svetikya Page 202
Page 202
"With Brother Zhuzi not here, what kind of college-wide meeting is this? You're making it a one-man show," Xu Damao said anxiously.
"What do you mean by 'one-man show'? Stop talking nonsense. Didn't you see your second and third uncles are here too?"
"But Brother Zhu hasn't come yet; everyone hasn't arrived all of them."
Yi Zhonghai said, "A plenary meeting can't just have everyone representing every household. He Daqing is here too, so having a representative is enough."
"Besides, today's issue is about dealing with you, Xu Damao. Whether Zhu Zi is here or not makes no difference."
After Yi Zhonghai spoke, he wanted to continue.
He Daqing said, "Old Yi, I think we should wait for Zhu Zi. I don't speak for him, after all, Zhu Zi is already married and has registered as a separate household."
He Daqing certainly wouldn't undermine Zhu Zi, knowing that he had recently been helping Xu Damao. After all, Xu Wude had already gone to jail, leaving only a widow and her children in the Xu family. He didn't want them to be bullied by Yi Zhonghai.
Yi Zhonghai was annoyed by He Daqing's opposition, but he didn't take his words seriously and wanted to continue to reprimand Xu Damao to settle the matter as soon as possible.
Xu Damao started making trouble and wouldn't let Yi Zhonghai get his way, which really angered Yi Zhonghai. The situation got so bad that Jia Dongxu and Xu Damao almost came to blows.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a bicycle bell. Everyone turned around and saw He Yuzhu and Xu Xiaomei coming in together.
"What? A whole-college meeting was held, but no one notified me. When was I expelled from this college?"
Chapter 149 Yi Zhonghai: You owe me 270 yuan.
Yi Zhonghai felt as if he had swallowed a fly; his little scheme had failed, and Xu Damao had still managed to bring Sha Zhu back.
"Alright, since you're here, find a place to sit down and listen. This matter has little to do with you."
He Yuzhu snorted and said, "Next time there's a college-wide meeting, you have to tell me, or we're not done."
After speaking, he sat down on the stool next to He Daqing.
Yi Zhonghai snorted, his face full of bitterness. The most difficult person to deal with in this entire courtyard was Sha Zhu, followed by He Daqing.
Since returning home and getting married, He Daqing has become much more obedient and less concerned with other matters.
But recently, Sha Zhu has been acting strangely, always going against his own principles and losing money every time.
Today, I wanted to stand up for my apprentice and teach Xu Damao a lesson. Logically speaking, it had nothing to do with Sha Zhu, but I didn't expect him to be so enthusiastic. As soon as Xu's girl went to call him, he came running back.
The Xu family and Sha Zhu are not on good terms, so why have they become closer recently?
Yi Zhonghai felt as uncomfortable as if he had found half a fly in his steamed bun; it seemed that his plans for today would not be able to be completed smoothly.
Xu Damao quickly moved the stool and came to He Yuzhu's side, saying, "It's great that you came, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do."
“What are you afraid of? At worst, we’ll both go down together. You just haven’t grasped the key point,” He Yuzhu said.
"What's the point?"
He Yuzhu asked, "Why did Jia Dongxu hit you?"
"I don't know!"
Xu Damao was only focused on hitting him and didn't ask Jia Dongxu why he hit him. The two didn't see each other again during his hospitalization and haven't communicated since. He still doesn't know why Jia Dongxu would hit him when he was perfectly fine.
He Yuzhu said, "I guess he thought you were the one who reported them for reselling grain."
Xu Damao said fiercely, "That bastard, I'd be more likely to say he was the one who reported it."
He Yuzhu said, "Let me explain this to you in detail."
Yi Zhonghai, watching Xu Damao and He Yuzhu whispering to each other, glared at them with anger, then let out a heavy snort.
He said, "Alright, let's get down to business. Let's continue dealing with the matter of Xu Damao hitting me."
Xu Damao, having gotten an idea from He Yuzhu, laughed and said, "You were the one who hit me first, but you insist on saying I hit you. Have you no shame?"
"Nonsense," Yi Zhonghai said angrily. "Who can prove that I hit you? I was just trying to break up the fight."
Xu Damao retorted, "Then who can prove that I hit you?"
Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a moment. Xu Damao had also learned to be unreasonable. He said angrily, "Xu Damao, are you even human? You were the one who hit me."
Xu Damao also said, "Uncle Yi, this is the last time I'll call you 'Uncle.' We're both so old, almost 40, how can you deny hitting me like an old woman?"
"you..."
Yi Zhonghai was so angry that the veins on his neck bulged. Looking back, he realized that what he did was indeed not fair. When he saw Jia Dongxu lying on the ground, he unconsciously pushed Xu Damao with much more force.
This gave Xu Damao leverage to retaliate, insisting that he had hit him, but he couldn't admit it; he had only used a little too much force.
"Xu Damao, I have witnesses here, stop making trouble."
After saying that, Yi Zhonghai turned to look at Liu Haizhong next to him.
Liu Haizhong coughed, put down his teacup, and said:
"Stop arguing, let me be fair. Da Mao really shouldn't have done that. No matter what, Lao Yi is Da Mao's boss. How could Da Mao possibly lay a hand on Lao Yi and even knock out his teeth?"
These words sparked a flurry of discussion among the neighbors, who criticized Xu Damao for beating an older man with a younger one, as it went against tradition.
"Da Mao, no matter what, you can't make the first move!"
"Yes, Da Mao, you beat Lao Yi so badly that he lost his teeth. That really shouldn't have happened."
"..."
Xu Damao was embarrassed by everyone's words and couldn't help but shout, "You're all only focusing on the fact that I hit Grandpa Yi, but what about the fact that Jia Dongxu flattened my nose?"
Xu Damao later realized that hitting Yi Zhonghai was indeed wrong, as it was quite an outrageous thing to do in the courtyard.
But Jia Dongxu had attacked him for no reason, and no one spoke out or upheld justice, which made Xu Damao furious.
When things came to a head, it became clear just how well-liked Yi Zhonghai was in the courtyard. Jia Dongxu was Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, so everyone let it slide out of respect for Yi Zhonghai.
Now we know why He Yuzhu went to great lengths to escalate the situation when the Jia family bullied him, in order to get rid of Yi Zhonghai.
Jia Dongxu, who was just watching the show, couldn't help but say when he heard himself mentioned, "Xu Damao, you deserve to be beaten. Who told you to break your promise?"
Jia Dongxu had suffered several losses at He Yuzhu's hands before, which caused him to have a rough few years. After starting work, he got in touch with the son of Deputy Factory Director Gao and busied himself serving him, while also making some extra money on the side.
I only recently started to get cocky, feeling like I had the ability and skills, but after only a few days, Xu Damao sabotaged everything.
What's wrong with beating him up?
Xu Damao said angrily, "Then come here, I'll flatten your nose, and then we'll be even."
"Are you looking for death, you brat?" Jia Dongxu shouted.
Jia Dongxu was confident that he couldn't beat Sha Zhu, but beating Xu Damao was a piece of cake for him, and he wasn't afraid of Xu Damao at all.
Seeing that the two were arguing again, Yi Zhonghai quickly said:
"Alright, we'll talk about your issues later. It's just the younger generation playing around. It'll be fine once it's over."
Yi Zhonghai wanted to separate the matter; Jia Dongxu hitting Xu Damao was just the two of them fooling around, and it would be over once it was over.
But Xu Damao hitting Yi Zhonghai is a different matter. It's a junior hitting an elder, which is immoral and intolerable.
"Da Mao, stop with the nonsense and just tell me what we're going to do about the fact that you hit me."
Xu Damao's previous unreasonable behavior was an attempt to minimize the damage to the matter, even though he had embarrassed Yi Zhonghai, something even He Yuzhu had never done.
The consequences of this kind of thing are quite serious; if you tell others, they will only resent your own ignorance.
However, Xu Damao, feeling wronged, had no intention of compensating Yi Zhonghai. After all, things couldn't be calculated that way, and Jia Dongxu had also hit him, yet Jia Dongxu still refused to pay compensation.
He declined, saying that the money for his medical treatment had been reimbursed by the steel rolling mill; he didn't want to pay a single penny.
Jia Dongxu's actions made Xu Damao even less willing to pay compensation to Yi Zhonghai. So many days have passed, and he hasn't even brought eggs or bought some pastries to visit Yi Zhonghai.
This infuriated Yi Zhonghai. He had been beaten, but Xu Damao hadn't done anything about it. So he convened a hospital-wide meeting to criticize Xu Damao and embarrass him.
Xu Damao's face was full of bitterness. He could still refute Jia Dongxu, but he had a headache when facing Yi Zhonghai and didn't know how to gain the upper hand.
I couldn't help but ask, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
Yi Zhonghai said, "You still have the nerve to ask me what to do? You slapped my face until it was swollen and knocked out my teeth. Have you, Xu Damao, visited me at all during this time?"
Xu Damao was speechless with a bitter face. His previous reasoning was somewhat untenable, even though Yi Zhonghai admitted that he had used too much force and pushed him down, causing a swelling on his head.
But no medicine was needed; the swelling would subside in a few days. Yi Zhonghai lost his tooth, but many people witnessed it. Given the disparity in their social status, Xu Damao had no way to argue his case.
Then Xu Damao could only turn to He Yuzhu, hoping that He Yuzhu could help him.
He Yuzhu whispered, "Jia Dongxu."
Xu Damao suddenly realized how foolish he had been. He knew that if he could get involved with Jia Dongxu, the problem could be resolved.
Xu Damao quickly said, "Uncle Yi, alright, I was wrong before, I apologize on your behalf. You were hospitalized for so many days before, and you only just got out recently. How about I take you to get your teeth fixed in a couple of days?"
Xu Damao had inquired beforehand and found that getting a tooth fixed at the hospital only costs 1 to 2 yuan, depending on the specific tooth.
Xu Damao's move of advancing by retreating earned everyone's approval; this was the attitude a junior should have.
If you do something wrong, you should take the initiative to admit it. You can't hit your elders and then act lawlessly and refuse to admit your mistake.
Yi Zhonghai first hummed in agreement, his expression softening somewhat. However, this wasn't Yi Zhonghai's intention; there were just some things he couldn't say. He then turned to look at Liu Haizhong.
Liu Haizhong said, "Xu Damao, what you did was terrible. You set a bad example for everyone in the courtyard, and the young people will follow suit. Do you still need us old men who manage the courtyard?"
“Yes, this has a terrible impact,” Yan Bugui chimed in.
When it comes to protecting the three old men in charge of the courtyard, the three men are of one mind. Yi Zhonghai has suffered several losses at the hands of Sha Zhu, which has resulted in him not having much prestige in the courtyard.