Siheyuan, my new life

Originally, after the street office notified that a manager would be elected in the No. 95 courtyard, He Daqing wanted to remind Yi Zhonghai not to step out to do this thankless job. There was a reception at the factory that day, and when He Daqing came back it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. He saw that the lights in Yi Zhonghai's house opposite were turned off, so he did not go over to disturb him.

But the next day, Jia Zhang had a fight with Yan Bugui's wife in the yard, and the reason was to get votes for Yi Zhonghai. After learning the news, He Daqing already understood Yi Zhonghai's choice. Since things had already come to this, he did not speak to dissuade him. Even when Director Tang of the Street Office proposed that he be the manager and the chief of the courtyard, he recommended Yi Zhonghai. Sometimes, you won't turn back until you hit the wall. It's better to let Yi Zhonghai experience it personally so that he can truly understand the truth.

He Daqing knew very well that there was a big difference between the courtyard and the factory. The factory had perfect rules and regulations, and as long as they followed the factory rules, the workers who violated the rules would have nothing to say.

But it is much more troublesome to deal with the trivial matters of the family in the courtyard. Especially those old women, who can't read a few words but are eloquent and cunning. Dealing with the conflicts and disputes between them is likely to be a loss to both sides, and in the end, you will end up being a nobody.

Although Director Tang of the subdistrict office said at the courtyard residents' meeting that the steward did not receive any salary and was only there to assist the subdistrict office and the police station in resolving neighborhood disputes in the courtyard and preventing enemy spies and saboteurs, He Daqing knew very well that the emperor would not be short of hungry soldiers, and the subdistrict office would definitely give the steward some benefits in private.

However, He Daqing did not care about those small benefits. As the deputy director of the canteen of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, his salary was not low. Moreover, as one of the best chefs in the vicinity, he often went out to prepare banquets for weddings and funerals. He would get a red envelope of at least five or six yuan each time, and sometimes it would be ten or twenty yuan. This income alone exceeded his salary.

On the surface, Xu Fugui and his wife had the highest income in Siheyuan No. 95, but in fact, He Daqing's actual income was much higher than theirs. Moreover, after each banquet, the host would give the cook one or two meat dishes as extra reward according to the custom of diligence. In this way, the actual living standard of He Daqing's family was definitely the best in the Siheyuan.

However, He Daqing was well aware of the principle of making a fortune in silence, and he never revealed his actual income in the courtyard, so as to avoid some people's envy.

What happened today also made He Daqing even more grateful for his original decision. He watched the farce in the Central Courtyard with an undisguised sarcasm on his face. He actually felt an inexplicable joy in his heart for Yi Zhonghai's current predicament.

At this time, Liu Haizhong's wife was crying and pulling at Yi Zhonghai's clothes, muttering: "Uncle, you always say that neighbors should help each other, but now you can't just ignore it. If anything happens to our Liu Haizhong, how will my children and I live?"

The twenty or thirty neighbors who were surrounding them were all talking at once, and their only meaning was to ask Yi Zhonghai, the man in charge, to go to the police station and bring back the family members who had been taken away.

At this time, Yi Zhonghai's mind was in a mess. He had been annoyed by these people for a while. He could no longer suppress the anger in his heart and shouted loudly: "Stop arguing and listen to me."

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's roar, everyone around him shut their mouths and stared at him, wanting to hear what Yi Zhonghai, the manager, would say.

Being stared at by so many burning eyes, Yi Zhonghai's heart beat faster and even his palms felt a little wet. He knew that he had to cut the Gordian knot and quickly get rid of these neighbors who were already in a panic. If he delayed any longer, who knew what would happen.

So Yi Zhonghai swallowed hard and said loudly: "What's the point of you surrounding me? Don't you think about it? I am the manager of our No. 95 courtyard house appointed by the street office. Just now, Director Tang of the street office was taken away by the police station because he wanted to help Liu Haizhong and others get away. How can I, Yi Zhonghai, have more face than Director Tang of the street office? Listen to my advice, don't gather here, go back and think about whether your relatives and friends have any connections. Don't feel embarrassed at this time, ask for help quickly. As the manager of our courtyard house, I will definitely not stay out of it, and will definitely find ways to help you."

After hearing what Yi Zhonghai said, the surrounding neighbors calmed down. When they learned that their family members were taken away by the police station, they subconsciously gathered at the door of Yi Zhonghai's house, wanting the old man Yi Zhonghai to come forward and solve the problem.

It must be admitted that after nearly two years, the residents of No. 95 Siheyuan have formed the habit of looking for the steward when they have problems. Among the three stewards, only Yi Zhonghai is fair in handling various disputes in the Siheyuan. As long as it does not involve the Jia family, Yi Zhonghai can basically be fair and just.

The residents of the courtyard had already understood what happened tonight. They originally thought that Liu Haizhong, the second uncle in charge, would lead the way and everyone would go to the new resident of the west wing to ask for some benefits. A new resident who just moved in was visited by so many neighbors, so he should at least show some respect, right? Those who didn't go with them at home were still looking forward to good things. It would be best if Liu Haizhong could let the new resident set up a few tables in the courtyard so that everyone could have a good meal. After all, the smell of meat from the west wing was too tempting.

But the development of the matter was completely beyond everyone's expectations. The new residents of the west wing ignored Liu Haizhong, the damn uncle, and told him to get out.

Liu Haizhong's next move shocked everyone even more. He actually kicked down the gate and wall of the house and smashed the jeep. The young man in the west wing pointed his gun directly at Liu Haizhong and the dozen or so people who followed to join in the fun.

Everyone knows that going to someone's house to take advantage of them is completely different from kicking down a gate, a wall, or damaging a jeep. Especially since the house that was damaged was the home of the deputy director of the Dongcheng District Branch. Even if it was an ordinary citizen whose gate or wall was kicked down, anyone with a little bit of anger would fight back, not to mention that the other party was a deputy director?

At this moment, the people in the middle courtyard were almost regretting their decision. Who could have thought that the new occupant of the west wing was a leader? If they knew his identity in advance, who would dare to ask for money?

Someone in the crowd suddenly said, "What happened tonight is all Liu Haizhong's fault. If Liu Haizhong hadn't suddenly gone crazy and kicked down the gate and the wall, and smashed the jeep, how could our family members have been implicated and arrested by the police?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Haizhong's wife. The undisguised anger on her face made her shiver.

Seeing the almost murderous looks in the crowd, Liu Haizhong's wife felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave. She had realized that after hearing what had just been said, everyone had blamed their husband for their family members being arrested, and had completely forgotten that if they hadn't wanted to take advantage, how could they have followed them to find the residents of the west wing?

But Liu Haizhong’s wife also knew clearly that these people would not reason with her at all. If she continued to stay here, she would definitely be besieged by them.

After making up her mind, Liu Haizhong's wife gathered all her strength, suddenly sprinted through the crowd, and ran quickly towards the backyard.

For a moment, everyone was confused by Liu Haizhong's wife's behavior, until someone shouted: "Don't let her run away, Liu Haizhong must be held responsible for what happened tonight." So everyone immediately chased to the backyard in a mess.

Soon the originally bustling central courtyard became quiet, with only Yi Zhonghai standing there blankly.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Yi Zhonghai hurriedly walked towards his home after hearing the shouts and curses from the backyard asking Liu Haizhong's wife to open the door. He didn't want to care about those people in front of Liu Haizhong's house now. Anyway, the legal publicity materials issued by the last street office had already been publicized at the courtyard meeting. It mentioned that illegally breaking into other people's homes without permission is a criminal act. Based on Yi Zhonghai's understanding of the neighbors in the courtyard No. 95, they could only block the door of Liu Haizhong's house and shout and curse, and no one dared to really break in.