I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The old lady certainly had a strong presence, and her prestige in the courtyard had been built up over time. With a few words, she managed to defuse the situation and quickly dissipate the turmoil.

Director Wang, seeing that the situation was under control, said, "Dear neighbors! Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let's leave it at that. I hope everyone will refrain from believing or spreading rumors!"

After speaking, Director Wang held up the letter of complaint. "I don't care who wrote this letter; the matter has been investigated and the facts are clear. If anyone brings this up again, I won't be so lenient!"

As soon as Director Wang finished speaking, Yi Zhonghai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui pouted and picked up their teacups to drink water.

Lin Feng and Xu Damao exchanged a glance, then slowly sat down, their eyes filled with resentment.

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing everyone's reaction and smiled at the old woman. "However, what was said in that letter isn't entirely unreasonable. Yi Zhonghai caused some misunderstanding; it was his work methods that were inappropriate. Yi Zhonghai, you're punished by having to clean the street in front of the courtyard house for a week. Reflect on your mistakes!"

"Understood, Director Wang!" Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief. This was terrifying! Each scapegoat was bigger than the last!

Director Wang put the letter of complaint back in his pocket and took out another letter of complaint. Everyone looked at the letters of complaint and felt uneasy.

"This whistleblower letter! The contents are even more interesting. What does it say?" Director Wang almost laughed as he spoke, desperately trying to suppress his laughter as he looked at Sha Zhu!

Sha Zhu blushed, sensing something was amiss. He nervously twisted the hem of his clothes with his fingers, his clear eyes fixed on Director Wang, waiting for what he would say next.

"He Yuzhu! It's good that you're trying to help others, but it's wrong to use the factory's leftovers!"

As soon as Director Wang finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter. Xu Damao laughed the loudest, slapping his thigh repeatedly with his right hand.

Sha Zhu cursed the person who wrote the letter and their ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind. "Director Wang, Factory Director Yang criticized me today too!"

"Oh, is that because of this problem too?"

"Yes! I've already assured Director Yang that he's punished me at the factory!" Sha Zhu mentally went through every vicious word he could think of! Under the watchful eyes of the entire hospital, a feeling of shame made him lower his head.

"Since Director Yang has already punished you, I won't pursue this issue further. However, the letter also mentioned that your conduct was inappropriate! Come up here and explain to us why you only helped Qin Huairu?"

"I know, he's got his eye on Widow Qin."

"Kid, you're asking for it!" Sha Zhu said angrily to Xu Damao.

"Enough, everyone, be serious!"

Director Wang's words only made everyone burst into laughter! Even the two other old men at the table covered their mouths with their hands, their shoulders trembling.

The old lady sighed, shook her head, and, supported by an older woman, slowly returned to the backyard, preferring to stay out of sight rather than worry.

After everyone had laughed too hard, Director Wang realized the whole thing was absurd. "Zhu Zi! I've watched you grow up. I've seen all the hardships you've endured over the years, raising your younger sister all by yourself. The environment you have now is all thanks to your own hard work!"

Director Wang's words brought tears to Sha Zhu's eyes. Director Wang looked at him and sighed. "You're not young anymore, and you're in good shape. Your younger sister is all grown up now. Shouldn't you settle down and start a family?"

"Director Wang, I..."

Hearing this, Lin Feng's eyes darted around. "Director Wang! Zhu Zi's elders aren't around, there's no one to help him!"

Hearing Lin Feng's words, Director Wang looked at him, then at Yi Zhonghai, and frowned. This guy seemed to be targeting him in every way today!

"What nonsense are you talking about? I've been trying to find someone for Zhu Zi, but it just hasn't worked out yet! Zhu Zi is a good catch, so it's normal for him to have high standards. It's not that easy to find someone like that!"

"Come on! You say Zhu Zi has high standards, but look at the girls you introduced! Sigh..."

Upon hearing this, the neighbors in the courtyard burst into laughter again!

"They are all the children of workers, you look down on them."

"Alright, Yi Zhonghai! Stop throwing around accusations. The government has long promoted freedom of love. If you don't like someone, you don't like them. What does that have to do with looking down on them? Don't say Brother Zhu has high standards; I suspect it's you who has poor standards and a generation gap with us!"

Yi Zhonghai blushed bright red after being rebuked, while Sha Zhu straightened his neck; he'd almost become withdrawn lately! Yi Zhonghai had indeed been looking for him a lot of dates recently, all five of which ended in failure, leaving him doubting himself!

"You make it sound so easy! Do you think pretty girls are as common as cabbages on the street? If you're so capable, why don't you find one for Zhu Zi!"

Director Wang didn't speak, but looked at Lin Feng with a half-smile. Sha Zhu thought of what had happened a few days ago and looked at Lin Feng as if he were looking at a fresh piece of pork!

"Even if there were pretty girls, I wouldn't dare introduce him! Let alone the fact that there aren't as many pretty girls as there are female workers in a textile factory, even if Brother Zhu is picky, he shouldn't be unable to find a single one!"

"What do you mean by that?" Sha Zhu suddenly stood up. "Why don't you dare introduce me?"

Lin Feng glanced at Sha Zhu. "Don't you know what people in the alleys are saying about you? If I dared to introduce a wife to you, I'd be kicked out!"

"Hahahaha! I know that..." Xu Damao laughed heartily, feeling that he had never been so happy as he was today.

Director Wang's face darkened. "Alright, that's all just gossip from those busybodies. But He Yuzhu, you need to be more careful. Any normal girl would ask around before going on a blind date with you! You need to reflect on your behavior! If you're really so helpful, there are plenty of people in need in the neighborhood. Don't treat everyone like fools; the eyes of the people are discerning!"

After reprimanding the young men, Director Wang waved the letter of complaint at his neighbors in the courtyard. "I don't know who wrote this letter, but I now understand one thing: what's said in it is true! So you weren't wronged!"

Director Wang sighed. "There are some things I can't interfere with, and some things I can't say, but heaven is watching what people do, so it's best to do fewer immoral things!" After saying that, Director Wang gave Yi Zhonghai a meaningful look.

As Director Wang spoke, he raised another letter, which was also the last one. All the neighbors held their breath. Director Wang looked at the letter and sighed. What kind of liaisons had he found?

"Yan Bugui! This letter is for you! Take a look for yourself..." Director Wang tossed the letter to him, feeling somewhat exhausted!

Yan Bugui's hands were trembling after reading it. "Director Wang! The school has already dealt with this matter, and they even fined me two months' salary! Waaah!"