Yi Zhong Hai's eyes twirled after listening to Liu Hai Zhong's complaints. He was known for his straightforward personality and upright conduct, but secretly, he was a hypocritical hypocrite, cunning and shrewd.
Considering Lu De Min's position working at the Military Control Station, Yi Zhong Hai was afraid of facing complaints from the station's leaders. Naturally, he wouldn't foolishly choose a direct confrontation.
"That country bumpkin is disrespectful and doesn't know any better. I'll go and invite our wise Ancestor to teach him a lesson!"
Liu Hai Zhong's eyes lit up when he heard Yi Zhong Hai was going to invite the Ancestor.
"With the venerable Ancestor's intervention, it will surely be a success!"
"Absolutely!"
...
Yi Zhong Hai and Liu Hai Zhong arrived at the backyard together to invite the deaf Old Lady.
The deaf Old Lady also disapproved of the new kid's disrespect for the courtyard's rules. She readily agreed to Yi Zhong Hai and Liu Hai Zhong's request.
At that moment, Lu De Min had just finished washing his dishes.
He hadn't even closed his door when three uninvited guests barged in.
"Xiao Lu, this is the courtyard's Ancestor, Li Lao Tai Tai. Come and greet the Ancestor!"
Yi Zhong Hai, supporting the deaf Old Lady as he entered, shouted with a smug expression, intending to give Lu De Min a hard time.
"Ancestor?" Lu De Min sneered with a hint of disdain.
The courtyard residents were all fooled by this old woman. She wasn't a good person either. In the original story, she formed a trio with Yi Zhong Hai and Sha Zhu, relying on each other to pursue personal gain.
"Sorry, my Ancestor has passed away. This old lady's surname is Li, mine is Lu. We can't just randomly call people ancestors. Otherwise, my Ancestor would be upset if he knew about it!" Lu De Min said with a playful smile.
After hearing Lu De Min's words.
Yi Zhong Hai and Liu Hai Zhong felt their breaths catch.
The deaf Old Lady's face turned awkward, and more importantly, she was filled with anger.
Yi Zhong Hai continued patiently:
"Xiao Lu, you probably don't know this, but Li Lao Tai Tai is the oldest elder in our courtyard. All the residents in the yard respect and love her, so we call her Ancestor.
You're younger, so calling her Ancestor is only right!"
"Sorry, I can't do that," Lu De Min refused again.
Seeing Lu De Min being stubborn and refusing to yield, Yi Zhong Hai, Liu Hai Zhong, and the deaf Old Lady grew increasingly annoyed.
The deaf Old Lady forced a smile, trying to make herself look kind. "Don't worry about it if you don't want to call her that. It's okay.
Xiao Lu.
I, this old woman, came here to talk to you about something!"
Lu De Min said indifferently, "Just spit it out! I'm busy. I have other things to do later!"
Yi Zhong Hai: …
Liu Hai Zhong: …
Lu De Min's attitude made the deaf Old Lady so angry that her teeth itched. Unintentionally, she furrowed her brow and continued.
"I heard from Zhong Hai and Hai Zhong that you ate meat?"
"Yes! Today was my first day at work, I was happy, so I had some meat!"
The deaf Old Lady: "The matter of eating meat today is over. From now on, unless it's a holiday, don't eat it!"
Lu De Min raised an eyebrow. "Heh! Why can't I eat meat?"
The deaf Old Lady: "Most of the residents in our courtyard are poor families, mostly single-income households. One person works to support the whole family, and it's not easy.
We need to be frugal and save money to support our families.
Usually, we only get to eat a little bit of meat during festivals.
It's become a tradition, everyone agrees to be simple, just fill our stomachs. We don't compare ourselves to others or buy meat to eat.
After all, if a neighbor eats meat.
Other neighbors' children will smell the aroma and cry for food, making it difficult for their parents.
If we don't eat meat, the children will be upset. If we do eat it, buying meat will make supporting our family even harder. It will also foster a culture of comparison, which is even worse.
You're new here, so you don't know the situation. We don't blame you for eating meat, just don't do it anymore!
If you really have to eat it, you can, but buy more and share some with your neighbors. That's fine!
Of course, you can eat meat during the New Year.
Also, you'll get married and have kids in the future. You'll need money for many things, so don't spend it carelessly. Save the money you spend on meat, it will be useful later!"
Lu De Min laughed upon hearing this.
This was blatant moral blackmail, yet they called it "for your own good."
They didn't have the ability to earn more money, couldn't afford to eat meat, or were too stingy to eat it, so they ganged up and prevented their neighbors who had the ability to earn more from eating meat.
This was outrageous.
And these people thought it was completely justified.
They believed their actions were right, that there was nothing wrong with them.
Lu De Min wouldn't tolerate their bad habits and said directly.
"I earned my money fairly and squarely, I can spend it however I want. I can buy whatever I want to eat!
Don't you dare worry about whether I have enough money to get married!
As for meat, I'm still growing, I need to eat it. Besides, I work at the Military Control Station, my job is demanding. Without meat, I can't eat enough, I'll be tired and weak, and it will affect my work. The station will blame me, and I can't afford that. Can you afford it?
Of course, if the ban on eating meat is issued by the Military Control Committee, no one dares to disobey, I will comply. But otherwise, I don't care!
If you want me to stop eating meat, go apply for a ban at the Military Control Committee!"
Lu De Min understood clearly that there was no need to follow the old men's logic and reason. If he followed their lead, considered the children, the poor neighbors, and so on, he wouldn't be able to argue with them. They would always find ways to morally blackmail and disgust him. The right thing to do was, as Chairman Mao said, you do yours, I'll do mine, whoever wins wins. There's no need to follow their rhythm.
As expected.
Seeing that Lu De Min was "unyielding", and even used the Military Control Committee as a shield, Yi Zhong Hai, Liu Hai Zhong, and the deaf Old Lady were helpless. They couldn't force Lu De Min to stop eating meat, so they had to leave his house dejectedly.
As soon as the three of them left.
Lu De Min slammed the door shut.
From the perspective of the neighbors outside.
It looked like Yi Zhong Hai, Liu Hai Zhong, and the deaf Old Lady were unwelcome and had been kicked out.
Seeing the strange looks from the neighbors, Yi Zhong Hai, Liu Hai Zhong, and the deaf Old Lady's faces grew even uglier.
Liu Hai Zhong was full of anger, "This country bumpkin is so disrespectful, he'll sooner or later anger everyone and won't be able to stay in our courtyard. He'll be kicked out sooner or later!"