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

Chapter 58 Small success

Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but want to ask Sha Zhu what he was thinking, whether he regarded him as an elder and respected him.

Actually, Sha Zhu did it on purpose, taking advantage of the situation to use his cleverness.

His idea is simple.

Having no other options, Li Hongbing turned his attention to Yi Zhonghai.

Now that Yi Zhonghai has spoken, whether he genuinely wants to make concessions and reconcile with Li Hongbing, or he's just trying to appease him, it doesn't mean he's just playing along.

It's not that important to Sha Zhu.

When it comes to playing dumb, Sha Zhu is a master.

The "silly" in Sha Zhu's name wasn't given to him for nothing.

He doesn't believe it anymore.

If Yi Zhonghai really went that far, and Li Hongbing still held a grudge and wouldn't let go of the past, then he would be too petty.

“Uncle Yi, didn’t you apologize to Hongbing before? Anyway, it’s not the first time, so you have experience.”

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai seemed hesitant, Sha Zhu couldn't help but speak up.

Hear the words.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Sha Zhu, not even wanting to answer.

Can that be the same?

Twice in total.

On one occasion, at a general meeting of the entire college, Yi Zhonghai lifted Li Hongbing up in front of everyone, and Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong, two senior officials in charge of the college, were also "accompanying" him in making a self-criticism.

Another time.

He was forced by circumstances to bow down to Li Hongbing, hoping to save face by apologizing.

Although Yi Zhonghai didn't gain anything from these two apologies, and was even ridiculed and belittled by Li Hongbing in the end, at least he wasn't completely passive.

To do this now would be to completely surrender.

From now on, whenever you see Li Hongbing, you'll have to go around him; you'll never be able to hold your head up high again.

Although his current situation isn't great, as long as he still has that fighting spirit, he'll eventually turn things around.

"Silly Zhu, let me think about this."

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to compromise, but I have apologized before, and you’ve seen the results.”

"Although I, your old man Yi, have already lost a lot of face, I'm not completely worthless yet."

"It would be good if we could resolve this, and I don't mind making a concession first, but I'm really afraid of being humiliated by Li Hongbing again. I can't afford to lose face like that again."

"If that happens, I will have no face to continue living in this courtyard house."

"..."

After thinking for a long time, Yi Zhonghai finally managed to squeeze out some words.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's dejected and disappointed appearance, and hearing him speak to such an extent, Sha Zhu felt a pang of sympathy and decided not to press him any further.

and.

Based on his recent conversations with Li Hongbing, Sha Zhu couldn't guarantee that Yi Zhonghai would back down and settle if he actually did that.

After dealing with the stubborn and simple-minded Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt quite exhausted.

That silly Zhu...

Sometimes they can be quite challenging.

……

the other side.

Li Hongbing had no idea that the usually shrewd and calculating Yi Zhonghai had almost fallen into Sha Zhu's trap and nearly been "outsmarted" by him.

However, when he returned from Fengzeyuan and learned that Shazhu had specially made braised pork today, and Yushui had even brought him a bowl, he was somewhat surprised, but not entirely surprised.

This does indeed seem like something that Sha Zhu would do.

Of course.

The rain also played a role. What Li Hongbing said to Sha Zhu that day wasn't entirely without effect.

However, it is also limited.

Because Li Hongbing had heard that although Sha Zhu hadn't given the meat to the deaf old lady that morning, he still eagerly promised to buy her meat to stew.

I've already tried to persuade him, but Sha Zhu is still eager to act like a grandson to others and become a sucker.

Li Hongbing didn't want to say anything more.

He wasn't Sha Zhu's nanny, and since Sha Zhu was willing to do it himself, he really couldn't be bothered with all that nonsense.

My previous intervention was merely because I saw that Sha Zhu hadn't been completely brainwashed by Yi Zhonghai, and also because I wanted to cause some trouble for Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman.

But now it seems the effect is just so-so.

Sha Zhu isn't stupid; he might actually see things, but he likes to play dumb and avoid understanding his own feelings.

Li Hongbing had no interest in getting entangled with Yi Zhonghai, or going back and forth with him over a simpleton like Sha Zhu.

If Yi Zhonghai doesn't stop and continues to target him, Li Hongbing will go to Baocheng and bring He Daqing back, directly cutting off Yi Zhonghai's resources and completely ruining his reputation.

By then, Yi Zhonghai was too busy taking care of himself to think about anything else.

With this trump card in hand, dealing with Yi Zhonghai would be a piece of cake.

……

the next day.

When Li Hongbing got up early and practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade for the second time, the long-awaited system notification finally arrived.

[Heaven rewards diligence! Congratulations, host, your Eight-Section Brocade skill level has increased from lv2 to lv3, reaching a new level! Reward: 5 million cash and a 50-year-old ginseng root!]

Oh open!

With the money he had saved up before, the five million yuan Lou Zhenhua had given him, and the five million yuan reward he received today, Li Hongbing's cash flow suddenly reached over fifteen million yuan.

In this era, Li Hongbing experienced for the first time what it meant to have so much money that he couldn't spend it all.

Li Hongbing needs to find some time to quickly stock up on some things in the system space.

This money should be enough for Li Hongbing to make purchases for several days.

As for that fifty-year-old ginseng, it is an extremely rare and precious item.

As the king of herbs and a treasure for health preservation, ginseng has been renowned for thousands of years, and its efficacy is not just hype.

The wild ginseng that Lou Zhenhua gave him a few days ago was only about ten years old. Li Hongbing only used a portion of it to stew chicken. These past two days, he has been full of energy, as if he has inexhaustible strength.

This fifty-year-old wild ginseng is worthy of being a family heirloom.

Even those long-established pharmacies probably don't have many such treasures.

As for whether it could be used to save lives in a critical moment, Li Hongbing wasn't sure, since he had no experience in this area.

[Host: Li Hongbing]

【Age: 16】

Strength: 58, Agility: 62, Constitution: 61, Intelligence: 86 (Standard adult value is 60)

skill:
[Running: lv1 (70/500)]

[Cooking Skill: lv2 (145/2000)]

[Calligraphy: lv2 (31/2000)]

【Eight Pieces of Brocade: Level 3 (0/10000)】

……

After checking the system panel, Li Hongbing quickly returned to his morning practice of Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade).

Although it was only a level breakthrough from lv2 to lv3, which took only a few minutes, Li Hongbing's movements when practicing Baduanjin were noticeably smoother and more natural and harmonious.

This skill level upgrade has given Li Hongbing a deeper understanding and appreciation.

If level 2, the beginner level, is just getting a glimpse of the basics, then level 3, the intermediate level, represents some progress.

At least in the Eight Pieces of Brocade exercise, Li Hongbing is no longer a novice.

(End of this chapter)