The fat man was speechless: "Could it be Stupid Pillar?"

Xu Damao excitedly slammed his right fist into his left palm: "That's him, and Liu Guangtian too! Those two bastards are up to no good, trying to gather dirt on Director Li and report him to higher authorities, hoping to bring him down."

Getting carried away, Xu Damao lit a cigarette for the fat man: "And guess what? These two idiots delivered the complaint to the wrong place; they gave it directly to our director!"

Well, it seems Sha Zhu really isn't destined to get married...

The unexpected arrest of Sha Zhu thwarted the deaf old lady's and Yi Zhonghai's entire scheme.

On the contrary, Qin Huairu, led by Banggeng, successfully found Ran Qiuye's house.

She reluctantly pulled out a few cents and handed them to Banggeng: "Go buy some steamed buns yourself."

After sending the stick away, Qin Huairu entered Teacher Ran's courtyard.

It's a large courtyard like Nanluoguxiang, but Teacher Ran's house is quite nice, comparable to hers.

Qin Huairu called out loudly, "Is Teacher Ran home?"

Ran Qiuye lifted the curtain from inside and came out, looking at her with little friendliness in her eyes: "What are you doing here?"

Qin Huairu gave a faint smile, but her eyes were devoid of warmth. She slowly walked to Ran Qiuye's side and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Teacher Ran, I remember telling you last time that if you don't cherish something, you'll lose it. We're actually a pretty harmonious family, right?"

Ran Qiuye took two steps back in disgust: "Shazhu has nothing to do with you, and you don't need to try to sow discord between us. You are not welcome here, please leave."

Qin Huairu pressed on: "Nothing to do with you? Do you know where he hides his money? Do you know he doesn't like to wash his feet? Do you know I even wash his underwear for him!"

Qin Huairu's voice suddenly rose: "Who do you think you are, daring to steal my man? Let me tell you, I heard everything you two did that night. If you know what's good for you, you'd better leave Sha Zhu right now, or else..."

Ran Qiuye was shocked, which made Qin Huairu retreat repeatedly, her face changing color: "What else can we do?"

Qin Huairu, who had been keeping her head down, slowly raised it, revealing a rather eerie smile, particularly sinister: "I heard from Third Uncle, oh, that is, Teacher Yan Bugui, that your family has a pretty high social class background, right? What do you think will happen to you and your family if I tell the neighborhood committee or the workers' picket team at our factory? Will they be paraded through the streets with tattered shoes hanging from their clothes, hmm?"

It's very cold today, around -10 degrees Celsius.

Ran Qiuye felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, the double chill making her feel like she was about to freeze over.

This woman is shameless and heartless!

What should she do? And what about her parents? At this moment, Ran Qiuye's world collapsed...

※※※※※※

In the afternoon, Fatty learned from Yang Weimin that Sha Zhu had been thoroughly messed up this time.

He and his brother Liu Guangtian were beaten so badly by Director Li's men that they were barely recognizable as human.

Director Li originally intended to let Sha Zhu off the hook, but he didn't expect him to be so ungrateful!

This time, both old and new grievances are being settled at once. Yang Weimin whispered, "Even if they aren't expelled this time, they're in danger..."

When I got home that evening, sure enough, the yard was in an uproar again.

Fatty and Chen Yan were cooking when Yi Zhonghai arrived, helping the deaf old lady.

His words betrayed his anxiety and servility. After thinking for a moment, the fat man decided to tell the truth: "This time it really wasn't Xu Damao who messed with him; he brought it on himself."

When Yi Zhonghai heard that Sha Zhu had actually colluded with Liu Guangtian to write a letter of denunciation, it was as if a bolt from the blue struck him, and he was completely stunned.

The deaf old woman looked utterly hopeless, muttering repeatedly, "It's all over, all over..."

At the dinner table, Chen Yan asked curiously, "You made it sound very serious just now. What will happen to that silly Zhu this time?"

The fat man glanced at her and Yu Li and said, "Let's not talk about it, or we'll scare you."

Seeing this, the two women stopped asking questions.

When it comes to scheming, if Director Li weren't ruthless, he wouldn't be in his current position. If pushed too far, killing Sha Zhu would be the least of his worries!

Just after finishing his meal, Xu Damao rushed into Fatty's room in a panic: "Brother, Sha Zhu is in deep trouble this time!"

The fat man asked him, "Aren't you his mortal enemy? Why are you worried about him now?"

Xu Damao stammered, "I, I... If something really happens to him, what will people in this compound think of me? This time it really isn't me, sigh!"

The fat man chuckled, and Xu Damao was taken aback: "What are you laughing at?"

"You just love silly Zhu. You two are in a love-hate relationship."

"You're talking nonsense! I could love him? Just listen to his name, he's fucking a fool!"

The fat man laughed loudly: "Then why are you so nervous right now?"

Xu Damao was immediately rendered speechless by the question.

The fat man thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you go and plead with Director Li on his behalf tomorrow."

Xu Damao looked incredulous: "Me, plead for him?"

"Then you can just watch him die. Expulsion is the least you can do."

Xu Damao was dumbfounded and couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Just as he had finally convinced himself and was about to discuss a plan with the fat man, Qin Huairu pushed the door open and came in.

The fat man's eyes turned completely dark: "Qin Huairu, have I given you too much face? You think my house is a vegetable market, where you can just walk in whenever you want?"

The fat man noticed something new in Qin Huairu's eyes that he hadn't seen before. She gestured towards Xu Damao with her chin and said, "If Xu Damao weren't here, I wouldn't have come even if you invited me."

Xu Damao asked in bewilderment, "What do you want from me?"

Qin Huairu's lips curled into a particularly chilling smile: "I'm here to thank you. If it weren't for you, how could I have gotten together with Shazhu? Oh, and I'm officially informing you both that Shazhu and I are getting married."

Xu Damao's brain was completely fried today: "Wait a minute, are you going to marry Sha Zhu? What about Teacher Ran?"

Qin Huairu's face was full of disdain: "Her, those two are destined to be together but not to stay together."

The fat man didn't speak, but just kept staring at her. Qin Huairu, contrary to her usual behavior, boldly met his gaze, showing no sign of weakness.

The fat man stood up to see the guest out: "Are you finished? If you're done, please leave."

Qin Huairu walked away as if she had won a battle, without even closing the door, as if afraid of being caught.

The fat man locked the door, and then saw Xu Damao slam his fist on the table: "Idiot Zhu! I'll make sure you can't marry anyone!"

"..."

The next day at work, everyone worked together to steam the cornbread and steamed buns, and also prepared porridge and pickled vegetables.

Old Wang took off his arm sleeve and said to the fat man, "Will you come with me to the director's office later?"

The fat man took off his hat, wiping his sweat as he asked, "You want to ask about Sha Zhu?"

Old Wang sighed: "He's still a member of the cafeteria staff, and although he used to act recklessly, it shouldn't be this bad..."