I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

Back home, Sha Zhu lay on his bed, feeling increasingly uneasy. He hadn't suffered such a loss in all these years.

"Damn Yan Jiefang, why didn't you just obediently take the beating? You actually dared to fight back! Wait a few days, and you'll see if I don't sack you!"

At Yi Zhonghai's home, the Yi and Jia families gathered together.

The atmosphere inside the room was oppressive and suffocating. Everyone sat silently with pale faces, and no one spoke first.

Everyone was tense, their chests filled with a pent-up frustration that had nowhere to go.

The battle that just took place in front of the Yan family's gate was a great humiliation for them.

Not only did the elderly group lose face and be publicly humiliated by the Yan family, but they also didn't get a single penny after all their hard work, watching the Yan family feast on meat and soup.

This was an unprecedented and devastating defeat for them, who had controlled the courtyard house for so many years.

Everyone felt a heavy weight in their hearts, a strong sense of crisis, and their downcast eyes were filled with gloom.

Yi Zhonghai was extremely wary of it.

He gently stroked the edge of the table with his fingertips, his fingertips applying slight pressure, his thoughts churning within him.

He knew all too well the social dynamics and rules within the compound; they were all imposed upon people.

Today, Yan Jiefang publicly shattered his dignity and undermined the authority of the retirement group.

If this momentum cannot be suppressed immediately, the residents in the backyard will feel that the elderly care group is easy to bully, and everyone will follow the example of the Yan family and refuse to be disciplined.

The entire courtyard would be thrown into complete chaos, and his prestige and retirement plans, built up over many years, would collapse entirely.

His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyelids drooped slightly, concealing the sinister and violent aura surging in his eyes, and his expression was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

He knew perfectly well that ever since Yan Jiefang suddenly became enlightened and his personality changed drastically, the entire Yan family had completely changed.

In the past, Yan Bugui was stingy, timid, and easy to manipulate. As long as you paid a little money, the Yan family would obey you obediently.

But ever since Yan Jiefang rose to power, he not only raised the price of Yan's food, but also dared to contradict him in public. Now, his fighting power is off the charts, and he directly suppresses the entire retirement group.

Yi Zhonghai knew perfectly well that the root cause of today's chaos lay entirely with Yan Jiefang!

He would never allow a junior to challenge his absolute authority in the courtyard.

On the surface, he always maintained the airs of a moral paragon and a just elder, with a calm expression and composed demeanor.

He always talks about reason and harmony with outsiders, but only he knows that it's all just a facade.

He was narrow-minded, extremely vengeful, and ruthless. He would secretly harm people without leaving a trace. Many people in the courtyard had suffered at his hands, but no one dared to expose him.

Having been publicly humiliated by the Yan family today, his lips unconsciously twitched down, his face tightened, and hatred was already welling up in his heart. He just wanted to remove this troublesome thorn as soon as possible.

Jia Dongxu, standing to the side, appeared outwardly obedient and subservient to his master and mother.

But he felt both resentful and fearful. In the past, Sha Zhu was invincible in fighting in the courtyard. With the help of his master and Sha Zhu, the Jia family ran rampant in the courtyard. They were always the ones bullying others.

Today, Yan Jiefang's kick disrupted the game and embarrassed everyone in front of others, which made him feel bad.

He secretly glanced at Yi Zhonghai's ashen face, and seeing that his master remained silent but could not hide his anger, he immediately gritted his teeth, leaned forward, and uttered harsh words:

"Master, this must not be tolerated!"

Let's find a quiet night when no one's around, and have Sha Zhu put sacks on Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiecheng!

They absolutely have to be taught a lesson, preferably with one leg broken, so they'll never forget it!

This insidious suggestion struck a chord with Yi Zhonghai.

He didn't even lift his eyelids, only paused for a moment with his fingertips, and pursed his lips slightly, tacitly agreeing to the suggestion.

On the other side, Jia Zhangshi sat on a bench, twisting her fat body incessantly, cursing and complaining, her thick eyebrows raised, looking fierce and defiant, but in reality, she harbored years of suspicion and forbearance.

For so many years, she had a nagging suspicion that her husband's death was suspicious and that he was likely secretly plotted against and killed by Yi Zhonghai.

However, she knew perfectly well that she was just a helpless widow with a young son, powerless and without any foundation. Even if she had evidence, she would be powerless to fight against Yi Zhonghai.

Thinking of this, a trace of apprehension flashed across her eyes, but it was quickly concealed by a domineering expression.

In order to survive and to protect the foundation of the Jia family, she had no choice but to endure.

Over the years, she deliberately acted arrogantly and unreasonably in the courtyard, just to prevent people from easily bullying the orphan and widow, and to avoid being "eaten alive" by the people in the courtyard.

Later, she took the initiative to have Jia Dongxu become an apprentice under Yi Zhonghai, hoping to get close to Yi Zhonghai and use his influence as an elder in the courtyard to protect the Jia family.

It was precisely because of Yi Zhonghai's protection that the Jia family was able to establish themselves stably and successfully marry Qin Huairu, such an obedient and hardworking wife.

She felt both fear and dependence on Yi Zhonghai. Even though she was full of suspicion, she could only pretend to know nothing and obediently stick to the group, not daring to disobey in the slightest.

Furthermore, Yi Zhonghai is childless; once he dies, all of the Yi family's assets will belong to the Jia family!

Qin Huairu, who remained silent throughout, lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes trembled, her eyes were red-rimmed, and her shoulders slumped, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice and was about to cry.

In reality, he is calm yet selfish, calculating and scheming.

She seemed to be nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, her gaze lowered, but in reality, she was taking in the expressions and thoughts of everyone present out of the corner of her eye.

She didn't care about the power struggles within the hospital, nor about who won or lost; she only cared about her own future and that of her three children. (It's late August now, and she already knows she's pregnant with Huaihua.)

She thought to herself: Sha Zhu has a high salary, is honest, and is easy to manipulate. From now on, she must put more effort into her acting and keep pressing him. Every month when he gets paid, she must grab all of his salary of more than thirty yuan.

We must never let Sha Zhu squander his money again, and we must never use too much to feed He Yushui, that "money-losing brat".

He kept the money in his own hands, using a portion to supplement household expenses, reduce Jia Dongxu's burden, and stabilize the Jia family's livelihood.

Another portion is quietly saved up as dead money, slowly accumulating enough capital.

Her biggest ambition right now is to buy a formal job.

Once she gets a job, she can not only transfer her and her three children's household registration to urban status and settle down in the city, but also completely escape the quagmire of her current situation.

At that time, she would no longer have to feign compliance with the ailing and aging Yi Zhonghai, nor would she have to endure the lazy and gluttonous Jia Zhangshi who only tormented her.

Ever since she came to the city to make a living, she had seen through these people and felt disgusted with Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi. She didn't want to depend on anyone for even a moment longer.

Her job and household registration were her only trump cards to turn her life around.

The people inside the room each had their own ulterior motives and different expressions, but they quickly reached a tacit consensus.

Yi Zhonghai was to go and explain this matter to Sha Zhu.

The Yan family must be taught a painful lesson to completely suppress Yan Jiefang's arrogance.

Everyone knew perfectly well that the dirty and tiring work could only be done by Sha Zhu.

They had a clever plan: Sha Zhu was simple-minded, impulsive, easily angered, and extremely loyal, making him the easiest to control.

Once the sack incident is exposed, Sha Zhu will take the blame for everything.

They remained completely behind the scenes, clean and uninvolved, allowing them to both teach the Yan family a lesson and protect themselves—a sure win.

In addition, one could bribe Yan Bugui to make matters smaller or even disappear altogether.

A calculating glint flashed in everyone's eyes, and their expressions softened slightly.

With the wicked plan finalized, everyone slowly rose, composed themselves, and prepared to disperse.

As the Jia family turned to leave, Yi Zhonghai, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, glanced sideways and quickly swept his eyes at Qin Huairu, giving her a subtle and profound look. He then returned to normal in an instant, revealing no flaw whatsoever.

Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu, who were walking ahead, seemed to be looking straight ahead and walking normally, but in fact, they had already taken in the whole scene out of the corner of their eyes.

The mother and son knew exactly what was going on, but they deliberately pretended not to see anything, their expressions calm, and they walked straight out of the room without stopping.