Yu Li's emotions had been stable until Yu Haitang played a prank on her. To everyone's surprise, Yu Li became furious, which deeply frightened Yu Haitang. Since Yu Haitang did not live in the courtyard, she was not fully aware of the situations within it. It was once rumored in the courtyard that Yu Li and Liu Kai Xuan had an unusual relationship, which caused Liu Kai Xuan considerable trouble. Conversely, Yu Li regarded Liu Kai Xuan as her benefactor and held him in high esteem. It was remarkable that a woman with only a junior high school education had passed the intermediate technician qualification exam in less than three years, a feat almost unheard of in the machinery repair industry. Even Liu Da Kui, Liu Kai Xuan's master, took seven to eight years of hard work to achieve the same qualification. Yu Li's rapid success was attributable to both her diligent study and Liu Kai Xuan's more effective teaching methods compared to Liu Da Kui's traditional approach.
Liu Kai Xuan had innovatively introduced study classes within the engineering department, adding a small amount of theoretical knowledge to the apprentices' curriculum. The examination for certification, however, heavily emphasized theoretical knowledge, making the training directly relevant to the assessment and thus highly efficient. This teaching model, combining theory with practice, was conceptually simple but extremely difficult to implement in actual production. Most veteran masters held rigid, old-fashioned beliefs, and only young individuals like Liu Kai Xuan were receptive to new ideas. Therefore, Yu Li was now unwilling to cause any trouble for Liu Kai Xuan.
One afternoon, Bang Geng once again visited Sha Zhu's home to discuss "important matters." This time, Sha Zhu's attitude was resolute. "Bang Geng, if you want to kill Yi Zhonghai to avenge your father, that's your business. It has nothing to do with me! I don't want to cooperate with you anymore!"
"Why not?" Bang Geng asked, unwilling to accept it. "Sha Zhu, aren't you just being difficult on purpose? Yi Zhonghai is our common enemy. If we don't get rid of him, neither of our families will have a good life! I've already thought of a plan, and I..."
"Stop, stop!" Sha Zhu interrupted before Bang Geng could finish. "Bang Geng, you should leave now and don't let me see you again! If you continue to spout nonsense in front of me, I'll report you to the police! I will not interfere in any of your disputes with Yi Zhonghai!"
"I..." Bang Geng's teeth itched with anger, but he was helpless against Sha Zhu. He could see that Sha Zhu was determined not to cooperate. With no other choice, Bang Geng left dejectedly. Sha Zhu might be somewhat lacking in intelligence, but he was not entirely devoid of sense. The previous night, He Yu Shui had briefly explained the feud between Yi Zhonghai and Bang Geng to Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu knew Bang Geng's character well. This individual could even shift the blame for poisoning the deaf old lady with fugu soup onto Yi Zhonghai. If Sha Zhu were to cooperate with him now and their crimes were exposed, Bang Geng would undoubtedly try to push all the blame onto Sha Zhu. Therefore, even if Sha Zhu genuinely wanted to eliminate Yi Zhonghai, he would do it alone. Teaming up with Bang Geng would be suicidal, and Sha Zhu would gain nothing in the end.
Shortly after Bang Geng left, He Yu Shui entered from outside. "Brother," she suggested, "now that we've fallen out with Yi Zhonghai, reclaiming the house is extremely difficult! Unless we're willing to kill Yi Zhonghai, which is illegal, we can't be so reckless. Therefore, I've thought of another method."
"What method?" Sha Zhu asked curiously.
He Yu Shui continued, "Directly confronting Yi Zhonghai is not reliable! Instead, if we treat Yi Zhonghai with a gentler attitude and trick him into voluntarily giving up the property, then the house will be ours!"
Sha Zhu's brow furrowed. "You mean I should fawn over and flatter Yi Zhonghai?"
He Yu Shui shamelessly explained, "After all, we're doing this to get the inheritance, so there's no shame in it!"
"If you're going to fawn over Yi Zhonghai, do it yourself. I don't have the time!"
"Brother, why are you like this..." He Yu Shui became anxious. Sha Zhu, however, showed her no leniency. "Even if I went to flatter Yi Zhonghai now, it would be useless! If it were useful, Xu Da Mao would have already made a fortune!"
"Uh..." Sha Zhu's remark left He Yu Shui speechless. Xu Da Mao treated Yi Zhonghai like a father, showering him with attention. Yet, after so long of flattering Yi Zhonghai, Xu Da Mao had only managed to earn a small amount of "hardship pay." It must be said that Sha Zhu's intelligence seemed to have improved after his stint in prison. He was no longer acting solely on impulse and was considering problems more thoroughly than before.
It was not easy to mend a broken relationship. Furthermore, the plan He Yu Shui proposed was a long-term emotional investment. To inherit Yi Zhonghai's estate, one would have to wait until he died. If Sha Zhu truly intended to inherit the inheritance by appeasing Yi Zhonghai, he could wait until Yi Zhonghai was old and nearing his end before taking action. Trying to curry favor with Yi Zhonghai now would mean supporting him for decades. The benefits gained from inheriting the estate would not even cover the expenses incurred in caring for Yi Zhonghai. Therefore, He Yu Shui's plan was simply a bad idea with no merit.
In the Yan family. Yan Bu Gui approached Yan Jie Cheng to share his thoughts. "Yan Jie Cheng, listen to my advice! That widow Wang in the East District family compound, although a bit older and slightly overweight, is willing to settle down with you as long as she doesn't mind that you're divorced! Just make do and start a family. Don't keep thinking about Yu Li; it's completely unrealistic! I shamelessly asked Liu Kai Xuan to help mediate, and he slapped me directly! If there were any hope, Liu Kai Xuan's attitude wouldn't have been so rough!"
Yan Jie Cheng stubbornly replied, "Liu Kai Xuan's attitude is no longer important! As long as Yu Li is willing to continue living with me, no one can stop us!"
Yan Bu Gui replied with a wry smile, "The key issue is, is Yu Li still willing to continue living with you?"