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

Chapter 140 Dispute over flour share, Yi Zhonghai publicly educated (5k)

The last day of October.

Another general meeting was held in the compound, and Officer Yang from the police station was also present.

"Everyone, please be quiet. I have an announcement to make."

"Starting November 1st, which is tomorrow, flour will be supplied by the state-owned grain company according to regulations. Private individuals will be prohibited from engaging in flour trading, and hoarding and reselling of flour will be cracked down on."

"All residents who live in this city and have officially registered their household registration will be provided with eight catties of flour per person per month."

"On this basis, employees of companies and enterprises, employees of state-owned farms, government officials, cultural, educational and health workers, students of secondary and higher education institutions, handicraftsmen, cart drivers, tricycle drivers, etc., will each receive an additional four jin of flour per month, which is twelve jin; railway employees and their staff..."

"Tomorrow, 'flour purchase certificates' will be officially issued. Everyone will need these to buy flour, and they will have to take them to state-run grain stores or their agents. Flour purchase certificates cannot be bought or sold privately..."

"..."

As Officer Yang announced these policies and regulations, the previously quiet crowd quickly became restless again.

Faced with this situation, Officer Yang had obviously anticipated it. He pressed his hand down and said loudly, "I know everyone must have a lot of questions right now. Don't worry, ask one by one. Raise your hand if you have any questions, and I will answer them for you on the spot."

"Officer Yang, what did you mean just now? Does that mean we'll need a flour supply certificate to buy flour in the future?"

The first person called out, Aunt Yang, quickly voiced her doubts.

"That's right!"

Upon hearing this, Officer Yang nodded, first affirming Aunt Yang's statement, and then directly replied: "From now on, everyone must use this flour supply certificate when buying flour at outside grain stores. Otherwise, you won't be able to buy it. Even if you have the money, the grain store won't sell it to you without the flour supply certificate."

After asking one question, Aunt Yang quickly followed up with another: "You just said that each person can only buy eight catties of flour a month, and some can buy twelve catties or even eighteen catties. So, if they exceed that, can they not buy any more?"

If that's the case, in a situation like ours, what's the maximum number of kilograms we can buy in a month?

"Aunt Yang, those are excellent questions!"

Upon hearing the question raised by Aunt Yang, Officer Yang felt it was representative, as many people probably wouldn't understand it at first glance. So, after giving her a verbal compliment, he explained:
“Let me take your family as an example. There are four people in your family, two adults and two children. You and your two children each have an ration of eight jin per month. Grandpa Yang is a worker at the steel rolling mill, so he has an extra ration of four jin, which is twelve jin per month. All in all, your family can buy a total of thirty-six jin of flour per month.”

In other words, your family can only buy a maximum of 36 jin (18 catties) of flour from the grain store each month. Once that's all you can buy, you can't buy any more and will have to wait until next month when you get a new flour purchase permit.

After answering several more people's questions and finding that they were all quite similar and nothing new, Officer Yang took the initiative to speak:
"Next, please go to your respective courtyard and register your information with Grandpa Liu, Grandpa Yan, and Grandpa Du in an orderly manner so that we can proceed with our work. If you have any questions, you can ask them for now. I will come back later."

The resolution and regulations regarding the planned supply of flour were only passed and disseminated by the city government in the last two days, and will officially be implemented tomorrow. As a grassroots cadre, Yang has to visit more than just this courtyard today, and cannot stay here to answer questions.

At this time, the senior staff members of the school, including Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, and Du Jianguo, came in handy.

Before the conference, they had already gathered the managers of each courtyard house and read out the policies and regulations for the planned flour supply to them in advance so that they could learn and understand them. Then, the managers would answer questions and explain the policies to other people in their respective courtyards as they were nearby, and assist them in carrying out their work.

if not.

Right now, the entire city of Beijing has hundreds of thousands of registered households and more than two million people, and everyone needs to be notified.

With such a massive workload in a short period of time, even with a large number of people, they simply couldn't handle it.

As Officer Yang left, everyone started talking at once, and the scene immediately became noisy.

boom!
Amidst the commotion in the courtyard, Liu Haizhong, the caretaker of the courtyard, slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Quiet down!"

A hush fell over the room as everyone turned to look at Liu Haizhong, who then launched into a gruff rebuke and command:

"What's all the arguing about?"

"Next, follow my instructions. Each household should send one person with their household registration booklet to register with me, Lao Yan, and Lao Du, respectively, according to the front, middle, and back yards."

"If there are any problems, we can discuss them in person later."

"We old men have already understood all the policies and regulations you need to know, and we can help you answer your questions."

"After the statistics are finished, Officer Yang will be coming over later. These are all the documents that everyone will need to collect their flour purchase certificates."

"Everyone, please cooperate and don't leave a bad impression on Officer Yang if you're not cooperative..."

"..."

Don't let Liu Haizhong's airs and bureaucratic manner fool you; sometimes, you really need someone like him.

Following Liu Haizhong's action, everyone else did as he said.

"Uncle Yan, here you go!"

Just as everyone was going home to get their household registration booklets, Li Hongbing went directly to Yan Bugui's table and took out his own household registration booklet.

His household registration booklet was in his personal storage space; he could just casually pull it out of his pocket and have it.

"Wow! Hongbing, you're really fast!"

When Yan Bugui saw that Li Hongbing was the first to bring his household registration booklet, he was taken aback for a moment, then a bright smile appeared on his face: "You're the only one in your family, don't I know your situation? Actually, I don't even need to look at this household registration booklet."

As he spoke, Yan Bugui wrote down the name of the head of the household, Li Hongbing, and information about his family members in the notebook. Then he wrote down their occupations and workplaces, and finally, he wrote down "twelve jin" (a unit of weight).

After doing all this, Yan Bugui looked up at Li Hongbing and confirmed, "Eight jin plus four jin, a total of twelve jin, right?"

"That's right!"

Li Hongbing affirmed.

As a teacher, Yan Bugui shouldn't have made such a simple addition mistake.

"Hey, Red Soldier!"

Just as Li Hongbing was taking his household registration booklet and preparing to go back, Xu Damao suddenly ran over and gossiped to him, "Why did the higher-ups suddenly decide to do all this out of the blue?"

You need a purchase permit to buy flour, and you can't even buy too much? Are they just not going to make money even if they have the chance?

You think something big has happened somewhere again, otherwise…

Xu Damao was clearly not the only one with this idea.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country was turbulent and unstable. Food prices soared and it was often difficult to buy food, and food shortages were common occurrences.

However, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, situations like today have been rare.

"Xu Damao, I advise you to say less about this. It won't do you any good if word gets out."

There are certainly problems, but they're not as alarmist as Xu Damao makes them out to be. If such remarks were to get out at this critical moment and cause a negative impact, that would be no small matter.

Those who know it are that Xu Damao speaks without restraint.

Those who don't know the situation might think Xu Damao is a spy, spreading rumors and undermining social stability and orders.

Even if Xu Damao wants to say something, he shouldn't come here to say it, lest he lose his temper and cause him unnecessary trouble.

"Hey! Look at you, so cowardly. I'm not the only one who says that."

Faced with Li Hongbing's reminder and warning, whether he was genuinely indifferent or deliberately trying to save face, Xu Damao acted as if he were fearless.

Li Hongbing was speechless and immediately retorted, "If you're so capable, go tell your dad and see if he scolds you! If you go around telling everyone these things, a beating would be the least of your worries."

"Is it really that serious?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao instinctively shrank back.

Although the Xu family only has one male member, Xu Damao, Xu Fugui is very protective of his son, and Tao Cuilan treats Xu Damao like her own precious treasure. When it comes to actually fighting, Xu Fugui doesn't hold back at all.

"Words can cause trouble; it's best to say as little as possible if they are detrimental to unity."

Li Hongbing and Xu Damao had no grudge against each other, so there was no need for Li Hongbing to deliberately frame Xu Damao.

"So tell me, why is the higher-ups taking such a big step this time, even limiting everyone to only that much flour each month? What's the purpose?"

Seeing Li Hongbing's calm demeanor, Xu Damao guessed that he must know something and couldn't help but probe him.

Xu Damao may be young, but he is a shrewd and cunning person.

"Why do you care so much? We'll just eat less noodles from now on. It's not like we're stopping you from buying other grains."

Li Hongbing knew the reason, but he wasn't so quick to spread it around; otherwise, he would be the one to suffer the consequences.

"Too."

After hearing what Li Hongbing said, Xu Damao realized that it made a lot of sense and that he had been overthinking things.

Just as the two were talking, an angry roar came from Du Jianguo not far away.

“Du Jianguo, there are clearly four people in our family, and Dongxu is a worker at the steel rolling mill. The total should be thirty-six jin, so why did you only write twenty-eight jin for our family? Are you trying to embezzle our family’s share of flour?” Faced with Jia Zhangshi’s questioning and malicious speculation, Du Jianguo’s expression changed drastically, and he retorted angrily, “Jia Zhangshi, watch your mouth. Don’t assume everyone is bad just because you have a guilty conscience.”

In your case, the monthly flour ration is only 28 jin, so where did you get 36 jin?

They even withheld money?
Even if your family doesn't have a single pound of flour, my family will still have exactly what we need, not an ounce more.

Du Jianguo was furious.

He's now the head of the household, and Jia Zhangshi called him by his first name right away, showing him no basic respect whatsoever.

Even without this status, they were still neighbors in the same courtyard, so Jia Zhangshi's behavior was inappropriate no matter what.

"Old Du, calm down first."

As Jia Dongxu's mentor, Yi Zhonghai naturally sided with their family. He immediately comforted Du Jianguo and then couldn't help but confirm, "Can you calculate it again? Did you underestimate anyone and miss someone?"

Upon seeing the number Du Jianguo calculated, Yi Zhonghai also felt that he had made a mistake.

"That's right, the Jia family's share is twenty-eight catties."

Seeing everyone looking at him, and with Yi Zhonghai, the former head of the management office, questioning him to his face, Du Jianguo felt embarrassed and immediately said with a stern face: "There are indeed four people in the Jia family, but Jia Zhangshi's name is not on this household registration book, so she is not entitled to any share of the flour."

When Officer Yang was here just now, he said...

The condition of providing eight catties of flour per person per month applies to residents who live in the city and have obtained formal household registration.

Since Jia Zhangshi is not on the Jia family's household register, she naturally does not meet this requirement.

If I remember correctly, Jia Zhangshi's household registration is still in the countryside, belonging to the agricultural population..."

Upon learning this, Yi Zhonghai was somewhat dumbfounded.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi was completely outraged and immediately began to curse, "Du Jianguo, you're talking nonsense!"
Are you implying that I'm from the countryside?

I've lived in the city for so many years, and even though my household registration is in the countryside, I'm a complete city dweller now.

Since I'm a city dweller, you should include my share of flour regardless of whether my name is on the household registration certificate.

"That won't do!"

Faced with Jia Zhangshi's request, Du Jianguo objected: "Officer Yang specifically instructed us to follow the household registration booklet. Otherwise, why would we ask everyone to bring their household registration booklets to register?"

"Old Du, we're all neighbors in the same courtyard, can you please be more accommodating and not be so serious? Help the Jia family get their share..."

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but step forward and whisper his advice.

however.

Yi Zhonghai's action enraged Du Jianguo.

"Yi Zhonghai, you used to be a big shot in the management department, and you have such poor ideological awareness. No wonder you were dismissed by Secretary Yang."

"Do you know that you're forcing me to make a mistake?"

“She, Jia Zhangshi, doesn’t meet the requirements. You’re asking me to add her in because she’s a neighbor. If I asked anyone else to do the same, wouldn’t that create chaos?”

"Besides, is this something I can decide?"

"These are the policies and regulations from above. If we really do this, and the higher-ups investigate, not only will you be in deep trouble, but I will also be in serious trouble!"

"..."

In front of so many people in the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai actually wanted him to "make an exception"—I really don't know what got into him.

They've only done a preliminary count yet. Officer Yang and his team will need to check and organize it again at least once more. It's not as accurate as what they write down now.

Moreover.

Someone like Jia Zhangshi, what kind of neighborly favors could she possibly have?

If he doesn't publicly distance himself from Yi Zhonghai, he'll be in trouble if something goes wrong.

"Old Du, look, you've misunderstood. I just don't understand this policy and regulation well enough, that's why I'm asking. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

When Du Jianguo seized on his weakness and criticized him in public, and he felt the gazes of everyone looking at him, Yi Zhonghai was extremely embarrassed and had no choice but to try to save face.

He never expected that Du Jianguo would be so disrespectful to him.

Not only did they disagree, but they also exposed the matter and embarrassed him in person.

really!

Becoming a senior member of the management department really changes things; he's got his tail wagging in the air.

Don't let Du Jianguo's current status as the manager of the compound fool you; once he got to the factory, he was just a mid-level fitter.

Thinking about this, Yi Zhonghai suddenly realized why Du Jianguo was targeting him.

It must be because when he came to him for technical advice, Yi Zhonghai didn't want his skills to be learned by others and create more competitors for him, so he made up an excuse and ignored him.

Exactly at this time.

Xu Fugui, who was standing to the side, stepped forward and mocked:

"Yi Zhonghai, you make it sound nice, but to put it bluntly, you're just trying to take advantage of your apprentice's family and the country. You tried to cheat the country out of poverty relief by joining forces with the Jia family before, but you failed. Now you've set your sights on the flour quota. You guys are really something."

Jia Dongxu's sinister actions during the Chinese New Year not only almost made his family take the blame for him, but also nearly caused trouble for Xu Damao, the only son of the Xu family.

Such a deep-seated hatred cannot be easily forgotten.

Xu Fugui developed a deep hatred for the Jia family, and he also dragged Yi Zhonghai into the opposing camp.

Now, whenever they get the chance, they seize the opportunity to sow discord among them.

"Xu Fugui, don't make false accusations. When did we ever cheat the government out of its relief? As ordinary citizens, are we not even allowed to learn about the government's policies?"

Yi Zhonghai was furious and retorted directly, "If you have any evidence, produce it now. Don't go around making baseless accusations and ruining other people's reputations."

What Xu Fugui just said is pure slander.

When Jia Dongxu's salary was downgraded and the factory stopped paying wages during sick leave, the Jia family was on the verge of financial ruin. That's when Yi Zhonghai suggested they try applying for poverty assistance.

But after inquiring and learning more, I found out that it wasn't like that at all.

There are policies and systems in this regard, but they are mainly aimed at providing regular and fixed-amount relief to the elderly, disabled, and children who are destitute, have no source of income, and are unable to work, as well as to residents who have been unable to solve their living difficulties for a long time.

In addition, temporary relief is provided to residents facing temporary difficulties due to natural disasters, man-made calamities, and diseases.

Regardless of the scenario, even if the Jia family were truly so destitute that they didn't even have a single grain of rice to cook, they still wouldn't meet the criteria.

Not to mention that the Jia family's predicament was entirely due to Jia Dongxu's mistakes.

Later, the matter was naturally dropped, and Yi Zhonghai, as the mentor, could only use his own money to bail out the Jia family.

Now that Xu Fugui is using this against him, it's clear he has malicious intentions.

"Hey! Justice resides in the hearts of the people, I'm not going to argue with you!"

Xu Fugui, who had no evidence to offer, deliberately feigned disdain and chuckled, which disgusted Yi Zhonghai to no end.

This Xu Fugui is like a moldy grape, full of bad intentions.

at this time.

Li Hongbing, who was watching the commotion from the crowd, couldn't help but laugh when he saw Yi Zhonghai looking like he'd swallowed a fly. He then teased Xu Damao, who was standing next to him, "Xu Damao, your dad is quite something."

As the saying goes...

A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years; a petty person takes revenge from morning till night.

The current Xu Fugui is clearly an upgraded version of Xu Damao from the original drama.

Jia Dongxu has seriously offended Xu Fugui, that old silver coin. The Jia family will probably never have a peaceful life again.

Even if the old silver coin Xu Fugui is gone, there's still the young Xu Damao.

Hearing Li Hongbing's teasing, Xu Damao turned his gaze away from Yi Zhonghai and curled his lips in disdain.

"Tch! That old bastard Yi Zhonghai brought it on himself!"

(End of this chapter)