Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

But then she thought of her son lying in the hospital, whimpering, and that little bit of guilt vanished in the blink of an eye.

"He helped my Dongxu, I acknowledge that!"

"But he almost broke this old woman's neck just now!"

"So, my life isn't a life at all?"

"Two paths!"

"Call the police and let the officials decide!"

"Either pay me back!"

"No discussion!"

She's such a greedy old woman, obsessed with money.

Liu Haizhong cursed viciously in his heart.

However, as long as Jia Zhangshi relents and stops threatening to call the police, the rest will be easy to handle.

He turned to look at the taciturn, silly Zhu.

"Silly Zhu, when it comes down to it, you're in the wrong."

"How about you see... how much compensation do you want?"

Sha Zhu stood there, scratching the back of his head in frustration.

During this period, he had been squeezed dry by the Jia family. His pockets were emptier than his face. Where was he going to get money?

"I have no money!"

He glared at Jia Zhangshi, the flames in his eyes practically leaping out and setting her on fire.

He was seething with hatred, wondering why he hadn't put in more effort to get rid of that old hag.

Jia Zhangshi thought that by threatening to call the police, Sha Zhu would obediently pay up to avoid trouble, just like before.

To everyone's surprise, he didn't fall for it this time, and immediately lost face.

"Second Uncle, this matter involves a life, it's a criminal case."

Li Jianguo began to speak slowly from the side, his tone neither hurried nor slow.

"If we don't call the police, that would be considered harboring a criminal."

Are you sure you can take on this responsibility?

"This is a new society now. It's not like the old clan rules of the past, where everything was decided by the elders in the courtyard."

"If something really serious happens, calling the police is the right thing to do."

"Director Li's words make perfect sense!"

Xu Damao immediately followed, his voice so loud it could lift the roof off.

"This matter can't just be left unresolved!"

"Given Sha Zhu's crazed state just now, if we had arrived even a moment later, Aunt Zhang would have been dead!"

"We must call the police!"

As he spoke, he dashed over to Li Jianguo's bicycle.

"Director Li, could I borrow your car? I need to go to the police station!"

"Okay, go ride it."

When Liu Haizhong saw that the police call was about to become a reality, he panicked and rushed forward to stop Xu Damao.

"Xu Damao!"

"If you dare to report this to the police today, there will be a big meeting in the courtyard tomorrow, and we'll kick you out of this house!"

"Second Uncle, do you have that authority?"

Xu Damao glanced at him with disdain, his lips curled into a smirk.

He had figured it out long ago: these old men in the courtyard were all paper tigers.

When they encounter someone even tougher than them, they immediately back down, just like when they see Li Jianguo.

After all this fighting, they kept complaining and expressing their dissatisfaction with Li Jianguo, but in the end, Li Jianguo was completely unharmed, while they were the ones who suffered the most.

"you!"

Liu Haizhong choked on his words, his face turning as red as a pig's liver.

He then realized that his threat was completely ineffective against Xu Damao.

He looked around and his gaze fell on the door of the deaf old woman's room.

"Fine, you don't have to listen to me. I'll go find the deaf old lady!"

The deaf old woman, who had been staying inside and hadn't shown herself, had actually heard the commotion outside long ago.

She was hard of hearing and couldn't hear very well, so her aunt next to her would lean close to her ear and tell her everything that was happening outside.

"Grandma, I think if this matter is really reported to the police, Sha Zhu will probably not get away with it."

"The way he looked just now was exactly like he was about to strangle Dongxu's mother to death."

"No!"

"Absolutely do not call the police!"

The deaf old woman tensed up immediately, clenching her fists until her knuckles turned white.

Last time I called the police, Bang Geng was arrested.

If Sha Zhu gets arrested again this time, she'll be really finished.

Who will take care of her in her old age and see her off when she dies?

Who broke the basin and waved the banner for her?

The deaf old woman shakily climbed out of the kang (a heated brick bed), wrapped herself in a thick cotton-padded coat, and, with the help of her second aunt, slowly moved into the yard.

She stood directly in front of Li Jianguo, slammed her cane into the ground with a loud thud.

"I won't allow you to call the police!"

Seeing the deaf old woman jump out and block his way again, Li Jianguo was extremely annoyed.

He completely ignored the old lady's clamor and started talking to himself.

"I'm the office director of the steel rolling mill. This matter involves our factory's employees, so I took the initiative to call the police. Is there a problem with that?"

As he spoke, he turned his head and gestured with his chin towards Xu Damao.

"Ignore them, hurry back."

"Okay!"

Xu Damao responded, got on the brand-new, shiny bicycle, and pedaled very fast, rushing out of the courtyard gate in the blink of an eye.

"You little beast!"

"You're going to ruin everyone in our hospital!"

Seeing that Xu Damao had already ridden his bicycle to call the police, the deaf old woman was overcome with anger and lost all reason.

She raised her cane, ready to swing it at Li Jianguo, determined to fight him to the death.

Everyone in the compound has witnessed Li Jianguo's prowess.

The second aunt, who was standing next to the deaf old woman, was so frightened by her actions that she quickly reached out and hugged her tightly around the waist.

"Madam, your health is still weak; you can't be so impulsive!"

"You can't beat them, so won't you be the one who suffers in the end?"

Although these were the absolute truths, they sounded particularly harsh to the deaf old woman.

She instantly regained her senses.

Recalling the times she had clashed with Li Jianguo and the unspoken losses she had suffered, she shuddered and felt a wave of fear wash over her.

The cane, which had been held in mid-air, could no longer be lifted.

Even the cane in her hand was newly bought.

The one she used most skillfully before had been broken in public by Li Jianguo.

Xu Damao rode very fast and arrived at the nearby police station in just a few minutes.

Upon hearing that it was Director Li from the steel rolling mill who had called the police, the two policemen on duty at the police station didn't dare to delay for a moment. They immediately got on their bicycles and followed Xu Damao, rushing to the courtyard at breakneck speed.

At this time, all the residents of the courtyard house were crammed into the courtyard, and no one went back to their rooms to sleep.

Even Yi Zhonghai, who was lying in bed with a leg injury, didn't close his eyes at all, keeping his ears perked up, listening to the sounds outside.

"What happened?"

"Tell me the situation."

As soon as the police entered, they asked in a deep voice.

Just moments ago, Jia Zhangshi was incredibly arrogant, but in an instant, she wilted, shrank her neck, and didn't dare to breathe.

Sha Zhu, on the other hand, approached the police with a pained and anxious expression, desperately trying to explain himself.

"Officer, this is a misunderstanding!"

"A huge misunderstanding!"

"I really don't know what happened. I was sleeping soundly, and when I woke up, they said I was going to kill her."

Sha Zhu pointed at Jia Zhangshi beside him, his face turning pale with anxiety, desperately trying to explain that he really knew nothing.

"I didn't intend to kill anyone, I really don't know anything."

"I might have been sleepwalking, but I really didn't have even the slightest thought of killing anyone..."

He became more and more anxious as he spoke, and by the end, his voice carried a hint of despair and exhaustion.

"Alright, we'll investigate and find out. You shut up now."

The policeman waved his hand, telling him to be quiet for now.

A policeman turned around and asked the surrounding residents for information and to find witnesses.

Another policeman knelt down, asking Jia Zhangshi what had happened while examining the wounds on her neck.

The bluish-purple finger marks on Jia Zhangshi's neck were clearly visible, indicating that she had been pinched with great force.

The surrounding residents can also testify that it was indeed Sha Zhu who was tightly choking Jia Zhangshi's neck just now.

Whether he really intended to kill someone, or, as he claimed, was simply sleepwalking and acting irrationally, no one can say for sure.

"Alright, we understand the general situation."

"We still need to go back to the institute to investigate the specific results."

After the police officer finished speaking in a businesslike manner, he immediately took out handcuffs and was about to take the criminal suspect, Sha Zhu, back to the police station.

In this day and age, although we don't have many advanced criminal investigation technologies, we still emphasize evidence and procedures in handling cases.

Seeing that Sha Zhu was about to be taken away by the police, the deaf old woman instantly exploded and rushed forward to block the police.

"No!"

"You can't take him away!"

"He couldn't have killed anyone!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

The two policemen looked at the elderly woman in front of them with a helpless expression.

They can't really lay a hand on an old man.

"Deaf old lady, please don't delay the police officers from carrying out their duties."

Seeing the helpless and pleading looks from the two policemen, Li Jianguo stepped forward and offered some advice.

"If Sha Zhu really didn't do anything illegal, the police won't do anything to him."

"What you are doing now is obstructing official business."

Upon hearing Li Jianguo's voice, the deaf old woman's eyes instantly turned red, and she pointed at Li Jianguo and began to curse him.

"You're the jinx!"

"It's all because of you!"

"You ruined Sha Zhu!"

"It's all your fault, you heartless bastard!"

"I will definitely kill you..."

In front of the police, the deaf old woman kept hurling insults at Li Jianguo.

The two policemen frowned instantly upon seeing this scene.

They knew Li Jianguo's identity.

The office director of the steel rolling mill was also a key technical engineer in the factory; he was a truly capable person who had made contributions to the country.

These cadres are being verbally abused in front of them by an unreasonable old woman. It's as if she doesn't respect them, the law enforcement officers.

"Madam, if you keep making a scene like this, you'll have to come back to the station with us."

"On what grounds?"

The deaf old woman remained defiant, shouting defiantly.

"He did such despicable things, and I'm not even allowed to say a word about it?"

"Even if the King of Heaven himself came, there's no way this would work!"

"You are now openly insulting state officials, and we have every right to impose administrative penalties on you."

The lead policeman's face instantly darkened, and he even made a move to take out his handcuffs.

Seeing the policeman's serious expression, the deaf old woman's arrogance instantly vanished, and she dared not utter another sound.

"Alright, let's take them with us now."

"We will come back if we need to provide additional evidence later."

"No one is allowed to enter his room or touch anything inside."

After the two policemen finished speaking, they nodded respectfully to Li Jianguo.

"Director Li, we'll head back now."

After saying that, they took the dejected Sha Zhu and left the courtyard.

This farce, which lasted for most of the night, has finally come to a temporary end here.

Just moments ago, Jia Zhangshi was throwing a tantrum in the courtyard, but now she finally came to her senses.

She felt a sudden release and collapsed to the ground.

"That's it?"

"They just took him away like that?"

"Then what else do you want?"

The deaf old woman was behind her, staring at her with cold eyes and a voice full of resentment.

"Because of you, you wretched woman, Sha Zhu got arrested by the police!"

"I'll beat you to death today!"

The deaf old woman didn't dare to lay a hand on Li Jianguo, but she had no qualms about dealing with Jia Zhangshi.

As she spoke, she raised her cane and struck Jia Zhangshi.

"oops!"

Why did you hit me?!

Jia Zhangshi took a solid hit from the cane and immediately jumped up from the ground, screaming.

"If you're so capable, go and beat up Xu Damao and Li Jianguo!"

"They called the police, not me!"

While shouting, Jia Zhangshi dodged and weaved around the courtyard, circling around the deaf old woman.

Li Jianguo had absolutely no interest in watching the dog-eat-dog scene unfold before him.

He waved his hand and addressed the people in the courtyard.