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

Meanwhile, at this moment, in the Jia family compound of the Intermediate People's Court.

Qin Huairu was teaching Xiaodang to read. She was using old newspapers, and she wrote simple characters on them with burnt charcoal.

"Person, mouth, hand..." Qin Huairu wrote each character carefully, and Xiao Dang repeated them.

Huaihua was playing quietly with a little rabbit sewn from an old cloth nearby.

The room was quiet, with only Qin Huairu's gentle teaching voice and Xiao Dang's childish voice repeating after her.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside. It was Xu Damao's voice, loud and impatient: "Hey, Second Uncle, what are you doing blocking my door so early in the morning? I'm in a hurry to get to the factory to show a movie!"

Then came Liu Haizhong's voice, low but filled with anger: "Xu Damao, stop pretending! I'm asking you, did you borrow money from Yan Bugui?"

The outside fell silent for a moment.

Qin Huairu put down her pen and listened intently.

Little Dang asked softly, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"It's alright, continue." Qin Huairu shook her head, but a hint of wariness flashed in her eyes.

She heard Xu Damao's voice lower noticeably, tinged with guilt: "Second Uncle, you...you've heard such nonsense from whom? I...when did I borrow money from Third Uncle?"

"The IOUs are all here with me!" Liu Haizhong raised his voice slightly. "Twenty yuan! Three percent monthly interest! Xu Damao, you're something else, daring to lend money at such exorbitant rates!"

"IOU? What IOU?" Xu Damao's voice was completely panicked. "Second Uncle, you can't say things like that! I...I didn't!"

"No? Then who wrote the three characters 'Xu Damao' on this IOU? Hmm?"

The arguing outside grew louder and louder, attracting the attention of other residents. Qin Huairu heard the Second Aunt trying to mediate, heard Sha Zhu's loud and boisterous questions, and heard Yan Bugui's wife, the Third Aunt, offering a panicked explanation.

She got up, walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

Several people had already gathered around the Intermediate People's Court. Liu Haizhong was holding a piece of paper in his hand, waving it at Xu Damao. Xu Damao's face turned red; he wanted to snatch it but didn't dare. Yan Bugui wasn't there, and the Third Aunt was anxiously wringing her hands, muttering, "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

Yi Zhonghai stood at his own door, hands behind his back, looking around with a blank expression on his face but cold eyes.

Qin Huairu watched for a while, then gently lowered the curtains.

She returned to the table and continued teaching Xiao Dang to recognize characters, as if the noise outside had nothing to do with her.

But in her heart, she already understood seven or eight parts of it.

Yan Bugui's usury activities have been exposed.

Did Chen Fei do it? She wasn't sure. But besides Chen Fei, she couldn't think of anyone else with the ability to get the IOU "herself" into Liu Haizhong's hands.

If it really is Chen Fei... then who will be his next target?

Qin Huairu gripped the charcoal tightly in her hand, her fingertips turning black. Looking at her two daughters, a strong protective instinct welled up within her.

No matter who Chen Fei wants to take revenge on, as long as he doesn't harm her child, she can pretend she knows nothing.

Even... if necessary, she could become Chen Fei's "eyes" and "ears".

As long as I can survive.

At 3 p.m., Director Wang from the Subdistrict Office arrived at the courtyard house with two staff members.

Director Wang is a female cadre in her fifties, with short hair, glasses, and a faded Lenin suit. She has a serious expression. She has worked in the neighborhood office for more than ten years and has handled countless trivial matters, but this is the first time she has dealt with a case involving "usury" like today.

Yi Zhonghai was already waiting at the gate. Upon seeing Director Wang, he quickly went to greet him: "Director Wang, you've arrived."

"Master Yi, I've heard about the situation." Director Wang nodded, without much pleasantries. "Did you bring the IOU?"

"I brought them." Yi Zhonghai took out three IOUs from his pocket and handed them to Director Wang. "They were all found in the courtyard. One was on the bulletin board, one was in the doorway, and the other... was in my briefcase."

Director Wang took the IOU, read it carefully, and his brows furrowed more and more.

"Three percent monthly interest... compound interest... debt settlement with goods..." She looked up at Yi Zhonghai, "Are these IOUs confirmed to have been written by Comrade Yan Bugui?"

"The handwriting looks similar," Yi Zhonghai said cautiously, "but for specific details, we'll have to ask Professor Yan himself. Also, the borrower's testimony is very important."

"Are Xu Damao, He Yuzhu, and Liu Haizhong all here?"

"Xu Damao and He Yuzhu work at the steel rolling mill; they should be getting off work soon. Liu Haizhong... he's on leave today," Yi Zhonghai said. "Should I go call Liu Haizhong first?"

Director Wang thought for a moment: "No rush. Once everyone is back, we'll hold a hospital-wide meeting. This matter is serious and must be dealt with publicly throughout the hospital as a warning to others."

"Yes, yes." Yi Zhonghai nodded repeatedly. "Then I'll go and inform everyone now that there will be a meeting at the Intermediate People's Court at 7 p.m.

"Okay." Director Wang put the IOU into his briefcase. "I'll wait here for a while and chat with a few long-time residents about the situation."

Yi Zhonghai's heart tightened. Director Wang wanted to speak with someone privately? What about? Would he ask about other matters within the institute? Like… Jia Dongxu's death? Chen Jianguo's death?

But he didn't dare ask any more questions, and could only nod: "Then would you like to come to my house for a while? Have some water?"

"No need, I'll just take a walk around the yard." Director Wang waved his hand and led two staff members toward the central courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai watched her retreating figure, his heart pounding with anxiety. He quickly went to notify everyone to attend the meeting, while secretly observing who Director Wang would talk to.

Director Wang went to the backyard first and knocked on Liu Haizhong's door.

When Liu Haizhong opened the door, his face was deathly pale. Seeing Director Wang, his legs went weak: "Director Wang...Director Wang..."

"Comrade Liu Haizhong, come in and talk." Director Wang's tone was calm, but carried an undeniable authority.

The two went inside and closed the door. The conversation lasted for about twenty minutes. Yi Zhonghai could hear Liu Haizhong's voice occasionally rising in pitch in the front yard, as if he were arguing about something.

Then, Director Wang went to the Jia family's residence at the Intermediate People's Court.

Qin Huairu was somewhat surprised when she opened the door, but she still politely invited Director Wang in.

Director Wang didn't stay at the Jia family's house for long, only about ten minutes. When she came out, her face was expressionless, but there was a hint of pity in her eyes.

Next, Director Wang went to several houses in the front yard, and finally, she arrived at Chen Fei's house in the back yard.

Yi Zhonghai's heart was in his throat.

Why did Director Wang want to talk to Chen Fei? Chen Fei is a sickly man, what does he have to do with this?

He hid behind his door, peering out through the crack.

Director Wang knocked on the door. After a while, the door opened. Chen Fei stood in the doorway, leaning on his cane, his face pale. He coughed a few times and asked weakly, "Who are you looking for?"

"Is this Comrade Chen Fei? I'm Director Wang from the subdistrict office." Director Wang's tone softened. "I need to ask you about something."