The train driver in the courtyard

The next day is the weekend.

There was a joyful atmosphere in the courtyard.

The children were playing wildly in the yard, while the old women and young wives were sitting under a big tree gossiping.

Early in the morning, Li Aiguo took Chen Xueru and set up a big iron pot at the door of his house, and invited Nan Yi over.

Nan Yi fell into silence as he looked at the pile of pig skin in the iron pot.

It would be so delicious if this thing could be made into pork skin soup. The current method is simply a sin.

"Brother Patriot, do you mean to make gelatin from pig skin?"

Li Aiguo patted his shoulder and said, "You are the heir of the imperial chef. This little thing will not be difficult for you."

Nan Yi: “.”

It is true that he is the successor of the imperial chef.

But there has never been a dish called gelatin throughout history.

Even if he was the royal chef, he couldn't do it.

However, Nan Yi soon discovered the real purpose of Li Aiguo hiring him - to make fire and collect firewood.

The Nan Yi family is large and powerful. Damao, Ermao and Sanmao are all boys, who are just right for doing these chores.

Li Aiguo did not employ people for nothing. He paid each of them two pieces of White Rabbit milk candy as payment for their work.

The little ones got the candies and screamed with excitement, then ran off to collect firewood.

Brothers Liu Hailong and Liu Haitao, as well as Liu Guangfu and Tiedan and a group of other kids also rushed over when they heard the news.

"Uncle Aiguo, we can also collect firewood. Look, I'm very strong." Tiedan picked up the stone pillar and his face turned red.

Liu Hailong and Liu Haitao performed a handstand.

Liu Guangfu felt that he had no talent, so he took off his pants and patted his butt: "Go ahead and hit me."

Li Aiguo: "."

He felt like he was careless and a few pieces of candy had poked the child's nest.

Making gelatin is a complicated process that requires a lot of firewood.

Li Aiguo took out a handful of White Rabbit candies from his pocket and handed them over.

"Tiedan, you are the team leader of the firewood collection team. You must ensure that they complete the task and are not allowed to be lazy. Then I will reward you with a piece of candy."

"Uncle Aiguo, don't worry. If anyone dares to disobey, I will let him taste the power of my ancestral butcher knife." Tiedan rolled up his sleeves.

Li Aiguo: "."

It’s another Zhang Gangzhu.

Children are the most hardworking and the most trustworthy.

In a short while, the little guys picked up a large bundle of firewood.

He Yushui also joined in the fun, tore off a piece of draft paper, threw it into the stove, and lit it with a match.

Then squat on the ground and blow hard.

After a short while, flames appeared in the stove.

At this time, Nan Yi had already cut all the pig skin and threw it into the stove.

The next job is to just keep going.

Soon, the courtyard was filled with the strange smell of meat.

Inside Jia's house.

Jia Zhang was squatting at the door sighing.

After finally collecting the meat tickets, he blackmailed Yi Zhonghai to buy the meat.

As a result, because of causing trouble in the food station, the three pounds of meat were confiscated, and he also had to make a self-criticism in front of all the customers.

"What kind of research meat? It must be Li Aiguo who is behind this! I've never heard of any research being done on pork."

After listening to the whole process, Jia Dongxu said firmly: "Mom, you have been fooled by Li Aiguo. That thief Sun just can't bear to see our family live a good life."

Jia Zhang sighed: "But what can we do now? We can't rush to his house to get the meat."

Although she was unreasonable, she understood that there was a difference between borrowing and stealing.

At this time, the fragrance wafted over.

The alluring aroma was like an iron hook that slid into Jia Zhang's intestines, hooked up her stomach, and twisted it hard.

It smells so good. Jia Zhang shivered all over and drooled.

"Damn Li Aiguo, we can't eat meat because of him." Jia Dongxu couldn't help swallowing and smearing: "Mom, this time Li Aiguo was unkind to us, so we don't have to be polite to him."

"I just looked over and saw them squatting at the door boiling pig skin. Wait until they leave, then go over quietly and take a piece of pig skin without anyone seeing you."

Jia Zhang frowned and said, "Mother is old and can't run any more. Let Huairu go."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Huairu walked out of the door holding the stick.

Qin Huairu is getting smarter now. When she encounters irrelevant work, she just runs away with the stick and doesn't quarrel with Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhang was so angry that she smashed her shoes and said, "Dongxu, see, this is your wife!

Women deserve to be beaten. Tonight, close the door and give her a good beating. I guarantee she will behave herself tomorrow."

Jia Dongxu agreed immediately.

However, the crime of stealing the pig skin ultimately fell on Jia Zhang's head.

After all, she is old, and even if she is caught, she will just be scolded at most.

Jia Dongxu is a serious worker with a regular job.

Jia Zhang had already thought of a way out in advance. If she was caught, she would return the pig skin.

The operation officially began, and Jia Dongxu transformed into an intelligence agent.

He went into the house, found a set of black work clothes, put them on, put on a peaked cap, and glued a false beard on his mouth.

He looked like a detective in a movie.

Jia Zhangshi: "."

She pointed to the inner room and said, "Change it."

"I just want to satisfy my addiction to being an investigator." Seeing Jia Zhang's firm attitude, Jia Dongxu had no choice but to go back to the house and change into his usual work clothes.

He's been hanging around in the backyard all day.

It's sunny at noon.

The residents all went back to their rooms to eat, and the courtyard fell into silence.

After a whole morning of work, the big iron pot was bubbling, and the pig skin was almost cooked. The next step was to separate the gelatin.

Li Aiguo picked up the chopsticks and placed the pig skin in a ceramic jar.

Then he picked up various chemical materials bought from a chemical store, diluted them in appropriate proportions, and poured them in.

When the chemical materials came into contact with the pig skin, white smoke billowed out and a pungent smell filled the air.

He Yushui felt very strange.

"Brother Aiguo, can we get the glue like this?"

"Now you just need to let it sit for an afternoon, rinse it, soak it in cold water for a day, boil it in warm water for eight hours, freeze it, squeeze it into strips, and dry it."

In order to prevent children from touching the jar, Li Aiguo placed the ceramic jar high on the window sill.

It’s not that he didn’t want to bring it in, but the smell of this thing was too strong, almost like a poison gas bomb.

He Yushui's dark eyes widened.

Brother Aiguo has become a great scientist.

Chef Nan Yi had been busy all morning and was about to go back to cook, but was stopped by Li Aiguo.

"Xue Ru has already prepared the meal. Call Liang La Di over and let's eat together."

Nan Yi knew Li Aiguo's personality well, so he didn't refuse. He called Liang Ladi and several children and went to Li's house together.

Nan Yi's family, He Yushui, and Aunt Liu, seven or eight people in total, gathered around a square table and feasted on the food.

The meal was simple, with each person having a large bowl of shredded pork noodles with soybean sauce.

Because of the fresh fat, Chen Xueru also added lard into it, and the fragrant smell makes people drool.

Chen Xueru also fried some peanuts and poured a dish of pickles as a side dish.

Although it is just noodles with soybean paste, it is no different from a big meal.

We were having a great time eating in the house.

Investigator Jia Dongxu had been crouching and hiding in the distance. When he saw that there was no one outside the door, he immediately ran back.

"Mom, they are all eating in the house. Now is a good time to take action."

"It's time to act!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhang quickly stuffed the steamed bun into her mouth and ran to the crescent gate with her cheeks puffed out.

She turned sideways and poked her head towards the backyard. Seeing that it was indeed empty, a gleam of light suddenly flashed in her eyes.

"Li Aiguo, I'm not trying to cause trouble for you, you were the one who wronged me first!"

Jia Zhang crouched down and tiptoed to the eaves of Li Aiguo's house.

She poked her head inside through the window and saw that several people in the house were eating happily, which made her even more angry.

You guys eat shredded pork and fried noodles with soybean sauce, but I, an old woman, have to eat black steamed buns. Is this fair?

Today I will let you know how powerful I am!

When she came to the porcelain jar, Jia Zhang sniffed and smelled a pungent odor.

She felt a little strange. Why did the pig skin turn into a burnt red color and emit white smoke?

Will it be hot?

It can be said that Jia Zhang still had some brains, and she started to be cautious at this time.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw some sticks for making fire.

He picked up the wooden stick, reached into the porcelain jar, and gently picked it up. Hey, a large piece of pig skin was picked out.

Jia Zhang was wearing an old-fashioned long-collared jacket, the hem of which could be lifted up to form a pocket.

In the past, when people went to the fields in the countryside to steal food, they just put it in their pockets, which was very convenient.

Jia Zhang went back to her old ways, holding her pocket and moving forward. She used the stick to pick the pig skin again, and the skin jumped into her pocket.

Fat and tender pig skin, hehe, got it!
Jia Zhang was delighted and picked up another large piece of pig skin and put it in her pocket.

The porcelain jar had a small mouth and a big belly. Jia Zhang picked out four or five pieces of pig skin in a row. Seeing that there was still pig skin inside, she was reluctant to leave and picked out a few more pieces.

"We must take all the pig skins away today, leaving Li Aiguo helpless."

"Hey!"

Jia Zhang was immersed in excitement when she suddenly felt a pain on her body as if she was drenched in hot oil.

When I looked down, I found that a big hole had been burned in my pocket without me noticing, and a pungent smell was coming out of the edge of the hole.

The hole looked like it was caused by fire and was showing signs of expanding, but how could pig skin catch fire?
Jia Zhang also felt something was wrong at this time, and her hands loosened suddenly, and all the pig skin in her pocket fell to the ground.

"It hurts. It hurts so much that I am dying."

"Li Aiguo, what did you do to the pig skin!"

Jia Zhang's miserable screams were like those of a fat pig that had been stabbed with a knife. It echoed throughout the courtyard and made people's hair stand on end.

When Li Aiguo heard the shouting, he put down his chopsticks and walked out slowly.

The residents in the compound were also alarmed and gathered at the door of Li Aiguo's house.

At this time, Jia Zhang saw the hole in her clothes getting bigger and bigger.

Her undergarment was also burned open, exposing her belly.

Black marks appeared on the white belly, and those marks tended to expand.

She felt as if her belly was scalded by boiling water.

"Li Aiguo, did you poison the pig skin? Give me the antidote quickly." Jia Zhang was so frightened that she tried to hold back the pain and said while sucking her lips.

Poisoned?

Li Aiguo was stunned at first, but when he saw the pig skin on the ground, he immediately understood what was going on.

"Jia Zhang, take off your clothes quickly. Xueru, Nanyi, go get some clean water. The more the better."

Chen Xueru, Nan Yi and Liang Ladi carried iron buckets and ran towards the central courtyard.

Jia Zhang was unwilling to take off her clothes.

"Li Aiguo, you want me to take off my clothes in public, do you have bad intentions?
After Lao Jia died, I have always been innocent. If it were before liberation, I would have been given a chastity arch.

You want to destroy my innocence."

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi looked like a character in the Biography of Women, and with her fat face, she looked a little funny. Who would dare to kill someone like you?
Li Aiguo said calmly: "Your body is covered with sulfuric acid. If you don't wash it with clean water, your belly will be burned and your intestines will be burned through."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhang's expression changed drastically.

At this time, Yi Zhonghai and an aunt also rushed over.

Yi Zhonghai was an old worker and knew the power of sulfuric acid. After learning that Jia Zhang's body was covered with sulfuric acid, he asked Jia Zhang to take off her clothes quickly.

Only then did Jia Zhang realize the seriousness of the problem.

"You all carry them on your backs."

Are you kidding? Who would want to watch an old woman in her 40s or 50s swinging a cloth bag?

Li Aiguo, Xu Damao and other male comrades entered the house one after another.

Chen Xueru, the first aunt, the second aunt and the third aunt helped Jia Zhang take off her clothes.

Fortunately, because I wore thick clothes in winter, not much sulfuric acid flowed to my belly.

Then, under Li Aiguo's order, several people picked up enamel basins and poured water on Jia Zhang.

Although it is not yet the twelfth lunar month, the temperature is only around zero degrees. When the cold tap water poured on her body, Jia Zhang felt as if she was thrown into an ice hole.

The air seemed to freeze, and it became extremely difficult to enter and exit the lungs. Jia Zhang's body gradually became colder, and she felt as if she was frozen.

"Stop watering it. I'm going to freeze to death if you continue to water me. Please."

The wet pants stuck to her body. A gust of cold wind blew and Jia Zhang, with her upper body naked, could no longer bear it.

The aunt did not dare to be careless at this time.

He looked at Jia Zhang's belly and shouted to the room, "Aiguo, Jia Zhang's belly is still a little black."

A faint voice came from inside the house: "Keep watering."

Hula, hula.
I watered the plants seven or eight times in a row.

Jia Zhang's belly gradually became red, swollen and blistered, some parts became carbonized, and some parts turned white and peeled off, and only then did the men stop.

First she was scalded with sulfuric acid, and then she was doused with more than a dozen basins of cold water in the cold wind. By this time, Jia Zhang was half dead.

An old lady found a tattered cotton jacket and put it on her. She sat down on the ground and couldn't stand up again.

Jia Zhang was so aggrieved. Not only did she not get the pig skin, her clothes were ruined, she was naked and embarrassed, and she almost lost half her life.

Damn Li Aiguo, he was so cruel.

She just wanted to get some pig skin, is that wrong?
Li Aiguo is so rich, why doesn’t he help her!
Jia Zhang wanted to launch a counterattack, but she was unable to move.

Jia Dongxu came out from nowhere.

He pulled Jia Zhang up from the ground.

"Mom, what's wrong with you? Were you harmed by Li Aiguo? Don't worry, I will help you get revenge now."

"Dongxu, can we go home first? Mom is cold." Jia Zhang also wanted to take revenge, but she was feeling too cold at the moment.

"Mom, I think you can still hold on."

".Mother can't hold on any longer."

"."

Jia Dongxu originally wanted to gain sympathy by using Jia Zhang's current miserable condition, but now he has to give up.

Li Aiguo lives in the backyard, so he definitely can't escape.

Jia Dongxu helped Jia Zhang back home.

The residents in the compound knew that this matter would not end like this, so they did not leave, but stood by and waited to watch the fun.

Li Aiguo picked up the pig skins from the ground, threw them back into the enamel jar, and added some sulfuric acid into it.

Aunt Liu had just witnessed Jia Zhang's miserable condition. Seeing Li Aiguo's unhurried attitude, she said with some concern, "Aiguo, Jia Zhang has suffered a great loss and will definitely not let it go. You should quickly go and ask the comrades from the maintenance section police station for help."

"Don't worry, Auntie. Black will never turn white."

Li Aiguo didn't care.

Seeing this situation, Aunt Liu was at a loss as to what to do.

Yi Zhonghai was originally unwilling to intervene because the matter involved Li Aiguo, but now he suddenly became alert.

He went to Jia's house.

A moment later, Yi Zhonghai supported Jia Zhang and came to the backyard.

Jia Zhang had changed her clothes at this time, but she still walked a little awkwardly. It seemed that the wound on her stomach would not heal in a short time.

As soon as she entered the backyard, she burst into tears.

"This is outrageous! Come and see, everyone! Li Aiguo is framing me, an old woman!"

Seeing that Jia Zhang did not perform beyond her expectations, Yi Zhonghai secretly pinched her arm.

After receiving the signal, Jia Zhang sat down on the ground and started rolling around.

"I have always been an honest and upright old woman. I never thought that I would end up like this."

Her hair was messy and her face was tear-stained.

He either pounded the ground or pointed to the sky, and anyone who saw him would feel that he had suffered a great injustice.

Even though he was seriously injured, he still stayed on the front line.

Dedicated, so dedicated.

If there were a Golden Horse Award these days, Jia Zhang would definitely win it.

Although the residents knew Jia Zhang's temper, she was too miserable this time and they all frowned.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai felt that the time had come, straightened his collar and walked forward.

"Li Aiguo, I know you don't like Aunt Jia, but you can't harm her!

We are all neighbors in the same compound, we should help each other, how could you do such a thing!"

This is what a moral model is!

Li Aiguo said coldly: "Yi Zhonghai, you only saw Jia Zhang was burned by sulfuric acid, didn't you ask why she was burned?"

Yi Zhonghai really neglected this matter.

When he arrived at the backyard, Jia Zhang had already been scalded by sulfuric acid and had no idea what had happened.

Just now in the Jia family's house, Jia Zhang kept scolding Li Aiguo, but he didn't ask why.

Hearing this, he felt something was wrong and looked at Jia Zhang and asked, "Sister-in-law, Li Aiguo threw sulfuric acid on you, right?"

".No, he set a trap and soaked the pig skin in sulfuric acid."

The scene had not been destroyed. After the incident, Nan Yi and Liang Ladi ran away. Even if Jia Zhang wanted to deny it, it was impossible.

The residents immediately started to make a fuss.

"What do you mean by taking? That's obviously stealing."

"Jia Zhang was burned by sulfuric acid when she stole something. What does this have to do with Li Aiguo?"

"That's right, Yi Zhonghai's butt has fallen to Daqianmen again."

Nowadays, when thieves are caught, if they are injured or killed, the people chasing them do not need to be held responsible.

Everyone agrees on how to deal with thieves.

Yi Zhonghai didn't expect that Jia Zhang would actually steal pig skin.

He glared at Jia Zhang fiercely.

I was careless. It's not that I'm not good enough, it's that my teammate was born in the Year of the Pig.

But it's too late to argue with Jia Zhang now.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Li Aiguo with a cold face and said, "Even if the Jia family's wife is wrong, the main responsibility still lies with you. Who would add sulfuric acid to pig skin?"

Li Aiguo said: "I am now helping our Qianmen Locomotive Depot to research a new gadget, which requires pig skin mixed with sulfuric acid!"

"You said research, then research it. We have the approval of the maintenance section."

Before Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, a project plan appeared in front of him.

There is a red stamp of Qianmen Locomotive Depot on the plan.

"Yi Zhonghai, what's going on? What project is our Qianmen locomotive depot planning to carry out? Do we need to report it to a man like you who lives in a courtyard?"

Yi Zhonghai was suddenly speechless.

He felt that Jia Zhang was just a useless teammate.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes rolled, ready to launch a moral offensive.

He looked at Liu Haizhong and said, "Old Liu, what do you think we should do about this?"

At this moment, Liu Haizhong just wanted to hold on to the position of the second uncle and said a few words that he had never said before.

Seeing that Liu Haizhong could not be relied upon, Yi Zhonghai looked at the third uncle again.

"Old Yan, after all, Jia Zhang was burned by sulfuric acid because of Li Aiguo. Shouldn't he give some compensation?"

"Old Yi, as the manager, we have to treat everyone equally and not be wishy-washy."

Yan Jiecheng is now working as a clerk in the maintenance depot, and he will need Li Aiguo's help for promotion in the future, so Yan Bugui is naturally unwilling to step forward.

Yi Zhonghai stood there, feeling extremely cold all over.

He didn't expect that Li Aiguo had won over both managers.

But Yi Zhonghai has another trick up his sleeve.

He winked at the aunt.

An old lady knocked on the door of the deaf old lady.

Inside the dark room.

The deaf old lady leaned against the head of the bed, squinting her eyes.

If it weren't for the heaving of her chest, the old lady would have thought she was dead.

"Ma'am, something happened outside."

An auntie said cautiously.

An old lady often came to the room to take care of the deaf old lady, but every time she entered the room, she always felt particularly depressed.

The deaf old lady opened her eyes slightly.

"I am not deaf. Was it Jia Zhang who was burned by Li Aiguo with sulfuric acid? She deserved it for stealing other people's things! If it happened before liberation, her hands would have been chopped off."

"But now Old Yi has no way out." The aunt was swept by her cold eyes and quickly lowered her head and said, "Jia Zhang is Dongxu's mother. If we don't help, it will hurt Dongxu's heart."

"I told you at the beginning to adopt a child, but you thought it was a waste of time. You hoped that Jia Zhang would die, but now you are being controlled by Jia Zhang."

The corners of her dry mouth moved, and the sound was dry and harsh, and the old lady couldn't help shivering.

Ever since Sha Zhu was locked up, the deaf old lady's temper has become more and more strange, and she has become more and more gloomy.

She barely suppressed the panic in her heart.

"Old lady, we were wrong about what happened back then, and you can't just sit there and do nothing now.
Li Aiguo's reputation in the compound is getting higher and higher. Today, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui both stood firmly on his side. "

"That thief Li Aiguo really deserves a lesson, but it's not convenient for me to come forward. Come here."

The deaf old lady called the lady over and whispered something in her ear.

The old lady's eyes widened and an incredible sound came out of her throat.

"Old lady, how do you know so much?"

"Is this something you should ask?" The deaf old lady's face changed and she scolded harshly.

The old lady was so scared that she trembled and quickly shut her mouth.

An auntie had the most contact with the deaf old lady in the compound, and always felt that the deaf old lady was full of various mysteries.

"Go ahead. I need to rest. I need to take good care of myself and wait for my precious grandson to come back."

The deaf old lady closed her eyes, lay back on the bed, and suddenly became dead.

The aunt was very worried. She ran out quickly and closed the door. When she came into contact with the sunlight outside, she finally calmed down.

This old lady is becoming more and more weird.

However, the deaf old lady is the ancestor of the compound after all, and the idea she came up with was too vicious.

If handled properly, maybe Li Aiguo could be sent in this time.

For a moment, the lady hesitated and stopped.

Li Aiguo is not a bad person. He often helps the residents in the compound. He is a rare good person in the compound.

If Yi Zhonghai hadn't done the wrong thing in order to protect Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu, things wouldn't have gotten to the point where they are today.

The old lady hesitated for a moment, shook her head with a wry smile, and walked towards the crowd.

"Aiguo, don't blame your aunt. I can't just watch you bring down Lao Yi."

(End of this chapter)