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

Chapter 40 Provocation
"Old Yi, this is not a good matter!"

"Is it a bit much to hold a college-wide meeting for such a small matter?"
"Isn't the old lady alright now?"

"As people get older, accidents are more likely to happen..."

“Li Hongbing doesn’t acknowledge the old lady as his ancestor, that’s his freedom. The Li family and the old lady are not related by blood or anything, so we can’t force him to accept it.”

"But you know, Li Hongbing is something else. He knows the old lady is getting on in years, yet he still speaks so rudely. I'll teach him a lesson later..."

"..."

After leaving Xu Fugui's house, the unwilling Yi Zhonghai naturally went to find Liu Haizhong again, which made him feel extremely bad.

Yi Zhonghai found Liu Haizhong's words extremely familiar; they were almost a carbon copy of Xu Fugui's.

Yi Zhonghai strongly suspected that Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong had already agreed on a story before he returned to the courtyard house, and that they did not intend to get involved in the matter.

Having experienced what happened before, and having lost his position as a senior member, Yi Zhonghai knew that his reputation was not as good as before, and his status in the hospital would change, but he did not expect the change to be so big.

What chilled Yi Zhonghai the most was that Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong, who had worked together, turned their backs on him so quickly, showing no mercy and both siding with Li Hongbing.

The deaf old woman was so angry with Li Hongbing that she fainted. There were so many people present and so many people who saw it, yet he just wanted to let it go so easily and pretend nothing had happened.

The old lady is still in the hospital, and they refused to hold a hospital-wide meeting.

They say that once a person leaves, the tea grows cold, but this tea grew cold far too quickly.

Not long after.

Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai return to the Intermediate People's Court, Jia Dongxu, who had been waiting for the results, immediately rushed forward and eagerly asked, "Master, how did it go?"

See this.

Yi Zhonghai sighed and shook his head, but didn't say anything more.

Right now, he's so tired that he doesn't want to say a word.

Even without Yi Zhonghai saying anything, judging from his expression, Jia Dongxu guessed the outcome. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he excitedly suggested, "Master, why don't we go to the police station and have the police arrest Li Hongbing!"

The last time he and Yi Zhonghai were caught in a sack incident, it was because he didn't report it to the police station immediately and wanted to handle it himself. As a result, he not only missed the best opportunity, but also gave Li Hongbing a handle to use against him, causing Yi Zhonghai to lose his position as a big shot.

This time.

Jia Dongxu has clearly learned from his previous experience and wants to take the official route this time.

"It's not that easy..."

Looking at Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai said helplessly, "In the afternoon, Li Hongbing only talked back a few times and didn't lay a hand on the old lady. Even if the police come, they might not do anything to Li Hongbing."

Yi Zhonghai had considered this method before.

If Li Hongbing had laid a single finger on the deaf old woman, Yi Zhonghai wouldn't be here now, but in the police station.

"Even if the police come and just give Li Hongbing a lecture, it will still be satisfying!"

Jia Dongxu couldn't understand why Yi Zhonghai would oppose it.

For Jia Dongxu, he was happy as long as he could make Li Hongbing suffer.

"Dongxu, this matter is not as simple as you think."

There were some things that Yi Zhonghai didn't know how to tell Jia Dongxu, so he could only give a vague answer without further explanation.

The criticism Li Hongbing received was insignificant to him, but if they kept bringing up the old deaf woman's past, he, as her former uncle, might also get caught up in the mess.

Otherwise, Yi Zhonghai wouldn't have thought of having Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong come forward.

"Master..."

Jia Dongxu was unwilling to give up and obviously wanted to say something more, but Yi Zhonghai waved his hand and said, "Dongxu, you don't need to worry about this matter. Fortunately, the old lady is alright for the time being. Let me think about it some more."

Seeing Yi Zhonghai say this, Jia Dongxu had no choice but to shut up, no matter how unwilling he was.

only.

When Yi Zhonghai returned home, he racked his brains but couldn't come up with a way to deal with Li Hongbing.

This is really a difficult matter!
Yi Zhonghai's usual three-pronged approach was completely ineffective against Li Hongbing. Even after daring to talk back to the deaf old woman and sending her to the hospital, moral arguments couldn't restrain Li Hongbing.

The key point is that in Yi Zhonghai's mind, Li Hongbing is an immoral person.

As for labeling...

Li Hongbing is well-read and knowledgeable, and he's much more eloquent than Yi Zhonghai, as Yi Zhonghai has personally experienced.

The key advantage in public opinion is not entirely on their side.

Even if Yi Zhonghai didn't agree with what Li Hongbing said that afternoon, he couldn't refute it.

With just a few words, he directly overturned the theoretical system he had painstakingly built, and almost caused the deaf old woman's status as an ancestor to plummet to the mundane world.

Some truths become clearer the more they are debated.

Yi Zhonghai's logic is fine if you don't delve into it, but if you really examine it, it simply doesn't hold water.

after a long time.

Yi Zhonghai, who was sitting there with a furrowed brow, didn't make a move until Sha Zhu returned from outside.

"Silly Zhu, come here for a second."

"Uncle, what's the matter?"

“I’m no longer the caretaker of the compound. Didn’t I tell you not to call me that?”

"Hey! Whether others acknowledge it or not, in my heart, you will always be the big boss of this courtyard. I don't acknowledge anyone else."

"..."

As soon as Sha Zhu returned, these few words made Yi Zhonghai feel gratified and he smiled.

"No matter what, it's not good for people to hear this. From now on, just call me Uncle Yi like everyone else."

Since he's no longer the head of the management office, Yi Zhonghai can't really use the title "Grandpa" anymore. Besides, Xu Fugui is the new Grandpa of the management office now, and if Xu Fugui heard him, he would inevitably have some complaints.

It's not worth making enemies with that cunning old fox Xu Fugui for such a trivial matter!

If the other people in the courtyard heard it, it would only make them laugh.

However, Yi Zhonghai was quite satisfied with Sha Zhu's attitude.

"Okay, then I'll call you Uncle Yi from now on. Uncle Yi, or Uncle Yi, is pretty much the same thing."

Sha Zhu smiled, revealing his signature big white teeth.

"Shazhu, something happened in the yard this afternoon..."

Putting aside his playful mood with Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai's expression turned serious, and he said with a "worried" look, "Did you know that the old lady was hospitalized?"

"what?"

"Your wife is in the hospital?"

"Grandpa, what's going on?"

"This was perfectly fine all of a sudden..."

"Sigh, it's all because of me, it's all my fault! I dragged the old lady into this..."

"Grandpa, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me what happened?"

"This is driving me crazy!"

"..."

Seeing that Sha Zhu was anxious, Yi Zhonghai felt relieved and pretended to blame himself, saying, "Isn't Li Hongbing off today?"
In the afternoon, Li Hongbing was cleaning fish in the front yard when the old lady saw him and kindly offered a few pointers, and then…

Li Hongbing probably thought the old lady was close to me, so he deliberately talked back to her, not only speaking rudely but also almost hitting her. He snatched her cane on the spot, and then…”

(End of this chapter)