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

Everyone in the hospital knows how skilled this old lady is.

Now that her son is paralyzed and her daughter-in-law is useless, she's completely given up on herself, and anyone who gets involved with her is doomed.

Seeing that no one was criticizing her anymore, Jia Zhangshi shrank to the side and watched the commotion with a clear conscience.

Li Jianguo ignored the flea.

He faced the crowd directly and spoke in a deep voice.

"I live in the backyard."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Even though I haven't been back for a few days, everyone's been going to work as usual. If anyone comes in, the most likely culprits are the houses in the backyard..."

His gaze, like a searchlight, slowly swept across the faces of the Jia family, the deaf old woman, and Sha Zhu.

"What a coincidence, aren't there a few people in this backyard who don't go to work?"

He paused.

"My demand is—a house-to-house search!"

"Why should I?!"

Sha Zhu was the first to jump up, his expression changing slightly.

"Who do you think you are?"

He stiffened his neck and roared, his voice sharp but his words weak.

"You want to search us just for some worthless document? How dare you?"

He gave a disdainful smirk.

"With that piece of junk, who in the yard could even recognize it? Who would steal it?"

Li Jianguo remained calm and composed.

His gaze was calm and serene, slowly sweeping across each person's face.

Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean others don't.

His gaze lingered on the deaf old woman in the distance for a fleeting moment, almost imperceptibly.

In his heart, he had already made up his mind.

"This document is related to the development of the steel mill's latest engine; we must find it!"

He was too lazy to waste any more words with these people and directly called out to Xu Damao, who was standing to the side.

"Xu Damao, you search!"

His voice was resolute.

"Check every single household in the backyard. If they're not there, go to the middle yard and the front yard—don't miss a single one!"

"Okay!"

Xu Damao's eyes lit up, and he agreed without hesitation.

This is the kind of thing he loves to do!

Throughout his life, Xu Damao's biggest pet peeve was Sha Zhu.

Now that Li Jianguo has his backing, how could he let this opportunity slip by?

"Just you wait and see!"

He responded and his gaze immediately fixed on Sha Zhu.

His face bore an undisguised schadenfreude.

"Shall we start with Sha Zhu?"

Li Jianguo nodded slightly, which could be considered as tacit approval.

"Why did you search my house first?!"

Sha Zhu immediately panicked, his eyes widening like copper bells as he stared intently at Li Jianguo and Xu Damao.

"Xu Damao, you're using this to settle personal scores!"

"Come on, you!"

Xu Damao curled his lip, looking disdainful.

"Our compound is only so big, and there are only a few of us in the backyard. The deaf old woman is already in such a state; is it even possible for her to steal from Director Li's house?"

He raised his finger and pointed at Jia Zhangshi.

"Aunt Zhang is so old, and she has two children to support. Does she even know how to pick locks? Everyone else is busy with work. Who has the time to pick locks? They have a criminal record, and they even have a grudge against Director Li…"

Xu Damao drawled out his words, his eyes scanning Sha Zhu up and down.

The meaning is self-evident.

"If we don't start with you, who should we start with?"

Those who heard this couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The second uncle, Liu Haizhong, was stroking a non-existent beard, looking mature and composed.

"Silly Zhu, you are indeed the prime suspect."

A friendly smile spread across his face.

"However, I still believe you. Why don't we have someone investigate so we can clearly prove that we're innocent?"

His tone, however, left no room for argument.

"As people, we should believe in 'the innocent are innocent.' If you're upright, you have nothing to fear. What's wrong with letting him investigate? As long as you didn't do it, what's there to be afraid of?"

"If we're talking about stealing, doesn't the Jia family have a longer history of it?"

Sha Zhu was not about to give in so easily, and immediately turned his attention to the Jia family next door.

"Why are you talking about me?"

"Don't worry, the Jia family won't escape either!"

Xu Damao smiled dismissively.

"Director Li said that we'll go door-to-door; no one can escape!"

Seeing Sha Zhu's hesitant and guilty look, Li Jianguo didn't want to waste any more time.

"Since investigating privately makes you feel wronged..."

He spoke softly, his voice not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Then call the police and let them investigate. That way, no one can say anything, right?"

Inside the house, the deaf old woman trembled violently upon hearing these words.

police?

Her heart jumped into her throat.

A chill ran up my spine.

If the police come...

She dared not think any further.

In her panic, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Just a few scraps of paper, and you have to call the police? Why don't you just take a dump and get everyone watching!"

That's incredibly vulgar.

It sounded so bad that everyone around frowned.

"Deaf old lady, please say less!"

The second uncle tried to stop it.

But the deaf old woman had already panicked and was no longer able to control herself.

She shouted regardless of everything.

"I think he's just bored! Does he think he owns the police station? He's always calling the police, isn't that annoying? This whole compound is practically a police station now, with cops coming in every day. Aren't you ashamed to go out like this?"

These words resonated with some people.

The police coming every few days is definitely affecting their lives.

At this moment, Xu Damao sneered.

"What can we do if we don't call the police? Should we seek justice from you?"

He curled his lip, his face full of mockery.

"If coming to you were of any use, Director Li would have been kicked out long ago!"

The deaf old woman was speechless, choked by his words.

Enraged, she pushed her wheelchair and stood directly in front of Li Jianguo.

"What? You, Xu Damao, are you ignoring what we old folks are saying? Are you going to follow that little bastard Li Jianguo down this dark path?"

Li Jianguo frowned.

He stared coldly at the foolish old hag.

Before she could finish speaking—

"Snapped!"

A resounding slap sent her and her wheelchair sprawling to the ground.

"Shut your stinking mouth!"

"oops--!"

The deaf old woman fell to the ground in a sorry state and couldn't get up.

He screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

"Someone's being assaulted! The steel mill foreman's foreman's assaulted someone!"

The second uncle next to him was startled.

Instead of reaching out to help, she carefully moved aside, as if afraid of getting any bad luck.

In the end, Sha Zhu couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to help the person up.

"The deaf old lady."

Li Jianguo looked down at her.

His voice was as cold as ice shards in the dead of winter.

"If you keep looking for death, I'll grant your wish."

He gave her a warning and then stopped looking at her.

His gaze swept seriously over everyone present.

"Xu Damao, go call the police now. I'm going to the steel rolling mill."

After speaking, he paused for a moment, then looked at Liu Haizhong.

He was worried that the thief might have connections with outsiders.

"Second Uncle, please keep an eye on things. No one is allowed to go out. I'll be back soon."

Seeing his solemn expression, Liu Haizhong nodded seriously as well.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them, none of them will get away!"

Others felt that Li Jianguo was making a mountain out of a molehill.

But looking into his cold gaze, no one dared to utter a single word.

Xu Damao borrowed a bicycle from Uncle San and sped off to the police station.

Li Jianguo also got on his bike and headed straight for the steel rolling mill.

He felt a pang of regret—he had sensed something was off about the deaf old woman, but he had been so focused on guarding against assassination that he hadn't noticed her target was the documents.

When they arrived at the steel rolling mill, Director Yang had not yet returned.

I was somewhat surprised to see him return.

"Director Li? Why are you back again?"

Factory Director Yang felt a pang of worry when he saw the dark circles under his eyes and the messy hair.

"Didn't I tell you to get some rest? We can talk about it after you've rested."

This is their steel rolling mill's prized possession.

If something really happens, he won't be able to explain it.

"Factory manager, it's urgent."

Li Jianguo took a breath and said in a deep voice.

"Something went missing from my house—the blueprints for several parts from the X-1 engine!"

"What?!"

Factory Director Yang suddenly stood up.

His expression changed drastically.

The X-1 engine has just been delivered, and the downstream factories have only just entered the mass production stage. There are hardly any domestic units in use yet, and the blueprints have been lost.

This is a truly earth-shattering event!

If things go wrong, they might all end up in trouble!

"What's going on?!"

He pressed for an answer.

"I was drawing blueprints at home before, and I kept all the drafts and ideas in a folder. I hadn't been home for the past two days, and when I went back today, I found they were gone."

Li Jianguo's expression was unusually solemn.

"The documents don't contain complete machine blueprints or material specifications, only design and modification ideas for a few parts. But I'm worried that if foreign institutions get their hands on them and study them, the impact on us would be enormous!"

"Is it that serious!"

Factory Director Yang made a decisive decision.

"What are you waiting for? Call the security team, we're coming to your house right now! We'll turn the yard upside down, we have to find that little thief!"

He acted swiftly and decisively, immediately ordering the mobilization of half of the factory's security personnel.

At the same time, he immediately gave instructions to those who remained behind.

"Add more people to keep a close watch on the engine workshop! Register all personnel entering and leaving! If you spot anyone acting suspiciously, arrest them without asking!"

The security personnel were taken aback by this sudden order.

They had never seen anything like this in all their years working at the factory.

"Director Yang, what happened?"

"I suspect spies are targeting our factory's engines!"

Factory Director Yang's face turned ashen.

"Some of the blueprints from Director Li's home have been stolen. The factory is now in your hands to guard it. As for the experts, you need to reassure them and remain vigilant!"

spy?!

The head of the security department's expression instantly turned serious.

His former military bearing suddenly erupted.

"Yes, sir! Please rest assured, factory manager, the security department will not let any dangerous individuals escape!"

He immediately went down to muster the troops.

In those days, the security personnel in large state-owned factories were mostly veterans.

Many of them are true men who have been on the battlefield and seen blood.

They usually don't stand out from the crowd.

But once something happens, the murderous aura emanating from him can instantly suffocate a person.

Soon, the head of security completed the deployment.

Several key locations within the factory area were placed under surveillance.

All the equipment that was usually locked in the armory was also distributed.

The group was armed to the teeth.

Li Jianguo was stunned.

The security department of this era possessed astonishing combat capabilities.

Some large factories on the border have enough combat power from a single security department to fight a small skirmish.

Not to mention pistols, they even brought out submachine guns.

He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at those dark gun barrels.

"Set off!"

At Director Yang's command, everyone rushed toward Li Jianguo's courtyard house.

On the way, Li Jianguo shared his guess.

"Factory manager, I suspect there's a spy hiding in the compound where I live. I'm not sure who it is yet. But when I said I was going to call the police today, the deaf old woman, He Yuzhu, and Yi Zhonghai, who's close to them, all tried their best to stop me. Their behavior is very suspicious."

As Director Yang listened, his expression grew increasingly grim.

"Don't worry. If they're involved, none of them will escape!"

Before becoming the factory director, he was also a veteran of the battlefield.

Decisive and ruthless.

The moment he opened his mouth, his tone was filled with a chilling murderous intent.

Meanwhile, inside the courtyard, Sha Zhu and his companions were completely unaware of the impending disaster.

He was feeling very pleased with himself.

"Li Jianguo lost two pieces of paper and went to call for reinforcements. He must have a lot of free time."

"Who can argue with that!"

As if watching a play, Jia Zhangshi pulled out a handful of pumpkin seeds from somewhere and chatted with the deaf old woman while cracking them open.

But the deaf old woman's heart was no longer with the sunflower seeds.

Her heart was pounding, and she had a bad feeling.

"Silly Pillar."

She lowered her voice.

"I'm not feeling well, can you take me to the hospital?"

She wanted to go out and contact the people above her, at least to make preparations in advance.

"Wait!"

Liu Haizhong then stepped forward.

They blocked the entrance.

"Director Li said before he left that no one was allowed to leave. What are you two doing?"

He squinted, staring at the two of them.