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

Chapter 170 Liu Haizhong is envious and publicly reprimands him! (3k)

"Li Hongbing, when did you report the deaf old woman? How come I didn't know about this?"

Just as Li Hongbing was surrounded by everyone, Liu Haizhong, who was envious, couldn't help but ask with a sullen face.

At this moment.

Liu Haizhong clearly realized that Li Hongbing must have reported the deaf old woman before she was arrested.

Otherwise, why was Li Hongbing the only one to receive commendation and reward from the neighborhood committee when so many people in the courtyard reported and exposed the deaf old woman afterward, including him?

This means that Li Hongbing's encouragement to hold study sessions and actively promote the so-called deeds of the deaf old woman, calling on everyone to learn from her, was mostly for ulterior motives.

He used me as a pawn.

In the end, Li Hongbing took the credit, while I almost got myself into trouble because of this.

Thinking about all this, Liu Haizhong felt a surge of anger.

If Li Hongbing had informed him beforehand, the certificate and commendation might already be his.

At least.

Li Hongbing should also share half of the credit with him.

at the same time.

Seeing the changes in Liu Haizhong's expression and his questioning tone, Li Hongbing clearly realized that Liu Haizhong might have realized that he had been used by him.

Seeing this, Li Hongbing remained calm and retorted confidently, "Uncle Liu, do you think it's appropriate to publicize such a report in public? Besides, the neighborhood committee was investigating at the time, and the matter wasn't clear yet, so I couldn't keep it a secret?"

Is this a nasty fringe?

If Li Hongbing really wanted to frame him, he would have implicated Liu Haizhong when he reported the deaf old woman. Now, he can't just act like nothing happened and come looking for trouble.

Based on Liu Haizhong's past behavior, if things are taken too seriously, labeling him an accomplice of the deaf old woman wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.

It's all because Liu Haizhong is opportunistic, not very bright, and doesn't keep his mind on the right path. Before the deaf old woman's affairs and identity have been confirmed, he can't wait to start a business and rush to curry favor with her.

Liu Haizhong bears a great deal of responsibility for how the deaf old woman was able to gain the favor of the residents in the courtyard by relying on those lies.

Not to mention he's also the caretaker of the compound.

Li Hongbing felt no psychological burden whatsoever, let alone any guilt, when he used Liu Haizhong's hair.

In fact, if it weren't for this sudden commendation today, Liu Haizhong probably would never have thought of these things. Li Hongbing hadn't intended to gain any merit from his previous real-name report exposing the deaf old woman.

However, now that the honor has come, Li Hongbing will naturally not refuse it, nor will he worry about offending Liu Haizhong or anything like that.

"But I am, after all, the head of this facility. Shouldn't you have informed me beforehand about something this important?"

Hearing Li Hongbing say this, especially his attitude, and feeling no respect from him as the head of the management department, Liu Haizhong became furious.

"What's wrong with the old man from the management department?"

Li Hongbing glanced at Liu Haizhong, showing no leniency towards him, and said directly, "As an ordinary citizen, I have the right to report the situation and file complaints directly with the street office. Even if you are the head of the management office, you have no right to stop me."

Besides, you were getting quite close to the deaf old lady at the time, so I didn't dare tell you these things, in case..."

"fart!"

Liu Haizhong was startled by what Li Hongbing said. Facing the stares of the crowd, he quickly distanced himself from the deaf old woman and publicly "clarified": "Actually, I have long suspected that this deaf old woman has a problem. I approached her to find out her background."

Do you all remember the study conference I convened before?

On the surface, I was trying to please the deaf old woman, or perhaps I was deceived by her false identity. In reality, I was deliberately using this opportunity to test her and find her weaknesses…

Liu Haizhong was already afraid of getting into trouble, and now that the deaf old woman is not only going to be paraded through the streets, but will soon be eating peanuts, does he dare to admit that he has a relationship with the deaf old woman?

"Isn't this enough?"

Upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words, Li Hongbing simply shrugged and immediately retorted, "Uncle Liu, since you already had doubts, why didn't you report it back then?"
Now that the evidence against the deaf old woman has been verified, isn't it a bit late for you to bring this up now?

If you're not proactive, you can't blame others for doing it for you and feel that the credit should have been yours, but someone else stole it, can you?

In front of so many people in the courtyard, Li Hongbing didn't give Liu Haizhong any face and directly exposed his little scheme.

As for Liu Haizhong's previous attempts to curry favor with the deaf old lady, regardless of whether others believe Liu Haizhong's explanation, the two of them know exactly what happened.

This old rascal has been acting a bit cocky lately, thinking he's gotten through this ordeal and is now running rampant.

Li Hongbing didn't want Liu Haizhong running rampant in the courtyard after getting rid of Yi Zhonghai.

In terms of harm, Liu Haizhong, who became arrogant and temporarily gained power, was no less harmful than Yi Zhonghai, who caused trouble.

In other aspects, this person is alright, but has a bad temper, is very concerned about his image, likes to put on airs and compete for credit, and is single-mindedly focused on mastering certain skills.

Unfortunately, he was ambitious but lacked ability, had a narrow vision and short-sightedness, lacked the responsibility of a leader, had no political wisdom, and even lacked a moral bottom line.

Flattering authority, harsh to the weak, and two-faced in interpersonal relationships—that perfectly describes Liu Haizhong.

People like Liu Haizhong will stop at nothing to climb the ladder. Once he gains power, his abuse of authority and bullying the weak while fearing the strong are the least of his worries.

However, Li Hongbing is no weakling. Liu Haizhong must have lost his mind to try to use his position as the head of the management department to pressure him.

If Li Hongbing wants to mess with Liu Haizhong, he'll be in big trouble.

Leaving aside the present, back when Liu Haizhong was the caretaker of the compound, he and Yi Zhonghai often condoned the deaf old lady's tyranny in the compound. If we really investigate, they were both accomplices.

"Old Liu, you're not right. Director Wang and Director Yang both praised and affirmed Hongbing. How come it seems like Li Hongbing did something wrong?" As Li Hongbing finished complaining about Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui on the scene also spoke up directly: "As the senior manager of the management office, you can't be so narrow-minded. You can't be jealous just because Hongbing made a contribution and received awards from the district and the street office."

As a person, you can't be petty; you should be more broad-minded. You can't just try to take everything that others have and claim it for yourself, can you?

It's obvious that Yan Bugui is deliberately implying something about Liu Hai.

As a fellow senior student in the School of Management, he had never felt much respect from Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong often relied on his seniority, which was higher than his and Du Jianguo's, and had been the head of the management for several years. He always acted superior and always tried to take all the benefits for himself, which made Yan Bugui have a lot of resentment towards him.

Normally, Yan Bugui wouldn't do something that would offend people, but this time he spoke up to support Li Hongbing.

Although Li Hongbing wasn't the head of the management department, he was much more considerate than Liu Haizhong and knew how to prioritize the overall situation.

Just like that time when they presented the banner, Li Hongbing could have gone alone, but he specially brought along the few old men from the management department, unlike Liu Haizhong, who only thought of himself when there were benefits to be had.

The key point is that Li Hongbing is now a favorite of Director Wang and Director Yang, and his status is much higher than that of these senior members of the management department. Naturally, Yan Bugui has to seize the opportunity to curry favor with him.

The previous "investment" in Li Hongbing must be further strengthened.

“Old Liu, Old Yan is right. As the senior staff in charge of the courtyard, we can’t act like the deaf old lady and bully others in the courtyard. Otherwise, the deaf old lady’s fate is right before our eyes.”

Following Yan Bugui, Du Jianguo also stepped forward to "advise" him.

These words were unusually harsh, using the example of the deaf old woman to serve as a warning and comparison.

Liu Haizhong was furious.

In Liu Haizhong's view, the two senior officials in charge of the college were clearly deliberately standing up to him and trying to embarrass him in public.

Isn't it just about that incident at the last study conference that offended them?

So many days have passed, why are you still holding a grudge? Are you that petty?
Faced with Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo's defection, Liu Hai was secretly annoyed, but he had to explain: "Old Yan, Old Du, you're thinking the worst of me. I just felt that the matter of the deaf old lady was of great importance. Hongbing is still young and lacks experience. In the case of a major discovery, we should discuss it with the senior members of the management department first. That would be more prudent, wouldn't it?"

“Didn’t Hongbing say that he saw you getting close to the deaf old lady back then? How could he discuss it with you?”

Liu Haizhong's words just now were clearly an attempt to pull Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo back to the same camp. However, Yan Bugui was a man who saw through his intentions at a glance. He didn't fall for it and directly used Li Hongbing's words to shut him up again.

"I... I just said that I deliberately approached the deaf old woman in order to find a flaw in her demeanor."

Liu Haizhong brought up this excuse again.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong even forgot that this explanation was something Li Hongbing had taught him after he asked him for help.

Upon seeing Li Hongbing receive the certificate and commendation, Liu Haizhong felt resentful and started to have a internal struggle.

Liu Haizhong really thought that when he was currying favor with and fawning over the deaf old lady, he was the only one who knew the truth in his heart, whether it was to expose and denounce her.
“Uncle Liu, since you discovered the deaf old lady's problem a long time ago, why didn't you take the initiative to report it to the neighborhood committee? Was it a lack of awareness, or were you intentionally covering it up? Either way, this is dereliction of duty, isn't it? What kind of caretaker are you…”

Li Hongbing wasn't afraid of Liu Haizhong. Even if things hadn't gotten out of hand yet, and even if they did, Liu Haizhong could still make Li Hongbing a minor leader within the steel mill. But Li Hongbing wasn't a member of the steel mill, so Liu Haizhong couldn't really control him.

"Li Hongbing, don't talk nonsense. I just didn't have any evidence, and out of caution, I was afraid of making a mistake, so I didn't have time to report it to the street office."

When Li Hongbing accused him on the spot, Liu Hai panicked. He quickly tried to explain, but then, fearing that Li Hongbing would hold a grudge and continue to cause trouble for him, he immediately admitted defeat, saying, "Hongbing, it was my bad attitude just now that caused you to misunderstand. I apologize to you, please don't take it to heart."

"Uncle Liu, if you hadn't told me, I would have thought you were deliberately trying to pick a fight with me!"

"Next time, I suggest you think things through before you speak, and don't act impulsively and put on your so-called official airs."

"This old man from the management office, in the end, is just assisting the street office and serving us, the people."

"To some extent, the old man from the management office also represents the street office. Your every word and action is related to the image of the street office, so you can't tarnish its reputation!"

"If you, like Uncle Yan and Uncle Du, contribute your efforts to us all and serve the public wholeheartedly, we will naturally feel grateful and respectful from the bottom of our hearts..."

"..."

Faced with Liu Haizhong's submission, Li Hongbing couldn't help but give him a warning.

This old man in charge of the school has some power, but he also has responsibilities; he can't just do whatever he wants.

They are not much better off than the masses, and even have more constraints on them.

When people are willing to give him face, he's the big shot in the management department; when they're not, he's nobody.

Yi Zhonghai, who did this last time, has long been purged from the ranks of the "management school uncles".

If you don't want to follow in Yi Zhonghai's footsteps, you'd better behave yourself from now on.

People like Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo are doing quite well now; Li Hongbing has never actively sought trouble for them.

at the same time.

Liu Haizhong's expression was rather unpleasant.

He had already bowed his head, but Li Hongbing still didn't give him face, making him feel embarrassed.

Fortunately, Li Hongbing didn't hold a grudge after his reprimand, which made Liu Haizhong secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Liu Haizhong felt utterly contemptuous of Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo, who were eager to curry favor with Li Hongbing, believing they were a disgrace to the school's management.

Actually.

It was Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai who overestimated their position as "Grandpa of the Management School," arbitrarily bestowing upon themselves an aura of superiority and becoming detached from the masses.

What Li Hongbing is doing now is simply pulling them back to the ground, letting them connect with reality, recognize the truth, and return to their normal place.

(End of this chapter)