Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

The air in the interrogation room began to grow heavy, not only because of the gradually decreasing temperature, but also because of Jiang Chen's enigmatic smile.

"Jiang Chen, what do you mean? Are you going to use torture to extract a confession?" Although Sha Zhu was a rogue, he wasn't stupid and sensed that something was wrong.

Jiang Chen didn't say anything, but stood up, walked to the door, and turned off the only light in the interrogation room.

"Smack."

Darkness instantly swallowed everything, with only the hum of the air conditioner's window unit echoing in the silence.

"Enjoy this afternoon. Master He, let's settle our accounts one by one."

Jiang Chen walked out of the interrogation room. As the iron door slammed shut, Sha Zhu was completely isolated in a cold, dark, and silent world.

……

Inside the monitoring room.

Jiang Chen sat in front of the monitor, the screen displaying the interrogation room footage in infrared mode.

The system interface unfolded on his retina. With a slight thought, he turned the old-fashioned air conditioner to its maximum cooling power and simultaneously cut off the water supply to the interrogation room.

This is called "training the eagle".

For someone like Sha Zhu, who is physically strong and stubborn as a mule, physical beatings are often ineffective and may even provoke his rebellious nature. Only by depriving him of his senses and creating an extreme environment can his spirit be broken.

Two hours have passed.

The idiot Zhu on the screen had stopped cursing. He was curled up in the interrogation chair, trembling uncontrollably. Clothes in that era weren't very warm to begin with, and the fact that he had just been pushed into the soup had left his wet clothes clinging to his body. With the strong, cold wind blowing, the damp chill felt like steel needles drilling into his bones.

His lips were frozen purple, and a thin layer of frost even formed on his eyebrows. Hunger, cold, and darkness—the triple torment began to instill in him an unprecedented fear.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the security office.

"Let me in! I'm Yi Zhonghai! I need to see your section chief!"

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a cold smile. Sure enough, the old man came after the young one was beaten.

He slowly picked up his teacup and walked out of the monitoring room.

In the security department's lobby, Yi Zhonghai was shoving and pushing the guards on duty, his face contorted with rage. He was wearing his signature work uniform, with an eighth-grade worker badge pinned to his chest—his talisman that allowed him to act with impunity in the steel rolling mill.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen emerge, Yi Zhonghai immediately shook off the guards, strode forward, and adopted the posture of an elder lecturing a junior.

"Jiang Chen! You've gone too far!" Yi Zhonghai pointed at Jiang Chen's nose. "Zhu Zi was just joking with you, did you have to arrest him? And what's with the accusation of counter-revolution? You're just throwing accusations around! Release him immediately!"

Jiang Chen gently brushed aside Yi Zhonghai's fingers, his tone calm: "Master Yi, this is the security department, not a courtyard house. Please watch your attitude."

"Attitude?" Yi Zhonghai laughed angrily. "I'm an eighth-grade fitter in the factory! I've contributed to the country! Zhu Zi is the head chef in the canteen; all the workers in the factory depend on him for their livelihood. If you arrest him, what will the workers eat? Production will be delayed; can you take responsibility for that?"

Yi Zhonghai's tactic of "moral blackmail" combined with "pressuring others for the greater good" used to be incredibly effective in the courtyard houses. As long as he raised the banner of "sabotaging production," everyone had to back down.

Unfortunately, he encountered Jiang Chen.

"Disrupt production?" Jiang Chen sneered, turned around, picked up a thick stack of papers from his desk, and slammed them down heavily in front of Yi Zhonghai.

"Master Yi, since you mentioned workers, then open your eyes wide and take a good look at what this is!"

Yi Zhonghai paused for a moment, then looked down.

That was a joint complaint requesting severe punishment for He Yuzhu, the canteen bully.

The paper was filled with black and white writing detailing Sha Zhu's usual misdeeds: verbally abusing coworkers, withholding food, taking public property for himself, assaulting others... and below these charges were hundreds of bright red handprints!

Those were collected on the spot at the canteen entrance by Jiang Chen's people. The workers were still angry, and when they heard that they were going to sue Sha Zhu, they rushed to put their handprints on the document, and some even wanted to put their footprints on it.

"This...this..." Yi Zhonghai looked at the shocking red, his face turned pale instantly, and his previous imposing aura vanished completely.

"Yi Zhonghai, this is a tearful accusation from 326 canteen workers!"

Jiang Chen's voice suddenly rose, each word piercing the heart: "You say He Yuzhu represents the workers? Bullshit! He's standing on the opposite side of the working class! He's a bloodsucker riding on the backs of the people! You want me to release him now? Are you trying to protect a bad element? Or are you, Yi Zhonghai, also trying to stand against all the workers in the factory and go against these three hundred-plus handprints?!"

This hat is too big, so big that even the status of an eighth-grade worker can't bear it.

Cold sweat instantly beaded on Yi Zhonghai's forehead. He was a shrewd man and knew that if this matter escalated, not only would he lose face, but he himself would also be implicated. Faced with this overwhelming public opinion, his so-called "face" was worth less than a piece of toilet paper.

"Section Chief Jiang..." Yi Zhonghai's voice softened, and his once straight back hunched over slightly. "This matter... isn't that serious, is it? Zhu Zi is a bit of a muddle-headed guy, but he's not a bad person at heart. Could you... make an exception? You see, even the higher-ups like his cooking..."

When force failed, Yi Zhonghai began to use his connections and emotional appeals.

Jiang Chen looked at the old man who had aged ten years in an instant, and felt only contempt. This was the so-called moral gentleman; once his own interests were involved, he would kneel down faster than anyone else.

"I can make an exception." Jiang Chen sat back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the table. "You may escape the death penalty, but you won't escape punishment. If you want to leave, you'll have to follow my rules."

Yi Zhonghai nodded quickly: "Go on, go on."

"First, lock him up for three days straight, no matter who pleads for him. Let him sober up."

"Second, write a 5,000-word self-criticism, which must be profound. After you get out, it will be read aloud over the factory's public address system for three consecutive days."

"Third, and most importantly," Jiang Chen stared into Yi Zhonghai's eyes, "from today onwards, all accounts and the movement of supplies in and out of the canteen will be transferred to the Security Department's Inspection Division for oversight. From now on, every grain of rice and every drop of oil in the canteen will be under my watchful eye."

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't just punishing Sha Zhu; it was clearly a power grab! They were trying to completely swallow the lucrative cafeteria business whole by the security department!

But could he refuse? Looking at the indictment covered in red handprints on the table, Yi Zhonghai knew he had no right to bargain.

"Fine... I'll agree on his behalf." Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words.

"Then I won't see you out." Jiang Chen picked up his teacup, signaling him to leave.

Yi Zhonghai walked out of the security office, dejected. He knew that from this day forward, the world in this courtyard had completely changed. Jiang Chen, the insignificant nobody they used to manipulate, had grown into a ferocious tiger that would prey on anyone who dared to bite.

Jiang Chen stood up, walked to the one-way glass, and looked at Sha Zhu, who was huddled up in the interrogation room, trembling.

He pressed the panel again and turned off the last emergency light in the interrogation room.

Darkness completely engulfed that once invincible war god.

"This is nothing," Jiang Chen said, a sinister smile spreading across his face as he looked at his reflection in the glass. "The real show is yet to come."