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

Chapter 210 Public Canteen? They're all geniuses!
“Hongbing, why didn’t you say a word just now? Do you also agree with Yi Zhonghai and let him do this?”

After the general meeting ended and everyone gradually dispersed, Sha Zhu, who had just suffered a humiliating defeat at Yi Zhonghai's hands, quietly approached Li Hongbing and asked him, somewhat dejectedly.

In Sha Zhu's memory, Li Hongbing was not such a cowardly person, so how could he be afraid of Yi Zhonghai?

“Shazhu, it’s not that I’m afraid of Yi Zhonghai. I just support the country’s policies and development. Steelmaking is a major undertaking. You need to understand that.”

Li Hongbing smiled, but emphasized.

In this era, one's stance must be correct.

Personal grudges are personal grudges. If you can't distinguish between what's important and what's not, and you mix personal grievances with national plans and policies, then you've fallen into Yi Zhonghai's big trap.

Obvious.

Sha Zhu just learned this the hard way.

Hearing Li Hongbing say this, Sha Zhu became depressed.

In fact, Sha Zhu knew this too, but he couldn't stand Yi Zhonghai's hypocritical and righteous appearance.

Moreover, Yi Zhonghai's suggestion was somewhat absurd.

This approach was inherently flawed, but due to the prevailing trend, everyone rushed to follow suit, and few dared or were willing to openly oppose it.

Even Li Hongbing chose to remain silent.

Sha Zhu frowned and couldn't help but ask Li Hongbing, "Hongbing, aren't you afraid that if things continue like this, Yi Zhonghai will regain power?"

"Gaining power?"

Upon hearing Sha Zhu's words, Li Hongbing almost burst out laughing.

Based on this alone, what kind of power can Yi Zhonghai gain?

It's nothing more than self-indulgent "passion" and aimless jumping around for a while.

Li Hongbing knew that this wouldn't last long, and Yi Zhonghai would be exposed for what he truly was.

The more prominent Yi Zhonghai becomes during this period, the more he does, and the more extreme his methods, the less likely he is to fare well in the end.

Don't say anything else.

This time, Yi Zhonghai used the guise of righteousness to call on everyone to donate pots, locks, and even all "extra" iron products. Once this storm has passed, most of the people in the courtyard will blame Yi Zhonghai for the trouble.

Why should Li Hongbing interfere with Yi Zhonghai's self-destructive and self-inflicted troubles?
Otherwise, what would Yi Zhonghai, a fitter at a steel rolling mill, know about steelmaking? This is the steel mill's area of ​​expertise.

He merely seized the initiative, haphazardly found some makeshift steelmaking methods, and stepped forward to pretend to be an expert.

There weren't many people in the institute who knew anything about steelmaking, so they needed someone to lead them.

Actually.

What they produce in this way is nothing more than sponge iron with high carbon content and excessive sulfur and phosphorus, or a mixture of iron slag that is not fully oxidized. The quality does not meet the requirements at all, and the finished product cannot be rolled into steel.

It doesn't even meet the standards for iron, let alone steel; it can only be a shoddy substitute.

Even if Li Hongbing knew the correct method of steelmaking, the reality was that he couldn't meet the standards. Moreover, this situation was common everywhere and couldn't be changed by Li Hongbing alone.

Since he couldn't do it, Li Hongbing was even less willing to take the lead in such a thankless task; otherwise, Yi Zhonghai wouldn't have had the opportunity.

Back to the front yard.

Li Hongbing, like everyone else in the courtyard, started tightening screws and disassembling the padlock latches on his door.

"Our house is being demolished too?"

Seeing Li Hongbing's actions, Chen Xueru, who already knew the content of the meeting, was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

In Chen Xueru's view, this operation was obviously speechless, ridiculous and unnecessary.

Chen Xueru had already seen what the finished products from that makeshift blast furnace in the yard looked like; they weren't even normal iron products, let alone steel.

The door locks, cookware, and other household items are already qualified iron products. Although they are not steel, remelting them will only make them of worse quality. It's simply a waste of resources.

Chen Xueru didn't believe Li Hongbing was unaware of these things, but she didn't expect him to join in their nonsense, so she was somewhat confused.

"We must integrate into the group and not become detached from the masses. The result is not important; what matters is the process and attitude."

After dismantling everything and entering the house, Li Hongbing smiled at Chen Xueru and said, "With everyone so enthusiastic, we should at least put on a show. We've taken down the outside, but left the inside. There are always people in the yard during the day, and Mom's here too. I've put away all the important things in the house separately. Whether we lock them or not doesn't really make a big difference..."

Li Hongbing wasn't worried about thieves breaking into his house. There were always people in the yard, so the chances of outsiders getting in were slim.

As for internal thieves, none of the people in the compound have a prior record in this regard. It all depends on whether Banggeng's Thief Saint skill has been awakened yet.

If they really dare to act so recklessly, Li Hongbing won't be polite to them. If they think they can cover it up and settle things with money like in the original drama, that's just wishful thinking.

Even if you can't get the other person directly into the police station, you should at least get them to report to the juvenile detention center.

not to mention.

The truly important things, and most of the money, Li Hongbing had already stored in the system space, so no one could steal them.

Chen Xueru thought about it and agreed.

With two children to care for, and Chen Jiwen not even a year old yet, she can't be left alone. Since Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru both have to work, Chen's mother usually asks Aunt Yan or Aunt Yang to help her take care of the children, even when she's just buying groceries. She basically never leaves home.

As for food, meat, eggs, and oil, Li Hongbing always prepared them during his days off, so Chen's mother didn't have to worry about them.

Even without this incident, they basically don't lock their doors during the day.

Of course.

Li Hongbing was just going through the motions, responding to the national call to support the Great Leap Forward in steel production, as long as he didn't give anyone cause for criticism.

Don't even think about him dismantling all the metal parts in his house and donating them.

Let alone Li Hongbing, even Yan Bugui and Yi Zhonghai themselves wouldn't do that.

……

a few days later.

A person who surprised the residents of the courtyard appeared in the courtyard.

"Jia Zhangshi, why are you back?"

The people in the courtyard were surprised to see that Jia Zhangshi, who had not been seen for several months and had been sent back to the countryside, had returned.

"Why can't I come back?" Glancing at Aunt Yan who had spoken earlier, Jia Zhangshi wasn't angry. After asking a question, she continued, "Although I don't live here now, my son, daughter-in-law, and eldest grandson are here. Can't I come back to see them?"

Aunt Yan didn't respond, but she still felt strange.

It's not that Jia Zhangshi was sent back and now doesn't even have the right to enter the city; it's just that before, Jia Dongxu always took Banggeng to visit Jia Zhangshi in the countryside, and Jia Zhangshi never came back on her own initiative.

As for why, everyone can guess. After all, Jia Zhangshi made a mistake and was sent back to the countryside by the street office. Obviously, she was too ashamed to come back, but what happened now is unexpected.

"By the way, Jia Zhangshi, I heard that your land in the countryside was taken back by the village, is that true?"

The person who spoke at this moment was naturally someone who hadn't had a good relationship with Jia Zhangshi in the past. He deliberately brought this up at this time, clearly wanting to see her make a fool of herself.

In recent times, in addition to the large-scale steel production campaign, communes have been established in rural areas across the country, and land has been consolidated and converted into collective ownership. Naturally, they have heard about and learned about this situation.

Now that Jia Zhangshi has appeared, it's inevitable that she will be inquired about and questioned in person.

Of course, we cannot rule out other motives.

After all, Jia Zhangshi insisted on giving up her urban household registration for that piece of rural land, and was even willing to spend money to buy grain coupons in order to keep it.

If it weren't for this, and if she had an urban household registration, Jia Zhangshi wouldn't have been sent back to the countryside after making a mistake.

However, only a few months later, that piece of land no longer belonged to Jia Zhangshi, which some people considered too tragic for Jia Zhangshi.

Whether it's sympathy or schadenfreude, seeing Jia Zhangshi, who used to live in the same courtyard house as them, end up in such a "predicament," everyone feels a sense of relief and superiority.

"Hey! You don't understand, do you? Establishing a commune is a tremendously good thing."

Madam Jia was not stupid; she naturally understood what the other party meant, but surprisingly, she did not get angry.

Normally, Jia Zhangshi would have already started fighting with the other party.

Just when everyone thought that Jia Zhangshi had spent some time in the countryside, lived a hard life, and that her temper had improved, Jia Zhangshi said with a smug look on her face: "Now I have also joined the commune and am a member of the commune."

You all thought my return to the countryside was a bad thing, but you probably never expected that I, Zhang Cuihua, would turn misfortune into blessing, as I happened to catch up with the great good thing of the establishment of the commune.

My land wasn't taken back by the village; I voluntarily handed it over. You don't know, but from now on, all the harvest from that land will belong to the collective.

Now the commune has opened a public canteen, slaughtering pigs and sheep, so we have meat to eat every day. It's much better than life in the city.

I came back today to take my dog ​​back with me so he can live a good life with me and eat meat every day..."

"Jia Zhangshi, is everything you're saying true?"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's boasting, those who had previously felt superior and even wanted to see her make a fool of herself were dumbfounded and incredulous.

"Why did I lie to you?"

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi was in high spirits, like someone returning home in wealth and honor. She proudly boasted, "If you don't believe me, you can go to the countryside and see for yourselves, or ask your relatives in the countryside. Our village was a leading demonstration village, no, it's a commune now... The commune was established early and was the first to enjoy a good life, but other things will be soon too."

This time, Jia Zhangshi came back not only to bring her grandson Banggeng back to the countryside to live a good life with her, but also to show off her pride in front of the people in the courtyard.

If it weren't for that person, Jia Zhangshi wouldn't know how to subtly spread the word about this matter, making everyone aware and envious.

Even though Jia Dongxu has received permission from the subdistrict office to bring her back from the countryside, Jia Zhangshi has no intention of returning.

This is the first time in her life she's ever had the chance to eat meat every day; she wouldn't trade it for anything, not even from a god.

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's seemingly serious words, the crowd, who had initially been skeptical, began to have some doubts.

However, Jia Zhangshi's arrival was sudden and her departure was quick. She had lunch at Jia's house and then complained and grumbled about everything. In the afternoon, she took Banggeng away, saying she wanted to take her precious grandson back to the countryside to live a carefree life.

Faced with Jia Zhangshi's actions, the crowd began to believe her.

night.

The story spread throughout the courtyard and was confirmed by Yan Bugui, who said that there had been reports about it in the newspapers and that what Jia Zhangshi said might be true.

Over the next two days, the matter gradually gained traction, and some people sought confirmation from various sources. Many began to envy Jia Zhangshi.

And indeed, Jia Zhangshi lived a good life.

More or less, everyone in the courtyard felt uncomfortable and resentful, especially those who had quarreled and had conflicts with Jia Zhangshi in the past.

Hating those who have, laughing at those who don't, disliking the poor, and fearing the rich are all evils lurking in human nature.

Li Hongbing, who also knew all this, felt nothing.

Even if Jia Zhangshi were to live a good life, Li Hongbing wouldn't feel envious or jealous, because he was just as good as her, and perhaps even better.

Gradually.

Not only in rural areas, but also in some parts of the city, public canteens have been set up.

this day.

Yan Bugui suddenly approached Li Hongbing, taking the initiative to discuss something with him, or rather, to test his attitude.

"What? Uncle Yan, are you planning to set up a communal canteen in the courtyard?"

Upon learning of Yan Bugui's plans, Li Hongbing was clearly taken aback, not expecting that Yan Bugui would also start causing trouble.

The practice of public canteens was not only practiced in rural communes at this stage, but also in cities. Yan Bugui had obviously noticed this and thus came up with this idea.

Faced with Li Hongbing's question, Yan Bugui was somewhat uneasy and couldn't help but say, "Actually, this isn't just my idea; Lao Du and the others also have the same plan and idea, which is why I came to ask for your opinion..."

In Yan Bugui's view, although Li Hongbing was not the head of the management department, his attitude was of paramount importance.

If Li Hongbing objects, things will become very complicated.

At the very least, He Daqing from the Intermediate Court and Xu Fugui from the Back Court will choose to stand on the same side as Li Hongbing.

This was not only because they usually took the initiative to befriend Li Hongbing and had an automatic alliance with the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai, but also because their families had the best income and conditions in the compound.

Running a public canteen is essentially about equalizing things; if some people benefit, others will suffer losses.

People like Liu Haizhong are also among the obstacles.

As for Yan Bugui himself, he definitely benefited, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the initiative to approach Li Hongbing to test his attitude.

Although Yan Jiecheng has started working, he has not yet been officially hired and is currently receiving apprentice wages. Moreover, his family is large, with many children.

Especially Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang, who are in the stage of growing up and have an unusually large appetite, they always complain that they are not full.

It's said that a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. Yan Bugui feels that he can barely support his sons anymore. If the communal canteen in the courtyard can be established, his life will be much easier.

(End of this chapter)