Era: A college student came to the courtyard house

Back to the courtyard house.

This is the busiest and most lively time of day in the courtyard.

The adults were busy cooking and washing clothes.

The children gather together to roll hoops, play table tennis, and jump rope. As for homework, they rarely take it home to do now; most of it is already completed in class.

Qin Huairu, who was married but widowed, was washing clothes with her hair in two braids.

I don't know what this widow was thinking; these days, only unmarried women usually wear pigtails.

He Yuzhu brushed past Fang Yuan and greeted him softly.

Then he quietly walked up behind Qin Huairu, stood to her left, and gently patted Qin Huairu's right shoulder.

After Qin Huairu discovered him, she raised her hand to hit him back, but then noticed the lunchbox He Yuzhu was carrying. She chuckled softly and asked, "What delicious food did you bring back today?"

Seeing that He Yuzhu was about to be defeated by Qin Huairu's charming eyes again, Fang Yuan immediately walked towards the backyard without stopping.

He didn't have time to stand there and watch them show off their skills.

As it approached eight o'clock in the evening, everyone in the courtyard had almost finished their work.

Fang Yuan, having eaten his fill, had no family to worry about. He had already eaten dinner early and was drinking tea while reading newspapers about the Hongxing Steel Plant from recent years.

"Brother Fang?"

"Brother Fang, are you staying home?"

Fang Yuan, who was engrossed in watching, was interrupted by a shout that suddenly came from the doorway.

"It's Jie Kuang, what's wrong?"

Upon opening the door, one could see Yan Jiekuang, the youngest son of the Third Uncle.

Upon seeing Fang Yuan emerge, Yan Jiekuang chattered, "Brother Fang, my father asked me to inform you that our institute is holding a general meeting."

Compared to the children of the second uncle's family, the children of the third uncle's family were much more polite and spoke at a measured pace. This may be related to the fact that the third uncle was a teacher. Apart from being good at calculating, the whole family was quite good in other aspects.

"Okay, I understand."

After receiving Fang Yuan's reply, Yan Jiekuang hurriedly ran to Xu Damao's door and called out again.

General meeting of the entire college.

This is a common feature of many courtyards in Beijing today. Initially, the higher authorities were tasked with assisting the neighborhood committee in publicizing policies, notifying residents of important and minor matters, and mediating disputes. However, as time has passed, these meetings are now held every few days for trivial matters.

The original owner had only participated a handful of times before, but now that he was officially working, it would be a bit unreasonable not to go.

Back inside, Fang Yuan first tidied up the newspapers and notebooks on the table, then pulled the light cord hard, and the room instantly went dark as the light bulb went out.

He then walked out with his arms crossed.

Arriving at the hanging flower gate in the front yard.

The makeshift meeting place had been set up. In the middle of the courtyard stood a square table and three armchairs, while an incandescent lamp was mounted on the door frame of the front yard, providing decent lighting. Many rice lice were flying around incessantly.

As for the rest of the attendees who were just watching the show, they all brought out their own small stools from home.

Upon noticing He Yuzhu leaning against the side of the hanging flower gate with his hands in his pockets, Fang Yuan also strolled over.

"Brother Zhu, what's up today?"

He Yuzhu saw that it was Fang Yuan, so he took out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and shoved them into Fang Yuan's hand, grinning and saying, "I don't know either. Let's wait and see what the three of you do."

Because entertainment options were relatively limited these days, many residents in the courtyard attended the general meeting with the mindset of watching a play.

Seeing He Yuzhu acting as if it were none of his business, Fang Yuan simply joined in and started eating sunflower seeds.

The third uncle on duty this week was already standing in front of the octagonal table early in the morning, enthusiastically urging the neighbors to sit down as soon as possible.

Fang Yuan had already made plans for the three elderly men in the courtyard.

First, defend; second, attack; third, pull.

First precaution: The one to guard against is Uncle Yi Zhonghai. This uncle is best at praising a virtuous person every day and then using that to morally bind people. Therefore, you have to be careful to avoid being flattered to death. Fang Yuan's strategy is the three principles of a scumbag: don't take the initiative, don't express your opinion, and don't take responsibility.

The second beating was to the second uncle, Liu Haizhong. He was a typical example of someone who feared authority but not morality. This old man's principles and values ​​were based solely on gains and losses. He only cared about strength and weakness, not right or wrong, good or evil. He was always like this at home. His beating of the children was because he lacked authority and was easily angered. He wanted to use the venting of his anger to demonstrate his authority.

Furthermore, this second uncle is the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. Therefore, you absolutely cannot be sycophantic and kind to such a person; doing so will only make him take advantage of you.

As for how to fight, it's very simple: as long as Fang Yuan's position at Hongxing Steel Plant remains above his, he'll be helpless.

The third approach was to win over Yan Fugui, the third uncle in the front yard. Although he was shrewd and calculating, he was a teacher after all, with a scholarly air about him. He could distinguish right from wrong and wasn't a bad person. He was easy to talk to for small favors, but knew his place on important matters. Therefore, Fang Yuan considered him someone who could be won over.

As the neighbors gathered and sat down, Fang Yuan was eager to be a bystander, but the Third Uncle had no intention of letting him off the hook.

Upon spotting Fang Yuan's handsome and striking figure, the Third Uncle rushed towards him and shouted, "Come, come, Fang, you're a cadre now, you should sit in the front row."

"Uncle, what's with all this talk about cadres? We're all serving the people, and I'm a member of the working class," Fang Yuan explained, then shook his head without moving and replied, "I didn't bring a stool today, so I won't sit down."

This isn't a formal meeting, why do you have to be so particular about seating arrangements?

Seeing that Fang Yuan didn't respond and showed no intention of moving, Yan Fugui could only turn around and continue urging the others.

Another half hour passed.

After the third uncle finished counting the heads one by one, the first uncle, Yi Zhonghai, and the second uncle, Liu Haizhong, came out from the west wing of the front yard and went straight to the octagonal table.

Behind them was a young man who looked somewhat familiar to Fang Yuan.

Because of the original owner's solitary personality and the fact that she didn't live in the courtyard much during college, she felt a bit unfamiliar with it.

"What is this?" Fang Yuan asked He Yuzhu beside him in a soft voice.

He Yuzhu stared at the man for a few moments, then slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, it turns out it's the mischievous third son of the Mu family back. He's been in the army for almost five years now, and he looks quite different."

After he said that, some vague memories of this person flashed through Fang Yuan's mind.

Mu Wenbin is 22 years old, just like Fang Yuan, but two months younger.

When they were young, they often played together. Unfortunately, the original owner played around but his grades remained outstanding. Mu Wenbin, on the other hand, barely managed to graduate from junior high school. When he was 17, his father used his connections to send him to the army, and that's when the two lost contact.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye, and unexpectedly, I have returned from my previous job.