Siheyuan: What bad intentions could a veterinarian like me have?

Chapter 45: Tit for tat, control a master
"I've lived in this yard for most of my life and have experienced too much. Let me tell you a few reasons. Xiangdong, don't be anxious. Wait until I finish speaking, and then you can consider whether to call the police or not. How about that?" Seeing Li Xiangdong open his mouth, Yi Zhonghai pressed his hand, slowly took out tobacco from his jacket pocket and started rolling a cigarette, while trying to make his tone sound a little calmer.

"Okay, I'm all ears!" Li Xiangdong smiled slightly, glanced at the Jia family members in the room who didn't dare to look at him, and took the initiative to stand up and pour a cup of tea for the eldest uncle.

chap!
The match struck the star point and lit the cigarette in Yi Zhonghai's mouth. He pointed outside the house and smiled, "I have feelings for the Red Star Courtyard. It witnessed my growth from a poor little worker to an eighth-level fitter who still has some say in the factory. In the courtyard, I am also recognized as a big boss by everyone. To put it bluntly, in the courtyard, everyone also gives me face..."

This old dog started to lay the groundwork for moral standards, but Li Xiangdong knew that he would do this, so he remained unusually calm and watched Yi Zhonghai perform quietly.

Xu Damao was very perceptive. He was mostly sober by now. He took out a pack of Daqianmen and gave one to Li Xiangdong first, then two to Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, and a few to Yan Jiecheng, Liu Guangtian and others. He deliberately left out Sha Zhu and lit up the cigarettes for them one by one, which made Sha Zhu very angry.

"Our courtyard has won the honor of advanced courtyard for five consecutive years since the street office started to select outstanding collectives. Xiangdong, you are still young, and I am afraid that you think this is just an honor like the young people in the courtyard. In fact, there are many things to pay attention to!"

"The water pipes in our front and back yards are connected. You can forget about this in the past. Six bricks at the entrance to the front yard are broken. It's very inconvenient to walk through the mud when it rains or snows. Nine tiles on the roof of Mr. Sun's house in the front yard are broken. When it rains, it rains heavily outside and lightly inside. This summer, the wall of Mr. Li's house in the backyard collapsed, and I pulled back half a truck of bricks from outside..."

"I'm telling you all this because I want you to let everyone know that these things were actually done with the support of the neighborhood office. Water pipes, blue bricks, roof tiles, bricks. Without the support of the neighborhood office, how could many families in our yard have such convenient lives and such a carefree life?"

"But you must be asking, why does the neighborhood office support us so much and care about our courtyard so much? Isn't it because of the collective honor of having an advanced courtyard? Over the years, nothing major has happened in the courtyard, and the higher-ups have always had a very good impression of our courtyard. In two or three months, this year's advanced courtyard evaluation will begin again!"

"I'm telling you all this because, from a public perspective, I don't want the Banggeng incident to be recorded at the police station or leave a bad impression at the neighborhood office! If it affects the collective selection of the courtyard, don't you think this is a case of losing the big picture for the small?"

When Yi Zhonghai saw that Li Xiangdong's cigarette was about to go out, he quickly rolled out a hand-rolled cigarette and handed it to him, "Listen to me first, then express your opinion. I am willing to listen to you. I am not unreasonable!"

Are you trying to put on an eye for the people in the yard?

By showing off this matter to me, isn't it just to make everyone think that if I call the police and it affects the selection of the advanced collective of Siheyuan and causes the loss of honor, it will be my, Li Xiangdong's fault?
This is really letting the people in the yard stab me in the back behind my back!
You, old dog Yi, are really cruel!

However, Li Xiangdong did not rush to refute. What Yi Zhonghai said was still within his expectations.

"From a public perspective, I really don't want the Banggeng incident to become too big of a fuss. From a private perspective, let me say a few words too!" Yi Zhonghai took a big sip of tea and pondered his words.

"Bang Geng, he's only nine years old this year! Don't underestimate him because he's so young. The kids in our yard are all excellent and more mature than the kids in other yards! I know he was wrong to sneak into your house. This is a typical act of theft, which is unacceptable and must be criticized!"

"Xiangdong, listen to me. This child is only nine years old. If he was an adult, I would never ask you to do this. The situation of the Jia family must be clear to everyone in the courtyard. If he is sent to the police station, he will be labeled as a burglar. His life will be affected to a great extent. It will be a problem for him to find a job and marry a wife in the future!"

Seeing that Li Xiangdong was holding the hand-rolled cigarette but hadn't smoked it, Yi Zhonghai struck a match and handed it to him personally, keeping a humble attitude.

"We are in our forties, and it is unavoidable to make mistakes in work and life, let alone a nine-year-old child. To err is human. Xiangdong, give the child a chance and don't call the police. Now that I have said this, as the eldest uncle in the yard and as Jia Dongxu's master, I also want to say something. As long as you don't hold the child responsible, I am willing to compensate you on behalf of their family!" "This whole family depends on Dongxu's work, and now he is injured and unemployed at home, and this kind of thing happened again. It's really a double whammy. I beg you to give me this chance!"

The old man said this, and seeing that Li Xiangdong didn't say anything, he took a breath and said, "I have one last reason. We did block Banggeng in your house, and everyone feels that this kid is a thief, but when it comes to catching a thief and an adulterer, you can only convict him if you catch him red-handed. You said you called the police and got the police station to come, but when you look back, you don't find any stolen goods. How can this be possible? To be honest, after I entered the house and looked around, I really didn't see this kid steal anything!"

When talking about the Siheyuan collective, Li Xiangdong did not respond.

Li Xiangdong ignored the issue of Banggeng's future.

But now Yi Zhonghai brought up the reason of stolen goods, and Li Xiangdong felt that he had to fight back.

"Uncle, what you said does make some sense." Li Xiangdong smiled.

Seeing this confident expression, Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat again, because what this kid said was "some", not very reasonable.

Damn, I'm afraid something strange is going to happen again.

"You said you were afraid that Banggeng's theft would affect Siheyuan, and that if you called the police, it would affect his future. Have you ever thought about why you did anything before because you were afraid of losing the reputation of Siheyuan and affecting your future? Let me ask you, is Banggeng's theft an isolated case for me, Li Xiangdong? Isn't it? The Jia family didn't know about this? Have they been truly educated? Has Banggeng repented? If you say so, does that mean that any dishonest things that happen in the courtyard should be kept secret and not reported to the higher-ups?"

"I see, Master, the Jia family doesn't care, but Bang Geng is unscrupulous. That's because you, Master, have spoiled them too much. They always think that you have their backs, so they are fearless!"

Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng were all frightened for a moment, as if they had been seen through and had lost all dignity.

Yi Zhonghai actually lowered his head slightly, his face showing a burning feeling for the first time. He admitted that what Li Xiangdong said really hit him right in the heart, and he was indeed a little biased.

Seeing the expressions of the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai, Li Xiangdong achieved his third goal.

He wiped the sparks from his cigarette on the sole of his shoe and pointed his lips at the stick.

"You just said that Banggeng broke into the house to steal but didn't find any stolen goods, so the burglary can't be confirmed, right? Then let me ask you, where is the half pound of pork I brought home?"

(End of this chapter)