Chapter 514: Good Things Come in Pairs

"What were you two talking about just now?"

Kuang Yusheng sat next to Xia Zhongquan and had noticed Li Xuewu and Old Xia gesturing and whispering over by the service office earlier.

Now that Xia Zhongquan had sat down, he couldn't help but ask.

After all, the two of them used to be the closest, but now that Li Xuewu had appeared, Kuang Yusheng naturally wanted to know if the two of them were secretly cooking up some scheme again.

"Hmm..."

Xia Zhongquan crossed his legs, narrowed his eyes, and said softly, "Help me analyze this; I just feel like something isn't quite right."

He couldn't understand why Li Xuewu always brought him along whenever he had some small money-making venture, especially since the two of them didn't have a particularly close relationship.

This forced him to suspect Li Xuewu's motives, but he couldn't figure it out, so he decided to vent to Kuang Yusheng.

Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang, right? Could the two of them combined really not outsmart this Li Xuewu?

There were many people eating at this time, so the two of them whispering together didn't attract anyone's attention; everyone was busy attacking the rabbit meat on the table with their chopsticks.

After Xia Zhongquan finished speaking, Kuang Yusheng glanced warily at Li Xuewu, who was chatting happily with Zhang Guoqi from the logistics department at the next table.

"Hiss..."

He took a sharp breath, paused for a moment, and then whispered, "Just saying it's to share the factory's pressure, or to delegate the manual labor—that reason is too far-fetched."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Xia Zhongquan also snuck a glance at Li Xuewu before picking up a piece of rabbit meat with his chopsticks.

It had to be said, the dish itself was very fragrant, and with the guest house chef's excellent skills, the flavor was truly superb.

Kuang Yusheng pursed his lips, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Could it be that he's targeting you and me?"

"Forget it, will you?"

Xia Zhongquan chewed the meat in his mouth, glanced at Kuang Yusheng, and said, "We're just two old dried-up sticks; are we really worth him targeting?"

"Who are you asking?"

Kuang Yusheng frowned and said, "Old Zhang from the modification workshop has a good relationship with him. If he needed manpower, Old Zhang's side could handle that work too. I just don't believe he's targeting you because of your ugly daughter."

"Go to hell, your daughter is the ugly one."

Xia Zhongquan rolled his eyes; he might be ugly himself, but his daughter took after him, so what could he do?

"Stop it. Think about it—why is this kid always targeting us? Don't let yourself be sold and then help him count the money."

"Haven't you counted enough money already?"

Kuang Yusheng said dismissively, "Every time the accountant from the security department comes to deliver money, aren't you the one counting it?"

"Hey!"

Xia Zhongquan's voice rose a bit. Seeing people at the table looking over, he quickly pointed at the rabbit meat in his bowl and said, "This meat is really stewed perfectly!"

"Hahaha~"

Everyone at the table naturally knew the two were close, so no one cared about their whispering.

Neither of them were high-ranking officials; one had a foul temper, and the other was a bit sluggish, so they weren't in the center of the factory's social circle.

The real excitement in the factory was over at Li Xuewu's table. Although he said he wouldn't provide alcohol, after Li Xuewu sat down, Zhang Songying—who had been urged by Zhang Guoqi and the others—came over to ask for drinks.

"Let me tell you all, I'm not stingy with this wine; I'm just afraid that if you drink too much, you'll mess up your work."

Li Xuewu gestured for Zhang Songying to fill the glasses of those asking for drinks and warned, "If the factory leaders blame you for any mistakes, you'll be the ones taking the fall, and I'll feel bad for you."

"Hey, look at that!"

Section Chief Lv from the finance department pointed at Li Xuewu and laughed, "Li Chu, you're something else. We haven't even started drinking, and you've already pinned the blame on us."

"That's not right."

Wang Jingzhang from the service department said while reaching out to grab Lv Yuanshen's glass, "This is Li Chu's hospitality; if you don't want to drink it, give it to me."

"Get lost."

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Lv Yuanshen slapped away Wang Jingzhang's hand and said, "I don't need you to help me with Li Chu's hospitality!"

"Hahaha~"

Including the office, there were eleven administrative sections in the factory, plus six Party committee sections and one union section, totaling eighteen.

The heads of these sections all sat together, though they naturally gathered at tables with those they got along with.

Li Xuewu was the "social butterfly" among them; he could sit at any table and find something to chat about with anyone.

Even with those he had no work connection with, Li Xuewu could still find a way to strike up a conversation.

He was always the one to bring out the wine, and whenever there was a celebration, everyone would urge him to bring out the stock he kept there.

In fact, following Li Xuewu's lead, these section heads had developed the habit of storing wine and goods there.

After all, you never knew when you might need to host someone.

Eating out would cost several yuan per meal, but here, the environment was good, they provided their own ingredients, and the cafeteria would cook for them for free.

Of course, it was "free" in terms of labor, but they still had to pay for the materials.

Even so, this service made these section-level cadres very happy.

After all, their connections were within the factory, and they mostly needed to host factory cadres or associates.

Even if they were hosting outside connections, bringing them to the factory to eat was convenient and prestigious.

This was an idea Zhang Songying had come up with through Li Xuewu storing things there. It wasn't widely advertised; she had just spoken to these cadres privately.

This had earned the guest house a great reputation. Now, no one dared to covet the guest house's position; even if they did, they only dared to think about it at lower levels. As for the section-level and deputy section-level cadres above, even the deputy factory directors wouldn't dare to covet it.

One reason was that the guest house was Li Xuewu's—or rather, Li Huai De's—sphere of influence.

The second reason was that Qin Huairu and Zhang Songying's work at the guest house was truly impeccable.

Regardless of what positions they held before, everyone from the factory director down to the lower-level cadres praised them now.

Whose guest house had this level of service attitude? Whose guest house had such thoughtful service?

After a satisfying lunch, Li Xuewu was escorted out by several people. They were all flushed from the alcohol, smoking cigarettes as they walked toward the office area.

They didn't know what joke was told, but after walking a few steps, they all burst into laughter.

Zhang Songying walked over to Qin Huairu and whispered, "Li Chu doesn't have much wine left here. You'll have to tell him later."

"Mm, I'll tell him when I go back."

Qin Huairu naturally wouldn't talk to Li Xuewu directly about these trivial matters. Old Biaozi had already agreed with Qin Huairu that whenever the wine and meat here ran out, he would be the one to deliver more.

Now, Old Biaozi didn't feel a bit of pain regarding these expenses for maintaining interpersonal relationships.

He used to feel pained over a few hundred yuan in gift money, but now, wherever he went to get things done, a single word was enough. This had long since taught him the principle of knowing when to spend.

Li Xuewu was their pillar of support. As long as Li Xuewu was at the Steel Mill and the branch bureau, their lives would only get better.

This was also why no one at the recycling station dared to use Li Xuewu's name to get things done.

Ruining Li Xuewu's reputation would be equivalent to destroying their own foundation.

Old Biaozi had made a delivery in the morning, and now that they had a large truck, delivering goods was even more convenient.

This made the people at the waste company envious. They thought these young kids were truly capable; even collecting scrap could make them rich.

They were envious, but they didn't covet it. They looked down on this kind of dirty, tiring work.

The waste company was a proper unit; the people at the stations wore crisp Zhongshan suits, and the bookkeepers wore clean clothes.

These dirty, tiring jobs were naturally left to temporary workers or the company's porters.

The reason they didn't covet it wasn't just because Old Biaozi and his crew were dirty and smelled when they came to deliver goods, but also because of those cars that looked like they were ready for the scrapyard.

Previously, this junk was all collected by their large trucks, but later, after the Jiaodaokou Recycling Station got a GAZ-69 van, they started delivering it themselves.

That GAZ was already broken enough, but they didn't expect them to upgrade to a large truck—and this truck was even more broken than the GAZ.

Old Biaozi looked at the envious yet disgusted expressions of those people and felt that the hard work of that night hadn't been in vain.

After all, hammering away with a mallet, removing rust, and spray-painting—it really was exhausting.

But now, looking at the effect, it was fine. When they moved machinery, the truck bed was smashed to pieces, but he didn't fix it; he just let it hang there, making people unable to feel jealous.

After returning to the courtyard, he parked the truck and went back inside to change into clean clothes.

Because Li Xuewu had told him that he needed to take his mother and his in-laws to Huaqing, and possibly pick them up later.

He changed his clothes, took the car keys, and entered through the hanging flower gate.

"Yo, Sister-in-law Shuqin."

As soon as Old Biaozi entered the courtyard, he saw Comrade Ge Shuqin carrying a vegetable basket and walking out, so he greeted her.

Comrade Ge Shuqin rolled her eyes at him and ignored the oily-mouthed scoundrel, continuing on her way out.

Old Biaozi looked at Comrade Ge Shuqin's back, pursed his lips, and then turned to greet Third Master Yan, who was sunning himself, with a smile: "Morning, Third Master, sunning your face?"

Yan Fugui also rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Learn something good from Li Xuewu!"

"Hehehe."

Old Biaozi didn't mind Third Master's jab and said with a smile, "Why don't you talk to him later? Why doesn't he ever teach me anything good?"

Yan Fugui raised an eyebrow, looked Old Biaozi up and down, and asked, "Nothing to do, huh? I've got a chore for you. I'm going back to work next month; help me pick out a bicycle wheel."

"Forget it."

Old Biaozi looked at the battle-damaged, assembled bicycle leaning against the wall—which was no less impressive than the GAZ-69 in the west courtyard—and said, "Your bike isn't worth repairing at all. Why don't I find you another one? I guarantee it'll be more prestigious than this one."

As he spoke, he walked over to Third Master with the car keys and said with a grin, "Master Yang Er at you, about to make a comeback; don't you need something prestigious to boost your momentum?"

"Is it free?"

Yan Fugui was used to the sharp tongues of these kids and remained unmoved, saying, "If it's free, I'll take it."

"Hehe~"

Old Biaozi raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course, that's possible."

Yan Fugui was just bantering; even when he heard Old Biaozi say that, he didn't take it to heart. After all, these sharp-tongued kids would eat anything except a loss.

Seeing Third Master didn't speak, Old Biaozi smiled and pointed at Third Master's house, saying, "I noticed Sister Jiedi is also..."

"I'll break your legs!"

Yan Fugui opened his eyes abruptly, grabbed the cane beside him, and prepared to swing it at Old Biaozi.

Old Biaozi, seeing the situation was bad, had long since dodged away.

"Hahaha, look at you, what kind of temper is that?"

Seeing Third Master hadn't actually gotten up, Old Biaozi knew he wasn't truly angry and said with a smile, "I can wait slowly. You're about to make a comeback; your blood vessels aren't clear, and the road to work can't be blocked~"

"Get lost, stop trying to piss me off~"

Yan Fugui wouldn't lower himself to the level of this scoundrel; he was currently practicing "don't get angry," and no one could piss him off.

While the two were joking, Liu Yin accompanied Zhao Gen's wife and brought out Zhao Yaping, the younger sister of Li Xuewu's sister-in-law, Zhao Yafang.

"Auntie, the car is ready."

Old Biaozi had been chatting with Third Master outside just to remind those inside that he was ready.

Because Li's family had in-laws visiting today, and they were all women, it wasn't convenient for him, a grown man, to go in, so he used this trick.

Of course, the banter with Third Master was just banter; they were all men in the courtyard, so no one would take the jokes seriously.

Liu Yin smiled and greeted Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui asked with a smile where they were going; he knew Li's family had relatives visiting, and the commotion in that room could be heard at his house.

Liu Yin explained to Yan Fugui while leading her in-laws out: "This is Yafang's mother and sister. Yafang isn't coming back this week, so we're going to visit them."

She didn't introduce them to Yan Fugui, partly because of the gender dynamics and partly out of habit.

At this time, if you wanted to introduce neighbors, you usually did it privately, like if Liu Yin wanted to introduce Yan Fugui to Zhao Gen's wife, she would do it on the road.

"Oh, oh, oh, you should visit."

Yan Fugui said with a smile, "You're about to have a big grandson, so be careful."

"Hehe, you rest up."

Seeing Third Master's wife come out, Liu Yin smiled and greeted Yan Fugui before leaving with Old Biaozi.

Old Biaozi had taken the things from Liu Yin's hands and gone to the car first, while Liu Yin and the others followed behind.

Third Master's wife was holding an enamel mug, handed warm water to her husband, and pursed her lips as she watched Liu Yin dressed neatly and carrying a leather bag.

"She's just showing off in front of her in-laws."

Yan Fugui also heard his wife's words, wiped his eyes, and said, "Does it bother you? Mind your own business."

The reason Liu Yin didn't greet Third Master's wife just now was that Third Master's wife still held a grudge over the slap she received from the old lady.

Consequently, she held a grudge against Liu Yin as well, and they usually didn't speak to each other, avoiding each other whenever possible.

Li's family couldn't be bothered to deal with her; if they didn't speak, no one spoke to her, and they didn't owe her anything.

Yan Fugui also knew his wife's knot, but it was hard to persuade her, as this wasn't a legal case where things could be clearly judged.

Third Master's wife, however, couldn't stand her husband's "spineless" look and pursed her lips, saying, "Visiting someone is so precious now that they have to take a car. They really think they're some kind of noble guests."

"They have it, so they're willing to take it."

Yan Fugui drank some water, frowned, and said, "Stop looking for trouble. You were making a fuss when the eldest son was quiet, and now you're making a fuss again. Are you not going to let me go to work?"

Third Master's wife rolled her eyes. Her husband had to go back to work; he wanted to rest for a semester, but the school was short of teachers.

The principal's meaning was very clear: if they found a new teacher, Yan Fugui would have to wait for reassignment when he returned.

If he didn't want the position to be vacant, he had to go back to work as soon as possible.

It wasn't that the school was heartless for making a sick person work, but at this time, there was no concept of "recuperation" for sick leave like in later generations.

If you broke an arm or a leg and said you couldn't get out of bed, that was one thing, but saying you needed to "recuperate" when you could walk and move around wouldn't fly.

It was likely that on April 1st, which was a Tuesday, he would have to go back to teach.

Yan Fugui asking Old Biaozi to find a wheel wasn't a joke; even if that bike was repaired now, no one would fight him for it.

Their family's second young master was also lying in bed recuperating, and his condition looked more serious than his own.

He had also applied for leave at school; anyway, it was the same whether he went to school or not, and staying at home now caused less trouble.

"You say the eldest son doesn't come back many times a month, so how are they going to have children?"

Third Master's wife had heard the news of Zhao Yafang's pregnancy and was secretly worried about her own eldest daughter-in-law.

In her eyes, this daughter-in-law was excellent—she worked hard and was filial, and she had become even better recently.

The only bad thing was the miscarriage last time, which lost them the child.

She blamed their family's lack of fortune for that, as it happened when her husband was hospitalized and the daughter-in-law was exhausted from taking care of him.

She thought that if the child were still there, wouldn't it be a few months older than Li's child?

Yan Fugui frowned; whenever the eldest daughter-in-law was mentioned, he felt uncomfortable.

It wasn't like before—that was what Yan Jiecheng wanted. Speaking of now, the changes in Comrade Ge Shuqin made Yan Fugui suspicious, or rather, insecure.

Could she be plotting something big?

He was a man with many schemes, so he was afraid of others playing schemes on him.

Ever since he was bedridden and saw the various expressions and behaviors of his family members toward him, Yan Fugui had told himself how he should act in the future.

Now he was doing just that: he would give them food, but if they wanted money, not a cent.

Also, he didn't count on the eldest and second sons for his old age. Now, the third son studied with him after school, just to see if he could cultivate him.

He couldn't count on the couple having another child; the family was already tight enough, and having another one would probably mean starving.

But he was satisfied with his life now. Although he had a serious illness, Yi Zhonghai, who was sicker than him, was still lying in bed in the back courtyard.

Fortunately, he could still walk out to sun himself. He had gone to see Yi Zhonghai, and the man could barely sit up.

Although the family had lost money repeatedly and his work had been delayed by illness, Liu Haizhong was even more miserable.

Not to mention his work was almost gone, the fines, the confiscations, the compensation, plus his wife's illness—it was a huge sum.

Good heavens, he was almost bankrupt.

At that time, how much could Liu Haizhong save from his monthly salary of over seventy yuan?

Now, those seventy yuan were gone because his salary had been reduced to that of a first-grade worker.

Even if he had saved some before, how much had been taken away this time? His family fortune was almost emptied.

Previously, it was just him who was unlucky, just his family who was unlucky. Now, those who were unluckier than him had appeared, and his psychological state was quite balanced—very balanced.

He was balanced, but the two in the back courtyard were restless.

Yi Zhonghai now needed his wife to take care of him even for eating and turning over. Why did he rush back from the hospital? Because he felt sorry for his wife suffering in the hospital.

Even though Qin Huairu had pulled strings so they could have a bed, it wasn't home, and the many inconveniences cost them a lot.

Furthermore, Yi Zhonghai was a decent and honest man; he was afraid that if he stayed in the factory hospital too long, the leaders would think he was being troublesome and causing them inconvenience, so he simply came back.

Actually, coming back was fine; living at home was comfortable. For things like IV drips, he just had Qin Huairu open the medicine at the factory hospital and asked Li Shun to come over and help administer them.

There was no technical content to that; even Liu Yin could do it.

It was just that there was one more person for his wife to take care of, serving him and cleaning up after him, in addition to the deaf old lady.

The deaf old lady had also lost her temper. After seeing Yi Zhonghai's condition and hearing the whole story from his wife, she carried her cane and went to Liu Haizhong's house to scold them for half the night.

Liu Haizhong stood in the room and listened, not daring to say a word in return.

At the time, Liu Haizhong's wife hadn't returned yet. After she came back, the deaf old lady only said one thing to Liu Haizhong: "Cultivate some blessings."

That was harsher than scolding for half the night.

Today was the same as usual; the deaf old lady moved her sunning time to Yi Zhonghai's house.

Her hearing wasn't bad anymore; she chatted with Yi Zhonghai's wife and told Yi Zhonghai about things from the past.

Li Xuewu didn't know the deaf old lady's background, but Yi Zhonghai knew. She was someone the neighborhood office had specifically named to be taken care of, and she had no children.

As the First Master of the courtyard, he had taken on this responsibility.

Fortunately, the deaf old lady was easy to take care of, and two families weren't much different from one.

"Old lady, are we having spinach-filled pancakes for lunch?"

Ever since her husband's accident, Yi Zhonghai's wife had lost a lot of weight, and her half-white hair had turned almost completely white.

Although the factory provided subsidies, and there was compensation from Liu Haizhong and the Qian family, all that money couldn't buy back their health.

Yi Zhonghai's wife was afraid that her husband lying in bed would feel bitter, so she changed up the variety of food she made for him every day.

"I saw fresh spinach at the vegetable market; it'll be delicious if you drizzle some oil on it for the filling."

"That sounds great."

The deaf old lady sat in her chair, leaning on her cane, and said with a smile, "You know, Li Shun's wife uses too much oil when she cooks; she doesn't really know how to make flour-based foods. I've been missing your pancakes."

"Master Yang Er at you."

Yi Zhonghai's wife also said with a smile, "Liu Yin has been taking care of you for so many days, yet you're still complaining~"

"Hehehe, I'm not complaining."

The deaf old lady waved her hand with a smile and said, "She's great. Li Shun's wife is a good person; her stir-fried dishes are fragrant—more fragrant than yours."

"You've offended both of them now."

Yi Zhonghai said to the old lady with a smile; he could speak now, but it was better to speak less.

Generally, when neighbors came to visit, they would just smile and nod, saying a few simple words, and they would just chat about daily life with their family.

The three people in this room had a combined age of nearly two hundred years, and with no children or grandchildren around their knees, they just relied on daily banter.

Otherwise, what would be the point of living?

"Hahaha~"

When the deaf old lady laughed, one could see that all her teeth had fallen out; she was wearing dentures.

"I'm not afraid of offending them; I didn't say anything bad."

As she chatted, she tapped her cane and said, "Li Shun's eldest daughter-in-law is pregnant. I asked Qin Huairu to buy some things for me to send over, but Li Shun's wife sent them back. I scolded her for it."

The old lady was just chatting about daily life, rambling on about such trivial matters.

A few days ago, when Zhao Yafang's pregnancy was confirmed, someone did bring things over. Generally, Liu Yin would send them back, or if she couldn't refuse, she would return the favor.

Li's family didn't owe anyone any favors, nor did they think about receiving gifts for this matter.

The deaf old lady was alone, and she spent her meager money on her own living, so how could Liu Yin accept it?

However, the old lady insisted on giving it, so Liu Yin took some gifts back.

Now the old lady was talking about this, saying it to Yi Zhonghai and also to Yi Zhonghai's wife.

Yi Zhonghai understood the old lady's meaning and said softly while lying in bed, "It's not that they look down on you; Li's family just lives their life that way."

"I understand, I understand."

The old lady nodded and said, "I'm an old bag of bones; what do I care about being looked down upon? It's just that Li's family is cultivating blessings."

As she spoke, she looked at Yi Zhonghai, then looked at the scenery outside the window and said, "Ever since I knew Li Demao, this Li family has been known for their kindness in this area. They didn't even live in this courtyard back then."

Yi Zhonghai had heard this before and nodded. He was also an old-timer; he knew less about the situation here than the old lady, but he knew quite a bit.

"Back then, their family lived in the courtyard at the street entrance. The front was a shop, and the back was their living quarters. They had been there since his grandfather's time."

The old lady recalled for a while before continuing, "Those years in the capital were so chaotic, yet their family remained intact. They just lost the courtyard and rented a place here."

"That's why they say kindness leads to a good end."

Yi Zhonghai nodded, expressing his agreement.

"Hehe, that's always the principle."

The deaf old lady glanced at the back courtyard and continued, "Li Shun, his grandfather, and his father are all the same. They have good fortune; it's only right that they live well."

"Their family is also good at choosing daughters-in-law."

Yi Zhonghai's wife stood by the table picking spinach and said, "Starting from Li's old lady, it's not just Liu Yin. I've also seen the wives of their second and third sons. Although they don't come back often, they always send things back."

"Hehe, Li's old lady."

The deaf old lady smiled and said, "There's no one more shrewd than her. When the second son said he was going to the Northeast with his wife, that old lady stayed up all night making a thick cotton-padded jacket for the daughter-in-law, saying that if the son could freeze, the daughter-in-law couldn't."

"When the third son said he wanted to transfer back to take care of his mother, that old lady took the phone at the neighborhood office and scolded for half a day, insisting that the neighborhood director write to the army not to let him come back."

Speaking of Li's family affairs, others didn't remember or didn't know, but the deaf old lady in the courtyard remembered.

"That's also their capability."

Yi Zhonghai's wife said with a smile, "The children are raised well, and the daughters-in-law are chosen well and taught well."

The deaf old lady smiled and said, "It's passed down from generation to generation."

"Indeed~"

Yi Zhonghai's wife counted and said, "Li Xuewen's wife is so capable; she doesn't look like she did when she first arrived."

"I've also seen Li Xuewu's partner; she's top-notch in height and appearance, and she's so reserved."

"Their third son's partner is from our neighborhood office. I heard yesterday that she became the director."

After counting, Yi Zhonghai's wife sighed, "Whoever says cultivating blessings doesn't work, just look at their family's life and you'll know what's going on."

"Hehe, Li's second boy."

When the old lady heard Yi Zhonghai's wife talking about Li Xuewu, she couldn't help but laugh, leaning on her cane, "Li's second uncle was mischievous, and Li Xuewu is even more so, hehe."

"Hey~"

Yi Zhonghai's wife sighed, "We really should thank them properly this time. I'm going to the back courtyard later; I haven't seen them in a long time."

Yi Zhonghai nodded and said, "He's a good kid."

"It's really hard to tell, hard to guess."

The deaf old lady shook her head and said with a smile, "Who would have thought? He was so mischievous when he was little, but now he looks so respectable, hehehe."

This wasn't meant to mock Li Xuewu or belittle him; some old people like to use this slightly sarcastic tone to tease the young people they admire.

Yi Zhonghai and his wife both smiled when they thought of how mischievous Li Xuewu was when he was little.

"Speaking of which, we weren't home the day Zhao Yafang's pregnancy was confirmed."

Yi Zhonghai's wife stood up, put the picked spinach into a basin of water to wash, and muttered, "I saw her mother visiting today. When Liu Yin comes back, I have to take some things to visit them; we've been using their help so much."

"That's reasonable."

Yi Zhonghai nodded and said, "Give Li Xuewu a pack of cigarettes, Daqian Sect."

"Got it."

Yi Zhonghai's wife nodded when she heard this. She would send the things for Zhao Yafang to Li's house. Since she couldn't catch Li Xuewu, she would just send the things for him along with the others.

She couldn't give Li Xuewu other things, as he wouldn't accept them. Giving cigarettes was fine, because her husband didn't smoke, so he wouldn't send them back.

"Don't forget to ask Qin Huairu for a meal," Yi Zhonghai reminded her.

"You're right."

Yi Zhonghai's wife nodded and said, "We've been busy this time, and we've used a lot of people. We have to think about Zhuzi, Rainwater, Biaozi from the front courtyard, Yu Li, and Qin Huairu. When you're feeling better, we have to invite them for a meal."

"Mm."

Yi Zhonghai nodded, thinking about the people who had helped his family.

He was grateful to these people who had helped him and his family, but he didn't hold a grudge against the culprit in the back courtyard.

Just like when he woke up in the hospital bed and learned the truth, he thought for half the night and chose to forgive Liu Haizhong.

They had lived in the same courtyard for half a lifetime, and everyone knew each other's situation clearly.

No matter how wrong Liu Haizhong was, no matter how much he deserved to die, he and his wife would eventually live in this courtyard, and the Liu family wouldn't move away either.

Instead of never seeing each other again, it was better to choose to let bygones be bygones and just live their lives.

The "blessings" the deaf old lady often talked about were to comfort him, referring to the "retribution" of the back courtyard.

The Liu family in the back courtyard had indeed suffered retribution. The punishment Liu Haizhong received caused him to lose his job at the factory, lose his status in the family, lose his prestige in the eyes of his children, and lose his money.

It wasn't just that; his wife's accident, the fighting among the three sons, plus his framing of Yi Zhonghai, meant the Liu family would never be able to hold their heads up in front of the people in the courtyard again.

The more magnanimous Yi Zhonghai was, the more the neighbors looked down on the Liu family.

Yi Zhonghai didn't even need to say or make a scene; these slaps would naturally be delivered to Liu Haizhong's face by others.

Just look at the treatment the two families received when they returned to the courtyard: one was met with cold stares from neighbors, and the other was met with warm greetings.

Right and wrong were clear to the masses.

If he could frame an old brother, an old colleague, and an old neighbor who lived together, who else could he not frame?

So now, although people spoke to them when they met, few took the initiative to greet them.

Who knew how many people were guarding against them behind their backs, not to mention the gossip from Seventh Master's wife and the "small radio" gossip from Jia Zhangshi.

While Yi Zhonghai's family was gossiping, Jia Zhangshi was sitting in the courtyard chatting with Seventh Master's wife and the other women.

Of course, they weren't just chatting; they were also busy with their work.

Today, the children were all at school, so Jia Zhangshi and Qin Jingru were sitting at the door pasting matchboxes.

Qin Jingru would occasionally go into the room to check the thermometer on the hot water bag, afraid that the eggs being incubated would die from the heat.

Because it was hot now, sitting at the gatehouse wasn't that comfortable, so the women in the middle courtyard moved their work to the door of Jia's house, which was the best place for gossiping.

After all, there's a lot of "gossip" at a widow's door.

Seventh Master's wife glanced at Qin Jingru, who had gone inside, and pursed her lips at Jia Zhangshi, raising an eyebrow.

Jia Zhangshi blinked her eyes and also pursed her lips, giving Seventh Master's wife a look in response.

The two were old "sisters," so they naturally understood the meaning in each other's eyes, silently exchanging their views on Qin Jingru being there.

However, because they were right at the door, they didn't mention Qin Jingru to the other women; after all, she was Qin Huairu's sister.

Qin Huairu's status in the eyes of these women was unusual now; she was a female cadre who wore leather shoes.

Plus, there was the unyielding Jia Zhangshi there; who would dare to offend her?

But this didn't stop them from aiming their gossip at the currently most popular First Master and Second Master's families.

Oh, now the First Master should still be the First Master, but the Second Master might be removed.

Once they started talking about this, everyone felt something was wrong—hadn't it been a while since the whole-courtyard meeting was held?

It seemed like there hadn't been any whole-courtyard meetings since the New Year.

The men might be resistant to these meetings, but these women relied on them to gossip and watch the fun.

Several women predicted the necessity of the whole-courtyard meeting, the possibility of it being held again, and the excitement of the meeting if it were really held.

From time to time, bursts of laughter full of sarcasm would come from the circle they formed.

Before, they saw the Liu family in the back courtyard living well, and with three sons, the Second Master's wife's eyes were turned to the sky, and her nostrils were almost turned to the sky too.

Now that they saw this woman with her nostrils turned to the sky, her mouth was turned to the sky; how could they not mock her?

They didn't say it to her face, but behind her back, who didn't mutter "serves her right"?

That Second Master's wife probably knew that her crooked mouth and slanted eyes weren't very good-looking, so even if her body allowed it, she just stayed at home and didn't go out easily.

It wasn't that she didn't know the women in the courtyard would gossip about her and her family, but now she was powerless.

Her mouth wasn't nimble, and she had no confidence, so she couldn't out-scold these women. Therefore, hanging up the "no-war" sign and hiding in the room for peace was the best choice.

Now, none of the three sons could be counted on. The second and third sons were still okay to her, but they treated their father like a plague.

The eldest son was even more of an ingrate. This time, it was seen clearly.

When she woke up and learned that Liu Yin had paid for her medical treatment, she asked the second son to ask the eldest son for money to pay it back immediately.

She didn't expect the eldest son, whom she usually loved so much, to say bluntly that he had no money, and when the second son suggested taking turns to take care of her, he said it was too far and inconvenient.

Good heavens, they say there's no filial son at the bedside of a long-term patient, but it hadn't been long since she got sick, and the filial sons had disappeared so quickly.

That wasn't it; her husband took out the family savings from the bank, and the eldest son came back to report the expenses again.

Yesterday, the father and sons had a big argument, each saying they spent more, and the amount reported was twice what they actually spent.

The unhappy parting meant she didn't sleep for half the night, and when she got up today, the house was empty.

There were only a few families in the back courtyard. Li Xuewu's family only had Li's old lady with the children, and there was no one in the deaf old lady's house.

Even if there were people, it was quiet. An old lady couldn't make much noise.

The rest of the families were all at work, so the back courtyard was very quiet.

It was so quiet that she could hear the laughter of those women coming from the gap in Rainwater's room while sitting in her own room.

She knew they were laughing at her.

At this time, even if they weren't talking about her, she thought of herself.

Now, if she had to hate, who would she hate?

Hate Yi Zhonghai for deserving it? Hate Yi Zhonghai for suppressing Liu Haizhong? Hate Yi Zhonghai for blowing things out of proportion?

Or should she hate Li Xuewu for investigating the case clearly, and hate those people in the factory for punishing them too harshly?

In fact, she understood that blaming anyone was wrong; the one she should blame most was Liu Haizhong for being blinded by greed.

"Section Chief, do you want to rest for a while or go to the Public Security Brigade?"

Sha Qizhi poured a cup of tea and placed it on the desk, asking Li Xuewu about his schedule.

Li Xuewu thought for a moment and asked back, "The assignment of those people who were transferred back this morning—including their clothing, food, housing, and labor—have you discussed it with Director Yu?"

"It's all discussed."

Sha Qizhi reported, "Director Yu said he would come up with a plan, which will be ready this afternoon, and he will report to you tomorrow morning."

After reporting, he looked at Li Xuewu's expression and added, "After all, there are over three hundred people. The fire brigade picked forty, leaving three hundred and fifty. Clothing and the cafeteria are easy to handle, but the housing and assignment will take some time to prepare."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "No rush, I was just asking."

As he spoke, he took a letter and handed it to Sha Qizhi, saying, "Don't go to the Public Security Brigade this afternoon. First, help me go to the Iron and Steel Institute Press; they seem to have some opinions on that book."

"Yes."

Sha Qizhi first took the letter and then said with a smile, "Congratulations on the publication of your new book, Section Chief. Good things come in pairs."

"Hehe, it's a bit early for that."

Li Xuewu pointed in Sha Qizhi's direction and said with a smile, "Go get busy."

"Okay."

Sha Qizhi smiled, took the letter, and went to handle the matter for Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu, however, couldn't sleep, so he simply busied himself with the work on his desk.

He thought about finishing this work so he could free up more time in the afternoon to go home early.

Just as he was looking at the documents, there was a "tap-tap" knock on the door.

"Hello, Section Chief. I'm Zhou Yao from the Comprehensive Office."