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

Chapter 27 Pillar of Shame

Things have come to this point, and the feud between the Jia and Yi families is now completely established. Li Hongbing has no need to be polite to Jia Dongxu.

In fact, the cause and effect were already formed long ago when Yi Zhonghai acted as a matchmaker for the Jia family and was rejected by Li Hongmei.

From then on, Jia Zhangshi often spoke ill of her and her brother behind their backs, wantonly slandering them.

only.

Li Hongmei can't control what others say behind her back. As long as they don't say it to her face or let her hear it, she can only pretend not to know.

Yi Zhonghai, as the eldest elder in the courtyard, knowingly turned a blind eye to these matters due to his own selfishness, thus condoning Jia Zhangshi's evil deeds.

If he had intervened, the feud between the two families wouldn't have been so deep, and Li Hongbing wouldn't have treated him that way.

It's one thing for others, but Yi Zhonghai is, after all, the head of the courtyard, and he has such a close relationship with the Jia family.

No matter how good other people think of Yi Zhonghai, in the eyes of Li Hongmei and Li Hongbing, this old man is unfair.

The taking of Jia Zhangshi away for reform marked the beginning of Li Hongbing's counterattack and heralded the arrival of war.

In the end, Li Hongbing naturally emerged victorious.

Now that Yi Zhonghai's position as the "big boss" of the School of Management has been removed, it can only be blamed on his own arrogance. After serving as the "big boss" of the School of Management for several years, he really started to think of himself as a big shot.

With the old man's aura fading, Jia Dongxu probably won't have the confidence to be as arrogant as before!

Not to mention that Li Hongbing wouldn't tolerate the master and apprentice, the attitude of the people in the courtyard towards them would probably change.

Faced with Li Hongbing's provocation, Jia Dongxu naturally wanted to retort, but given the current situation, any harsh words he uttered would seem pale and powerless.

“Hongbing, you’ve ruined Grandpa’s position as the head of the hospital. I think we should just let this matter rest. Let’s wipe the slate clean of any past grievances. What do you say?”

During the stalemate, Sha Zhu suddenly stepped forward to act as a peacemaker.

Sha Zhu did this not for Jia Dongxu, but for Li Hongbing and Yi Zhonghai.

Both sides were people who had been kind to him, and regardless of who was right or wrong, Sha Zhu didn't want to see them turn against each other.

No one asked him to do anything, but feeling caught in the middle, Sha Zhu felt extremely uncomfortable.

“Silly Zhu, you’re wrong about that.”

Li Hongbing was not surprised by Sha Zhu's "stepping forward," but shook his head and said, "Yi Zhonghai's position as the head of the management department was not lost because of me, but because of his own problems."

Li Hongbing is not going to take the blame for this.

Perhaps it has something to do with him, but if Yi Zhonghai hadn't made a mistake himself, would Secretary Yang have dismissed his supervisor?
To be honest, Li Hongbing doesn't have that much power yet.

Having met Sha Zhu a few times, Li Hongbing knew what Sha Zhu was thinking, so he said to him, "Sha Zhu, I know you regard Yi Zhonghai as your elder, but I need to tell you something."

Whether it was Jia Zhangshi being taken away for ideological study and reform before, or Yi Zhonghai being dismissed from his post as the head of the institute this time, it was never me who started the trouble.

My sister and I have always been law-abiding and kind to everyone. We have never provoked the Jia family or Yi Zhonghai.

On the contrary, Jia Zhangshi has repeatedly spread rumors behind my back, saying bad things about me and my sister, and ruining my sister's reputation everywhere. This has obviously not been a one-day or two-day thing.

As for why, I think everyone knows the answer.

Then there's Yi Zhonghai, the eldest elder in the courtyard and also Jia Dongxu's mentor. He turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to Jia Zhangshi's evil deeds, indulging her without any regard for her responsibilities as the head of the courtyard.

If it weren't for Yi Zhonghai backing up the Jia family in the courtyard, would Jia Zhangshi dare to act so recklessly and do whatever she wanted?
Yi Zhonghai bears a great deal of responsibility in this matter.

As for the subsequent large-scale meetings, the unauthorized establishment of a court, and the abuse of power, I won't go into details; everyone is clearly aware of that. From beginning to end, it was the master and disciple, mother and son, who went too far in bullying others. Their current predicament is entirely their own doing; they deserve what they got, and it has nothing to do with me.”

Li Hongbing said these things not only to Sha Zhu, but also to everyone in the courtyard.

If these things aren't explained clearly, some of them probably won't even be able to distinguish right from wrong. Just now they were investigating Yi Zhonghai for some "whistleblowing" matter, which is simply laughable.

It's a very simple logic, but some people just can't understand it or grasp the key point.

Some people are pretending to be confused, while others are genuinely confused.

Even after all this, people still think Yi Zhonghai is a good person!

Being soft-hearted towards the enemy is being cruel to yourself.

After Yi Zhonghai's downfall, Li Hongbing not only wanted to humiliate him but also condemn him to the pillory of shame, leaving him no room for redemption.

Everyone fell silent, even Sha Zhu couldn't utter a word.

Li Hongbing laid out the truth clearly in front of them; if they still didn't wake up, they would become a laughing stock.

Some things you won't understand unless you experience them yourself, let alone truly empathize with.

However, as Li Hongbing recounted all that he and his siblings had endured, everyone began to realize that the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai had indeed gone too far.

Li Hongbing doesn't need their sympathy, but he wants them to understand right from wrong.

“Oh dear! Hongbing, why didn’t you speak up sooner about these grievances? I really didn’t know that Jia Zhangshi had gone to such an extreme. As the second eldest uncle in the courtyard, I failed in my duty and I apologize to you here!”

For a moment, no one knew what to say, but Xu Fugui, the senior member of the management department, broke the silence first and took the initiative to apologize.

Seeing this, Liu Haizhong could only copy the homework and said dejectedly, "I also apologize. As the third uncle, I also bear responsibility for this."

In the past two or three days, he has apologized and made self-criticisms in public countless times; he's almost numb with exhaustion.

But if what Li Hongbing just said is true, and Yi Zhonghai, this old man, has a problem, then shouldn't the other old men in the management department also bear some responsibility?
In the matter of Jia Zhangshi, they were equally indifferent.

"You two are too kind. It's mainly my fault for not speaking out about these grievances sooner. But back then, Yi Zhonghai was the oldest man in the compound, and even if I had spoken out, it probably would have been suppressed..."

Knowing that Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong were not sincerely apologizing, Li Hongbing not only did not pursue their "oversight," but also took the initiative to give them a way out.

Compared to Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family mother and son who colluded, Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong, the caretakers of the courtyard, were not as despicable as they were in their duties.

At least before this, Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong had never deliberately made things difficult for the siblings.

Inaction is simply dereliction of duty.

Their feud with the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai was a personal vendetta.

At this critical juncture, there's no need to embarrass them, make things difficult for them, or create enemies everywhere.

Seeing that Li Hongbing was so easy to talk to and even offered him a way out, Xu Fugui breathed a sigh of relief and instantly found the troublesome Li Hongbing much more agreeable.

In return for the favor, and also in order to quickly establish his new authority, Xu Fugui soon addressed the people in the courtyard: "This matter is very alarming for us. We must learn from Yi Zhonghai's experience and never repeat the same mistake."

Now that Yi Zhonghai's position as the head of the management has been taken back, I will be the new head of the management, and Old Liu will be the second head.

From today onwards, no place for filth or disgrace will be allowed in our courtyard. As the courtyard manager appointed by the police station, I, Xu Fugui, will do my best to do my job well and serve everyone.

Please keep an eye on us in the future, and please point out and forgive any shortcomings in our work…

(End of this chapter)