What’s the deal with this Xu Da Mao? People call him a scumbag, but if you look at what he’s done, the only thing really bad about him is how he treated Lou Xiao E.
But that was the kind of era it was. Not just Xu Da Mao, family bonds were replaced by class struggle. Fathers and sons, husbands and wives, they all snitched on each other, living in fear. It was a time when the whole society’s politics, ethics, and family values were in serious trouble.
You say Xu Da Mao is a lecher? What man isn’t? You say he sabotaged Sha Zhu’s matchmaking? Come on, even without Xu Da Mao, with Yi Zhong Hai and Qin Huai Ru around, Sha Zhu could never marry Qin Jing Ru.
Or in the eyes of these animals, only those who dedicate themselves entirely to serving them are good people. Anyone who disagrees is automatically a bad guy?
Is Yi Zhong Hai, with his holier-than-thou attitude, a good man?
Is Liu Hai Zhong, that power-hungry backstabber, a good man?
Is Qin Huai Ru, who claims to be looking out for you but ruins your life, a good woman?
Is Jia Zhang Shi, the foul-mouthed spirit-summoning hag, a good woman?
Is Yan Fu Gui, a pedantic know-it-all who loves to scheme, a good man?
If there aren’t any good people in this courtyard, then why should Xu Da Mao be considered bad?
This isn’t whitewashing Xu Da Mao. He Yu Cheng needs to be wary of him. Whatever you do, don’t get involved with him financially. Don’t be greedy for a small gain, or you might end up losing big!
And for He Yu Cheng, Xu Da Mao is like a good dog. Just like with Yi Zhong Hai, he can stir up trouble in the background, get Xu Da Mao to face off against those animals, it’s quite amusing.
Seeing everyone come out from their homes, Li Gan Shi stepped forward and said, “I’ve been sent by the Director to your courtyard today, and I’m sure most of you know why. Because of Yi Zhong Hai’s unfair treatment, the neighborhood committee has decided to choose a new First Elder for the courtyard.”
Liu Hai Zhong sat there smugly, like a jolly Buddha, his smile refusing to leave his face! In his mind, the moment Yi Zhong Hai stepped down, the First Elder position would be his for the taking!
Just as Li Gan Shi finished speaking, He Yu Zhu jumped in.
“Li Gan Shi, we don’t think the First Elder has been unfair! No one in this courtyard besides Yi Zhong Hai is fit to be the First Elder, I don’t agree!”
The moment He Yu Zhu spoke, Jia Dong Xu, Qin Huai Ru, and the others all stood up to support Yi Zhong Hai!
Because only with Yi Zhong Hai as the First Elder would they benefit!
Seeing these few, Li Gan Shi smiled. Back at the neighborhood committee, Director Wang had been so angry he slammed his fist on the table. He had briefed Li Gan Shi about the situation in the courtyard, and no matter what, Yi Zhong Hai had to be removed from the position of First Elder!
“Alright, since some of you disagree, let’s hold a vote, based on the principles of fairness, justice, and transparency. Those who wish for Yi Zhong Hai to remain as the First Elder, please raise your hand!”
Keep Yi Zhong Hai as First Elder? Everyone in the courtyard has been morally blackmailed by him? Not surprisingly, no one in the front courtyard raised their hand. In the middle courtyard, only Jia Dong Xu, Qin Huai Ru, and He Yu Zhu raised their hands. In the back courtyard, there was an old woman!
The whole courtyard, with more than twenty households and over a hundred people, including forty or fifty adults, and only four people raised their hands, all close to Yi Zhong Hai.
“Yi Lao Shi, you see this? There aren’t even one-tenth of the people supporting you!”
Yi Zhong Hai’s face turned green. He knew he had become unpopular lately, his authority had plummeted, but he never imagined that everyone in the courtyard would be against him.
The deaf old woman, who was always in Yi Zhong Hai’s camp, was unhappy. In the courtyard, Yi Zhong Hai, the First Elder, had put her on a pedestal, calling her the ancestor of the whole courtyard. Everyone obeyed her every whim. In those days, they only got three ounces of meat per month, and any time anyone had meat at home, they’d bring it to her, calling it filial piety!
If Yi Zhong Hai was no longer the First Elder, forget about anything else, would this deaf old woman still be treated like royalty? Definitely not.
How could she be happy about that? Looking at everyone in the courtyard, she spoke. “What do you all want to do? Are you trying to rebel? Xiao Yi has done a good job as the First Elder. He’s fair and impartial, he always puts our courtyard first. Our courtyard has been a model community every year, you can’t just deny all his past contributions because of a little accident!”
Hearing the deaf old woman’s words, the people in the courtyard couldn’t help but sneer!
Yi Zhong Hai, fair and impartial? Don’t be ridiculous! Since everyone learned about his underhanded actions, they had all come to loathe him. His butt is practically planted on Jia’s doorstep, how dare he talk about fairness and impartiality? And during his tenure, the only ones who benefited were the Jia family, the deaf old woman, oh, and one big fool, He Yu Zhu, who was sold and still helped count the money. These were the only families that raised their hands.
Xu Da Mao sneered as well. “Old lady, you say the First Elder is fair, impartial, and puts our courtyard first? I want to ask, who has he served?”
Yi Zhong Hai thought about it, but damn it, he really couldn’t think of anything. Whenever anyone in the courtyard asked for help, whether it was for money or food, he used every excuse to brush them off. But as soon as the Jia family mentioned hardship, he rallied the whole courtyard to donate money, and when they ran into trouble, he defended them unconditionally. The people in the courtyard hated him for that.
The deaf old woman thought carefully. Besides the Jia family, Yi Zhong Hai really hadn’t done anything for the courtyard. People would fight and quarrel in the courtyard, but as long as it didn’t involve the Jia family, he’d turn a blind eye. At most, when things got out of hand, he’d step in and say that courtyard issues should be resolved in the courtyard! What else had he done?
Seeing the deaf old woman think for a long time, unable to come up with anything, Xu Da Mao said, “How about it? Can’t think of anything, right? Me neither! So, I’m all for electing a new First Elder!”
As soon as Xu Da Mao finished speaking, the people in the courtyard all chimed in. The courtyard had suffered enough under the deaf old woman, Yi Zhong Hai, and the Jia family. No matter what, Yi Zhong Hai couldn’t be the First Elder anymore!
“Right, we also agree to elect a new First Elder!”
“Yi Zhong Hai isn’t fit to be the First Elder anymore, he’s too biased!”
“Agree! As long as Yi Zhong Hai isn’t the First Elder, it’s fine!”
“Old Lady, Yi Lao Shi, you see this, the people have spoken! So, those who wish to be the First Elder please step forward. Then we will have a vote!”
Liu Hai Zhong immediately cleared his throat, stood up with a smile on his face.
“Liu Hai Zhong, you little bastard, you want to be the First Elder? What did I tell you yesterday? Are you qualified? You’re an unfilial son, you can’t even manage your own family, you want to manage the courtyard? You have a bad temper, you often beat your son, watch out or no one will even lift your coffin when you die!”
Liu Hai Zhong’s face turned ashen. He thought about what would happen if he became the First Elder, this old woman would come to his house to eat and drink, and his wife would have to serve her, even tending to her bowel movements. He wanted to die! He gritted his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do but sit back down.
Seeing that Liu Hai Zhong, the first one to step forward, had been scared off, Yan Fu Gui was very smart not to step forward. What good would being the First Elder do? Absolutely nothing. Dealing with all these messy affairs in the courtyard all day was more trouble than it was worth. He’d rather go fishing.
Seeing that no one was stepping forward, the deaf old woman smirked. “Li Gan Shi, you see, no one in this courtyard wants to be the First Elder. I think we should let Xiao Yi keep his position, he does a good job, and he’s very kind to this old woman.”
Some people in the courtyard wanted to step forward, but they were intimidated by this old woman. They knew she was blind as a bat, but no one stepped up for the election, so they had no choice.
But then he remembered what Director Li had said. No matter what, Yi Zhong Hai had to be removed from the position of First Elder. Even if no one stepped forward, the position would be left vacant, but Yi Zhong Hai could not stay on.
So, he said, “Alright, since no one is stepping forward, I declare that the First Elder position in this courtyard is vacant. Whoever wants to be the First Elder in the future, can apply to the neighborhood committee! From now on, if you have any issues in the courtyard, the Second Elder and Third Elder will discuss them together, and if you can’t resolve it, go to the neighborhood committee!”
Yi Zhong Hai’s team was stunned. The First Elder position was vacant, meaning he couldn’t be the First Elder anymore. For any issues that could be resolved, they would be resolved, for those that couldn’t be resolved, they could go to the neighborhood committee!
What kind of issues could there be in the courtyard? Without the Jia family, ninety percent of the trouble would be gone. How would he be able to take care of the Jia family from now on?