Siheyuan: Tathagata's Palm suppresses the entire courtyard!

Mingjie smiled when Mr. Zhao asked about it and said, "Not expensive, only ten yuan each. It's hot this day, so it's worth buying a watermelon to cool down!"

Mr. Zhao shook his head and said earnestly, "Xiao Mingjie, you are still young, you should learn to save money. Your mother is in poor health and the family expenses are high, so you should save as much as you can. This big watermelon looks big, but you can only eat one or two bites, so there is really no need to spend this money."

After hearing what Mr. Zhao said, Mingjie felt a little unhappy. Although he knew Mr. Zhao had good intentions, he didn't want to be treated as an ignorant child. So, he raised the watermelon in his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhao, I don't like what you said. Watermelon is for cooling off and quenching thirst. Isn't the purpose of earning money to live? Besides, my mother also likes to eat watermelon, and I am also showing my filial piety to her!"

Master Zhao frowned slightly and looked at Mingjie with some displeasure: "Why don't you listen to advice, kid? I'm doing this for the good of your family. I'm afraid you'll spend money lavishly. Young people, you have to have long-term plans and can't just focus on enjoying the present moment!"

Mingjie muttered to himself, "Master Zhao always preaches like this, it's really annoying." He knew that it would be useless to continue talking, so he just smiled perfunctorily and said, "Alright, alright, Master Zhao, don't worry about me. I know how to live my life, don't worry!"

After saying that, he walked quickly towards his home. Although he had a smile on his face, he felt a little depressed in his heart: "Why do you dislike me so much? I bought a watermelon to make my mother happy. Besides, I earned the money myself. Why do you always say that I am ignorant?"

After entering the house, Mingjie saw his mother sitting on the kang, her face a little pale. When his mother saw the watermelon in his hand, she smiled and said, "Oh, Mingjie, you are really thoughtful. Mom just wanted to eat watermelon!"

Seeing his mother's happy expression, Mingjie felt much better. He quickly put the watermelon on the table and carefully cut it with a kitchen knife. The bright red flesh immediately came out, juicy and sweet. His mother couldn't help but exclaimed: "This watermelon is so sweet, it looks delicious!"

Mingjie cut a piece and handed it to his mother, then took a piece and started eating. The sweet melon juice flowed in his mouth, as if instantly diluting the boredom in his heart. While eating, he thought: "I didn't spend anyone's money anyway, so I don't care what they say!"

At this time, there were several loud laughs outside the courtyard gate. It was a few young people in the courtyard chatting. Mingjie recognized the voices of Wang Xiaopang and Li Dachun, and immediately became interested. He put down the watermelon and walked out.

"Xiaopang, Dachun, what are you doing?" Mingjie came over with a smile and saw the two of them chatting and laughing around a small bamboo chair.

"Hey, Mingjie, you're here at the right time! Look at this bamboo chair, we plan to put a few in our yard, so that when it's so hot, everyone can have a place to sit and enjoy the cool air. What do you think?" Wang Xiaopang said, and patted the bamboo chair to signal Mingjie to sit down and try it.

Mingjie sat on it and shook it. It felt quite sturdy, so he nodded and said, "This is a good idea! It's so hot, we should put a few chairs in the yard so that everyone can sit out and chat. But how can we buy these chairs? How much will it cost?"

Li Dachun said with a smile: "Hey, it doesn't cost much. We plan to go to the scrap yard to buy a few old ones and repair them ourselves. The key is to get it approved by Mr. Zhao. He always has a reason for what he says, you know."

Mingjie couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "I knew you two were afraid of him. Okay, I'll go and talk to him about this. If he disagrees, I'll talk to him about reason and see how he can refute it."

After saying that, Mingjie immediately stood up and went to find Master Zhao. Along the way, he was thinking of various arguments in his mind, thinking about how to convince Master Zhao to agree to buy the bamboo chair. He knew in his heart that he might have to have another "debate" with Master Zhao this time, but he didn't feel annoyed, but instead had an inexplicable sense of excitement: "Anyway, this is for the good of everyone, there's nothing to be afraid of."

When he reached Mr. Zhao's door, he knocked and heard Mr. Zhao's voice from inside: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Mingjie." He answered loudly.

When Mr. Zhao opened the door and saw it was him, he frowned slightly: "Why are you here again? What's the matter?"

"Master Zhao, I want to discuss something with you." Mingjie said with a smile, "It's so hot, if we can put a few more bamboo chairs in the yard, it will be convenient for everyone to come out and enjoy the cool air. A few of us young people are willing to go to the scrap yard to find a few old chairs. Do you think it's okay?"

After hearing this, Mr. Zhao was silent for a moment, as if he was considering something. Seeing this, Mingjie continued, "Look, this doesn't cost much, and it's all for the convenience of everyone in the courtyard. Besides, this is also a contribution for us young people, what do you think?"

Mr. Zhao looked at Mingjie, then glanced at the families in the yard, and finally nodded: "That's fine. But remember to maintain the chairs after you buy them. Don't buy them and they break after just a few days of use. That would be a waste of work."

Mingjie was delighted and quickly nodded in response: "Don't worry, Master Zhao, we will take good care of it and make sure it can be used!"

Since Xu Mingjie successfully persuaded Master Zhao to put bamboo chairs in the yard, his prestige in the yard seemed to have improved. Young people were more willing to discuss things with him, and even some elders looked at him differently. Although he still had some small disputes with Master Zhao from time to time, most of the time, what he said gradually made sense, which made Master Zhao feel a little uncomfortable.

One evening, Xu Mingjie was sitting on a bamboo chair in the yard to rest. The evening breeze was a little cool, making people feel comfortable. Several elderly people in the yard sat together chatting, while Wang Xiaopang and Li Dachun and several young people were playing poker nearby. The atmosphere was very lively.

Suddenly, Mr. Zhao came out of the house. He looked at Xu Mingjie sitting on the chair and frowned even more. He walked slowly to Mingjie and said suddenly, "Little Mingjie, I see you are quite active in the yard these days, and you like to get involved in everything. Tell me, you suggested buying this chair, but what happened? It's been a few days, and you young people haven't tried to fix it. Won't it rot if it rains?"

Mingjie was a little unhappy when he heard this, but he still kept smiling and looked at Master Zhao: "Master Zhao, this chair is for all of us to use. It's nice for us to sit and chat. As for repairing the chair, it just rained a few times, so we haven't had time to do it yet. Don't worry, I will find someone to repair it in a few days."