The people in the courtyard didn't take the Yan family's affairs too seriously; everyone was hoping they would move out of the courtyard.
Just as things were settled with the Yan family, a new neighbor arrived at the courtyard house. After the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai died, the house was taken back by the neighborhood committee. Now, several months later, the house in the backyard has also welcomed a new owner.
Housing conditions in the entire city of Beijing were not particularly good. Houses couldn't remain vacant forever; when someone needed housing, they would be allocated to another person.
When they saw someone moving in, no one was too curious. The courtyard houses remain, but the people come and go. The neighborly relations in the courtyard houses are much better than before. But when they learned someone had moved in, everyone gathered around.
The new neighbors, seeing so many people gathered around, greeted everyone warmly. When moving to a new environment, it's essential to first establish good relationships with your neighbors.
Moreover, many of the people in the courtyard were his colleagues. Zhang Chu immediately took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to each person.
"Hello everyone! I'm Zhang Chu from the steel rolling mill, and I'll be your neighbor from now on. I'm moving in today, and I hope you can give me some pointers if there's anything I don't understand. I also hope you can understand if there's anything I haven't done well enough."
Since everyone was not very familiar with each other, the people in the courtyard didn't say anything. After introducing themselves to Zhang Chu, they all went back.
Zhang Chu then led his family to move their belongings. In this era, there wasn't much to move; aside from some toiletries, there were at most some bedding.
It's considered good if everyone has one quilt; some people even have to share one quilt with several others.
Zhang Chu didn't have much stuff, and he and his family moved it in no time. After settling in, Zhang Chu started chatting with his neighbors. When you arrive in an unfamiliar environment, you must first get to know the people around you.
After some investigation, I discovered that this courtyard was home to many hidden talents. Not only did it house a workshop director, but also a deputy head of the publicity department and a deputy director of the canteen.
Zhang Chu had initially thought his situation was pretty good, but compared to these people, he felt he was nothing special. He decided to keep a low profile in the courtyard from now on.
Zhang Chu was getting to know his neighbors, and the people in the courtyard were also getting to know Zhang Chu. Through continuous contact, they learned that Zhang Chu was actually a vocational school graduate and had been working at the steel rolling mill for over a year. He had previously lived in the staff dormitory and had only recently moved out.
Although he was only a probationary cadre at the moment, Zhang Chu's prospects were quite good. Since they were neighbors, they naturally had some interactions, and Zhang Chu quickly became friends with Wei Hua and the others.
The more attention Zhang Chu received, the more uncomfortable Liu Guangqi became. If it weren't for Qin Huairu, he would have already graduated from vocational school.
Perhaps my current performance is no worse than Zhang Chu's, and I could also become a reserve cadre in some unit. Once I'm officially appointed, I'll be a real cadre. It's just a pity that all of that has already been ruined.
Sometimes, Liu Guangqi would unconsciously identify with Zhang Chu, because Zhang Chu's situation was similar to Liu Guangqi's.
Although Zhang Chu has had a job for over a year, he is still not married. His parents moved in with him. The two rooms in the deaf old lady's house are just enough for Zhang Chu and his parents. Originally, the house was allocated to Zhang Chu alone, but he insisted on bringing his parents along.
Jealousy is a baseless thing; Liu Guangqi simply couldn't stand the sight of Zhang Chu. This feeling intensified after Wei Hua took Zhang Chu hunting in the mountains.
This made Liu Guangqi resent all his peers in the courtyard, especially Wei Hua and Zhang Chu. He and Wei Hua had practically grown up together. Wei Hua preferred to take Zhang Chu with him rather than him.
Zhang Chu had no idea what Liu Guangqi was thinking. Zhang Chu felt he had made the right choice coming to the courtyard house. Although the neighborly relations weren't great, they were still better than in other places. In particular, everyone in the courtyard had their own skills. At least Zhang Chu had a direct understanding of Wei Hua's hunting techniques.
Since going hunting in the mountains with Wei Hua, eating meat every day has become unrealistic, but eating it once or twice a week isn't a big problem in terms of money. Zhang Chu never dared to dream of such a life before, but now it has become a reality.
While the others weren't as outstanding as Wei Hua, everyone had their own strengths. Xu Damao was extremely familiar with the structure of the steel rolling mill, and he was especially well-versed in all sorts of gossip.
Even Sha Zhu, the deputy director of the canteen, has his own strengths. At least when it comes to cooking, no one is better than him. Whenever he meets with everyone, Sha Zhu always cooks himself so that everyone can taste his cooking skills.
Every time Liu Guangqi saw the people in the courtyard enjoying a life of luxury, he and his brothers, including Yan Jiecheng, would feel an involuntary hatred for the Wei family.
It wasn't just one or two people who hated Wei Hua, because Wei Hua simply didn't associate with the Liu and Yan families. This gradually made both families resent Wei Hua.
But besides their two families, more and more people came to like associating with Wei Hua. Everyone discovered that Wei Hua was a very righteous person. As long as they didn't have a grudge against him, Wei Hua would generally take care of those around him. Every time he went hunting, he would bring a few extra people with him, and sometimes, if there was a lot of game, he would even share the meat with elderly people living alone or the families of martyrs.
This meant that everyone in the vicinity of the courtyard house could eat meat every few days. Meat was no longer a big deal for the people living near the courtyard house.
Even the few people from the neighborhood committee would occasionally go up the mountain with Wei Hua. Although they didn't always have a big catch, they could always manage to catch at least one or two rabbits whenever they went up the mountain.
Wei Hua wasn't out of his mind; it wouldn't make sense if he always caught so much prey. So, he usually didn't have many successes when he went up the mountain, though occasionally he would have a big haul.
Every two or three times, Wei Hua would catch a wild boar, sometimes even two. When he caught two, he would share some of the pork with the people around him.
Wei Hua knew better than anyone else that things would get interesting in two years. At that time, reputation would be extremely important. A good reputation, coupled with his connections, would ensure his safety and security.
It wasn't that Wei Hua didn't want a promotion, it was that he dared not. Being a workshop director was practically his limit; if he climbed any higher, his connections wouldn't protect him.
Wei Hua didn't care about the hatred between Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi at all. If they wanted to throw their lives away, let them throw them away; who knows, it might even help him become a god-like figure sooner.
Since the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai died, Wei Hua hasn't received any system rewards for four or five months. This made Wei Hua, who had always been used to a comfortable life, suddenly feel somewhat uneasy.
Now that he finally had two people who hated him, Wei Hua was overjoyed. It was just a pity that these two were clearly less courageous than the deaf old lady and her companion. People like the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai were the kind who never learned their lesson.
Since they didn't take the initiative, Wei Hua was powerless to stop them. And since they didn't offer any reward for not taking the initiative, there was no repercussions.
To make their future lives more comfortable, Wei Hua would spend his free time exploring the joys of life with Yang Tao. They would also do interesting things together with the other residents of the courtyard.
With those scoundrels gone from the courtyard house, everyone's daily entertainment options have improved considerably. People often play chess in the courtyard or go fishing when they have free time.
Soon everyone discovered that Zhang Chu was indeed quite capable. When it came to fishing, no one in the courtyard could rival Zhang Chu.
As people got to know Zhang Chu better, they discovered that he was actually a good person. He was very friendly to his neighbors and extremely filial to his parents.
Zhang Chu gradually integrated into the large family of the courtyard house. Everyone has their own circle, and after Zhang Chu got along well with Wei Hua and the others, he didn't treat Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi very well.
Seeing that others disliked them, Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi became friends. Seeing Wei Hua and his group targeting them, Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi decided to retaliate.
Neither of them were good people, and once they got together, they quickly came up with a terrible idea. After dinner, the two of them secretly left the courtyard house.
They didn't just dislike Wei Hua; they disliked everyone else in the courtyard. After opening the courtyard, they hid outside it.
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