Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

boom!

This barrage of angry rebukes, like a machine gun, was piercing to the heart! Every sentence was like a knife!

Especially that last line, "Who do you think you are?! What kind of person are you?!"

Like two resounding slaps, they landed hard on Yi Zhonghai's self-proclaimed venerable old face!

Yi Zhonghai's face turned from green to white, then from white to purple, and his whole body trembled violently as if he were being sieved!

He pointed at He Yuanchao, his fingers trembling as if he had Parkinson's disease. He stammered for a long time, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal!

A metallic sweetness suddenly surged into his throat, his vision blurred, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood!

Yi Zhonghai had been a respected elder in the courtyard house for over twenty years. He had never been so publicly exposed, with such vulgar and sharp words, that his hypocrisy and scheming were laid bare and laid bare in broad daylight.

Overwhelmed by immense shame and the humiliation of having his authority utterly crushed!

"Well said!"

Yan Jiecheng was the first to jump up and cheer, his face full of excitement and relief.

"Brother Yuanchao's criticism was satisfying! Some people just deserve to be criticized!"

Yan Jiefang also loudly echoed, spitting hard in the direction of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi.

At this moment, Yan Bugui was completely reckless. He straightened his withered back and loudly supported He Yuanchao: "Yuanchao's words are all reasonable! Is it wrong to guard against thieves? There is no such logic in the world!"

Grandpa, if you think it's wrong for Yuanchao to set traps, then why don't you do as Yuanchao says and take out your grain to feed the rats and thieves?

If you can do that, I, Yan Bugui, will be the first to admire you! Otherwise, don't try to take sides and discourage everyone!

"You...you all...you've rebelled! You've all rebelled!"

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that his vision blurred and he almost lost his balance, and was hurriedly supported by the people next to him.

"Enough! Shut up, all of you!"

The deaf old woman, who had been silent all along, suddenly slammed her cane down heavily on the ground, making a dull "thud" sound.

Her cloudy old eyes swept across the chaotic scene, finally settling on He Yuanchao. Her voice, though aged, carried a strange, penetrating power: "Little He, forgive and forget. Banggeng is still a child. Stealing is wrong, but the punishment is enough. Know when to stop. Tearing apart neighbors will benefit no one."

What's the value of my old face? Just give me a little something to show my respect, even just a small token?

She tried to use her status as an "ancestor" and her old tricks of "playing it safe" to pressure He Yuanchao. Her words seemed to be advising for peace, but in reality, she was still biased towards the Jia family and wanted He Yuanchao to bleed some money.

He Yuanchao looked at the deaf old lady, the true "pillar of stability" of the courtyard, and sneered inwardly.

This old lady is shrewd! She pretends to be deaf and dumb most of the time, but when it matters, she comes out to "take charge" just to maintain the superficial "balance" in the yard and uphold the authority of her "ancestor".

Unfortunately, she miscalculated!

He Yuanchao, facing the deaf old woman, even wore a seemingly respectful smile, but his words were sharper than knives:

"Grandma, I can't accept that. Giving you face? Your face is too precious for me to give."

"Bang Geng is a kid? Thirteen or fourteen years old, tall and strong, even fatter than other kids his age? He's incredibly nimble at breaking windows and picking locks! In the old days, he'd be a 'Buddha's Thief!"

"Know when to quit while you're ahead? He got caught stealing and I'm supposed to pay for his medical treatment? What kind of 'good' is that? So, if a thief gets injured while stealing, the victim has to pay for it? Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life?"

"Is it really necessary to completely break off relations?"

He Yuanchao's gaze suddenly turned cold as he swept over Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai. "It's not that I wanted to tear off their faces! It's that some people are shameless! It's that some people are taking advantage of their age, disrespecting their elders, taking sides, and trying to smooth things over, treating everyone like fools while they themselves are throwing their faces on the ground and trampling on them!"

"at last,"

He Yuanchao's voice carried an undisguised sarcasm as he looked at the deaf old woman. "You are a recipient of the Five Guarantees. The neighborhood committee and the factory deliver rice, flour, oil, and money to you every month. Your life is stable."

Of course you can stand there and talk without understanding the situation, advising others to be "generous" or "show some consideration."

But we workers, who earn our living through our physical labor and support our families with our skills, earn every penny through hard work and sweat! It doesn't fall from the sky! Why should we give it to ungrateful wretches and thieves?!

"You want 'meaning'? Sure!"

He Yuanchao suddenly pointed to the low, dilapidated house of the Jia family, "You have a lot of influence, go and tell the neighborhood committee to give the Jia family your five-guarantee household grain rations and subsidies for next month, and to help Bang Geng get his leg treated!"

I, He Yuanchao, am the first to give you a thumbs up and praise your noble character! Do you dare?!

boom!

The deaf old woman's wrinkled face instantly turned a deep liver color!

Her hand, which was holding the cane, trembled violently, and her cloudy old eyes were filled with disbelief, astonishment, and immense shame and indignation!

She never expected that He Yuanchao, who was usually quiet and unassuming, would be so sharp-tongued and so... ruthless when he got angry! How dare he!

How dare he talk back to her so bluntly!

They even used their status as a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government welfare program for the elderly and disabled) to turn

This is practically tearing off the dough of her "ancestor" and throwing it on the ground to trample on!

"You...you..."

The deaf old woman made a strange "hoarse" sound in her throat, so angry that she couldn't say a word. She swayed and almost fell, but was caught by the people next to her in a flurry.

Her dim, old eyes were fixed on He Yuanchao, filled for the first time with undisguised resentment and fear.

This young man... he's terrifying! Completely out of control!

"Outrageous! Outrageous!"

Seeing that even the deaf old lady had been humiliated, Yi Zhonghai was so angry that he trembled all over, but he was helpless.

He Yuanchao was in the right, and his words were sharp as knives, completely refuting the hypocrisy and scheming of him and the deaf old lady!

For the first time, he felt that his authority in this courtyard was so vulnerable in front of this young man!

"Ouch—! It hurts! Mom! I'm going to die! Grandma! Help me!"

Banggeng's pitiful screams rang out again at just the right moment, breaking the dead silence and awkward standoff.

Blood loss, combined with excruciating pain and fear, caused his voice to crack, his face to turn as pale as paper, and his lips to turn blue.

Seeing that the gauze on Bang Geng's leg was soaked with blood again, Doctor Wang's face was so dark it looked like it could drip water. He roared in exasperation, "Keep arguing! Keep arguing! I think you don't want this child's leg anymore!"

I'm asking one last time! Who's going to pay?! If this drags on any longer, I'm leaving immediately! You'll have to deal with it yourselves! Don't come looking for me if you end up disabled!

His patience had reached its limit.

As a doctor, what he hates most is this kind of nonsense that delays treatment because of wrangling!

"I...we..."

Jia Zhangshi was completely panicked. Looking at her grandson's pained expression, then at the indifferent or gloating eyes around her, and He Yuanchao's cold and mocking gaze, a huge sense of despair and helplessness gripped her.

She glanced at Yi Zhonghai instinctively, her eyes filled with pleading.

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen, and his lips trembled.

He knew that it was absolutely impossible to get He Yuanchao to pay up today.

But Bang Geng's leg... the Jia family definitely can't afford it... are they really going to just watch their child become lame? And Qin Huairu... Sha Zhu... his retirement plans...

Just as the stalemate reached a deadlock and the air seemed to freeze, a series of hurried footsteps and exclamations came from the moon gate.

"What's wrong? What happened? Bang Geng?! Bang Geng, what's wrong with you?!"

Qin Huairu stumbled in, her face deathly pale, followed by Sha Zhu, who was carrying three lunchboxes and wearing a fawning smile.

The two had obviously just returned from get off work and were stunned by the devastation in the backyard.