"Have you heard? The old lady's house in the backyard was taken over by the Chen family."
"What? How come it's so fast? It was only announced yesterday, and they're allocating rooms today. Her family came prepared."
"What preparations did they make? They probably just benefited from the Sun family's influence. You can't be envious of this kind of thing, sigh!"
...
During dinner that evening, the news of the Chen family's housing allocation spread like wildfire throughout the entire compound.
The neighbors who wanted to rent the house all complained bitterly.
There were people cursing and hurling insults behind people's backs, but no one dared to come to their door to discuss the matter.
Because nobody's stupid. The Chen family and the Sun family have such a good relationship that they don't care about these neighbors at all.
Inside the outbuilding at the front of the courtyard, Yan Bugui was listlessly munching on a cornbread, appearing distracted.
He hesitated for a long time outside, but finally gave up the idea of reporting them, because he really couldn't afford to offend the Sun family.
Seeing her husband's loss of appetite, Aunt Yan followed behind and tried to persuade him.
"Honey, eat up! You're not thinking about... again, are you? Sigh! Take my advice, it's a thankless task, we can't compete with them."
"Don't worry! I won't report it. Since they were able to get a house, they definitely won't leave any evidence. I'm not that stupid."
Yan Bugui waved his hand with a wry smile, but he was still not convinced in his heart...
After quickly eating a couple of bites, Yan Bugui got up and prepared to leave.
Aunt Yan didn't know what he was trying to do, so she asked him a question.
"Husband, what's wrong with you...?"
"You don't need to worry about it, I'll go find Old Liu."
With that, Yan Bugui went out the door and headed straight for the backyard, intending to bewitch Liu Haizhong and make him the villain.
The door to the room in the backyard where the deaf old lady lived had been opened.
The Chen family members were all inside, planning which parts needed to be changed so they could move in as soon as possible.
Chen Dama's son, Chen Guangming, is an honest and hardworking man who is also very filial.
Seeing how big the room was, he couldn't help but express his feelings.
"Mom, this house is so big. Once it's all set up, why don't you move in?"
Wu Qiuyue chimed in, "Yes, Mom! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been allocated this house. You should stay here!"
Grandma Chen felt very gratified to see that her son and daughter-in-law were so filial.
But she shook her head directly, indicating that she would not move in.
After all, it's much better for a young couple to live together, even if it's just for fun, it's still more convenient.
"Alright, you don't need to persuade me anymore. I'll clean up the house tomorrow. Let's go to the Sun family's courtyard first to thank Zheng Guo."
"Of course, of course, let's go then!"
After saying that, Chen Guangming turned off the light, and the group left the room, locked the door, and prepared to leave.
Just then, Yan Bugui arrived at the backyard, and the two met briefly. However, because of what happened that afternoon, neither of them took the initiative to greet each other, and they simply passed by.
...
When Yan Bugui entered Liu Haizhong's house, he was peeling peanuts and drinking wine, his face flushed.
"Hey! Old Liu, you're really bold. The houses next door have already been divided up, don't you have any thoughts about it?"
As soon as he entered the house, Yan Bugui took the initiative to stir up trouble, seemingly speaking up for Liu Haizhong, but actually harboring ulterior motives.
But aside from being a bit greedy for official positions, Liu Haizhong wasn't stupid; he remained completely still, as steady as an old dog.
"Old Liu, you didn't drink any fake alcohol tonight, did you? You seem a bit down. I told you the houses next to yours got allocated, and you didn't even react?"
Yan Bugui continued to incite, seemingly determined not to give up until he achieved his goal.
Liu Haizhong, annoyed to no end, finally put down his wine glass and casually said something.
"Old Yan, that's their skill, what can I do?"
"No, Lao Liu, don't you know whether the Chen family is capable or not? Do you think they can compare to you?"
As Yan Bugui spoke, he sat down without being invited, acting as if he were no outsider, and picked up the peanuts on the table to peel them.
"Leave some for me, I still have some wine!"
Liu Haizhong quickly grabbed a few peanuts, stuffed them into his bag, and then spoke again.
“The Chen family may not be as capable as me, but so what? They are related to Director Sun’s family, which gives them an edge over you and me.”
Seeing that Liu Haizhong, this simpleton, wouldn't be fooled, Yan Bugui was quite helpless and had no choice but to slowly guide him.
“You can’t say that, Lao Liu. You’re a member of the working class. Everyone should respectfully call you ‘Big Brother.’ They’re abusing their privileges. As the head of the compound, you should speak up against this unfairness…”
Yan Bugui kept rambling on and on, like a fly buzzing around, his words going in one ear and out the other.
However, the fly was completely oblivious and kept buzzing incessantly, which was extremely annoying.
Helpless, Liu Haizhong reached out to interrupt him and then said weakly.
"Old Yan, I just don't understand. You know the neighborhood office, and I'd welcome you to report me if you wanted, but you can't come and cause trouble for me! I don't have your courage to report whomever you want."
Well! Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui was so angry that he was practically fuming and almost developed cirrhosis of the liver.
It turns out that all my hard work was for nothing, and that the other person didn't even take it seriously, and there was even something implied in their words.
The story ended with Yan Bugui leaving in a huff.
After he left, Aunt Er came out of the room and sat down at the table.
"Honey, I think Yan Bugui's words make sense. Why can't we report him?"
"Report? Why would I report him? Our family has the same number of people as the Chen family, but our house is bigger than theirs now. I would only report him if I were sick."
Liu Haizhong seemed to have sobered up at this moment, speaking clearly and logically, leaving even his second aunt speechless...
On the other side.
The Chen family had already arrived at the courtyard. After exchanging greetings, Sun Zhengguo politely welcomed the Chen family into the house.
Of course, the Chen family didn't come empty-handed when they came to express their gratitude.
In addition to bringing several boxes of exquisite pastries, her family also specially ground ten kilograms of tofu and delivered it over.
Because Aunt Chen knew that the old man and his family liked this kind of food, this is called catering to their tastes.
"Zhengguo, thank you so much, Auntie. You've helped my family a lot. I don't have anything to give you, and these things aren't worth much, so please don't find them too expensive."
"Aunt Chen, what are you doing? You brought so much stuff here, aren't you just embarrassing me? Take it back later. Also, take those two cartons of cigarettes from yesterday, I don't need them."
As he spoke, Sun Zhengguo took out the two packs of Peony cigarettes from the cabinet and returned them unopened.
"No, no, Zhengguo, are you complaining that there aren't enough things? There's no reason to send something back. Please accept it no matter what." Aunt Chen quickly pushed the things back to her.
“Yes! Zhengguo, we’ll feel bad if you don’t accept it.” Chen Guangming, who had been silent until now, also stepped forward.
Seeing that Wu Qiuyue was about to speak, Sun Zhengguo felt a headache coming on and quickly reached out to stop them.
“Aunt Chen, Brother Guangming, Sister-in-law Qiuyue, we used to be neighbors, and now we're even related by marriage. Don't you know what kind of person I am?”
"You're welcome to come and visit, but I really can't accept your gifts. If you insist on leaving them behind, how can our two families get along in the future?"
Seeing that Sun Zhengguo wasn't joking, Aunt Chen knew that the gift wouldn't be given out tonight.
So she chose a roundabout way and left a few pounds of tofu for the old man.
This time, Sun Zhengguo didn't object. He figured he could just leave some for them next time he had something good; that's normal social interaction.
After arguing about the gifts, the Chen family was also drawn to the television, with adults and children alike watching intently.
Seeing this, Sun Zhengguo just smiled and thoughtfully moved some stools over for them so they could sit down and watch at their leisure.
...
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