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

Chapter 150 Visiting Master Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai's Achilles' heel (5k)

Li Hongbing caught two pieces of gossip, one new and one old, and at the same time discovered Yi Zhonghai's new conspiracy.

Yesterday, Sha Zhu told Li Hongbing about his job at the steel rolling mill. Li Hongbing guessed that it was related to Yi Zhonghai, but he didn't think too much about it and didn't know that there were other inside stories.

Li Hongbing had always known that Yi Zhonghai had ulterior motives towards Sha Zhu, but now that Jia Dongxu was still around, Sha Zhu was just a backup plan.

In addition, Sha Zhu always forgets his mistakes and always tries to treat Yi Zhonghai as an elder, and is easily fooled by Yi Zhonghai. Li Hongbing is too lazy to care about these things.

but now.

Li Hongbing learned about the situation from Guo Youzhong and discovered that Yi Zhonghai was treating Sha Zhu like a dog, which disgusted Li Hongbing.

To say that Sha Zhu is pitiful is somewhat true.

or.

To put it bluntly, Sha Zhu is pathetic.

Since publicly reporting the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai at the end of last year, this group of people, including Jia Zhangshi who returned to sweep the streets, have been very "well-behaved".

Li Hongbing thought that Yi Zhonghai had truly become honest, but he didn't expect that he had simply returned to his original "righteous" path and put his mind and attention back on Sha Zhu.

After learning about Sha Zhu and his master, and then re-examining Sha Zhu's joining the steel rolling mill, we can see that Yi Zhonghai's purpose was not only to keep Sha Zhu by his side, but also to sow discord between Sha Zhu and Dong Congyou, causing them to turn against each other.

First it was He Daqing, then it was Dong Congyou.

These two people are arguably the closest elders to Sha Zhu in this world, and that's no exaggeration.

One is the bond between father and son, the other is the affection between teacher and student.

Kicking them out of Sha Zhu's world is tantamount to clearing away obstacles for Yi Zhonghai's future.

The wickedness of their intentions, their willingness to use any means to achieve their goals, and their selfishness and cruelty are all self-evident.

His behavior is like that of the most wicked villains in TV dramas, who personally harm the protagonist's closest people, then cultivate the protagonist and use him to do certain things or achieve their own goals.

They are exactly the same.

If he didn't know, that would be one thing, but Yi Zhonghai was plotting these things right under his nose, which undoubtedly made Li Hongbing feel disgusted.

Yi Zhonghai and Wang Guihua have no children, so their future care is a concern. Li Hongbing understands their desire to find someone to take care of them in their old age.

It's human nature, and there's nothing wrong with that.

however.

If Yi Zhonghai had been more upright and hadn't resorted to underhanded tactics, there wouldn't have been so much chaos in the courtyard house.

Just like Li Hongbing's mentor, Guo Youzhong.

He treats each of his apprentices with sincerity and care.

Even though Guo Youzhong has several sons, he has no worries about his retirement. Including Li Hongbing and his fellow students like Liang Damin, every single one of them will take care of him and provide for him in the future.

As a senior fitter in the steel rolling mill, it wouldn't be a problem for Yi Zhonghai to choose a few promising and virtuous apprentices from the factory. With proper training, they would all be able to support themselves in their old age.

But Yi Zhonghai could not be trusted.

You will see others the same way you are.

Even though he's currently focusing most of his attention on the Jia family and his apprentice Jia Dongxu, no one really knows how much of it is genuine or how much is calculated.

As for Sha Zhu, this backup plan for retirement, what Li Hongbing sees so far is purely calculated.

Upon closer examination, the root of the entire dispute in the courtyard house was nothing more than the issue of elderly care for the three families: Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui.

In the original drama, Yi Zhonghai had no children, Liu Haizhong was unkind to his son, and Yan Bugui was more calculating than affectionate, making even old age a problem.

It started with Yi Zhonghai's scheming and plotting, and later Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui boarded this "convenient" boat, jointly binding Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu, and providing them with a safety net.

From this perspective, Yi Zhonghai is currently the biggest cancer in this courtyard. If it weren't for his meddling, there wouldn't be so much chaos and turmoil.

"Master, I would like to ask for a day off to go see Master Dong."

Li Hongbing used to be too lazy to care, but now he has to do something about it.

It wasn't for Sha Zhu, but for myself.

Living in a courtyard house, how could one truly remain uninvolved and allow Yi Zhonghai to cause trouble right under one's nose?

Yi Zhonghai's "well-behaved" behavior is only temporary; he will cause trouble again sooner or later.

Even if we don't take immediate action against Yi Zhonghai, we need to have a trump card that can crush him in one fell swoop.

"Because of Sha Zhu?"

Guo Youzhong said in surprise.

Aside from meeting once, Guo Youzhong had almost no interaction with his apprentice and Dong Congyou, and he could hardly think of any other reason.

"Not counting."

Li Hongbing shook his head and said to Guo Youzhong, "Master, do you remember Yi Zhonghai from our institute? I suspect he's behind this whole thing. I want to go find Master Dong to find out more."

"It's him?"

Guo Youzhong naturally remembered Yi Zhonghai and had a very bad impression of him.

What kind of good person would cause trouble for their own apprentice?
After thinking for a moment, Guo Youzhong asked Li Hongbing, "Do you need me to go with you?"

"No need for now. I'm just asking a few questions. Master Dong shouldn't refuse."

Li Hongbing understood what Guo Youzhong meant.

Although Guo Youzhong and Dong Congyou were not close, if Guo Youzhong intervened, Dong Congyou would give him some face, making it easier for Li Hongbing to get the answer he wanted.

However, Li Hongbing was quite confident about this matter.

As long as I can see Dong Congyou, that's enough.

His status as Guo Youzhong's personally taught disciple is enough; there's no need for Guo Youzhong to make a special trip for him.

“Alright, I have some connections with Master Dong. Since he's sick this time, you can buy some gifts and visit him on my behalf.”

As Guo Youzhong spoke, he took out a 50,000 yuan note from his pocket and handed it to Li Hongbing.

Guo Youzhong's visit on behalf of his master was a pretense; in reality, he was afraid that Li Hongbing, a junior, might bring up the embarrassing incident between Dong Congyou and his master in person, which would be somewhat presumptuous.

That makes you an easy target!

Fearing that Dong Congyou might not give him face, or that Li Hongbing might offend the other party, he specifically asked him to go in his master's name.

In this way, even if Dong Congyou was dissatisfied, he wouldn't make things too difficult for Li Hongbing, his junior, out of respect for Dong Congyou as his master.

"Master, I have money!"

Li Hongbing knew Guo Youzhong's good intentions and naturally wouldn't refuse out of pride, but he didn't intend to take the money.

How can someone take their master's money and use it for their own purposes?

"Just take it. Do you think your master is someone who lacks this little bit of money?"

Seeing Li Hongbing's actions, Guo Youzhong's face hardened, and he said irritably, "I asked you to visit my friend, and now you, my apprentice, have to pay for it yourself? Isn't that a slap in my face? If word gets out, won't your master be laughed at?"

"Fine!"

Li Hongbing had no choice but to accept it.

Guo Youzhong has his own principles, and now that he's over fifty, he sometimes acts like a child. You have to go along with him; there's no need to argue with him over such trivial matters.

With Guo Youzhong around, Li Hongbing doesn't need to worry about taking leave.

After leaving Fengzeyuan.

Li Hongbing rode his bicycle to a nearby shop, bought some pastries, and then headed towards Dong Congyou's residence.

Yesterday, because of Sha Zhu's incident, Dong Congyou was so upset in the kitchen of Emei Restaurant that he fainted and was later taken to the hospital.

After waking up.

Dong Congyou didn't want too many people to know about this, so he insisted on being discharged from the hospital and going home to recuperate.

When Dong Congyou fainted in the kitchen, the manager of Emei Restaurant rushed over. After understanding the reason, he was somewhat helpless and angry, and could only tell the kitchen staff to keep quiet and not spread the news.

If this gets out, it will not only embarrass Dong Congyou, but it will also have some impact on their Emei Restaurant.

It's not a big deal, but some people like to spread rumors.

After all, it's not something to be proud of, and it would be bad if competitors stirred things up and made a fuss about it.

Currently, not many people know about this; it's only circulating within a small circle, but most of those who know are colleagues.

Unless there's a personal grudge, people are unlikely to spread this maliciously out of consideration for their colleagues.

Guo Youzhong and Dong Congyou had some acquaintance, but it wasn't a deep one.

At this point, you should, like most people, pretend you don't know anything about it, instead of deliberately having Li Hongbing use his name to come and visit.

This could easily offend people, or rather, embarrass Dong Congyou.

Guo Youzhong clearly didn't care about these things, only because of his apprentice Li Hongbing.

"Is Master Dong here?"

"you are?"

"Hello, ma'am. My name is Li Hongbing. My master is Guo Youzhong. I heard that Master Dong is sick, so I came to visit him."

"Guo You..."

"Xiangqin, invite them in."

“Auntie, this is a small token of my master’s appreciation for Master Dong. Please accept it.”

"Oh dear, this is too much of a waste. Please thank your master for us."

"..."

The woman who came out was clearly Dong Congyou's wife. When Dong Congyou heard Li Hongbing introduce himself and mention Guo Youzhong's name, he immediately invited Li Hongbing into the house.

At this moment.

Dong Congyou, who was resting in bed, was trying to sit up when he heard that Guo Youzhong's apprentice had come to visit.

His body wasn't actually in any major condition; it was just that he was suffering from emotional distress and hadn't fully recovered.

When guests arrive, Li Hongbing, though a junior, represents his master Guo Youzhong. It would be impolite for him to continue lying down.

Upon entering, Li Hongbing saw this and quickly stepped forward to help the other man. "Master Dong, you should lie down and rest. I'm just here to see you on behalf of my master."

"It's nothing, I just want to sit down. Help me up."

"Okay, Master Dong, please be careful."

"Okay, thank you."

"Master Dong, you're too kind."

"..."

Dong Congyou was initially a little embarrassed, but Li Hongbing's actions had clearly eased the atmosphere in the room.

Dong Congyou's wife, who originally wanted to come over, looked at Li Hongbing with a more kind expression when she saw that he had come first and was so thoughtful and polite.

"You're Li Hongbing?"

Sitting on the bed, Dong Congyou scrutinized Li Hongbing for a moment, then nodded and said, "We've met before!"

"Yes, two years ago, on the day of my sister's wedding, you happened to be cooking in our courtyard. My senior brother took me to greet you, Chef Dong."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing followed Dong Congyou's lead and took the initiative to explain the origins of the story.

Dong Congyou had met many people, but the only reason he remembered me was because I was Guo Youzhong's apprentice.

Li Hongbing was well aware of this.

"It's more than that."

Looking at the humble and polite Li Hongbing, Dong Congyou shook his head and said with some emotion and sigh, "I've heard your name quite a bit in the past year, and I never imagined that the person I met by chance back then was Master Guo's exceptionally talented and prized disciple..."

In less than a year and a half of becoming an apprentice, Li Hongbing achieved two leaps, directly reaching the level of an intermediate cook, which is virtually unheard of in their circle.

Even if one can complete the apprenticeship in a year and a half, it would already be a testament to exceptional talent.

Not many people outside the city know about this, but within the chefs' circle in Beijing, almost everyone knows it.

There are many great chefs in Beijing, but only a handful have truly reached this level of skill and are recognized by the industry.

It's perfectly normal for top chefs to know each other or have had interactions with each other.

People like Guo Youzhong already have the strength, fame, and status, so what they can compete with is naturally the strength of their sect and their disciples.

Li Hongbing was unaware that, in the eyes of those famous chefs in Beijing, he was already a "renowned apprentice".

What Dong Congyou just lamented was that he didn't recognize Li Hongbing, or the "famous apprentice" that everyone was curious about.

What they never expected was that Li Hongbing, whom they had only met briefly, would rise to prominence so quickly and achieve results that even they couldn't believe.

In terms of current ability, Li Hongbing is still not qualified to compare with these veteran masters.

Among his peers, there are actually many who are more capable than him, but most of them are no longer young.

Among his peers, Li Hongbing stands far ahead of the competition.

Even among most of the veteran craftsmen in the industry, almost no one of them could surpass Li Hongbing at his age.

It's not that it's completely nonexistent.

After all, the master craftsmen who have become famous to this day are basically among the most talented people of their time.

Even if there are some, most of them started their careers very early. At Li Hongbing's age, they already have seven or eight years or even ten years of experience.

To date, Li Hongbing has only been in the industry for a little over two years.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Dong Congyou, Dong Congyou inquired about Guo Youzhong's situation and asked about Li Hongbing. The two had a very pleasant conversation.

"Master Dong, actually, there's another matter I came here about, which concerns your apprentice, Sha Zhu..."

Seeing that the atmosphere had been set up enough, Li Hongbing spoke directly.

As soon as Li Hongbing uttered those words, Dong Congyou, who had been all smiles and looked much better, immediately turned somber.

If Li Hongbing hadn't been Guo Youzhong's apprentice, no matter how outstanding or admirable he was, Dong Congyou would have wanted to kick him out immediately.

The goodwill that had just been established gradually vanished with Li Hongbing's words.

"Master Dong, please don't get angry, let me finish what I have to say."

"I came here with no ill intentions."

“You and Sha Zhu have been master and apprentice for three years now, so I think you must know Sha Zhu well enough.”

"Think about it first. Although Sha Zhu can be impulsive and reckless at times, he generally knows and follows the rules, right?"

"Don't you think there's something strange or problematic about Sha Zhu's recent job at the steel rolling mill?"

"If no one was pulling strings behind the scenes, would Sha Zhu have done something so unethical?"

"..."

Li Hongbing wasn't there to explain or defend Sha Zhu, but if he wanted to get something out of Dong Congyou, he first needed to gain his trust and discover the problems involved.

Even if Yi Zhonghai was behind it and instigating him, Sha Zhu's actions were still highly problematic.

He definitely bears responsibility; there's no denying that.

Given Dong Congyou's past relationship with He Daqing, and considering He Daqing's escape, he specifically arranged for Sha Zhu to stay with Dong Congyou. Regardless of his usual attitude or temper, Dong Congyou, as his master, would definitely want the best for Sha Zhu.

Moreover, judging from Dong Congyou's personality, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who is irritable and has a bad temper.

That's why Sha Zhu was very likely to be persuaded by Yi Zhonghai to want to work in the kitchen of the steel rolling mill. But he knew Dong Congyou and was afraid that Dong Congyou would not agree. So Yi Zhonghai induced him to make a decision first and ask for permission later. Once the decision was made, Dong Congyou would have no choice but to "accept".

Given Sha Zhu's recklessness, he's not incapable of doing something like this.

One more thing.

It's because Dong Congyou usually treats Sha Zhu well, which gives Sha Zhu courage, making him feel that even if he makes a mistake, Dong Congyou will forgive him as usual.

Even if he were beaten or scolded, Sha Zhu was prepared and didn't think it was a big deal.

The fact that Dong Congyou did not expel Sha Zhu from the sect and did not proactively disclose the matter shows that Sha Zhu's gamble paid off.

However, this came at a price that broke the heart of his master, Dong Congyou, and left him utterly disappointed.

Otherwise, Dong Congyou wouldn't have suffered such a mental breakdown and now has to rest at home.

"who is it?"

After a long silence, Dong Congyou spoke again, clearly having also noticed something amiss and believing Li Hongbing's words.

"I'm not entirely sure who it is, but I know that Shazhu has been close to someone."

Everything was still just speculation. Even if it was close to the truth, Li Hongbing couldn't produce any evidence. But he still decided to give it a try, so he said, "There's a guy in our institute named Yi Zhonghai who happens to be a senior fitter at the steel rolling mill. I wonder if you know him, Master Dong?"

"It's him? Impossible!"

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's description of the mastermind behind the scenes, Dong Congyou paused for a moment, then shook his head, unwilling to believe it.

Li Hongbing was not surprised by Dong Congyou's reaction.

Since He Daqing fled, neither Sha Zhu nor Dong Congyou have discovered any problems. It is clear that Yi Zhonghai has taken all necessary precautions and even filled in any potential loopholes.

Since Sha Zhu's situation concerned his retirement options, how could Yi Zhonghai not make some plans and preparations?

Judging from Dong Congyou's reaction, it's clear that he knows Yi Zhonghai, and not just in a simple way.

But obviously.

The connection between Dong Congyou and Yi Zhonghai should not be deep.

Discovering this gave Li Hongbing even more confidence.

"Master Dong, was it He Daqing's idea to let Sha Zhu into the Emei Restaurant?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it was He Daqing who asked you to take him on as your apprentice?"

"These things happened after He Daqing absconded, and Yi Zhonghai was the middleman entrusted by He Daqing?"

"You were unaware from the beginning that He Daqing had run off with the widow?"

"You didn't know Yi Zhonghai before this?"

"Was Yi Zhonghai the person He Daqing chose in the courtyard to 'entrust the orphan'?"

"In the past three years, He Daqing should have corresponded with you, right?"

"..."

After Li Hongbing's series of speculations, Dong Congyou was dumbfounded and stared blankly at Li Hongbing.

"how do you know?"

As soon as Dong Congyou uttered those words, Li Hongbing knew he had made the right bet.

It was all just Li Hongbing's speculation.

He simply chose to take a gamble.

Even if you lose the bet, there is no loss. On the contrary, it confirms your conjecture and you may even gain some new discoveries and information.

"My guess!"

Li Hongbing did not hide anything.

Besides this explanation, there was no other answer that could convince Dong Congyou.

He couldn't produce any other proof.

"Master Dong, perhaps you and He Daqing both think that Yi Zhonghai is a good person..."

Seeing Dong Congyou looking at him, Li Hongbing paused for a moment before continuing, "But do you know that after He Daqing ran away and before Yi Zhonghai came to you, Sha Zhu and He Yushui, the brother and sister, almost starved to death?"

"Is there still this?"

Dong Congyou was completely stunned.

Logically, everything should have been arranged before He Daqing fled, so this situation should never have happened.

unless……

Having lived through war-torn times, and even being hunted down by enemies, nearly losing his life but still managing to survive, Dong Congyou was certainly not a clueless child.

Thinking back to everything Li Hongbing had just said, Dong Congyou's face darkened.

(End of this chapter)