I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

Since becoming the captain of the street propaganda team, Liu Haizhong has spent all his time in the street except for reporting to the steel mill every morning.

In order to demonstrate his political awareness and special status, in addition to performing the loyalty dance during working hours, he would also perform it once a day in the front yard when he returned to the courtyard house.

No one in the courtyard dared not to jump.

Everyone knew that if everyone else was dancing and you weren't, you'd immediately be labeled as "outdated in thought and having an incorrect stance," a label no one could bear. Over time, dancing the loyalty dance at a set time after get off work every day became an unwritten rule in the courtyard that no one dared to break.

The front yard was already full of all the residents.

Liu Guangtian rushed forward and shouted, "He's here! Captain Liu is here!"

The noisy courtyard fell silent instantly.

Liu Haizhong strode to the front of the crowd, stretched his arms and twisted his waist, did a few simple exercises, and then took the lead in shouting slogans, leading the entire courtyard, young and old, to earnestly dance the loyalty dance.

In a corner of the courtyard, two people stood alone, forbidden from participating and only allowed to observe.

One was Lou Xiao'e, a capitalist by birth, a true member of the "Five Black Categories," and therefore ineligible to participate in revolutionary activities; the other was Yan Bugui, a schoolteacher who was classified as a "stinking intellectual" and was similarly excluded.

These were all rules specially arranged by Liu Haizhong, who ordered the two of them to be present and stand there every day.

Ostensibly, the purpose was to let them observe, learn, be influenced, reform their thinking, and urge them to make progress. In reality, it was just a pretext to show off his authority in front of all the residents.

Everyone was dancing in unison to the rhythm, looking quite professional, when Liu Haizhong suddenly stopped.

Everyone in the hospital stopped in their tracks, looking at him with puzzled expressions, wondering what fault he was going to find this time.

Liu Haizhong, his face grim, strode up to Yi Zhonghai and scolded him with a frown: "Old Yi, what's wrong with you? Your movements are crooked and sloppy; it's obvious you have the wrong mindset! Your attitude is problematic!"

Yi Zhonghai looked wronged and quickly explained, "How did I not do it correctly? I followed your movements the whole time. I dance like this during all the factory's group activities, and no one has ever said it was wrong!"

"You dare talk back?"

Liu Haizhong had always wanted to suppress Yi Zhonghai's prestige in the courtyard, and now that he had the chance, he immediately put on a forceful show of force: "I said you're not up to standard, and you are! You dare to talk back to me?"

Sha Zhu, standing at the back of the crowd, couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "Captain Liu, Grandpa Yi's jump was flawless! It was exactly the same as yours from beginning to end! If his jump wasn't perfect, then your leading move wasn't perfect either!"

Liu Haizhong's face instantly darkened, and he shouted angrily, "Shazhu! What nonsense are you spouting! I practiced my movements over and over again, stayed up several nights in a row to hone them, and even Director Li nodded in approval! You're deliberately stirring up trouble and slandering a revolutionary cadre!"

"That's easy!" Sha Zhu retorted, his voice booming. "I'll go home and get a mirror. You can dance it again in front of everyone, and we'll compare our performances right there and then it'll be clear whether you're right or wrong! Everyone agrees, right?"

The residents of the courtyard were already forced to dance every day, harboring a bellyful of resentment but daring not to speak out. Now that someone had taken the lead, they immediately echoed, "Yes! That's right! Let's compare them on the spot!"

Seeing that everyone in the hospital was going against him, Liu Haizhong became furious and pointed at them, roaring, "Fine, fine! You all think you're right, huh? Starting tomorrow, every morning before work, there will be an extra 'loyalty dance' in the hospital! No one is allowed to miss it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of quiet complaints filled the courtyard, everyone feeling frustrated and resentful.

Sha Zhu continued to retort, "Captain Liu, with all that energy and ruthlessness, don't just torment our own people! Go outside and use your skills on the neighbors; it's so unfair to bully our old neighbors!"

"I'm not fair?" Liu Haizhong glared at Sha Zhu, his tone aggressive. "I've been more than lenient with our department! Based on what you just said, in any other department, I would have dragged you out for a public denunciation!"

"And there's the deaf old lady in the backyard! Elsewhere, no matter how old she is, she'd crawl over here to dance and be reformed! I've been kind enough to you!"

Liu Haizhong knew in his heart that he couldn't touch Sha Zhu at all right now.

Sha Zhu works in the steel mill canteen, and he also has a job personally arranged by Li Jing'an: to keep an eye on the former leaders who have been sent down to the countryside.

But he knew Sha Zhu's weakness all too well—of all the people in the hospital, Sha Zhu protected the deaf old lady the most, followed by Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai.

He specifically brought up the old lady to precisely target Sha Zhu.

Sure enough, Sha Zhu's face turned pale and then red after hearing this.

He knew perfectly well that Liu Haizhong, with his petty and shrewish character, was capable of doing something truly despicable, like harassing the old lady. But he was also a man who cared a lot about his reputation, and being publicly humiliated made him resentful and want to continue arguing.

Yi Zhonghai, who was standing next to him, was so anxious that he kept giving him meaningful glances and waving his hands to dissuade him. Qin Huairu also quickly and quietly grabbed his clothes and held him tightly.

After several attempts to stop him, Sha Zhu swallowed back the tough words that were on the tip of his tongue and could only swallow his anger.

Seeing Sha Zhu publicly humiliated and admit defeat, Liu Haizhong was as smug as a victorious rooster, puffing out his chest and looking around arrogantly at the entire audience.

"Alright, that's enough for today! I have something important to report!"

He cleared his throat and announced loudly, "A large-scale revolutionary propaganda event will be held at the street corner tomorrow afternoon! Everyone in the compound who isn't at work must attend, not a single one is allowed to miss it! After the event, there will be a public denunciation rally. Our neighborhood has recently identified several people with problematic histories, and they will be publicly criticized tomorrow! Yan Bugui and Lou Xiao'e, be there on time tomorrow to be denounced alongside them!"

Upon hearing this, Lou Xiao'e and Yan Bugui's faces instantly turned ashen, their eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

They had already experienced this kind of "accompanying in battle" job many times before.

Nominally, it's about being educated and having one's mind reformed by observing, but in reality, it's about standing on the sidelines being pointed at, glared at, and scolded, enduring all sorts of humiliation, and there's no escaping it even once.

Yan Bugui steeled himself and stepped forward, pleading cautiously, "Captain Liu, I have classes to attend tomorrow. Could you please make an exception for me?"

"Make an exception?" Liu Haizhong retorted coldly, "What time is it? You're still thinking about teaching! Your top priority right now is to accept education from the masses, admit your mistakes, reflect on your actions, and reform your thinking!"

After a reprimand, Yan Bugui trembled and turned pale, not daring to utter another word in rebuttal.

Liu Haizhong snorted coldly, deliberately staring at Sha Zhu, and added, "Oh, and the deaf old lady, she must also be present on time tomorrow. No absences allowed!"

After saying that, he turned his head, straightened his back, and walked away.

Sha Zhu was instantly enraged and was about to chase after him to argue, but Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu were so frightened that they held him back tightly, afraid that he would act impulsively and cause a huge disaster.

Sha Zhu watched helplessly as Liu Haizhong walked away triumphantly, his anger finding nowhere to vent, and he finally slumped down in despair.

He knew perfectly well that, given the current situation, he had no chance against the smug Liu Haizhong.

Seeing this, the people in the front yard also sighed and dispersed.

Sha Zhu, feeling deeply aggrieved, remained silent and walked with Lou Xiao'e towards the deaf old lady's house in the backyard.

Sha Zhu looked troubled and sighed softly, "Xiao'e, how am I supposed to bring this up with the old lady?"

Lou Xiao'e gently comforted her, "Just tell the truth. You can't fight city hall. The old lady is very sensible and understands everything; she won't overthink it."

Sha Zhu was extremely annoyed: "He ruined our perfectly good day! We were planning to get our marriage certificate tomorrow, and now it's completely delayed. I'm so sorry."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lou Xiao'e shook her head and said gently, "I'm the one who should apologize. I've dragged you down. I have a bad family background and I'm a divorcee, but you don't look down on me and treat me sincerely. I'm already content."

"There's a big meeting tomorrow, so please be careful. I have to work at the factory tomorrow, so I won't be able to protect you," Sha Zhu said with a worried expression.

Lou Xiao'e, on the contrary, took it all in stride and gently reassured her, "It's alright, just focus on your work. I'm used to these kinds of situations; it's just a formality. I've been through this many times before, nothing bad will happen."

Sha Zhu remained silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's change the date and get our marriage certificate the day after tomorrow."