Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

A group of people surrounded Xu Damao, which also drew He Yuzhu out.

"what happened?"

Xu Damao said with a smile, "I bought a television set."

He Yuzhu glanced at it, then stopped paying attention. Televisions held no appeal for him at the moment.

Firstly, television screens are too small nowadays, making them inconvenient to watch; secondly, television stations don't have many programs, so they are mostly just for show.

Just because he didn't care didn't mean that others didn't care; almost everyone in the courtyard came out to watch the spectacle.

This is different from what Xu Damao originally intended to buy a television set.

Back then, Sha Zhu was the common enemy of the entire compound.

After he was ousted by Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai did not let him off the hook.

Under Yi Zhonghai's covert manipulation, the entire compound began to isolate Xu Damao.

Of all the people in the courtyard, only two had any interaction with Xu Damao.

One of them was Yan Bugui, who would block the door every day. Whenever Xu Damao brought back something good, Yan Bugui would try to take advantage of him.

In most cases, he won't gain any advantage.

Xu Damao has been isolated by the community; there's no way he'll take advantage of the situation.

He would turn around and smear Xu Damao, thereby isolating Xu Damao.

Another person who had contact with Xu Damao was Qin Huairu.

Receiving Sha Zhu's salary did not satisfy Qin Huairu.

She frequently visited the Xu family home, taking advantage of her close relationship with Xu Damao.

The purpose is self-evident: to gain an advantage.

No one else is qualified to compare with these two. Anyone who dares to contact Xu Damao will be harassed.

Of all the people in the entire courtyard, no one but Yi Zhonghai could accomplish this.

Yi Zhonghai targeted Xu Damao for a simple reason: after Xu Damao became a leader, he severely disrupted the order of the courtyard house.

They trampled on the dignity of those three old men.

This is something he absolutely cannot allow.

He wanted to teach Xu Damao a lesson and let the people in the compound know what the consequences of disobeying would be.

Xu Damao was the chicken he used as a warning to others.

His methods succeeded.

Because of his fear of retaliation, during the eight years that Qin Huai kept Sha Zhu hanging, no one dared to tell Sha Zhu the truth.

Everyone watched helplessly as Sha Zhu helped Qin Huairu get involved.

It's different now.

Yi Zhonghai himself is almost isolated, so it's impossible for him to call on others to isolate Xu Damao.

Xu Damao returned home and quickly fixed the television.

The people in the courtyard gathered around the Xu family's house to watch television.

He Yuzhu's children glanced at it a few times, then squeezed through the crowd and went home.

Xu Damao was in a good mood today, and although he disliked the large number of people, he didn't chase them away.

He also came to He Yuzhu's house.

"Why isn't Yuanyang watching TV?"

He Yuanyang said nonchalantly, "It's meaningless."

Xu Damao smiled and said, "You've watched TV before?"

He Yuanyang nodded.

A television was nothing special to the He family. Lin Zhijie's family had had a television for a long time. The kids had already watched it.

He Yuzhu asked, "Where did you get your TV ticket?"

Xu Damao said, "I went to see Director Li. He's the one who gave me the TV ticket."

After He Yuzhu talked to him that day, he felt uneasy.

After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to go and ask Li Huaide.

Li Huaide reminded him, considering his good relationship with He Yuzhu.

This TV ticket was also given to him at that time.

After speaking with He Yuzhu, Xu Damao said, "Why do I have a feeling that Director Li is about to leave?"

He Yuzhu said, "I'm not quite sure either. But what do you think?"

Xu Damao said, "What else can I think? Director Li is already planning to disband the workers' picket team."

I was also dismissed. Where else can I go but leave?

He Yuzhu said, "Actually, going to the movies isn't a bad idea." Xu Damao made his decision, but he was still upset. He still didn't want to lose his position as the leader of the workers' picket team.

This is not something he can decide.

Perhaps because he was in a bad mood, Xu Damao went home and chased away those who wanted to watch TV.

In the following days, the people in the courtyard wanted to go and see what was going on, but Xu Damao refused them all.

Immediately afterwards, bad rumors about Xu Damao began to circulate in the neighborhood.

Yan Bugui also kept an eye on Xu Damao's house, making several trips to the backyard every day.

The three women stopped him, puzzled: "What are you doing all day? Why are you always running to the backyard?"

Yan Bugui said, "I'm studying Xu Damao's television."

The three women said speechlessly, "Xu Damao won't let you into his house, what are you studying?"

Do you know anything about televisions?

Yan Bugui said, "How could I not understand? Let me tell you, I've made up my mind, our family wants to buy a television too."

The three women looked at her as if she'd seen a ghost: "Are you crazy? Why would we buy a TV?"

"Haven't you heard? Xu Damao's TV costs 300 yuan. Your entire year's pension isn't even enough to buy one."

Yan Bugui said, "That's not how you calculate it. 300 yuan may be a lot, but you can earn it back quickly."

"Make it back? How?" the third aunt asked, puzzled.

Yan Bugui said, "Look, how many people have come to our courtyard these past two days."

What are they here for?

They all watch the TV at Xu Damao's house.

"If we buy a TV, will they come over to watch it?"

The three women said, "That won't do. Why should they get to watch our TV?"

Yan Bugui said, "Of course we can't let them watch for free. Whoever wants to watch TV should pay our electricity bill."

If a hundred people watch it every day, how much money would that cost?

Also, they've taken up their spots and won't leave until the end.

If I want to drink water in between, do I have to pay for it too?

"You do the math yourself, see how much money you can make all of this together."

The three women silently calculated for a while, then their eyes lit up: "We can also make some cornbread and sell it to them."

Yan Bugui smiled and said, "That's right. That's exactly what I think."

Playing chess with Lao Yi and Lao Liu in the yard every day is a waste of time.

You won’t be poor if you have enough food and clothes, but you will be poor if you don’t plan well.

I've decided not to waste my time with them anymore.

The three women suddenly felt a pang of regret: "But where are you going to get TV tickets?"

"The mountain man has his own clever plan."

Yan Bugui goes fishing every week. He doesn't catch many fish, but he does get to know a few people.

One of them was a retired cadre. That cadre worked for the supply and marketing cooperative and had no shortage of these receipts.

That old man was a flower lover.

When Yan Bugui was chatting with him, he talked about the flowers he grew.

One of the potted plants caught that person's attention.

The man asked Yan Bugui for flowers several times, but Yan Bugui felt that he was giving too little and refused.

This time, he decided to reluctantly give up his TV ticket.

Two days later, Yan Bugui returned carrying a television set.

The sensation caused by this incident was even more shocking than the story of Xu Damao buying a television set.

Yan Bugui, the stingiest man in the compound, actually bought a television.

This was something they simply couldn't believe.

As old buddies, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were also shocked.

Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but ask, "Old Yan, why did you buy a television?"

Yan Bugui said, "I just can't stand Xu Damao. It's just a TV set, does he think anyone can't afford it?"

Yi Zhonghai was somewhat skeptical of this answer.

Liu Haizhong said, "Old Yan, get well soon so everyone can see."

Everyone's attention was drawn to this.

Yan Bugui was overjoyed to see this. The more people wanted to watch, the more money he could make. (End of Chapter)