Yi Zhong Hai hurried back to the courtyard. Yan Bu Gui had already finished work and was standing at the entrance of the courtyard, his eyes darting around. Almost everyone in the front courtyard was whispering to Yang Rui Hua about the situation in Liu Hui Zhen’s family.
Yan Bu Gui said, “Hey, Lao Yi, have you heard about Liu Hui Zhen? She’s selling her blood to support her child. It’s already spreading throughout the neighborhood office!”
Liu Hai Zhong chimed in, “Lao Yi, I heard about it too. I think we should talk to Liu Widow. We can’t let her sell her blood. It’s bad for our courtyard’s reputation.”
Yan Bu Gui agreed, “I think Lao Liu makes a good point. Liu Hui Zhen’s actions will affect our year-end mutual aid excellent courtyard selection.”
Just like in the countryside where they have mutual aid production teams, cities also have a competition for mutual aid excellent units and courtyards.
The selected courtyards gain a good reputation and some small material rewards at the end of the year. While it’s not much, they get a bit of peanuts and melon seeds, which is enough to satisfy their cravings.
Yi Zhong Hai replied, “Wang Director asked me about the situation today. I think she knows what to do and will handle it.”
Yan Bu Gui asked, “Lao Yi, wouldn’t Wang Director find another family for the child?”
Er Da Ma, with her slanted, triangular eyes and a sharp look, said, “Then there would be some good drama to watch. Liu Hui Zhen treats that child like a treasure. If it gets taken away, she might not be able to handle the blow and take her two daughters back to the countryside.”
Yang Rui Hua added, “That would be good. This child is not really suitable for our courtyard.”
The three elders in the courtyard, who were supposed to represent fairness and justice, each had their own agenda.
San Da Ye kept his eye on Liu Hui Zhen’s west courtyard. Liu Hai Zhong had three sons. His eldest, Liu Guang Qi, is twelve years old and exceptionally talented in school. He’s been the top student every year.
Liu Hai Zhong was planning to nurture him into a leader.
If he could marry the child of a leader in the future, then the west courtyard would be perfect for his family.
Yi Zhong Hai was also scheming, hoping to secure the west courtyard for Bang Geng. He believed this would encourage Jia Dong Xu and Qin Huai Ru to take better care of him in his old age.
Soon, Wang Director learned that Liu Hui Zhen selling her blood had spread throughout the courtyard.
Xu Fu Gui returned home, and Xu Da Mao asked, “Dad, do you think Wang Director will really take that baby away?”
Xu Fu Gui replied, “You can’t fight against a bigger force. If Liu Hui Zhen’s blood selling wasn’t revealed, it would be fine. But now that it’s out, the neighborhood office is also worried about a bigger scandal.
Especially at this time.”
Xu Da Mao asked, “What do you mean?”
Xu Fu Gui explained, “Last month, in Courtyard Number Ninety, Yang De Lu, a postal worker, retired due to lung disease. He received a monthly pension of 100,000 yuan, but he had four children, and because of his illness, they were all unemployed and couldn’t get their jobs back. In the end, he hanged himself in the middle of the night.
People were saying that if the neighborhood office had paid a little attention to their situation, the tragedy wouldn’t have happened. I heard they sent someone from above to investigate and hold them accountable.
At this crucial time, if Liu Widow also dies due to selling her blood, those leaders in the neighborhood office wouldn’t be able to keep their jobs!”
Hearing this news, Xu Da Mao sighed, “Are they really that desperate?”
Xu Fu Gui glared at Xu Da Mao, “What do you think? If it wasn’t for 1950, when I was lucky enough to graduate junior high school and was selected for projectionist training, who knows what our family would be like now!”
When he talked about this, Xu Fu Gui’s eyes filled with pride.
The Central Film Bureau’s selection of outstanding young people from across the country for projectionist training in Nanjing in 1950 and the history of their graduation have been recorded in detail in the development of New China’s cinema.
And Xu Fu Gui’s proudest moment was being one of the first projectionists, one of two thousand!
Rarer things are more valuable. After projectionist training, they became one of the Eight Great Officials, which was even better than the chef's reputation of Sha Zhu. After all, projectionists were the closest to intellectuals among the Eight Great Officials.
They required high educational qualifications!
Xu Da Mao’s younger sister, Xu Xiao Mei, said, “Dad, that baby seems pretty cute. Why don’t you try to keep him?”
Xu Fu Gui said, “You think I don’t want to? But this is a joint effort between the deaf old lady in the backyard and Yi Zhong Hai. Who in this courtyard has ever been able to outsmart them?”
Xu Fu Gui saw clearly that Deaf Old Lady + Yi Zhong Hai > everyone else in the courtyard.
Under these circumstances, could he possibly turn the tide?
No way!
“Ai, Liu Widow is doomed this time. Xiulan, when you have the time, talk to Liu Widow more. If she decides to leave, you should be the first in line to buy her house.”
Liu Hui Zhen’s house was privately owned, so unless she sold it, no one in the courtyard could do anything about it.
Deaf Old Lady listened to the commotion and smirked. As long as the child was taken away, then Yi Da Ma would be forced to come back and take good care of her. She would be the most honored ancestor in the courtyard again!
Yi Da Ma heard the conversation in the courtyard, her eyes welled up, and she rushed to the back courtyard.
Yi Zhong Hai was in the room talking with Deaf Old Lady.
Yi Da Ma cried, “Lao Yi, Old Lady, please, let me raise the child. This might be my last chance!”
Yi Zhong Hai’s face turned dark, “Why do you want to raise this child? Is he more important than Old Lady, than our years of marriage?”
Yi Da Ma sobbed, “I just don’t want people to point at me and say I’m a hen that can’t lay eggs. I also heard from the elders in our alley that if you don’t have your own children, then you should adopt one.
Maybe we’re not destined to have children, but maybe this child is destined to have siblings. Maybe this child could bring us a biological child.
For so many years, we’ve sacrificed so much to have a child. Why don’t we give it one last try?”
Yi Zhong Hai snapped, “Shut up. That’s superstition. If word gets out, you’ll be paraded through the streets!”
Deaf Old Lady said, “Xiujing, don’t be foolish. He’s just a normal child. If Lao Yi hadn’t been kind and given him to Liu Widow, he might have frozen to death in the orphanage.”
Yi Zhong Hai said, “At most, I’ll find him a good family. Don’t cause trouble. Besides, you don’t work. How will you support a child?”
Sun Xiujing looked at Yi Zhong Hai with despair, “I believe he can bring me a child. Yi Zhong Hai, if you don’t adopt him, you’ll regret it!”
“You...”
Yi Zhong Hai raised his hand to hit her, but Deaf Old Lady handed him her cane, “Lao Yi, don’t hit her face!”
Yi Zhong Hai swung the cane twice at Yi Da Ma, and she winced in pain, but she remained steadfast.
Actually, Yi Da Ma didn’t know why, but she felt like this child was her best chance. It was just a strange intuition as a woman.
Shen You Chu and Shen You Tian heard the gossip from the courtyard. They cried and hugged their little bamboo stroller, “Mom, we don’t want to send away our little brother!
We won’t eat anymore. We’ll give all our food to our little brother!”
Shen You Tian said, “I have blood too. I can sell my blood to buy food for my brother!”
Liu Hui Zhen watched her two daughters cry and felt heartbroken. But now that her blood selling had spread, if Wang Director really thought she wasn’t qualified to raise her child,
What would she do then?