Siheyuan: Start with a big car

After the crowd dispersed, Yi Zhonghai returned home in a huff.

As Aunt Yi applied the red medicine to him, she said, "Old man, I think we should just let this matter go. No matter who hit you, you can't find them now, so even if you want to investigate, there's nothing you can do."

Yi Zhonghai snorted and said, "Look at what you're saying. How could I not know who did it? Wasn't it Yan Jiecheng?"

Aunt Yi was very surprised to hear this and quickly asked, "How do you know it was Yan Jiecheng who did it?"

"That goes without saying, isn't it because Yan Jiecang sided with me that Yan Jiecheng is resentful?"

After thinking about it carefully, Aunt Yi realized that it made sense, and quickly asked, "Then why didn't you say it just now?"

Yi Zhonghai sighed and said, "It's all that little bastard Li Weidong's fault. Didn't you see? He was just dealing with me when he also dealt with Liu Haizhong."

When Li Weidong was mentioned, Aunt Yi had no choice but to sigh and say, "I think we should just let this go, old man."

Yi Zhonghai snorted and said, "I definitely can't tolerate it now. As long as I get the chance, I will definitely make Li Weidong pay."

Of course, Yi Zhonghai was very clear that his main goal now was to make Yan Jiekuang his godson, not to hold a grudge against Li Weidong.

"Old woman, I've made up my mind. In a few days, I'll bring up the matter of taking Yan Jiekuang as my godson."

Aunt Yi was stunned when she heard this.

“Old man, isn’t this inappropriate? Third Uncle already has a problem with you because of this. If you do this, Third Uncle will hate you to death.”

Yi Zhonghai criticized, "What do you know? Let me tell you, even if I don't propose to take Yan Jiekuang as my godson now, Third Uncle will not let me off the hook. Since that's the case, we might as well go all the way and be the villains. As long as Yan Jiekuang formally acknowledges me as his godfather, then he will have to obediently take care of me in my old age."

Aunt Yi knew that what Yi Zhonghai said was true, so she could only nod in agreement.

"Old man, watch your approach and attitude. Don't provoke the Third Uncle."

"I understand, I understand." Yi Zhonghai waved to her, turned around and went into the inner room.

He felt that Aunt Yi was becoming increasingly timid.

The next day, Yi Zhonghai had just gotten up when he strolled over to Yan Jiekuang's house.

Yan Jiekuang was carrying a washbasin and was about to wash his face when he saw Yi Zhonghai coming over and greeted him warmly.

"Master Yi Zhonghai, why are you up so early?"

Hearing Yan Jiekuang not call him godfather, but instead address him as "Master Yi," he was quite pleased.

Yi Zhonghai's attitude became even more resolute. He glanced at Yan Jiekuang and said, "Go wash your face first. I have something important to discuss with you later."

Yan Jiekuang sensed that Yi Zhonghai's attitude was off today, so he quickly washed his face and went back inside.

Yi Zhongguan closed the door, looked at Yan Jiekuang, and said, "Yan Jiekuang, our relationship is now established. Now I have a question for you: are you willing to be my godson?"

What other options does Yan Jiekuang have now?

After all, he had already fallen out with his third uncle, so he could only nod and say, "I'm willing, Master Yi Zhonghai, you are my godfather."

Hearing this, Yi Zhonghai was relieved and said happily, "Alright then, since you're willing to be my godson, let's hold a ceremony to settle this matter."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiekuang's expression immediately changed.

"Holding a ceremony? That's unnecessary, and besides, it might cause a lot of trouble."

Yi Zhonghai said sternly, "Yan Jiekuang, you need to think this through. You can't have it both ways. If you still have feelings for Third Uncle, then you should leave now. From now on, we will have nothing to do with each other."

If you truly want to follow me, then let's hold a formal ceremony, and you will become my godson.

Yan Jiekuang hesitated.

Although he didn't mind calling Yi Zhonghai his godfather in private, he knew that such a thing was extremely shameful.

Yan Jiekuang was, after all, an intellectual. If the other people in the compound knew about this, they would definitely look down on him.

But he was still hoping that Yi Zhonghai would help him get closer to Deputy Director Huang so that he could become a leader in the factory.

If he rejects Yi Zhonghai now, his future will be ruined.

After hesitating for a moment, Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "Godfather, I'll do whatever you say."

Yi Zhonghai got excited and patted Yan Jiekuang on the shoulder, saying, "Good, good, good, Yan Jiekuang, from today onwards you are my godson."

After speaking, Yi Zhonghai instructed Yan Jiekuang: "Well, this matter should be handled as soon as possible, how about this?"

Let's hold a ceremony this weekend. Go and tell your friends right now to come and attend.

"It's not necessary."

"Sigh, this is absolutely necessary. From now on, you are my godson, Yi Zhonghai, and I will take care of you."

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's resolute attitude, Yan Jiekuang had no choice but to agree again.

"Godfather, don't worry, I will definitely invite a few friends."

"Godfather, it's getting late, I have to go to work."

Yan Jiekuang felt a sense of trepidation when facing Yi Zhonghai, and hurriedly fled the house.

Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly as he saw Yan Jiekuang's back and whispered, "Yan Jiekuang, you're too green to fight me. Once you're on my pirate ship, there's no way you can get off."

Yi Zhonghai was well aware that someone like Yan Jiekuang, who could betray the Third Uncle, was likely to betray him in the future. To prevent this from happening, he should leave Yan Jiekuang with no way out, so that Yan Jiekuang would be at his mercy.

Afterwards, Yi Zhonghai went to Liu Haizhong's house.

Liu Haizhong is living a very hard life now, and can only drink cornmeal porridge for breakfast.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai approach, Liu Haizhong recalled what happened last night and said somewhat angrily:

"Yi Zhonghai, I've noticed that you're becoming more and more of a scoundrel."

Last night I helped you so much, and you didn't even offer to bring me two pounds of cornmeal. How can I help someone like you in the future?

Yi Zhonghai said, "Oh dear, Lao Liu, I had no choice but to do this too."
"If I had given you the gift back then, the neighbors in our compound would have thought we were in cahoots. That wouldn't have been good for you, and it wouldn't have been good for me either, especially since that damned Li Weidong is still keeping an eye on us."

"Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense. What brings you here? You're not here just to drink my cornmeal porridge, are you?"

Seeing Liu Haizhong's anxiety, Yi Zhonghai chuckled and said, "Liu Haizhong, don't worry. I've come to see you today because I need your help with something important."
"If you can do it, then I can give you fifty catties of cornmeal."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's eyes widened instantly.

"Oh, Yi Zhonghai, how can you be so generous? What's the matter? Tell me quickly." Yi Zhonghai recounted in detail his intention to adopt Yan Jiekuang as his godson, and then said, "You know that the residents in the compound might have some issues with me, so this matter requires your intervention."
"If you can get all the residents of the compound to come, I'll definitely give it to you."

Liu Haizhong was utterly stunned at this moment.

"Yi Zhonghai, you actually want to hold a ceremony to adopt a godson? Are you trying to drive your third uncle crazy?"

Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly and said, "Liu Haizhong, I really didn't expect that you would still be thinking about Third Uncle. Are you planning to pledge allegiance to him?"

Liu Haizhong, of course, would never side with the Third Uncle, and quickly said, "No, I was just a little surprised. Don't worry, leave this matter to me, I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly."

Yi Zhonghai gave Liu Haizhong a few more words of advice, and then wanted to leave.

Liu Haizhong stopped him, saying, "Yi Zhonghai, you see, I'm not doing well either. Shouldn't you pay part of it first?"

Liu Haizhong knew Yi Zhonghai all too well. If he really foolishly helped Yi Zhonghai complete the task, Yi Zhonghai would probably pretend not to know anything and try to cheat him out of some cornmeal.

"You bastard, do you think I, Yi Zhonghai, would deny those things to you?" Yi Zhonghai was furious when he saw Liu Haizhong's appearance.

Liu Haizhong said coldly, "Yi Zhonghai, we've dealt with each other for so many years, so don't pretend with me. If you don't give me some cornmeal first, then I'll have no choice but to do nothing."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai panicked, because he knew very well that if he stepped forward himself, it would definitely cause resentment among the residents, which was why he urgently needed Liu Haizhong to step forward.

"Alright, alright, Liu Haizhong, how about I give you ten pounds of cornmeal first?"

Liu Haizhong felt that ten jin of cornmeal was a bit too little, but he also knew that it was obviously unrealistic to ask Yi Zhonghai to give him all the cornmeal.

"Okay, I'll be generous this time and trust you this once."

If I were to warn you, if you dare to deceive me, then I'm sorry, but you'll definitely regret it later.

After speaking, Liu Haizhong stood there with his arms crossed.

Having no other choice, Yi Zhonghai went home and brought back ten jin of cornmeal for Liu Haizhong.

Finally, Yi Zhonghai went to work, Liu Haizhong holding the cornmeal, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Regardless of whether he can help Yi Zhonghai get things done, he has certainly earned those cornmeal grains now.

However, Liu Haizhong still decided to help Yi Zhonghai this time, after all, he also wanted to see how the Third Uncle would react.

After resting at home for a while, Liu Haizhong went out of the house with his hands behind his back, humming a little tune.

He walked all the way to the pool, where many residents usually gathered.

The residents were chatting idly when they saw Liu Haizhong approaching, and they all smiled and said:

"Hey, isn't this our Detective Liu Haizhong? What's wrong? Have you found out who hit Yi Zhonghai yesterday?"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't think I did this, do you?"

"Haha, Liu Haizhong, someone like you wants to be a great detective?"

Liu Haizhong's expression remained unchanged despite the residents' laughter.

"Everyone, I have something to tell you, which you may not know yet."

Yi Zhonghai is going to adopt Yan Jiekuang as his godson and is going to hold a ceremony this weekend. You all must come and attend!

Upon hearing this news, the residents who had gathered around were stunned.

"What? Yi Zhonghai actually wants to adopt Yan Jiekuang as his godson and even hold a ceremony?"

If the Third Uncle in the compound knew about this, he would be furious.

"Yes, yes, this matter has already made Uncle San very upset. Now that we're going to hold a ceremony, it's like slapping Uncle San in the face."

"I think something big is about to happen in our compound."

With a hint of impatience, Liu Haizhong said, "What's wrong? Are you all that afraid of Third Uncle?"

"No, Liu Haizhong, we are neighbors after all. It wouldn't be good if things got too tense."

Liu Haizhong snorted and said, "You only care about Third Uncle, have you ever thought about Yi Zhonghai?"

Yi Zhonghai is also our neighbor in this compound. Now he's adopted a godson. Such a big event, wouldn't it be inappropriate for you not to participate?"

The residents were suddenly caught in a dilemma.

On the one hand, if they refused, they would definitely offend Yi Zhonghai; if they agreed to participate, they would definitely offend Uncle San.

At this moment, Uncle Chen from the backyard came up with an idea and said, "How about this, Liu Haizhong, if Sha Zhu is willing to participate, then we will participate. What do you think? After all, Sha Zhu is now the second uncle."

This method is ingenious. As the head of the compound, Sha Zhu can make the choice on behalf of the residents.

Liu Haizhong glared at him fiercely, but he also understood the residents' concerns.

After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go find Sha Zhu now."

Uncle Chen stood up and said, "Alright, we'll go with you."

The meaning of his words was very clear: he was worried that Liu Haizhong would give false military intelligence and deceive them.

Liu Haizhong knew this too. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay, okay."

Sha Zhu's house wasn't far from the pool, and Liu Haizhong arrived in just a few steps.

He knocked heavily on the door. At that moment, Sha Zhu was eating at home and became somewhat impatient upon hearing the knocking.

"Who is it? So early in the morning."

When Sha Zhu opened the door and saw Liu Haizhong standing outside, he became even angrier.

"Liu Haizhong, it's you? Have you discovered some clues again?"

I warned you, if you dare to talk nonsense again, don't blame me for being ruthless.

Seeing that Sha Zhu had misunderstood, Liu Haizhong quickly said, "Sha Zhu, I'm here today to tell you something. Yi Zhonghai from our compound is going to take Yan Jiekuang as his godson. There will be a ceremony this weekend, and you must come to attend."

After saying that, he saw Sha Zhu standing there in a daze, and quickly said, "Sha Zhu, you are the second uncle in our compound."
I don't care what grudge you have against Yi Zhonghai, as the person in charge, helping the residents is his duty.
Besides, this is a major event in our compound; it wouldn't be appropriate for you not to get involved.

(End of this chapter)