Siheyuan: Return to the Era of Prosperity

Chapter 28 Indoctrination
"Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, Jia Dongxu, and He Yuzhu, you guys bullied the families of military martyrs and should have been severely punished. It was because Shen Zhiyu was magnanimous and did not delve into your mistakes that the street office gave you a light punishment. Why don't you go up and thank him and apologize for your wrong behavior?" Tu Qifang said.

Yi Zhonghai walked slowly to the front of Shen Zhiyu and his sister, and whispered: "Zhiyu, I have good intentions but did something bad. I'm sorry."

Listening to Yi Zhonghai's apology which was still full of excuses, Shen Zhiyu didn't say anything.

The remaining few people took turns to apologize to Shen Zhiyu.

Shen Zhiyu discovered that only Yan Bugui was somewhat sincere in his apology, while the others were simply hindered by Tu Qifang's identity as the head of the Street Office.

Before attending the meeting, Shen Zhiyu told his brothers and sisters that the apologies from Yi Zhonghai and others were only superficial, and who knows how much these people hated his family.

In order to save Tu Qifang's face, the brothers and sisters accepted it on the surface, but in their hearts they never completely forgave Yi Zhonghai and others.

After the apology, Tu Qifang continued speaking.

"Starting tomorrow, the six of you will clean the toilets every morning. After dinner, go to the street office to attend an hour of ideological education, and then go to clean the toilets. You can go home only after all the work is done. If you ask for leave during the period, the time will be postponed. If your attitude is not good, additional punishment will be imposed as appropriate. Did you understand?"

"I heard it clearly." Several people responded in a low voice.

"Finally, let me say a few words. From now on, the system of the "man in charge" in your hospital will be abolished. From now on, neighborhood conflicts will be mediated by the street community, and fights will be handled by the police station. That's all I have to say. Do you have anything else to say?"

Seeing that no one in the courtyard stood up, Tu Qifang continued: "Since no one has anything to say and it's getting late, the meeting will end here."

After that, Tu Qifang came to Shen Zhiyu and his sister again and said to them, "Zhiyu, if you have any problems in the future, come to me and I will do my best."

"Okay, thank you Secretary Tu! Would you like to come to my house for a visit?" Shen Zhiyu said to Tu Qifang and several street officials.

"No, it's getting late, let's go back first." Tu Qifang said.

Not long after Tu Qifang and the street office staff left, there was a burst of shouting and fighting in the courtyard. It turned out that Liu Haizhong had lost his status as the manager and started beating the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu to vent his anger.

Everyone in the courtyard was used to it. No one went forward to persuade them, nor did they care about how badly the two brothers were beaten.

Yi Zhonghai returned home with a cold face, lay directly on the bed and covered his head. He felt ashamed to see anyone. Cleaning the toilet for three months was embarrassing just thinking about it. His hatred for Shen Zhiyu now could not be washed away even by the water of the Yangtze River.

The old man who was once high and mighty, a sixth-level fitter in the steel rolling mill, and a model old man in the eyes of the street office, became a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat overnight because of Shen Zhiyu. When Yi Zhonghai thought of this, he felt heartbroken.

The deaf old lady in the backyard knew that Yi Zhonghai was angry, angry that she did not try to save him. She needed to explain things clearly to Yi Zhonghai, so that he would not have any second thoughts about her and delay her retirement.

The deaf old lady walked from the backyard to Yi Zhonghai's house with a cane.

An old lady was cleaning up the dishes, crying with her head down. She thought that Yi Zhonghai's current situation was caused by her not giving him a child, and she was blaming herself.

"Xiumei, where is Zhonghai?" The deaf old lady asked the aunt when she did not see Yi Zhonghai after entering the house.

The first lady wiped her tears and said, "It's time to go to bed."

The deaf old lady walked into the bedroom, sat in front of the bed, uncovered Yi Zhonghai's quilt, and said to him: "You are torturing yourself. It won't solve any problems."

Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything. He was very depressed now. It was just a matter of retirement, why was it so difficult?
The deaf old lady held Yi Zhonghai's hand, rubbed it carefully, and said softly: "Zhonghai, are you still blaming me for not finding Director Yang for you?"

Yi Zhonghai opened his eyes, looked at the deaf old lady and said, "No, I just feel uncomfortable. Why is it so difficult to raise an old person?"

The deaf old lady felt the same way about Yi Zhonghai's words. Since they both had no children, they needed other people to take care of them in their old age. For ordinary people, if they couldn't have children, they would adopt one, but Yi Zhonghai was different. Strictly speaking, he was a selfish person.

They will unconsciously put themselves in the situation of the adopted child, fearing that the child will not take care of them in their old age or will be taken away by their biological parents after they grow up.

In fact, no matter when, the grace of giving birth is always greater than the grace of raising, as the saying goes.

If you give birth to a child but do not raise him, you can repay him by cutting off your fingers!

To repay the kindness of parents who gave birth to a child and raised him up, one must behead oneself.

Raising a child before birth is something you will never forget. The great kindness of a foster mother and a foster father cannot be repaid in this life, but can only be repaid in eternity.

Now that the country has just been founded, it is still in a difficult situation and many places are still very poor.

Many families choose to give their children away because they are unable to support them after they are born, or because their parents die in the war and leave their children in nurseries.

Yi Zhonghai is fully capable of adopting a child, treating the child as his own, and raising the child up. The child will definitely provide for him in his old age.

It’s just that Yi Zhonghai is used to being selfish and always thinks the worst of people. He is worried that his children will not be able to provide for him in his old age when they grow up.

The deaf old lady also contributed to this. She instilled in Yi Zhonghai the idea that adopting a child was unreliable and that he should find one in the orphanage.

After being brainwashed by her, Yi Zhonghai began to take care of the deaf old lady, setting an example for other people in the compound, hoping that they would follow his example and take care of themselves in their old age. Currently, Jia Dongxu is his number one candidate for care, and Sha Zhu is the number two.

"Zhong Hai, things have happened. Let's not recall the past but look forward. What are you going to do next?" the deaf old lady asked in a low voice.

"I don't know either." Yi Zhonghai was very distressed. The thought of cleaning the toilets for three months and accepting criticism from the steel mill gave him a headache.

The deaf old lady nodded and said, "Zhong Hai, I'll give you an idea, what do you think?"

Yi Zhonghai looked at the deaf old lady expectantly, and the deaf old lady whispered, "I went to the steel mill yesterday. Xiao Yang has received a favor from me, so I went to him to deal with your matter."

Yi Zhonghai asked excitedly, "My punishment is waived?"

The deaf old lady shook her head and said, "Xiao Yang told me that this was a collective decision and he had no power to change it."

Yi Zhonghai's mood visibly sank, but the deaf old lady didn't point it out. She said softly, "Xiao Yang has suggested a solution. He wants you to work in another place temporarily and come back after a year or two."

Yi Zhonghai asked doubtfully: "Go out to work?"

The deaf old lady said, "You are in the center of the storm right now, so the best thing to do is to get out. People's memories are limited. After more than a year, I will come back and transfer you to another workshop. If you keep a low profile, the matter will be over."

Yi Zhonghai became more excited and asked, "Can you tell me in detail?"

The deaf old lady shook her head and said, "I don't know the details. This is Xiao Yang's idea. You go find him tomorrow. If you decide to go, I will think of a solution for you at the street office."

Yi Zhonghai nodded silently, agreeing with the deaf old lady's suggestion.

……

(End of this chapter)