Kill the beasts in the courtyard, I fled to Hong Kong, surrounded by beauties on both sides.

There were also some grain coupons and money in the drawer, probably those that were "managed" for the Chen family.

Chen Fei wrote them down one by one.

Then came Xu Damao's house.

Xu Damao is off today and is still sleeping. Lou Xiao'e is cooking in the kitchen. Chen Fei found aphrodisiacs and small yellow croakers in a hidden compartment in the wardrobe—he already knew that yesterday. But under the bed, he found something new: several banned books and several photos of women, scantily clad.

This Xu Damao is definitely no good.

Finally, we went to the home of the deaf old lady.

The deaf old woman sat in the doorway, basking in the sun, her eyes closed, as if asleep. Chen Fei's consciousness entered the room and found a wooden box under the bed.

The box contained property deeds—more than one. There was the deaf old woman's own deed, and several others belonging to people whose names she didn't recognize.

Chen Fei examined it carefully. One of the property deeds had an address in this courtyard house, specifically in a room in the front yard. That room was currently empty, supposedly an ownerless room used as a storeroom by the courtyard.

It seems the deaf old lady also has secrets.

After scouting all the houses, Chen Fei snapped out of his daze, feeling a little dizzy.

Remote reconnaissance consumes mental energy; his current limit is half an hour. Beyond that, he experiences dizziness and weakness.

He lay in bed resting, sorting through his discoveries.

There is direct evidence that Yi Zhonghai was the mastermind.

Liu Haizhong has something on him that can be used against him.

Yan Bugui engaged in usury, violating policy.

Xu Damao is in possession of contraband; this can be reported.

The Jia family has embezzled funds.

The deaf old lady has a secret house deed.

These are all his weapons.

But how to use it requires careful planning.

We must not alert the enemy; we must proceed step by step.

Chen Fei fell asleep while thinking about it.

Noon: The first time framing someone

At noon, Chen Fei was awakened by the noise in the yard.

He got up and went to the window, where he saw Jia Zhangshi scolding Bang Geng: "You brat! Where's my money? Where are my food coupons? Did you steal them?"

Bang Geng cried out, "I didn't! I didn't steal it!"

"You didn't steal it? Then where's my money? You were the only one who came into my room!" Jia Zhangshi grabbed Bang Geng's ear. "Tell me! Where did you hide it?"

Qin Huairu comforted her from the side, "Mom, don't worry, let's look again, it might be somewhere else."

"Where else? I clearly put it under the mat on the kang!" Jia Zhangshi exclaimed angrily. "More than fifty yuan! And grain coupons! All gone!"

Chen Fei sneered inwardly.

The money and grain coupons are currently in his system space. However, he didn't take them all; he left some behind to avoid Jia Zhangshi suspecting that they had been stolen by an outsider.

Now it seems that Jia Zhangshi suspects that Bang Geng stole it.

Very well, let the dogs fight.

After watching the commotion for a while, Chen Fei turned around and went back to bed.

He was thinking about the first attempt to frame someone.

According to the outline, the first frame-up should involve sowing discord between the Jia family and Sha Zhu. The specific method is to remotely remove the meat warrant from Qin Huairu's inner pocket and place it under Sha Zhu's pillow.

But Chen Fei felt that this was too simple.

He wants to add fuel to the fire.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the courtyard quieted down. People went to work or school, and only a few elderly people were at home.

Chen Fei lay on the bed and began to act.

He first focused his attention and found Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu was mending clothes inside the house; her cotton-padded jacket hung on the wall. There were indeed meat coupons in the inner pocket, half a jin (250 grams).

With a thought, Chen Fei's hostage disappeared and reappeared in his hand.

Then, he went to Sha Zhu's house. Sha Zhu had gone to work, and no one was home. The area under the pillow was clean; there was nothing there.

Chen Fei stuffed the hostage under his pillow, then thought for a moment and took out a slip of paper from his system space—it was a piece of paper he had prepared beforehand, written in crooked handwriting with his left hand:

"Sister Qin, here's your hostage back. Don't come looking for me again."

The signature was not written, but the meaning was obvious.

Chen Fei put the note and the warrant together.

After doing all that, he thought about it and came up with a new idea.

He went to Xu Damao's house. Xu Damao had gone out in the afternoon, and Lou Xiao'e was sleeping inside.

Chen Fei rummaged through Xu Damao's wardrobe and found a woman's underwear—clearly not Lou Xiao'e's. He stuffed the underwear under the bed, very discreetly, but it could be found with careful searching.

Then, he placed a note in Xu Damao's desk drawer, also written with his left hand:

See you at the usual place tomorrow night.

It was unsigned.

After doing all this, Chen Fei withdrew his consciousness, feeling that most of his mental energy had been consumed.

He lay on the bed resting, a cold smile on his lips.

This is going to be interesting.

Evening: Conflict Breaks Out

At five o'clock in the afternoon, people in the courtyard gradually returned.

Chen Fei lay on the bed, using his exceptional hearing to listen to the sounds coming from the yard.

The first to return was Sha Zhu. He carried his lunchbox, humming a little tune, and entered the house. A moment later, he shouted, "Who touched my pillow?"

Next was Qin Huairu, who also returned and was cooking in the kitchen.

After a while, Madam Jia rushed out of the house and grabbed Qin Huairu, saying, "Huairu, come here!"

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Did you steal my money?" Jia Zhangshi asked in a low voice, but Chen Fei heard her clearly.

"Mom, what are you saying? Why would I steal your money?"

"Then where did my money go? Only you and Bang Geng were in my house!"

"I really didn't take it!" Qin Huairu's voice was filled with grievance. "Why would I take your money? Don't we have some money at home?"

"What can that little bit of money do?" Jia Zhangshi cursed. "I saved up for so long to save up fifty-odd yuan, and it's all gone!"

"Please look again; it might be somewhere else."

"Looking for what! I've searched everywhere, nothing!" Jia Zhangshi suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, didn't you have a meat ticket in your inner pocket? Take it out and let me see."

Qin Huairu was stunned, touched her inner pocket, and her face changed: "The hostage... is gone."

"Gone?" Jia Zhangshi's voice shrilly. "Didn't you say you were saving it for the New Year? What happened to it?"

"I don't know either..." Qin Huairu panicked. "I clearly put it here."

"You don't know?" Madam Jia looked at her suspiciously. "Did you give it to Sha Zhu? I saw you two exchanging glances!"

"Mom! Don't talk nonsense!" Qin Huairu exclaimed anxiously.

Just then, Sha Zhu came out of the house, holding the meat ticket and the note in his hand, his face very grim: "Sister Qin, what does this mean?"

Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi were both stunned.

"Zhu Zi, what's wrong?" Qin Huairu asked.

Sha Zhu handed her the meat ticket and the note: "Read it yourself."

Qin Huairu took the note and, upon seeing the warrant and the note, turned deathly pale: "This... I didn't put this here!"

"If you didn't put it there, how come it's under my pillow?" Sha Zhu stared at her. "And this note, what does 'Don't come looking for me again' mean? Sister Qin, you know how I, Sha Zhu, have treated you. If you don't want to, just say so, you don't need to do this!"

"I really didn't!" Qin Huairu cried, tears streaming down her face. "Zhu Zi, you have to believe me, I didn't write that!"

Madam Jia snatched the note, glanced at it, then looked at the meat ration coupon, and suddenly understood: "Fine! Qin Huairu! You stole my money to buy meat ration coupons, gave them to Sha Zhu, and even wrote this kind of note! Have you no shame!"

"Mom! I didn't!" Qin Huairu cried.

"No? Where did the meat coupon come from? I gave you all the meat coupons I gave you a long time ago! This half-pound meat coupon, if you didn't steal my money to buy it, where did it come from?"

"I...I don't know..." Qin Huairu was speechless.

Others came out of the courtyard to watch the spectacle.

Yi Zhonghai walked over: "What's going on? What's all the noise about?"

Sha Zhu recounted the whole story.

Yi Zhonghai frowned after reading the note and the warrant: "Huai Ru, did you really write this?"

"Grandpa, I really didn't!" Qin Huairu cried, tears streaming down her face. "I can't even read, how could I write a note?"

That's true. Qin Huairu comes from the countryside, only attended primary school for a few years, doesn't know many characters, and can't write.

Sha Zhu was also stunned: "That's right, Sister Qin can't read..."

"That was written by someone else!" Jia Zhangshi cried out. "Who? Who wants to harm my family?"

Chen Fei listened from inside the room, a cold smile playing on his lips.

The show has just begun.

Just then, Xu Damao returned. Seeing a group of people gathered in the yard, he approached and asked, "What happened? What's going on?"

No one cares about him.

Xu Damao sheepishly returned to the house, and as soon as he entered, he heard Lou Xiao'e scream: "Xu Damao! What is this?!"

Everyone in the courtyard looked over.

Lou Xiao'e burst out of the house, holding a woman's underwear in her hand, her face ashen: "Xu Damao! Explain yourself! Whose is this?!"

Xu Damao was bewildered: "Whose? How would I know?"

"I found it under your bed!" Lou Xiao'e threw the underwear in his face. "Tell me! Are you having an affair?!"

"I didn't!" Xu Damao cried out, "This must be a frame-up!"

"Framed you?" Lou Xiao'e sneered. "Then what about this note? 'See you at the usual place tomorrow night'—where is the usual place? And who are you meeting?"

She took out another slip of paper.

Xu Damao took it and his face changed: "This...this wasn't written by me!"

"If you didn't write it, how did it end up in your drawer?" Lou Xiao'e cried, tears streaming down her face. "Xu Damao, after all these years of marriage, is this how you treat me?"

The courtyard was even more chaotic.

The Jia family's troubles weren't over yet, and now the Xu family is causing trouble too.

Yi Zhonghai was exasperated: "Stop arguing! Speak one by one!"

Chen Fei, inside the house, listened to the commotion outside and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

Dogs fighting, a mouthful of fur.

This is only the first day.

The best is yet to come.

He lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to think about his next plan.

Tomorrow, it will be Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's turn.