Siheyuan, my new life

Everyone present could understand Hao Aiguo's unspoken meaning. He was subtly telling everyone that the reason the general meeting of the whole compound had not been held in time a few days ago was because the two stewards, Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian, had been detained by the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. Although some people were already whispering about it, most of the neighbors looked at Hao Aiguo with complicated eyes. After all, everyone knew that the reason why Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian were arrested and detained was because they organized the people in the compound to buy grain on the black market.

These past few days, people in the courtyard have been gossiping about how, despite going to the black market together, Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian were detained, while Hao Aiguo was released the very next day. Keep in mind, it was the three old men in charge who led everyone to the black market. Especially noteworthy is that Hao Aiguo's wife, while chatting with some of the older women in the courtyard, intentionally or unintentionally boasted that her husband and the workshop director were fellow apprentices. She claimed that it was because she went to find him that the workshop director pleaded with the security office on Hao Aiguo's behalf, thus preventing him from being detained along with her husband. Her words were filled with undisguised smugness.

Since ancient times, the men and women of Beijing have always valued face. Some people have been gossiping that Hao Aiguo handled this matter too carelessly. After all, he, Xu Fugui, and Yue Xiangqian are all the managers of the courtyard house. When something happened, he only cared about himself. This kind of behavior not only loses face, but also reveals his character.

What made some people even more ridiculous was that Hao Aiguo's wife was simply clueless. Even though Hao Aiguo's senior brother helped him get out of the steel mill's security office, this was something they should have kept to themselves and never let anyone else know. After all, his uncles Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian were detained because of this. Since your family has connections, you should at least help them out. Even if your family didn't want to waste their favors on Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian, they should have kept it quiet. But this stupid woman just blurted it out.

To everyone's astonishment, at the hospital's general meeting tonight, Hao Aiguo, the third uncle in charge, openly and subtly brought up the matter of Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian's detention again, drawing disdain from many in the audience.

Although everyone present had their own thoughts, and some residents who had suffered losses at the Old Imperial City Black Market complained about the three leaders behind their backs, none of them dared to voice their true feelings in front of everyone. If they did, they would be ostracized and isolated by the other residents in the courtyard, and no one would lend a helping hand if they ever needed anything in the future.

Hao Aiguo picked up the teacup on the octagonal table, took a sip of tea, and then slammed the teacup heavily on the table, splashing the tea inside. He said loudly, "Silence! Everyone, please keep quiet. I am now going to convey an important notice from the street office." He did not notice that Xu Fugui and Yue Xiangqian, who were sitting behind the octagonal table, had unusually ugly expressions, and their eyes were filled with undisguised anger.

The residents present immediately stopped talking and focused their attention on hearing the contents of the notice from the subdistrict office.

Seeing everyone listening attentively to his speech, Hao Aiguo felt a surge of satisfaction. He immediately felt that he was someone who could command a large following in the courtyard at No. 95, and that tonight's meeting was his personal stage.

After a heavy cough, Hao Aiguo, mimicking the manner of his senior colleague who was the workshop foreman, deliberately put on a stern face and said loudly, "The leaders of the street office have entrusted me to inform everyone that with the winter vacation starting for school, parents must pay more attention to their children's safety education. In the past few years, after school holidays, students, lacking the guidance of teachers and the supervision of parents, often gather together to play. Several serious incidents have occurred in recent years, including cases of children fighting and accidentally injuring others, children skating on ice and falling into the water and suffering tragic accidents, and some children causing personal and collective property damage due to their mischief. Therefore, the leaders of the street office have specifically instructed me to solemnly remind all parents that you must not take this lightly and must strengthen the ideological education of your children..."

Next, Hao Aiguo tried hard to recall the specific cases that had occurred in recent years that the street office staff had told him, and then repeated them. However, even though he had racked his brains and tried his best to convey these real cases completely to the residents of the No. 95 courtyard, unfortunately, he was originally just a rough and uneducated man who had studied in a literacy class at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill for a period of time and finally barely obtained a primary school graduation certificate. Therefore, his knowledge was really limited. Although he tried his best to imitate the tone and actions of the street office staff when they told him, his words were still intermittent, incomplete, and disorganized.

As Hao Aiguo continued to relay the notice from the street office, many people present showed indifference. Nowadays, almost every household has several children. The adults in the family usually have to work to make a living. Even housewives without formal jobs will take on odd jobs at the neighborhood committee, such as sewing and mending or gluing matchboxes, to earn some pocket money and supplement the family's daily expenses. Therefore, the children are basically left to their own devices. Usually, the older children will take care of their younger siblings, especially after school holidays. In addition to taking care of their younger siblings, these teenagers also have to go out and find some firewood, so that the family can save some money on buying firewood and coal.

Xu Fugui glanced at Hao Aiguo sitting next to him with some disdain. Hao Aiguo was like a pig with a scallion stuck in its nose—pretending to be something he'd never do. He couldn't even speak properly, yet he kept rambling on and on. Despite the cold weather, Hao Aiguo's forehead was already covered in sweat.

After talking for more than ten minutes, Hao Aiguo felt his mouth was dry. He had no choice but to pick up his enamel mug and take a sip of the now-cold tea. Just as he was about to say a few more words, Xu Fugui impatiently spoke up: "Gentlemen, the Third Uncle has just relayed the notice from the street office. I want to remind everyone not to be careless. Keeping quiet is fine, but if something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret it. Alright, does anyone else have anything else to say? If not, tonight's meeting is adjourned."