Comfortable life in Siheyuan

The actions of the old men inspired the people in the courtyard to follow suit. After a few days, the entrance and exit of the courtyard was only a little bit big. It was a big problem to push a bicycle from the front yard to the back yard.

When Liu's father came home from get off work, he could no longer walk out of the front yard, so he had to go through the side door. The three yards were now under construction, with bricks, stones and tiles everywhere, and it was a mess.

The old men were a little at a loss at this point, and the situation was clearly out of control.

At noon, several uncles came to Yi Zhonghai's home in the Central Courtyard. The four of them sat together with serious expressions and discussed countermeasures.

"This yard doesn't look like a home anymore. There's no road. We can't just stand there and watch." Liu Haizhong was fat to begin with, and he had a hard time walking in some narrow places.

"There are still a few people in the yard who listen to us. Will what you say work?" The third uncle didn't want to give up the house he had. Besides, his family lived in the front yard, so it was not difficult for him to go home.

"No matter how useful it is, we have to say it. He can build it, but he can't just do what he wants. We have to set rules, otherwise the front yard will block the road to the middle yard, and the middle yard will block the road to the back yard. Is this still a siheyuan?" Yi Zhonghai also had a serious expression.

"Or we can tear them all down to save trouble. We are old, and we will live in our old age in the future, so why do we need so many houses? Living in a yard like this is already annoying enough every day." Father Liu said helplessly.

"That makes sense. There's no way to move around in this yard. I can't even dry the clothes." Liu Haizhong agreed.

"That's right. Why should we rush to grab houses? Even permanent earthquake shelters, you're the only one who can think of that. These houses are worse than the other, all shoddily built. If there was a strong wind that day and two of them were blown down, killing people, it would be a big deal." Father Liu went on to say.

"Yes, we can't build it. We have to stop it immediately. If the twenty or so households in our yard all build houses, we won't even be able to build a door." Yi Zhonghai also reacted.

"Let's stop it now before it's finished. Let's hold a meeting in the evening. This matter must be curbed." said Liu's father.

"Then what should I do with the one I have already built?" asked the third uncle in a low voice.

"You were the one who took the lead in demolishing it, so yours must be demolished first." Yi Zhonghai's expression also turned unsightly.

As soon as a few old men came out, they stopped everyone's actions, and the atmosphere in the yard immediately became tense.

"Everyone, please stop what you are doing and listen to us." Liu Haizhong walked forward and said loudly.

Everyone who was busy working in the yard turned around and looked over.

"If you have something to say, please say it quickly. We are busy." Banggeng put down the brick and looked up.

"Don't build it yet. Notify everyone and hold a court-wide meeting in the Intermediate Court." After many years, everyone felt a little unfamiliar when they heard the term court-wide meeting again.

The people in the courtyard roughly guessed what was going on, and looked at the old men, all of them looking a little reluctant.

Now there is no more running errands, so I have to go to the front and back yards to notify them myself. The second uncle and the third uncle went to the front and back yards respectively.

After about ten minutes, everyone gathered in the central courtyard.

Several uncles also sat down. Yi Zhonghai took a stool and sat down.

"It's been a long time since we held a general meeting of the entire courtyard. We have to hold this meeting today. I believe everyone has guessed what it is. Recently, every household in the yard has been building a house, and there is no open space in the entire yard. Today we are going to solve this problem." The third uncle spoke slowly.

"Uncle, others have the right to speak about this matter, but do you have the right to speak? You were the one who took the lead in building this house." Xu Damao said disdainfully while standing in the crowd.

"Yes, it was you and the second uncle who started this. You two have no right to say this." Bang Geng also stood up and said.

His relationship with Xu Damao is now getting closer, and in the cinema, Xu Damao also began to teach him projection techniques.

Everyone in the yard echoed.

Seeing this situation, Father Liu knew that he had no choice but to stand up.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Let me say a few words." Father Liu said with a smile.

After a while, everyone in the yard gradually quieted down.

Father Liu went on to say, “There are more than 20 households in our courtyard, with more than 100 people. Now, including those that are under construction, there are only about 10 households that have completed construction. When everyone has built their houses, there will be no place to step in our courtyard.”

"We can't dry clothes to dry anymore, and we can't walk outside. We can't even sit together and watch the TV in the backyard. Tell me, does this yard still feel like a home?"

"Just for that small, low, and stuffy place, we shouldn't do that, right?"

The people in the yard looked at each other and fell silent for a moment.

"But what should we do if our house is not big enough?" Banggeng stood up and said loudly.

"Yes, you have many houses and a big yard, so of course you don't need to build one." Xu Damao shouted while sitting below.

"Just because the house is not big enough doesn't mean you can build something in the yard without permission. We all know how well this small house is built. Not to mention the quality, if there's a heavy rain or something, it could collapse."

"Besides, the earthquake a while ago is still fresh in everyone's mind. Think about it, this yard is already fully built. If there is another earthquake, will you be able to escape?"

Although Father Liu said a lot, many people in the yard still looked reluctant.

"The house is already half built, and the bricks were bought with money. How can we just stop building it? Isn't the money wasted?"

"That's right! My family isn't as well off as yours."

"I can't bear it either."

Yi Zhonghai saw that the two uncles beside him were speechless and could only stand up helplessly: "It's ok if you want me to demolish it, but the second and third uncles must take the lead and demolish their own houses first, otherwise we won't demolish it."

"Yes, what Uncle Yi said makes sense. It doesn't make sense that you can build it but we can't."

"If we want to demolish it, the second and third uncles have to take the lead." Sha Zhu also said.

The two old men on the stage who had originally agreed on what to do were now in a state of confusion, and no one spoke for a while.

The yard fell silent in an instant.

Seeing this situation, Liu Qingshan knew that this matter was difficult to handle, so he had to bite the bullet and stand up.

"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. Listen to me. There are eleven families currently building fifteen rooms. Some families have built more, some have built less, and there are still six or seven families that have not started construction yet."

"There is only so much space in the yard. If you are slow to grab it, there will be no room left. If these remaining few households build up, the people in the middle yard and the back yard will have to climb over the wall to go home. You can decide for yourselves." Liu Qingshan was not in a hurry. Anyway, his house had a side door, so he was not worried about not being able to go home.