Not long after Jia Dongxu returned home, Yi Zhonghai also came back, carrying the loose change he had brought back.
With his worries gone and his mood lifted, Yi Zhonghai unconsciously began humming a little tune.
He encountered Yan Bugui as soon as he entered the compound.
When Yan Bugui saw Yi Zhonghai carrying wine, his eyes lit up. After hesitating for only two seconds, he stepped forward and said, "Hey, Lao Yi, what's the occasion today? You look all smiles and you're carrying wine."
Yi Zhonghai chuckled, but he was wary. He hadn't forgotten the mockery he'd received at Yan Bugui's doorstep on his way home from get off work yesterday.
"Oh, isn't this Second Uncle? It's nothing, I'm just having a drink."
"Old Yi, that's enough. Are you trying to embarrass me? Or are you still holding a grudge? Who in our compound hasn't fought with whom? You beat me up pretty badly last time too. Let bygones be bygones."
Yan Bugui grinned, his eyes darting around. "Old Yi, you can't hide anything from me. Something good must be going on. I heard from Dongxu that the factory gave you a reward?"
Seeing Yan Bugui's appearance, Yi Zhonghai didn't embarrass him any further. "That's nonsense, don't listen to his lies."
Yi Zhonghai finally understood that he needed to keep a low profile. Now that he was no longer the big shot in the courtyard, he needed to be even more discreet, not to mention the matter of inviting Zhu Zi and Wang Dabao today.
If the people in this courtyard knew he wanted to mend his relationship with Zhu Zi, who knows where some random cat or dog would jump out and cause trouble.
"Alright, you go ahead with your work, I'm leaving."
Yan Bugui wanted to ask more questions, but Yi Zhonghai simply said what he meant and walked away.
His gaze remained fixed on the bottle of liquor that Yi Zhonghai was holding.
After all that planning, I ended up losing 300 yuan, while Yi Zhonghai didn't suffer any loss and could even have a drink. What kind of situation is this?
Yan Bugui gritted his teeth, feeling increasingly distressed the more he thought about it.
At that very moment, Liu Haizhong entered the courtyard with unhurried steps.
Yan Bugui immediately perked up: "Old Liu, come here, I need to talk to you about something."
Liu Haizhong frowned and walked over. Yan Bugui recounted what had just happened to him.
He knew that Liu Haizhong had also been fined because of the rumors, so he focused on the story of Yi Zhonghai humming a tune and carrying a bottle of wine, planning to have a few drinks that night.
Liu Haizhong was indeed quite angry after hearing this. He snorted and said, "Let him be smug for a while. Aren't we the ones who call the shots in the courtyard? He'll have to watch his step when it comes to us."
Just as the two were talking, Sha Zhu walked in, humming a little tune.
"Hey, gentlemen, what are you two plotting?"
Sha Zhu squinted, bent down and approached Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, muttering, "Something's not right, something's definitely not right. You two are obviously up to something...hehe!"
Sha Zhu originally wanted to say that he hadn't been holding back his fart, but when he realized that saying that would offend the two old men in the courtyard, he changed his words in the nick of time.
Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses to hide his embarrassment and said softly, "Shazhu, what are you saying? You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. Old Liu and I are discussing things for the compound before the New Year. What are you doing getting involved?"
"That's right, it's none of your business, hurry up and go home."
Liu Haizhong chimed in from the side, "If we're going to talk to someone, we should talk to Xu Damao. He's the mediator in the court. Who are you to talk to him!"
Sha Zhu laughed when he heard this, his face wrinkling up. He didn't care about saving face for them anymore: "Alright, judging from your attitude, there's really no good to discuss. You say I won't spit out ivory, but I think you might be able to spit out dog teeth."
"And you, old man, you were alright before you became an old man, you were like a normal person, but now that I look at you, you're really not that great."
After saying that, Sha Zhu ignored their reactions and walked away, just like Yi Zhonghai had done earlier.
"Hey, what nonsense is this brat spouting!"
Yan Bugui spat at Sha Zhu's retreating figure, "You're the one who spits out dog teeth, you have no manners at all. Xu Damao should teach him a lesson in the future."
Liu Haizhong's face darkened: "It's getting more and more outrageous. Some people in this compound need to be disciplined."
At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was busy at home.
Yi Zhonghai's wife was chopping and cooking in the small kitchen, while Yi Zhonghai was busy serving and arranging the dishes outside. He would occasionally peek out the door, hoping for the arrival of Sha Zhu and Wang Dabao.
Even after all the dishes were served, no one showed up, which made Yi Zhonghai extremely anxious.
Thinking to myself that Wang Dabao has been getting off work late these past two days, it's understandable that he hasn't come to my door yet.
But something's not right with Sha Zhu. Maybe the deaf old lady didn't notify them properly, otherwise why haven't they come over by now that it's already dark?
It's already quite remarkable that someone his age would lower himself to ask a deaf old lady for help to call someone. Asking him to go to her door to beg her again would be unreasonable; he wouldn't have the face to do so.
What if the person in question doesn't want to come in the first place? Wouldn't it be humiliating to go to their door and ask them to come?
Meanwhile, Sha Zhu was pacing around the room. He had said a lot of bad things about Yi Zhonghai before, and now that Yi Zhonghai had invited him to dinner, he couldn't refuse.
When the deaf old lady informed him in the morning, she also mentioned that Wang Dabao was among the people Yi Zhonghai had invited. He thought he would go with Wang Dabao to avoid the awkwardness of facing Yi Zhonghai alone.
But he secretly went to the backyard twice, and from a distance he could see that Wang Dabao's house was locked, with the big brass lock hanging brightly on the door.
Sha Zhu was now in a dilemma. He mustered up his courage for a long time, but in the end, he decided to wait for Wang Dabao.
This led to the scene of him circling around inside the house.
Every two or three turns, Sha Zhu would peek through the crack in the door to make sure he wouldn't miss Wang Dabao when he returned.
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