Yi Zhonghai's fingertips, gripping the pen tightly, turned white from excessive force. Liu Haizhong's words sounded more like a boast than a provocation.
Once upon a time, it was Yi Zhonghai who sat in the center of that table, speaking condescendingly. Now, however, he has to sit below everyone else and listen to Liu Haizhong's sarcasm.
"An old man..."
Yan Jiecheng stood next to Yi Zhonghai and reminded him, "Hey, look at my mouth, it's Uncle Yi, hurry up, there are still people waiting to use the pen."
Seeing Yi Zhonghai's eyes darting around and then appearing deep in thought again, Yan Jiecheng quickly spoke up to remind him, but his tone was clearly impatient and his expression was not as good as before.
Yi Zhonghai glanced at Yan Jiecheng, seemingly trying to intimidate the young man with his eyes as before, but he clearly overestimated himself after losing the aura of a powerful figure.
"Can you stop dawdling? Is it really necessary for you to spend so much time thinking about a name? Everyone is waiting to use their pens."
Yan Jiecheng was not intimidated by Yi Zhonghai's gaze at all. On the contrary, he took a step forward, as if he was about to snatch the pen if the other party did not write.
Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He regretted making such an unwise decision on impulse, but in the end, he took a deep breath, wrote down a name, and handed the pen behind him.
Watching Yan Jiecheng leave, Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, determined to reclaim his position as the eldest uncle, otherwise all sorts of scoundrels in the compound would dare to take advantage of him.
After returning home last night, Yi Zhonghai explained to his wife until dawn, which finally dispelled the old lady's suspicions.
Seeing Yan Jiecheng's attitude, the old lady patted Yi Zhonghai's arm and sighed to comfort him, "Honey, don't take it to heart. That's just how Yan's son is. Before, you were the one in charge, so he had to put on a smiling face. We'll get used to it."
Yi Zhonghai wanted to refute, but after thinking for a moment he didn't say anything. He just forced a smile and nodded at the old lady.
Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian, like two cadres given a mission, carefully watched as everyone wrote their names on slips of paper, and then put them into the box one by one, starting from the front row.
Xu Damao, Shazhu, and Jia Dongxu watched nervously as their neighbors filled out their names. Whenever a neighbor looked over, the three of them would flash their signature ingratiating smiles.
"Idiot!"
Seeing Sha Zhu's wrinkled old face, Xu Damao couldn't help but curse.
"Xu Damao, don't force me to beat you up here." Sha Zhu instantly stopped smiling, turned his head and glared at Xu Damao, "Don't think that just because you gave everyone things, they will choose you. Who knows what they'll say about you behind your back, you shameless grandson."
"That's still better than you going door to door trying to sell yourself a smile."
Xu Damao wasn't angry. He sneered and retorted, "A lousy cook like you wants to be the manager? You're dreaming! Go back to flipping your ladle!"
Sha Zhu clenched his fists so hard they cracked: "Xu Damao, you'll fall into my hands sooner or later. Don't be begging me to call you grandpa then."
Jia Dongxu watched Xu Damao and Shazhu arguing with a gleeful smile, his heart filled with joy. How could watching two scoundrels barking and tearing at each other not bring him pleasure?
"What are you laughing at, you idiot? If Sha Zhu becomes the manager, the first thing he'll do is give you a green hat."
Xu Damao glared at Jia Dongxu, who was smirking, through Zhou Shengli. "It has to be a green leather hat. Winter is coming soon, and you can still wear it to keep warm. Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu are really thoughtful."
"Xu Damao, you..."
Jia Dongxu almost choked on his breath. "You're a real piece of work. I was just having some fun, what did I do to you? Don't think that just because my master isn't a big shot anymore, I can't deal with you."
"Jia Dongxu, don't be ungrateful. I was just trying to give you a friendly reminder, and you just scolded me instead. You're really something. Don't wait until your wife runs off with someone else and you have nowhere to cry."
Xu Damao snorted coldly, turned his head away, and ignored Jia Dongxu.
Jia Dongxu glared at Xu Damao, then looked at Sha Zhu, and fell into deep thought.
Caught in the middle, Zhou Shengli kept his eyes down, neither responding to others nor making fun of anyone. He seemed like an observer, not at all like someone who had come to run for office.
As everyone stuffed the notes into the box, Liu Haizhong stood up and pressed his hand down.
“There are a total of 22 households in our compound. Any household that chooses to live alone is counted as one household. As the earliest mediators in the compound, Lao Yan and I have the right to supervise and manage this election.”
"So our votes will count as two votes, I think everyone agrees on that, right?!"
"Alright, since everyone has no objections, then..."
“Wait a minute, I personally think this is unfair.” Yi Zhonghai said seriously, “Old Liu, I think everyone should be treated the same. How can the person in charge have one vote count as two? Isn’t that overstepping his authority?”
As Yi Zhonghai spoke, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and faced the neighbors behind him: "If Lao Liu and Lao Yi's votes are equivalent to two votes, almost one-fifth of our votes, once they support the same person, they can even pre-select the mediator."
"Do you all think this makes sense?!"
Yi Zhonghai appeared humble and spoke in a gentle tone, but his words carried a provocative undertone.
Wang Dabao put another piece of milk candy in his mouth and chewed it vigorously. Unexpectedly, the election had just begun when Yi Zhonghai couldn't hold back and started causing trouble.
"Old Yi, please sit down first."
Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and waved impatiently at Yi Zhonghai, "What Lao Liu said just now might not be comprehensive, so let me add something here."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
