Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

As evening approached, the lively atmosphere at Ma Hua's house contrasted sharply with the quietness of the courtyard.

This situation is quite normal in Courtyard No. 95.

Because of the absence of Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai not only lost a henchman, but also a mediator.

Without Shazhu, he wouldn't be able to bring everyone together.

Due to He Yuzhu's meddling, the entire courtyard was divided into three factions.

The first faction was a group of elderly men, led by three older men. They wanted to become the local tyrants of the compound, making everyone act according to their will.

This faction used to be the most powerful, dominating the courtyard for over a decade.

Now that he's old and there's no one to take his place, he's gradually declining.

The second faction was led by He Yuzhu, who was considered unfilial. Everyone in this faction had been labeled unfilial by the three elders.

These people have been fighting against the retirement groups.

These people, who followed He Yuzhu into business, all made a lot of money.

These days, aside from listening to the gossip within the courtyard, they basically don't care about anything else happening in the courtyard.

The rest of the group are ostensibly neutral, seemingly indifferent to everyone else. In reality, they are opportunists who have been supporting the retirement group for years.

A fence-sitter will never earn the respect of others.

The retirement community has always treated these people as tools.

When we need something, we're good neighbors; when we don't, we just leave it aside.

As the retirement community declined, this faction gradually separated from it.

Seeing that the unfilial sons' faction had prospered and made money, they wanted to join their side.

However, the unfilial sons' faction was not happy to accept these opportunists.

The three factions rarely interacted with each other, resulting in a lack of neighborly warmth in courtyard No. 95.

Xu Damao and a few others were drinking together, while the others could only go home and watch the excitement.

Those who are opportunistic are relatively normal; they don't gain any advantage, but they don't suffer any losses either.

The group of retirees wasn't in a good mood.

Yi Zhonghai stood at his door until Ma Hua and the others dispersed before going back to bed to rest.

Qin Huairu was in a similar situation, watching the commotion from the window of the temporary building with Jia Zhangshi.

Nobody knows what they're thinking.

The next day was the day of He Yuzhu's company's annual meeting.

This year, the company has a much larger workforce, making it impossible for everyone to attend the annual meeting.

Each company selected a group of outstanding employees to represent them at the annual meeting.

Even those who didn't have the chance to participate didn't come empty-handed; the company prepared a gift for everyone.

Xu Damao and Wu Tiezhu do not work at He Yuzhu's company, but they also got a chance to attend the annual meeting.

"Brother Tiezhu, let's go."

Wu Tiezhu came out of the house, wearing brand new clothes.

"I'm leaving now, what's the rush?"

Xu Damao said with a smile, "Anyway, we two have nothing to do at home, so we'll go over and see what's going on ahead of time."

Lou Xiao'e specially invited two celebrities from Hong Kong to sing.

Let me tell you, those Miss Hong Kong contestants are incredibly beautiful.

Their film company has a female star who was the third runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong pageant.

Do you know what the Miss Hong Kong pageant is?
It's the Miss Hong Kong pageant.

Just imagine how beautiful the third-place winner, chosen from all of Hong Kong, would be.

Wu Tiezhu stared at Xu Damao: "Aren't you afraid Zhang Yan will see this?"

Xu Damao immediately felt guilty: "What am I afraid of? Everyone will be able to see when they perform."

The Liu brothers, Guangtian and Guangtian, were also at home. They overheard the conversation and came out of the house.

"Brother Da Mao, are you going to attend Brother Zhu's company's annual meeting?"

"Could you take us with you? We'd like to go see it too."

Xu Damao shook his head: "No. It's not that I don't want to take you, it's just that we really can't get in."

You wouldn't believe it, but of the more than 10,000 employees in He Yuzhu's company, only about 400 were able to attend this annual meeting.

They're already overwhelmed with their own employees, so they won't let outsiders in. Even if you go, you'll only be able to stay outside.

This is different from last year.

Fearing being entangled, Xu Damao pulled Wu Tiezhu away.

Liu Guangfu turned to look at Liu Guangtian: "Are we still going with them?"

Liu Guangtian thought for a moment and said, "I'll go. I don't believe I'll be kicked out if I go."

The two of them went along last year, but they didn't win any prizes, though they did get to eat quite a lot of food.

The two of them had just overheard Xu Damao's words and wanted to go see the Miss Hong Kong second runner-up.

Xu Damao and his companion entered the Intermediate People's Court and saw Yi Zhonghai.

Neither of them paid any attention to the other.

It's different when you get to the front yard.

In the front yard, they were stopped by Yan Bugui.

"Are you guys going to Shazhu's company's annual meeting? I've never seen an annual meeting like this before, so take me with you!"

Xu Damao looked helpless. He knew he would be stopped in the front yard.

"Didn't I tell you? You need an invitation to attend the annual meeting. Without an invitation, it's pointless to go."

"Uncle Yan, please stop scheming."

Yan Bugui was not about to give up so easily: "Da Mao, give me your invitation."

You have a good relationship with Sha Zhu, and you're also familiar with the people at their restaurant.

You can definitely get in without an invitation.

Xu Damao shook off Yan Bugui's hand: "Didn't I tell you that you can't get in without an invitation?"
What's the point of you going if they didn't invite you?

Yan Bugui, now over seventy years old, was thrown back a few steps by Xu Damao and almost fell.

"I tried to reason with you nicely, why did you push me?"

Xu Damao said with dissatisfaction, "When did I push you? You were holding my hand, so I just shook you off."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and immediately accused Xu Damao without asking any questions.

"Shut up. How old are you? Don't you know how to respect the elderly?"

Old Yan is seventy-one years old. If something were to happen to him, could you afford to compensate him?"

Xu Damao has always been dissatisfied with Yi Zhonghai, and now he looks down on him even more.

Upon hearing his accusations, he spat and said, "Why are you everywhere?"

When Yan Bugui saw Yi Zhonghai step forward, he cried out in pain.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at him and immediately shouted, "When people see injustice on the road, others will step on it. I can't stand people like you."

He bullies people everywhere just because he has a little money.

"If you don't apologize to Old Yan and compensate him today, don't even think about leaving."

At this point, someone should stand up and offer support so that Yi Zhonghai's threats can achieve the best effect.

Unfortunately, although there were many people surrounding them, not a single one of them spoke up.

Even Yan Bugui's own son did not offer to speak.

Yan Jiecheng had just witnessed the whole situation and knew that Yan Bugui was trying to extort money; he was unwilling to get involved in this mess.

Yi Zhonghai looked around but couldn't find anyone willing to speak, which made him feel awkward.

At the critical moment, Qin Huairu stepped forward: "Da Mao, what are you doing? If you've made a mistake, you have to accept the punishment."

Old Yan is almost eighty years old. At such an advanced age, even a small injury won't heal properly.

"Just listen to your sister and apologize to Old Yan right now."

Xu Damao spat and said, "I'm not apologizing. Everyone saw it; he was clearly the one who was deliberately bothering me."

"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have a little money. We neighbors may be poor, but we have our backbone."

Seeing that Xu Damao remained stubborn, Yi Zhonghai became furious.

He shouted loudly, hoping to awaken his sleeping neighbors with his cries.

Wu Tiezhu stepped forward, staring at the people in the courtyard: "Right and wrong will be judged by history, and justice resides in the hearts of the people. Just because you shout the loudest doesn't mean you're right."

If you don't want to, then call the police. (End of Chapter)