The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

Yi Zhonghai looked at Yan Bugui, who was greedy for small gains.

He scoffed inwardly, thinking, "What a spineless coward! How much money is this anyway?" and lost his mind.

The Jia and He families were much simpler; they agreed after just one sentence.

The Xu family is a problem. Yi Zhonghai plans to invite Old Xu out for a drink tomorrow at noon to have a good talk.

The next day, Li Jianguo went out to buy things, pretending to be shopping.

After actually entering the space, I rushed back to the courtyard early in the afternoon, since there was a big show to watch that night.

Sure enough, just as they were about to eat, Liu Guangtian ran to the door and shouted.

"Brother Jianguo, there's a meeting at 6 PM. After dinner, hurry to the Intermediate People's Court."

"Okay, got it," Li Jianguo replied.

"Yaoyao, let's eat quickly, look, the show is about to begin."

That evening, Li Jianguo carried a long bench and led Yao Yao strolling to the central courtyard.

Quite a few people had already arrived, so Li Jianguo found a corner, set up chairs, and the two of them sat down.

At this moment, Xu Damao sneaked over.

"Brother Jianguo, the meeting is going to talk about the old lady in the backyard. I heard from my mom that they're going to have everyone in the yard take turns caring for her. What do you think about that?"

"Da Mao, you don't need to test me anymore. I finally married a beautiful wife, how could I let her go and clean up after that wretched old woman? You agree, right?"

"That's right, my family would never have gone there under any circumstances."

But I don't know what Yi Zhonghai, that childless man, said to my father, and my father actually agreed. How can that be?

"Oh, so that's what happened. Does Yi Zhonghai have some kind of leverage over your father?"

Otherwise, he wouldn't have let his wife serve that old woman.

"I don't think so, but I asked my dad for ages today."

My dad just wouldn't tell, and even kicked me twice in the butt. Tell me, wasn't I wronged?

"Don't worry, Da Mao. If he really dares to make my wife serve that old woman..."

Look how much I smoked Yi Zhonghai cigarettes last night.

Xu Damao's eyes lit up, and he immediately became excited.

"Brother Jianguo, you must be careful of Shazhu. He's now in cahoots with Yi Juehu."

"Don't worry, he's just an idiot."

At this moment, three old men made a grand entrance, each carrying an enamel mug, and sat down at the table in the middle. They really looked very impressive.

Yi Zhonghai tapped the table, and the room immediately fell silent.

Having finally gotten a chance to shine, Liu Haizhong certainly couldn't miss it, so he cleared his throat and began.

"The country's situation this year is very promising, and the first fifth-grade student is progressing very smoothly. I hope everyone will continue to support them. According to national policies..."

This guy with bangs rambled on for about 10 minutes, talking about all sorts of random things.

As the crowd grew impatient, Yi Zhonghai quickly coughed twice to remind him.

Only then did Liu Haizhong stop, still seemingly unsatisfied.

"Next, please welcome our esteemed elder to speak."

"The reason I called everyone here for this meeting today is simply because of the old lady in the backyard."

She was the oldest person in our compound, and also our ancestor, but now she has suffered an accident and is paralyzed due to illness.

As an excellent courtyard house that respects the elderly and cares for the young, it must demonstrate a spirit of dedication.

Everyone for me, and I for everyone. If any problems arise in your family in the future, everyone will lend a helping hand.

Now that our ancestors are in trouble, we can't just stand by and do nothing.

As you all know, my wife has always been in poor health and suffers from heart disease. She often needs to brew and drink medicine. Taking care of her for a long time will also wear down my health, so I have a suggestion here.

Let those who are able lend a hand. Each family can contribute, and one person from each family can take turns caring for the child, one person for one day.

This way, the burden on each family won't be too heavy, and everyone can still show their filial piety. What do you think?

Yi Zhonghai quickly glanced at Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, signaling them to speak.

Liu Haizhong quickly stood up.

"Yes, as the second oldest in the courtyard, I'd like to make my statement here."

We all live in the same compound, so we must actively follow in the old man's footsteps and take care of our neighbors. I agree to all of this.

When Yan Bugui saw that his second uncle had finished speaking, he also stood up.

"Yes, Uncle Yi and Uncle Er are right. As the saying goes, many hands make light work."

This positive opportunity to showcase everyone's excellent character is not to be missed; my family will also contribute.

After hearing the two old men express their opinions, Yi Zhonghai quickly looked at Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu had already discussed it at home: the old lady's money would be left to Yi Zhonghai, and wouldn't Yi Zhonghai's money eventually end up in his own hands anyway? So he had to support it.

"Master is right. As a member of the compound, I wholeheartedly agree."

After seeing Jia Dongxu's statement, Yi Zhonghai nodded in satisfaction and then looked at Sha Zhu.

The old lady became paralyzed, and Sha Zhu was the most heartbroken, so of course he couldn't be left behind.

"Although there are only two people in our family, the old lady's affairs are my affairs, and I will absolutely support her."

"I just hope that during my shifts, I can have my days off. I have to work during the week, and I'll definitely take good care of Grandma."

Upon hearing this, Li Jianguo thought, "This Sha Zhu still has some humanity. I thought he would push He Yushui out, but I didn't expect him to take care of her personally."

Yi Zhonghai was taken aback. It was all his fault for not explaining things clearly yesterday, only saying that they would take turns taking care of each other. He had to quickly make amends.

"Zhu Zi, I know you mean well, but the old lady is a woman after all."

It's not very convenient for a man to take care of things, so I think we should just let the rainwater do it.

The rain has gotten quite heavy, so it's time to do some housework.

Yi Zhonghai quickly downplayed the issue, only mentioning taking care of the child. If he were to actually say that Yu Shui, a half-grown child, was being cared for by the compound, the compound would probably not accept it.

He Yuzhu was taken aback, then realized it was indeed inconvenient for a grown man like himself, so he immediately changed his mind.

"Yes, the old man is right. Yes, I will let the rain go."

When Li Jianguo saw Yu Shui, she gritted her teeth and didn't say a word, her eyes already filled with tears.

Rain thought to herself, "In the past, when my silly brother was fooled, he wouldn't listen to any of my advice, so I stopped bothering with him."

They've schemed against me. I'll have to write a letter to He Daqing, and then they'll make me take care of a paralyzed old woman. What a disgusting person.

Seeing that He Yushui did not object, Yi Zhonghai looked in the direction of the Xu family.

Mr. Xu gritted his teeth and remained silent, but Mrs. Xu stepped forward and said something.

"We agree."

Seeing that the Xu family had agreed, Mediterranean once again set its sights on Li Jianguo.

At this moment, all eyes in the hospital, following Yi Zhonghai, turned to Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo also stood up.

"The old lady is paralyzed, and I feel bad about it too."

However, everyone says that the old lady used to be a wealthy person from the old regime, and now everyone is helping to take care of her.

This can be considered as providing for the old lady in her old age and seeing her off in her final days. Will her estate be divided equally afterward?