A courtyard house, equipped with a fishing system, living in an era.

The Xu family's house is located in the east courtyard.

"What a pity, alas, I couldn't witness such a momentous event!"

Sigh, this quiet era is already so boring, and to make matters worse, I missed out on a juicy piece of gossip...

Feeling blue and sad, like a mushroom!

Looking at Xu Ping'an's carefree attitude, Xu Fang felt a headache coming on.

"Brother, could it be that the Jia family has their eye on our house?"

Seeing his younger sister's face all scrunched up, Xu Pingan ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry, they won't be interested in our house..."

"Why? Compared to the Jia family, aren't we easier to bully now that we've just moved here?"

Hearing this, Xu Lian was displeased!

"Nonsense, Big Brother could pin them to the ground and beat them up..."

Xu Lian couldn't stand hearing her family being bullied; every time she heard it, she felt like exploding with anger!

Xu Pingan quickly comforted the other person before explaining to his younger sister.

"That's correct in theory, but in reality we have to consider many factors."

Since his two younger sisters had questions about this, Xu Ping'an didn't mind explaining it to them in more detail.

This can be considered a life lesson. No matter what era you live in, it's always good to know more about human relationships and social customs.

"First of all, your older brother is a full-time employee at the steel rolling mill! That's very important."

"Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu are also employees of the steel rolling mill. If they dare to damage my house, they are slapping the steel rolling mill in the face."

"The government's public-private partnership task force is currently conducting research at the steel rolling mill. If such a serious incident were to occur at the mill at this time, how severe would the impact be?"

"Shazhu is different. Not only is he orphaned, but he also has no job, no organization, and no backing. To put it bluntly, he's a lost soul. If he dies out there, no one will even collect his body... It's one thing to bully him!"

"Of course, more importantly, our house is still rented, and we have to pay rent every month..."

Xu Fang and Xu Lian were initially very excited, but the final summary was just this one sentence, leaving the two sisters speechless.

However, they did understand what Xu Ping'an meant!

Xu Ping'an wasn't lying about this!

The steel rolling mill has not yet officially announced the joint venture, and the security department has not been officially taken over by the public security system.

If this place gets taken over in the future, we can report any of this ridiculous nonsense directly to the security department!

However, given the current momentum, the public representatives, led by Team Leader Han, should soon officially take full control of the steel rolling mill.

Xu Pingan now spends all his time with the work group, and he is humble and answers every question.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the working group's inner workings would probably not come to Xu Ping'an's place to cause trouble.

This reassured the two younger sisters, and the matter was considered closed.

However, for the Jia family in the Intermediate People's Court, this matter is not over yet, or rather, it is unlikely to be over...

The mother and son, surnamed Jia, sat on either side of the table with gloomy faces.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Mom, I can't swallow this!"

Jia Zhangshi's face was long and drawn, and her hands, which were sewing, seemed to be trembling.

Upon hearing her son's words, she slammed her needlework onto the table.

If Jia Dongxu can't swallow this insult, how can Jia Zhangshi possibly do so?

She pondered for a moment, then gave instructions to Jia Dongxu.

"Dongxu, go to your master's house now and ask him how to resolve the matter of Shazhu hitting you!"

What's the point of asking him?

"He's the one who caused this mess. Either he helps us deal with Sha Zhu, or he gives us the sewing machine he promised..."

"They're wasting their time enjoying life and just causing trouble all the time!"

Upon hearing the word "sewing machine," Jia Dongxu felt the pain in his eye corner lessen.

"If I go and ask him now, will he really give me the sewing machine?"

"Yi Zhonghai was in the wrong from the start. Our family didn't do anything, and we were beaten up for no reason!"

"If he gives it to us, we can talk to each other properly in the future. But if he doesn't, he can't blame our family later."

Jia Dongxu understood what his mother meant.

After his own father passed away, the Jia family was left destitute and had no choice but to rely on Yi Zhonghai.

Now that I'm grown up, working, and about to get married, the Jia family's dependence on the Yi family isn't as strong anymore. If things don't work out, the Yi family isn't out of the question...

"Shall I go then?"

"When you get there, don't say anything else. Just complain and keep cursing Sha Zhu for being a jerk and hitting you for no reason. That's all!"

"OK!"

Jia Dongxu nodded, got up, and went out.

Jia Dongxu isn't really a bad person; his biggest characteristic is that he listens to his mother.

This is exactly what Yi Zhonghai valued in Jia Dongxu.

But nobody's perfect!

Jia Dongxu's biggest flaw is that he listens to his mother too much...

……

"Dongxu, stop crying like that, you're a grown man! What kind of behavior is this!"

"But that idiot Zhu is such a jerk..."

"Alright, you've been talking for over ten minutes!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed; the strong smell of safflower oil still lingered on his body.

This is the scent left from when Luo Wencui massaged his shoulders earlier.

"You know, Zhu Zi's father just ran away a few days ago, and he's been in a bad mood ever since. As his older brother, you shouldn't take it to heart!"

"I didn't want to stoop to his level, but I'm getting married in about ten days, and he's slapped me like this... I'm too ashamed to show my face!"

"How about this, after a couple of days of rest, I'll have your teacher's wife accompany you on a trip to retrieve the sewing machine! That's what's important, isn't it?"

Luo Wencui chimed in, "That's right, having a sewing machine gives you face. What's the big deal if a man gets a little scratch on his face?"

Jia Dongxu hesitated and stammered.

"Alright, I'll listen to Master!"

……

After finally sending their apprentice away, both of them visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Instead of sleeping this late at night, she ran to her own house and cried for ages...

Watching Jia Dongxu's retreating figure, Luo Wencui sighed.

"What kind of mess is this?"

Yi Zhonghai's face revealed no emotion.

"A sewing machine only costs 160 million yuan, let's just buy it!"

"It's not that I'm worried about the money, sigh..."

Yi Zhonghai thought about his injured arm.

Think about the embarrassment you caused at the Jia family's place.

He secretly made up his mind to teach Sha Zhu a lesson.

……

People are forgetful!

Life doesn't actually have that many spectators. The things you feel ashamed about, others won't even remember when they're not watching you!

Sometimes when I see you, I don't even remember you.

Most of the times you feel embarrassed, you're just making a scene for yourself!

A few days later, the matter was considered closed.

Of course, it only passed on the surface.

From that day on, Sha Zhu's reputation began to plummet.

After all, with two idle old women from the Jia and Yi families helping Sha Zhu ruin his reputation, it's hard for him to think things through!

But everything has its advantages and disadvantages!

With his reputation ruined, no one dares to provoke Sha Zhu anymore...

Whether it's inside or outside the yard!

Shazhu seemed completely oblivious to all of this...

Perhaps he sensed it, but the burdens of life weighed him down, leaving him no time to think about such external matters!

After all, when people are starving, they only have one worry.

Sha Zhu's biggest worry these days is figuring out how to fill his stomach.

Early Sunday morning, Sha Zhu went out to find ways to earn money and ran into Jia Dongxu and Luo Wencui, who were about to leave...

Luo Wencui was also embarrassed when she saw Sha Zhu!

The two families used to have a very good relationship.

As a result, after Lao Yi went to test the waters about asking for the house that day, the two families had a complete falling out!

Logically speaking, with Yi Zhonghai's silver tongue, conning Sha Zhu should have been a piece of cake.

As a result, I injured my arm these days, and the factory is going through a turbulent period of joint public-private ownership.

The injury to his right hand prevented Yi Zhonghai from making an appearance before Deputy Head Yang of the working group...

He's probably holding a grudge against Sha Zhu right now!

I have absolutely no desire to play with a fool...

For the time being, the relationship remains at a stalemate!