Seeing the security guards take Sha Zhu away, the people in the courtyard were at a loss. They didn't know what serious crime Sha Zhu had committed or what punishment he would receive.

"Third Uncle, the other two uncles are not here now, you must stand up for Sha Zhu."

Qin Huairu had been terrified by the security guards and hadn't dared to say a word. Now that they were all gone, she was recovering from the shock. But what could she do as she was about to give birth? She had no choice but to turn to Yan Fugui, the only big boss in the courtyard.

"Yes, this is a serious matter, but we need to think it over carefully. Look, they've come to arrest people, and they're even armed, which means Sha Zhu is in big trouble right now. Anyway, Lao Yi and the others will be back soon, so let's wait here for a bit."

Faced with this situation, Yan Fugui lacked Yi Zhonghai's sense of responsibility and dared not act on his own. He could only wait outside for Yi Zhonghai to return and discuss it. Therefore, it's no wonder that Old Yi dominated the courtyard house for decades.

In less than an hour, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and the others returned together. They chatted as they walked, completely unaware of the major event that had occurred at the courtyard house. Of course, Xu Damao was not among them. Knowing that the courtyard would be in chaos again that evening, he had gone to Old Xu's place early with Wang Minzhi for dinner.

"Old Yi, Old Liu, why are you so late today? Hurry up, something big has happened in the compound. Sha Zhu has been arrested by the security department, and they've got a gun to his head."

Seeing that Lao Yi and Lao Liu were not far away, and were taking their time, Yan Fugui, who was temporarily in charge of the compound, felt relieved and even mentioned the two old men to him.

"What did you say? How did Sha Zhu get arrested? Didn't you ask him?" Yi Zhonghai, who was walking and chatting with his neighbor, rushed over as fast as a 100-meter champion when he heard what Yan Fugui said.

“We don’t know either. The people from the security department said that Sha Zhu forged the leader’s signature and embezzled state property. I’m not from the steel rolling mill, and I’m not familiar with your security department, so we can only wait for you to come back and check,” Yan Fugui explained.

In fact, Lao Yan, as a teacher at the primary school under the steel rolling mill, was practically related to the steel rolling mill, even though they lived in different places.

"Did you tell the old lady behind you?" Yi Zhonghai continued to ask.

"No, I wouldn't dare. I already informed everyone here, afraid the old lady would be upset if she knew. Don't say anything more, go to the factory and ask. Maybe it's not a big problem, and she can still come back for dinner tonight," Yan Fugui said.

“Okay, I’ll go right now. By the way, has Xu Damao returned yet? What did he say?” Yi Zhonghai asked again.

“They haven’t come back. You know that young couple, they don’t cook much, they prefer to eat at their parents’ house before coming back,” Yan Fugui replied.

"Old Yan, could you lend me your bicycle? I just walked back, and I'm a little too tired to walk any further," Yi Zhonghai requested.

This touched on Yan Fugui's sore spot. His bicycle was more precious than his own son, and he rarely lent it out. If he did lend it out, it would be for a fee. But this time, Yan Fugui knew the importance of the matter and didn't offer any nonsense about a usage fee. Instead, he reluctantly took out the keys.

"Old Yi, ride slower and watch out for potholes," Yan Fugui instructed, looking at his beloved bike with a pained expression.

Meanwhile, Yi Zhonghai hopped on his bike and sped off like he was on a flying chariot. His original choice, Jia Dongxu, was going to study in the West, making the backup option, Sha Zhu, the right one. But he hadn't even had a few days of peace before this whole mess happened. Only he knew the bitterness in his heart.

When they arrived at the security department of the steel rolling mill, none of the main leaders were there, but Yi Zhonghai still had some influence and went directly into the detention room to see Sha Zhu.

"Shazhu, what exactly happened?" Yi Zhonghai had just asked the security officer, but the officer said he didn't know and that he would have to wait until the leaders came tomorrow to find out the details of the case.

"Sigh, I've been tricked by my own apprentice." Seeing Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu finally felt reassured and poured out the whole story of what had happened that day.

On the way here, Sha Zhu realized how his case had come to light. That damn Xu Damao, with good intentions, had messed things up by returning his approval slip to Secretary Yang. If he'd known this would happen, why did he insist on me getting the slip from the leader in the first place? He wasn't unaware that Xu Damao had framed him, but unfortunately, he lacked direct evidence.

After listening to Sha Zhu's account, Yi Zhonghai understood that this matter could be serious or minor. On the one hand, forging a leader's signature could result in execution; on the other hand, since it didn't cause any damage, as long as the main leaders didn't pursue the matter, there wouldn't be any serious consequences.

Yi Zhonghai did think of Xu Damao, but things were already out of control. Yang Shuji's secretary reported the case, and the security department took action. Only Yang Shuji himself could suppress the matter.

"How could you be so foolish? You can't just forge a leader's signature! Have you taken on any apprentices?" Yi Zhonghai asked.

"No. They did this for me, I can't be a jerk like that. A real man takes responsibility for his actions." Silly Zhu was quite the straightforward guy.

"If it's a matter of being beheaded, will you take the blame alone?" Yi Zhonghai asked.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Sha Zhu was a little unsure. That afternoon, when a gun was pointed at his head, he was so scared that he almost wet his pants, and he still felt terrified thinking about it.

"How could it not be? Sha Zhu, this is not the time for you to play the hero. It would be best to tell the truth so that you can take less responsibility."

You need to understand that whether you actively forged the leader's signature or were instigated by malicious individuals to give the transportation department forged documents, the nature and responsibility are completely different.

"Better to die for a friend than for myself," Yi Zhonghai thought, his concern was solely focused on ensuring his retirement home wouldn't collapse again. After a moment's thought, he made his decision.

"Isn't that a bad idea?" Sha Zhu was also a little unsure. He had a bit of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) spirit, but when it came to matters of life and death, what did that matter?

Yi Zhonghai didn't urge Sha Zhu, but simply watched quietly. He believed that his future husband was clear-headed at this moment and would make the right choice.

"Okay. If I back out of the responsibility, will MCA and Fatty give different versions of the story?" Silly Zhu asked.

“Don’t worry about this place. I’ll go find them tonight. I’ll explain the consequences to them, and I think they’ll know what to do. If they’re not willing, then they shouldn’t stay at the steel rolling mill anymore,” Yi Zhonghai said, his eyes sharp.

“The three of you will share the responsibility for this. It’s a minor matter. I’ll talk to Secretary Yang, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll get the old lady to intervene. You’ll only be in here for a few days at most,” Old Yi added.

"Uncle, I'll do as you said and talk to the security department tomorrow," Sha Zhu said.

In any era, morality is utterly worthless when faced with one's own absolute interests.