Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

At the same time, in the backyard of the courtyard, at the home of the deaf old lady.

Aunt Zhao Guixiang came to the deaf old lady's house with breakfast as usual and waited for her to finish her meal. Aunt Zhao Guixiang asked, "Old lady, do you think Zhonghai can come back?!"

From the moment the first lady entered the room, the deaf old lady knew what she was thinking. She had been waiting for the first lady to speak. But she didn't expect the first lady to be able to endure until now. The deaf old lady sighed and said, "She can come back, but I can't be the manager anymore."

The auntie breathed a sigh of relief, and half of the worry in her heart was put down. She said, "It's better not to be the manager! Zhonghai has worked hard and spent money on Siheyuan in the past few years. When something happened, no one came out to help, and many people took advantage of the situation." Then the auntie changed the subject and said, "Old lady, have you noticed that Shazhu has become a different person in the past two days."

The deaf old lady nodded in agreement and said, "I guess someone told him something."

An old lady said, "Shazhu only interacts with a few people every day. Who would gossip with him?!"

The deaf old lady said, "Guixiang, you have taken care of me for so many years. There are some things I shouldn't have said. But today, between the two of us, I want to talk to you. Shazhu was originally the best candidate for you and your wife to take care of you in your old age, but now he has changed. It is basically impossible for him to take care of you in your old age. Jia Dongxu is a good person, but he has an unreasonable mother. As long as Jia Zhang is alive, she will not allow her son to take care of you in your old age. Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about Jia Dongxu's son Banggeng. What has Jia Zhang taught him at such a young age?! The old saying goes: 'A virtuous wife brings less trouble to her husband. An unvirtuous wife ruins three generations.' Jia Zhang is a good example. You and Zhonghai are still young, why don't you talk to the street office and adopt a child. There are so many children without parents these days?! It is better to find a child with a clean identity, teach him well from a young age, and know his ins and outs than to rely on others."

After hearing what the deaf old lady said, the aunt was somewhat moved. However, she was not the one who made the decision in this family, and it would all depend on Yi Zhonghai's opinion. The deaf old lady was a smart person after all, and she immediately understood the aunt's idea, and then said: "If you are embarrassed to tell Zhonghai. I will tell him when he comes back."

The auntie was immediately delighted and readily agreed: "Oh! Thank you so much!"

At eight o'clock in the morning, Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong appeared at the gate of the street office. The old man at the gate stopped them and asked, "What do you want?"

Yan Bugui said, "Director Wang asked us to come here today."

The old man at the gate looked at Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong and said, "You guys go in! Director Wang's office is in the east wing of the middle courtyard."

"Hey!" Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong responded in unison and walked into the gate of the street office.

The layout of the street office building is similar to that of No. 95 Courtyard, also a three-entry quadrangle. However, except for the gatehouse in the front yard, all the other back houses were opened up and turned into a canteen. The east wing of the middle yard is the director's office, the west wing is the meeting room, and the main room in the middle is the joint office. The back yard is a warehouse, duty dormitory and temporary shelter.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui came to the door of the east wing of the central courtyard. Liu Haizhong reached out and knocked on the office door. Wang Xia heard the knock and shouted, "Come in!"

"Director Wang!" Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui walked into the office and called out in unison.

"You guys are here?!" Wang Xia glanced at the two of them, stood up, took a notebook, walked in front of Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, and said, "Come with me!"

When Wang Xia led Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui into the meeting room opposite, Yi Zhonghai was already waiting inside. Wang Xia motioned Yi Zhonghai and the other two, as well as Officers Wu and Zhou who were guarding Yi Zhonghai, to sit down, and said, "Yi Zhonghai, I have read the self-criticism you wrote. You have a deep understanding of the problem, but it is not yet fully in place."

Yi Zhonghai said hurriedly: "Director Wang, please tell me! I will definitely change it!"

Wang Xia glanced at Yi Zhonghai and continued, "Your courtyard has been a civilized courtyard since 51. It is also the benchmark for our area. But I didn't expect that your civilized courtyard was obtained by covering up, intimidating, and sacrificing the interests of some residents. You three are really good, aren't you?!"

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui looked at each other quietly, and they reached a tacit understanding in an instant. Liu Haizhong said, "Director Wang, you don't understand the situation. The root of our No. 95 Courtyard's problems lies in the Intermediate Court. Old Yan and I have tried to report the Intermediate Court's affairs to you several times, but Old Yi would not let us. He even brought up a series of reasons to morally blackmail us."

"Yes!" Yan Bugui hastily agreed, and then said: "You also know that most of the residents in our yard work in the steel mill. Lao Yi is a sixth-level fitter and a master in the factory. He also has a good relationship with the leaders of the factory. So many people listen to him. Even if the two of us want to manage, it's useless. We are insignificant and have little influence!"

Wang Xia sneered and said, "You two shouldn't put all the blame on Yi Zhonghai. I went to visit your neighborhood early this morning. Liu Haizhong, you don't have much ability, but you are a first-rate official and a master at beating your son!" Then she looked at Yan Bugui and asked, "Yan Bugui, do you know what the neighbors say about you?!"

Although Yan Bugui knew the answer clearly, he still pretended to be dumb and answered, "I don't know."

Wang Xia continued, "They say that you two have become the gate gods of Yard 95. You have done a good job in guarding against enemies and spies. But you have also done a good job in your sideline. You have a low salary and many people to support, so I understand that you are a little stingy. But you can't set your sights on other people, can you?! People say that you, Yan Bugui, are like a passing goose plucking feathers, and you have to taste the saltiness of a passing dung cart. There are some things I am too embarrassed to say!"

After hearing what Wang Xia said to Yan Bugui, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong suddenly had the urge to laugh out loud. But they held back. Wang Xia saw that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's faces were red, and immediately understood what they were thinking. She said in a cold voice: "Yi Zhonghai, it's not easy for you to be a master, right?!"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale instantly, and he said, "Not bad! Not bad!"

Wang Xia said, "I don't want to say anything else. Yi Zhonghai, from now on, you are relieved of your position as the steward of the Siheyuan. Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, you two will be changed from formal stewards to temporary stewards. You two should manage the Siheyuan well. If something like this happens again, I will remove you from your positions. In addition, you two should also change your tempers."

Liu Haizhong patted his chest and assured: "Director Wang, don't worry! I will definitely make changes! And I will definitely manage the courtyard well!"

"Me too!" Yan Bugui quickly agreed.

Wang Xia saw the two's reactions and nodded with satisfaction. She said to Secretary Wu and Secretary Zhou, "Xiao Wu, Xiao Zhou, you two have to take the trouble. Go with them to the courtyard and return the money donated to the Jia family."

"Yes!" Secretary Wu and Secretary Zhou responded in unison and took Yi Zhonghai and the other two out of the meeting room.