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

How to put it... the surprise came too fast, like a tornado! In just a few words, Jia Zhangshi's hoarse voice cried out in despair:

"Impossible! How could there be none? I clearly saw you two brothers carrying things for over half an hour. Where's the food? Where did you hide it...?"

Jia Zhangshi and the other residents who followed her in were ashen-faced. They had found the tunnel; they had seen the grain. But there were only some wheat flour and refined rice; the pile of grain Jia Zhangshi had described was nowhere to be seen!

"Mrs. Jia, is this the grain the He brothers carried all night?" Li Dagang wanted to strangle the widow in front of him. It was this woman who came to his door saying the He family had grain. That's why he was willing to step in!

And what was the result? Not only did they offend the He family, but they also got beaten up for nothing, and now they can't even get a single grain of rice. It's a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead!

Madam Jia was no pushover either, and immediately tried to retort. He Ping'an wasn't about to give them a chance to muddle through: "You two can have your way with your insults later. Now get out of my house!"

He Ping'an stared blankly at Jia Zhangshi: "Now...it's your turn!"

At the entrance to the He family's house, Jia Zhangshi's face was ashen, and she kept muttering "impossible." The other residents who entered the house kept bowing and apologizing, saying all sorts of nice things, seemingly trying to get away with it.

He Ping'an waved to stop the residents who were about to leave, coldly saying "Wait" before turning and heading straight for the Jia family. Jia Zhangshi seemed to wake from a dream and scrambled after He Ping'an.

Inside the courtyard, everyone stood even closer together, shoulder to shoulder, without a single gap. It was a vivid scene of "birds filling the courtyard" for the newcomers, including Li Dagang!

Finding the grain made Li Dagang and his group the heroes of the entire courtyard. As their unwavering supporters, they felt perfectly justified in sharing the grain.

Unable to find food, Li Dagang and his gang were naturally seen as the bad guys in the courtyard. These old neighbors were known for their loyalty and were determined to help the He family get justice. After all, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative!

In short, they share the benefits, but everyone takes the blame! Whoever is slow or slow-witted gets bullied and made to bear the consequences!

Now that there's no grain, the only option is to use Li Dagang and his group to curry favor with the He family!

As soon as He Ping'an stepped into the Jia family's house, he was so overwhelmed by the smell that he kept backing away, standing at the doorway and not daring to go in. He turned to look at Jia Zhangshi, who had followed him, and offered a rare compliment.

"You're a thoughtful person, that's not easy!"

A widow raising her child under Japanese rule endured immense hardship! The Japanese devils, traitors, thugs, and even the beasts in the courtyard—weren't they all filthy bastards?

I want both people and money!

He Ping'an experienced it firsthand today and finally understood how Jia Zhangshi managed to escape the covetous eyes of those people. It's truly remarkable that she wasn't violated by those beasts!

Even He Ping'an couldn't stand the smell in the house, let alone those cowards. Madam Jia Zhang had lived there for over ten years!

Being ruthless to others isn't true ruthlessness; being ruthless to oneself is! This ruthless individual is hidden within the courtyard house, giving off a sense of hidden mastery amidst the chaos of the court…

On the surface, she's known for her shrewish behavior—cursing, hurling insults, throwing tantrums, and rolling on the ground—one of the most notorious shrews in the courtyard. In reality, she's a patient, resolute, and ruthless old beast!

"Brother Ping An, we are orphans and widows...!"

"Dream on! You brought this on yourself and deserve it!"

He Ping'an glared at Jia Zhangshi, who was trying to take advantage of the situation, and interrupted her attempt to play the victim with a stern face.

With a major party battle looming, his future job prospects will become increasingly challenging. A monstrous old beast guarding his doorstep day and night is clearly a menace.

To repel external aggression, one must first pacify internal strife...

Kill them. To eliminate future troubles? A golden opportunity is right in front of us! In that case... we must wipe them out completely, along with Jia Dongxu! That story of a young man enduring 20 years of hardship to avenge his blood feud is just a TV drama.

But what would Qin Huairu do without Jia Dongxu? Where would he get his jokes? Without the Jia family's courtyard house with its three outstanding members, wouldn't he lose most of his fun?

The only thing we can do is to teach Jia Zhangshi a lesson and make her behave for a while.

Ultimately, it's He Ping'an who has absolute confidence in himself. Even if Jia Zhangshi becomes unruly in the future, he can still treat it as amusement and suppress her at will!

Just like that night, even though he knew that Jia Zhangshi was spying on the two brothers transporting grain, he still did whatever he wanted!

Unaware that she had just narrowly escaped death, Jia Zhangshi still tried to play the victim, but was stopped by He Ping'an's cold gaze.

He Ping'an took a deep breath, held it, and entered the Jia family compound. Although he was the captain of the action team, with the aid of his spatial abilities, his intelligence and trace evidence skills were also among the best in the world. Using them to find things would be an insult to his abilities!

Looking around, He Ping'an carefully observed every place. Before long, he retreated to the doorway again! Meeting Jia Zhangshi's smug gaze, he calmly spoke:

"You're probably illiterate, so you probably don't know what 'success and failure both stem from Xiao He' means. In plain terms, it means... I've found where you hid your things!"

"Trash created by human activity over a long period is different from trash collected in a short time!"

Upon hearing He Ping'an's words, Madam Jia's face turned deathly pale. That was the foundation of her Jia family's livelihood, the support her son relied on to get married and have children.

Judging by the time, the black dog should be here soon. He Ping'an, not wanting to waste any more time on Jia Zhangshi, went straight to the point:

"My patience is limited, so stop playing the victim. I don't need the silver dollars, but you must produce the gold ring! Get it to the He family in three minutes!"

The Jia family was a notoriously poor family living in a courtyard house! They had a gold ring and a sewing machine!

In this day and age, gold rings can indeed be used as money and hold their value. But they also have another attribute—jewelry!

Sewing machines were extremely rare in 51, right after liberation and during the height of the Korean War. The country simply didn't have the energy for large-scale industrial development. The one the Jia family owned was very likely a foreign product.

A family that could afford a gold ring during the Japanese invasion of China, and whose son bought a foreign sewing machine as soon as he got married.

Poverty? ...Poverty is just talk, poverty is in everyone's heart!

Taking only a gold ring was a way of keeping He Ping'an's loyalty; he didn't want to drive the dog into a corner. This ruthless man, who had been cruel to him for ten years, would be keeping a close eye on the He family from now on. When the time came, He Ping'an would have no choice but to kill him!

Thus... only Jia Zhangshi's gold ring was taken as a minor punishment to serve as a warning.

Taking away the gold ring was punishment and a warning; leaving the remaining money was pity, but also a threat. If Jia Zhangshi didn't behave, He Ping'an could take away her remaining money at any time.

He doesn't even need to lift a finger; as long as he leaks the news that Jia Zhangshi has money hidden in her hands, the beasts in the courtyard will automatically come to his door to devour his family!

The sudden disappearance of the Jia family mother and son was therefore quite logical!