Hearing this voice, Yi Zhong Hai's heart skipped a beat.
“Damn it, Director Wang is here.”
Director Wang walked up to the crowd, then gave Yi Zhong Hai a fierce glare, making him jump in fright!
Looking at Jia Zhangshi, who was still sitting on a stool, wailing, Director Wang's eyes flashed with anger!
Since he became the director of the neighborhood committee, he had encountered all sorts of people. He knew Jia Zhangshi was a hard nut to crack. The more you indulged her, the more she would take advantage of you!
“Yi Zhong Hai, Liu Hai Zhong, Yan Fu Gui, is this how you manage the courtyard?”
Seeing Director Wang arrive, Yi Zhong Hai's face turned even uglier. Today, he had wanted to reprimand He Yu Cheng and make him pay compensation to the Jia family, so that their life would be better, and they wouldn't be asking him for help anymore!
But he never expected to cause the dissatisfaction of the whole courtyard. Now Director Wang was here. He had to smooth things over, otherwise Director Wang would keep an eye on this courtyard. How could he continue to rule the roost and have everyone in the courtyard obey him?
Director Wang was furious. For years, this courtyard, led by Yi Zhong Hai, had been named the "Civilized Courtyard." He thought the courtyard was really harmonious, like it appeared on the surface! But now he realized that wasn't the case at all. Yi Zhong Hai was calling the shots, reporting good news and suppressing bad news! He covered up all the negative information.
If he hadn't come here, he wouldn't have known that so many people in the courtyard had grievances against Yi Zhong Hai!
“Come on, Yi Zhong Hai, tell me, what's wrong with He Yu Cheng eating a fish?”
Yi Zhong Hai stammered, unable to speak.
What was wrong? Wasn't it Jia Zhangshi who was making a fuss? Seeing others eat delicious food made her unhappy. As for him, he was thinking about relying on Jia Dong Xu for old age support in the future, and that Bang Geng was his good son. He just wanted to make the Jia family's life better.
In these days of scarcity, if the Jia family wanted to live better, they had to suck the blood of others. He didn't want to pay for the Jia family, so let the whole courtyard contribute!
Seeing Yi Zhong Hai speechless, Director Wang continued, “You've been the courtyards’ elders for years. The main duty of a courtyard elder is to pay attention to strangers and suspicious people in the area. If you find any, report them to the neighborhood committee or police station. Most of the spies have been caught. Even if there are any left, you can’t handle them. So your job is to resolve small conflicts among the neighbors. This is only if they agree to let you handle it. When did you get the authority to ask the courtyard residents to donate money? And you didn’t just donate once. What are you trying to do?”
Liu Hai Zhong was a man who was obsessed with being an official, but his ability was not good enough. After all these years, his wish hadn't come true. When he heard Director Wang say that the courtyard elders were unqualified, he quickly stepped forward and said, “Director Wang, this donation was initiated by Lao Yi. We couldn't do anything about it.”
Glancing at Liu Hai Zhong and then at Yan Fu Gui, Director Wang continued, “Yi Zhong Hai, you're taking a small authority and using it as a big one. You say it’s for donating to families in need. How is the Jia family in need? Are they running out of food or clothes?”
“Old Jia died in an accident. The steel factory paid three hundred yuan in compensation, and his son Jia Dong Xu took over his job at the factory, earning over twenty yuan a month. That's already reached the normal consumption level. How dare you ask people to donate money to his family?”
Was the Jia family in need? Not at all. They not only wanted to eat their fill but also wanted to eat well. With Jia Dong Xu's salary, Old Jia's pension, Yi Zhong Hai's support, and donations from the courtyard residents, their life was still good, even though Jia Dong Xu's job level hadn't gone up.
“And then there’s Jia Zhangshi. She’s spreading feudal superstition in the courtyard. Don’t you care? She tripped and fell in her room, wanted to go out and ask Yu Cheng for rain, and got pricked by a nail. What does this have to do with He Yu Cheng from beginning to end?”
Yi Zhong Hai couldn’t say a word because this was indeed his fault!
“How many times have you donated money?”
Yan Fu Gui remembered this clearly. He was the one who kept track of every donation. Seeing Director Wang’s anger, Yan Fu Gui wanted to make amends, so he quickly said, “Director Wang, I have records of how much each household donated. Lao Yi said that when the Jia family’s life gets better, they will repay all this money. They have donated about ten times already, about thirty to forty yuan each time.”
“Yi Zhong Hai!”
Director Wang roared, and Yi Zhong Hai trembled.
He had contributed the most, donating ten to twenty yuan each time. Liu Hai Zhong followed closely behind, donating three to five yuan less than him. Then came Yan Fu Gui, donating three to five yuan. Then the other neighbors in the courtyard donated fifty cents or a yuan each. With over twenty households, they donated dozens of yuan to improve the Jia family's life.
Jia Zhangshi realized that things were serious. Now Director Wang was here to investigate her family’s affairs.
She secretly winked at her good son, asking Jia Dong Xu to take her home quickly. Otherwise, they would definitely be in trouble.
Jia Zhangshi remained still, but the moment she moved, Director Wang saw her!
“Jia Zhangshi, is your family really out of money? Old Jia’s job level wasn’t low, was it? He earned dozens of yuan a month. Doesn’t your family have savings? Did you spend all of Old Jia’s pension?”
Jia Zhangshi was about to deny it, but He Yu Cheng’s thoughts directly controlled her, and she subconsciously said, “Who said our family is broke? We have plenty of money. But Yi Zhong Hai said to donate to us, aren’t those who refuse fools? If someone sends money, why wouldn’t we take it?”
Good heavens! These words made the people in the courtyard angry. Your family has money, and you let the courtyard residents donate?
Yi Zhong Hai was furious. How could she say such a thing?
Director Wang laughed angrily and then continued, “Your family has money?”
“Yes, we have money. Old Jia saved a few hundred yuan when he was working. Plus, Old Jia's pension, and Dong Xu gives me three yuan every month, and the donations from the courtyard residents, our family has almost a thousand yuan.”
The courtyard immediately erupted. Good heavens, this Yi Zhong Hai was inhuman. Who had a thousand yuan in these days? They were a rich family! They sucked the blood of the courtyard residents, pretending that the Jia family was struggling. Now it seemed that who was struggling?
For all these years, the most common thing Yi Zhong Hai said was that the Jia family was struggling, that they had a hard time. This wasn't a hard time. They were using the courtyard as a blood bag, as a sucker.
Jia Dong Xu and Qin Huai Ru were sweating profusely, wondering what was wrong with their mother. Was she possessed? Could she say such things now?
They knew she had money, but Director Wang was here. She should have put on a show, crying about being poor, wailing, but how could she tell the truth?
Yi Zhong Hai cursed Jia Zhangshi's ancestors under his breath.
He had seen people without brains, but never one as stupid as this. She was practically putting herself on a spit over the fire!