Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

"Exactly! Old man, so just because Xu Damao said something careless, he gets a hen stolen from his house?"

"Silly Zhu steals chickens and dogs, and all he gets is a couple of mild criticisms from you, and you expect him to get a free pot of chicken soup? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Following Xu Damao's words, Zhou Feng slowly added another blow.

Before he could finish speaking, his heart skipped a beat as he clearly felt a familiar energy fluctuation emanating from the double portal within his body.

The emotional value provided by Lao Yi and Lao Shazhuzi is really spot on!

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened. He was about to use his "old man" authority to suppress Xu Damao and Zhou Feng when Liu Haizhong chimed in, "Xu Damao, how do you plan to make Sha Zhu compensate you?"

When the eldest uncle acts unfairly, the second uncle steps in to resolve the situation—this is his favorite scenario.

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and slowly replied, "If you ask me, Xu Damao's chicken is a laying hen, which is different. Sha Zhu went too far in what he did; he must be severely punished!"

He was planning to cause some trouble for Sha Zhu and his gang, so that these people wouldn't keep an eye on Zhou Feng every day and prevent him, Lao Yan, from making a fortune!

These past two days, he's secretly contacted a few old neighbors and collected several old items, just waiting to exchange them for grain with Zhou Feng!

The day before yesterday, they reported Zhou Feng but he didn't change the door; yesterday, Zhou Feng cleaned the door but he still didn't change it; and today, he's caused all this trouble!

When will this ever end?!

Yan Bugui really felt uneasy having these things in his house!

He would only feel at ease if he switched to rice, noodles, eggs, or something similar.

Sha Zhu was also a bit stunned by this sudden "attack". He looked around at the people who had just spoken and scratched his head. Why did he feel like he had become the target of everyone's criticism today?

Bai Ling glanced thoughtfully at Zhou Feng, who was speaking, and then stood up gracefully.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, since you admit that you stole the chicken, even if the amount is small, you still need to be criticized and educated, and ordered to make restitution. This cannot be glossed over with just a word of retaliation!"

She abruptly changed the subject, her sharp gaze fixed on Yi Zhonghai: "And sir, are you suggesting that you're going to handle this theft case directly, in place of the judicial authorities?"

The phrase "in place of the judiciary" was quite heavy, and the entire courtyard fell silent instantly.

Even Jia Zhangshi, who usually loved watching the excitement and causing trouble, kept her mouth shut and didn't utter a sound.

This new female colleague is really scary!

The way he talks and acts, he sounds just like someone from a neighborhood committee office.

Yi Zhonghai's face flushed red and then turned pale.

He never expected that just when he was about to suppress the matter, such a person would suddenly appear and slap on his head the big label of "replacing the judicial authorities." Who could stand that?

Liu Haizhong quickly lowered his head, pretending to study the wood grain of the octagonal table, wishing he could bury his head in the cracks of the table.

Yan Bugui kept his eyes closed and his nose in a trance, as if he were an old monk in deep meditation.

The firepower is aimed at Lao Yi, not at the two of them, so why bother with that?

Only Zhou Feng kept his head down, his shoulders twitching almost imperceptibly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Unexpectedly, the emotional impact of Bai Ling's confrontation with Yi Zhonghai actually managed to "recharge" his double-door technique!

If that's the case, the barrier to upgrading in the future will be much lower!

I don't know exactly what this judgment mechanism is. Does it only require the events he participated in, or are there other conditions? We still need to explore it further.

Seeing that the three old men were stunned, Xu Damao immediately straightened his back, pointed at Sha Zhu, and shouted, "This comrade is absolutely right! I raise this old hen at home to lay eggs! My wife will need it for postpartum care when she gets pregnant!"

"Come on, Xu Damao!"

Sha Zhu had been surrounded and attacked, but now Xu Damao dared to come out and act recklessly in front of him. Sha Zhu's temper flared up, and he launched a retaliatory attack without thinking.

"Laying eggs? Having a postpartum period? Does your wife even know how to lay eggs? How many years have you been married? Not a single sign of pregnancy. If she was going to lay eggs, she would have done it long ago!"

This made all the neighbors present unable to help but laugh, especially since everyone knew about Xu Damao's situation.

After Sha Zhu said that, Lou Xiao'e really did connect with the hen. Many neighbors wanted to laugh but dared not, their faces turning red from holding it in.

"This is a personal attack! Gentlemen, you all heard this! Not only does he refuse to admit his mistake, but he also insulted my wife!"

Xu Damao's face turned black, and Lou Xiao'e was so angry that she trembled all over, her eyes instantly turning red. She wished she could rush up and tear Sha Zhu's mouth apart!

"So... Comrade He Yuzhu, not only do you not think you've done anything wrong, but you're also showing off your power and openly insulting others, is that it?"

Bai Ling's soft voice came again, freezing the joyful atmosphere once more.

"No way, who do you think you are! Who are you to tell us what to do in this yard?"

Sha Zhu didn't even care that Bai Ling was pretty anymore; this woman kept picking on him, and no matter how beautiful she was, he had to say something about her.

Everyone else turned their attention to Bai Ling, who, under everyone's gaze, pulled out a small red book and flashed it at everyone.

The words inside were too far apart for everyone to see clearly, but everyone recognized the national emblem printed on it!

"My name is Bai Ling, and I work for the Municipal Public Security Bureau. I just moved to our No. 95 compound today. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

"From the Municipal Public Security Bureau?"

One sentence caused an uproar in the courtyard, and everyone was stunned!

Who would have thought that this beautiful girl, who looked like she stepped out of a painting, was actually a leader in the Municipal Public Security Bureau!

"So, Comrade He Yuzhu, do I have the right to point fingers? Or should we find another place to have a proper chat?"

Bai Ling put away her work ID and looked at the instantly deflated Sha Zhu with a half-smile. The latter stammered for a long time but didn't dare to say a word.

He dared to act tough with Xu Damao and to argue with the three old men because he knew them inside and out.

Now, facing an unfamiliar leader from the Municipal Public Security Bureau, even if they had two more lives, they wouldn't dare to continue causing trouble!

"Heh... Idiot Zhu, are you dumbfounded now?"

Seeing this, Xu Damao immediately added insult to injury with a smug grin: "With comrades from the Municipal Public Security Bureau here, you've really run into trouble!"

After years of fighting, this is the first time Xu Damao has completely gained the upper hand and pinned Sha Zhu under his feet!

At that moment, he felt from the bottom of his heart that just for the sake of being able to ridicule Sha Zhu so freely, it was worth having the chicken stolen!

Qin Huairu, standing in the crowd, was already deathly pale, her hands and feet icy cold.

Others might not know, but she understood it perfectly!

The chicken at Xu Damao's house was stolen by her family's pheasant to be made into beggar's chicken!

Previously, when only three old men were around, she could still rely on Sha Zhu's loyalty to take the blame.

But now that the police have intervened, if Sha Zhu can't withstand the pressure and reveals the truth, then Bang Geng's life will be ruined!

Yi Zhonghai remained silent for a long time, and seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, he finally had to speak again.

"Comrade Bai Ling, you've misunderstood. We're not setting up a private court in our compound. This is just a small matter between neighbors. Our intention is to mediate the conflict and get He Yuzhu to compensate Xu Damao for his economic losses."

"How about this, in my opinion, let He Yuzhu pay Xu Damao five yuan, and we'll settle this privately."

"Otherwise, if neighbors end up at the police station over a chicken, our No. 95 Nanluoguxiang compound will lose all face. We'll never be able to hold our heads up in front of our neighbors again!"

His words directly put Bai Ling, who had just "escalated the issue," on the opposite side of the residents.