Uncle Shazhu, a simple-minded man in a courtyard house, persuades people with reason.

Quanjude... Chinese people have a deep-seated obsession with food. After three years apart, the family naturally wants to have a good meal together. Although roast duck is not suitable for a reunion dinner, the little girl loves it, so there are no taboos.

He Ping'an ate duck meat with gusto, savoring each bite of the eight-treasure dish and lotus root, while Xiao Yushui ate with gusto, her mouth greasy and her face beaming with happiness. Bai Ling watched He Yuzhu standing to the side, awkwardly slicing the duck meat, and gently tugged at her lover's sleeve.

He Ping'an glanced at his simple-minded nephew and clinked glasses with Bai Ling. His words held a rare childlike quality: "Never mind him! The idiot can handle the work, he can't eat this stuff. Give him a few steamed buns later, just enough to keep him from starving!"

Bai Ling looked at the aggrieved He Yuzhu and gestured for him to sit down. "Zhuzi, sit down! Eat quickly, or the rainwater will eat it all!"

"Thank you, Auntie..." He Yuzhu scratched his head sheepishly.

"Now you know to thank me? Why didn't you look earlier..." He Ping'an was furious just hearing He Yuzhu's voice, let alone looking at it.

"Alright..." Bai Ling nudged her lover, changing the subject.

"Ping An, what are your plans for dealing with the people in the courtyard house, and that director of the neighborhood committee?"

To be honest, revenge is similar to war; it's all about striking the snake at its vital point!

The best way to get revenge on someone is to strike them right in the heart... and make them lose what they care about most!

"Regarding Yan Bugui, I will inform his school tomorrow that he will only be able to receive the minimum wage for teachers from now on!"

In the original drama, Yan Bugui, a small business owner, spent his entire life complaining about 27.5 yuan. He Ping'an felt that this punishment was quite appropriate, as it both helped Yan Bugui achieve his slogan ahead of time and allowed him to feel good.

Helping others and finding joy in it are two perfectly compatible things! That's great!

"In the bangs..."

Bai Ling noticed the hesitation in He Ping'an's words and rolled her eyes at him. "Since you're too embarrassed to say it, then I'll say it for you... Inform Lou Xiaohui's father, Lou Zhenhua, the director of the steel rolling mill, and have him transferred away from Liu Haizhong's job!"

"Hmm..." It's never good to bring up another woman in front of one woman. He Ping'an cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

"Liu Haizhong dreams of being an official, right? Let's grant his wish. He'll be the head of the cleaning team, and he'll be in charge of all the toilets!"

"Liu Haizhong is obsessed with being an official; to put it bluntly, he just wants to enjoy the feeling of being superior. Cleaning toilets... how could you even think of that!" Bai Ling took the opportunity to pinch He Ping'an's waist hard, a small act of revenge.

"And what about Yi Zhonghai and his apprentice...?"

"Auntie, those two bastards, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu, stole our house! What future do they have? Being shot would be too lenient!"

He Yuzhu, busy shoveling food into his mouth, disregarded manners and, with grease still glistening on his lips, blurted out, "Uncle, you're not going to let those two bastards get away with it again, are you?"

He Ping'an tossed a few lotus leaf cakes at him irritably, "Clean yourself up before you speak!"

Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhangshi, and Qin Huairu are all the culprits behind the house grabbing.

Yi Zhonghai, a master craftsman at the steel rolling mill, seems to have an ambiguous relationship with Wang Yiqin; Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai's apparent caregiver, is young, strong, and capable.

Qin Huairu, nine months pregnant and about to give birth, is also Yi Zhonghai's secret lover and prospective caregiver. This time, there's no concrete evidence to prove her involvement.

Of the four, only Jia Zhangshi remained—a useless person who couldn't create any value, just freeloaded and dragged the team down. Being a scapegoat was just the right fit.

Moreover, Jia Zhangshi was already a stumbling block in the eyes of Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu. Even if Jia Dongxu protected her, that despicable couple would surely have plenty of ways to force him to comply!

As for whether Jia Zhangshi will take the blame alone, and whether Yi Zhonghai and his apprentice can return to the steel rolling mill? Heh... Wang Yiqin was willing to turn against He Ping'an to save people, so she naturally wouldn't ignore some small favors.

The schemes involved are far too complicated for He Yuzhu's pitiful brain capacity. He Ping'an shook his head in disappointment, wisely offering no explanation.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter! The department-level cadre in charge of approvals at the Ministry of Machine Building, who also happened to be in charge of industrial production such as steel rolling mills, found a good place to take refuge.

He Ping'an is, after all, a player wielding two "Emperor's Forbidden Artifacts," so cutting down a worm-infested tree isn't out of the question. The main issue is that it's simply not worth it...

These kinds of people have no obvious weaknesses; they're difficult to eliminate with a single blow, especially now that everything is in a state of rebuilding. A favorable wind can blow strong! Or…

Without rules, nothing can be accomplished! Within the system, the most important thing is to abide by the rules, or as we'll call it in later generations, procedural justice!

Wang Yiqin, a 35-year-old veteran of the revolution, has a husband who is a high-ranking official with great power and influence.

It's unbelievable that they would risk a falling out with a rising star within the Party for a piece of trash like Yi Zhonghai. This whole thing seems incredibly suspicious!

He Ping'an and Bai Ling exchanged a smile. "Investigate!"

If they are not related by blood or marriage, then the only entanglement must be in mutual interests. Wang Yiqin, the director of the subdistrict office, and Yi Zhonghai, an ordinary worker, certainly didn't have a connection that arose recently, or even after the founding of the People's Republic of China!

That's...that's going to be interesting!

"Uncle, Aunt, what are you talking about? Are you really going to let Yi Zhonghai off the hook like this?" He Yuzhu muttered listlessly.

"You..." He Ping'an shook his head in exasperation, "Doesn't Yi Zhonghai always wear that sacrificial, self-sacrificing face, taking advantage of others' well-being? Well then, this time we'll give him a taste of his own medicine..."

The nation is in dire need of rebuilding, and there's a severe shortage of skilled workers. Many of the workers in our courtyard are fitters from the steel rolling mill; let's have them all apprentice under that old fellow Yi Zhonghai!

"With so many apprentices, won't Old Dog Yi be able to roam freely in the courtyard house from now on! Uncle..."

"You...you..." He Ping'an was so angry that he couldn't speak when he saw the reproachful look in his silly nephew's eyes.

"Bai Ling...you speak, I'm afraid this idiot will drive me crazy. Yu Shui, stay away from your brother, idiocy is contagious. Come over here to your uncle, your uncle will make you a duck roll!"

Our Yushui has been smart since he was a child!

"Zhu Zi, I don't know if you've ever heard this saying... It's not poverty that people worry about, but inequality. It means that in a group, people aren't afraid of being poor, but they are worried about unfair distribution!"

Just like when you were learning your craft, you and your senior apprentice were both your master's disciples. You had the same status and made the same contributions on a daily basis.

But your master is biased; he taught all his best skills to your senior brother and even covered his expenses. Won't you be angry? What will you do after a while?

Bai Ling had never seen He Yuzhu's intelligence before, and was quite patient at this moment.

He Yuzhu shook his head, a smug look on his face. "Impossible! If my master is going to be biased, it'll be towards me!"

Don't associate with, or even talk to, foolish people!