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

Chapter 209 The Imprint of the Times: The Great Steelmaking Revolution Arrives
Yi Zhonghai tried to use moral high ground to blackmail and even condemn Li Hongbing, but unfortunately it was no use.

Even if the stick is lost, Li Hongbing will not get caught up in unnecessary internal strife and self-blame because of it, and no one should try to pin the blame on him.

Even if Qin Huairu appeared under the guise of being the weaker party, it was to no avail.

Cause is cause, and effect is effect.

We cannot arbitrarily distort the real reasons just because of the outcome.

Ultimately, it comes down to their own failure to discipline their children.

"Huai Ru, forget it. We should focus on finding the 'stick' right now. Let's not waste time here."

The truth and reasoning became clearer with each debate. Yi Zhonghai obviously knew he couldn't win the argument against Li Hongbing, nor could he gain any advantage. On the contrary, it was clear that they were in the wrong and deliberately picking a fight. He wanted to "call it quits," so he quickly reminded Qin Huairu.

Yi Zhonghai's mention of the "stick joke" clearly stirred Qin Huairu's interest. Coupled with her previous failure to shift the blame to Li Hongbing, Qin Huairu was at a loss and seized this opportunity to back down gracefully.

soon.

Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu then left in a hurry.

As for the people in the courtyard, apart from Li Hongbing, He Daqing, and Xu Fugui's families, each family sent one person to help find sticky rice outside.

Each of the three families either had a grudge against the Jia family or against Yi Zhonghai, and these grudges were not ordinary. Even if no one intervened, no one would say anything.

If Yi Zhonghai hadn't directly asked Du Jianguo and Yan Bugui to intervene, they would have had to go door-to-door to invite them.

They don't have the influence or connections to mobilize more people.

It's been a while.

Those who had gone out to help the Jia family find their child gradually returned from outside.

"So, you found the 'stick'?"

"Found it."

"Where did you find it?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it. A whole group of people searched outside for ages, running all over the place, their voices were practically hoarse from shouting, and this is all it took you to do?"

"What's wrong?"

"Bang Geng was hiding in the toilet. No matter how much everyone searched or called out, he wouldn't make a sound. If someone hadn't gone to the toilet and found Bang Geng hiding there, I think we would have been searching until dawn."

"Is this kid afraid of being found and getting beaten up again? He's just a kid, I can understand. It's good that he's been found."

"Of course, it's good that Banggeng is alright, but Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu are really something. Their own child is missing, but they didn't even bother to look carefully. They've searched twice already, but they didn't even go into the bathroom to check. They just wandered around outside, making us all waste so much time and effort..."

"..."

Li Hongbing overheard the conversation outside and knew that the Jia family had made a misunderstanding, so he didn't say anything.

However, those who were called out to help their family find a good scapegoat weren't exactly resentful, but they certainly had a lot of complaints.

After all, no one else has ever made such a big fuss about something like Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu.

The key problem lies in their own carelessness in finding the right people, which led them to provide incorrect information to everyone, causing everyone to waste a lot of time and effort.

If this factor weren't involved, no one would say anything.

In the room.

Upon learning that Banggeng had been found and had not gone missing, Chen Xueru couldn't help but smile with relief.

Chen Xueru is a rather emotional person who can distinguish right from wrong and never engages in internal strife. Naturally, she wouldn't take the blame for this matter on her own family. However, she is now a mother of two children, and even if Banggeng smashed their window today, she wouldn't be so malicious as to wish for something bad to happen to the other party.

Looking at Chen Jiwen, who was fast asleep on the bed, Chen Xueru couldn't help but say to Li Hongbing, who was standing next to her, "Hongbing, Jianwu and Jiwen in our family can't be like Banggeng. We both have to pay more attention to their education in the future. We can't let my mother spoil them."

Having learned from the mistakes of the Jia family and Banggeng, Chen Xueru has clearly begun to consider and worry about the future education of her two children.

"Don't worry, there's only one other kid in the whole compound. Even if our kids are bad, they won't end up like that."

When Li Hongbing heard this, he smiled and said: "Besides, our mother is a sensible person. We are close to each other, but not everyone is a Jia Zhang family. If my mother hears what you just said, I will see if she doesn't beat you up."

"My mom doesn't hit people."

As Chen Xueru spoke, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Obvious.

She also realized that she was worrying unnecessarily.

"But seriously, Jianwu is already two years old. Shouldn't we start thinking about his education? Find some time to buy a few copies of the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic. While I'm in postpartum confinement and my mom has some free time, teach him to recognize characters and learn some principles."

Upon hearing Chen Xueru's sudden idea, Li Hongbing was also "shocked" and said speechlessly, "Xueru, Jianwu is only two years old, just weaned. Please let him go!"

Li Hongbing never expected that Chen Xueru also had a self-taught talent for "tiger parenting".

"So what? It's because our Jianwu is so smart. He can already recognize characters at only two years old."

Faced with Li Hongbing's complaints, Chen Xueru didn't care at all. Instead, she said, "In the past, children would usually start learning after another year or two. I started learning to read at the age of three and could recite the Three Character Classic at the age of four. Jianwu in our family has inherited the intelligence of both you and me. He is smarter than other children, so it's not a problem for him to start learning earlier."

Chen Xueru's statement was not without basis and confidence.

Because Li Hongbing would take time to practice calligraphy every day, almost without fail, and Li Jianwu was close to Li Hongbing, he always liked to watch him practice.

Over time, he even learned to recognize some characters.

If it weren't for this, Chen Xueru wouldn't have done something like forcing growth.

"Are you planning to have Jianwu start learning literature at two, martial arts at three, master poetry and prose at five, break a boulder on his chest at six, and be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting at eight?"

Li Hongbing did not deny his eldest son's intelligence, but he couldn't help but make a teasing remark.

"If Jianwu can do it, why can't he?"

Chen Xueru was educated and had attended a private school since childhood. Influenced by her father, she attached great importance to her children's education, and seeing the current state of Banggeng made her even more vigilant.

Moreover, deep down, Chen Xueru is a proud person.

Li Hongbing is exceptionally talented and is now a leader in the industry. Although she doesn't have that much influence or fame, she has managed her family's traditional cloth shop quite well. Naturally, she also wants her children to excel, even to be ahead of their peers.

“You should definitely teach your child, but since he is still young, don’t put too much pressure on him. Too much pressure is as bad as too little.”

Li Hongbing is not against educating children, but he does not want to push them too hard, especially like in later generations.

Regardless of the stage of life, he still hopes his child can have a happy and carefree childhood.

He must communicate with Chen Xueru on this point.

Understanding Li Hongbing's meaning, Chen Xueru rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "I'm not some kind of unenlightened parent or an old fogey. Of course, I also hope Jianwu and Jiwen grow up happily and carefree. Early education and enlightenment should be done step by step; you can't get fat overnight. Putting everything else aside, I think Jianwu is quite interested in calligraphy. For now, let him learn to read and write. When he's a little older, we can try to cultivate that talent. If he really doesn't have the talent, I won't force him..."

Li Hongbing did not object to what Chen Xueru said.

From birth, a child is in a continuous learning process, learning to walk, talk, eat, and so on. In addition to the child's own subjective learning and imitation, the parents' conscious guidance is also indispensable.

It's not a bad thing to let Li Jianwu learn to recognize characters and numbers in an entertaining way.

What Li Hongbing opposes is simply putting too much pressure and expectation on children, depriving them of their childhood.

Obvious.

Chen Xueru had no such intention.

Seeing this, Li Hongbing felt relieved.

The next day, Li Hongbing actually bought some primers like the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic, as well as comic books like Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Legend of the White Snake.

Even if Li Jianwu is a smart kid, how could they possibly force him to have any goals or tasks? They just treated it as a game or a parent-child activity.

More than half a month later.

After Chen Xueru finished her postpartum confinement, she did not rush to go back to work at the silk shop, but instead took leave to stay home and take care of her baby.

Nowadays, the management of the silk shop is no longer in her hands as the private manager. In Chen Xueru's view, the future development and fate of the silk shop are basically set in stone.

Without control, especially after the ten-year dividend period ends, the ownership of the silk shop will change from shared to public, and it will have nothing to do with her anymore. Chen Xueru has long since given up on the idea of ​​developing and expanding the business.

Just as Li Hongbing had "analyzed" before, after the wave of public-private partnership ended, the soil for the private economy was basically lost. It's like a silk shop purchasing goods; everything is centrally allocated and coordinated, and profits are basically fixed.

In many aspects, it is difficult to differentiate ourselves from competitors.

Moreover, they are basically all "one family," meaning they are fighting each other.

Influenced by Chen Xueru, the shop assistants had excellent service, and the master craftsmen who stayed behind had superb skills. As a result, the silk shop had always had a good reputation and good business.

……

Time passed day by day, and before we knew it, it was the middle of the year.

With the addition of Chen Jiwen, there are now two children in the family. Although Chen's mother helps take care of them, Chen Xueru still goes to the silk shop as usual. While balancing her work, she devotes more energy to her two children.

As usual, Li Hongbing's salary had basically reached its limit at his level, which was the ceiling of the entire industry. However, as his skills became more and more exquisite, his reputation gradually became well-known.

Today, Li Hongbing's culinary skills have completely surpassed those of his master, Guo Youzhong, making him the best at Fengzeyuan.

Aside from his seniority, Li Hongbing's culinary skills are no less than anyone else at Fengzeyuan, and his youth and strength are an overwhelming advantage.

Many experienced craftsmen, though their hands are fairly steady, are clearly no match for Li Hongbing.

only.

A makeshift blast furnace was built inside the courtyard house.

The Great Leap Forward has begun.

Li Hongbing knew about this incident, had some understanding of it, and had even made some preparations specifically for it.

But when the Great Leap Forward truly arrived, I was still shocked, and felt the madness and enthusiasm of this era and its people.

Each local team used every conceivable method imaginable.

Simple furnaces built with firebricks, holes dug in hillsides to serve as furnaces, and even iron smelting directly in pits...

The handling of raw materials is even more simplistic and crude.

If there's no coke, just burn the wood directly.

When there wasn't enough iron ore, they even dismantled the iron pots and doors in their house.

Some of these were things Li Hongbing had heard, while others were things he had already experienced or was experiencing.

Although Li Hongbing knew the inside story and the future of all this, he was powerless to do anything and could only watch it happen and unfold silently.

this day.

Another hospital-wide meeting was held.

To Li Hongbing's surprise, Yi Zhonghai was also involved.

In order to complete or even exceed the steelmaking target, Yi Zhonghai took the initiative to approach Yan Bugui and Du Jianguo, proposing and calling on everyone to donate their surplus iron items such as pots, pans, and locks to be added to the raw materials for steelmaking.

These were not Yi Zhonghai's original creations, but rather things he saw or heard other academies doing, so he copied them in an attempt to impress.

Having lost his position as the head of the management department, suffered repeated damage to his reputation, and lost his qualification as a senior worker in the steel rolling mill, Yi Zhonghai, who had kept a low profile for a period of time, has become very active in this great steelmaking boom. He even contributed the most ideas to the construction of the makeshift blast furnace in the department.

Their intention is self-evident: to rebuild their reputation and gain recognition from the neighborhood committee and the factory in order to improve their status.

In this regard.

Li Hongbing did not stand up against Yi Zhonghai, nor did he try to trip him up.

It wasn't that Li Hongbing was afraid of Yi Zhonghai, but simply that he didn't choose the wrong path of going against the tide.

Only a hothead would oppose something without considering the consequences or the situation.

"Yi Zhonghai, have you lost your mind? If you donate the pot, how are we supposed to cook? Without the lock, if a thief breaks into the house and something is stolen, are you going to take responsibility?"

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's suggestion, Sha Zhu, without much thought, stood up and immediately started criticizing it.

Upon seeing this, Yi Zhonghai let out a smug sneer and immediately questioned, "Silly Zhu, do you have any sense of responsibility?"

This is done to support national development and contribute to the country's progress. As human beings, we should not only think of ourselves, but also think of the collective and the country.

Without a country, could you live the life you have now?
Besides, I didn't ask you to donate all the pots and pans in your house. If you have extras, donate them, but keep one for yourself.

"Besides, the public security is so good now, no one picks up lost items on the road, and doors are left unlocked at night, so locking doors is unnecessary..."

After a few words, Yi Zhonghai deliberately pinned several labels on Sha Zhu.

Young and impetuous people may be reckless, but they are not stupid. They quickly realized Yi Zhonghai's sinister intentions and denied them on the spot. He Daqing even stepped forward to speak up, preventing Yi Zhonghai from succeeding.

Sha Zhu was a little unhappy because Yi Zhonghai had tricked him in public.

While secretly pleased with himself, Yi Zhonghai subtly glanced at the crowd, looking at Li Hongbing who was silently watching the show. Seeing that Li Hongbing was very calm and showed no intention of expressing his opinion or making things difficult for him, a look of regret and frustration flashed across Yi Zhonghai's face.

(End of this chapter)