Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 729 The Envious Neighbor!
When Jia Dongming arrived, all the residents in the courtyard were eating at home, but the commotion at the Xie family's door still caught the attention of the Xie family's neighbors.

Hearing Xie's mother's sobbing and seeing Jia Dongming standing at the Xie family's door, the neighbors instinctively assumed that Xie Jianchang had done something wrong again and came out of their homes to find out what was going on.

After Jia Dongming left, the residents of the courtyard immediately gathered around Xie's mother. Seeing Xie's mother with red eyes and tears on her face, one of the neighbors asked her with a serious expression, "Sister Zhou! What happened? Why did the police suddenly come to your house again? Did Jianchang get into trouble again?"

The resident's husband, upon hearing his wife's words, changed his expression slightly and immediately scolded her with displeasure: "Xiufang! Jianchang has been working odd jobs outside every day lately, and he hasn't been going out to fool around at night. What nonsense are you spouting?"

“Xiufang! Old Ma is right. A couple of days ago when I went to the station to see someone off, I saw Jianchang helping unload goods there. The police coming to our yard at this time must be for other things.” Another neighbor immediately echoed the middle-aged man’s words.

Hearing the neighbors' discussions and seeing their expressions—some concerned, some sympathetic, and even some mocking—Xie's mother wiped her tears with her sleeve and excitedly introduced the situation to everyone present: "Xiufang! Old Ma, Uncle Wang, fellow neighbors, the policeman who just came to our house was delivering a letter of introduction for Jianchang from the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. My Jianchang hasn't caused any trouble."

"What! A letter of introduction from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill? Sister Xie, are you telling the truth?" Grandpa Wang looked surprised when he heard what Xie's mother said, and quickly asked her.

When Xie's mother heard Grandpa Wang's question, she nodded very firmly and replied excitedly, "Grandpa Wang! This is absolutely true."

A neighbor who didn't usually get along with the Xie family felt incredibly jealous when she heard that Xie Jianchang, a street urchin, had actually found a job. She questioned Xie's mother in a sarcastic tone, "Sister Zhou! Your Jianchang is always out there messing around. He's a notorious street urchin in this area. It's already a miracle that the police haven't arrested him. Why did they arrange a job for him?"

Hearing the neighbor's question, Xie's mother was already used to it. She raised the envelope in her hand and replied with a smug look, "Old Liu's family! This is a letter of introduction from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, my Jianchang will be able to work at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. On the contrary, some people's children, after graduating from high school, are all talk and no action. They even complained about the job arranged by the neighborhood committee, and ended up not having a job at all. Now they just hang around outside all day, even worse than street thugs!"

"Zhou Guihua! What do you mean by that?" The middle-aged woman's face darkened immediately when she heard Xie's mother mocking her precious son, and she questioned Xie's mother in an extremely displeased tone.

Faced with the middle-aged woman's questioning, Xie's mother naturally didn't tolerate it, and mocked her with a look of disdain: "What do you mean? Zhong Lifang! Have you ever heard the saying, 'If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place'? Your son refused the job arranged by the neighborhood committee, but asked you to pay for a job for him. As a result, because your family couldn't afford that much money, he thought of sucking your daughter's blood, and asked your Caifeng to give two hundred yuan to scrape together money to buy a job for your precious son. As a result, he almost caused your Caifeng to be kicked out of her in-laws' house."

“My Jianchang may be a bit unreliable, but at least he’s never asked the family for money. He even brings things home often, and if he gets something good, he’ll even give some to his older sisters. Even if my Jianchang is a street urchin, he’s still hundreds of times better than your son who only knows how to come home asking for money.” Hearing Xie’s mother’s sarcasm, Zhong Lifang’s face turned red with anger. She said to Xie’s mother in a fit of rage, “Zhou Guihua! Do you really think I don’t know that the things your Xie Jianchang brings home are all things he’s gotten from black market speculation? If it weren’t for the fact that we live in the same compound, I would have reported him to the neighborhood committee long ago.”

In the past, if Xie's mother had heard Zhong Lifang's threats, she would have worried that Xie Jianchang would be in trouble and would have had no choice but to give in. Now, because of this job, Xie's mother had enough confidence. When she faced Zhong Lifang's threats, she smiled and said to Zhong Lifang, "Zhong Lifang! Weren't you just curious about how my Jianchang got this job?"

"To tell you the truth, my Jianchang got this job because he cooperated with the police and provided them with some clues that helped them solve a big case. The police arranged this as a reward for him. As for my Jianchang's past work in the black market, the police already knew about it."

Around 5 p.m., Jia Dongming finished his work and, carrying the Mid-Autumn Festival benefits he had received from the Municipal Bureau, rode his bicycle toward the courtyard house.

"Director Jia! You're back from get off work? You've got so many bags and packages; you must have bought a lot." As Jia Dongming pushed his bicycle into the front yard, the doorman Yan Bugui's eyes lit up when he saw the items hanging on Jia Dongming's handlebars. He quickly stepped forward to greet Jia Dongming warmly.

When Jia Dongming saw Yan Bugui's face beaming and noticed that the other man was staring intently at the things on the bicycle, a thought involuntarily arose in his mind: "A toad on your foot doesn't bite, but it's disgusting!"

Faced with Yan Bugui's question, Jia Dongming despised the other party's behavior from the bottom of his heart, but he had no choice but to reply: "Teacher Yan! I'm working part-time at the Municipal Public Security Bureau. These things are Mid-Autumn Festival benefits issued by the Municipal Bureau. They're just ordinary things."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's reply, Yan Bugui's gaze remained fixed on the bag on the bicycle. He looked at Jia Dongming with envy and said, "Director Jia! A couple of days ago, your Qin Huairu came back with a huge pile of things, and today you're back with just as many things. The perks of being a leader are really different from those of us ordinary people."

Yan Bugui's words seemed unintentional, but Jia Dongming found them particularly grating. In response to Yan Bugui's sentiments, Jia Dongming immediately said to him, "Teacher Yan! You must not say that. We advocate equality for all people now. Although we are leaders, we cannot be superior to others."

(End of this chapter)