Zhou Haiqin, out of love for her son, not only let go of him but also gently rubbed his skin. However, her tone remained insistent, as if she wanted to get to the bottom of things: "Tell me properly, what does the factory's treat have to do with you?"

The fat man dared not claim to be a master chef. He knew his own situation best; when had he learned to cook? That was hard to explain.

He had no choice but to find another way: "I'm clever! I helped our factory save face in front of the leaders of our brother units." This was the truth, and the fat man said it with a clear conscience.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Zhou Haiqin poked him with two fingers and was about to happily go get the ribs.

But the fat man said, "Mom, divide these ribs in half. We'll stew half; the other half, my second sister can give to Yu Li..."

Then, under the angry glares of the four women, he gave in and said weakly, "How about we just forget about it?"

Chen Gangqiang glared and puffed out his cheeks; Chen Rong looked on with a mocking expression; Chen Yan was seven times unconvinced; Chen Fang was eight times indignant; Zhou Haiqin sighed and said, "People say that once you marry a wife, you forget your mother. Well, our son is different. He hasn't even settled on a wife yet, and he's already siding with outsiders!"

After bullying the fat man until he was covered in dirt, Zhou Haiqin winked at her second daughter and said, "What are you standing there for? Go and cut these ribs in half."

Chen Yan was a bit stubborn and couldn't quite grasp the situation. She said reluctantly, "Mom, are you really going to give it to her family? Even if you did, it wouldn't reach her. Her parents and sister would definitely eat it..."

Chen Rong tugged at her: "Then it's not for Yu Li to eat, it's for her parents to see. Let them feel our sincerity, so we can find a spouse for my younger brother during the New Year."

Chen Fang said sourly, "This sincerity is a bit too much, aren't you afraid of..." Her voice grew softer and softer, and finally, under Zhou Haiqin's watchful gaze, she fell completely silent.

Evening, in the courtyard house.

Yi Zhonghai has come out three times already, but the door to the room where the fat man lives is still locked tight; he hasn't come back at all.

He sighed and said to Qin Huairu, "Let's go, it seems he won't be back tonight. Come with me and ask Xu Damao what's going on."

Xu Damao is destined to be the focus tonight.

First, he was questioned by Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu; then Liu Haizhong came and, after giving a long speech, left; and then Yan Bugui arrived.

Xu Damao was getting annoyed. Lou Xiao'e asked him, "Did you really use a knife? Is Fatty hurt? He gave me a fish last time."

Lou Xiao'e didn't hide the fact that she had exchanged the fish from Xu Damao. Thinking about the soft-shelled eel they hadn't had last time, he said to Lou Xiao'e, "Don't you know? Maybe she's in the hospital. That bastard Sha Zhu is really lawless!"

On the issue of Sha Zhu, Lou Xiao'e firmly stood with Xu Damao in their hatred of the enemy: "Isn't that right? He's a thug who beats people up at the drop of a hat, and now he even dares to use a knife!"

Xu Damao snorted contemptuously: "He can even lay a hand on his own apprentice. Sha Zhu is completely ruined this time. Let's see how he can turn things around."

In this courtyard, the most nervous people were undoubtedly Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu.

This time, Old Yi didn't care about his dignity as an old man anymore. He went straight to the deaf old lady's house in the backyard after leaving Xu Damao's house.

Qin Huairu followed behind, and as soon as she entered the house, she tearfully told the deaf old lady about Sha Zhu being arrested.

After hearing this, the deaf old lady was so surprised that she remained silent.

She's like Grandmother Jia in "Dream of the Red Chamber"—she can ignore or even pretend to be deaf and dumb about everything else. But when it comes to her grandson, Sha Zhu, it's a matter of principle!

The deaf old woman slammed her hand on the kang table in anger: "Nonsense! Zhu Zi would never have used a knife to attack someone. Go find Director Wang from the neighborhood committee and tell her that I told her to do this, and ask her to help you think of a solution."

Yi Zhonghai was waiting for this very sentence; in this courtyard, the only person who could speak with the officials was this old lady.

Fearing that things might get complicated if things dragged on, Yi Zhonghai told Qin Huairu to go back first, and then went to Director Wang's house.

When Qin Huairu returned home, Jia Zhangshi immediately put down her needlework and asked, "Have you found out the truth? What exactly is going on?"

Qin Huairu shook her head wearily, sat down at the table, and said with a worried look, "Zhu Zi has really messed up this time. How dare he? Fatty is his apprentice!"

"..."

At Liu Haizhong's home, the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu finally had the opportunity to sit at the table with their father and discuss "important matters".

"What do you think this is like, Sha Zhu?"

Without hesitation, Liu Guangtian exclaimed, "Injure someone with a knife!"

Liu Guangfu chimed in, "That's right, if he really hurt someone, he'll be in jail and eating cornbread! Dad, did Shazhu really kill someone?"

Liu Haizhong shook his head slightly: "I don't know, the factory covered it up. It shouldn't be like this, taking it out on your own apprentice, what kind of skill is that?"

Despite his belief in the adage "spare the rod and spoil the child" and his frequent beatings of the Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu brothers, Liu Haizhong was far superior to Yi Zhonghai in training his apprentices. He was diligent and conscientious, leaving no room for criticism.

While putting himself in the role of the factory leader, Liu Haizhong pondered how to deal with Sha Zhu; at the same time, he said to Aunt Er, "Go fry me an egg and bring me the wine."

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu's mouths watered at the thought, and taking advantage of Liu Haizhong's good mood, they quickly said, "Mom, can you fry one for us too?"

Before he could finish speaking, he got kicked by Liu Haizhong: "Go away, if you want eggs, earn them yourself!"

Next came another round of "filial piety and parental love".

In the front yard, Yan Bugui's family was also discussing the matter. Yan Jiecheng, Yan Jiefang, and Yan Jiekuang were talking animatedly: "Shazhu took a kitchen knife to chop up Fatty, and guess what happened?"

"What's wrong?"

"Hey, big brother, don't keep us in suspense!"

Yan Jiecheng took a sip of water: "Fatty only took a spoon, the kind we use for eating at home; he managed to block Sha Zhu's cleaver with just that spoon, and then he swung it with all his might! Fatty was completely unharmed, but Sha Zhu's cleaver flew out of his hand!"

"ah……"

The three Yan siblings performed "Jin Xing Opens Her Mouth" together; even the third uncle and third aunt had an incredulous expression on their faces.

"Fatty, so powerful?" Yan Bugui's small eyes were filled with calculation again. Finally, someone could control Sha Zhu.

The reason why what happened in the kitchen spread so quickly and so realistically was, of course, because Brother Yang and his group were helping Fatty spread the word for free.

Good heavens! A spoon can actually knock a kitchen knife away! These guys used to respect the fat guy, but now they really worship him.

Brother Yang felt the time was ripe; it was time to make a name for himself. With Fatty backing him up, he was fearless!