Chapter 15: The Whole-Courtyard Assembly (Part One)

Chapter 15: The Whole Courtyard Meeting

In the morning, He Yuzhu showed no respect to Yi Zhonghai, which made Yi Zhonghai feel deeply embarrassed and helpless. If it weren’t for Jia Zhangshi’s instigation, he wouldn’t have been put to such shame.

While having breakfast, Jia Zhangshi came to the door again.

“Yi Zhonghai, that foolish Yuzhu has a wicked heart. He even hit me and hasn’t paid any compensation. You can’t just let him off like this. You’re supposed to be the elder here, yet you can’t even control a kid that no one cares about. Who in the courtyard will listen to you anymore?” Jia Zhangshi provoked.

“Enough. If it weren’t for your scheme to seize their house and dragging me into this, would I be so embarrassed? What’s all this fuss about? Just stop it,” Yi Zhonghai replied irritably.

“Am I doing this for myself? It’s because Dongxu’s getting married and has nowhere to live. You’re Dongxu’s master—if you don’t help, then who will?” Jia Zhangshi argued.

“All right, it’s getting late. You should be going to work soon. We’ll talk about this tonight. Dongxu, hurry up and come get your mother. It’s almost time to start work,” Yi Zhonghai called out to the Jia family.

“Master, don’t worry. I’ll take my mother home right now,” Jia Dongxu said as he pulled Jia Zhangshi back.

Yi Zhonghai sat down to continue his meal.

“Old Yi, it’s not easy for Yuzhu to take care of Yushui. Are you really going to help the Jia family snatch their house? How will others see you? Your good reputation will be ruined,” an elder aunt asked.

“Sigh, Jia Zhangshi said it was just renting and asked me to help inquire. I thought since Yuzhu and Yushui don’t need that much space, renting it out could bring some income. Who knew it would end up like this?” Yi Zhonghai sighed helplessly.

“Then you’d better not get involved,” the elder aunt advised.

“I’m Dongxu’s master and also an elder here. I can’t just stand by and do nothing. Besides, I’m counting on Dongxu to support us in our old age,” Yi Zhonghai said.

“It’s all my fault for not having children,” the elder aunt said sadly.

“Don’t say that. I’ll make arrangements,” Yi Zhonghai interrupted.

After breakfast, Yi Zhonghai called Jia Dongxu, and they joined the other workers from the courtyard steel mill to go to work.

During a break, Jia Dongxu handed Yi Zhonghai some water and said, “Master, don’t hold it against my mother. She raised me alone, which wasn’t easy. You still need to worry about my marriage.”

“All right. We’ve been neighbors for so many years—I know her well. I’ll take care of your marriage,” Yi Zhonghai responded.

“Thank you, Master. But this morning, Yuzhu was really disrespectful. My mother raised him and is his elder. He actually dared to hit her in front of you! That’s lawlessness. If he’s not punished, who in the courtyard will listen to you?” Jia Dongxu began to stir the pot.

“We’ll discuss it with Old Liu and Old Yan tonight and hold a whole courtyard meeting,” Yi Zhonghai thought to himself. He understood Jia Dongxu’s intentions but knew that Yuzhu had to be suppressed. Otherwise, his authority would be lost, and no one would heed him.

After work in the evening, Yi Zhonghai returned to the courtyard and went to the backyard to find Second Uncle Liu Haizhong to discuss the meeting.

“Old Liu, Yuzhu hit someone—an elder, no less. If we don’t handle this, the reputation of our courtyard will be ruined. This is a failure on our part as the three elder leaders. How can we still lead this courtyard?” Yi Zhonghai said.

“Right, we can’t ignore this. He must be punished,” Liu Haizhong quickly supported the idea, concerned about his own leadership.

Yi Zhonghai left the backyard and went to the front courtyard to find Third Uncle Yan Bugui.

“Old Yan, you’re a teacher. Yuzhu isn’t showing respect to elders. You need to teach him,” Yi Zhonghai said.

Recently, Yuzhu often went fishing during breaks and had met Yan Bugui several times. When selling fish, Yuzhu would often ask Yan Bugui for help and would give him a fish as thanks when leaving.

“Yuzhu goes out early and returns late, doesn’t interact much with others. I haven’t seen him disrespect any elders,” Yan Bugui defended Yuzhu.

“This morning, he hit Jia Zhangshi right in front of me. This time, he must be taught to respect elders. Old Liu agrees too,” Yi Zhonghai pressed.

“All right, I agree,” Yan Bugui finally consented. He had wanted to say that Jia Zhangshi was unreasonable first, but hearing Second Uncle’s agreement, he had no choice.

“Good. Once Yuzhu returns, we’ll hold the whole courtyard meeting,” Yi Zhonghai said.

Seeing Third Uncle Yan’s agreement, Yi Zhonghai stood up and went to notify everyone in the courtyard that after dinner, there would be a full courtyard meeting.