69novels Chapter 997 Yan Bugui Talks to Liu Haizhong
Chapter 997 Yan Bugui Talks to Liu Haizhong
Yi Zhonghai watched Yan Bugui hurry towards the front yard, the polite smile on his face slowly fading. A calculating glint flashed deep in his eyes, like a needle tip chilled to the bone in winter, making one shudder. He slowly turned the walnuts in his hand, the soft "crackling" sound particularly clear in the quiet alley, but he couldn't help but chuckle to himself: This show is going to be quite a spectacle.
He turned and walked back home, his steps light and his face showing a relieved joy—now everything was ready, he just needed to sit back and wait and see, and the remaining messy affairs had nothing to do with him.
Yan Bugui walked towards the front yard, and as he passed the middle yard, he couldn't help but sniffle—the aroma of food wafting from Gu Nan's house made his stomach rumble. There was the smell of meat and a hint of sweet fruit; it seemed the things Xu Damao had given him had come in handy. He felt even more annoyed, muttering to himself: "What a ungrateful person! He enjoys his own meal so much, doesn't he even share with the neighbors? He has no human touch at all!"
He had originally intended to go to Gu Nan's house to ask for something, even just a piece of candy for the child to satisfy his craving. However, as soon as he reached the door, he was intimidated by the glare of the black dog. When Gu Nan came out, he remained indifferent, not mentioning sharing anything. He had no choice but to slink away. Naturally, he put the blame on Gu Nan.
Upon arriving at Liu Haizhong's door, Yan Bugui hesitated for a moment before raising his hand to knock. Actually, the two families hadn't been on good terms lately. Although Liu Haizhong was now the eldest son in the courtyard, Yan Bugui still harbored a grudge—
When the government issued the quota for sending people to the countryside, it was originally Liu Haizhong's son, Liu Guangtian. However, that rascal didn't know what was good for him and got into fights and committed crimes, ending up in prison. So, the quota naturally fell to his family. His son, Yan Jiecheng, was sent to the countryside just like that.
Thinking of this, Yan Bugui felt a pang of heartache, his brows furrowed like a twisted rope. These days, sending city kids to the countryside was like throwing carefully selected seeds into barren land; whether they could take root and sprout, whether they could return to the city, depended entirely on fate. Most of them would spend their entire lives in those desolate, impoverished rural areas, toiling in the fields, with little chance of ever benefiting from city life again.
What's more, his household registration would also have to be transferred. Once transferred, he would be completely cut off from his family, and he would lose a significant amount of money when receiving winter vegetables, cloth coupons, and grain coupons from the backyard. Yan Bugui had always been meticulous about saving money and couldn't bear to lose even a penny. The thought of losing that substantial welfare payment made his heart ache as if a piece of flesh had been ripped out.
As for whether his children would suffer in the countryside or whether they could endure the hardship, Yan Bugui considered that secondary—he still had three children of school age waiting to be fed, and if one was gone, the porridge in the pot would be a little thicker, so he could consider it as sending them to the countryside for "re-education" and easing the burden on the family. But the tangible loss was the real source of his heartache.
"Who is it?" came Liu Haizhong's slightly hoarse voice from inside the house, tinged with impatience.
Yan Bugui took a deep breath, temporarily putting aside his thoughts, cleared his throat, and called out, "Old Liu, it's me, Yan Bugui. I have something important to discuss with you."
Although he still remembered the argument he had with Liu Haizhong a while ago over the coal distribution—that old bastard had taken an extra two pounds of good coal because he was the boss, and he was so angry that he didn't speak to him for several days—the thought of dealing with that arrogant Xu Damao made this old grudge seem insignificant and not worth keeping in mind.
Yan Bugui straightened the wrinkles on his shirt, making sure the faded jacket looked presentable, before raising his hand to knock on Liu Haizhong's wooden door. The "thump, thump, thump" sound was neither too loud nor too soft, and was particularly clear in the quiet courtyard where the sun was rising higher, each knock a rhythmic tap.
The person who opened the door was Liu Haizhong, who was still clutching a chipped enamel mug in his hand, the strong tea inside almost cold. When he saw Yan Bugui standing at the door, he was clearly taken aback, and his furrowed brows tightened even more—he had thought it was that kid Xu Damao.
That morning, the gossipy neighbors in the courtyard said that Xu Damao had bought a lot of good stuff from outside—canned goods and steamed rice cakes filled a whole bag. He figured it was probably to apologize to him, this "old man," for the trouble he'd caused by deliberately cutting out scenes of the good guys from the movie a while back. He waited and waited, his ears practically perked up like radar, and when he heard a knock on the door, he thought the person in question had finally arrived. But it turned out to be Yan Bugui.
"Old Yan? What brings you here?" Liu Haizhong stepped aside to let him in, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised doubt. He glanced at the courtyard gate out of the corner of his eye, his anticipation of Xu Damao bringing gifts practically written all over his face.
Yan Bugui stepped over the threshold with a smile, and before even sitting down, he began to recount, with exaggerated details, how Xu Damao had rushed to Gu Nan's house with his things and even publicly contradicted Yi Zhonghai. Finally, he stared at Liu Haizhong and asked, "Old Liu, tell me, did Xu Damao do the right thing? Does he even respect us elders?"
At first, Liu Haizhong didn't pay much attention, but when he heard that "Xu Damao gave everything to Gu Nan," his face immediately darkened. Wasn't this blatantly saying that in Xu Damao's heart, he, the "Third Uncle," was not as important as Gu Nan? Although Gu Nan was the deputy director of the steel rolling mill, Liu Haizhong was still a respected elder in the courtyard, and this disrespect made him extremely angry.
But then he thought, Gu Nan is the deputy factory director, he holds real power, and I'm just an ordinary worker, what can I compare to him? His confidence immediately waned. He picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of hot water, and mumbled, "Old Yan, what do you want to say to me at this time? Besides, it's Xu Damao's freedom to give the things to whomever he wants, why should I interfere in such matters?"
Yan Bugui could easily see through the perfunctory tone in his words, and chuckled inwardly: "Keep pretending, he's just waiting for me to make the first move, isn't he?" He leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Old Liu, you're mistaken. If Xu Damao hadn't insisted on being the one to stick his neck out and show that open-air movie, would so much trouble have arisen? Even Aunt Jia got injured. It's only right that he buys things to apologize; he should at least show some appreciation to the elders in the courtyard first, right? It's simple and clear, don't you agree?"
Liu Haizhong had been holding back his anger, just waiting for Yan Bugui to say those words. Now that Yan had spoken up, he immediately perked up, slamming his enamel mug on the table: "What you said makes sense. But then again, this kid only has eyes for Deputy Factory Director Gu now, and the rest of us are probably beneath his notice. What do you think we should do? We can't just let this go like this, letting him think we elders are easy to bully."