I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

Rain led Yu Haitang out of Sha Zhu's house, and Yu Li, seeing this, quickly went to greet her. "Little sister, where are you going?"

"Sister, we have something urgent to attend to. We'll talk to you later!" After saying that, the two hurriedly left the courtyard. Yu Li watched her sister's back and then turned to look at Xu Damao.

"I told you you were just guessing! My sister has high standards, how could she possibly be interested in that idiot over there? Alright, stop spouting nonsense!" Yu Li swallowed hard, thinking about her sister's scent. She herself hadn't eaten meat in ages! Life at Uncle San's house was indescribable! Especially these last two months, it had become utterly inhuman!

The two women walked along the alley, whispering and discussing for a long time. When Yu Haitang heard Yu Shui's idea, she laughed heartily in the alley and it took her a while to catch her breath.

"How come I never realized you were so mean?"

"Who told her to talk bad about my brother? Let's go settle the score with that old hag..."

"If you know this, why don't you just tell your brother?"

Rain sighed. "I have to tell him what to do, or he'll believe me! If I push him too far, we siblings might become enemies! Sigh! You have no idea how much I suffer!"

"That's true, maybe after all this commotion, your brother will actually believe it!"

"I'll do my best!" Yu Shui shook her head helplessly, recalling the way her older brother looked at Qin Huairu. This woman made her feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

Granny Zhao was a famous matchmaker in this alley. She had such a silver tongue that she could talk the dead back to life. After New Year's Day, her matchmaking business got better and better every day. When she heard a knock on the door, Granny Zhao straightened her clothes and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Here it comes!"

The door opened, and when Granny Zhao saw two young girls with dyed yellow hair, her smile vanished instantly. "Who are you looking for?"

The moment Yu Shui saw Granny Zhao, her eyes lit up. She pointed at Granny Zhao and looked at the cadre beside her. "It's her who spread rumors about my brother, and now he can't find a wife!"

"Oh my, who are you?" When Granny Zhao saw that it was an official from the neighborhood committee, she was so frightened that she shuddered!

"He's He Yuzhu's sister. She reported you to us. Come with us to the neighborhood committee office and explain things clearly!"

"He Yuzhu! Who is he? I don't know him at all! Oh dear, I'm an old woman, I've been wronged!"

The two officers looked at Yu Shui suspiciously. Yu Shui's face darkened; her brother's nickname was even more infamous than his real name. "It's that idiot Zhu from courtyard number 95!"

"Oh, it's Sha Zhu!" Granny Zhao realized instantly. "You're his own sister!"

"That's right, it's me! If you don't explain yourself clearly today, this isn't over!"

"Oh dear, what did I say? I didn't say anything!"

Seeing this, the two officers immediately understood what was going on. "We'll know whether they said they were going to the neighborhood office or not! Just come with us, don't pressure us!"

Zhao the matchmaker instantly became like a crippled woman struck by frost, obediently following behind the street office staff, and soon they arrived at a room in the street office.

"I advise you to tell the truth! Everyone in the alley knows about my brother's affair. If you dare not be honest, I'll have the clerk ask Aunt Li and Aunt Zhang at the alley entrance, and everything will be clear!"

"Oh, it's just rain, what's the big deal? Are you making such a fuss?"

"Of course it is! Because of your nonsense, no matchmakers are taking my brother's business now! It's causing my brother to be unable to get married. You'd better tell me honestly where you got all those things from!"

The two officers who were just watching the commotion immediately became serious upon hearing this. Rumors are a completely different thing depending on whether they cause consequences or not!

After the two officers gave her a good scare, Zhao the matchmaker explained the whole story in detail. After listening to her, Yushui and Haitang felt that their worldviews had been shattered.

Yu Shui initially thought it was the old woman from Qin Huairu's family who was causing trouble, but she never expected that the mastermind behind it all was Yi Zhonghai.

"I've told the government everything! Yi Zhonghai told me to say that, and I only took 5 yuan from him! That's all..."

The two staff members were also quite shocked, and one of them quickly called Director Wang over.

"Director Wang, it's about Courtyard No. 95 again!" After the clerk finished speaking, he lowered his voice and whispered a few words to Director Wang. After hearing this, Director Wang's face turned green.

"Okay, I'll take care of it!"

Upon entering the room, Director Wang looked at the two young girls and the matchmaker, Zhao, and sighed helplessly. "Lock the matchmaker up first! I'll talk to the two girls!"

The clerk behind her responded and led Zhao, the matchmaker, out of the office.

After everyone left, Director Wang looked at Yu Shui kindly. "Yu Shui, how do you plan to handle this?"

"My brother has been deceived for so long and suffered such a huge loss. I'm going to find his boss! I'm going to expose this hypocrite!"

Director Wang rubbed his face, looking a bit of a headache. "Rainwater, and Begonia, you two are vocational school graduates, you must know the importance of a Level 8 worker in a factory!"

"So what? Does that mean an 8th-grade worker doesn't get punished for making a mistake?"

"He'll definitely be punished! But have you ever heard the saying, 'If you don't kill the snake, it will only hurt you'? Admittedly, if you go to the steel mill, Yi Zhonghai's reputation will be ruined, and the mill's leaders will punish him, but how severe can the punishment be? He doesn't rely on his reputation for a living; he relies on his skills! Have you thought about how your brother will face his retaliation at the factory? Don't forget that your brother was punished recently for smuggling goods; I heard that matter is still ongoing!"

Upon hearing Director Wang's words, the two girls fell silent. Even if they were intelligent, they were inexperienced and were at a loss after being told this by the worldly-wise Director Wang.

"Director Wang, what should we do? Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"The problem has arisen, and it definitely needs to be addressed. Mistakes must be punished! But this matter cannot be made public. Once things fall apart, you'll be seeing each other every day, and neither of you will have an easy time. In the long run, whether in the yard or at the factory, your brother will be the one who suffers!"

Rain clenched her fists tightly, as if she had thought of something, and tears of grievance streamed from her eyes. "Director Wang, what should I do? Does our family have to keep suffering under his bullying?"

"Yes, Director Wang, please help Yushui. It's been so tough for her to grow up like this!"

Director Wang sighed. "My suggestion is to call Yi Zhonghai over, and have your brother come too. Firstly, so your brother can see his true colors, and secondly, so you can settle this privately, giving everyone some room for maneuver. Yi Zhonghai instigated others to spread rumors; ultimately, it's not a legal issue, it's a moral one. If we really want to escalate it, we can only give him a reprimand and education. It would be more practical to fine him a little. What do you think?"

Rainwater bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded with tears in her eyes.