Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

The gate to Xu Huizhen's house was wide open, and the yard was a mess.

Niu Dazhuang, his face grim, strode into the room, which was also a complete mess...

"Da Niu, don't worry, he should be alright..." Bai Hongmin pushed her bicycle and chased after Niu Dazhuang, quickly comforting him.

Niu Dazhuang remained silent, his face grim, and quickened his pace until he reached Chen Xueru's house.

It's not even as good as Xu Huizhen's house. Xu Huizhen's house was a complete mess, while Chen Xueru's house didn't even have a front door anymore, and the house was so clean that rats could run around inside.

Apart from the four walls, nothing else was left. The silk shop at the front gate was still closed.

Niu Dazhuang wanted to ask about the situation, but he couldn't find anyone.

Niu Dazhuang knew Liao Yucheng's house, so he rode his bicycle there.

When Niu Dazhuang entered the large courtyard where Liao Yucheng lived with a gloomy face, he kicked open the door to Liao Yucheng's house.

Liao Yucheng was unlucky; he just happened to stay home today and was caught by Niu Dazhuang.

Niu Dazhuang reached out and grabbed his neck with one hand, slamming him against the wall...

His wife was initially confused, but when she realized what was happening and tried to grab Niu Dazhuang, Bai Hongmin stopped her. "If you don't want to die, let him take care of you honestly." Can you believe that Bai Hongmin said those words?

Liao Yucheng's wife was so frightened that she didn't dare to reach out, pleading, "Let's talk this out, let's talk this out!"

Liao Yucheng was being choked and tried to beg for mercy, but he couldn't make a sound.

Niu Dazhuang glared at him fiercely, his voice turning low as he spat out two words, one after another, "Where is he?"

Liao Yucheng tried to pry Niu Dazhuang's hands off like a pair of pliers, but they wouldn't budge. This continued until Liao Yucheng's eyes bulged out and his tongue was sticking out halfway.

Niu Dazhuang then released his grip.

Liao Yu was panting and coughing like a bellows, and it took him a while to catch his breath: "She ran away overnight, I swear I didn't lay a finger on her!"

"Where is Xu Huizhen?"

"I didn't do what happened to Xu Huizhen's family. It was Cai Quanwu who led people to ransack her house, and also..."

"What else?"

"They even paraded around wearing tall hats all day..."

Where are they?

"I heard they ran away too."

When Niu Dazhuang heard that the person was alright, his anger subsided slightly.

"To which faction do Cai Quanwu and his group belong? In which generation are they active?"

"They belong to 126, right here near the Qianmen train station!"

"Tell him I'm back, and I'll be looking for him!" Niu Dazhuang was ruthless and never wasted words.

After Niu Dazhuang and the others left, Liao Yucheng's wife asked tremblingly, "Is this the man that vixen Chen Xueru's lover?"

"Keep quiet! This is going to be good!"

"Since he's that vixen Chen Xueru's crony, why is he still inquiring about that slut Xu Huizhen? Judging from his tone, he even wants to help Xu Huizhen get revenge! Could it be...?"

"It's just what you think. Don't talk nonsense outside. You saw it yourself. If it gets to his ears, our family is finished."

"Why are you such a coward? What time is it? You have a bunch of men under you. Just seize on his conduct, and you can take him down and kick him while he's down!"

"Long hair, short wits. Look at the current climate, is it still like it was two years ago? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and get me some snacks to go with my drinks so I can calm down!"

When Niu Dazhuang found out that the two women had run away and were safe, he was relieved and took Bai Hongmin to his uncle's house.

As soon as he entered, he called out, "Grandpa, I'm home!"

Niu Youliang, with bags under his eyes, lifted the cotton curtain, glanced inside, and saw Niu Dazhuang. He said irritably, "You're back now, so what? How old are you? Still so impatient!" He then lowered the curtain and went inside.

Niu Dazhuang led Bai Hongmin into the house.

"Who is this young lady?"

"My woman," Niu Dazhuang said proudly.

"You really don't understand the current situation! You're just swaggering around like this, leading people around aimlessly. Aren't you afraid of implicating them?"

"Grandpa, it's alright, I'm not afraid!"

"Sir, why aren't you at work?"

Niu Youliang tapped the paper on the table with his pipe: "Can't you see it? I'm writing some reports!"

"What do you mean? Are you getting a promotion?"

"Lay an egg! Hand over the materials!"

"Hey! You'd better explain yourself properly! Damn it! You hit me on the head with a pipe again!"

"I'll beat you to death, you bastard! You saw who it was, so get lost and stop messing with me!"

"I haven't even met the auntie yet. Has she distanced herself from you?"

"Sigh! I wish she would distance herself from me, so that I wouldn't implicate her."

"You dragged that old lady into this mess? Where is she?"

"He's at work now; the director has been dismissed!"

"It's good that you're exempt. In two more years we'll all be retired, it's time for us to take a good rest!"

"The director has been dismissed. Don't you know your aunt? She's a warm-hearted person who can't stay idle. She's busier now than when she was the director."

"How can I not be busy? Your salary has been suspended. If I don't go to work, we'll starve! Dazhuang is back!"

Upon hearing this, Dazhuang slapped himself across the face: "It was my oversight!"

"Grandpa, don't argue with them. Let's go back to our hometown. I'll take care of you two!"

"You silly boy, why are you hitting yourself? I'm not hungry."

"Dazhuang, we understand your caution, but we can't go back with you. Your uncle's past is crystal clear, and we can't just hide from it like this. If we just hide like this, once this storm passes, your uncle will be even more confused. We've already weathered the worst. The higher-ups said we should use diplomacy, not force. Don't worry!"

The old man had his own insistence, and Niu Dazhuang couldn't persuade him any further: "Fine, I respect your opinion. Leave the door open for me tonight, and I'll bring you some food."

"That's fine. Get me two more jars of good wine. And some tiger bone and deer antler, go buy some more, we're out!"

"Great! You're truly vigorous for your age!"

"Get lost! Just looking at you annoys me more than anyone else!"

After leaving his uncle's house, Niu Dazhuang went to check on Da Xiong and his two brothers. Seeing that they hadn't been affected, he was relieved.

Finally, they arrived at Qin Huairu's side. Niu Dazhuang had made his way around when Qin Huairu had also gotten off work and gone home.

"Where are the children? Where is Ding Qiunan?" Niu Dazhuang asked quickly, seeing that no one else was home.

"Now you're worried? You've been gone for three years without a single letter! You didn't even leave us a mailing address. We don't even know where to send a letter to you!" As she spoke, she looked Bai Hongmin up and down with suspicion.

"I know you're upset. It's not that I didn't want to leave an address, it's just that I didn't know the exact address at the time. It would be very inconvenient for me to write to you from outside, and it might even cause trouble for you, so I didn't write anything. Ding Qiunan and the children have been sent back to their hometown, right?"