Jiecheng run. He's not good at riding a bicycle. What if he falls off your bicycle?"

Compared to the 1,000 yuan delivery fee, Yan Bugui was more worried about the risk of losing money.

What if Yan Jiecheng makes money and then damages Li Hongbing's bicycle, leaving Li Hongbing, as his father, to pay for it?

If that were the case, it would be like gaining a sesame seed but losing a watermelon.

Upon hearing Yan Bugui's words, Yan Jiecheng, who had been beaming with excitement, immediately became somewhat deflated.

Seeing Yan Jiecheng's dejected look, Li Hongbing smiled and said to Yan Bugui, "Uncle Yan, don't worry. As long as he doesn't fall, he'll be fine. What's a bicycle compared to a person? Even if something happens, I won't make Jiecheng responsible."

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Yan Jiecheng, who had initially thought there was no hope, looked at Li Hongbing and immediately felt extremely grateful.

Seeing that Li Hongbing had provided Yan Jiecheng with a disclaimer, Yan Bugui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he didn't stop him again, he still cautiously reminded and warned Yan Jiecheng: "Yan Jiecheng, you better be careful. It's okay if you fall, but don't break your brother Hongbing's bicycle."

"Got it, Dad!"

Completely unaffected by Yan Bugui's lack of fatherly love, Yan Jiecheng was only thinking about the joy of riding a bicycle.

After Yan Jiecheng ran out, Li Hongbing looked at Yan Bugui and said to him, "Uncle Yan, could you please help me organize some people to go around and inquire whether anyone else saw or heard anything when Xu Damao slandered me in front of my girlfriend?"

"As long as you can provide valid clues and help testify, I will give you a reward of 10,000 to 50,000 yuan, depending on the validity of the clues..."

"Ten thousand to fifty thousand?"

Yan Bugui was shocked when he suddenly heard the reward offered by Li Hongbing.

It seems that what Xu Damao did today really angered Li Hongbing.

Not only Yan Bugui, but everyone else in the courtyard also stirred when they heard that Li Hongbing was offering such a high reward for clues.

No matter what.

They were tempted, but none of them had any leads or access to the money.

at this time.

Li Hongbing spoke again: "Those who can help find clues or bring useful witnesses will also receive an equivalent reward."

As soon as Li Hongbing said this, the crowd, which had been just restless, became excited.

Immediately, someone asked Li Hongbing, "Hongbing, is what you're saying true?"

"Uncle Yang, everyone heard it clearly. With so many people hearing it, it must be true. There's no need to worry that I'll renege on my promise."

Knowing that everyone was concerned about this issue, Li Hongbing reassured them.

If you don't offer them some incentives, how can you get them to take action?

If a witness is indeed found, it will be even more effective in bringing Jia Dongxu to justice.

just.

Xu Fugui, who was standing to the side, saw that Li Hongbing had even offered a reward and immediately objected, saying, "Hongbing, isn't this inappropriate?"

"Sir, why is it inappropriate?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing asked.

Seeing that everyone's eyes had fallen on him as soon as he spoke, Xu Fugui's expression turned sour. He explained in front of everyone, "If someone gets the wrong idea and tries to give false testimony for the reward money you offer, what will happen then?"

Xu Fugui did indeed have this concern.

They were indeed afraid that Li Hongbing had actually found a witness.

Either way, it would be extremely disadvantageous for Xu Damao's family.

"Uncle, don't worry. As long as everyone doesn't mention the reward money when they go out to inquire about clues, we can avoid the situation you described."

After saying that, Li Hongbing smiled again and continued to Xu Fugui and everyone present: "I think we are all neighbors in the same courtyard. Surely you wouldn't hire someone to make up lies and wrong our own people just for a little bit of gratitude, would you?"

"That can't be done!"

"Old Xu, don't worry! Would we do something so heartless?"

"Exactly! Everyone wants to help you find out the truth. What if it really wasn't your Da Mao who did it?"

"Yes, yes, maybe someone is impersonating Da Mao."

"It's really possible!"

"Uncle, we're all neighbors. If you can't trust others, can't you trust the people in our own courtyard?"

"That's right!"

"..."

As soon as Li Hongbing finished speaking, everyone present immediately chimed in with their opinions, fearing that Li Hongbing might change his mind.

Everyone wants to make money!
Li Hongbing would reward them with 10,000 to 50,000 yuan as long as the clues they found were useful.

Even the lowest level of 10,000 is equivalent to their daily wage.

Where else can you find such a good deal?

It's the Lunar New Year, and I don't have anything else to do anyway, so a little extra time won't make a difference.

As for what they said—that they wanted to help Xu Fugui find out the truth, that they suspected someone was impersonating him, using Xu Damao's name to do bad things, and framing Xu Damao—even they themselves didn't believe it, but they were lucky enough to be right.

Even Li Hongbing had to admit that the people in the courtyard really had the potential to be brilliant detectives.

With everyone expressing their opinions, Xu Fugui, no matter how unwilling he was, had no way to stop it.

If we forcefully stop them from going out to look for clues, it will probably arouse even more suspicion.

The key is.

They are now driven by Li Hongbing's interests, and if they try to stop him, they will be blocking his path to wealth.

The situation is beyond our control!

Li Hongbing's move truly left him with a deep sense of powerlessness.

There's simply nothing we can do about him.

These days, young people are really hard to deal with; each generation is better than the last.

Seeing Xu Fugui's worried expression, Li Hongbing didn't say anything more, but smiled to himself.

Xu Fugui's worries were clearly unnecessary.

He offered a reward for clues, and from beginning to end, his goal was always Jia Dongxu.

It can't be said that it was completely unrelated to Xu Damao, but for Xu Damao, it was actually a good thing.

If someone were to deliberately give false testimony to frame Xu Damao for the reward, Chen Xueru would expose them.

Although he is rich now, it didn't come from thin air.

Even the money rewarded by the system was earned by him through gradually accumulating experience points and unlocking skill levels through his own efforts; it wasn't entirely without any effort.

Trying to distort the truth and cheat people out of money by him? Dream on!

In order to be the first to find useful clues and earn a reward from Li Hongbing, many people couldn't wait to set off and began their journey.

But the shrewd Yan Bugui remained unmoved.

When most of the people had left, he began to inquire in detail about the situation from Chen Xueru, looking for some details and key information so that he could better and more effectively dig out intelligence in the future.

As they were returning to the front yard and passing through the middle yard, they happened to overhear a conversation between Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu coming from the west wing of the Jia family's house.

"Huai Ru, where's Dong Xu?"

"I don't know, he was just inside!"

"Maybe he went outside to use the restroom?"

"That doesn't make sense, didn't he just go there once not long ago?"

"..."

Hearing their conversation, Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru exchanged a glance, clearly realizing something.

Jia Dongxu ran away?
Think about it too.

With such a commotion, Jia Dongxu couldn't possibly be unaware. Feeling guilty, he was probably afraid of running into Chen Xueru in the yard and being recognized, so hiding away was the safest option.

only.

A monk who can run away cannot run away from the temple.

Li Hongbing refused to believe that Jia Dongxu could never return to the courtyard house in his entire life.

(End of this chapter)