Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

"As punishment, all residents of this compound will have their extra food ration coupons cancelled for the next three months! This includes meat coupons, oil coupons, and grain coupons! We hope you will take this as a warning and supervise each other!"

boom--!

Additional subsidies issued by the subdistrict office?

Those weren't just simple pieces of paper; they were the lifeline that every family relied on for survival.

Three months?

That's a whole quarter's worth of food rations! This is going to wipe out our entire family!

"What?! Three months cancelled?!"

Uncle Yan Bugui, who had been hiding behind the crowd, suddenly jumped up with a howl, like a wild cat whose tail had been stepped on.

His glasses, which were wrapped in tape on the bridge of his nose, were askew with anger, and his withered fingers trembled wildly in the air.

"Each household receives half a jin of meat coupons, two liang of oil coupons, and three jin of refined grains per month... That's half a family's life in three months! My God!"

Yan Bugui's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his usual sour and rotten air vanished. At this moment, he was like a hungry wolf whose food had been stolen.

He rushed towards the Jia family's direction, pointing at Jia Zhangshi, who was still pretending to be dead on the ground, spitting as he spoke:

"Jia Zhangshi! You old hag! Why did you drag us into this mess?! That's our whole family's food supply! You owe me! You absolutely must pay me back!"

Yan Bugui's shout completely ignited the powder keg in the entire hospital.

The neighbors, who had been suppressed by Yi Zhonghai for many years, finally tore off their veil of warmth and affection when their vital interests, especially the crucial issue of food, were threatened.

"Pay up! The Jia family must compensate us for our losses!"

"Why are you faking it and trying to detain me? I won't stand for it!"

"Kill that old hag! She's a jinx, a jinx!"

The second aunt, who could usually chat with Qin Huairu about everyday things, was now more furious than anyone else.

She was truly enraged, and spat a thick wad of phlegm directly at Qin Huairu's feet:

"Qin Huairu, stop playing the victim! Director Wang made it perfectly clear that it was your family that caused the sabotage! My husband, Lao Liu, does heavy labor at the factory. How can he swing a sledgehammer without pay? You need to pay us back for our gas coupons! Otherwise, this isn't over!"

Sha Zhu stood in the crowd, watching Qin Huairu being condemned by everyone and teetering on the brink of collapse. His reckless spirit resurfaced. How could he stand by and watch his goddess suffer?

He stubbornly charged forward, shouting, "Let's see who dares to touch Sister Qin, they'll all rebel... um... um."

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Before he could even put on his hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress act, He Yushui covered his mouth.

The usually timid and submissive younger sister now had tears in her eyes—tears born of genuine hunger and despair for her sycophantic older brother.

"Brother! That's three months' worth of hostage time! If you dare to speak up for them, I'll report you to the neighborhood committee as an accomplice! We're cutting ties!"

Sha Zhu froze completely.

He looked back at his sister's resolute eyes, then at the pairs of green eyes around him that seemed ready to devour him.

That's the look in the eyes of someone who's truly starving, filled with bloodlust and murderous intent.

Even though he was the war god of the courtyard, he couldn't help but shrink back and cower in the face of this collective anger.

Even Yi Zhonghai, who tried to smooth things over, was roughly shoved aside by several angry laborers.

"Uncle, didn't you just say it was a joke? This joke has made us starve. Will you make up for it?" Old Zhao from the front yard retorted sarcastically.

"Exactly! You, a high-ranking worker, don't care about your high salary, but our whole family depends on this little bit of money to survive! If you're standing up for the Jia family, will you pay for this?"

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, his old face turning bright red. Make up for it? Three months' worth of tickets for dozens of people in the entire hospital—even if he sold himself, he couldn't afford to make up for it!

He shut his mouth in dejection and retreated into the shadows.

He knew perfectly well that at this critical juncture, anyone who spoke up for the Jia family would be the enemy of the entire courtyard, a 1001 great injustice.

At the center of the storm, Qin Huairu truly understood what it meant to be abandoned by everyone.

She was used to using tears to gain sympathy, used to using her vulnerability to obtain resources, and used to using morality to blackmail the entire hospital.

But she forgot that all of this was on the premise that she couldn't touch other people's cake.

Now, she's not only made a move, but she's also ruined everyone's pots and pans.

"Qin Huairu, stop pretending to be dead, hurry up."

Director Wang watched this scene coldly, without making any attempt to stop it.

Some bad people need to be taught a lesson by the masses.

She took out a list that she had prepared beforehand:

"The construction team's budget is ready. The cost of materials, labor, unblocking fees, plus a fine for damaging public property, comes to a total of forty-five yuan. Pay now, or the security department will come tomorrow to seize your property as payment. Sewing machines, bedding, pots and pans—take whatever you need."

"Forty...forty-five?!"

Qin Huairu screamed, her body went limp, and she almost fainted.

That's almost two months' salary for her!

"I didn't... Director Wang, I really didn't..." Qin Huairu cried until her voice was hoarse, her tears smearing her makeup, making her look neither human nor ghost. "Even a pig needs legs to be judged, and my family has been starving for ages..."

"No money?" Aunt Zhao from the front yard sneered, hands on her hips. "If you don't have money, sell your sewing machine! If that doesn't work, sell the house! Your family doesn't deserve to stay in this advanced compound!"

"Yes! Sell the house and lose money! Get out of the courtyard house!" The crowd shouted in unison, their voices deafening.

The oppressive feeling made Qin Huairu realize that she couldn't get through this ordeal by acting.

These neighbors, blinded by rage, could really storm into her house and tear it down.

With trembling hands, she pulled a cloth bag, still warm from her body, from her inner pocket.

That was money she had saved up from between her teeth, including some of the money that Sha Zhu had given her. She had originally planned to take Bang Geng to a big hospital to see about his leg the next day, and also to buy some malted milk powder to save his life.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the hospital, Qin Huairu, tears streaming down her face and her fingers twitching, counted out the crumpled bills one by one.

With each banknote that left her hand, her heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a knife.

I've paid the money, but my pockets are empty.

Qin Huairu collapsed to the ground.

She looked at the few coins she had left in her hand, then glanced at her son who was still whimpering in the dirty water beside her, her eyes terribly empty.

He lost his minimum living allowance, his subsidies, his savings, his reputation, and all the neighbors in the entire compound.

This is unbearable, I'm at my wit's end.

Zhou Jianguo stood in the shadows, his hands in his pockets.

He knows these beasts all too well.

Without three months of subsidies, they would vent every bit of their pain on the Jia family every day thereafter.

This is ten thousand times more painful for them than killing them outright.

"Alright, everyone disperse! The construction team will be on site tomorrow morning, and nobody is allowed to stop them!"

Director Wang pocketed the money, then glared fiercely at Yi Zhonghai. "Yi Zhonghai, bring a two-thousand-word in-depth self-criticism to my office at eight o'clock tomorrow morning! If it's not profound enough, rewrite it!"

After saying that, Director Wang, along with his clerk, escorted Jia Zhangshi, who was still dripping dirty water and looking dazed, away without looking back.

All that remained in the yard was a pile of chicken feathers and the neighbors still muttering curses and spitting at the Jia family's gate.

Zhou Jianguo turned around and went back into the house, closing the door to shut out the outside world's disturbances.

The Jia family went bankrupt?