Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 248 Jia Dongxu's Fate, Invitation to Apologize with a Drink

"Well, this whole mess has finally calmed down."

After seeing Director Wang off, Yan Bugui couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He is indeed the caretaker of the compound, but he only has so much power. He might be useful for ordinary disputes and minor matters.

But for a situation like today, he really couldn't have handled it without Director Wang's intervention.

Turning back to Li Hongbing, Yan Bugui asked gossipily, "Hongbing, what do you think Director Wang will do about this today?"

Who would know about this?

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing had no interest in analyzing or discussing with Yan Bugui. He shook his head and said directly, "Uncle Yan, it's getting late. You should go back and rest early. You have to go to work tomorrow!"

"Yeah, after all this trouble, it's almost midnight. It's exhausting."

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Yan Bugui also felt sleepy and couldn't help but yawn.

Instead of gossiping, you'd be better off going back to your room and going to sleep.

back home.

Just as Li Hongbing lay back down in bed, Chen Xueru woke up groggily and asked him, "Hongbing, what happened outside just now? It sounded quite noisy."

The commotion that Sha Zhu, Jia Dongxu, and Xu Fugui had caused in the Intermediate Court was quite significant; even Chen Xueru, who was a sound sleeper, was disturbed.

When she woke up, she found that Li Hongbing was gone from the bed, and the occasional noises coming from the courtyard made Chen Xueru realize that something had happened there.

Even though she realized this, Chen Xueru had no intention of getting up or going out to check, because she guessed that Li Hongbing had already gone.

And it's not a big deal.

Or rather, it has nothing to do with their family, so they aren't very interested.

Trusting Li Hongbing, Chen Xueru firmly believed that if anything happened, Li Hongbing would not leave her alone in the house.

Did I disturb your rest?

Li Hongbing was a little helpless. He reached out and touched Chen Xueru's face. Seeing that she still looked sleepy, he smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. Go to sleep first. We'll talk about this tomorrow morning."

"Ok!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xueru smiled gently and did not ask any further questions.

Subsequently.

Chen Xueru snuggled closer to Li Hongbing, resting against his chest, and drifted off to sleep again, feeling content and happy.

Seeing this, Li Hongbing chuckled and quickly fell asleep as well.

After a brief period of noise, the entire courtyard gradually returned to its usual tranquility.

Silent all night.

……

the next morning.

After Chen Xueru woke up, she quickly learned what had happened the night before.

Although somewhat surprised, she wasn't overly shocked.

Having lived in this courtyard house for several years, Chen Xueru was not completely ignorant of the people living there, especially since even bigger and more sensational events had occurred before.

Chen Xueru was never a naive or innocent girl; she just rarely got involved in the affairs of the hospital.

The series of events that happened last night may have been unexpected for her, but it was also quite reasonable.

After learning about the situation, Chen Xueru only chatted briefly with her mother and Li Hongbing, and then kept quiet about it when it came time to eat.

Neither Li Hongbing, nor Chen's mother and Chen Xueru ever talked about these things in front of the two children, Li Jianwu and Chen Jiwen, even though they might not understand them now.

to be frank.

Even though Li Hongbing has already purged several groups and sent away unstable elements like the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai, the current environment and atmosphere of the courtyard are still somewhat worrying. What happened last night fully illustrates this point.

All Li Hongbing can do is try his best to prevent these negative impacts from extending to his own family, including the education and upbringing of his two sons.

After finishing their meal, Li Hongbing, as usual, rode his bicycle with Chen Xueru to work.

It wasn't until he returned home that evening that Li Hongbing learned from Yan Bugui the final outcome of what had happened the previous night.

"Has Jia Dongxu been detained by the police station?"

Li Hongbing was both surprised and not entirely surprised by the result.

Even if the amount involved in Jia Dongxu's extortion is small, it's enough to keep him in jail for at least a few months, if not a year or two.

As for the situation where Xu Damao started the trouble first...

To be honest, Xu Damao's behavior can only be described as having problems with morality and ideological awareness, but it cannot be considered a crime.

However, Jia Dongxu's threats of exposing privacy and destroying reputation, along with his extortion of money, have met the criteria for blackmail and constitute a clear violation of the law.

"I heard it's only for a few days, and they'll be released soon."

Yan Bugui told Li Hongbing what he knew.

"How many days?"

Li Hongbing was genuinely surprised to learn of this situation.

It was rare to see a look of surprise on Li Hongbing's face. Yan Bugui smiled and then said, "But even if Jia Dongxu is released, his life won't be easy then."

"How to say?"

Hearing Yan Bugui say this, Li Hongbing also became interested.

"Although Jia Dongxu didn't actually go in this time, news of what happened last night, and his detention by the police station, has reached the steel mill..."

At this point, Yan Bugui lowered his voice, glanced around instinctively, and then continued:
"I heard that in the afternoon, the steel rolling mill issued a special notice to punish Jia Dongxu, demoting him from a level-two fitter to a general laborer, with his salary and benefits reduced significantly..."

However, to be fair, the fact that Jia Dongxu wasn't fired outright was already a sign of the steel mill's leadership's leniency; otherwise, the Jia family would have been in dire straits, and Qin Huairu and Bang Geng would have been in real trouble!

After Yan Bugui finished speaking, Li Hongbing couldn't help but ponder.

Jia Dongxu's fate this time can be described as tragic, but it's not the worst yet.

According to normal procedures and handling methods, Jia Dongxu's outcome would have been far more than this.

Putting aside the fact that the police station only symbolically detained him for a few days, the steel mill's punishment for him was merely a job transfer, not direct dismissal.

Although in this era, even factory leaders cannot arbitrarily dismiss workers, this is all based on the premise that workers do not make mistakes, especially not mistakes of principle.

If someone breaks the law or even goes to jail, being fired is just a normal procedure. What happened last night, although not a big deal, is not the first time Jia Dongxu has been punished for making mistakes at the factory. He has several negative records before, so if he is really to be fired, there's no point in Jia Dongxu protesting his innocence.

The police station and the steel mill handled Jia Dongxu's case somewhat leniently.

Upon learning that Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Xu Fugui had also received criticism and education, and that they, along with Jia Dongxu, had been given regular labor education by the neighborhood committee, although the period was not as long as Jia Dongxu's, Li Hongbing roughly guessed what had happened.

Jia Dongxu's problem can actually be either a big deal or a small deal.

Last night, Li Hongbing had already realized that Director Wang did not intend to go all the way.

If Jia Dongxu were to go to jail and be sentenced to one or two years, it would basically ruin the entire Jia family.

There's definitely still a way to survive, but you can imagine what kind of survival they'll have.

At that time, the neighborhood committee and women's federation will still need to step in to help. Otherwise, if the Jia family loses Jia Dongxu as their economic pillar, they will definitely not be able to make a living on Qin Huairu alone.

Qin Huairu is currently pregnant and heavily pregnant, so Director Wang, as the director of the street office, certainly can't completely eliminate them.

have to say.

Regardless of the era, pregnant women are always treated with tolerance and care.

This time, perhaps it was the child in Qin Huairu's belly that saved the Jia family.

However, the Jia family may be "lucky," but being entangled with Jia Dongxu is simply bad luck.

Not long after he got home, Xu Damao came looking for him.

"Hongbing, are you free tomorrow night? I'd like to treat you to drinks."

Xu Damao's sudden remark startled Li Hongbing, who couldn't help but ask, "Why did you suddenly decide to invite me for a drink?"

After all that commotion last night, and only today has a resolution, Xu Damao is now inviting him for drinks. Li Hongbing is a little confused.

"Hey, it's not really just about inviting you for drinks."

When Li Hongbing asked him this, Xu Damao scratched his head and confessed somewhat embarrassedly, "Well... last night, didn't my dad promise in front of everyone in the courtyard that he would hold a banquet to apologize to Shazhu? I'd like to invite you to attend and be a witness..."

When this was brought up, Xu Damao became somewhat embarrassed and reluctant.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to invite Li Hongbing for drinks, but rather that he didn't want to hold a banquet to apologize to Sha Zhu.

Shame!

He had no choice but to obey Xu Fugui's orders.

Moreover, Xu Damao wanted to invite Li Hongbing for drinks, but it was a special banquet, not a shameful apology dinner.

Everyone says that Sha Zhu is very concerned about his reputation, but in the entire courtyard, which young man doesn't care about his reputation?

However, this was something Xu Fugui specifically instructed him to do.

Da Mao might feel ashamed, but Xu Fugui saw this as a good opportunity to get closer to Li Hongbing.

Finding a suitable reason to invite Li Hongbing for drinks is not so easy.

This time we invited Li Hongbing to be a witness, and next time we can use this as an excuse to invite Li Hongbing again to express our gratitude.

As this happened more often, their relationship gradually grew closer.

The dinner table is precisely the place where feelings and relationships are most easily enhanced.

"A witness?"

Upon realizing the situation, Li Hongbing feigned hesitation before saying, "For this kind of thing, I think it's more appropriate to ask Uncle Yan and Uncle Du. I'll pass on it!"

If Xu Damao and Shazhu can really use this opportunity to ease their relationship and change their previous confrontational style of doing things, it will not only be a good thing for the entire courtyard, but also for themselves.

Li Hongbing wasn't very interested in this kind of thing and didn't want to get involved in their entanglement, so he politely declined.

to be frank.

This was the first time Li Hongbing had ever been asked to be a witness; he had never done it before.

However, usually, those who are invited to be witnesses are older, more prestigious, or have a better status and identity.

Li Hongbing is only in his early twenties, and he finds this kind of thing rather strange.

“Hongbing, if that’s what you’re saying, then I don’t agree with you.”

Xu Damao was not satisfied with the reason given by Li Hongbing, and said without hesitation:

“Don’t be fooled by the fact that Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo are the senior managers of the compound, and that they are older and more senior than you. In my eyes, whether it’s ability, status, or prestige, they are not as good as you. You are the best choice to be the witness this time.”

Although Xu Damao's words had the air of flattery, they came from the bottom of his heart.

Like Sha Zhu, among everyone in the entire courtyard, only Li Hongbing was recognized and respected by Xu Damao.

As for Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo, although they have the title of "big shots" in the management department, Xu Damao thinks they are completely unqualified.

People usually call them "Grandpa" out of politeness or even long-standing habit, but it doesn't mean they truly acknowledge their abilities and status.

This wasn't the first time they'd addressed each other by their first names in private, as they had just done.

"Exaggerated."

Despite Xu Damao's compliment, Li Hongbing didn't immediately become arrogant, but a smile appeared on his face as he politely and humbly declined.

"It's best to find someone older and more stable to be a witness. I appreciate your high regard for me, but let's leave it at that. I really don't have much time tomorrow."

Rejected by Li Hongbing once again, Xu Damao felt a little embarrassed. If it were anyone else, he would have already lost his temper, but the other party was Li Hongbing after all.

The key point is that although Li Hongbing refused, his tone and attitude were impeccable, and he even gave a reason for refusing, without making anyone feel looked down upon.

Since he had come to invite someone, not to cause trouble, Xu Damao was naturally not so blind.

"If tomorrow isn't possible, is there time the day after tomorrow, or the day after that?"

Although Xu Damao was concerned about his image and didn't want Li Hongbing to see him humbly toasting and apologizing to Sha Zhu, this was, after all, an order from his own father, Xu Fugui. If he didn't invite the man over, it would be difficult to explain himself when he returned.

Left with no other option, Xu Damao could only say again, "Or you can postpone the time to another day when you have time. It doesn't have to be tomorrow night."

"Let me take a look!"

Li Hongbing didn't expect Xu Damao to be so insistent. It wouldn't be appropriate to continue refusing, since there was no conflict between the two families. Although his relationship with the Xu family wasn't particularly good, it wasn't bad either, and they were generally quite harmonious on the surface.

After thinking for a moment, Li Hongbing added directly, "There's no need to change the time. If I have time, I'll go and grab a drink. If not, you should invite Uncle Yan and Uncle Du."

"Then I'll take that as your agreement."

Li Hongbing didn't rule out the possibility of a reversal, but Xu Damao excitedly said, "No matter how late you come back, we'll be waiting for you!"

(End of this chapter)