My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 345: Xu Damao, drunk, doesn't fall for the trap.

Ye Shuqin looked at Zhang Lei with annoyance and said, "Husband, do you even know how many sons you have?"

Zhang Lei counted and said, "Including Ding Qiunan, Chen Xueru, Lou Xiao'e, and Yu Li's unborn children, there are currently a maximum of 13."

Ye Shuqin said irritably, "You even know there are 13? Regardless of whether Yu Li and the others are carrying boys or girls, raising a child is expensive. Aren't you afraid of exhausting yourself?"

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said deliberately in a bad mood, "What are you talking about? Don't you know my physical strength? Saying I'll be exhausted has no effect on me."

Ye Shuqin spat three times and said, "When I said 'exhausted to death,' do you mean that kind of exhaustion?"

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about money. We have enough money to support even if you have 100 sons."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Ye Shuqin said irritably, "100 children? You wish! You're treating us like pigs."

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "An old sow? She's the most beautiful old sow in the world."

Ye Shuqin said irritably, "You're the old sow, ptooey, no, you're a pig like Pigsy from Journey to the West."

As soon as the topic of Zhu Bajie came up, Ye Shuqin couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Lei chuckled and teased, "Oh, so you're calling me Pigsy (Zhu Bajie)? Are you imagining yourself as Chang'e (the Moon Goddess)?"

Ye Shuqin stopped and said with a smile, "So what if I am? Am I not beautiful?"

Zhang Lei quickly coaxed, "You're so beautiful, you're even more beautiful than Chang'e!"

At this moment, Ye Shuhua came out of the house and said, "Honey, what are you talking about? What Chang'e?"

Seeing Ye Shuhua come out, Zhang Lei explained, "It's nothing, your sister just wanted to eat mooncakes, so she thought of Chang'e."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Ye Shuhua smiled and said, "Really? Now that you mention it, I want to eat some too, but they're not selling them right now."

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "That's easy, we'll just do it ourselves."

Ye Shuhua said, "Really?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Go tell Aunt Ya to make a batch of mooncakes, all kinds of fillings."

Ye Shuhua nodded and said, "Alright, I'll have Aunt Ya help me make it tomorrow."

Meanwhile, at courtyard house number 95, Xu Damao had just returned to the courtyard drunk when Yan Fugui stopped him.

Looking at the drunken Xu Damao, Yan Fugui said somewhat angrily, "Damao, why did you drink so much?"

Xu Damao looked at Yan Fugui and said, "Hey, isn't this Second Uncle? What's up? Want to have a drink?"

Yan Fugui said somewhat angrily, "What are you drinking? Something's happened."

Xu Damao, drunk, looked at Yan Fugui and said, "What could possibly happen? I'm the third oldest man in the compound."

Seeing Xu Damao's condition, Yan Fugui couldn't help but look at Yan Jiecheng and say, "Jiecheng, I'll help Xu Damao back to his house first. You go and call Liu Haizhong over. We can go directly to Xu Damao's house."

Yan Jiecheng nodded as he listened to his father's words and ran to the backyard.

Yan Fugui then helped Xu Damao walk towards Xu Damao's house in the backyard.

Liu Haizhong was already there when I arrived at the door.

The two men helped Xu Damao into the house and poured him a glass of water.

Xu Damao looked at the two men and said, slightly drunk, "Uncle, Uncle, what's wrong with you two?"

Liu Haizhong recounted what had happened in the courtyard.

Upon hearing this news, Xu Damao waved his hand dismissively and said, "That's it?"

Yan Fugui said, somewhat puzzled, "That's it? Do you know how serious this is?"

Xu Damao laughed and said, "Serious? Serious about what? As long as Jia Zhangshi insists on denying it, this matter will be fine."

Upon hearing Xu Damao's words, Liu Haizhong asked, somewhat puzzled, "That's it?"

Xu Damao laughed and said, "Of course that's it. The more you argue and make a scene, the more people will believe it's true. If you don't explain, people will forget about it after a while. Besides, it was Jia Zhangshi who caused trouble for Qin Huairu from beginning to end. What does it have to do with the three of us? Jia Zhangshi did the work and paid for it. The three of us didn't do anything!"

Upon hearing Xu Damao's words, Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong suddenly realized what was going on.

Liu Haizhong said with a smile, "It has to be you again, Da Mao."

Xu Damao looked at Liu Haizhong and said, "What are you yelling for? Damao is not someone you can call 'Grandpa'. Call him Third Uncle."

Seeing Xu Damao's state, Yan Fugui advised from the side, "Old Liu, don't take it to heart. This guy is probably just drunk from being happy to become a third-ranking official."

After listening to Xu Damao's words, Liu Haizhong understood what to do. Instead of caring about Xu Damao's disrespect, he generously said, "It's alright, it's alright. Now that we've talked things out, let's not dwell on it. Let's continue doing things the way we always have."

The two quickly left Xu Damao's house.

The moment the door closed, Xu Damao's eyes cleared instantly, and he no longer looked drunk at all.

He watched the two figures disappear into the distance and muttered, "Idiots."

Xu Damao's three months in prison were not wasted. Thinking about what he had learned from the petty thieves and swindlers inside, he couldn't help but feel that being with the people in the courtyard made him feel inferior.

A few days later, He Daqing noticed that Liu Haizhong, Yan Fugui, and Xu Damao were all still in the yard, which aroused his suspicion. After inquiring, he learned that he hadn't seen the three of them have anything to explain; they were either going to work or chatting as usual.

Instead, the people in the courtyard gradually became suspicious of the rumors that Liu Haizhong and his group had framed Qin Huairu, and basically no one believed them.

Seeing this, He Daqing couldn't sit still any longer, so he went straight to the courtyard at No. 90 and knocked on the door.

Zhang Lei opened the door, saw He Daqing, and said with a smile, "Uncle He, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

He Daqing looked at Zhang Lei, glanced around the room, and said, "Zhang Lei, do you have time now?"

Looking at He Daqing's expression, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Wait a moment."

Soon the two of them pushed their bicycles away from Nanluoguxiang and found a small, unassuming restaurant.

He Daqing ate his food and drank his wine, feeling dejected. He said, "Zhang Lei, I followed your instructions and got the whole story from Yan Jiecheng, and I also had a few gossipy women get information out of Jia Zhangshi. But these past few days I've noticed that Liu Haizhong and the others haven't made a move at all. What do you think is going on?"

Looking at He Daqing's expression, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Uncle He, this matter was just to let you understand the truth. In general, everyone has their own version of events, and no one has any solid evidence."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, He Daqing became even more frustrated and said, "Zhang Lei, doesn't that just mean they can continue to get away with it?"

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "They've already succeeded. Liu Haizhong, Yan Fugui, and Xu Damao—their goal was always the position of the head steward, and it's a done deal now. The reason I had you find Yan Jiecheng and Jia Zhangshi earlier was to let you understand the truth of the matter, who is really targeting you. If you don't even know who's targeting you, then who are you going to take revenge on?"

Hearing Zhang Lei's analysis, He Daqing nodded and said, "That's true."

Zhang Lei, however, had other thoughts in mind. He hadn't expected that any of the three—Xu Damao, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Fugui—could come up with a solution so quickly.

Looking at the dejected He Daqing, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Uncle He, are you thinking of getting revenge on them as soon as possible?"