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

"Brother Sheng, are you alright?"

As soon as Gao Xiaosheng entered the house, He Yushui ran over, looking up at him with a worried expression.

She heard everything that happened at the Intermediate People's Court clearly from the window.

Although Brother Sheng didn't back down, in the little girl's eyes, he had already been squeezed out and put at a disadvantage by the three old men.

"Hehe, it's okay, I know what I'm doing." Gao Xiaosheng rubbed Yushui's head and said with a smile.

"If I get the chance, I'll tell Liu Guangqi that if he comes over when he's getting beaten up, I promise I'll slap his dad a few times in front of him."

"Liu Haizhong and I used to have no grudges against each other, but today he's been criticizing me quite a bit."

He Yushui nodded emphatically, "I'll find a chance to tell Brother Guangqi tomorrow, and have him lure out Second Uncle as soon as possible to give Brother Sheng some revenge!"

The little girl clenched her fists and waved them back and forth in front of her, displaying her anger and indignation at the common enemy.

"Brother Sheng, are you hungry? Let's eat now. Don't call me brother anymore, he always takes the side of outsiders. Let's ignore him today."

Gao Xiaosheng and He Yushui, half-siblings, sat together and enjoyed a pleasant dinner.

A fierce argument broke out at the Jia family's residence in the Intermediate People's Court, with several onlookers standing at the door.

"Tell me, just for a few thousand yuan to buy cigarettes, what have you driven Dongxu to?

"You even used the money you had to pay for the lock for your child, can't you just give it back to him? Do you have to push him to the brink before you're satisfied?"

Yi Zhonghai angrily berated Jia Zhangshi, his voice so loud that it could be clearly heard through the cracks in the door and windows.

"The old man is really angry. Jia Dongxu stole things; he's completely disgraced."

With such a lively event to watch, how could He Yuzhu miss it? Just listening wasn't enough; he also had to offer his own commentary.

"Who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for this family?" Jia Zhangshi's sharp voice was even more penetrating.

"You think everyone's like you, making hundreds of thousands in salary every month? I've been working at Dongxu for almost three years and I'm still an apprentice. I won't be promoted to a junior worker until the end of the year. I only make 180,000 a month. If I don't manage my finances carefully, how can I survive?"

"Old Jia passed away early, so I need to leave him some money for retirement. Otherwise, who will take care of me?"

"If you really cared about Dongxu, wouldn't you have bought him a few packs of cigarettes yourself? Now that this has happened, you come here to make sarcastic remarks, pshaw!"

Although the two were arguing fiercely, their minds were clear, and they left room for maneuver in their words, without revealing each other's shortcomings.

Did Jia Zhangshi not know that Yi Zhonghai wanted Dongxu to support him in his old age? She knew all too well.

Despite her seemingly mindless tantrums, she actually knows exactly what to say and what not to say.

Those two sentences were meant to remind Yi Zhonghai.

Wanting to hire Dongxu for retirement is fine, but you have to take responsibility and not be stingy when it comes to paying.

As for who ultimately gets the money, that's not important.

"Sigh, Sister-in-law Jia, Dongxu is my apprentice, practically my son. How can I refuse him when he asks me for money to buy cigarettes?"

"The problem is that this kid is proud and didn't mention it at all. I saw him smoking Daqianmen cigarettes these past few days, and I thought you were the one who gave him the money."

Yi Zhonghai's tone softened considerably.

Ultimately, compared to Jia Zhangshi, he was the weaker party.

After all, he was an orphan over forty years old. If he didn't have some support, in another ten or eight years, no matter how much money he had, it might not be his own.

Yi Zhonghai firmly believed in this point, having witnessed firsthand how tragic it was to have no children left to live.

To say nothing of the distant past, the deaf old lady in the backyard, if she hadn't had a stroke of luck and happened to save a benefactor, would she have been alive and well until now?

He, He Daqing, and Xu Fugui had been plotting to exploit the descendants of the deceased ever since they moved into this courtyard.

If the bald man could hold out for another three to five years, the Yi Zhonghai and He Daqing brothers would be able to seize all of the deaf old lady's assets.

Well, of course, it's also possible that Xu Fugui, the lone wolf, succeeded. Anyway, no matter who gets there first, the deaf old lady's fate is certain to be death.

After liberation, the deaf old lady gained official backing, and the three had no choice but to stop.

Yi Zhonghai was lucky; he hadn't fallen out with the deaf old lady before because he had instigated He Daqing to take the lead. He was coerced and lured by the old lady into becoming her godson, thus escaping a disaster.

He Daqing, the one who stood out, was not so lucky. He became Yi Zhonghai's pledge of loyalty and was schemed against by the mother and son. He had no choice but to abandon his two children and go to Baoding alone.

Xu Fugui, relying on his intelligence, managed to evade several assassination attempts, but he had lived a very frustrating life for the past few years, leaving early and returning late every day, and hardly interacting with anyone in the compound.

The deaf old lady had a powerful backer, her godson, and she still lived a secluded life, rarely showing herself in the backyard.

If Yi Zhonghai didn't have his precious disciple Jia Dongxu, he wouldn't even dare to imagine how badly he would suffer when he got old and frail.

"Sister-in-law, things have already come to this, there's no use in blaming each other anymore. Hurry up and get Dongxu something to eat, and pack his clothes and bedding. I'll go with you to the factory to see him in a little while."

Yi Zhonghai lowered his stance and took the initiative to seek peace, and Jia Zhangshi did not pursue the matter relentlessly.

"Huai Ru, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and cook!"

She and Yi Zhonghai were like a stick trying to catch a wolf – both were afraid of each other.

Yi Zhonghai wanted to find an obedient godson to back him up, for the sake of the future.

Jia Zhangshi dared not break ties with Yi Zhonghai, fearing that Jia Dongxu would have no future.

The teacher-student relationship today is not just about imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving doubts.

To put it bluntly, unless Yi Zhonghai agrees, even if Jia Dongxu works for three years, he can forget about becoming a junior worker and will have to work as an apprentice for another year.

Seeking another renowned teacher is out of the question; that would be tantamount to betraying one's teacher and ancestors.

Unless Yi Zhonghai explicitly states that he is ending his master-apprentice relationship with Jia Dongxu, other senior and intermediate fitters in the steel rolling mill will never agree to take on apprentices; that's the rule.

An apprentice with no mentor or teacher has a predictable future, destined to work as a low-level worker until death, and may never be able to afford even four dishes in their entire life.

"Guizhen, Guizhen!" Yi Zhonghai pushed open the window and shouted loudly.

Wu Guizhen quickened her pace and went to the window. "I'm here, I'm here, Lao Yi, what did you call me for?"

"Go back inside and get some money. Buy two boxes of Daqianmen cigarettes. Be quick, my sister-in-law and I will deliver them to Dongxu in a bit," Yi Zhonghai instructed.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Wu Guizhen hurriedly went home to get the money, and then ran out of the Intermediate People's Court.

Seeing that there was nothing to see, He Yuzhu, Liu Haizhong, and the others who were watching could only click their tongues in disappointment and go home.

"Son, who beat you up like this? Tell your mother, and I'll get justice for you."

Half an hour later, Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and Yi Zhonghai saw Jia Dongxu huddled in the corner of the security department's detention room.

Upon meeting, Jia Zhangshi began to shout and tried to touch her son's swollen right cheek. However, after taking only two steps forward, a fishy and foul smell assaulted her nostrils, and she quickly stopped.

"Ahem!" Li Shuguo, who was standing at the door, coughed twice and stared fiercely at Jia Dongxu.

He didn't say a word, but it was more effective than a basketful of threats.