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

The onlookers below sparsely shouted "yes," but they were clearly not as "enthusiastic" as before.

After seeing this, Uncle Yi scratched his head awkwardly and continued, "Since everyone thinks it makes sense, let's talk about what happened yesterday."

Yesterday, a large group of people came to our courtyard. There were people from the steel mill's security office and people from other government agencies. They came to investigate the source of Comrade Ye Jianchuan's income.

Because everyone felt there was a significant discrepancy between Comrade Ye Jianchuan's income level and his recent spending habits, Comrade Xu Damao, out of consideration for maintaining peace and stability, reported Comrade Ye Jianchuan.

"However, in the end, it turned out that we were right about Comrade Ye Jianchuan. His income was all reasonable and legal, and the government officials cleared his name."

I think this matter should have ended here, but Comrade Ye Jianchuan, because he felt wronged, was unwilling to forgive Comrade Xu 27 Damao.

Finally, Comrade Xu Damao was sent directly to the detention center and will now be detained for fifteen days!

At this point, Grandpa Yi paused, picked up the water glass next to him, took a sip of tea, and then spoke again.

"I think this matter was handled a bit improperly. Although Comrade Xu Damao did misunderstand Comrade Ye Jianchuan, his original intention was good!"

If you feel you can't stand it, we can just arrange some punishment for him in the courtyard, right?

For example, make him clean the yard for the next six months! That would be a punishment, and it wouldn't escalate to the point of putting him in detention!

After Uncle Yi finished speaking, he gave Uncle Er a look and then sat down, while Uncle Er stood up and continued speaking.

"I think Uncle Yi is wrong. We are all neighbors. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. We neighbors should help each other, not be suspicious of each other!"

When Uncle Er said this, Ye Jianchuan was startled, because Ye Jianchuan had always thought that Uncle Er should be on the same side as Uncle Yi!

After all, everyone now knows that the third uncle is aligned with them, so if they want to undermine the third uncle's support, they should definitely seek help from the remaining two uncles!

But to Ye Jianchuan's surprise, the second uncle said something like that right away, which left him a little confused.

However, what Uncle Er said next made sense: "So I think Xu Damao's act of reporting is indeed a despicable act and should not be encouraged!"

However! Xu Damao was wrong in this matter, but Ye Jianchuan also made a mountain out of a molehill! Matters in our compound should be resolved in the compound, why make it go to the detention center?

Now look what's happened! Everyone in the neighboring courtyards knows that someone from our compound has ended up in detention. Do you think the neighborhood committee will still award us the "Advanced Courtyard Collective" title this year?

Upon hearing Uncle Er's words, Ye Jianchuan immediately laughed. In the past, Uncle Yi and Uncle Er were old rivals, always going back and forth.

I never expected that today they would not only be on the same side, but also cooperate! They've learned to play the good cop and the bad cop!

However, it's clear that Uncle Er didn't quite grasp the nuances of playing the "good cop" role; his bias was too obvious, which is why he was exposed so quickly.

After Uncle Er finished speaking, Uncle Yi picked up the thread again, "Therefore, we hope to use this hospital-wide meeting to mediate the conflict between Comrade Ye Jianchuan and Comrade Xu Damao."

After the conflict was resolved, Comrade Ye Jianchuan wrote a letter of understanding so that Comrade Xu Damao could be released as soon as possible.

"We haven't even finished celebrating the first month of the lunar calendar yet. Isn't it a bit too inhumane to make Xu Damao spend the Lantern Festival in detention?"

Grandpa Yi's move was quite clever. He first positioned himself as a mediator, thus becoming 'neutral'.

Then he used the Lantern Festival, a traditional festival for family reunion, as a way to gain sympathy and get the people in the compound, young and old, to side with him.

These two tactics happen to be the Achilles' heel of the onlookers in the courtyard, since onlookers always have very high expectations for the victim's 'ability to forgive'.

When victims are unwilling to forgive criminals, onlookers tend to think that the victims are at fault.

Ye Jianchuan had obviously encountered a similar situation. After Uncle Yi said those words, everyone sided with Uncle Yi, hoping that Ye Jianchuan could forgive Xu Damao and allow him to come back and spend the Lantern Festival with his parents.

But... even if Ye Jianchuan couldn't withstand the pressure, he couldn't sign the letter of understanding! If the letter was written, Xu Damao would be released in no time, and then he'd immediately report the Lou family!

Therefore, even for the sake of Lou Xiao'e, Ye Jianchuan could not possibly write this letter of understanding in a short period of time.

With everyone's 'support,' Uncle Yi looked at Ye Jianchuan and said, "Jianchuan! Look at everyone in this courtyard, they all think you should sign this letter of understanding. What do you think?"

Upon hearing Uncle Yi's question, Ye Jianchuan stood up with a smile, "I didn't know our courtyard was so harmonious!"

"Brother Zhu? Do you think if I accidentally set Uncle Yi's house on fire, he'll forgive me?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu immediately understood what Ye Jianchuan meant.

Although he had already promised the old lady to "make up" with Uncle Yi, if he had to choose between his brother-in-law and Uncle Yi to help him, Sha Zhu would definitely choose Ye Jianchuan's side!

So Sha Zhu immediately said sarcastically, "Oh, that's not necessarily true. After all, this old man has high standards for others, but when it comes to himself, it's a different story."

However, I advise you not to even consider trying it. If this old man isn't as magnanimous as you think, and he really does take you to court, then you'll be in real trouble!

Chapter 161: Speechless with Retort (Happy New Year!!)

When Sha Zhu said this, Uncle Yi was about to refute it, but Ye Jianchuan spoke up first, "Isn't it a bit much? Didn't Uncle Yi call on everyone to help each other and not to be suspicious of each other?"

"Besides, all the residents of our courtyard are so magnanimous. If Uncle Yi is unwilling to forgive me, the other residents should stand by my side and make Uncle Yi forgive me, right?"

As soon as Ye Jianchuan said this, the residents who had been making a fuss immediately fell silent and lowered their heads. It turned out that what Uncle Yi had thought was Ye Jianchuan's words were aimed at him, was actually intended for the other residents of the courtyard.

Seeing that no one was speaking up, Ye Jianchuan suddenly raised his voice, "What? Why aren't you saying anything now? Is it because I, Ye Jianchuan, am usually too easy to talk to in the courtyard?"

If that's really what you think, I can change it! It's just taking more things to your own home and pretending not to see when someone is in trouble, right?

This is much easier than helping families in need or lending a hand when someone is in trouble!

As he spoke, Ye Jianchuan winked at the Third Uncle on the platform, who immediately became a peacemaker.

"Jianchuan, don't be so angry. You always help out your neighbors in need, and you're always there to lend a hand whenever someone is in trouble. Everyone remembers your kindness!"

Just now, they were also... misled, which is why they advised you to forgive Xu Damao. If you ask me, this matter doesn't actually affect the reputation of our courtyard at all.

"Think about it, we have Xu Damao from our compound, and he's in detention. That certainly seems like a bad thing. But looking at it from another perspective, we also have Ye Jianchuan from our compound!"

"That leader said that Jianchuan is a model of bravery and righteousness, and he even helped the Municipal Bureau solve a case! He's a positive role model!"

As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks. Our institute has produced outstanding individuals and role models, but it has also produced a bad element.

But we can't negate the excellence of our courtyard house just because of the existence of one bad element, right?

Third Uncle was indeed a teacher; he spoke eloquently, and the onlookers in the courtyard immediately sided with Ye Jianchuan because of his words.

However, before the people in the courtyard could react much after Uncle San finished speaking, Xu Damao's parents, who were sitting below, became unhappy.

"Yan Bugui! Who are you calling a bad element? If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

If Uncle San had acted according to his usual temperament, he probably would have simply sat down and avoided getting involved in this mess. But this time, Uncle San was unusually fierce.

"Xu Fugui, I'm talking about your Xu Damao! If it weren't for your Xu Damao, we wouldn't have so many things to do in our courtyard and we wouldn't have to hold any general meetings!"

Do you think everyone would be willing to sit on a small stool in the yard on such a cold day?

Besides, this whole thing was Xu Damao's own fault! If he hadn't been jealous that Jianchuan bought a radio, would he have thought of sabotaging things behind his back?

Now that he's locked up, I think he deserves it. He should go inside and reflect on his actions! It's all Xu Damao's fault for bringing this upon himself!

As soon as Uncle San said that, Xu Damao's parents were not happy and immediately stood up, wanting to beat Uncle San up.

But since Third Uncle has already stood up for him, how could Ye Jianchuan let Third Uncle get hurt?

So he immediately stepped forward and shielded the Third Uncle behind him, then roared, "Come on!! Hit me! If you've got the guts, hit me!"

I won't fight back. If you dare hit me, I'll fall down! When I'm in pain all over and need to go to the hospital for a full checkup, I hope you'll be able to cover the medical expenses!

The Xu couple were stunned by Ye Jianchuan and dared not go any further, so the situation remained deadlocked.

In the end, it was Uncle Yi who stopped the conflict and tried to steer the conversation back to what Ye Jianchuan had just said.

"Alright!! Let's stick to the facts! Stop arguing about other things! Ye Jianchuan, I know what you mean. Xu Damao has indeed wronged you this time. How you handle this matter is your prerogative."

But aren't we trying to mediate this conflict? You're neighbors, after all, and neighbors right next door; you'll see each other all the time, and it wouldn't be good if things got tense!

Upon hearing this, Ye Jianchuan chuckled. "Oh, so now you're telling me you're mediating a conflict? But your previous actions didn't seem like you were mediating a conflict at all."

Since this is about mediating a conflict, there must be a right and a wrong, right? I consider myself the victim in this situation, is that alright?

The people around nodded in agreement. Upon seeing this, Ye Jianchuan immediately continued, "Since I am the victim, how can you, as a mediator, ask me to forgive you and sign a letter of understanding? As the victim, I have suffered this harm for nothing."

Since you're here to mediate the conflict, you should at least offer me something that would make me forgive him.

Or does your uncle think you have enough influence to make me let him off the hook with just a word?

Ye Jianchuan's words infuriated Uncle Yi, but they gave Xu Damao's parents a glimmer of hope, because Ye Jianchuan's words sounded like he was trying to extort money from them!

Xu's parents didn't prepare much for this, but they were prepared for a huge financial loss. As long as they could get their son out of the hospital and stop him from suffering, they really didn't care about the money.

Don't underestimate them just because they are ordinary people and workers. Don't forget that they were once related by marriage with the Lou family, who were known as the "Half-City Lou Family"!

With such wealthy in-laws, how could the Xu family not receive some preferential treatment? How could the Xu family not gain any of their wealth?

Therefore, in the Xu family's view, spending a little money to avoid trouble is no big deal. After the matter is over, they can spend some more money to run errands and find someone to take revenge!

Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, Xu Damao's father disregarded whether his grandfather was angry or not and immediately looked at Ye Jianchuan, asking, "..."

"Ye Jianchuan, then tell me, what kind of compensation do you want! As long as you can release my Xu Damao, I'll risk my life to meet your demands!"

Chapter 162 The compensation I want is for Xu Damao to stay inside!

Hearing Xu Fugui's words, Second Uncle stood to the side, feeling envious. After all, the reason why First Uncle and Second Uncle were able to come out together this time was because of the price offered by the Xu family.

However, Xu Fugui was no fool, and naturally he wouldn't give Second Uncle a chance to ask for an exorbitant price. Instead, he offered a reasonable price: ten yuan per person if Xu Damao could be brought out ahead of time.

Ten yuan was a lot to Uncle Er, but now it seems that Ye Jianchuan has gotten a chance to ask for an exorbitant amount!

However, to Uncle Er's surprise, Ye Jianchuan didn't offer a price. Instead, he smiled and shook his head, saying, "The compensation I want is actually very simple: just let Xu Damao stay in the detention center for a few days!"

"What?! Ye Jianchuan! Are you playing me?" Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, Xu Fugui was immediately enraged and wanted to attack again.

But Ye Jianchuan hadn't finished speaking. He continued, "Hey, Uncle Xu, don't be so temperamental. Your current attitude will determine whether Xu Damao stays in there for the full fifteen days or is released after only a few days!"

I'm not an unapproachable person. Everyone just mentioned the Lantern Festival, which is indeed a traditional festival for us, and your families should be able to reunite.

"There are only six days left until the Lantern Festival. I was thinking of letting Xu Damao stay in there for four or five days, and then writing him a letter of understanding so he can come out and celebrate the Lantern Festival with you."

"But you were so fierce just now, it startled me and made me a little scared, so I've decided to wait until the Lantern Festival to write you a letter of understanding."

Of course, you can keep trying to fight me! Maybe I'll get scared and write you a letter of forgiveness right now?

Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, Xu Damao's parents immediately fell silent. There was nothing they could do; whether their son could get out really depended on Ye Jianchuan's words, and they really couldn't afford to offend him now.

"Jianchuan! We used to be neighbors. I even held you when you were little, and you even peed on me once!"

"For the sake of our long-standing friendship, why don't you release Da Mao a few days earlier? Da Mao is used to being at home; he won't be able to adapt to the detention center!"