Yi Zhonghai convened a meeting at the courtyard, claiming to punish those who disrupted the unity of the courtyard, but in reality, punishment was not the goal; the real aim was to make the Jia family and Qin Huairu obedient.
He no longer expects the Jia family to support him in his old age, but he also doesn't want them to ruin his retirement plans.
"Uncle, just say what's on your mind. My children haven't eaten yet. If you're asking me to take responsibility, I'll take it too. Anyway, there are only two widows in my family, so it doesn't matter who bullies them." Qin Huairu suddenly burst out.
No one expected that the woman who had been sitting there with her head down, seemingly sobbing, would actually refute Yi Zhonghai in front of so many people. It's worth noting that the Jia family had previously relied on Yi Zhonghai and received many benefits from him.
Does this mean the two companies are severing ties?
"Huai Ru, no one is saying you have to take any responsibility, but it's a fact that your irrational behavior has caused a lot of harm to Sha Zhu. He's a young man in his mid-twenties who hasn't gotten married yet, and he finally found someone he likes, and then she just ran away like that. We can't just leave it like this without any explanation, can we?"
"Tell me what you said to Niu Yingzi first."
Faced with Qin Huairu's sudden outburst, Yi Zhonghai, who had been so aggressive, suddenly backed down. It wasn't that he didn't want to solve the problem once and for all, but rather that the power structure within the compound had changed.
Previously, a single decision by Yi Zhonghai could garner the support of the other two elderly men, and no one in the compound dared to oppose it. But now, the front and back courtyards are basically out of control. When he communicated with Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui before the meeting, the two also expressed neither support nor opposition, clearly only willing to be bystanders.
Another important reason is retirement. Others have food in hand and are not worried, but Yi Zhonghai is extremely worried. Today he is worried that Qin Huairu will ruin Sha Zhu's marriage, tomorrow he is worried that Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu will get together. In short, his fate is in the hands of others.
“Niu Yingzi’s matter has nothing to do with our family. If you really think we’re the ones hiding Niu Yingzi, then go ahead and report it to the police station. If there’s nothing else, I’m going home.”
After Qin Huairu finished speaking, she left the meeting and returned home without waiting for Yi Zhonghai's consent. Surprisingly, Yi Zhonghai did not stop her.
Sha Zhu, one of the parties involved, did not say a word or express any opinion throughout the entire process, presumably still missing Niu Yingzi.
"Old Yi, is it over already?" Yan Fugui asked.
"Let's adjourn the meeting. Go home and think carefully about how we can help Sha Zhu. Look at this kid, he's become a bit obsessed." Yi Zhonghai said helplessly.
The neighbors knew things wouldn't end well, but they didn't expect it to be so trivial. However, none of them left. Instead, they moved to the front yard and continued gossiping about the Jia family and Sha Zhu.
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Winter has passed and spring has come; 61 years have finally come to an end. In these years, the people have felt the cruelty and helplessness of this era. Those who are capable have left their hometowns, while others have been slowly suffering on this land because of their attachments.
Fortunately, things gradually improved. Starting in 1962, although many places were still suffering from famine, the top leadership's attitude towards solving the problem was changing. A major conference was held at the beginning of the year, and the people of Beijing could feel a slight improvement.
In the courtyard, everyone's enthusiasm for life has obviously improved. Their complexions are much better, and they are even more amiable when they meet. Even Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu seem to have returned to their honeymoon period at the beginning.
Ever since losing his wife, Sha Zhu has been blaming Qin Huairu and has imposed an economic blockade on the Jia family for several months. Qin Huairu has tried many times to ease tensions, but Sha Zhu remains unmoved, causing the Jia family to complain bitterly.
It is said that the change occurred on a dark and stormy night when the neighbors heard stray cats meowing all night. The next day, everyone saw that Sha Zhu had dark circles under his eyes and Qin Huairu was walking with trembling legs, but from then on, the two families resumed normal relations.
However, it is said that Yi Zhonghai smashed his most beloved enamel mug that day.
Everyone's lives have improved, and Xu Damao is no exception, except that he is even busier.
Since the auto repair industry skills competition was held, Hongxing Auto Repair Shop has become well-known in the city. The factory leaders, who were not familiar with the area before, learned from the newspaper that the first competition was held here, and they have more confidence in the skills here.
Many unit leaders even called the steel rolling mill leaders directly, saying that their vehicles had broken down and they couldn't be driven to the repair shop, requesting that the repair shop provide on-site service. Xu Damao even specially formed an on-site service team and acquired a set of on-site service equipment for this purpose.
"Da Mao, go to Lou Dong's house later. His car broke down, and he called me because he heard your auto repair shop has good technicians," Li Xuewu instructed over the phone.
Xu Damao immediately agreed. Although Chairman Lou was only a nominal shareholder, receiving only dividends, he had actively participated in national policies, which pleased many high-ranking officials, and they still had a good relationship.
Xu Damao had visited the Lou family's residence with his mother when he was a child; it was magnificent. The situation was different back then. The entire Lou family had more than a dozen servants, some to clean, some to buy groceries and cook, and some to take care of the children.
Several years ago, Xu's mother had considered arranging a marriage between Xu Damao and the eldest daughter of the Lou family, but Xu Damao refused to follow the established path and instead found Wang Minzhi, so the matter was dropped. It's unknown what has become of her after all these years.
Driving two sidecar motorcycles from the auto repair shop, Xu Damao and his group of four headed towards Lou Bancheng's house. Xu Damao knew the address and took the lead.
The car quickly stopped at a detached villa. Land here was incredibly valuable, even in the 1960s, demonstrating the family's wealth and power. But then again, whoever lived there a few years later would be overthrown; that's just fate.
A young man opened the door, and he was pleased to see someone arrive on a sidecar. He carefully examined the tricycle after opening the door.
"Dude, your tricycles look really cool. They must look awesome driving around here," the man said.
Since none of them knew who the other person was, they didn't respond and waited for Xu Damao to speak.
"Who are you?" Xu Damao asked.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lou Jiande, and my father is Lou Hongsheng, also known as Lou Bancheng."
"So it's you, Mr. Lou. Hello, we're from Hongxing Auto Repair Shop. We heard your car broke down, so we came here to get it fixed," Xu Damao said.
He played with Lou Jiande a few times when he was a child, but so much time had passed and everyone had changed so much that he didn't recognize him. Lou Hongsheng has two sons and one daughter: his eldest son Lou Jiangong, his second son Jiande, and his youngest daughter Lou Xiao'e. They should all be living in this house now.
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