Liu Haizhong became anxious upon hearing this.
What's wrong? I've already paid for it myself and you're still not happy? Isn't this obviously stirring up trouble?
“Shazhu, tonight is a screening event held in our compound. All the neighbors from each compound are guests. We can’t let them think we’re stingy.”
Liu Haizhong didn't want to argue with Sha Zhu and make a fool of himself in front of the neighbors, so he made a final decision: "This spoonful is mine. From now on, we'll only sell whole spoonfuls. If the thermos doesn't fit, bring the teacup."
Liu Haizhong snorted and glared at Sha Zhu, then looked at Qin Huairu.
"Huai Ru, if someone is using a thermos to serve tea, don't add another spoonful when you think it's almost full."
"Okay, don't worry, old man. I'll just keep an eye on it when it's almost full, and this won't happen again."
Qin Huairu wiped the sweat from her brow and quickly agreed.
Although she sells them cheaply, the profit is considerable. She estimates she can sell several hundred bowls that night, and after deducting the cost of tea leaves, she can make several dollars.
It's worth it to be busy and tired.
Sha Zhu knew that many neighbors in other courtyards were watching, so he didn't argue with Liu Haizhong anymore.
After serving the tea, I greeted Wang Dabao and left with the thermos.
Yan Bugui, standing nearby, exclaimed "Oh dear!" and quickly grabbed Wang Dabao's arm: "Dabao, did you put on your watch? Quickly check the time for me. I need to go to the gate to wait for the school teachers. They'll be here soon."
"Hey, why are you still looking at your watch? There's nothing else going on. You should go wait at the door."
Wang Dabao didn't even look at his watch, chuckled, and gave Yan Bugui a push.
Yan Bugui thought it made sense. Why bother looking at the watch? It was about time. He quickly told Liu Haizhong and ran to the front yard.
Liu Haizhong glanced at Yan Bugui's back and grumbled to Wang Dabao, "That old Yan is something else. He already made arrangements with the school teachers, but he didn't even bother to wait at the gate. When people come in, he doesn't even know where to go first."
"Hey, he's working just as hard for the compound as you are, he's so busy he forgot."
Wang Dabao chuckled.
"His mind is on his son's sweet potato stall."
Liu Haizhong muttered something, then tugged at Wang Dabao's arm, "Brother Dabao, if you're free, why don't you come with me for a walk?"
"Okay, let's go."
Showing a movie in this courtyard kept Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui extremely busy.
Liu Haizhong wanted to show off his status as an old man and let everyone, including the old man in charge of the next courtyard and the neighbors, see his ability to control things.
Incidentally, it will also make them well-known in the neighborhood office.
Yan Bugui's case is much simpler. Initially, it might have been for the sake of the compound, but things have changed recently.
Selling peanuts and melon seeds can be quite profitable, but of course, this isn't just his business.
But now his son and daughter-in-law have set up a sweet potato roasting stall, which is their own way of generating income.
Therefore, Yan Bugui is very enthusiastic right now, and he would love to have two more matches like this before the end of the year.
The movie was about to start, and Liu Haizhong thought he would go and check on Xu Damao. He and Wang Dabao walked through the crowd and saw that, lo and behold, there was no sign of Xu Damao in front of the equipment.
This infuriated Liu Haizhong.
The movie equipment is just sitting there, with no one watching it. If someone has nothing better to do, they might come and poke at it, or if a child is playing around and falls down, the movie might not be able to continue.
Just as Liu Haizhong was fuming, he heard Xu Damao's voice coming from Yu Li's sweet potato stall.
"Hey, Haitang, don't believe what Shazhu said just now. We're just natural enemies. Everyone in the courtyard knows that. He's just making things up about me on purpose. He loves talking bad about me behind my back."
Xu Damao, all smiles, explained to Yu Haitang.
Yu Haitang smiled gently, "Brother Xu, my sister just told me about what happened in your hospital. Besides, I didn't hear what that person said clearly."
Xu Damao was secretly delighted, thinking that he still had a chance.
"Xu Damao!"
Liu Haizhong searched frantically for a while before finally finding Xu Damao. He immediately roared, startling Wang Dabao who was standing next to him.
Goodness, no wonder he's a blacksmith, his voice is full of energy.
Xu Damao was bragging to Yu Haitang about his status as the third uncle of the compound, while Yu Li and Yan Jiecheng, a married couple, were listening with their noses pinched.
Liu Haizhong's shout saved them.
Xu Damao quickly told Yu Haitang and hurriedly pushed through the crowd to come this way.
"Xu Damao, what are you doing? You... you're just leaving this equipment like this?"
Liu Haizhong was so angry that he could barely speak. "Can't you handle things properly? Remember your place. Think things through before you act. If this movie can't be shown, how are you going to explain it to all the neighbors in this courtyard?"
"No, sir, you're exaggerating a bit. This equipment is perfectly fine."
Xu Damao's face twitched. Seeing Liu Haizhong trembling with anger, he didn't dare to confront the old man in his anger. "I just finished debugging the machine and went to Yan Jiecheng's stall to buy a sweet potato to eat."
Liu Haizhong was panting heavily, just staring at Xu Damao without saying a word.
Xu Damao felt a little uneasy under Wang Dabao's gaze and unconsciously looked at him for help.
"Alright, Lao Liu, nothing bad happened. Da Mao was just careless for a moment. Let's just let it go."
Wang Dabao advised from the side, then looked at Xu Damao, "Here's what we'll do, Damao, if you need anything next time, call Guangtian over and have him watch over it for a while, so that there aren't too many people and they might break the machine."
"Okay, don't worry."
Xu Damao quickly agreed.
If someone else had tried to persuade him, Liu Haizhong might have retorted, saying something like, "Well, nothing bad has happened yet. If something had happened, it would have been too late."
But it was Section Chief Wang who spoke, so we had to give him face.
“Xu Damao, you can’t leave this equipment before the movie starts. As Da Bao said, I’ll have Guangtian come over later. If you need to go to the bathroom during the movie, just tell him.”
After saying that, Liu Haizhong called Wang Dabao away.
Enraged, Xu Damao silently cursed a couple of times behind Liu Haizhong's back.
Not far away, Yu Li nudged her younger sister Yu Haitang: "See? He was showing off here for so long, but when he got back he was all bowing and scraping, and Uncle Dabao had to come to his rescue."
Yan Jiecheng snorted from the side: "Third Uncle? He's just a gofer for my dad and Liu Haizhong at best."
Liu Haizhong and Wang Dabao soon arrived at the sweet potato stall run by Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
