Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Early the next morning, Xu Damao went to work as usual, while Lou Xiao'e wrote the story Xu Damao told into a novel at home, and went back to her parents' home for dinner before noon.

At around nine o'clock in the morning, several people from the street office and the police station came and went door to door to inquire about the situations of Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady and Jia Zhang.

Even though Yi Zhonghai usually keeps things under wraps and handles everything in the compound, when these people in the compound encounter something and really face the police, they will tell them everything they know and can even draw inferences from one instance to another.

After Yi Zhonghai was arrested last night, Aunt Yi went to the deaf old lady to find a solution, but she didn't know that the old lady was just bragging, she was not a martyr's relative, and she didn't have that many connections. She just knew Director Yang of the steel mill. Before her son died, he fought side by side with Director Yang to fight the invaders, so he left a bond of friendship, but she had already used up this favor.

The deaf old lady is now in trouble, so she can only tell the truth and give her advice to ask Sha Zhu and Yu Shui for help. Aunt Yi thinks that the deaf old lady is just shirking her responsibility and doesn't want to help. She has no choice but to ask Sha Zhu and Yu Shui for help. After all, Sha Zhu also received a share of the child support for the past two years, and she also took care of Yu Shui when she was a child.

Aunt Yi soon came to Sha Zhu's house and knelt down. After her tearful plea, Sha Zhu finally softened his heart and agreed to reconcile privately.

Sha Zhu thought about how Yi Zhonghai usually treated him. Although it was abominable that Yi Zhonghai intercepted his father's letters and money, which made him live a difficult life, to be fair, it was Yi Zhonghai who helped him settle every time he got into trouble. Otherwise, the beating of Xu Damao alone would have been enough to make him suffer, not to mention all the troubles he had caused in the factory.

Then Sha Zhu took Aunt Yi to find He Yushui who had just returned home to plead for mercy. At first, He Yushui's attitude was still quite firm, but Aunt Yi knelt down again with a plop, and Sha Zhu also tried hard to persuade her, saying that she should be grateful and not be an ungrateful person.

He Yushui looked at her somewhat unfamiliar brother and felt that he had changed. He was no longer the brother who depended on her and loved her very much. It seemed that she could only rely on herself in the future. Damao was right. If that was the case, she should reconcile privately. It would be considered as paying back the favor owed to Aunt Yi and Silly Brother. She could get her own money back and some compensation, and live a better life.

After a long period of persuasion from the two, He Yushui finally gave in and agreed to a private settlement. However, he needed to discuss the issue of compensation with Brother Damao, as he did not understand matters in this area.

Aunt Yi readily agreed and said that she would go to withdraw the money the next morning. As expected, Aunt Yi took the passbook to withdraw the money early in the morning, and then took a lot of things to the police station to visit Yi Zhonghai. She was so busy that she didn't have time to eat, and she also forgot about delivering food to the deaf old lady.

The deaf old lady couldn't stand the hunger, so she went door to door to beg for food, but was turned away. In the past, she relied on her age, seniority and status as a martyr's relative to bully others in the compound, which had long angered everyone. This time, seeing that her identity was exposed by Director Wang, and Yi Zhonghai, who was in the same group with her, fell, it was still unclear whether she could come out. Who would take her, an old lady who was about to be buried, seriously?

The deaf old lady had no choice but to cook some cornmeal porridge by herself, barely filling her stomach. However, she did not notice that when she poked the stove, a piece of red-hot coal fell off and broke into several small pieces, one of which rolled directly under the cabinet.

The deaf old lady lay down on the bed to rest after dinner. She would get hungry easily if she moved too much. However, she didn't expect that the small piece of coal would slowly ignite the debris under the cupboard. Soon a small flame appeared and continued to expand until it ignited the entire cupboard.

The deaf old lady was awakened by a puff of smoke. When she opened her eyes, she saw a raging fire that had jumped up the wall to the western beams. Fortunately, the old lady's bed was on the east side. She quickly got out of bed, fiddled with it for a while, and then took out a wooden box. She ran out without even taking her crutches, tripped over the threshold, and fell directly outside the door, and everything in the box fell out.

"Hurry up, someone, there's a fire, help, someone come and save me." The old lady was crawling and shouting for help, and finally attracted the attention of everyone in the backyard. Someone saw some smoke coming out of the old lady's house, but they thought it was because the old lady didn't know how to cook, so no one bothered to do anything. What if they went and the old lady asked them to cook?

Second Aunt is still Second Aunt after all. She pushed the door open and saw thick smoke coming out of the old lady's house. She immediately went back to the house, got a rolling pin and washbasin, ran to the yard and started knocking.

There were few people in the backyard, and people in the front and middle yards were also attracted by the sound, but most of them were the elderly, the weak, women and children. The men had all gone to work, and the only adult male left in the yard was Li Cuzi in the front yard.

The second and third aunts began to organize everyone to use various tools that could hold water to put out the fire, while the half-grown children were sent to notify people from the street office and the police station.

People in the surrounding courtyards discovered the fire and came over with buckets and basins to help. Although they failed to put out the fire completely, they were able to control the fire and prevent it from spreading to the houses on both sides.

Soon after, people from the street office and police station also arrived. Many of them were in the courtyard in the morning to understand the situation, and just went back to eat at noon. Unexpectedly, they came back just after lunch and before work time.

After all, there is strength in numbers, especially so many young men. Under the command of the police station chief and Director Wang, they finally put out the fire. However, the deaf old lady's house was completely destroyed, and the two neighboring houses also suffered some losses, but the damage was not serious. Only the walls were blackened a little and half of the pillars in the corridor in front of the house were burned. It did not affect the living.

Director Wang of the Street Office is furious. What is going on in this compound? Before, Yi Zhonghai took the lead in covering up the truth. Now Yi Zhonghai has been arrested. Jia Zhang stole the chicken, and now there is a fire. They are really trying to make things difficult for him!

"Who can tell me what's going on? How about you speak first, old lady?" Wang Lixia asked with her hands on her hips.

But the deaf old lady didn't say a word, she just looked up at Director Wang. Helplessly, the second aunt could only stand up and recount what happened from the moment she heard the old lady's cry for help to the end of the fire fighting.

Wang Lixia nodded at her, but she didn't say what caused the fire! How should she explain this to her superiors? And how should she accommodate this old lady whose house was burned down?

"Ma'am, you really don't want to say it?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm an old woman and no one brings me food so I have to cook it myself?"