Back in the courtyard house, Sun Zhengguo's life returned to peace. He practiced martial arts and studied, and when he had nothing to do, he would go fishing with his third uncle. Although he didn't catch much, he always managed to catch something.
In the courtyard, Jia Dongxu successfully proposed marriage, with a bride price of 50,000 yuan. In addition, the family bought a sewing machine, which caused quite a stir in the courtyard.
Although she had saved face, Madam Jia was not happy at all. Her son was getting married and had almost squandered all of her family's wealth.
That day, Sun Zhengguo and his third uncle finished fishing and were heading home when they ran into Liu, an official from the neighborhood committee, at the entrance of the courtyard house. Liu informed them that there would be a meeting at 8 p.m.
After returning to the hospital, Yan Bugui notified each household again.
At 8 p.m., Officer Liu arrived at the courtyard and was invited to sit at the front table, where the meeting officially began.
"Alright! Everyone's here, so let's begin. Please welcome Officer Liu from our subdistrict office to give us some instructions. Let's give him a round of applause."
Liu Haizhong spoke first.
"Clap clap clap..."
Officer Liu stood up calmly, pressed his hands down, and said.
"Good evening, everyone. I am Liu Changjun, an officer from the subdistrict office. The purpose of this meeting today is to convey the instructions from higher authorities regarding the re-examination of the issue of class composition."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people below began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Weren't the ingredients already decided? Why do we still need to review them?"
"Comrades, in the early days of the People's Republic of China, due to insufficient manpower, the investigation was not thorough enough. This re-examination is to prevent any fish from slipping through the net and any bad elements from hiding among the people. So please don't be emotional and cooperate with the investigation. Anyone who doesn't cooperate can expect the people's dictatorship."
After Liu Changjun finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard fell silent. Who could withstand such a heavy label? Anyway, their family background was fine, so they could investigate however they wanted.
Liu Changjun was quite satisfied with everyone's performance.
After discussion, it was decided that each household would fill out the form themselves, and then the person in charge would be responsible for submitting it. The street office would then conduct a unified review, with the timeframe set at within 3 days.
After the meeting, everyone dispersed, but He Daqing, pale-faced, did not go home. Instead, he headed towards Yi Zhonghai's house.
Unbeknownst to He Daqing, a pair of eyes, like those of a hungry wolf, were quietly watching him.
Since the last fight between the He and Xu families, He Daqing had long forgotten about it, but Xu Fugui had always remembered it and wanted to take revenge on He Daqing. Unfortunately, he never had the chance until today, when he discovered that something was wrong with He Daqing, which led to the scene described above.
When He Daqing arrived at Yi Zhonghai's house, the two exchanged glances, and Yi Zhonghai immediately understood that He Daqing had something to discuss with him, and it was something that couldn't be brought to the public eye.
"Xiulian, I've finished my cigarettes and forgot to buy some. Go and buy me a pack."
The older woman didn't have the deep cunning of Yi Zhonghai. She simply thought Yi Zhonghai was being hospitable and that He Daqing had arrived, so she happily went to buy cigarettes.
After the older woman left, the two talked for about 10 minutes. After they finished talking, He Daqing went home. He Daqing did not notice that Xu Fugui was hiding next to a pile of clutter under Yi Zhonghai's window, eavesdropping.
When He Daqing returned home, he quickly packed his clothes and money, muttering to himself, "It just had to come to this. It's so hard on Shazhu and Yushui."
After finishing the preparations, he secretly delivered 2 million yuan to Yi Zhonghai, as agreed with him.
The next morning, before dawn, a figure carrying a bundle quietly left the courtyard.
Early in the morning, after Sha Zhu got up, he found that He Daqing was not there, but he didn't pay attention and assumed that He Daqing had gone to work. As for the neighbors in the courtyard, who cared where He Daqing had gone?
Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill Canteen.
"Has He Daqing not arrived yet? It's already past 9 o'clock. He's completely disorganized and undisciplined. Who did he ask for leave from? Let me know as soon as he arrives."
The cafeteria manager kept talking, completely ignoring the reactions of others, and then strode away.
The people left in the cafeteria looking at each other in bewilderment.
When Xu Fugui arrived at the steel rolling mill, he found that He Daqing was not there. He immediately realized that He Daqing was going to run away. He immediately asked the director for leave and rode the propaganda department's bicycle straight to the street office.
After receiving the report, Director Wang of the neighborhood office took it very seriously. He joined forces with the police station and divided into three groups: one to the train station, one to the bus station, and the last group went to the courtyard house.
At noon, news of He Daqing's arrest reached the courtyard. He was caught at the train station, accompanied by a widow surnamed Bai, who also had her two sons with her.
The entire courtyard was in an uproar. This was a huge scandal. He Daqing didn't raise his own children, but instead went to raise someone else's son.
What the people in the courtyard didn't know was that these were all minor matters; He Daqing was now in big trouble.
"He Daqing, why did you run away?"
At the police station, the police asked questions, and Director Wang and Officer Liu from the street office were also present.
The person sitting opposite, looking utterly miserable, could only be He Daqing.
“My wife died young. I started dating someone, but I was afraid my son and daughter wouldn’t approve, so I ran away secretly.”
“He Daqing, you’re not being honest. We already have witnesses. We hope you can confess on your own and stop being so stubborn.”
After hearing what the police said, He Daqing's heart skipped a beat. He thought, "Impossible. Could it be that Yi Zhonghai reported me? No, it can't be Yi Zhonghai, because Yi Zhonghai isn't clean either. He wouldn't dare to report me."
Seeing that He Daqing remained silent, the police asked again.
"Can you explain where those large yellow croakers in your package came from?"
"Sigh, it seems I can't hide it anymore after all this time. Oh well, I knew this day would come."
He Daqing stopped struggling and confessed everything like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
It turns out that He Daqing's grandfather was once a royal chef in the palace. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, his grandfather and father opened a restaurant together and bought land in the countryside, becoming quite wealthy.
After his father gave birth to him, his grandfather named him after the Qing Dynasty, hoping that one day he could restore the glory of his ancestors and look forward to the Qing Dynasty.
After his grandfather died, his father was not good at managing the business, and the family gradually declined. By the time it was passed down to He Daqing, all that was left was the family's culinary skills, the courtyard house, and some large yellow croakers.
When the People's Republic of China was first established, He Daqing falsified his family background information and reported that he was a third-generation farm laborer. Because the new China was just established at that time, the relationships between people were complicated and there was a shortage of manpower, so He Daqing managed to fool them.
When the neighborhood committee conducted a re-inspection, they were afraid of finding problems, so they ran away before dawn.
After the investigation was completed, He Daqing was temporarily detained. It would have been one thing if he hadn't been classified as a criminal, but he had also been found to have hoarded gold and fabricated a criminal record. He was now facing a prison sentence.
When the White Widow found out, fearing she would be implicated, she fled back to her hometown of Baoding overnight. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
When the news reached the courtyard, it caused another round of sighs and comments, but none of them were kind.
The one who always speaks the harshest is Jia Zhangshi. She's been envious of He Daqing's family's lavish lifestyle and is eager for them to die.
The happiest person was Xu Fugui, who finally got his revenge for being beaten in the chest.
The person most worried was Yi Zhonghai, who was afraid that He Daqing would expose him.
The most frustrated person was Sha Zhu. He originally thought his father had run away with a widow, but the plot took a turn and it turned out his father had no other choice but to run away.
The most unexpected thing is Sun Zhengguo, who is going further and further away from the original plot. Where exactly did things go wrong?
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