The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

Yi Zhonghai hurriedly returned to the workshop. He asked the workshop director for leave and then rushed back to the entrance.

"Let's go home and find the old lady first, and ask her for some advice." Yi Zhonghai wasn't actually too worried, because he had leverage over He Daqing and was sure he wouldn't do anything to him. But if the police were alerted, the situation would become a bit tricky.

After the two rushed back to the courtyard, they ignored Yan Bugui's gloating expression and went straight to the backyard.

After pushing open the door and entering the house, Liu Cuilan couldn't wait to speak: "The old lady has called the police now, and He Daqing has been arrested by the police. What are we going to do now? After all, we lost money and jobs, and Jia Zhangshi stole everything from the He family." Liu Cuilan looked at the old lady nervously.

The old lady pretended to ponder for a long time before looking at the two of them. "Alright, what's there to be nervous about? What leverage do you have over the Qing Dynasty? At most, it's just a matter of paying some money. Just stay home and wait. If you can't handle it, I'll step in. The Qing Dynasty will give me face."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai immediately felt relieved, since the courtyard originally belonged to Old Lady Long. It was only because Old Lady Long saw that things weren't going well that she donated it, which is why she was given the status of a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans).

"Okay, thank you, ma'am. I'll have Cuilan stew some braised pork for you tomorrow." Yi Zhonghai quickly expressed his gratitude and even offered a favor.

"Yes, yes, I'll make it for you tomorrow, Grandma. I guarantee it'll be soft and fluffy," Liu Cuilan quickly chimed in.

"Okay, okay, Grandma, I love meat the most." Upon hearing the word "meat," the old lady immediately beamed with joy.

Yi Zhonghai and his companion then returned home to wait.

When He Daqing arrived home and saw the mess, he was furious. His son was such a worry; he'd always thought he was foolish. That's why he'd entrusted his money and job to someone else, only to find he'd placed the wrong trust in them.

"Dad, you're back!" He Yushui rushed over to He Daqing with joy upon seeing him.

When He Daqing saw his daughter, who was almost as thin as a stick, he immediately felt sorry for her.

Because He Yushui looks a lot like his deceased ex-wife, and his wife had entrusted him with the task of taking good care of He Yushui before she passed away.

Looking at his daughter now, He Daqing couldn't help but shed tears.

He Yuzhu, standing to the side, curled his lip impatiently: "Who was it that ran away without saying a word back then? What are they pretending for now?"

"You brat, you haven't been disciplined in days, how dare you talk to me like that? I think you need a beating." With that, He Daqing rolled up his sleeves and was about to punch He Yuzhu.

"He Daqing, we called you back so you could mediate properly. If you make a move now, we'll arrest you immediately." The police officer next to him saw how miserable the He family's situation was and immediately spoke up to stop them.

"No, no, officer, I was just kidding. Can I talk to my son privately? I promise I'll resolve this." Only then did He Daqing realize the police were still there.

However, he dared not reveal the specifics, after all, his own record wasn't clean either. He'd figured it out on the way to Beijing. Why did Yi Zhonghai do this? He was after Zhu Zi's foolishness.

The anonymous letter incident was probably orchestrated by Yi Zhonghai, which is why he's even less likely to report Yi Zhonghai directly now.

"Fine, you two have a good talk. We'll be right outside the door. If you dare to lay a hand on him or if he doesn't give your children a satisfactory explanation..."

"We'll arrest you directly, and then we'll see how the court rules. There's a high probability you'll end up in jail in this situation, so think it over." The police officer threatened He Daqing before leaving.

"Okay, okay, officers, don't worry, I will definitely make arrangements for my children." He Daqing quickly nodded and assured them.

After the police officers left, He Daqing sat down at the table with his daughter in his arms. When he saw He Yuzhu also sitting down, he started talking about Yi Zhonghai.

"Zhu Zi, your father was forced into this situation. I was set up by someone, and it was all Yi Zhonghai's doing."

"I left you money and a job, and I even sent child support to Yushui every month, but Yi Zhonghai snatched all of that away." He Daqing quickly pushed all the bad debts onto Yi Zhonghai.

"What? You left me money and a job, how come I didn't know? And what's this about the honey trap? I haven't seen any child support either. You're not lying to me, are you?" He Yuzhu looked at He Daqing suspiciously.

"You silly boy, you really live up to the nickname I gave you, you're really silly."

Why would I lie to you? Besides, you're my own son, and I'm counting on you to take care of me in my old age.

"Do you think we don't know what happened to Dorgon? He abandoned his own son to raise someone else's child?" He Daqing glared angrily at He Yuzhu, of course he couldn't admit that he was lusting after the widow.

By this point, He Yuzhu was already 8% convinced, but admitting it would be embarrassing for him, so he could only force himself to remain calm and ask, "Really? What exactly happened?"

"Sigh, back then, I helped Widow Bai's cousin out of a favor, and he insisted on treating me to drinks. We drank too much together. Widow Bai stripped me naked, threw me on the bed, and caught me in bed with her by her cousin. I even wrote a confession." He Daqing said this in a pretentious manner, but it wasn't true at all; he was just fooling Sha Zhu.

Actually, they didn't even drink any alcohol that day, they just had a meal together. The white widow beckoned him with her finger, and he couldn't resist.

"What? That's all? You should have beaten them up, snatched the mission sheet, and torn it up." He Yuzhu scoffed speechlessly. They couldn't even handle something this simple, yet they had the nerve to call themselves stupid.

"Nonsense, there were several big men there, how could I possibly beat them? Later they hid the confession."

I was even threatened back then. Do you remember when I cooked for the Japanese officers?

Because I did a good job and even made it into the newspapers, I was kept on by Yi Zhonghai. He even threatened to report me if I didn't leave Beijing.

"I didn't know it was him at the time. I even gave him the workstation and money I had reserved for you. I never expected him to be so wicked. He didn't even pass it on to you, and he also embezzled the monthly child support payments." He Daqing quickly changed the subject, because if he talked about this too much, he wouldn't be able to explain it away.

After all, the whole honey trap and confession thing was complete nonsense. It was just an excuse to fool He Yuzhu.

"What! That old bastard Yi Zhonghai is so wicked! I'll teach him a lesson!" He Yuzhu was furious. Yi Zhonghai usually pretended to be a good guy in front of him. He rolled up his sleeves and was ready to go after Yi Zhonghai.

"Alright, what are you doing? The police are right outside. Besides, he has dirt on me, what can you do about it? Leave the rest to me. Knowing who it is makes things easier. Just don't cause me any trouble." He Daqing quickly pulled He Yuzhu back from rushing out.