Chapter 49: The Courtyard Tribunal

The head of the neighborhood committee, Director Wang, had a face as dark as iron, his chest heaving violently.

Having served as the director of the neighborhood committee for over a decade, he had witnessed all sorts of neighborhood disputes and petty thefts, but this was the first time he had ever encountered anything like this—the respected "First Elder" being publicly exposed for embezzling another person's property!

This was nothing less than a slap to the face of the entire neighborhood committee!

"Yi Zhonghai!" Director Wang's voice cracked like a thunderclap, laden with unprecedented fury. "Explain yourself! These gold bars! This promissory note! What is the meaning of this?!"

Yi Zhonghai trembled from head to toe, his lips quivering, but he could not produce a coherent sound, leaving only a muffled, "I... I..."

"Director Wang!" He Yuzhu's voice cut through the sound of the rain, icy and clear.

He took a step forward, holding high the mortgage promissory note, dampened by the rain and somewhat blurred at the edges, so that everyone could clearly see the signatures and fingerprints upon it. "In black and white! The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the year 1950 of the Republic, my father, He Daqing, due to an urgent need for money, mortgaged these five gold bars for a term of five years, redeemable upon this receipt! Witness: Yi Zhonghai!"

He Yuzhu's gaze locked onto Yi Zhonghai like iron nails. "Five years later, my father vanished without a trace. According to the rules, this collateral should have returned to its original owner—which is my family! Or, it should have been kept in custody by the witness, awaiting the claim of the original owner or their descendants upon presentation of the receipt! Yi Zhonghai!"

He Yuzhu's voice suddenly rose, carrying the weight of a thunderous accusation. "Why did these five gold bars appear in the hands of Deaf Old Lady?! Why were they buried beneath the old locust tree?!"

"And why have you kept mum about this for decades?! Before the old lady passed away, why did she tell me to 'guard against you'?"

Every word fell like a blade, every sentence piercing straight to the heart!

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen, his body shaking like a withered leaf in the autumn wind.

Under He Yuzhu's piercing gaze and the silent, contemptuous stares of all the neighbors in the courtyard, his last shred of luck and resistance completely collapsed.

"I... I..." A sound like a broken bellows issued from his throat. He jerked his head up, his turbid, aged eyes filled with terror and despair. "I... I pocketed them! He Daqing... he... he ran off with a widow... I... I thought he... he wouldn't come back... The old lady... the old lady somehow found out later... and forced me to hand the gold bars over to her... She... she said she was keeping them for Zhuzi... to give to him when he settled down and started a family... She... she was guarding against me! She was always guarding against me..."

The truth was out! A sudden uproar swept through the crowd!

"My goodness! Yi Zhonghai! Are... are you even human?!"

"Embezzling the property of orphan children! You... you beast in human skin!"

"To think we still called you our First Elder! Bah!"

Angry accusations and contemptuous curses surged toward Yi Zhonghai like a tide.

Liu Haichong and Yan Fugui looked even paler, their faces turning the color of iron. As the managing elders of the courtyard, they had actually been hoodwinked by Yi Zhonghai for so many years! It was an absolute humiliation!

"Silence! Quiet down, all of you!" Director Wang was shaking with rage, slamming his hand hard against the wet windowsill beside him. "Lawless! This is utterly lawless! Yi Zhonghai! Your actions constitute a serious embezzlement of another's property! This is a crime!"

Director Wang turned to He Yuzhu, his tone soothing yet resolute. "Comrade He Yuzhu! Rest assured! The neighborhood committee will definitely see justice done for you in this matter! Both human and material evidence are present!"

"Yi Zhonghai must be severely punished! These gold bars belong to your He family; the neighborhood committee bears witness on the spot, and they shall be returned to their rightful owner!"

He Yuzhu accepted the gold bars handed over by Director Wang, which had been re-wrapped in oil paper. They felt heavy and cold in his hands.

He looked at Yi Zhonghai, who was slumped on the ground, his eyes devoid of the slightest trace of warmth.

Ruined in reputation and socially dead on the spot—this was the price of embezzling the He family's property!

"There's more," He Yuzhu's voice rang out once again, cutting through the rain and the murmurs of discussion. "Before the old lady passed away, besides telling me to guard against you, she said one other thing—'The hardship subsidy from back then...'" Pausing for a fraction of a second, He Yuzhu stared straight at Yi Zhonghai. "Yi Zhonghai! First Elder, back when my father left, the hardship subsidy issued by the factory for me and Yushui—was that also 'collected on our behalf' by you?!"

This sentence fell like a bolt from the blue, stunning everyone all over again!

A hardship subsidy?! He Daqing had run off with a widow, not died; where on earth would a death benefit come from?

The crowd stirred once more, buzzing with discussion.

"A hardship subsidy?"

"He even贪 (embezzled) that?!"

On Yi Zhonghai's already ashen face, hearing the words "hardship subsidy" caused his features to twitch violently!

Deep within his eyes flashed an inexpressible terror, as if the deepest secret in his heart had been ruthlessly exposed!

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he jerked his head up, his voice warped out of tune. "No! I didn't! What hardship subsidy! I don't know anything about it! You... you're making false accusations! He Daqing ran off with someone! How could the factory possibly issue a hardship subsidy?! You're talking nonsense! Nonsense!"

His abnormal, almost hysterical and fierce denial only planted a giant question mark in the minds of everyone present!

Director Wang's brows furrowed into an intractable knot!

Watching Yi Zhonghai's blustering yet terrified demeanor, He Yuzhu sneered inwardly in his heart.

Indeed! The half-sentence the old lady left unsaid before her death referred precisely to this!

Although He Daqing had run off with a widow, back then, out of consideration for the orphans, the factory had indeed issued a hardship subsidy!

As a neighbor and a "respected" elder at the time, Yi Zhonghai must have handled this money! He had probably even swallowed it under the guise of "holding it in custody"!

"Talking nonsense?" He Yuzhu stepped closer, his oppressive aura causing Yi Zhonghai to instinctively shrink back. "The financial archives room of the rolling mill has records of wage and welfare distributions spanning decades! Every single hardship subsidy disbursed has the signature or fingerprint of the recipient!"

"Shall I go to the factory tomorrow, ask the security department and the accounting department to dig out the original vouchers from back then, and see right in front of the whole factory who signed for them?!"

"Boom—!" Yi Zhonghai felt the very last string in his mind snap completely!

He Yuzhu's words were like a death sentence!

He could already visualize the security personnel storming into the courtyard, seeing those yellowed vouchers bearing his signature displayed publicly!

The image of a "moral model" that he had painstakingly cultivated for decades would be completely pulverized, leaving not even a scrap behind! He might even... end up in prison!

"Puff—!" A mouthful of dark red blood violently burst from Yi Zhonghai's mouth, splashing onto the wet, cold mud—a shocking sight!

His body convulsed violently, his withered fingers clawing desperately into the ground, the crevices of his nails caked with mud.

Just as Yi Zhonghai's body was about to collapse and lose consciousness for good, he squeezed out a few muffled words:

"Money... money... is in... the kang cave... it's... it's all right there... Director... Director Li... also... also took some..."

Before he could finish, Yi Zhonghai's head slumped to one side, and he passed out completely, sprawling limply into the cold, muddy water without the slightest movement.

"Old Yi!"

"First Elder!"

Several cries of alarm rang out. First Aunt wailed and flung herself over him. The courtyard descended into complete chaos.

Director Wang's expression changed drastically! Director Li?! Li Huande of the rolling mill?! This matter involved him as well?!

He Yuzhu stood quietly in place, rain streaming down his cheeks, yet his gaze remained locked on the unconscious Yi Zhonghai before slowly sweeping over the panicked crowd.

Yi Zhonghai's final, slurred words were like a heavyweight bomb dropped into a stagnant pool!

He Yuzhu turned to look at Director Wang, who was equally stunned. His voice was steady, yet carried an unquestionable authority: "Director Wang, please arrange for someone to take him to the hospital. In addition,"—he gestured toward the open door of Yi Zhonghai's house—"you heard every word he just said. As for the kang cave in his house, I'm afraid you'll have to trouble the comrades from the neighborhood committee to 'protect' it right now. What's inside is very important to me."