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

"Today, on behalf of the steel rolling mill, I announce—Comrade He Yuzhu is dismissed and will never be rehired!"

"good!"

Someone shouted.

Immediately following was thunderous applause.

Yi Zhonghai stood out from the crowd, motionless.

Someone saw him and came closer:

"Master Yi, you're closest to Sha Zhu, do you know he does this kind of thing?"

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He said he knew? Then he shouldn't be working at this factory anymore.

Say you don't know? Who would believe that? He and Sha Zhu are inseparable.

"He definitely knows! Could that stupid Zhu come up with such a vicious plan? Someone must be pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"Tsk, maybe it's this Master Yi, and Sha Zhu is taking the blame for him."

"Look at him, he's doing just fine now, but Sha Zhu has suffered terribly, ten years!"

Yi Zhonghai's expression changed.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"So, now that you know, why didn't you stop it?"

How was I supposed to know he was going to do this?

"You two are as close as father and son, how could you not know?"

"They're always sneaking around whispering; who knows what they're plotting?"

Yi Zhonghai pushed through the crowd, lowered his head, and quickly left.

Behind him, whispers followed:

"Look at his cowardly behavior, he's definitely hiding something!"

"Stay away from him in the future, don't be used as a pawn like Sha Zhu."

Yi Zhonghai found a corner and squatted there until he got off work.

He walked close to the wall, wishing he could shrink himself into a crack in the wall.

But some people still saw him:

"Master Yi, you're off work so early? Aren't you going to check on Sha Zhu?"

"Go see Sha Zhu? He still dares to go?"

Yi Zhonghai kept his head down and didn't reply with a single word.

Step up.

He finally made it home and plopped down on the bed, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"You give me a hard time as soon as you get home. Who are you trying to fool?"

His wife was cooking and glanced at him sideways.

The door was pushed open.

An elderly deaf woman came in, leaning on a cane.

"You're finally back!"

Yi Zhonghai looked up, his brows furrowed in annoyance:

"What is it?"

"What else could it be? Sha Zhu's in, we have to figure something out!"

"What can I do? He was caught red-handed. Can I get the police to release him?"

"What should we do then?"

The deaf old woman was so anxious that she kept pacing around in circles.

"With Sha Zhu gone, who will take care of me in my old age?"

Yi Zhonghai frowned even more deeply.

All these years he's been good to Sha Zhu, isn't that what he's after?

Now that he's in jail for ten years, it's uncertain whether he'll even be around when he gets out.

"ten years."

He gritted his teeth.

"We don't know what he'll be like when he comes out."

"We can't let him stay inside!"

The deaf old woman's cane thumped on the ground.

"I'll risk my life to get him out of here, old lady!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't care, you have to figure something out!"

"I can't help it!"

"It's no use!"

The deaf old woman raised her cane to strike.

An older woman rushed forward and blocked Yi Zhonghai's path:

"You hit my man? What right do you have?"

The two old ladies almost got into a fight.

"That's enough!"

Yi Zhonghai roared, and the room fell silent.

He stared at the deaf old woman, panting heavily.

The deaf old woman felt uneasy under his gaze and took a step back.

She was used to taking advantage of her age in this courtyard, but when someone really got angry, she didn't dare to stand up to them.

The room was deathly quiet.

The woman sighed, turned around, and went out to cook.

Of all things under heaven, eating is the most important.

After a long time, the deaf old woman suddenly spoke:

"I heard someone at the police station that day that if you have a letter of leniency, you can get a lighter sentence. Even if it's only three to five years less, we still have hope."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up.

"Oh right! How could I have forgotten that?"

He jumped to his feet.

"This incident didn't really have much of an impact. If Li Jianguo were willing to issue a letter of understanding, maybe he could be released sooner!"

The two looked at each other, and their eyes lit up.

"What are you waiting for? Go on!"

The deaf old woman urged him on.

Yi Zhonghai rushed to the door, but stopped abruptly just as his hand touched the doorknob.

He turned to look at the deaf old woman:

"Me, go alone? Old lady, Sha Zhu is here to take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die. Shouldn't you do your part?"

The deaf old woman's face fell:

"You want me to beg that little bastard Li Jianguo?"

She had lived most of her life and had never suffered such injustice.

"I'm not going."

Yi Zhonghai also stopped moving.

He took off his hat, sat on the bed, took off his shoes, lay down, and sprawled out on his back.

"If you're not going, what am I supposed to do?"

"you--"

The deaf old woman was so angry that she trembled.

"If Sha Zhu is sentenced to ten years, and I'm still alive after ten years, I can wait for him to come out and then retire."

Yi Zhonghai closed his eyes.

The deaf old woman opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Ten years? With her physique, can she really live for ten years?

The thought of dying alone in a coffin with no one to keep vigil sent a chill down her spine.

"I'll go."

She clenched her teeth.

"Fine, okay?"

Yi Zhonghai sat up.

Put on shoes and a hat.

"Alright, let's go then. I can't be the only one doing the work to enjoy life."

As soon as the two left the hospital, Yi Zhonghai suddenly stopped and looked in the direction of the Jia family's house.

"Grandma, if there's a letter of forgiveness, and Sha Zhu can get out, wouldn't Qin Huairu also be fine?"

The deaf old woman was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening:

"Yes, they were both involved in this."

The two exchanged a glance and then turned into the Jia family's house.

The room was in complete chaos.

Jia Zhangshi was frantically trying to soothe Huaihua, who was crying uncontrollably.

Xiao Dang huddled in the corner, not saying a word, her eyes blank.

"Who?"

Hearing the knock on the door, Jia Zhangshi threw the locust flowers onto the bed and rushed out.

Upon seeing the two people at the door, her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"What are you doing here?"

"Let's discuss this."

Yi Zhonghai wanted to go inside, but Jia Zhangshi blocked the doorway:

"I'm an old woman at home, do you think you can just force your way in?"

"Stop fooling around."

The deaf old woman spoke.

"For your Qin Huairu."

Jia Zhangshi was stunned.

"Do you have a way to bring her back?"

"There is a way, but you need to cooperate."

Jia Zhangshi hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside.

The three entered the room, and Yi Zhonghai recounted the matter of the letter of understanding.

"Go ask Li Jianguo for help?"

Jia Zhangshi's face scrunched up in a frown.

"You want me to beg that little bastard? I won't!"

She stood up and tried to shoo people away.

Yi Zhonghai pointed to the child on the bed:

"Can you take care of three people by yourself? Don't forget Bang Geng is still in the hospital. If Qin Huairu can't come back, how will you manage?"

Jia Zhangshi looked at the crying child on the bed.

Thinking of her son who had no one to take care of him in the hospital.

He gritted his teeth, and the flesh on his face was trembling.

"it is good."

She squeezed out the word through gritted teeth.

"I'll go. I'll kneel down and kowtow to him. I'll do anything to get my daughter-in-law back."

The three of them walked out of Jia's house and stood at Li Jianguo's door.

No one moved.

"Knock on the door."

The deaf old woman pushed Jia Zhangshi.

"No, you do it."

Jia Zhangshi shrank back.

The two pushed each other back and forth, finally looking at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath.

He raised his hand and knocked three times.

The door opened.

Li Jianguo stood at the door, looking at the three people in front of him, his face expressionless.

He didn't invite them in.

"What's up?"

"Director Li, we... need your help with something."

Yi Zhonghai bent very low.

"The three of us beg you."

The deaf old woman spoke quickly, her voice tinged with urgency.

"I...I beg you too."

Jia Zhangshi opened and closed her mouth, the words seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

Li Jianguo looked at them, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"What is it?"

Letter of Understanding.

The deaf old woman couldn't wait to speak.

"We would like to ask you to issue a letter of understanding. I asked around, and it seems that with your letter of understanding, Sha Zhu won't be sentenced so harshly."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Jia Zhangshi nodded repeatedly.

"You write one down, and we'll take it to the police."

The tone was so matter-of-fact, as if he were ordering his own servants around.

Li Jianguo's eyes turned cold.

He scanned three faces.

Laughed.

That smile was chillingly cold.

"Want a letter of understanding?"

The three nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes, what happened last night didn't affect you much. Please be magnanimous and let them off the hook. They've already been punished; ten years is too harsh..."

Yi Zhonghai rambled on.

His voice trailed off as he saw Li Jianguo's eyes grow colder.

"You guys have quite the nerve."

Li Jianguo spoke each word slowly and deliberately.

"Want my letter of forgiveness? In your next life."

The three people were stunned.

"You...you won't give it to me?"

Jia Zhangshi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"I brought paper and pen, you can just write it down, it's not difficult."

"Can't you understand human language?"

Li Jianguo's voice was as cold as ice in the dead of winter.

"Don't make me say it a second time. Get out."

The door slammed shut in front of the three of them.

"Why is my life so miserable?!"

Jia Zhangshi plopped down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and started howling.

She used this trick her whole life and was very skilled at it.

"That little bastard, how can he be so heartless? He won't even write a single word when asked; his heart is smaller than a pinhead!"

The deaf old woman also started cursing.

"The three of us, who have lived most of our lives, personally went to his door to beg him, and he still wouldn't give us the time of day? What kind of person is he!"

The howling and cursing startled the entire courtyard.

The person cooking turned off the stove.

Those who are eating should put down their bowls.

They all rushed out to see what was going on.

"Yi Zhonghai, what are you all up to now?"

"That old lady is wailing again, what's wrong this time?"

"Director Li is really unlucky, he gets blocked at the door and made a scene by these two old ladies every day."

Yi Zhonghai felt a burning pain on his face as he listened to these words.

His authority in the courtyard had long since vanished.

"We're doing this for Sha Zhu too."

He feigned a wronged expression and sighed.

"Shazhu did something wrong, but in the end it didn't cause any major problems, right everyone?"

Some people nodded.

That was indeed a wicked scheme, but the one who suffered was Sha Zhu himself; no one else lost anything.

"Ten years, comrades. How many decades does a person have?"

"It seems a bit too heavy."

The third uncle couldn't help but interject.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up:

"Uncle San is the most reasonable one. To ruin a person's life for ten years over just one piece of underwear is too cruel—"

"Hey, hey, Yi Zhonghai, don't drag me into this!"

The third uncle quickly distanced himself from the situation.

"Anything that comes with being associated with you is bad news, don't you dare drag me down with you!"

"Hahaha!"

Laughter erupted.

"Old man, what kind of wicked idea are you hatching now?"

The second uncle stood to the side, making sarcastic remarks.

Yi Zhonghai's expression turned even uglier.

"What wicked idea did I say? Everything I did was for the good of the compound!"

He sighed.

"Shazhu is a kid we watched grow up. Don't you know what kind of person he is? He was just confused for a moment, but ten years is too cruel..."

"What's so ruthless about it?"

Xu Damao squeezed out of the crowd.

"That's because Director Li had a powerful position; the deal didn't work out! If it had, Director Li's life would have been ruined! And you still think the sentence is too harsh?"

He scanned the crowd:

"To put it bluntly, all of us in this compound combined aren't as useful as Director Li. He's useful to the country; he's an engineer who can compete with foreigners! What would you say if Sha Zhu ruined him?"

Those who were wavering just now have all come to their senses.

Seeing that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, the deaf old woman used her trump card.

She rushed to Li Jian's house and screamed her heart out:

"Li Jianguo, you come out here!"

The door opened.

Li Jianguo stood at the door, looking at her.

"A letter of understanding must be given today!"

The deaf old woman's voice trembled, but she still persevered.

Li Jianguo remained silent.

I just looked at her.

That look in his eyes was like looking at a dead person.

"You won't give it to me? Then I'll run myself over and die right in front of your house today!"

The deaf old woman looked around and then fixed her gaze on the wall.

"I'll kill myself here, so everyone knows you drove me to my death! If you won't let me live in peace, then nobody else will!"

She gritted her teeth and slammed into the wall.

"A deaf old lady!"

Everyone around was astonished.

Li Jianguo reached out, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and lifted her up.

"Are you trying to act superior because of your age?"

His voice was very soft, as soft as a blade slicing through skin.

"Want to die? I'll grant your wish."

He grabbed the deaf old woman and slammed her against the wall.

"I'd like to see who dares to cause me trouble after you're dead."

"ah--!"

The deaf old woman's screams changed tone.

She struggled desperately.

My crotch got hot, and I peed.

"No! No! I won't die! I won't die!"

She wailed, her face covered in tears and snot.

Li Jianguo loosened his grip, and she collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.