Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1084 Donation Conference
On September 16th, Yi Zhonghai, together with Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, notified all households that there would be a meeting that evening, and that everyone was required to attend.

They all lived in the same courtyard, so no one could avoid the big meeting. Therefore, none of the households took it seriously and just planned to come back and check on things in the evening.

Only Yan Bugui understood why Yi Zhonghai organized the entire institute's meeting on this day: the 15th was payday for all the major factories, and the old man had calculated things to the core.

For the entire day, Yan Bugui thought about how to avoid spending his own money. He was really reluctant, but after much deliberation, it seemed he had no way to avoid it. In the end, he could only empty his pockets and put in only one yuan, which was two 50-cent coins.

Nothing much happened that day. In the evening, people in the compound gradually went home from get off work and had dinner. At this time, Director Wang from the Subdistrict Office walked into the compound with an officer. The gate was Yan Bugui's domain. He had been thinking about taking advantage of the situation all day and hadn't eaten yet. But when he saw Director Wang coming, he went to greet him.

"Oh, isn't this Director Wang? What brings you here? I should have gone to the front gate to greet you," Yan Bugui said.

"Stop talking nonsense. Isn't today supposed to be a donation conference? Yi Zhonghai has already reported it to the subdistrict office. Do you think I can not come?" Director Wang said.

"Director, please come in. I heard the conference is being held at the Intermediate People's Court, so I won't go with you. I'll go home and make you a cup of tea." After saying this, Yan Bugui walked quickly home.

Director Wang was about to stop him, but Yan Bugui had already disappeared from sight. Director Wang shook his head and walked towards the Intermediate People's Court with his junior staff.

Because each household had been notified in advance, many residents had already found places to sit in the courtyard, chatting in twos and threes. Some had taken out their large tea mugs, while others had taken out cigarettes and were puffing away, creating a lively scene.

When Director Wang led his junior staff into the Intermediate Court, he saw Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiecheng carrying a table out of Sha Zhu's house. Director Wang thought that donations needed to be recorded and signed, so he didn't take it seriously. At this moment, Yi Zhonghai also came out of his house and walked quickly to Director Wang.

Yi Zhonghai smiled and said, "Why did you come? Just send someone to supervise. Don't worry, we will definitely ensure openness and fairness."

Director Wang waved his hand and said, "I was just passing by. Alright, you guys go about your business. Xiao Sun, stay here and supervise. I'm going to the backyard."

Director Wang walked straight to the backyard, and Yi Zhonghai then realized that Director Wang hadn't come to attend the conference, but to find the deaf old lady.

Yi Zhonghai started organizing things at the Intermediate People's Court. The table was placed in front of Sha Zhu's house. Because Director Wang was coming, Yi Zhonghai was careful and didn't let Liu Guangtian and the others move chairs. The three managers sat on the long benches just like everyone else.

Liu Haizhong was unaware that Director Wang was coming. When he carried his teacup and swaggered from the backyard to the middle yard, he found that the stool was gone. There was only a tall stool next to the table, and Yan Bugui was still sitting on it. There was nothing on the table. Liu Haizhong was very dissatisfied. Just as he was about to speak, Yi Zhonghai pulled him and whispered, "Director Wang is in the backyard. He may come over in a while."

Liu Haizhong was startled and turned to look at the backyard again. Only then did he understand why Yi Zhonghai had made such an arrangement. Although Director Wang himself had his own selfish motives, he was a true-blue, hard-working man who had come through the war years. Like most people, he hated formalism the most. Every time he encountered a courtyard engaging in formalism, he would give it a stern lecture. Gradually, the managers of the various courtyards also learned about Director Wang's personality and would avoid him in their daily lives.

Liu Haizhong obediently sat down on the long bench and even asked Liu Guangtian to take his large tea mug home.

Soon, everyone from the compound arrived, except for a few steel mill workers who were on the night shift, but some family members who were home also came. At this moment, Liu Haizhong was the first to stand up. He had been sitting on a long bench with Yi Zhonghai, and when he suddenly stood up, the bench tilted, almost causing Yi Zhonghai to fall. Luckily, Yi Zhonghai reacted quickly and caught himself on the ground.

Yi Zhonghai glared angrily at Liu Haizhong. This old bastard always wanted to steal the spotlight. If you're going to steal it, at least say hello before you stand up.

When Liu Haizhong saw Yi Zhonghai almost fall down beside him, he felt embarrassed and gave an apologetic look, but he didn't say a word of apology.

"Well, our compound hasn't held a major meeting in a long time. What does that mean? It means that the country is getting better, and we will get better too. Internationally, you know, right?" Liu Haizhong stood up and said a few words, then his true colors were revealed.

The people below burst into laughter, especially Sha Zhu, who laughed so hard he almost fell over, saying, "Second Uncle, what are you saying? What are you talking about? Are you making us guess a riddle?"

Xu Damao chimed in from a distance, saying, "A riddle needs a clue, right? There's nothing here, so what's the point of guessing?"

The residents in the courtyard burst into laughter. At this moment, Yi Zhonghai noticed that there was also a group of people watching the commotion at the hanging flower gates of the middle and front courtyards. Those people were clearly not from this courtyard. Yi Zhonghai frowned. He did not want to turn this meeting into a joke.

Yi Zhonghai quickly stood up and said, "Second Uncle, please sit down first. Let's get down to business. Let's not let people laugh at our No. 95 courtyard." As he spoke, Yi Zhonghai glanced cryptically at the hanging flower gate.

Liu Haizhong followed Yi Zhonghai's gaze and looked over as well. He was also feeling uneasy. It was one thing to lose face in the courtyard, but if it happened outside, things would become more complicated. Following Yi Zhonghai's advice, Liu Haizhong sat down.

Yi Zhonghai said, "Good evening, fellow residents of No. 95 Courtyard. Thank you all for attending this meeting. I bow to you all."

A burst of enthusiastic applause suddenly erupted from the crowd. Yi Zhonghai stood up and gestured with his hand to suppress the applause, indicating that there was no need to clap.

Yi Zhonghai said, "As everyone knows, our compound has been characterized by harmonious neighborly relations, respect for the elderly and care for the young, and honesty in keeping things safe. These are all the results of the joint efforts of everyone in our compound. But are we satisfied with just that? No, we can't. After discussion among the three of us in charge, and with the approval of the subdistrict office, we have this meeting. What is the theme of this meeting?"

Yi Zhonghai paused for a moment, while the residents below continued their heated discussion. Yi Zhonghai was quite pleased with his current sense of control. He had deliberately paused, but there were still some clueless people. Sha Zhu said, "Uncle, stop beating around the bush like Uncle Er, just say it."

Instantly, Yi Zhonghai's face darkened. He glared at Sha Zhu, thinking to himself, "Do I need your idiot to remind me?" Then Yi Zhonghai said, "We organized this donation conference to help those poor families. This was applied for through the street office. Didn't you see that Officer Sun was also present? He played a supervisory role. We still need to file it with the street office afterwards."

Liu Haizhong snapped out of his daze and looked at Yi Zhonghai, who was standing in the center speaking, with great envy. He also wanted to stand in the center and command the situation, but unfortunately, he no longer had the chance.

(End of this chapter)