Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

He Yuzhu didn't know what Xu Damao was thinking, but he noticed that Xu Damao had been getting closer to several families in the courtyard during the end of the year.

I often hear news that the Liu brothers, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangtian, come to eat at the Chaoyang Hotel.

As for the Bang Geng couple, I've never heard of them.

He Yuzhu watched for several days but still couldn't figure out Xu Damao's tricks.

His relationship with the Liu brothers, Guangtian and Liu Guangtian, seems to have remained largely unchanged.

He Yuzhu was also very busy at the end of the year, so he didn't continue to pay attention to the courtyard house.

There's really nothing worth paying attention to.

Without Sha Zhu as the center, Yi Zhonghai and his group were like headless flies, wandering aimlessly in their own little circles.

What they're busy with is probably something even they themselves don't know.

With Xu Damao's shrewdness, even without Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai and his men alone couldn't do anything to him.

The sun was shining brightly today, and Tang Yanling took her child out to bask in the sun around noon.

Yan Bugui was playing chess with Yi Zhonghai in the front yard.

As they get older, they can hardly travel far from home, so playing chess has become their way of passing the time.

"General." Yan Bugui proudly put down the cannon.

Yi Zhonghai stared at the chessboard for a while before realizing there was no way to move.

He was somewhat unconvinced: "Old Yan, you didn't cheat, did you? How did you checkmate so quickly?"

Yan Bugui said, "How did I cheat? Old Liu is watching from the side. Ask him if I cheated or not."

Liu Haizhong had wanted to replace Yi Zhonghai for a long time, so he said, "Old Yi, you're not in good form today, let me take over."

Last night I came up with a few tricks to deal with Old Yan properly.

Yi Zhonghai was also aware that he hadn't been in good shape lately.

The more Banggeng and his wife interacted with Xu Damao, the more uneasy he became.

Every night, lying in bed, I just can't fall asleep.

He put down the chess pieces, stood up, and made room for Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong sat down smugly: "Old Yan, come on, let's play. I'll let you try the trick I came up with last night."

Yan Bugui said smugly, "Old Liu, no matter what tricks you come up with, it's useless."

All your tricks are written in the book.

I've already seen it.

Liu Haizhong retorted, unconvinced, "If you had seen it long ago, why would you still have lost to me and Lao Yi?"

Having seen it doesn't mean you know how to use it.

Don't act like a bookworm in front of me and Lao Yi.

Curse people without exposing them.

Although Liu Haizhong didn't insult anyone, he did expose Yan Bugui's shortcomings.

Yan Bugui's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. However, he knew that Liu Haizhong hadn't done it on purpose, so he couldn't blame Liu Haizhong.

Of course, the most important thing is that, right now, the only person in the courtyard who can give him an advantage is Liu Haizhong.

Yan Bugui couldn't afford to offend Liu Haizhong.

"I was careless before, but today I'll show you my skills."

"A direct shot."

Liu Haizhong became serious at this moment, staring at the chessboard, clearly determined to win.

Yan Bugui's situation became much easier.

Liu Haizhong plays chess, and the initial strategies are always the same.

Yan Bugui could tell which move he was going to make even with his eyes closed.

"Old Liu, where's your new trick?"

Liu Haizhong looked up and said, "Don't worry, you'll see in a moment."

After making two more moves, Yan Bugui started talking about other things.

“I’ve noticed that Guangtian and Guangfu have been following Xu Damao around every day these past two days.”

What kind of business do they actually do?

Liu Haizhong said, "There's not much business, just buying materials."

Sha Zhu is building a house, isn't he? He says it's for his own residence, and he's using all the best materials.

They were running around Beijing every day, searching for materials.

When Yi Zhonghai heard the words "I live in the house myself," his mind felt like it was going to explode.

Mingming already knew about this news.

But every time he heard it, he felt uncomfortable. He didn't know why, he just felt that he shouldn't do it.

When asked why, he couldn't explain.

Yan Bugui took a step forward and said, "I've also seen Sha Zhu's house."

The house is nice, but it's a bit too wasteful.

You wouldn't believe it, but he actually built two basement levels, saying he wanted to keep them for storing his cars.

"Such a big place, how many cars would it need to hold?"

Liu Haizhong said, "His family has a lot of cars. I heard from Guangtian that Shazhu Company bought more than a dozen cars and several trucks."

There are more trucks than at a steel rolling mill.

Yan Bugui nodded, looking on with envy, and said, "That's true. Back then, who would have thought he could buy so many cars?"

That car, I heard, costs several hundred thousand.

Liu Haizhong was also very envious. When he learned that He Yuzhu had bought a car, he even wanted to buy one himself.

After finding out the price, they dared not mention it again.

The price is just too high.

Yi Zhonghai snorted: "Buying so many is a waste."

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai say this, Liu Haizhong said, "Old Yi, can you please stop being such a spoilsport?"

I was having a great time talking with Lao Yan, and you always bring this up when we're happy.

Yi Zhonghai said with dissatisfaction, "What's there to be happy about?"

"Have you ever ridden in the car that Sha Zhu bought?"

Liu Haizhong said angrily, "Aren't you just arguing for the sake of arguing? Sha Zhu isn't coming back, where am I supposed to get a ride in his car?"

Fearing that the two would start arguing, Yan Bugui said, "Alright, both of you should say less."

"Shazhu hasn't come back for years. What's the point of arguing because of him?"

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong both looked at him with displeasure: "If you hadn't brought it up, would we have said anything to him?"

Yan Bugui had no choice but to admit his mistake, and the argument finally ended.

Liu Haizhong's thoughts were disrupted by the argument, and he lost before he could use his special move.

"No, let's play another round. Old Yi just interrupted my train of thought."

Yi Zhonghai showed no intention of playing, so Yan Bugui continued playing chess with Liu Haizhong.

After making a few moves, Liu Haizhong couldn't help but ask, "Old Yan, how do you know about Sha Zhu's house?"

Yan Bugui said, "Didn't I go out for a walk a couple of days ago?"

I heard from people in the neighborhood that his house was designed by a foreign designer and that it was well-ventilated from north to south, so I went to check it out out of curiosity.

Liu Haizhong nodded: "I see. I heard from Guangtian that his house was built according to the best foreign house standards, and it's fully equipped with water, electricity, gas, and heating."

From now on, I won't need to go out to shower or use the toilet anymore.

For older people like them, taking a bath and using the toilet are very difficult.

Going to the toilet, in particular, is extremely inconvenient.

Yan Bugui's face was also full of envy.

Despite his stinginess, Yan Bugui knows how to enjoy life.

His family had bought a radio and a bicycle early on, and then in 1976, they bought a television.

"I wonder if Sha Zhu's house is for sale to the public? Can we buy it?"

This was just Yan Bugui's unintentional muttering.

He really wanted to buy it, but he knew he couldn't afford it.

Yi Zhonghai was uncomfortable upon hearing this. What would happen to Yan Bugui's retirement if he moved to an apartment building?
He knew exactly what the building looked like.

After moving into the apartment building, everyone closed the door and truly retreated into their own little world.

"I don't think apartment buildings are anything special. Our courtyard houses are much more comfortable."

Besides, we're getting old. Will we even be able to climb stairs in a couple of years?

Liu Haizhong said, "Old Yi, you don't understand again. The building has an elevator, so you don't have to walk to go upstairs."

Yi Zhonghai retorted, "So what if it's an elevator? It doesn't need electricity."

Electricity costs money, and it can add up to quite a bit.

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui immediately began to make plans in his mind.

He did the math and realized he really couldn't afford it.

"Hey, let's not talk about this anymore. Old Liu, if you don't use your ultimate move soon, I'm going to checkmate you." (End of Chapter)