Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

"Xiao Zhang, this lock... there's nothing wrong with it. Take another look, maybe you're seeing things."

Yi Zhonghai knew that Jia Zhangshi was definitely up to something again.

Even if he had to bite the bullet, he had to step in and help out, otherwise it would really be seen as Jia Zhangshi being unreasonable and the three stewards acting as her protectors.

"Uncle Yi, there's no need to look closely."

Officer Zhang shoved the padlock directly into Yi Zhonghai's hand.

"The locks used by the subdistrict office were obtained by Director Wang from your Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill working group at the beginning of this year after he begged and pleaded with them. They are all Sanhuan brand brass padlocks produced by Chengming Lock Factory."

"Look at this one in your hand, it's an iron padlock, and it costs three times more!"

It's not that Officer Zhang is petty or trying to find fault.

The neighborhood committee is really poor.

Without careful budgeting, it's impossible to make ends meet.

To put it bluntly, they are no different from Su Qier, who was "begging by imperial decree".

Director Wang's most important task every day is to understand the latest situation of the surrounding factories, see if there is any opportunity to help out in small ways, and incidentally solicit donations.

Since its establishment, the subdistrict office has been very stingy with the allocations from higher authorities, yet its expenditure items have been increasing.

Repairing houses within the jurisdiction is the biggest money-devouring beast, a bottomless pit.

Don't be fooled by the considerable rent they receive each month; the money is enough for minor repairs and replacing roof tiles.

Those courtyards that have been uninhabited for years, with roof beams almost rotten from insects, are not much cheaper to repair to the point of being habitable than to build a new courtyard.

We can't leave it unrepaired; we have a task to complete.

To successfully achieve the goals of the First Five-Year Plan, factories throughout Beijing are expanding production and recruiting workers. The existing number of public rental housing units is clearly insufficient, and it's unacceptable for newly recruited workers to sleep under bridges.

The higher-ups set a fixed repair quota, but never mentioned money. When pressed, they just said, "If we have money, what's the point of having a street office? The district can do the repairs itself."

To put it simply, according to Director Wang's requirements, this batch of brass padlocks must serve for at least ten years, not a single day less.

Even the small red flag hanging under the eaves of the "hygiene model family" has no intention of being replaced within three years. Even if it has to endure wind, rain and sun, it must stand guard for three years.

You think that's all? How naive!

As we all know, fabrics will fade if exposed to the sun for too long.

Director Wang's idea is that in three years, the flags will be almost completely white from the sun, and then they can be used as small white flags to hang at the doors of residents whose hygiene does not meet the standards.

If the director is this frugal, how could Secretary Zhang accept the "huge" cost of losing a brass padlock for no reason?

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he almost cursed, glaring fiercely at Jia Zhangshi.

Let alone just a sister-in-law with whom he had shared sexual relations, even if his wife Wu Guizhen did something so irresponsible and a hindrance at a crucial moment, Yi Zhonghai would still berate her for three days and three nights.

"He's an old man, I...I..."

Jia Zhangshi wanted to say something in her defense, but she couldn't find a suitable excuse.

"Dongxu, give Xiao Zhang ten thousand yuan. If the lock is lost, just pay for it. There's nothing else to say."

Yi Zhonghai pointed at Jia Zhangshi twice, too lazy to listen to her fabricated lies, and turned to instruct his apprentice Jia Dongxu.

"Master, all the money at home... my mom keeps it all. I don't know anything about her..."

Jia Dongxu dawdled until Yi Zhonghai's eyes were practically spitting fire, then reluctantly rummaged through his pockets, finding only eight thousand yuan in total.

"Master, I'm here."

"Alright, give it to me. I'll cover the shortfall of two thousand for you."

Yi Zhonghai gripped the corner of the coin, pulled his arm back, and...hmm? He didn't come back.

Upon closer inspection, Jia Dongxu was gripping the other hand tightly with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging out.

He couldn't bear to part with it; it was half a month's worth of cigarettes. If he really handed it over, Jia Zhangshi definitely wouldn't make up for it. He would either have to ask his coworkers for cigarettes, or he would have to roll leaves to satisfy his craving.

"Let go!" Yi Zhonghai squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth.

Jia Dongxu shuddered in fright and could only watch helplessly as his seven packs of economy cigarettes drifted away.

"Xiao Zhang, you must be laughing at us. The Jia family is a widow and her son. If they don't manage their lives carefully, they won't be able to support the family. Please bear with them."

"Keep the money safe. Buy a brass padlock and hand it in tomorrow."

Yi Zhonghai tucked the change into his pocket, then pulled out a 10,000-yuan banknote with a horse-herding scene from his pocket and handed it to Officer Zhang.

"Okay, Uncle Yi, I have something to let you know in advance. The neighborhood committee may organize a construction team to chisel out a door for the vacant single rooms in a while. Please keep an eye on things and make sure no one smashes the neighborhood committee's lock again."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll definitely keep them in line and make sure they don't damage public property. Take care, Xiao Zhang." Yi Zhonghai readily agreed.

Gao Xiaosheng couldn't let Zhang leave like that; he had to help him out some more.

It's not that one person can't defeat this group of beasts alone, but there's an easier way, so why choose the difficult one?

"Officer Zhang, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead and say it." Officer Zhang immediately stopped and turned to look at Gao Xiaosheng.

"Now, are the neighborhood watch members—no, I mean the active members of the community security team—allowed to conduct searches of residents at will?"

"Has the security situation in Beijing deteriorated to this extent?" Gao Xiaosheng asked with a frown and a serious tone.

"What? Who told you that? That's not true!" Officer Zhang shook his head repeatedly in denial.

"Don't even mention now, even during Dieter's most rampant 50 years, we didn't conduct large-scale searches of ordinary people."

"Comrade Gao Xiaosheng, who told you this news? Tell me, I need to investigate whether he has ulterior motives."

"They want to disrupt our stable and united situation."

If it were anyone else asking this question, Officer Zhang wouldn't be so nervous, but Gao Xiaosheng is different.

He has a criminal record.

Jia Zhangshi only let out a couple of howls, asking her deceased husband to come back and see her. Gao Xiaosheng immediately concluded that the city of Beijing was indulging in superstition and even wanted his comrades from the Northeast to come and worship the Fox and Weasel Immortals.

If this isn't explained clearly, Gao Xiaosheng will have to call over all his demobilized comrades from his regiment, or even the entire division, to maintain order.

"Ask Yi Zhonghai, he told me." Gao Xiaosheng pointed.

"Officer Zhang, you know I'm new to Beijing and there are many things I don't know."

"After buying furniture and daily necessities in the afternoon, I was about to enter the hospital when Yan Bugui stopped me..."

"Look, when you arrived, they were holding a college-wide meeting to criticize me."

Gao Xiaosheng recounted the entire plot, including the parts that Officer Zhang was unaware of.

Officer Zhang nodded, then looked at Yi Zhonghai with a serious expression. "Uncle Yi, when did the community security activists become allowed to search the residents' quarters? How come I didn't know?"

Yi Zhonghai looked blankly at Officer Zhang, then at Yan Bugui, and said, "Zhang, that's what it says in the police station's documents."

"I remember it clearly. It was a document issued in 51. Our institute even held a meeting to discuss it."

Officer Zhang was stunned. "Really? There's such a document? Uncle Yi, do you remember the details?"