Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Xu Damao and others came to the middle courtyard together. The old man had already arrived and was sitting behind the broken table. The neighbors had almost arrived as well, and were gathering in groups of three or four to chat and guess what the content of today's meeting would be.

The second uncle and the third uncle sat on both sides of the lame table. Xu Damao also found a pillar to lean against, holding a cigarette in his mouth and looking around the room, but saw Sha Zhu staring at him with a bad expression. Xu Damao sneered and raised his middle finger at Sha Zhu.

Although Sha Zhu didn't know what the middle finger meant, he knew from Xu Damao's expression that it was not a good thing. Anger rose on his face and he was about to rush over to cause trouble for Xu Damao.

"Zhu Zi, sit down quietly. The meeting will start soon." Uncle Yi Zhonghai scolded softly.

Sha Zhu spat forcefully on the ground and then sat down indignantly, but he kept glancing at Qin Huairu who was sitting next to Jia Dongxu in what he thought was a covert look.

Sha Zhu is a mean person who covets Qin Huairu's body. Since Qin Huairu married in, Sha Zhu was shocked by her beauty and started to have thoughts about her. He would sneak glances at Qin Huairu from time to time and even deliberately chat with her. But Jia Dongxu was still there, and Jia Zhang was not easy to mess with. Sha Zhu had not made any progress. He could only secretly practice his craft at night while thinking about Qin Huairu's plump body. However, the frequency of urination was greatly reduced after he was discharged from the hospital. Every time he urinated, some urine would leak on his shoes and pants. This was the sequelae that the doctor forgot to mention at the time.

At this time, Yan Bugui saw that most people had arrived and said, "Almost everyone has arrived. There is a lot to do today and the weather is a bit cold. Let's start early and finish early."

The second uncle, Liu Haizhong, coughed and stood up. "Everyone knows this. Recently, Xu Damao's house in the backyard is being renovated. The construction site is quite messy. Everyone should remind their children not to play over there and avoid getting bumped."

The old man saw that something was wrong. Usually, he was asked to preside over the meeting, but today he was skipped? Besides, when would this idiot Lao Liu be able to preside over a meeting so completely and fluently? Could this be directed at him?

Liu Haizhong continued, "You may have seen the white lines on the ground. Xu Damao wants to connect tap water to his home. This is a big project in the middle of winter, so Damao wants to find someone to help. Let Damao explain in detail."

Xu Damao walked to the center of the yard and said, "There are two things we need your help with. First, we need some hot water to melt the ground. Sisters-in-law and aunts who don't work at home can do this, and it doesn't take up much of your time. I'll give two cents for a pot of hot water. It's mainly used a lot every morning before work starts. After you bring the hot water, please register it with the uncle or aunt. I'll settle the bill for everyone after the renovation is completed."

Upon hearing this, the old sisters-in-law and young wives who had been doing housework at home for a long time became happy. Anyway, every household had a stove on, and boiling some hot water was just a side job. Now they could earn some extra money, so why not do it.

"Don't worry, Damao. I promise to prepare hot water for you every morning."

"Da Mao, you have to use my family's money more. You know that my aunt's family is in financial difficulty."

"Da Mao. I held you in my arms when you were little. You can't be partial to me."

These words made Xu Damao speechless. We were from the same compound, and many people had held me in their arms when I was a child.

"Okay, okay, that's settled. We have another thing to do, which is the work that Jiecheng and Jiefang do during the day. This is hard work, so it needs adult men to do it. I mainly want to find some people whose families are in difficult conditions and whose main labor force does not have stable jobs to do it. I will provide a meal at noon and a salary of fifty cents a day."

After Xu Damao said this, the crowd began to buzz with discussion.

"Fifty cents a day, fifteen cents a month, that's a lot."

"This job is good. Meals are provided at noon, and there is also 50 cents a day."

"My kid is seventeen and has time. This job right next to home is more stable and better than going out to do odd jobs."

"Even odd jobs depend on luck. There may not be any work."

"Da Mao is still thinking about helping us."

"This makes more money than making matchboxes, but I'm a woman and can't do this."

Seeing that everyone was talking endlessly, Xu Damao quickly called a halt, "If you want to do this, you should register with Uncle San later and start work on time tomorrow morning. In the end, the settlement will also be based on the number of days. Okay, that's all I have to say. Uncles, please continue the meeting."

Uncle Yi Zhonghai's face became even uglier. Isn't this clearly an attempt to win over the people in the compound? If this continues, will the compound still have its own say? What about their own pension issues?

At this time, the third uncle Yan Bugui stood up again, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. Damao's house is being renovated and no one can live in it. So they entrusted me to be the temporary manager to help with various matters. After the meeting, if you have anything you want to know or want to sign up, you can come to me."

There was a sparse applause from the audience, mostly from those who were interested in signing up to work. Uncle San said this beautifully today, at least he didn't intend to take advantage of everyone.

As soon as the third uncle finished speaking and sat down, the second uncle took up the conversation, "Let me say one more thing, which is the housing provident fund issue that Damao raised at our last meeting. After many discussions and revisions between Lao Yan, Damao and I, and my unremitting efforts, it was finally completed yesterday. Now I will read it to you. If there is anything inappropriate, you can point it out. After the revision, it will be submitted directly to the street office, and after approval, our compound will start to implement it."

After the second uncle Liu Haizhong finished speaking, he picked up his handwritten manuscript and began to read it page by page. The first uncle next to him understood that today's meeting was a joint effort by Lao Liu, Lao Yan and Xu Damao to target him. The two of them took turns to sing and then take the stage, not even giving him a chance to speak. They wanted to completely exclude him from the decision-making circle! He couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

Everyone in the compound was listening carefully to what the second uncle Liu Haizhong was reading, even Jia Zhang was no exception. After all, this concerned every household. After all, every family has difficulties and needs help.

It took about ten minutes for the second uncle to finish reading the charter he had written. "Everyone, please let us know if there is anything wrong with it so that we can discuss it together."

"I heard everything you said clearly. There is nothing to change."

"Second uncle, you have already written it in great detail."

"I think we should just submit it to the street office right away."

"Yes, yes, this way people in need can also enjoy subsidies earlier."

"It's time to do it sooner. Our Jia family is still waiting to get the money!" You can tell it was Jia Zhang who said this.

"Okay, then I will go to work a little later tomorrow. Everyone, please ask for leave for me. I will go to the street office to submit the materials first." said the second uncle.

Just as everyone was talking, a tall figure pushed a bicycle into the middle courtyard. Xu Damao saw that it was He Yushui. Why did she come back on Monday? After the meeting, he would ask her about He Daqing's address in Baoding. How could he just hit the prestige of the eldest uncle in the courtyard? He had to make proper arrangements for Yi Zhonghai!

At this time, the discussion gradually stopped. Liu Haizhong glanced at Yan Bugui, then at Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi, we have finished talking about everything. How about we adjourn the meeting?"

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that his nose was crooked. I was just a tool. I had nothing to do in the whole meeting. I was just waiting for him to announce the adjournment! Yi Zhonghai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He snorted and said, "Adjourn the meeting!" Then he walked away in anger.