The Courtyard House: The story begins with He Yuzhu beating up the White Widow.

No secret stays hidden forever. Even with the best secrecy from the Nanluoguxiang Police Station, some family members, eager to show off, still managed to leak information about the New Year's benefits distributed by the station. The next morning, Ye Guoliang had just arrived at his office when the phone on his desk rang. He answered five or six calls in a row. They were all the same: first, small talk, then a request for donations. Ye Guoliang deflected each call by saying the gifts had already been distributed.

"Old Ye, what's wrong?! I've been hearing your office phone ringing non-stop!" Just as Ye Guoliang hung up the phone, Yao Qi walked in from outside, took out a cigarette case, pulled out two cigarettes, and handed one to Ye Guoliang.

Ye Guoliang took the cigarette, lit it, took a couple of puffs, and said, "They're all here to beg for alms!"

"Ring! Ring!" Just then, the phone on the desk rang again. Ye Guoliang looked at the phone and said, "Most likely, it's someone begging for alms again!" He picked up the phone and said, "This is the Nanluoguxiang Police Station. This is Ye Guoliang. Who is this?!"

"Old Ye! It's me, Lai Changming!"

Ye Guoliang asked, "Section Chief Lai, you're such a busy man, what made you think of calling me today?!"

Lai Changming said, "I would like to borrow Comrade He Yuzhu from your institute for a moment."

Ye Guoliang hurriedly replied, "Oh?! Your call came at a bad time. He's out."

"He went out?!" Lai Changming muttered, then asked, "Do you know where he went?!"

Ye Guoliang said, "Well, it's almost Chinese New Year. The station doesn't have enough people for patrols, so he went to help the patrol team."

Lai Changming's face instantly darkened when he heard that He Yuzhu had gone on patrol. Luckily, the two were separated by a phone line, but Ye Guoliang, who knew Lai Changming very well, was secretly overjoyed. Suppressing a laugh, Ye Guoliang continued, "Section Chief Lai, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

Lai Changming snapped out of his daze and said, "Tell him to come to the branch office when he has time. I need to talk to him about something."

"Okay! I'll definitely pass on the message." With that, Ye Guoliang hung up the phone, exchanged a glance with Yao Qi, and they both laughed. Yao Qi said, "Old Ye, you're really cunning! Aren't you afraid that Lai Changming will find out and make things difficult for us?!"

Ye Guoliang said dismissively, "He's the one who begged us, not the other way around. We all know what kind of person this kid is in the army, we just don't say it. Last time, Zhu Zi gave him the lead on procuring seafood. What did he do?! Typical example of using someone when you need them and then discarding them when you don't. What good could he possibly want from Zhu Zi at this time?! Isn't he just trying to get Zhu Zi to go hunting in the mountains?!"

Yao Qi said, "I recently heard from some comrades that Lai Changming is trying to get promoted and is pulling strings everywhere. Do you think he's contacting Zhu Zi at this time to get Zhu Zi to hunt wild game for him? Is he using those things to get things done?!"

Ye Guoliang replied, "I'd guess that's most likely the case." Then, changing the subject, he said, "Anyway, how he wants to improve is his own business. It has nothing to do with us. We just need to do our own jobs well!"

"That's true!" Yao Qi agreed, and was about to say something more when there was a knock on the door. Ye Guoliang hesitated for a few seconds before calling out, "Come in!"

After receiving permission, Hu Xueguang pushed open the door to Ye Guoliang's office and greeted him with a smile, "Deputy Director Yao is here too!"

Ye Guoliang looked at Hu Xueguang with a forced smile and asked, "Director Hu, what brings you here today?!"

Hu Xueguang said, "Director Ye, we are neighbors. They say a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. I, your neighbor, have come here today to beg for alms."

Ye Guoliang said, "Director Hu, you're a step too late. We distributed the New Year's benefits two nights ago. Where am I supposed to find anything for you?!"

Hu Xueguang said, "Director Ye, this is ridiculous! When Director Wang was around, you would always help the neighborhood committee with their procurement. Now that Director Wang is gone, you've stopped caring. Are you looking down on me or what?!"

Yao Qi said, "Director Hu, that's not very meaningful! When Director Wang was around, Comrade He Yuzhu would always help the street office with some of the things he bought. Those were all his personal actions."

Ye Guoliang didn't mince words and said directly, "Director Wang is a comrade-in-arms of He Yuzhu's uncle. It's a favor for him to help with the procurement; it's his right not to."

Hu Xueguang had a grand plan when he arrived, but reality slapped him in the face. Hu Xueguang said, "Chief Ye, your police station is having a good year, you can't just watch us starve, can you?!"

Ye Guoliang laughed and said, "You can't blame us for this. It's your business if you're eating coarse food. Your subdistrict office also has the right to make purchases. When Director Wang was here, even if we didn't help with the purchases, the subdistrict office's purchasing staff could still get things done. Why did everything change after you came?! Why don't you look for the reasons within yourself?!"

After Hu Xueguang became the director of the subdistrict office, he felt the purchasing agent was redundant, so he transferred the original purchasing agent to the joint defense team. He now handles the purchasing of office supplies himself. With the Lunar New Year approaching and supplies being distributed, the subdistrict office hasn't prepared anything. Some gossip has already started circulating among the subdistrict office staff. Last night, the police station distributed supplies, making his day even more difficult. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come knocking on the door.

When persuasion failed, Hu Xueguang resorted to force. He said, "Director Ye, if you don't help resolve this today, I will definitely report you to the district authorities!"

Ye Guoliang's smile vanished instantly. His face turned cold as he said, "Hu Xueguang! You have legs to stand on, go ahead and sue if you want! I won't stop you! Ever since you became the director of the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office, what have you actually done?! Others may not know, but we know perfectly well!"

"Oh?! What's all this commotion about?!" At that moment, He Yuzhu pushed open the door and walked into Ye Guoliang's office, greeting Ye Guoliang and Yao Qi with a smile. Then, glancing at Hu Xueguang, he said, "Director Ye, the New Year is almost here. I'm getting married on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Could you perhaps not schedule me for work on that day?!"

Ye Guoliang said, "Okay! I won't schedule you for work on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year!" Then he asked, "Do you have anything else to do?!"

He Yuzhu answered decisively, "That's all!"

"Then you can go out first!" Ye Guoliang said, lighting a cigarette.

"Yes!" He Yuzhu replied, turning to walk towards the office door. Hu Xueguang stopped He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu sized up Hu Xueguang and asked, "Director Hu, what's the matter?"