Chapter 331

"Wait a moment!"

The Deaf Old Lady appeared again.

When Yi Zhonghai was being punished, the First Aunt had guessed that the situation was bad and went to the backyard to find the Deaf Old Lady. The two of them had been listening from the corner of the wall.

Fines and self-criticisms wouldn't make the Deaf Old Lady come out.

She also felt that Yi Zhonghai’s actions were absurd.

He favored the Jia family too much!

But removal from office was not acceptable!

"Director Wang, Zhonghai has served as the First Elder; if there’s no merit, there’s at least hard work. Please consider it!"

The Deaf Old Lady pleaded.

"Is it the hard work of harming people?"

Wan Ping'an interjected.

The crowd burst into laughter.

"Old Lady, I have already decided."

Director Wang hated the Deaf Old Lady.

Last time, he removed Yi Zhonghai from office, but the Deaf Old Lady found people to exert pressure on him, forcing him to let Yi Zhonghai serve as the First Elder again.

"Director Wang, let’s talk a step away!"

The Deaf Old Lady called Director Wang to the side and muttered for a while.

Director Wang returned to the crowd.

"I have just discussed it with the Deaf Old Lady, and we will give Yi Zhonghai one more chance."

"The Deaf Old Lady is willing to use her status as a Five-Guarantees household as a guarantee. If Yi Zhonghai makes another mistake, the Deaf Old Lady’s Five-Guarantees status will be taken away along with him."

Director Wang announced.

"Old Lady, you and Yi Zhonghai are truly one family!"

He Great Qing laughed out loud.

The Deaf Old Lady looked at Director Wang in astonishment.

Just now, the two had reached an agreement to let Yi Zhonghai continue as the acting First Elder; they hadn't said anything about her providing a guarantee!

"Director Wang, you..."

The Deaf Old Lady wanted to argue.

"Old Lady, do you have anything you want to say?"

Director Wang’s eyes were a bit cold.

"No!"

The Deaf Old Lady sighed.

She understood that by repeatedly pressuring Director Wang, she had completely annoyed him, which is why he announced that she would guarantee him in the name of a Five-Guarantees household.

This was Director Wang’s revenge on her.

"Good if you don't!"

"Yi Zhonghai, you will continue to serve as the acting First Elder. Remember, you are only acting, and the probation period is extended to one year."

Director Wang looked at Yi Zhonghai with disgust.

He hadn't managed to take him down!

"At the same time, starting today, the three elders of the Sihe Academy will go to the Neighborhood Office every day after work to receive one hour of ideological education!"

"The duration is one month!"

"Alright, it’s very late, so I won't delay your sleep. Meeting adjourned!"

Director Wang announced and left directly.

The crowd, however, did not disperse.

"First Elder, congratulations on having to go to the Neighborhood Office for ideological education for a whole month!"

Wan Ping'an smiled and "congratulated" him.

The crowd laughed.

Going to the Neighborhood Office for ideological education was not a good thing; it was a punishment, implying that the three of them had problems with their ideology.

The impact was far-reaching.

In the short term, promotions and raises were off-limits to them.

Yi Zhonghai wouldn't be able to take any exams for a while either!

Liu Haizhong pulled Yan Fugui to the Liu house!

"Third Elder, you are well-read and have many ideas. What do you think we should do?"

"A month of ideological education—if this gets out, people will laugh their teeth off!"

Liu Haizhong was very annoyed.

"There’s no way!"

"It was Director Wang’s decision!"

Yan Fugui sighed.

"Is there really no way?"

"None at all!"

"I’m so angry! That bastard Yi Zhonghai, we can't let him off!"

"Right, we can't let him off. Make him compensate for our losses!"

Yan Fugui’s eyes lit up.

"Second Elder, let’s go find Yi Zhonghai to settle the score!"

"We can't take this loss for nothing!"

Yan Fugui decided, and pulling Liu Haizhong, they walked out the door.

Yi Zhonghai’s house.

Seeing Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui arrive, Yi Zhonghai guessed it must be about Jia Zhangshi.

"Do you have something to say?"

Yi Zhonghai, of course, wouldn't say it first.

"First Elder, you should understand why we’re here. The matter with Jia Zhangshi was your own decision, and it has nothing to do with us two."

Yan Fugui stared at Yi Zhonghai.

"We both gave the Sun family ten yuan. Who is going to bear this loss?"

Yan Fugui stared at Yi Zhonghai.

"Fine, I’ll pay for you two."

Yi Zhonghai took out another twenty yuan.

The First Aunt wanted to say something but held back.

In the past.

Yi Zhonghai was a Level 6 fitter with a high income, and they lived very comfortably.

Now.

The situation was different.

Yi Zhonghai owed Wan Ping'an a lot of money.

He could only keep ten yuan of his monthly wages for living expenses, and the rest was taken by Wan Ping'an.

The money he was taking out now was money he had earned through hard work by taking part-time jobs at small factories after work or on holidays, sacrificing his rest time.

And these twenty yuan were their living expenses.

If he gave it away, how would they live?

"Then thank you, First Elder."

"That’s just the direct loss. You always favored Jia Zhangshi, which led to us becoming negative examples."

"The school leaders interviewed us, and it’s impossible for us to get a promotion or a raise within three years."

"The Second Elder can’t be a leader anymore either."

"How will you compensate us?"

Yan Fugui put the money away.

Liu Haizhong prepared to put the money away.

"You..."

Yi Zhonghai was very annoyed; was this never going to end?

"First Elder, we’d better make an agreement."

"From now on, as long as you handle matters regarding the Jia family, we will not intervene, but if there is a loss, you must compensate us double."

Yan Fugui stared at Yi Zhonghai.

"First Elder, that’s my meaning too!"

Liu Haizhong was very annoyed.

His greatest wish was to be an official, but after being labeled a negative example by the Neighborhood Office, his path to becoming an official was basically cut off.

"Fine, I agree!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth.

For the sake of his retirement plan, he endured it!

He was certain that if he didn't agree, the next time the Jia family had trouble, even if Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong appeared obedient, they would secretly cause trouble.

Anonymous reports and the like—who wouldn't know how to do that?

"The First Elder is straightforward. We won't disturb you anymore!"

Yan Fugui turned and left.

Liu Haizhong followed him out.

"Sigh, Zhonghai, I think you should give up on Jia Dongxu!"

"If we wait for him to support us in our old age, I’m afraid we won't live to see that day!"

"Jia Zhangshi is too much of a troublemaker. Think about how much debt our family owes, and it’s getting worse. Can we ever pay it off in our lifetime?"

The First Aunt exploded.

She had a very average impression of Jia Dongxu and hated Jia Zhangshi.

She was more inclined to adopt a child.

She had suggested it many times, but Yi Zhonghai just wouldn't agree.

"I will find a way to deal with Jia Zhangshi!"

Yi Zhonghai was also very agitated.

"What way can you find?"

"Don't forget, Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu are one family. They are mother and son with one heart. Can you deal with them?"

The First Aunt poured a bucket of cold water on Yi Zhonghai—cold water with ice!

Yi Zhonghai fell silent.

This was exactly what he was most worried about!

"Zhonghai, the old saying goes: the grace of birth is not as great as the grace of raising!"

"Let’s adopt one, raise them from childhood, and they will be just like our own. Wouldn't that be much better than Jia Dongxu for supporting us in our old age?"

The First Aunt proposed it once again.

She had secretly gone to the orphanage several times and observed that some of the children were truly adorable!

— Author's Notes —

Seeking flowers.