"Grandson, why are you everywhere?"

Sha Zhu's consistent approach to dealing with Xu Damao was to first verbally abuse him, and if that didn't work, to resort to physical violence. Although he had suffered several defeats at Xu Damao's hands before, Sha Zhu believed that defeat was a common occurrence in warfare. His main record against Xu Damao was quite impressive.

"Gentlemen, you should all deal with the matter of Sha Zhu framing and falsely accusing him."

Sha Zhu intercepting the Yan family's goods is a matter of morality, but impersonating me to commit crimes involves fraud, which is illegal and criminal. If the compound can't handle this, it might require the intervention of the street office or the police station.

Xu Damao didn't care about Sha Zhu's provocation, and instead handed the problem over to the three old men.

As for whether it was illegal, that was just Xu Damao talking nonsense. In this day and age, the laws are not perfect. Some things you think are trivial can lead to execution; some things seem big, but often they are resolved by turning big problems into small ones and small problems into nothing.

Sha Zhu was very dissatisfied with Xu Damao's ignoring him, feeling like he'd punched cotton, which was extremely frustrating. So, he started yelling from the sidelines, resolutely refusing to compensate Xu Damao.

Yi Zhonghai, however, had different thoughts. The Yan family's affairs could simply be settled with money. But Xu Damao, now not only had he become the group leader, but he was also acting differently, beginning to deviate from the rules of the courtyard house.

"Da Mao, you're all from the same compound. Sha Zhu has been playing with you since you were little, and he didn't do it on purpose this time. Just forgive him."

Yi Zhonghai adopted a conciliatory approach.

"Uncle, I only wanted to handle this matter in the compound because of you. But even though I'm giving you face, someone still needs to compensate me for my losses."

Now, rumors might be circulating that Xu Damao ruined someone else's blind date.

I, Xu Damao, also have my pride; I need to live in this neighborhood, and I need to get married. The losses this has caused me are immeasurable, and the future is even more uncertain.

Xu Damao didn't care about saving face anymore; getting more compensation from Sha Zhu was the priority. Anyway, if he didn't get compensation from Sha Zhu now, he'd just end up losing it to Qin Huairu anyway.

"Then tell me how much compensation you want?" Yi Zhonghai now realized that Xu Damao wasn't trying to do anything to Sha Zhu, he just wanted compensation, so there was room for negotiation.

"As the victim, it's inappropriate for me to say anything. So, I saw that Uncle Er handled the matter fairly and justly, and he handled the Yan family's matter very well. I trust Uncle Er, so I'll hand over this compensation to you today."

"Just say the word, and I'll never say no. Even if you ask for a single penny, I, Xu Damao, will accept it. I trust Second Uncle's way of handling things."

Xu Damao passed the buck to Liu Haizhong. Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao usually hung out in the backyard and had a fairly good relationship. Plus, Liu Haizhong was the first to volunteer when it came to dealing with Sha Zhu, so Xu Damao was watching to see how Liu Haizhong would perform.

Upon hearing Xu Damao's high praise and flattery, Liu Haizhong instantly became a little smug. Xu Damao was now a figure of some importance in the factory, able to speak with the leaders. Xu Damao's high praise meant that the leaders also held him in high regard.

Liu Haizhong's logic was strange, but it suited Xu Damao's taste perfectly.

"Da Mao, since you trust your second uncle so much, he will definitely handle your matter well. Don't worry, he will never let you suffer any injustice."

Liu Haizhong first expressed his stance to Xu Damao. Then, after thinking for a moment, he spoke to Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu.

"Old Yi, Sha Zhu, I think Da Mao has been greatly hurt by what happened today. The damage may not be immediately apparent, but the long-term impact will be significant. Also, if the Yan family hadn't exposed Sha Zhu today, then Xu Da Mao would have been unfairly blamed."

I'll give you a price now. If you agree, that's it. If you don't agree, don't try to negotiate; just hand it over to the local street office.

For Xu Damao's trust, Liu Haizhong was willing to go all out, even at the cost of disregarding the authority of the old men in the courtyard, to help Xu Damao get justice.

"Don't speak yet. Let me tell you the amount. I'll say that Sha Zhu should compensate Da Mao 99 yuan."

Xu Damao's loss was, in theory, greater than Yan's. But considering Damao's generosity, they let Shazhu pay 1 yuan, making it 99.

In that case, the loss caused by Sha Zhu will not exceed 100, and it will sound better to others later.

It's unclear where Liu Haizhong heard this tactic from, but he managed to get Xu Damao quite satisfied. Xu had originally planned to pay 30 or 50 yuan in compensation, but Liu Haizhong's performance exceeded expectations.

"Why should I pay so much in compensation? I don't have that much money. Go ahead and report it to the local authorities." Sha Zhu, in a fit of despair, declared. He had less than 200 yuan in savings; how was he supposed to live on such a large sum? Whatever, Sha Zhu was resigned to his fate.

Sha Zhu might not care, but Yi Zhonghai couldn't. Between the 100 yuan and the street vendor's offer, he chose the 100 yuan. Liu Haizhong had accurately grasped Yi Zhonghai's personality, precisely hitting his bottom line.

“Silly Zhu, forget it. Just consider it a lesson learned. Don’t do anything reckless in the future. I’ll cover the 99 yuan for you.”

After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, he asked an older woman to get the money.

After receiving the money, Xu Damao thanked Liu Haizhong and went home.

Seeing that there was nothing entertaining to see, none of the people in the courtyard went home for dinner.

The Yi family, Sha Zhu, and the Jia family are all present.

"Uncle, don't give me any compensation from Xu Damao today. I believe Xu Damao wouldn't dare ask me for it."

Sha Zhu muttered sullenly. He could tolerate the compensation to the Yan family, after all, he had ruined their marriage. But that bastard Xu Damao hadn't suffered any loss, so why should he get 100 yuan?

Jia Zhangshi, standing nearby, chimed in. Seeing others make money felt like he was losing money; it pained him immensely.

“What do you know? Xu Damao is right about one thing. If you steal someone's blind date, the courtyard house can be dealt with. But if you impersonate Xu Damao and do bad things, you will be dealt with by the police.”

Xu Damao didn't dare to report this to the police station today because of me; you should be grateful.

You need to be more careful in the future.

Look at Xu Damao now, he doesn't joke around with you anymore, he's focused entirely on his work. The factory leaders have a very high opinion of him now.”

Regardless of whether Xu Damao's words were true or false, Yi Zhonghai could only treat them as gospel to lecture Sha Zhu. He was conflicted. On one hand, he thought his potential retirement partner was simple-minded and easy to control. On the other hand, he also wanted someone who could use their brain a little and cause him less trouble.

Meanwhile, Xu Damao took a bottle of wine to Liu Haizhong's house after dark.

Regardless, Liu Haizhong spoke to him today. Maintaining good relations with Liu Haizhong and making him look good will definitely be beneficial later in the compound.

Sure enough, when Liu Haizhong saw Xu Damao leading the wine as a token of gratitude, he insisted on having a drink with Xu Damao.

For Liu Haizhong, Xu Damao wasn't offering him alcohol; he was giving Liu Haizhong face.