Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

Sun Youtian was still reporting to Officer Zhang the huge losses he had suffered in the six months since moving into Courtyard No. 95.

Hmm, that's fast. They've already mentioned that Yan Bugui stole half a head of garlic and a scallion 126 days ago.

Officer Zhang's emotions gradually cooled down. He was furious just now, but now he seemed to have lost all will to live.

He couldn't very well interrupt, since each and every one of these cases was evidence of Yan Bugui's crimes of extortion and plunder.

Especially for Sun Youtian, who had only recently started working and whose salary was less than 200,000 yuan, losing nearly 100 yuan every day added up to two or three thousand yuan a month—that was a huge amount…

Well, the key isn't about how much money you have, it's mainly about feeling frustrated. Yes, that's right, frustrated.

People were carrying vegetables, humming a tune, and were just about to go home to cook a nice meal to treat themselves when they were robbed by the neighborhood management officers as soon as they reached the gate of their compound. They robbed them once a day, never leaving empty-handed. Who could stand that?

Yi Zhonghai wasn't idle either. Taking advantage of the fact that Officer Zhang's attention was entirely on Sun Youtian, he repeatedly gave Liu Haizhong and Xu Fugui warning glances to prevent them from defecting.

"Hey, Xiao Zhang, what brings you here?"

The deaf old lady, leaning on a cane and supported by Wu Guizhen, shakily stepped into the central courtyard. As soon as she appeared, she received several grateful glances.

Yan Bugui was counting on her to save his life, and Yi Zhonghai was counting on her to stabilize the situation.

Zhang, the staff member, also had to thank the deaf old lady for interrupting Sun Youtian's incessant rambling and saving his tormented ears.

"Grandma, you're still so healthy, please sit down."

Officer Zhang ran a few steps to the deaf old lady.

The old lady was no ordinary person. Director Wang once said that during the war, this old lady with bound feet had saved the lives of comrades on the hidden front.

I heard that after that comrade was transferred to work in Beijing, he sent someone to deliver New Year's gifts to the old lady every Spring Festival.

"Okay, okay, Xiao Zhang, I heard that the Yan family boy made a mistake? What happened?"

The deaf old lady sat steadily in the chair and gently tapped her cane.

The kind-faced old lady, standing 1.5 meters tall, had an aura no less imposing than that of the notorious bandit leader Zuo Shandiao; in the vast courtyard, only her voice could be heard.

"Alas, old lady, Yan Bugui has made a serious mistake..."

Officer Zhang recounted in detail how Yan Bugui had taken things out of context, altered the spirit of documents, used the opportunity to amass wealth, and bullied his neighbors.

"Yes, that was definitely wrong."

"Yan boy, come here."

The old lady first nodded in agreement with Officer Zhang's judgment, then waved to Yan Bugui.

"Grandma, I..."

Yan Bugui was no longer the arrogant and haughty man he had been when he met Gao Xiaosheng that afternoon.

He stood hunched over, completely devoid of energy, his eyes dull and lifeless, looking pleadingly at the old woman.

"I'll beat you to death, you shameless bastard! Do you still dare to try to be clever? Do you still dare to bully the neighbors? Do you still dare to suppress the younger generation?"

"If you're struggling financially, why don't you just tell everyone? Who wouldn't lend you a hand? Are you so embarrassed that you resort to these underhanded methods?"

Gao Xiaosheng raised an eyebrow slightly; this old lady was quite something.

On the surface, it seemed like he was helping Officer Zhang teach Yan Bugui a lesson, but in reality, every word he said was a subtle dig.

The phrase "Dare you?" paired with a walking stick carries a weight comparable to the Bodhi Patriarch striking the monkey's head.

Three blows to wake up Old Man Yan, and I realized I was a poor man.

"Yes, yes, ma'am, I know I was wrong."

Yan Bugui is not only intelligent, but also shameless.

Regardless of how many audience members were present, he knelt down on the ground and threw himself onto the old lady's lap, crying and sniffling.

The deaf old woman's expression of disgust flashed by in an instant. She stretched out her dry, wrinkled hand and gently stroked the top of Yan Bugui's head.

As for what he was thinking, Gao Xiaosheng had no idea. Perhaps he was feeling disgusted, since Yan Bugui had wiped his snot all over the old lady's pants.

"Waaah, Officer Zhang, I was wrong. There are six people in my family, and I'm the one who supports them all. My daughter-in-law was born last year, but she was malnourished and didn't have enough breast milk. Formula is too expensive, and we just can't afford it."

"As a teacher, I was afraid of being laughed at, and I couldn't bring myself to ask my neighbors for help. In a moment of weakness, I went astray."

That's why they say you become like those you associate with.

The hutongs near the Central Academy of Drama have a high proportion of drama queens and actors.

He was clearly trying to take advantage of others, but after being given a hint by the old lady and with his superb acting skills, he was transformed into a vain scholar who had to resort to some tricks to make a living.

"Alright, Yan, stop crying. You're not a kid anymore, you have four kids. Stop crying and making a fool of yourself."

The deaf old lady's pants were probably soaked with tears and snot. She was so disgusted that she couldn't stand it anymore. She used both hands and finally managed to push Yan Bugui away.

"Xiao Zhang, Yan has done something wrong. He should be punished however he deserves. Punish him until he's bankrupt, or even expel him from school. With the help of the neighbors, he won't starve to death."

"Even if things go badly, the whole family can survive on tree bark, wild vegetables, and clay."

Gao Xiaosheng wanted to give the old lady a thumbs up; this assist was truly divine.

Look at Zhang's expression; it's like he's swallowed a mouthful of shit, unable to spit it out or swallow it down, his face turning bright red.

The deaf old lady was impartial and did not cover up for anyone's faults; she spoke frankly and openly.

In plain terms, it means if you're ruthless enough, you can kill his entire family of six; after all, everyone's watching.

"The old lady is right, Xiao Zhang. I fully realize my mistake. I accept whatever punishment is due. Even if I lose my job or have my house taken back, it doesn't matter. At worst, I'll take my wife and kids to sleep under a bridge."

Yan Bugui's sincere apology was automatically interpreted by Officer Zhang as, "You want to hit me a couple of times? You can't bring yourself to do it. You want to curse at me a couple of times? You can't even open your mouth."

"Madam, I know that Yan Bugui's family is large, but what he did was really too outrageous. How about... I report the truth and let Director Wang make the decision?"

Officer Zhang knew that the deaf old lady had come forward to plead for Yan Bugui.

But what they said made sense. Yan Bugui had three sons and one daughter, and the whole family depended on him for support.

Taking this too seriously would be tantamount to cutting off the livelihood of six people.

After much deliberation, Zhang could only pass this thorny problem on to Director Wang.

"Sure, I haven't seen Xuemei in a while, I miss her."

"Xiao Zhang, could you please make a trip and have Xue Mei come over to handle this? I'd like to see if she's gained any weight recently. Last time she came to see me in the yard, she was so thin, she was even wobbling when she walked."

An old man is shrewd, an old horse is cunning, and an old rabbit is hard for an eagle to catch.

The nearly 70-year-old deaf woman manipulated 18-year-old Zhang, treating him like a puppet, through a series of elaborate schemes.

Having eaten so much salt and seen so many people, the old lady could tell what Zhang was going to say the moment he opened his mouth.

Calling Director Wang Xuemei over was part of her plan; it was an important tool to intimidate Gao Xiaosheng and Sun Youtian.

"Okay... I'll go to the director's house now. Director Wang will be here in half an hour at most."

Suppressing the rumbling of his stomach, Zhang hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.

"Woman, hurry up and cook. Zhonghai, help me to your place for a drink of water."

If the old lady hadn't said that, Zhang would have wanted to conserve his energy and walk slowly. Now, he wished he could cover his ears and step out of the yard in one swift motion. While others had food and water, he was hungry and thirsty, and had to continue to suffer miserably.