Courtyard House: Is Xu Damao a childless man? Let me help.

Surprisingly, the other two elderly men also sided with Uncle Yi, saying, "I think it's better not to take this matter to the authorities."

Otherwise, our courtyard's honor as an advanced siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) would be lost!

Of the five people who had the upper hand, Xu Damao suggested sending them to the police station, but the other three old men disagreed. Now everyone was a bit confused about whose opinion to take.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Ye Jianchuan.

Ye Jianchuan shrugged and then said, "I think that if this matter goes to the government, it will have too much of an impact!"

After all, we're all neighbors, and we see each other all the time. If this goes to the government, Sha Zhu will definitely lose his job, and he might even end up in jail!

And most importantly, Sha Zhu's reputation as a thief also has a significant impact on the rain.

Although Sha Zhu deserved it, Yu Shui was innocent. We can't ruin Yu Shui's life because of Sha Zhu, can we?

Everyone nodded in agreement when they heard Ye Jianchuan's words, since He Yuping's performance in the courtyard was quite popular.

She was kind to everyone, and being a girl, she was naturally quite likable, so everyone agreed with Ye Jianchuan's words.

Ye Jianchuan looked at everyone and, seeing that no one had any objections, continued, "So I think we should resolve this matter ourselves in the courtyard."

Of course, there still needs to be some punishment. I see our yard isn't very clean, so let's punish Sha Zhu by making him clean our yard for three months!

This proposal wasn't just agreed upon by Ye Jianchuan alone; everyone cheered when they heard that someone could be in charge of sanitation for the next three months!

Keep in mind that it's already late autumn, and the next three months will be the worst winter weather yet. Winter garbage... and in the north, it's incredibly difficult to clean up.

Now that someone has taken on this job, everyone's happy!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Seemingly Unchanged Result

Sha Zhu still wanted to struggle a bit more, but Uncle Yi felt that this was the best option and immediately decided, "Alright, let's leave it at that."

For the next three months, Sha Zhu will be responsible for cleaning the yard, with the three of us old men taking turns supervising!

After he finished speaking, Uncle Yi was about to announce the end of the plenary meeting, but Ye Jianchuan stopped everyone again.

"Hey!! Wait a minute, Uncle Yi, haven't you forgotten something? Besides the punishment within our compound, shouldn't we also give some compensation to the person whose things were stolen?"

If you don't have to pay for stolen goods, then if a bicycle is stolen from my house, will I only have to make the thief clean the house for a few months as punishment?

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately perked up, "That's right, Xiao Ye is right! Sha Zhu stole our chickens, so he has to pay us back for them!"

Sha Zhu was too lazy to argue with Xu Damao anymore. He casually handed over the two yuan he had taken out at the beginning, saying, "Take it! You're just a chicken, do you think I can't afford to pay for it?"

But Xu Damao was not happy. "Two yuan? Two yuan is not enough! I'm keeping that chicken to lay eggs!"

If you lay one egg a day, how many eggs would that be in a year? You have to pay me at least ten yuan!

Sha Zhu was not happy about this. One or two yuan was barely acceptable to him, but ten yuan was really too much!

After all, a chicken only costs about 1.5 yuan at the market these days.

So Sha Zhu immediately retorted, "Huh? A hen only costs one dollar and fifty cents at the market, I'm already being generous by giving you two dollars!"

"Is your chicken's feathers made of gold? Or are its feet made of gold? And you still want ten dollars?"

Ye Jianchuan was momentarily stunned when he heard Sha Zhu's words. Why did those words sound so familiar? Wasn't the phrase "You think it's too expensive, and I think it's too expensive too"?

However, Xu Damao did not cooperate with Shazhu, but continued to ask, "Are the old hens in the market the same as the ones in my house?"

Not only do you need a ticket to buy old hens at the market, but the key thing is that our old hen lays eggs! That brings in quite a bit of money!

Upon hearing Xu Damao's words, Sha Zhu was immediately enraged and retorted sarcastically, "Hmph, I think you should reconsider placing your order!"

These words ignited a powder keg. Not only Xu Damao, but Lou Xiao'e, who was standing nearby, was also furious. "Sha Zhu! You're shameless! You're insulting people!"

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the old man quickly said, "Ten yuan for a chicken is really too expensive."

How about this? Sha Zhu will pay Xu Damao five yuan, and then clean the courtyard for three months. That'll be the end of it. What do you all think?

No one present raised any further objections, and the matter was settled.

Ye Jianchuan didn't deliberately make things difficult for Sha Zhu anymore. Although Sha Zhu still took the blame, Ye Jianchuan was quite satisfied with the result.

After all, the role he played in this incident was actually quite pleasing. From Sha Zhu's perspective, Ye Jianchuan didn't really make things difficult for him.

At the very beginning, Ye Jianchuan even helped Sha Zhu clear his name and stop everyone from suspecting him. If it weren't for Sha Zhu wanting to take the blame, Ye Jianchuan's initial actions would have actually helped Sha Zhu.

Furthermore, although Ye Jianchuan seemed to be targeting Sha Zhu a bit later on, Sha Zhu wasn't unreasonable. Ye Jianchuan's actions were simply based on the facts.

In particular, Ye Jianchuan specifically mentioned later that He Yushui should not be affected because of his affairs. This made Sha Zhu not only not hate Ye Jianchuan, but also somewhat grateful to him, since He Yushui could be considered one of Sha Zhu's 'weaknesses'.

In Xu Damao's view, Ye Jianchuan's actions today were definitely helping him. After all, if Ye Jianchuan hadn't raised his objections, this matter would probably have been resolved peacefully by Uncle Yi.

Therefore, in Xu Damao's view, Ye Jianchuan was still on his side in this matter, especially the punishment he proposed, which was definitely a very severe punishment within the hospital.

From Uncle Er's perspective, Ye Jianchuan helped him save face for Uncle Yi, causing Uncle Yi to suffer a loss in dealing with Sha Zhu's matter. Therefore, after this incident, Uncle Er's favorability should increase by 1.

In addition, Qin Huairu will also remember Ye Jianchuan's kindness. After all, Qin Huairu was quite certain that Ye Jianchuan knew that Bang Geng had stolen the chicken, but Ye Jianchuan ultimately did not expose him.

Of course, while trying to please everyone, Ye Jianchuan still couldn't avoid slightly offending Uncle Yi, since he had gone against his wishes.

But to say that he completely offended him? Not really. After all, Ye Jianchuan handled this matter very 'fairly,' successfully taking into account the interests of both sides.

Grandpa Yi went to great lengths just to prevent Sha Zhu from being taken to the authorities and being branded a thief.

In the end, he still achieved his goal! It's just that Ye Jianchuan's appearance caused Sha Zhu to bleed a little more.

As for Uncle Yi, he considered this a lesson for Sha Zhu, to prevent the guy from causing trouble for him again in the future.

Of course, these are all secondary. The most important point is that after this, the ordinary residents of the courtyard will all look at Ye Jianchuan with more respect.

After all, Ye Jianchuan successfully broke the original situation where the three old men were completely indifferent to what they said!

At this hospital-wide meeting, apart from the three elderly men and the two parties involved, only Ye Jianchuan was giving his opinion, and most of his opinions were quite pertinent, which everyone supported.

Therefore, after this incident, Ye Jianchuan successfully obtained the reward of 'Courtyard Reputation +1'.

This was quite useful for Ye Jianchuan, since in this era, having a good reputation was much more useful than having a bicycle or something.

Even back in those ten years, having a good reputation could save your life!

Although Ye Jianchuan most likely doesn't need this to save his life, the importance of a good reputation in this era is undeniable.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Chatting with Silly Zhu (Bonus Chapter!!! Requesting Data!!)

After the general meeting ended, Ye Jianchuan did not go home. Instead, he was taken back to Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e's home, where they tasted the chicken soup cooked by Sha Zhu.

Yes, the pot of chicken soup that Sha Zhu stewed eventually ended up in Xu Damao's hands, because the previous five yuan was compensation, while this pot of chicken soup was 'stolen goods'.

The stolen goods will eventually be returned to their rightful owner, of course. As for Sha Zhu's skills? Well, he deserves it!

I must say, Sha Zhu truly lives up to his reputation as a renowned chef. His culinary skills are far superior to Ye Jianchuan's. Yesterday, Ye Jianchuan's chicken soup was already quite good, but compared to Sha Zhu's, it was far inferior.

After casually drinking a few sips of soup and chatting briefly with Xu Damao and his wife, Ye Jianchuan learned about their current situation.

The examination has already been conducted, but because Xu Damao went to the countryside to show movies for the commune after the examination, they haven't been able to pick up the test report.

However... from their conversation, Ye Jianchuan also learned that they were going to pick up the test report tomorrow.

This made Ye Jianchuan a little excited. After all... more than seeing the two of them 'affectionately' treating him to soup today, Ye Jianchuan was more eager to see how they would react after receiving their reports tomorrow!

After chatting for a few minutes, Ye Jianchuan didn't bother the two any longer and took his leave.

Of course, Ye Jianchuan didn't go straight home. Instead, he swaggered over to Sha Zhu's house and walked right in.

Sha Zhu was leaning against the bed at this moment, drinking a little wine and eating peanuts. Judging from his appearance, the peanuts should have been sent by Qin Huairu.

Perhaps that's why Sha Zhu was still all smiles. Ye Jianchuan shook his head. Maybe that's what a simp is. As long as the person they like gives them a little bit of kindness, that's enough to make them happy.

Seeing Ye Jianchuan push the door open and come in, Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, then straightened up. "Ye Jianchuan? What are you doing here? What? You want to see me?"

Although she knew in her heart that Ye Jianchuan had helped her before, she still ended up losing a few dollars because of Ye Jianchuan's offer, and she had to clean the yard for three whole months.

So when Sha Zhu saw Ye Jianchuan, he felt a little uncomfortable, and naturally he didn't give Ye Jianchuan a friendly look.

However, Ye Jianchuan wasn't there to curry favor with him. Instead, he said directly, "Shazhu, I hope what happened today won't happen again."

Otherwise, even if Grandpa Yi could save you once or twice, he couldn't possibly save you every time!

Sha Zhu was immediately annoyed when he heard Ye Jianchuan's words. "Huh? You think you're all grown up now? You dare to come and lecture me?"

What happened today? I'm telling you now! If Xu Damao dares to talk nonsense again, I'll steal his chickens again!

As he spoke, Sha Zhu sat up in bed, looking like he was about to get up and beat Ye Jianchuan up if he said anything unpleasant next.

However, Ye Jianchuan wasn't buying it. Instead, he continued, "Hmph, stop pretending. I know exactly where your chicken came from."

Xu Damao just treated me to chicken soup and chicken meat. How many pieces of chicken were in the pot? Why are the chicken head, feet, and wings all gone?

Do I need to say more? Still talking about stealing Xu Damao's chickens? Isn't the chicken theft just a scapegoat you made for Banggeng?

Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, Sha Zhu broke out in a cold sweat. Taking the blame for Bang Geng was a minor matter, but the origin of the chickens he had stewed today was a huge bombshell!

So Sha Zhu was so frightened by Ye Jianchuan that he didn't know what to say.

Ye Jianchuan continued, "What? You think you're helping Bang Geng by taking the blame?"

What did I say before? Each family should go back and ask their child. If it's a child, then just pay compensation and that's it. After all, they're just kids. Uncle Yi can just say a few words and that's it.

"When Qin Huairu takes Banggeng back and disciplines him a little, he might be able to behave better in the future."

"Now look what's happened! That kid knows he'll have someone else take the blame for him when he steals things. Do you think he'll become even more brazen?"

This time you can use revenge as an excuse to let it go and leave this matter in our yard.

If he steals from someone else next time, are you willing to take the blame? Do you know that if theft is severely punished these days, you could be locked up for several years?

"And if you get locked up, He Yushui won't have a good time in this area either!"

Do you want your sister to be pointed at and talked about everywhere she goes, with people saying, "That's the thief's sister!"

Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, Sha Zhu really didn't know what to say. Should he refute it? Every word Ye Jianchuan said was the truth, and there was no way to refute it.

Admit his mistake? Sha Zhu felt he couldn't bear the shame, so he could only lower his head slightly and start burying his head in the sand like an ostrich.

But just then, the icebreaker arrived. He Yushui pushed open the door and walked in. Without even looking up, she said, "Brother, I heard you lost another five yuan today? And you still have to clean the courtyard?"

What is it...? Hey! Jianchuan, what are you doing here?