The train driver in the courtyard

Yi Zhonghai's home at this time.

Jia Zhang slapped her thigh and cried, "Old Yi, you are Dongxu's master, you can't just watch us starve."

Yi Zhonghai's face was dark, and he said unhappily: "Sister-in-law, every household is not rich now, what can I do?"

"Where is Li Aiguo? Didn't he just get one million rubles? He is a rich man now!" When Jia Zhang mentioned Li Aiguo, her eyes flashed with greed.

When Yi Zhonghai heard this, his face turned pale and he said in horror: "Sister-in-law, don't say that! There are no wealthy people in the capital. This is not something you can say casually!"

In this era, the title of "rich man" is too sensitive, and just mentioning it makes people tremble with fear.

But this was exactly what Jia Zhang was thinking.

"Look, even you are afraid. Li Aiguo is a train driver and is said to be a leader. How can he not be afraid?"

Yi Zhonghai finally reacted, stared at Jia Zhang, and asked tentatively: "...Sister-in-law, are you planning to report Li Aiguo?"

"Report? I'm not that stupid!" Jia Zhang curled her lips, looking shrewd, "I just wanted him to donate some money to my family. I don't ask for much, just three to five thousand yuan. Li Aiguo won't turn against me for such a small amount of money, right?"

As she spoke, she crossed her legs and looked at Yi Zhonghai proudly.

Yi Zhonghai clapped his hands suddenly, forced a fake smile on his face, and gave a thumbs up: "Sister-in-law, you are still smart!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, he hesitated again, "However, your reputation is not very good. Even if Li Aiguo refuses, the residents may not stand on your side."

"You forgot that I just graduated from the ideological study class and was awarded the title of outstanding student." Jia Zhang was full of confidence.

Yi Zhonghai was speechless for a moment. Looking at Jia Zhangshi, he wondered in his heart: Is this old woman really confused or just pretending to be smart?

In fact, Jia Zhang’s performance in the ideological study class was extremely poor before, and two teachers sent by the street office were driven away by her.

Jia Dongxu had no choice but to ask Yi Zhonghai for help, and Yi Zhonghai then asked Deputy Director Ma for help.

Deputy Director Ma happened to be in charge of the ideological study class and did Yi Zhonghai a favor, which led to Jia Zhang's winning of the award.

"Hehe, sister-in-law, Li Aiguo is not easy to deal with. You have to be careful..." Seeing that Jia Zhang had made up her mind, Yi Zhonghai gave her hypocritical advice.

Jia Zhang interrupted him impatiently: "It's settled, Lao Yi, when Li Aiguo comes back later, you have to help cover for me!"

"Sister-in-law, don't worry." Yi Zhonghai responded, but he had other plans in his mind.

As soon as Jia Zhang left, his face darkened instantly, and he snorted coldly: "Three to five thousand yuan... Jia Zhang really dares to ask for it!"

The first lady then spoke cautiously: "Old man, Li Aiguo is not a fool, he will definitely not agree. Aren't you asking for trouble by helping Jia Zhangshi?"

"Help? Oh, do you really think I'm helping Jia Zhang?" Yi Zhonghai sat back in his chair, picked up the enamel pot, drank a sip of tea, and said slowly, "Since Jia Zhang is willing to help me deal with Li Aiguo, why should I stop her!"

The old lady was confused and wanted to ask more questions, but Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, signaling her not to ask more questions.

The aunt had no choice but to sigh and go into the kitchen to get busy.

By this time, Jia Zhang had returned home and told Li Aiguo about her plan to "borrow money".

Jia Dongxu's eyes lit up when he heard this: "That's great, Mom. We've been eating only bland soup lately. I'm so hungry that I don't even have the energy to work."

Qin Huairu was a little worried: "Mom, our relationship with Yi Zhonghai is very strained now, how could he be so kind to help us?"

"Do you think I'm such a fool?" Jia Zhang pouted, "Doesn't that old man Yi Zhonghai just want to use me as a pawn?"

Jia Dongxu was surprised: "Then why did you agree to him?"

"A gun must be equipped with bullets." Jia Zhang was confident: "Yi Zhonghai wants to deal with Li Aiguo, and I want money. There is no conflict at all."

"In order to achieve his goal, Yi Zhonghai must help our family."

"Mom, we just had a few days of peace." Qin Huairu wanted to persuade him again, but Jia Dongxu stood up suddenly, pointed at her nose and said, "Qin Huairu, can't you bear to see our family live a good life?"

Qin Huairu sighed helplessly, silently picked up Xiaodang, and returned to the inner room.

These two people have gone insane now, and now they just hope that things won't get too serious.

*****
On the other side, Li Aiguo and Chen Xueru completed the discharge procedures for Chen Fangxuan and sent him home. However, Chen Xueru was still worried and decided to take Xiao Hongsheng to stay at the tailor shop at night.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle back to the courtyard alone.

It was almost dusk.

The big leaves of the old camphor tree rustled in the wind.

When Li Aiguo pushed his bicycle over the threshold of the courtyard, he saw Jia Zhang hiding behind the gate with her butt sticking up.

The sound of the wheel rolling over the blue bricks startled the old woman. Her greasy hair hit the window frame and she looked like a fat mouse with its tail stepped on.

"Oh my! Our top scholar who studied abroad is finally back!" Jia Zhang rubbed her forehead, but her triangular eyes were shining with brilliance.

She emphasized the word "study abroad" very much, and her hoarse voice startled a group of sparrows flying away from under the eaves.

Li Aiguo did not respond, but suddenly raised his head and looked not far away - Yi Zhonghai walked out of the east wing with his hands in his pockets, and his navy blue cloth shoes made a sticky sound on the stone slabs.

"Patriotic comrade, you have worked hard. I heard that you went to Moscow this time." He paused deliberately, his Adam's apple sliding up and down, "But you have earned great honor for the country?"

"You are well-informed." Li Aiguo looked at Yi Zhonghai, then at Jia Zhangshi, and already vaguely understood what was going on.

He was concerned about the Red Star Computer Research Institute and had no time to waste on these trivial matters.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go back first."

Seeing that Li Aiguo didn't take him seriously, Yi Zhonghai's Adam's apple moved again, and this time what he swallowed was jealousy.

He suddenly raised his voice: "This kind of thing that brings honor to our family hasn't happened in our hospital for twenty years! I think we should hold a meeting for all the staff in the hospital."

"Yes, he's the top scorer and it's even reported in the newspapers. We really need to hold a big celebration." Jia Zhang took the opportunity to applaud.

The third uncle heard the noise and came out, and understood what had happened.

"There's no need for a general meeting. Everyone knows everything. Everyone is busy. There's no need to waste time."

Seeing that the third uncle stood on Li Aiguo's side, Yi Zhonghai frowned and said, "Old Yan, the newspaper said that Li Aiguo is a role model for workers across the country.

Why, shouldn’t the residents of our compound learn from the patriots? I think your thoughts as an old teacher are becoming more and more wrong.”

Liu Haizhong also came over from the side and said noisily, "You come from a small business family, Old Yan, you need to be more proactive."

He was not interested in borrowing money from Li Aiguo, he just wanted to take the opportunity to discredit Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui is the third uncle, only one step away from his second uncle.

Seeing that the choreography began to come out and put a hat on him, Yan Bugui could only helplessly give Li Aiguo a look: You wish yourself the best.

You are at home but trouble comes to you. Li Aiguo wants to see what Yi Zhonghai is planning.

"Let me know when the meeting starts tonight."

After saying this, Li Aiguo pushed his bicycle back home.

Yi Zhonghai gave the task of convening the meeting to Jia Zhang.

Jia Zhang was particularly excited and went from house to house reminding the residents to go to the central courtyard for a meeting after dinner.

"What meeting?"

"It is said that it is a study session, and the uncle is calling on everyone to learn from Li Aiguo."

"Isn't this nonsense? When did Yi Zhonghai change his temper?"

"I think they are definitely eyeing Li Aiguo's one million rubles."

The eyes of the masses are sharp, and everyone immediately figured out the purpose of the meeting.

After hearing He Yushui's story, Aunt Liu called Li Aiguo home for dinner.

In the evening, the Liu family made millet porridge, and the side dish was salted duck eggs.

While eating, Aunt Liu said worriedly: "Aiguo, wealth is dazzling. Aunt Liu has seen too many things in her life. A good person, when he sees money, becomes a beast. You have to be careful."

"Auntie, don't worry. I have already used the money for something." Li Aiguo nodded gratefully to Aunt Liu.

You know, the Li family and the Liu family are the closest, and Li Aiguo is He Yushui's brother. If she wants to borrow money, Aunt Liu will definitely be the first to be asked.

But instead of lending him money, Aunt Liu specifically told him to deposit the money in the bank to use for raising his children in the future.

He Yushui's eyes widened: "Mom, if Brother Aiguo doesn't want to lend the money, can those people really force him to lend the money?"

"Hey, it would be better if those people were reasonable." Seeing that Li Aiguo didn't take it seriously, Aunt Liu didn't say anything more and turned to talk about Liu Tianquan's story.

Liu Tianquan received a telegram a while ago saying that his wife is pregnant.

It is inconvenient for a pregnant woman to stay in the mountains, and her safety is not guaranteed. He plans to wait for a few more months and send his wife back to Beijing to give birth.

"This is good news, Auntie. You will soon have your first grandson." Li Aiguo said with a smile.

"Yes, our Liu family finally has a successor. Tianquan is married and will have a child soon. There is still no news about Diquan." Aunt Liu raised her head and looked at Li Aiguo: "If you know any suitable girl, remember Diquan."

"Don't worry, I'll remember it."

Li Aiguo reviewed everything in his mind, but still couldn't find a suitable girl.

You know, female workers on the railway are very busy.

If she marries a member of a geological survey team who never comes home all year round, there will be conflicts between the two even if they get married.

But don't worry, you will always find the right one.

After dinner, Li Aiguo returned home and read for a while. Then he heard Jia Zhang's voice outside.

"Everyone, hurry up and come to the meeting!"

Putting down the book, Li Aiguo came to the central courtyard. The moon was already at its zenith, and more than a dozen benches were arranged in the courtyard to form a "mouth" shape.

The reason why there are so many benches is that Li Aiguo once accused several managers of feudalism at a meeting.

Yi Zhonghai finally came up with a solution, requiring every resident to bring a bench, so that everyone could sit on it and there would be no question of who was higher or lower.

The scene was filled with noise. Yi Zhonghai saw Li Aiguo squeeze in from the crowd and made way for a seat: "Aiguo, you are a role model. Come, sit in the middle."

With that amiable expression and kind tone, if someone didn’t know him, they would think Li Aiguo was his apprentice!
Li Aiguo sat down with his arms and legs folded. Liu Haizhong quickly spoke first: "Ahem, we are in a meeting now. Everyone, be quiet. Today, let's discuss Comrade Aiguo's award."

"This is the glory of our courtyard!" Liu Haizhong hit the newspaper with his fat belly, and his saliva splashed on Xu Damao's face in the front row, "One million rubles, guys, this is the amount in RMB"

He spread out six carrot-like fingers.

The crowd suddenly exploded.

They only know that a million rubles is a lot, a lot, a lot. But after converting it into RMB, they realize that there are so many, so many, so many.

Especially Qin Huairu, she counted on her fingers and found that she couldn't count anymore. "With so much money, even if I do nothing in the future and just lie in bed and sleep, I can still eat meat every day."

If she had not changed her mind, she would be living the life of a leader's wife now.

Qin Huairu must have regretted it
Seeing that the residents were stunned by the one million rubles, Jia Zhang was waiting for this. She stood up suddenly and sighed, "I can't live anymore! Dongxu vomited blood while lifting steel ingots in the factory, and Banggeng was so hungry that he chewed his pillow at night."

Two turbid tears rolled down along the nasolabial folds.

Where is this going?

The residents looked at each other and understood that Jia Zhang was going to take action.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Li Aiguo and sighed at the right time: "The new society emphasizes class friendship, and patriotic comrades are members of the organization."

He deliberately slammed the enamel pot on the stone table. "The Jia family is really having a hard time. Patriotic comrades are so positive. They will definitely lend a helping hand and let the Jia family feel the warmth of the socialist family, right?"

As soon as the words fell, a strange sound came from the crowd.

"The neighborhood office just distributed relief food to the Jia family last month, and Banggeng was still showing off his white flour buns in the alley yesterday!"

There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Jia Zhang's face darkened. Needless to say, it was that thief Xu Damao again.

Jia Zhang's triangular eyes narrowed and she wanted to get angry, but Yi Zhonghai stopped her with a look.

Yi Zhonghai coughed twice and continued, "One million rubles, that's a lot of money, you can't spend it all in a lifetime. Be patriotic, we are all neighbors. Just lend some money to the Jia family."

Jia Zhang took the opportunity to say, "Li Aiguo, I don't want much, just five thousand yuan."

"Five thousand yuan." Li Aiguo folded his arms and looked at Jia Zhang with a teasing look: "Do you think you look like five thousand yuan?"

"You" Jia Zhang was so angry that she almost rolled her eyes and fainted. If it were in the past, her mouth would have been full of powder by now, but now she could only suppress her anger.

"Li Aiguo, I know you are capable now, but I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice."

"Why didn't I choke you to death?" Li Aiguo interrupted her.

Jia Zhangshi: "."

Yi Zhonghai: "."

Residents: “!!!o_O||”

Xu Damao secretly gave a thumbs up: "This attack power is so strong that it can't hurt a needle."

Yi Zhonghai: "Li Aiguo, Jia Zhang is your elder, there is no need for you to be so rude, right?! Besides, Jia Zhang did make a lot of mistakes in the past, but she has graduated from the ideological study class and received a certificate of outstanding student. She is no longer the Jia Zhang of the past."

Jia Zhang straightened her back and said, "I have changed my ways!"

Jia Dongxu stood up: "Yes, my mother is the bride."

Li Aiguo: "."

Xu Damao: "."

Everyone: "."

Jia Zhang stroked her gray hair and rubbed her nose: "Son, forget about being a bride. I am too old to be a bride."

Seeing that the topic was being diverted, Yi Zhonghai quickly said: "In short, in short, Jia Zhang is now a good person, patriotic, shouldn't we extend our warm hands to her?"

Li Aiguo didn't expect that Jia Zhang could graduate from the ideological study class and even get the title of outstanding student.

His eyes fell on Yi Zhonghai, and he seemed to understand something.

"You are an outstanding student, so you must be very positive, right?"

"Of course," Jia Zhang said proudly, "Why, are you planning to donate money to me?"

"No donation."

"No, what are you talking about here?" Jia Zhang was furious: "Are you kidding me?"

"Playing with you? You wish!" Li Aiguo muttered softly, then smiled and said, "Well, I got so much money, it would be inappropriate if I didn't share some with you.

But we can't give you money for nothing. You just need to answer some questions about the ideological study class. If you answer correctly, it means you have advanced ideas and you will get a cash reward."

Hearing the words "cash reward", Jia Zhang suddenly became excited: "Really?"

"How can I lie to you?" Li Aiguo said as he took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket. They were all ten-yuan notes, totaling more than a hundred yuan.

Yi Zhonghai was confused as he heard it nearby, but when he saw Li Aiguo taking out the money, he immediately felt something was wrong.

Are you kidding? If Jia Zhang herself doesn’t know what her ideological level is, how could he not know?
He stretched out his hand to grab Jia Zhang, but was pushed away by Jia Zhang.

"Get out of the way, you old thing, don't delay me from making money."

Yi Zhonghai: "."

Jia Zhang rubbed her hands and asked, "How much?"

"The first question is ten yuan, the second question is fifty yuan, and the third question is one hundred yuan. If you answer all of them correctly, there will be a special prize of two hundred yuan."

"Is it true?" If it were someone else, Jia Zhang might have believed it, but Li Aiguo was too cunning.

"Everyone was watching nearby, and they can all testify." Li Aiguo pointed at the crowd watching.

Those who like to watch the fun don't mind the big deal, and the onlookers nodded one after another to show that they are willing to be witnesses.

Although Jia Zhang felt something was wrong, with so many people serving as witnesses, she was not afraid that Li Aiguo would cheat.

"Okay, give me the money quickly."

Li Aiguo: "."

Jia Zhang scratched his head and said, "Well, we still need to answer questions. Okay, just ask the questions. But let's make it clear that the content of the questions is limited to what we have taught in the ideological study class."

Jia Zhang got an A in the exam, so how could she be afraid of Li Aiguo?

"As for the first question, hurry up, hurry up." Jia Zhang was already impatient.

"Please listen to the question!" Li Aiguo took out a notebook from his canvas pocket, opened a page, and asked: "In the first edition of Capital in March 1953, how many words and pages are there in total? What question is raised on page , line ?"

Jia Zhangshi: "."

Yi Zhonghai: "."

Everyone: "."

"Li Aiguo, are you kidding me?" Jia Zhang rolled her eyes.

"Well, congratulations on winning the lucky jackpot. The difficulty of the questions has been slightly reduced." Li Aiguo turned another page and asked, "Now the exam officially begins. What are the main issues in On New Democracy?"

"New democracy..." Jia Zhang said timidly, "New democracy?"

Yi Zhonghai: "."

Everyone: "."

Li Aiguo: "If you answer correctly, you will get a bonus of 10 yuan!"

"Oh, ten dollars for this?" Jia Zhang was so excited that she jumped like a pig. She stretched out her hand and said, "Give me the money quickly."

Li Aiguo took out a ten-dollar note from a pile of banknotes and was about to hand it to Jia Zhang, but suddenly took it back.

"Hey, are you trying to cheat?" Jia Zhang was so angry that she stamped her feet and rolled up her sleeves: "Everyone is watching us. If you don't pay today, don't blame me for being rude."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Li Aiguo said, holding the ten yuan in his hand: "You forgot to pay the tax."

"Pay taxes?"

"Yes, bonuses need to be taxed. I paid 20% tax on my one million bonus." Li Aiguo frowned: "According to the regulations, you have to give me two dollars as tax."

Xu Damao couldn't understand it now.

He always felt that there was something wrong with Jia Zhang's answer, but those of them who had never attended a study class could only shout slogans on a daily basis and really had no idea what the New Democracy Theory was.

But Xu Damao was clear about one thing: this matter was not that simple.

He quickly came out to make fun of her: "Ms. Jia Zhang, you have never won an award, so you don't know that there are many rules for winning an award."

"As if you've won a prize." Jia Zhang rolled her eyes at Xu Damao and looked at the ten yuan: "Aiguo, you give me ten yuan first, and I'll give you two yuan, isn't that all?"

"You're dreaming." Li Aiguo shook his head. "According to the regulations, you need to pay taxes first before you can get the bonus. If you take the bonus and run away, I will have to pay two dollars."

This hit the nail on the head for Jia Zhangshi. She kept muttering, "No, I wouldn't do that."

"If you don't pay taxes, you won't get a bonus, Jia Zhang. I don't have time to mess around with you here." Li Aiguo put the money away, turned around and was about to leave.

Seeing that the money in her hand was about to fly away, Jia Zhang hurriedly stopped him: "Hey, don't be anxious. Just wait."

After saying this, Jia Zhang was about to go home to get the money.

Yi Zhonghai grabbed her and said, "Sister-in-law, Li Aiguo is obviously trying to trick you. You must not be fooled."

"I finally understand. You've been stopping me from answering the questions since the beginning. You don't want me to get the prize money at all."

"Sister-in-law, I'm doing this for your own good. Li Aiguo must be playing tricks on me!"

"Yi Zhonghai, please act like a human being."

Jia Zhang shook off Yi Zhonghai's arm and rushed into the house.

Are you kidding? With so many people watching, how dare Li Aiguo cheat?
Jia Zhang took out two dollars from a jar under the bricks and stones under the bed, ran out and handed them to Li Aiguo.

“Here, this is tax money.”

Li Aiguo did not try to fool her. He took out ten yuan from the banknotes and handed it to Jia Zhang.

Jia Zhang took the money and almost jumped up with excitement. She shook the money in front of Yi Zhonghai and said, "Old Yi, did you see it? Ten dollars, ten dollars."

Yi Zhonghai didn't expect Li Aiguo to really give money. He was stunned for a moment and persuaded: "Sister-in-law, you have already taken advantage of us. Now leave quickly."

"Leave? I still want to win the grand prize! Old Yi, if you dare to delay my fortune again, I will crush you to death!"

Yi Zhonghai was pushed by her and staggered, almost falling down, and could only step aside helplessly.

He stood there, full of confusion, and really couldn't figure out what Li Aiguo was up to.

He knew in his heart that Li Aiguo would never give money to Jia Zhang for no reason, but the ten dollars in Jia Zhang's hand made him confused.

Did Li Aiguo get his brain frozen after his trip to Moscow?
(End of this chapter)