Just then, Liu Haizhong slammed his hand on the table and shouted.
"Shut up, all of you, Guangtian. What did I just say to you? Have you forgotten already? You're not even as good as your brother. Are you asking for a beating?"
Liu Guangtian reluctantly lowered his sleeves, but his eyes were still fixed on Xu Damao with a fierce look.
Seeing this, Liu Haizhong gave Liu Guangtian a look, and Liu Guangtian instantly became as docile as a quail.
"That's settled then. I'll go talk to Lao Yan tomorrow. You and Yan Jiefang will clean the yard properly today. If you dare to slack off, see how I deal with you."
"And you, Da Mao, get the projection equipment sorted out as soon as possible. Then we'll discuss a specific date for the screening. Finally, you should report it to the street office. Lao Yan and I will hold a meeting in the courtyard to inform everyone."
"Alright, it's settled then."
Upon hearing that he didn't have to do the cleaning, Xu Damao was immediately in a good mood and nodded repeatedly, "I'll take care of it as soon as I get to the factory tomorrow morning."
The next day, Liu Haizhong got up very early, handed over the task of emptying the chamber pot to Liu Guangfu, and hurriedly went to Yan Bugui's house.
The journey from the backyard to the front yard took Liu Haizhong nearly fifteen minutes. During this time, he constantly checked the cleanliness of the yard and whether there was any clutter in front of each household's door, or whether it affected the appearance of the yard.
Upon arriving at Yan Bugui's house, Liu Haizhong was about to lift the curtain when he paused, frowning as he stared at the window frame.
The paint on the window frames of Yan Bugui's house was covered with cracks, and in many places it had burst open.
Several pairs of worn-out insoles were drying on the windowsill, and there were clumps of dirt and fertilizer in the corner, all leftover scraps from Yan Bugui's gardening.
Liu Haizhong sighed and shook his head, reaching out to lift the curtain, but then froze again.
This curtain is so dirty. How could a people's teacher like Yan Bugui be so unhygienic?
Once inside, Liu Haizhong didn't say a word, but sat down in a chair and looked around. He hadn't felt anything before, but ever since Xu Damao suggested showing a movie in the yard, after walking around the yard, he found everything unpleasant.
"Hey Lao Liu, when did you get here? Why didn't you say anything? It was kind of scary."
Yan Bugui came out of the inner room carrying a chamber pot, and nearly peed on his feet in surprise. "Jiefang, Jiefang, come here quickly."
Seeing Liu Haizhong's gloomy face, Yan Bugui was a little puzzled, wondering if something bad had happened.
"Dad, what's wrong? Oh, is that old man here too?"
Yan Jiefang ran out, pulling up his pants.
Yan Bugui handed the chamber pot to his second son, told him to empty it, then wiped his hands on his body and took out a cigarette from his pocket.
After finishing half a cigarette, Liu Haizhong remained silent. Yan Bugui kept offering him cigarettes and pouring him hot water, but after a long time, he still couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Old Liu, are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Um."
Liu Haizhong nodded with a straight face, "Xu Damao came to see me yesterday and proposed a plan to screen movies before the New Year, which I think is feasible. He plans to screen the movie in our courtyard and organize neighbors from the neighboring courtyards to come and watch it."
Yan Bugui was initially startled, but then his face lit up with joy.
"This is great news, Lao Liu! Look, this will not only increase the visibility of our Hongxing Courtyard in the neighborhood, but it will also promote the name of our steward. This is a wonderful thing! Why are you looking so worried?!"
"It's a good thing, but have you considered the hygiene and image of our compound?"
"What about the cleanliness and image of our compound?"
Yan Bugui wondered to himself, what does showing a movie have to do with the image of our hospital?
Liu Haizhong glanced helplessly at Yan Bugui: "The sanitation in the yard is terrible now. Not only are there piles of clutter, but now that winter is here, the yard is full of fallen leaves and withered weeds. It's an eyesore. Do you think it's acceptable for so many people to come and see this?"
"What was originally a good thing for publicity might end up having the opposite effect."
"Oh, now that you mention it, Lao Liu, it's true."
Yan Bugui slapped his thigh and said, "But this is easy to handle. Just let Jie Cheng, Jie Fang, Guang Tian, and Guang Fu tidy it up."
Liu Haizhong continued to sigh.
Now Yan Bugui was confused again. Hadn't a solution already been proposed? Why was Liu Haizhong playing riddles with me? "Hey Lao Liu, can't you just say what you mean? What are you doing!"
"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point." Liu Haizhong got up and walked towards the door, calling out to Yan Bugui, "Come here, take a look."
Once outside, Liu Haizhong first pointed to the large cotton curtain at the entrance of Yan Bugui's house and showed it to him.
The surface was covered with dark, oily stains, making it impossible to discern the original color.
“This curtain is too thick, it doesn’t dry easily after washing, and besides, it’s not sticky to the touch.” As he spoke, Yan Bugui touched it.
Liu Haizhong glanced at him: "It may not get your hands dirty, but it might get your eyes dirty."
"And this ground, you say you grow flowers, but why do you make the entrance so messy? How long has it been since you cleaned these windows? The New Year is just around the corner, can't you be a little more diligent? I see you're quite enthusiastic about tending to your few potted plants."
"And these window frames, quickly sand them down and paint them, not only for aesthetics, but also for the overall image of the compound."
Yan Bugui was sweating profusely after Liu Haizhong said that. This was going to cost money, and it wasn't something you could just do by talking.
Liu Haizhong saw through Yan Bugui's thoughts and said seriously, "Old Yan, even if it weren't for this screening event, these windows still need to be painted, otherwise it would be a waste."
"How about this, we'll find a notebook and go door to door to see which windows need painting, and then we can buy the paint together to avoid wasting any leftovers."
Yan Bugui nodded hurriedly: "Yes, Lao Liu, you're the smartest one."
Before long, Yan Bugui found Yan Jiekuang's homework book and, together with Liu Haizhong, began to inspect the compound.
The Zhou family needs to move their coal inside; if there's really no space, they can bring it out after the filming event. The Li family's cart also needs a place to be stored; it can't just lie there haphazardly in the yard.
The brick pile on the south side of the Jia family's side room needs to be tidied up and rearranged, then stacked along the wall.
It was the Jia family again. They took down the clothes racks hanging outside first, as the mess was affecting the appearance of the courtyard.
It was still the Jia family's house; there was too much clutter piled up outside the door, and it needed to be tidied up.
It was still the Jia family's house. The paint on the gate and windows was severely peeling off, greatly affecting the visual experience. If the screening event were held in the central courtyard, the people of the Red Star Courtyard would definitely lose face.
Next up is Sha Zhu's house. Because of a previous fire, the windows and door were burned. Although Sha Zhu has been replaced, there are still blackened marks on the walls, which need to be wiped clean quickly.
Liu Haizhong spoke in front, and Yan Bugui wrote it down behind.
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