Yan Jiecheng's Leisurely Life in Siheyuan

Chapter 133 The storm is over
Seeing the silence in the room, Yi Zhonghai immediately put on a pained expression and said.

"Our compound is supposed to be a civilized compound, so what? Everyone here is so selfish, only thinking about taking advantage without wanting to contribute anything?"

Seeing this, Yan Fugui quickly tugged at Lao Yi and said.

"Old Yi, that's going a bit too far."

After calming Lao Yi down, Yan Fugui continued.

"Dear neighbors, the funeral arrangements for the old lady have cost about one hundred dollars so far. I estimate that the burial and the banquet will cost another one hundred dollars."

"To make it easier to calculate, let's say it's a total of 210 yuan, which is 70 yuan for each inheritance. Anyone who is willing to pay this amount, please step forward and sign up."

Are you kidding me? Although everyone's living conditions are quite cramped, most of those houses were allocated by the neighborhood committee or factory.

Even for later residents, the houses were rented, and the rent was pitifully cheap.

How could they possibly be willing to spend so much money now?
Seeing the unwilling expressions on everyone's faces, Yi Zhonghai felt extremely pleased.

Listening to the hushed discussions among the crowd, Liu Haizhong spoke with his hands behind his back.

"Neighbors, the old lady originally intended for Lao Yi and Sha Zhu to be responsible for her funeral arrangements, and in return, her house and property would be inherited by the two of them."

"Since everyone doesn't approve of this, the three of us in charge came up with this solution. Of course, if anyone has a better solution, please share it so we can discuss it together."

After Liu Haizhong finished speaking haltingly, someone immediately said something sarcastic.

"I thought the old man was a highly respected and virtuous man who was taking care of the old lady. I didn't know there was such a thing. Why does he always make such a big deal out of nothing?"

"That's right. The old lady is a recipient of the Five Guarantees, and she usually receives subsidies from the neighborhood committee. How much can she possibly eat? And who knows where the rest goes?"

"If you ask me, those three managers are in cahoots, they're sure we can't come up with that much money?"

……

Listening to the unrestrained discussions of the surrounding residents, not only Yi Zhonghai, but also Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui's expressions darkened.

This is not only slandering Yi Zhonghai, but also slandering the two of them.
This made Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui feel very wronged.

In all honesty, they really handled this matter fairly and justly this time.

"If I can't have it, no one else can either," a resident said, standing up at that moment.

“Since everyone disagrees with the three stewards’ idea, I think we should let the neighborhood committee handle it. That way, no one will have anything to say.”

How is this possible?

Seeing that everyone agreed with the plan, Yi Zhonghai immediately became anxious.

In his view, as long as the matter is handled by the court, no matter how it is handled, the house will eventually fall into his hands, but he will have to pay some price.

But if it's handled by the local street administration, things might be different.

So Yi Zhonghai quickly gave Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui meaningful glances.

However, these two did not gain anything from this incident. They have already done a lot of face for Yi Zhonghai by doing this much. How could they possibly step forward again?
Seeing that his two partners were not giving him any face, Yi Zhonghai could only wink at Qin Huairu, who was not far away.

In Qin Huairu's view, whether the house fell into the hands of Yi Zhonghai or Sha Zhu, it would eventually end up in her hands, so she naturally wouldn't remain silent.

So Qin Huairu immediately used her trump card, squeezing out a few tears and putting on a pitiful look.

"Neighbors, we wouldn't even dare to dream of the old lady's house, but we can't let this matter get out to the neighborhood."

"If the neighborhood committee finds out, will we still be eligible for the 'Civilized Courtyard' award this year? My family is different from yours. We rely on the neighborhood committee's reward of peanuts and melon seeds to satisfy our cravings during the New Year." Upon seeing Qin Huairu's pitiful appearance, some male residents immediately revealed their lecherous nature and echoed Qin Huairu's words.

However, for every person who agreed, there was someone who disagreed. Several middle-aged women who couldn't stand their husbands immediately retorted.

"Hmph, reporting it to the neighborhood committee will affect the civilized community? What kind of twisted logic is that? I think they're just afraid their lover will suffer."

"I think so too. Otherwise, why would they be in such a hurry to jump out and put on this act?"

……

Seeing that everyone was arguing, the three stewards were unable to subdue them for the time being.

In the end, no one knows who it was, but they quietly went to notify the neighborhood committee.

That's good, there's no need to continue the discussion.

After learning what had happened, the people from the street made a decisive decision.

The deaf elderly woman was a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly without family support), so her funeral arrangements were naturally handled by the neighborhood committee.

As for the old lady's property, it was naturally taken back and redistributed by the neighborhood committee.

The residents of the courtyard house had no objection to the neighborhood committee's decision, and the incident came to an end.

However, when the people from the street left, they also criticized the three men in charge for covering up the matter.

After the people on the street left, Yi Zhonghai ignored Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui and staggered back home.

As soon as I sat down at home, an older woman said with a concerned look on her face.

"Old Yi, don't be angry. It's a good thing that the neighborhood committee is taking care of the old lady's funeral arrangements. It saves you a lot of trouble."

Facing his wife of several decades, Yi Zhonghai didn't hide anything and immediately shook his head and said with a wry smile.

"We don't have any children, and our house is big enough for us, so why would I get angry about this?"

"Then what are you doing?"

"Hmph, I'm an eighth-level technician in the factory, and an old man in the courtyard, but you saw what happened today. For the sake of the old lady's house, the residents in the courtyard have shown their true colors. Where is the respect they used to have?"

Speaking of this, the older woman couldn't help but feel a little worried, and it took her a long time to speak.

"Old Yi, you should hurry up and find a way to get Sha Zhu out. You don't usually think about it, but if something happens, it's not safe without Sha Zhu around."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but feel resentful towards Yan Jiecheng again. If it weren't for Yan Jiecheng, this situation wouldn't have occurred today.

Then he couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

"Shazhu was locked up by that brat from the Yan family. Getting Shazhu out of his hands won't be an easy task."

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's furrowed brows, an older woman couldn't help but sigh.

"Old Yi, it's all my fault. I didn't give the Yi family a son or daughter, otherwise..."

As she spoke, the woman couldn't help but burst into tears.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai remained silent for a while before offering words of comfort.

"Alright, it's all fate. I'll go see Director Li tomorrow. With my level eight craftsmanship, I think Director Li will give me face and release Sha Zhu."

(End of this chapter)