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

Chapter 202 Moral Blackmail? All the Schemes Fail
"Red Soldier..."

Liu Haizhong wanted to continue pleading with Li Hongbing, but Li Hongbing ignored him completely and went straight home.

Li Hongbing didn't care what Liu Haizhong thought.

Li Hongbing owes Liu Haizhong nothing, and he's not afraid of offending him.

Liu Haizhong wasn't afraid of offending Li Hongbing, so he naturally had to bear the consequences himself; otherwise, all his efforts would have been in vain.

at the same time.

On the other side, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu were unable to withstand the attacks and taunts led by He Daqing and Xu Fugui, so they chose to avoid battle and retreat, slipping back to their original positions.

Since Jia Zhangshi has already been taken away by the women and men, it's as if the matter has been settled. No matter how eloquent they are, they have no solid ground or statement to back them up. They can't even argue their way out of it. What else can they do but run away?

"Master, my mother has been captured by the Fucheng people. What should I do?"

After a while, seeing that there were hardly any people in the courtyard, Jia Dongxu secretly brought Qin Huairu over again to discuss countermeasures with Yi Zhonghai.

"Dongxu, don't panic. This might not be as serious as you think."

After offering a word of comfort to Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai continued, "I estimate that your mother will just be going in for a period of time to study and receive education. Once she passes the training, she will come back, just like before. There won't be any problems."

Yi Zhonghai had already thought about it; Jia Zhangshi's biggest problem was not in her behavior, but in her thinking.

This incident alarmed the women's federation, but Li Hongbing seized the opportunity to deliberately amplify Jia Zhangshi's discrimination against women and her belittling of women's status, which led to the escalation of the issue.

In situations like this, criticism and education are often the primary methods used.

At worst, they would be like the Jia Zhang family when they were caught up in feudal superstition, and be taken in for study and education.

If they hadn't misjudged the situation, or if Jia Zhangshi hadn't suddenly committed the error of feudal superstition, and hadn't reflected on her mistake on the spot and sincerely accepted criticism, she wouldn't have been taken away directly.

Having figured all this out, Yi Zhonghai was clearly still optimistic about Jia Zhangshi's future situation.

Although Jia Zhangshi was going to study for a period of time again, Yi Zhonghai didn't think it was a problem; in fact, he thought it was a good thing.

Anyway, it's not him who needs to be educated.

This opportunity also allows him to temper Jia Zhangshi's temperament, making her more restrained and less likely to cause trouble in the courtyard. This would save him a lot of worry and prevent him from constantly having to clean up her messes.

The only thing that bothered Yi Zhonghai was that he had been implicated because of Jia Zhangshi. If Fuqin reported what happened today to the factory and made a wrong and backward evaluation of his thoughts and awareness, that would not be a good thing.

Thinking about this, Yi Zhonghai became quite depressed.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have jumped in and helped Jia Zhangshi cause trouble for Li Hongbing.

"Is my mom going to study again?"

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's assessment, Jia Dongxu breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also a little depressed.

This time, their attempt to trick Li Hongbing failed, and instead, they suffered a loss themselves. It was a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, which was extremely unlucky.

Because of Li Hongbing, Jia Zhangshi has been sent in for study and criticism more than once or twice.

"Sigh, this time Li Hongbing clearly set a trap on purpose, wanting to make an example of someone. Your mother was just unlucky and accidentally fell into Li Hongbing's trap. There's nothing we can do about it."

Yi Zhonghai shook his head and couldn't help but sigh.

Jia Dongxu was stunned when he heard Yi Zhonghai say this, and quickly asked, "Li Hongbing deliberately set a trap to scheme against my mother? Master, what do you mean by this?"

"I only just realized this myself."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai first glanced at Jia Dongxu before explaining, "Li Hongbing made his son take a different surname, Chen, from his wife. This is an act of forgetting one's ancestors and is extremely unfilial. It's only because Li Hongbing's parents are not around and there are no elders of the Li family in Beijing that he is able to avoid being labeled as unfilial."

Li Hongbing must have known this in his heart, so when he returned from the hospital, he publicly raised the banner of gender equality and respect for women to shut everyone up.

Given his current status, no one in the courtyard wants to offend him. Even if they want to gossip, they won't say it publicly, but it's still controversial. Especially if outsiders find out, they're bound to be looked down upon.

In this situation, it would be best if we did nothing. However, your mother couldn't hold back and went to Li Hongbing's mother-in-law's place, where she publicly ridiculed and mocked the matter. Li Hongbing seized this opportunity to make a big fuss about it.

Firstly, it's to teach your mother a lesson and get revenge for her being so talkative. Secondly, it's to establish your mother's authority and make an example of her to completely shut everyone up and stop them from gossiping about this matter, thus erasing the negative impact of his disrespectful behavior towards his ancestors.

In other words, no matter who comes out to do such a thing, Li Hongbing has already prepared for this response, and the result will be the same.

Your mother just happened to be unlucky; she became the scapegoat and ran right into the line of fire…

A man as deep as Yi Zhonghai is naturally shrewd. He was blinded by his own involvement and didn't think much before, but now that things have already happened, he quickly pieced everything back together by reviewing the causes and consequences and all the details.

Hindsight is 20/20, and Yi Zhonghai is no exception.

However, Yi Zhonghai's conspiracy theory did indeed guess Li Hongbing's initial thoughts.

"Damn it, I never expected Li Hongbing to be so cunning. He's plotting against our family again."

Jia Dongxu naturally had no doubt about Yi Zhonghai's analysis. He immediately felt resentful and couldn't help but ask, "Master, we'll go find Fuqin tomorrow, expose Li Hongbing's conspiracy, and rescue my mother. We absolutely cannot let Li Hongbing's scheme succeed."

Yi Zhonghai didn't reply, but silently looked at him.

If it weren't for the fact that Jia Dongxu was his apprentice, and that Jia Zhangshi was now in the hands of Fuqin, Yi Zhonghai would have almost rolled his eyes and complained.

Find Fuqin to expose Li Hongbing's conspiracy?
How to expose them?

If Jia Zhangshi doesn't cause trouble, then no matter how much Li Hongbing schemes, it will be meaningless.

But if we really talk about it, it was Jia Zhangshi who started the trouble first.

In this respect, they are completely in the wrong.

However, since Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu are now on the same side, he naturally cannot say these things that Jia Dongxu doesn't like to hear or that are discouraging, even if they are the truth.

Fortunately, Jia Dongxu wasn't stupid. He just had problems with his stance and values, which didn't mean he was completely brainless. So he knew that his suggestion was a complete joke.

Yi Zhonghai's silence is itself a response.

After a moment of silence, Yi Zhonghai looked at Jia Dongxu, who had calmed down, and said helplessly, "Dongxu, if you want to save your mother and minimize the impact of this matter, you still can't get around Li Hongbing."

"Master, do you mean... I should go to Li Hongbing and apologize to him, and plead for my mother?"

After hesitating for a moment, Jia Dongxu looked at Yi Zhonghai, somewhat uncertainly confirming with him, wanting to know if that was what he had just meant.

"The best outcome would be if Li Hongbing didn't pursue the matter further, or even took the initiative to plead with Fudan on our behalf."

Although Yi Zhonghai didn't say it so explicitly, he had basically confirmed the meaning.

"Master, do you think this is possible?"

Jia Dongxu was somewhat unwilling and, unusually, disagreed, saying, "You know what kind of person Li Hongbing is. If he were so easy to talk to, none of those things would have happened, and our relationship with him wouldn't have deteriorated to this point."

Moreover, I heard that Liu Haizhong went to see Li Hongbing specifically to ask him to plead with Fu Dan on his behalf, but Li Hongbing refused. If we were to go, it would be even more impossible…”

The reason why Jia Dongxu disagreed was actually quite simple.

On the one hand, he was too embarrassed to admit it and didn't want to lower himself to Li Hongbing.

On the other hand.

This was because he understood Li Hongbing's character and knew that even if he apologized and went to Li Hongbing to beg for forgiveness, it would likely not lead to anything, and he would even be ridiculed and mocked, which would be no different from humiliating himself.

If that's the case, why bother with all that?

"Dongxu, I know what you mean, but I don't mean for you to go, but for Huairu and the others to go."

What Jia Dongxu could think of, Yi Zhonghai could naturally think of as well. He also knew who Li Hongbing was and had heard about Liu Haizhong's plea for mercy being rejected, so he naturally wouldn't have such a naive idea.

"Is this... okay?"

After learning about Yi Zhonghai's plan, Jia Dongxu hesitated.

Obviously.

At this moment, Jia Dongxu understood Yi Zhonghai's intention and knew exactly what it meant for him to have Qin Huairu represent him.

Of the three families who had direct conflicts with Li Hongbing, only Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi, and Jia Dongxu had such conflicts, while Wang Guihua had fewer, and Qin Huairu had none.

Even if they are treated worse than strangers in normal times, it's still better than them showing up.

Just as Jia Dongxu was unsure, Qin Huairu was even more uncertain.

Fortunately, at this moment, Yi Zhonghai spoke up and said, "Of course, we shouldn't go directly to Li Hongbing, but rather to Chen Xueru and Li Hongbing's mother-in-law. They will definitely be easier to talk to than Li Hongbing. You are both women, so it's easier for you to speak your minds."

"And think about it, Li Hongbing even gave his son Chen Xueru's surname, so Chen Xueru's status in the family is definitely higher than Li Hongbing's. As long as Chen Xueru is willing to forgive or let it go, I think Li Hongbing, even if he's unwilling, will have no choice but to accept it."

Upon discovering that Yi Zhonghai had such a plan, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief and felt that it was somewhat feasible.

Although Chen Xueru and her mother were distant from them due to their relationship with Li Hongbing, they were noticeably easier to talk to than Li Hongbing, as they were usually kind to others.

Moreover, women are often soft-hearted and their attitude may not be as firm as Li Hongbing's.

"Uncle Keyi... what if they don't agree?"

After learning about Yi Zhonghai's thoughts, Qin Huairu still hesitated and couldn't help but ask about her concerns.

“They’re not like Li Hongbing. As long as you give them enough face and apologize properly, even offering to pay compensation, and find more witnesses, I think they won’t want to make things too awkward or leave people with the impression that they’re difficult to get along with. I think they’ll agree.”

Yi Zhonghai's idea was simple: moral blackmail.

With Li Hongbing away and without He Daqing and Xu Fugui causing trouble, it was the perfect opportunity to quickly resolve the matter.

Yi Zhonghai's decision to steal the house was a last resort, not only for Jia Zhangshi but also for his own sake.

Although only Jia Zhangshi has been taken away so far, the women's group already knows his workplace and name, and they are threatening to report their problems to the leaders of the steel rolling mill. Yi Zhonghai has not forgotten about this matter.

This time, however, it reminded Yi Zhonghai of the fear of being dominated by Li Hongbing, and he realized again that going against him was an unwise choice, so he wanted to surrender and seek peace.

Originally, it was thought that this incident would set Li Hongbing off, and that Yi Zhonghai would let Jia Zhangshi be stubborn once again.

But who could have imagined that Li Hongbing could so easily find a way to deal with and resolve the issue of his son taking a different surname? In the past, the damage to his reputation and the pressure from public opinion would have been enough to crush a person.

Moreover, Li Hongbing always targets either the police station or the neighborhood committee, and now he's brought in a woman. He doesn't follow any "rules" at all and just goes straight for the big shots. Yi Zhonghai is speechless.

Having bided his time for so long, he finally had a chance to fight back, but his "brave" attempt resulted in a regrettable outcome.

……

the next day.

After the people in the courtyard went to work one after another, and even Li Hongbing left, Wang Guihua took Qin Huairu to several households in the courtyard and told them that she planned to apologize to Chen Xueru and Chen's mother, hoping that they would come forward as witnesses and help persuade them.

This move was naturally taught to him by Yi Zhonghai.

If you want to use moral blackmail, you naturally need to find some shills to help you.

Otherwise, if you rely entirely on your own efforts without anyone helping to create an atmosphere or provide support, the results will be much worse.

Yi Zhonghai, who was well-versed in this matter, clearly understood the importance of having a backer.

When they learned that Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu were planning to apologize to Chen's mother and Chen Xueru, the people who were asked to act as shills were all somewhat surprised.

However, most of them did not want to get involved in these matters. Some of them agreed out of consideration for others and because of the small benefits promised by Wang Guihua. Others, being more shrewd, deliberately made excuses to refuse.

Even so, Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu still managed to find a few shills.

soon.

Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu then brought the people who had agreed to act as "witnesses" to the front yard.

Coincidentally.

At that moment, Chen's mother had just gone out to buy groceries and was not in the yard.

However, this was not a coincidence, but a time that Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu deliberately chose, and was also the result of prior discussion with Yi Zhonghai.

Although they said they wanted to apologize to Chen's mother and Chen Xueru, they had already seen yesterday that Chen's mother was clearly not someone to be trifled with and might not be easy to talk to. Therefore, their target today was only Chen Xueru.

To pass the level, you should naturally choose the one with the lowest difficulty.

Moreover, compared to Chen Xueru, Chen's mother's attitude may not be as important.

"Xueru, this is your Aunt Yi. Are you home?"

Upon arriving at the front yard, Wang Guihua went straight up and knocked on the door, feigning ignorance of the question.

"What Aunt Yi? I don't know her!"

Soon, Chen Xueru's voice came from inside the room.

Whether she genuinely didn't recognize him or did it on purpose, Chen Xueru's response made Wang Guihua feel awkward and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Helpless, Wang Guihua could only say, "Xueru, I am Wang Guihua, Wang Guihua from the Intermediate People's Court, Yi Zhonghai's wife, I'm here today..."

Wang Guihua had barely finished introducing herself, and before she could even explain why she was there, Chen Xueru, who was inside the room, said, "Wang Guihua? What are you doing here? You're not welcome here, you should leave!"

They had never crossed paths before, and they had just had a conflict with both families yesterday. Chen Xueru was aware of all the past events, so her sudden visit was obviously not a good thing.

With Li Hongbing away and Chen's mother out, Chen Xueru, who was in postpartum confinement, had no intention of paying any attention to him.

Having meticulously prepared for today's performance, Wang Guihua naturally wasn't going to give up and back out so easily. So, she brazenly called out from outside the door, "Xueru, I know you've misunderstood us. Huairu and I came here today for no other purpose than to apologize to you specifically for what happened yesterday..."

Wang Guihua shouted loudly, not only so that Chen Xueru inside the house could hear her, but also so that others in the front yard could hear her.

"No need, you can leave!"

Faced with Wang Guihua's actions, Chen Xueru inside the room did not change her attitude; instead, her voice turned cold.

"No, Xue Ru, we're all from the same courtyard. Why don't we come in and apologize to you in person..."

"It's almost too late!"

"Wang Guihua, do I know you? Are we close?"

"I don't care what you want to do or what your purpose is, I advise you not to make trouble for yourselves."

"Leave now before I get angry. If you keep bothering me and disturbing my peace, I won't even need to lift a finger. When Hongbing comes back tonight, I'll have him come to your door and have a talk with you all."

“If you dare to force your way into this house now, I have scissors in my house. You’d better think twice before you get hurt…”

"..."

inside the house.

Chen Xueru had no idea what Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu's purpose was. Even though they repeatedly emphasized that they were there to apologize, they chose a time when Li Hongbing was not there and Chen's mother was out, which obviously made Chen Xueru wary.

Moreover, her family's relationship with them had never been harmonious, so Chen Xueru wasn't so easily convinced by them.

The key is.

Besides herself, there were Li Jianwu and Chen Jiwen's two children in the house. Although they wouldn't do anything bad in broad daylight, Chen Xueru didn't dare to gamble.

As for their so-called apology, Chen Xueru doesn't need it at all.

Li Hongbing had already made all the arrangements and plans for this matter, so Chen Xueru didn't need to do anything. Chen Xueru was also unlikely to hold Li Hongbing back at this time.

however.

After Chen Xueru said these words, Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu were completely dumbfounded.

They never expected that Chen Xueru would be so wary of them.

They came to apologize on their own initiative, but if you didn't know better, you might think they came specifically to cause trouble for Chen Xueru.

as predicted.

Upon hearing Chen Xueru's response, the residents of the front yard, who had been silently observing the situation, all stepped forward.

"Old Yi's wife, Qin Huairu, what are you doing here with a group of people?"

“I’m warning you, although Li Hongbing isn’t in the hospital right now, if you dare to do anything outrageous, you know him, he will definitely not let you off the hook. Even your Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu didn’t get away with it. I advise you to give up your ideas.”

"You should leave now before Yun returns, lest misunderstandings arise and we blame you for not warning you."

"Xue Ru has already said that she doesn't need your apologies and you're not welcome here, so stop making a fool of yourself."

“There are two children inside. If you frighten them, be careful when Hongbing comes back and settles scores with you.”

"Wang Guihua, you don't really intend to force your way in, do you? Are you crazy or stupid? Aren't you afraid of Li Hongbing's wrath? You'd better think this through!"

"..."

If Chen Xueru had kept quiet, that would have been fine, but she did say those things. If Aunt Yang and the others in the courtyard didn't stand up and speak up to stop Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu, and something really happened, everyone present would be in trouble.

By sitting idly by and watching Chen Xueru suffer injustice and bullying right under his nose, Li Hongbing would probably see them as no different from accomplices.

Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu were both numb.

They had indeed intended to force their way in and apologize, but before they could even get in, Chen Xueru's barrage of words and the voices of the people in the front yard stopped them completely, making it impossible for them to advance even an inch.

The carefully orchestrated drama had barely begun; before it could even unfold, Chen Xueru was already on high alert, and the people in the front yard were all wary of them, even though their explanations were futile.

Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu, who had already been arranged to act as accomplices, could only slink away in disgrace, and even had a premonition that this operation seemed to have backfired.

When this gets to Li Hongbing's ears, who knows what he'll think.

It's been a while.

When Chen's mother returned from grocery shopping, Aunt Yang told her what had just happened and subtly took credit for it.

Upon learning of this, Chen's mother was furious. She went back to the house to check on Chen Xueru and her two beloved grandsons. After confirming that they were all alright, she went straight to the Intermediate People's Court to confront and warn Wang Guihua.

Chen's mother, who is usually well-mannered and kind to everyone, was truly enraged today.

Yesterday's events haven't even faded from memory, yet Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu still dared to come knocking on her door. Whether they genuinely wanted to apologize or had other motives, they had violated her taboo.

Her daughter was in postpartum confinement, and she didn't want anyone to disturb her, especially people like Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu.

The crucial point is that she wasn't there when they arrived, which made it hard for Chen's mother not to overthink things.

"Yun, you've misunderstood. Huai Ru and I actually have nothing going on..."

"Don't call me 'Miss Yun,' I don't know you!"

"Whatever you're trying to do, I'm warning you, don't you dare go to the front yard and bother my daughter again."

"We don't care about apologies."

"I'll thank you as long as you stop trying to cause trouble and stay away from us in the future."

"Let's keep things the same from now on, go our separate ways, and not have any further contact..."

"..."

Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu both felt extremely embarrassed and aggrieved, but fearing to provoke conflict, they dared not argue with Chen's mother.

None of them expected that their meticulously planned scheme from last night would result in such a outcome.

Chen's mother and Chen Xueru, who usually seem to get along well with everyone, showed such a completely opposite attitude and reaction today, which was quite surprising.

They just forgot that while Chen's mother and Chen Xueru got along well with everyone in the courtyard, they were the only exceptions.

(End of this chapter)