The Courtyard House: He Yuzhu Returns with Boundless Hatred for Revenge

Yan Bugui felt a buzzing in his head, his vision went black for a moment, and he almost fainted on the spot. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the desk next to him to barely steady himself.

Dismissal from public office? Revocation of teaching qualification? He thought he had misheard, or rather, he wished he had. He thought at most he would be demoted, given a demerit, or worse, transferred to guard the gate or clean toilets—he would accept any of that! As long as he could keep this secure job and earn about twenty yuan a month, his family could barely make ends meet.

But what is he doing now? Yan Bugui is no longer a teacher, no longer a government employee, and he can forget about finding a decent job! His stable monthly income of 47.5 yuan is gone! His family of six depends entirely on that salary! Without that money, what will they eat? What will happen to his children? Isn't this forcing his entire family to starve to death?!

That's not fair! This is not fair!!

Yan Bugui instantly lost his mind. Where was the usual smiling, calculating expression on the old man's face? Now his face was ferocious and extremely distorted, like a jackal driven to the brink of despair.

"Why should I? I'm just the third uncle in that courtyard! I'm just a nobody, you know? The affairs in the courtyard are all decided by those two old geezers, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong! They're the eldest and second eldest uncles! Whatever they say, I just chime in and express my opinion at most!"

Why is it that they only get a demotion and a reprimand at the steel mill, but when it comes to me, I'm fired? They even want to revoke my teaching certificate! Is that fair? This is unfair! You're trying to drive my whole family to ruin!

With his finger almost poking the principal's nose, he shouted, "I, Yan Bugui, have worked at this school for so many years. Even if I haven't done anything outstanding, I've certainly put in a lot of effort, right? And this is how you treat me? I won't accept this! I'm going to appeal! I'll appeal to the bureau, I'll appeal to the district! I refuse to believe that there's no place in this world where justice can be served!"

Yan Bugui appeared to be insane, completely losing his reason. Or rather, his mind was now completely filled with unknown fear, and he had no idea what to do next or how to support his entire family.

The principal sat quietly, watching him rage, without getting angry, but feeling a bit of sympathy, and even more so, helplessness. It wasn't until Yan Bugui was exhausted from shouting and could no longer speak that the principal slowly opened his mouth.

"Old Yan," the principal sighed, "we've been working together since this school was founded. Don't you understand things? Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Yan Bugui stared intently at the principal, not understanding what he meant.

The principal pointed in the direction of the steel rolling mill. "They are the glorious working class! As long as they don't commit open crimes or involve life-threatening issues like enemy spies, the country will give them a chance to reform! Do you understand?"

He paused, then glanced at Yan Bugui's face: "And you? Old Yan, what's your class background?"

Yan Bugui trembled all over.

"You're just a small business owner, someone to be united and reformed, not someone to be relied upon. Besides, you and I are both teachers from the old days, both stinking intellectuals!"

"How can you compare to them? They have powerful connections; even if they make mistakes, it's considered an internal conflict. What about us? We already carry that mark! We're always on our guard, keeping a low profile, afraid of being caught doing anything wrong. And you, on the other hand..."

The principal gave a wry smile, then pointed to his own nose. "Look at me, Lao Yan. I'm the principal on the surface, the head of the school. But at this branch meeting about you, I was only allowed to attend as an observer; I didn't even have the right to speak! I reckon my time as principal is almost up."

He sighed deeply, his tone mournful, "Don't you really have any self-awareness? How many teachers' college graduates are assigned jobs every year in Beijing these days? They're young, with impeccable credentials. We teachers from the old days are already on their replacement list! They just can't find an excuse yet! Everyone else is avoiding this like the plague, afraid of getting involved in any trouble, but you, you've walked right into the line of fire! You've caused such a huge mess, if you don't die, who will?"

"Old Yan, listen to my advice. Go back and behave yourself. Stop causing trouble. Quickly think of a way out. Stop thinking about appealing; it's useless. If you keep making trouble... I'm afraid your whole family might not even be able to stay in Beijing."

"That's all I have to say." The principal leaned back wearily in his chair and waved his hand. "You'd better take care of yourself. Now, go and complete the formalities."

Yan Bugui stood there, dumbfounded. So, from the very beginning, he was different from Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong. He thought that by virtue of his status as a primary school teacher and his cunning, he had managed to become a respected elder in the courtyard, maintaining a certain level of authority both at the school and in the courtyard, and thus truly be on equal footing with them.

How laughable! Truly laughable! All that scheming and cleverness has led to nothing but ruin. He calculated everything, yet failed to foresee the hat he could never remove from his own head!

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found he had nothing to say. Without even saying goodbye, he turned around and slowly moved out of the principal's office.

He went to the finance department, signed the papers, and received a small stack of money. This might be the last time in his life that he would receive money from the government as a teacher.

Yan Bugui walked mechanically back to the courtyard house at number 95. When he reached the gate, Aunt Yang Ruihua was waiting there, looking out. She had hidden all night, and only dared to go out this afternoon after hearing that everyone had been released. Seeing her husband return from afar, she rushed to greet him, grabbing his arm. "Old Yan, you're finally back! How did it go? What did the school say?"

Her face was filled with anxiety. She had just learned from others that everyone in the steel mill had been demoted, especially Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai, whose punishments were the most severe. She didn't know how her old man was doing. If he was demoted too, he really wouldn't even get thirty-two and a half yuan.

Yan Bugui seemed not to hear anything, nor did he look at her. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, as if he had lost his soul, and he walked directly into the house. He reached the bed in the innermost room, sat down stiffly, and remained motionless.

"Say something!" Yang Ruihua was so anxious she was jumping up and down, pushing his shoulder. "What exactly did the school do? How many grades were they demoted? Will their salary be deducted this month? How much? This is driving me crazy! Just say something!"

After asking for a while, Yan Bugui slowly looked at Yang Ruihua, his lips trembled a few times, and finally he uttered a few words: "I've been expelled from school."