Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 137 Salary Demotion, the Jia Family Cries Their Head Off (6k)

Perhaps because he had exhausted himself in the afternoon, Mr. Chen did not come out for dinner in the evening.

Chen's mother's attitude towards Li Hongbing can be described as quite friendly.

After the afternoon's test, they have tentatively accepted the partner that Chen Xueru has found.

Being young isn't a problem as long as they're responsible.

Li Hongbing's promise gave them hope that the Chen family would have an heir.

This is more attractive than anything else and easier for them to accept.

"Red Soldier, thank you!"

"Thank you for what?"

"My parents are very happy with you."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

"Ah."

"..."

As Chen Xueru saw Li Hongbing off, she looked at him with a happy and contented smile on her face.

Although Chen Xueru has already decided on Li Hongbing, she also hopes that Li Hongbing can gain her parents' approval, which would be the most perfect ending.

However, Chen Xueru knew that Li Hongbing had made sacrifices for her.

"I'm leaving. You can go back now!"

After saying goodbye to Chen Xueru, Li Hongbing quickly got on his bicycle and left.

Today was my first time visiting my parents' home to meet them. Although the process was a bit bumpy, it went smoothly in the end.

Although arranged marriages are now prohibited, marriage is not just a matter between two people, but also involves two families. Li Hongbing could not possibly disregard Chen Xueru's thoughts and feelings.

the next day.

The third day of the Lunar New Year is the last day of the holiday.

There was nothing planned for this day, but because of the mess Jia Dongxu had made on the first day of the lunar new year, he wasted a lot of time, so Li Hongbing only went to his master Guo Youzhong's house.

According to Li Hongbing's original plan, after having a reunion dinner at his master's house at noon, he planned to visit his fellow apprentices' homes one by one in the afternoon, and he even prepared gifts in advance.

Normally, fellow disciples shouldn't be this polite.

However, it's never wrong to be overly polite. Besides, when Li Hongmei got married before, Liang Damin and the others came to help out, but Li Hongbing hadn't shown any appreciation. So, he planned to make a bigger impression on his first visit.

Not to mention that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he mobilized the entire sect to help him.

While everyone was still on holiday and the New Year celebrations weren't completely over, Li Hongbing brought gifts and visited each of his fellow students.

Before he knew it, the holiday was over, and Li Hongbing, like everyone else, returned to work.

a few days later.

Jia Dongxu was taken home from the hospital to recuperate.

Although he broke two ribs, Jia Dongxu was lucky; there was no serious displacement or internal organ damage, so his condition was not considered severe.

However, it takes a hundred days to recover from a serious injury, and Jia Dongxu will not be able to go to work at the steel rolling mill for the time being.

As for Xu Damao, who suffered a head injury, he was also taken home after being observed in the hospital for two days.

this day.

Officer Yang came to the courtyard again and specially convened a meeting with the people in the courtyard.

After everyone arrived, Officer Yang gave a report on the incident on the first day of the Lunar New Year and criticized and educated Jia Dongxu and Xu Fugui on the spot.

As for Li Hongbing, the other party involved, since the physical punishment was relatively mild and he had already been criticized and educated that day, Officer Yang did not name him this time.

"...Given Xu Fugui's performance, I feel he is no longer suitable to serve as the caretaker of the facility, so I have decided to remove him from this position. We will then elect a new caretaker for each of the front and middle courtyards to assist us in our work. Those interested, please step forward..."

Xu Fugui had already prepared for Officer Yang's decision, and felt neither disappointed, nor saddened or reluctant.

Xu Fugui already knew this would happen after he hit Jia Dongxu.

Even so, he did not regret it.

The happiest person at this moment was none other than Yan Bugui, who had always wanted to be the head of the management department.

"Officer Yang, I want to run for office!"

As soon as Officer Yang finished speaking, Yan Bugui couldn't wait and was the first to stand up.

Following him, two more people from the Intermediate People's Court joined.

Since only Yan Bugui stepped forward in the front yard and no one competed with him, he was automatically selected.

This was clearly the result of Yan Bugui's prior preparations, and they had come to fruition.

Under the witness of Officer Yang, the two candidates for the Intermediate People's Court competed and voted, and Du Jianguo, who lived in the east wing, was finally elected.

The other party was also a fitter at the steel rolling mill, but a mid-level fitter, one level below Yi Zhonghai.

In this respect, he is certainly no match for Yi Zhonghai. However, after Yi Zhonghai was dismissed last year, although Secretary Yang did not say that he could not run for re-election, he has obviously lost the qualification.

Yi Zhonghai was sensible; he knew that if he stood up to run for office again, even if everyone agreed, as long as Li Hongbing objected and brought up the past, there would be no hope at all.

Knowing he couldn't get past Li Hongbing, he naturally wouldn't humiliate himself.

"Everyone, please don't leave yet. I have something important to say."

After Officer Yang left, Liu Haizhong quickly stood up and kept the crowd who were about to leave. He then said, "Since Old Xu is no longer the eldest uncle, and Old Yan and Old Du have been elected as the new eldest uncles of the management school, I think while everyone is here, should we re-determine the order of the three of us eldest uncles?"
Here's what I'm thinking: I'm the most senior of the three uncles, so I should naturally take on the role of the eldest uncle. Old Du is a bit older than Old Yan, so he'll be the second eldest uncle, and Old Yan will be the third eldest uncle..."

Having already made his decision privately and announced it publicly, Liu Haizhong still pretended to ask Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo, "Old Yan, Old Du, what do you think?"

Just as everyone was looking at Yan Bugui and Du Jianshe, waiting for their response, Li Hongbing in the crowd spoke up: "Uncle Liu, I don't think it's necessary."

Everyone in the compound knows perfectly well who's in charge. Making a specific list only leads to confusion. I think we should just call each other by our usual names; there's no need for this formality.

Li Hongbing didn't really care who was in charge of the compound, but Liu Haizhong was a power-hungry fellow who always liked to put on airs and engage in formalism, so Li Hongbing didn't intend to indulge him.

Liu Haizhong is the typical type of person who has little ability but great ambition, and becomes arrogant once he achieves success.

If we really put a title like "Grandpa" on his head, he might get arrogant and act like the boss of the neighborhood, and who knows what kind of trouble he might cause.

The old man in charge of the management was appointed by Yang, which was a requirement of the higher-ups. Li Hongbing couldn't say anything about it, but letting them be ranked according to seniority in the management office and taking themselves too seriously was not a good thing.

“Hongbing, how can this be called formalism? We old men are arranging ourselves in order, which is not only to facilitate the work, but also a long-standing tradition in our institute.”

Seeing that it was Li Hongbing who stood up to oppose him, Liu Haizhong suppressed the anger that had just risen in his heart and said with some displeasure.

If it were anyone else, Liu Haizhong would have retorted without hesitation, but since it was Li Hongbing who was opposing him, he really didn't want to offend him.

Putting aside past events, just this time Jia Dongxu caused trouble and offended Li Hongbing, resulting in his current predicament. Xu Fugui, who was also involved, lost his position as the eldest elder in the courtyard, while Li Hongbing got away scot-free.

The problem is that Li Hongbing is not only difficult to deal with, but he also has a large group of senior brothers behind him, each of whom has a powerful background.

Provoking him is just asking for trouble.

Unless Liu Haizhong is really upset, he won't go against him.

"Uncle Liu, what tradition are you talking about?"
"Why didn't I know?"

"I haven't seen this in other departments either. Can you explain why?"

"Or, I could ask Officer Yang!"

"..."

When Li Hongbing discovered that Liu Haizhong was trying to use so-called tradition to intimidate him, he almost laughed.

Faced with Li Hongbing's questioning, Liu Haizhong was too embarrassed to speak.

This so-called tradition was actually something that a few of the older men decided on their own, and it was not something that could be openly discussed.

“Old Liu, Hongbing is right. We don’t need to arrange this. Just like what Officer Yang once said, we, the old men of the management department, are here to serve everyone. We should go deep into the masses and not become detached from them. I also think it’s more intimate to use our usual way of addressing each other.”

No one else in the courtyard spoke up, but Yan Bugui chose to voice his support for Li Hongbing at this moment.

Yan Bugui was somewhat dissatisfied with Liu Haizhong's suggestion.

He and Du Jianguo were both elected as senior members of the School of Management at the same time, and he was even elected a little earlier. Why should they be ranked according to age?
There was no contest for the position of the eldest uncle, after all, Liu Haizhong's advantage was too great, but Yan Bugui also wanted to compete for the position of the second eldest uncle.

As soon as Li Hongbing spoke, Yan Bugui gave up the idea.

Instead of going through all the trouble to win over this second uncle, it's better to just pull down all the bangs, so everyone is "on equal footing" and there's no distinction between who's older or younger.

Otherwise, even if he manages to snatch the title of Second Uncle, he'll still be overshadowed by Liu Haizhong.

Hearing Yan Bugui say this, Liu Haizhong guessed that Yan Bugui was dissatisfied with his previous proposal, or that he was trying to curry favor with Li Hongbing, so he was going against him. He felt a little annoyed.

Liu Haizhong didn't say anything, but instead turned his gaze to Du Jianguo of the Intermediate People's Court, hoping that he would stand up and express his support for him.

With Du Jianguo's support, they secured two of the three old men's votes, leaving Li Hongbing with no grounds for complaint.

Unexpectedly.

Amid Liu Haizhong's anticipation, Du Jianguo spoke up, "Old Liu, I think Hongbing and Old Yan both have a point. I won't be some kind of 'Second Uncle' anymore. Everyone can call me whatever they normally do."

Du Jianguo didn't have Yi Zhonghai's schemes, nor did he have Liu Haizhong's strong desire for officialdom. The reason he stood up to run for the position of "Second Uncle" was simply to make a good impression. Whether or not he had the title of "Second Uncle" was obviously not that important.

Moreover, two of the management officers in their compound had already been dismissed, and Du Jianguo didn't want to cause any trouble, lest he end up like them.

"The meeting is dismissed!"

Seeing that Li Hongbing had openly stood up to oppose him, and that neither Yan Bugui nor Du Jianguo, the two newly appointed senior members of the management department, were on his side, Liu Haizhong was so angry that he didn't want to say anything and simply left after uttering those two words.

Seeing this, everyone had different thoughts.

It's likely that only Li Hongbing would dare to openly challenge Liu Haizhong and make him submit.

Despite his youth, Li Hongbing's status in the hospital is no less than that of the senior administrators Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, and Du Jianguo.

"Hey! Why is Old Liu angry?"

Seeing Liu Haizhong leave in anger, Yan Bugui, who was standing next to Li Hongbing, muttered something under his breath.

Li Hongbing smiled but didn't say anything.

As long as he's here, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, these courtyard managers, will only have the duty to serve everyone. They can forget about using their power to make a mess of the courtyard.

Two days later.

As soon as Li Hongbing got off work at Fengzeyuan and returned to his courtyard house, he heard Jia Zhangshi cursing loudly in the middle courtyard. "You despicable woman! May your children be born without an anus!"

"It's all the work of a petty person. What have we done to offend you that you have to treat us like this?"

"Whoever reported it, step forward, or I won't be polite."

"If I find out who's messing with our family, I'll fight you to the death."

"What? You have the guts to do bad things, but not the guts to admit it?"

"You heartless, depraved maggot, watch out, you might run into a telephone pole and die if you walk alone at night..."

"..."

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's curses, Li Hongbing's expression was quite interesting. He immediately asked Yan Bugui, who was watching the commotion from the front yard, "Uncle Yan, what happened this time?"

"Hey! You don't know, a few days ago someone wrote a letter of complaint against Jia Dongxu to the steel rolling mill. As a result, the factory sent people to investigate today, and this afternoon they directly punished Jia Dongxu, reducing his salary to the level of an apprentice. Now he only earns 180,000 a month. Do you think Jia Zhangshi wouldn't be angry?"

Yan Bugui shook his head and told him what he knew.

"The Jia family is in for a rough time now!"

Upon learning of the result, Li Hongbing was immediately gloating.

He had absolutely no sympathy for Jia Dongxu and the Jia family.

They brought this on themselves; they have no one to blame but themselves.

Even if they are reported, it's because they offended someone and did something they shouldn't have done.

However, this letter of complaint was not written by Li Hongbing.

He's not that free.

Li Hongbing's words clearly resonated with the others in the front yard, who began to discuss them.

"Who can argue with that? Qin Huairu is pregnant, and the Jia family will soon have another mouth to feed. How can a monthly salary of 180,000 support three adults and a child?"

"Hey! You guys are just worrying for nothing."

"How to say?"

"You've probably forgotten that Jia Dongxu has Master Yi as his master. Master Yi earns hundreds of thousands a month, more than he can ever spend. How could he possibly neglect his apprentice?"

"But isn't Aunt Yi in poor health? Doesn't Uncle Yi spend all his monthly salary on medicine for her? Even if Uncle Yi wanted to help, he probably wouldn't be able to."

"You guys actually believe that? How much can medicine cost? Don't forget, when Jia Dongxu married Qin Huairu, the majority of the money for the sewing machine and the wedding banquet came from Uncle Yi. Do you really think he's broke?"

"Is this happening?"

"Absolutely true!"

"..."

After listening to their analysis and gossip, Li Hongbing didn't interrupt, but instead pushed his bicycle home.

have to say.

There aren't many simple people in this institute; they can analyze anything.

But it’s not absolute.

Everyone has their own interpretation, and there are all sorts of opinions. Even if it's just a guess, there's always someone who can guess correctly.

As for who reported Jia Dongxu, everyone is speculating privately.

Some guessed Xu Fugui, some guessed Li Hongbing, and of course there were others. In short, Xu Fugui and Li Hongbing were the most suspicious, after all, their conflict had only occurred recently.

Li Hongbing had already ruled out himself, so he had basically locked in Xu Fugui as the remaining suspect.

The matter of Xu Fugui being dismissed as the head of the courtyard has been the subject of much sarcastic remarks from Jia Zhangshi in the courtyard these past two days. Even though neither side has pursued the other's responsibility for the previous incident, the two families have become bitter enemies, and neither is giving the other any face.

Given Xu Fugui's personality, how could he possibly swallow his anger?

Of course.

It cannot be ruled out that someone might take advantage of the situation to sabotage the Jia family, after all, Jia Zhangshi's sharp tongue has offended many people in the past.

After briefly reviewing the matter, Li Hongbing didn't investigate it further. He wasn't exactly kind enough to find the person who reported the Jia family anyway.

……

the other side.

Jia Zhangshi hurled insults at Yi Zhonghai in the courtyard for a long time, until her mouth was dry and she was exhausted. In the end, she could only go back home after being persuaded by Yi Zhonghai.

All that cursing was for nothing.

Because Jia Zhangshi had several suspects, and lacked evidence, she couldn't name them.

"Master Dongxu, why is our family's life so miserable?"

Helped home by Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu, Jia Zhangshi looked at Yi Zhonghai and couldn't help but start complaining.

"Sister-in-law, look forward, things will get better."

Faced with the current situation, Yi Zhonghai didn't know how to offer any advice.

This whole mess is entirely Jia Dongxu's own fault. He had to cause trouble during the Chinese New Year, otherwise this situation wouldn't have happened.

They had been living peacefully with Li Hongbing, but Jia Dongxu insisted on causing trouble.

However, given Jia Dongxu's mentor and the current state of the Jia family, Yi Zhonghai couldn't gloat like the others.

“Master Dongxu, look, there are three people in my family now. Huairu is pregnant, and in a few months, we will have another mouth to feed. With a monthly salary of only 180,000, how are we supposed to live?”

As Jia Zhangshi spoke, she couldn't help but wipe away her tears.

The factory's punishment of Jia Dongxu this time was practically the death knell for her.

A pay cut is not just a reduction in wages, it's a devastating blow to their livelihood.

"Sigh, sister-in-law, this is the factory's decision, there's nothing I can do about it."

Yi Zhonghai sighed and advised Jia Zhangshi, "But don't worry, I've already inquired. This salary reduction is only temporary. Dongxu is still a junior fitter in the workshop, and that hasn't changed. As long as he performs well in the next year, he can get his original salary back."

"Another year?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi felt even more desperate.

A one-year observation period is neither long nor short, but it is clearly not something that Jia Zhangshi can accept.

Feeling distressed, Jia Zhangshi couldn't help but plead with Yi Zhonghai, "Dongxu's master, you are a senior fitter in the factory. Could you please ask the factory leaders to let our Dongxu off this time?"

"Sister-in-law, this is already the result of my pleading."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai could only helplessly say, "Dongxu was criticized and punished by the factory last year, and now this has happened again. If I hadn't pleaded for them, it wouldn't have been as simple as just a pay cut."

"This……"

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Jia Zhangshi immediately lost her spirits.

"Sister-in-law, there's something I need to tell you..."

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's dejected face, Yi Zhonghai felt very troubled, but he had no choice but to say, "This afternoon, when the factory announced Dongxu's punishment, I specifically went to inquire. Because Dongxu's injury this time was a special case, the factory will not pay him any wages during his sick leave..."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately flew into a rage and angrily said to Yi Zhonghai, "Aren't your factory leaders bullying people?"
Cutting Dongxu's wages was already excessive, but now that Dongxu is injured and unable to work, the factory is even deducting this little bit of his salary. They're deliberately trying to ruin our family's livelihood!
No!

I'm going to find your factory leaders. Our Dongxu factory is a state-owned enterprise. I want to ask them face to face whether this is how state-owned workers are treated.

This is exploitation and oppression!!!

Previously, Yi Zhonghai had assured her that Jia Dongxu was a formal worker in the factory, and that even if he couldn't go to work during his sick leave, the factory would still pay him wages, just not as much as usual.

Based on Jia Dongxu's position, skill rating, and length of service, it is approximately 60% of his usual monthly salary.

As a result, with the salary reduction, the monthly take-home pay was only slightly over 100,000 yuan.

Then Yi Zhonghai told her that he didn't even have a single yuan left.

This is driving them to the brink of despair!
"Sister-in-law, you mustn't cause trouble, otherwise if this matter with Dongxu blows up, it won't do him any good in the end..."

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi wanted to cause trouble at the factory and even seek reason with the factory leaders, Yi Zhonghai became even more troubled.

Even if they were in the right, the key question is, were they even in the right?
Once the incident escalates and the impact spreads, Jia Dongxu's punishment will only be more severe.

"Dongxu's master, what do you think we should do?"

This time, Jia Zhangshi was truly exasperated. She cried out to Yi Zhonghai, "If it were just a few adults, that would be one thing, but Huai Ru is pregnant now and can't afford to lack nutrition..."

Hearing Jia Zhangshi say this, Qin Huairu, who was standing to the side, touched her belly and couldn't help but feel sad.

Seeing the pitiful state of Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and thinking about the current predicament of the Jia family, Yi Zhonghai could only say, "Sister-in-law, I have thought about it. There are policies on relief and poverty alleviation from above. You can ask Officer Yang about your family's current situation and see if you can apply for poverty subsidies. Once you get through this period, everything will be fine."

"Applying for poverty alleviation assistance? This... it would be so embarrassing if word got out..."

Faced with Yi Zhonghai's idea, Jia Zhangshi was somewhat reluctant.

If the people in the compound knew that they, who were once "glorious," had become impoverished households who had to rely on subsidies to make a living, they would probably be laughed at.

"Sister-in-law, now is not the time to talk about face. Let's get through the current difficulties first."

At this point, Yi Zhonghai had no intention of indulging Jia Zhangshi and deliberately put on a stern face to "remind" her.

"Alright, I'll go ask Officer Yang tomorrow."

Having no other choice, Madam Jia Zhang had to compromise. However, she then looked at Yi Zhonghai and pleaded, "Master Dongxu, could you lend us some money? Our rice jar is empty, and we have no money left to buy grain..."

"No money again?"

Yi Zhonghai exclaimed in shock.

I just received my salary before the Lunar New Year, and it hasn't been long since the holiday ended!
"During the Chinese New Year, expenses are high, and Huai Ru is pregnant now, so she needs nutrition, which also costs a lot of money..."

Jia Zhangshi was embarrassed.

Yi Zhonghai sighed, but he couldn't refuse.

The master and apprentice are inseparable; their fates are intertwined, one prospers and the other suffers.

As Jia Dongxu's mentor, and especially since he was counting on Jia Dongxu to support him and his wife in their old age, Yi Zhonghai couldn't just ignore it.

Just thinking about how Jia Dongxu wouldn't be able to go back to work for at least two or three months, and how his salary would be pitifully low, and how even if the poverty alleviation application was approved, with Qin Huairu being pregnant, he would inevitably have to provide subsidies, gave Yi Zhonghai another headache.

This is a huge hole!
(End of this chapter)