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

"What's going on? Why are so many people blocking my door?"

Gao Xiaosheng carried the car into the front yard, his words preceding his arrival.

"Gao Xiaosheng, hurry up and tell Yushui to open the door! This girl won't listen to me!"

He Yuzhu and his sister were arguing through the door. He didn't gain any advantage and was left feeling very angry. When he saw Gao Xiaosheng, he ran over and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door.

"Alright, do you think I can run away now?" Gao Xiaosheng shook off He Yuzhu's dirty hand and stood in front of the door looking at Yi Zhonghai.

"Tell me what you want first. Why are you trying to break into my house for no reason?"

"No, an old man said..." He Yuzhu spoke first.

"You can come into my house to inspect the cleanliness, but you can't leave the door unlocked. If you want to inspect, wait until I get off work."

"Remember, wait for me to come back, don't make things difficult for the children."

Gao Xiaosheng decisively stated his position. He had stood in the back room for a while, thinking of a plan before coming in.

"Gao Xiaosheng, the mutual inspection is written in the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee's documents. Are you going against the policy of your superiors?!"

"Old Yan, tell him, is this how it's written in the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee's documents?"

Yi Zhonghai immediately accused Gao Xiaosheng of a serious crime upon his arrival.

Yan Bugui nodded and walked to Yi Zhonghai's side. "That's right, that's exactly what it says. Gao Xiaosheng, you'd better think this over carefully."

"Stop talking nonsense to me," Gao Xiaosheng retorted firmly.

"You've become addicted to deceiving your superiors and subordinates, and to using deceptive tactics, haven't you?"

"Yan Bugui, I'm asking you, does the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee's document state that residents in its jurisdiction are not allowed to lock their doors?"

"Did I stop you from inspecting me? You can come and inspect me anytime I'm home."

"Yi Zhonghai, you said you weren't allowed to lock the door. If something goes missing from my house, will you take responsibility? If you dare to take responsibility, I'll leave the door wide open every day."

This time he was really angry.

In the past, using these beasts to earn lottery chances seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill, but today is different. Gao Xiaosheng genuinely believes that Yi Zhonghai is a complete idiot.

In order to find an opportunity to establish their authority in the courtyard, they actually didn't take safety seriously.

Let alone now, 54 years from now, even decades from now, it hasn't developed to the point where people don't pick up lost items on the road or leave their doors unlocked at night.

The police station is understaffed, but there are thieves and robbers everywhere. Even locking the door might not be enough to keep out thieves, let alone leaving it wide open.

"This...this isn't written in that much detail." Yan Bugui timidly retreated behind Yi Zhonghai.

"Gao Xiaosheng, you're just being unreasonable. When has anything ever been stolen from our yard? There are always people home in the front, middle, and back yards. How could a thief dare to come?"

"If you don't believe me, ask everyone. Has anyone's house been burgled in recent years?"

Yi Zhonghai, on the other hand, was very tough.

"no."

"Indeed, there are many people in our compound, so how could thieves dare to come?"

"Besides, Ruihua is either inside the house comforting the children or sunbathing in the front yard. At most, the thief would just wander around the gate."

"That's right. Me, Sister Guizhen, Ruihua, and Sister-in-law Jia don't usually go out much. If a thief comes, we catch him; if two come, we catch them both."

Long-time residents have spoken out in strong support of Yi Zhonghai.

"Did you hear that? Gao Xiaosheng, our compound is safe."

"No more excuses, huh? Remember this: you're not allowed to lock the door anymore."

Yi Zhonghai felt he had won back a point, and he held his head high, speaking in a tone as if he were giving an order.

Gao Xiaosheng shook his head. "I don't care about safety before, but I absolutely disagree with not locking the door unless you give me a written guarantee that you will be responsible for compensating for any lost items."

In Yi Zhonghai's view, Gao Xiaosheng's attitude was a desperate act of resistance in a hopeless situation. He could neither reason with Gao Xiaosheng nor admit defeat and surrender, and he was forced to fight a decisive battle.

"Everyone heard that, right? Gao Xiaosheng refused to cooperate with the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee's documents without any reason, and obstructed our mutual inspections."

"His actions could very well affect our chances of winning the annual Model Sanitation Resident Group award."

"I suggest we hold a college-wide meeting later to criticize Gao Xiaosheng's outdated thinking."

As soon as Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, Gao Xiaosheng's door opened, and He Yushui stood behind Gao Xiaosheng, pulling down his uniform.

"Brother Sheng, please agree to what Uncle said, or you'll have to write a self-criticism."

Gao Xiaosheng squatted down in front of the door, and He Yushui whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Gao Xiaosheng habitually rubbed Yushui's head, a smile appearing on his face.

"Wait, everyone, listen to me!" Gao Xiaosheng stood up and shouted.

"Inspecting hygiene is the responsibility of the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee, but locking doors is a public security issue, and we must follow the orders of the Public Security Bureau and the local police station."

"If you think it doesn't matter whether you lock the door or not, we can go to the police station and ask them what their attitude is."

"Furthermore, I don't agree with your statement that it's safe as long as there are always people in the compound."

"Forget about professional thieves or pickpockets, I could easily scale this three-meter-high wall. Who can guarantee they'll be watching everyone's gates all the time?"

"If you don't lock the door, a thief can get in if you're not paying attention for just a few seconds."

"After stealing the stuff, we'll open the back window, climb over the wall, and jump out; you won't even see a shadow of us."

Sun Youtian, who had been silent until now, squeezed through the crowd and stood next to Gao Xiaosheng. "That's right, you have to ask the police officers at the police station about this. It has nothing to do with the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee or the street office."

He had wanted to speak up for a long time, but couldn't think of a reasonable rebuttal. He thought Xu Fugui could provide some ideas, but he was scared back by Yi Zhonghai's cold snort.

Sun Youtian's house was always locked. Before Gao Xiaosheng moved in, Yan Bugui often robbed him. If the door were left open, the furniture and the money hidden under the bed would be stolen.

There's a saying that goes, "You can guard against a thousand things, but it's hard to guard against a thief in your own home."

In Sun Youtian's mind, even if all the thieves in the entire city of Beijing were caught, as long as Yan Bugui still lived in the courtyard, the danger would always exist.

Having openly robbed people so many times, is sneaking into a house a big deal?

"Gao Xiaosheng, you're exaggerating too much. Do you really think we're just an ordinary courtyard house with walls barely three meters high?"

"Let me tell you, this wall is at least 3.5 meters high. You think you can just climb it down like that? Are you kidding me!"

When He Yuzhu was a child, he often went to Nancheng to watch acrobatics and even learned wrestling for a while. He thought he had some understanding of all walks of life and did not believe Gao Xiaosheng's words at all.

As for which department is in charge of locking the door, that's none of his business; that's the old man's problem.

His step forward to question Gao Xiaosheng was to let his sister, He Yushui, see clearly that Gao Xiaosheng was a liar who boasted all day long and never told the truth.

"Alright, He Yuzhu, I'll show you. Open your eyes wide and watch carefully."

Gao Xiaosheng wanted to remind his neighbors in the courtyard not to think that just because there are a few old women who don't work, they are safe. If they get robbed, they won't even have time to cry.

Of course, this was also a way for him to lighten his burden. If a thief really did break into the courtyard, the police station would most likely ask him to participate in solving the case.

Since Gao Xiaosheng was a security officer and happened to live in the compound, he was free labor, so why not use him?