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

Fairness is never absolute, but it is always constrained by social conditions. The three people inside the room acted out their roles perfectly…

"Knock knock!"

The cane lightly touched the ground, making no loud sound. Yet, it startled Yi Zhonghai, causing him to tremble all over. The fierce look he had just met with Li Guifen's wide-open eyes vanished in an instant.

"presumptuous!"

The deaf old woman's voice wasn't loud either, but even so, it sounded like thunder to Yi Zhonghai. He hurriedly bowed, humbly begging for forgiveness.

Although the deaf old woman's status was beneath her dignity in front of truly respectable people, in this courtyard house, among a group of laborers and the lowest of the low, she was undoubtedly the "ancestor." To even call her "ancestor" would be an insult to her.

The deaf old woman didn't even bother to lift her eyelids at Yi Zhonghai's apology. She proceeded to recite her pre-prepared draft:

"The report was done by Guifen personally, with my help. If you don't believe me, we can do it again. You choose the hospital, and I'll pay. This time, the two of you will do it together! That way, you won't accuse me of lying!"

Yi Zhonghai wasn't stupid. After more than ten years of marriage, if the report were false, Li Guifen wouldn't have acted so confidently. His outburst just now was merely a fit of anger to cover up the truth, a plan to make Li Guifen continue to take the blame.

Now that the deaf old woman is clearly supporting Li Guifen, Yi Zhonghai can only admit he's a useless piece of trash. Yes and no. Because the person in front of him is a deaf old woman who could crush him with a flick of her wrist!

Once he understood, Yi Zhonghai was quite straightforward. He first apologized to Li Guifen, and then turned to the deaf old woman with an air of complete acceptance.

"Four options—the first option is for you two to divorce and go your separate ways. Of course, I will have the medical report distributed to clear Guifen's name, as compensation for all the years you've wronged her!"

The second option is for you two to continue living together as if this never happened, and everything will be the same as before. However, from now on, Guifen will be in charge of your household finances!

The third option is for you two to be a nominal couple. Guifen will live with me from now on, and you won't need to interfere. However, I will arrange for Guifen to have a sperm donor, and you will only be the child's father in name only.

The fourth path: Guifen wants nothing!

After the deaf old woman finished speaking, she didn't even glance at Yi Zhonghai again and closed her eyes to rest.

Yi Zhonghai was truly frustrated at this moment. There were clearly only one path to choose from, not four.

The first path is destined to leave him childless; even a minor cold could cost him his life. The third path seems feasible; compared to having offspring, what is a cuckold's horns? However, the variables are too great; he might end up with a treacherous scheme, likely leading to a miserable old age.

As for the fourth option… wanting nothing is the same as wanting everything. Money, property, and even his worthless life! Only the second option is barely acceptable; although he'll lose economic power, at least they're still family. He might even be able to connect with the deaf old woman, so it wouldn't be a bad deal.

Moreover, choosing the second path might not necessarily preclude the possibility of obtaining sperm donation. Perhaps this is what the deaf old woman also hoped for!

"Grandmother, I choose the second path. I'll go and collect the family's money right now. I promise not to keep a single penny, and all my future wages will be handed over to Guifen!"

"Hmm!" Facing the pragmatic Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old woman still didn't open her eyes. Only after hearing the door close did she slowly open them.

"Girl, don't blame this old woman for taking matters into her own hands and letting you continue living with that good-for-nothing!" Yi Zhonghai guessed correctly; that was exactly what the deaf old woman meant.

Li Guifen shook her head: "I'm so grateful to you! You must have your reasons for doing this, I'll do as you say!"

"Hmph, you little brat!"

The deaf old woman smiled, but to avoid Li Guifen misunderstanding, she still explained a few things.

"Sigh... Girl, if I were 40 this year, I would definitely make Yi Zhonghai disappear. But I'm 50 this year, and even if I live to be 60, I'll only have 10 more years to live."

"My connections won't last. Once I'm dead, you widows and orphans won't be able to stop those who prey on your family's wealth! As for remarriage, your age is what it is; all you'll have left are a bunch of ugly ducklings. These days, aren't there plenty of scoundrels who sell their wives and children?"

The farce in the Yi family ended in a mess, but Yi Zhonghai hated Jia Zhangshi to the core.

If it weren't for Jia Zhangshi's instigation, he wouldn't have confronted He Ping'an, and without confronting He Ping'an, none of what followed would have happened.

The strong wield their swords against the stronger, and the weak against the weaker. In this matter, the deaf old woman and He Ping'an are the true perpetrators, but he can't afford to offend either of them. So, he can only let Jia Zhangshi suffer!

Thanks to the intervention of the deaf old lady, the Yi family's affairs came to a satisfactory conclusion. However, the matter remained a hot topic in the courtyard because the deaf old lady had taken Li Guifen as her goddaughter.

Li Guifen's status in the courtyard has risen dramatically; she walks with an air of superiority. Even Yi Zhonghai, her godfather-in-law, has seen his prestige revive after being diminished by He Ping'an.

Of course, all of this had nothing to do with the He family. The three members of the He family continued as usual: He Daqing went to work, He Ping'an remained a stay-at-home dad and college student, and He Yuzhu spent his time eating, sleeping, and beating up his mentally challenged son, Sha Mao.

Learning what? Ha… As the saying goes, “Giving up is not the end of failure, but the beginning of another victory.” He Ping’an has figured it out; He Yuzhu is just destined to be a cook!

Time passed page by page, and before they knew it, it was May. That day, He Daqing returned home, sent He Yuzhu to stand guard outside the door, and then mysteriously pulled He Ping'an aside for a private talk.

He Daqing lowered his voice, "Ping An, do you have any connections to buy large quantities of grain?"

"Grain?" He Ping'an thought it was something important, but it turned out to be just buying grain. This piqued his curiosity; buying grain, and in such large quantities.

"That's how it is..." He Daqing spilled out all the information he had overheard and his own guesses.

Today, a wealthy businessman invited him to cook at his home. While the dishes were being served, he overheard him mentioning that the businessman was buying penicillin in bulk (at that time it was called penicillin). He Daqing was quite knowledgeable and knew what this stuff was used for.

He guessed that the two sides were going to gather people and start fighting, and that it was going to be a big war!

"Ping An, you have no idea, the group of people gathered today are all big shots in Beijing. Wealthy merchants, compradors, and many high-ranking officials you only see in the newspapers!"

He Daqing seemed worried that his brothers wouldn't believe him, so he kept mentioning names to try and prove his guess.

Regarding his elder brother's speculation, He Ping'an could only say that even small people can have great wisdom. Who would have thought that He Daqing could deduce the decisive battle between the two parties from the fact that a wealthy merchant was buying penicillin in bulk!

Back in his room, He Ping'an closed the door and laughed silently.

Although they knew the Northwest bigwigs were already prepared for a confrontation, and that intelligence on KMT members might even be on his desk, what if…?

He was just worrying about how to reasonably convey the message that the KMT would openly confront the KMT next month when He Daqing provided a ready-made reason.

When the time is right, heaven and earth will lend their strength!