Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

"Not participating."

Xu Damao received Xiao Huaihua's message and, filled with curiosity, ran to the He family's house.

He also asked He Yuzhu if he wanted to participate.

He Yuzhu's answer was that he would not participate: "Those three are just retired old men, what right do they have to convene a hospital-wide meeting?"

Xu Damao said, "You're right, we shouldn't have participated. They still think it's the old days, when no one dared to mess with them."

"Alright, since you're not participating, I'll head back."

Before leaving, I noticed a steamer on the stove in He Yuzhu's house.

"What's steaming inside?"

He opened it and saw that it was a steamed bun. He immediately said, "This is good. My precious baby just wanted to eat steamed buns."

Xu Damao didn't stand on ceremony at all. He took a bowl and a pair of chopsticks from He Yuzhu's house and picked up two steamed buns from the pot.

"I am leaving."

He Yuzhu couldn't very well stop him for the sake of two steamed buns, so he could only say irritably, "Get lost."

When Wu Tiezhu saw Xu Damao return, he asked, "Aren't you going to participate?"

Xu Damao said, "What are they going to attend? They're just three retired old men. What right do they have to convene a hospital-wide meeting?"

"It's so cold, why would I be stupid to stand outside with them in this freezing weather?"

Wu Tiezhu had guessed that this meeting was probably related to the Jia family. In fact, he didn't want to get involved in the Jia family's affairs.

Now that he heard that Xu Damao wasn't going to participate, he simply turned around and went home.

The remaining families in the backyard weren't stupid either; with a little thought, they realized that the purpose of this meeting was not simple.

They were all unwilling to participate, let alone help the Jia family.

Yi Zhonghai used the phrase "mutual help" to harm them for decades.

They are always the ones helping the Jia family; the Jia family has never helped anyone else.

Now, seeing the steamed buns Xu Damao is holding, I know he came back from He Yuzhu's house.

Xu Damao's absence means that He Yuzhu will not participate.

Since some people are taking the lead in not participating, why should they step forward?

These people not only refused to participate themselves, but also told their neighbors.

For a time, almost no one from the middle courtyard or the back courtyard went there.

In the front yard, Li Dagen entered the middle yard and, seeing that He Yuzhu hadn't come out, went to He Yuzhu's house.

"Zhu Zi, be careful. I think Lao Yi and the other two are up to no good."

He Yuzhu said, "I don't care whether they have good intentions or not. I have no intention of participating."

"What right do those three old men have to convene a hospital-wide meeting?"

Li Dagen said, "If you don't participate, they will definitely cause you trouble."

He Yuzhu said coldly, "They dare."

Judging from He Yuzhu's expression, he was determined not to participate. Li Dagen stopped trying to persuade him.

As they left the He family's house, they saw Yi Zhonghai and two others setting up the venue. Since the sons of the Liu and Yan families weren't home, the three of them had to move the tables themselves.

Looking around the courtyard, apart from Yi Zhonghai and a few others, there was basically no one else there.

The people in the front yard came out, but seeing that no one was coming, they quietly went back inside.

Upon seeing this situation, Li Dagen knew that Yi Zhonghai's three-person college-wide meeting would not be able to proceed.

He's not stupid; there's no need for him to stay out there and suffer with the three of them.

Li Dagen then planned to go home.

On his way home, he had to pass by the platform where Yi Zhonghai and the other two were sitting, and that's when the three of them spotted him.

Yan Bugui stopped him: "Old Li, where are you going? The meeting is about to start."

Li Dagen asked, "What kind of meeting is it?"

Yan Bugui asked, "Didn't Xiaodang and Xiaohuahua inform you just now?"

Li Dagen said, "They notified me. But just because they notified me, does that mean I have to participate?"

"The neighborhood committee doesn't have any policies to announce, so what's the point of holding a meeting?"

Liu Haizhong said with dissatisfaction, "Old Liu, what are you trying to do? Are you planning a rebellion?"

Li Dagen said disdainfully, "Old Liu, by what right do you speak to me like this?"

The three of you have made mistakes in the courtyard.

What right do you have to convene a plenary meeting?

"We're the bosses!" Liu Haizhong roared.

"He was dismissed long ago for making mistakes." The words "dismissed" made the faces of Yi Zhonghai and the other two extremely ugly.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath and suppressed his anger: "Old Liu, if he doesn't want to participate, then he shouldn't participate."

"Without him, I refuse to believe this entire college meeting can't go ahead."

We've lived together for decades, so we know each other very well.

Yi Zhonghai's words were clearly a threat to Li Dagen.

Li Dagen could guess what kind of threats Yi Zhonghai would use.

It's nothing more than accusations of undermining unity and selfishness.

Li Dagen wasn't afraid of this at all. Because Yi Zhonghai's so-called unity was always selfish.

Whoever listens to him will suffer the consequences.

If Yi Zhonghai wanted to deal with him, he would need to be able to convene a general meeting of the entire college.

Given the current situation, only a few of them will participate.

Li Dagen walked home nonchalantly.

Yi Zhonghai slammed his fist on the table in anger: "No organization, no discipline."

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were also very angry and sat down directly next to the newly arranged dais.

The three of them were so engrossed in their anger that they didn't notice their surroundings.

The meeting was scheduled to begin, but no one showed up.

Qin Huairu was the first to notice the anomaly and whispered a reminder: "Zhonghai, it's time for the meeting."

Yi Zhonghai and his two companions snapped out of their daze and looked around the venue, only to find that they were the only ones there; no one else had come to attend.

"What's going on? The time's up, why didn't anyone come?"

Liu Haizhong asked, "Xiao Dang, Huaihua, have you notified them?"

"We did notify them, we notified them door-to-door," Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua quickly explained.

Liu Haizhong said with dissatisfaction, "Since the notice was sent out, why is no one here to participate?"

If this were his child, he would have given him a beating with a belt long ago.

Qin Huairu was immediately displeased when she saw Liu Haizhong criticizing Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua.

Regardless of the circumstances, Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua are his daughters, so what right does Liu Haizhong have to reprimand them?

"You can't blame them for this."

Liu Haizhong really wanted to say, "If it's not their fault, then who is?" But he was too embarrassed to argue with a woman, so he just snorted and sat down.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, Yi Zhonghai finally spoke: "Xiao Dang, Huaihua, go and call them again."

We three old men were waiting for them in the courtyard.

We won't go back unless they come.

This is clearly a job that will offend people.

Yi Zhonghai didn't want to go, and it wasn't appropriate to arrange for Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui to go.

Besides them, only Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua are left to run errands.

The two sisters inherited Qin Huairu's intelligence and were unwilling to offend anyone in the courtyard.

They went to the front yard in unison to find Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Jiecheng said irritably, "What kind of college-wide meeting are you attending?"
What right do they have to convene a hospital-wide meeting?

"If they want me to go, they'll have to call He Yuzhu and Xu Damao out first."

That was exactly what the two wanted to hear, so they turned around and went to the venue to tell Yi Zhonghai and the other two the exact words.

Liu Haizhong angrily pointed at Yan Bugui: "Look at the son you raised."

Yan Bugui objected: "What's wrong with me teaching the children?"

Is this a problem I'm having with how I teach my child?

If you hadn't done those things and offended people in the institute, would everyone have been so disrespectful?

Liu Haizhong stood up angrily: "What did you say?"

Yan Bugui was scared, but he was unwilling to admit defeat: "I just said it, what can you do to me?"

Just before the two were about to fight, Yi Zhonghai slammed his hand on the table: "Enough! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already?"

After saying that, he got up and went home.

This plenary meeting thus came to a complete failure. (End of Chapter)