Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Upon hearing Yan Jiecheng's explanation, Director Wang turned to Yi Zhonghai and asked in a deep voice:

"Yi Zhonghai, is that so?"

Yi Zhonghai quickly shook his head and explained, "Director Wang, I convened this hospital-wide meeting simply to mediate the conflict between the two parties. Jia Zhangshi only went to offer her congratulations and was beaten up for no reason. I asked Liu Yuhua to compensate Jia Zhangshi five yuan and have her shovel snow in the yard for a month. Is that alright?"

Before Director Wang could speak, Yi Zhonghai continued, "But Liu Yuhua is a violent person. Not only did she disobey, but she also slapped me across the face. Tell me, as the head of the institute and an eighth-grade fitter in the factory, how could I tolerate this? I was so angry that I resorted to violence."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Liu Yuhua stared coldly at Yi Zhonghai, then turned to Director Wang and explained, "Director Wang, as the head of the compound, Yi Zhonghai, without even asking what happened, said that no matter what Jia Zhangshi did, I was wrong to hit the old woman. I want to ask, is Jia Zhangshi, who is only in her forties, considered an old woman?"

"Furthermore, Yi Zhonghai called me a violent element and said he would kick me out of the compound. Director Wang, I want to ask, what right does the person in charge have to punish me? Is this the authority given to him by the neighborhood committee?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang looked at Liu Haizhong and said, "Liu Haizhong, tell me in detail what just happened."

"Yes, Director Wang, it's like this, before Yi Zhonghai..."

"Crackling and popping."

It took Liu Haizhong five minutes to explain the whole story, and Director Wang finally understood.

"Bang."

Director Wang slammed his hand on the table, looked at Yi Zhonghai and Yan Fugui's group, and shouted sternly:

"Yi Zhonghai, who gave you the right to punish the residents in this compound? The neighborhood committee appointed you as the 'managers' to mediate neighborhood disputes, not to punish them. If you can't mediate the disputes, why don't you report it to the neighborhood committee? Instead, you punish the residents yourself. What? Do you want to become a local tyrant?"

Yi Zhonghai waved his hands repeatedly to explain, "No, no, Director Wang, I absolutely did not mean that. Director Wang, I convened the hospital-wide meeting to mediate the conflict between the two parties, but Liu Yuhua wouldn't listen and even attacked me, which led to the current situation."

Director Wang looked at Liu Yuhua and said coldly, "Liu Yuhua, today is your first day as a new bride. Even if Jia Zhangshi came to mock you, you shouldn't have hit her. Also, Yi Zhonghai held a hospital-wide meeting to mediate the conflict. If you were dissatisfied, you could have reported it to the neighborhood committee. Why did you resort to violence?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuhua clenched her fists and remained silent. Both times, she had started the fight, so she was in the wrong no matter what.

Director Wang then turned his gaze to Jia Zhangshi and shouted sternly, "Jia Zhangshi, it's you again! It's always you! If you hadn't come to their door to mock them, would this have happened in the courtyard?"

"No, Director Wang, I really didn't mock them. I just went to offer my congratulations."

Madam Jia quickly explained that she was only saying "congratulations," but her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, clearly indicating a lack of confidence.

That's enough.

Director Wang shouted angrily, "Jia Zhangshi, don't think I don't know what you're up to. I'm warning you, if you dare to cause trouble again, I will definitely send you back to the countryside."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately shut her mouth and dared not say another word. If Director Wang really sent her back to the countryside, her days of being waited on hand and foot would be over.

Director Wang's sharp gaze swept over Yi Zhonghai and the others, and he spoke in a deep voice:

"This time, you were all wrong. The mistake was that you acted on your own. In the future, if you have any problems that the person in charge cannot solve, or if you are dissatisfied with the way the person in charge handles things, you can report them to the street office."

"Now, we're going to punish you. Whoever laid a hand on me just now, starting tomorrow, all of you will be shoveling snow in the alley outside your compound for a month after get off work."

"Director Wang, this won't do! My little Dang is not even three years old yet. It won't do without us adults looking after him!" Jia Zhangshi shouted, her neck stiff.

The three women chimed in, "Yes, Director Wang, we accept the punishment, but my sister is still so young. In this freezing weather, she'll get hurt if no one takes care of her."

Director Wang waved his hand and said, "Alright, if any of you have children, just send one adult to stay and take care of the children. You don't need to shovel snow. You can discuss and decide who does it yourselves."

"Hehe, thank you, Director Wang." Jia Zhangshi grinned. She was so clever. Now, she didn't have to do the hard work of shoveling snow. As for who would do it, of course, it was Qin Huairu.

Director Wang said coldly, "Yi Zhonghai, Yan Fugui, this incident happened suddenly, so I won't punish you extra. But if there's a next time, you can forget about being the manager. Especially you, Yi Zhonghai, if you dare to abuse your position as the manager and punish residents without authorization, see how I deal with you."

At this point, Director Wang looked at the crowd below and said loudly, "Everyone, on behalf of the subdistrict office, I would like to solemnly explain something to you. The three magistrates in charge are only mediating neighborhood disputes. If they discover suspected enemy agents, they report it. They do not have any special privileges such as punishing residents. If you are not satisfied with the three magistrates in charge of mediating neighborhood disputes, you can go to the subdistrict office to find the staff to mediate. You must not resort to violence at the drop of a hat."

When the topic of hitting someone came up, Director Wang looked at Liu Yuhua, which made Liu Yuhua's face turn red and her fists clench tightly.

When Yi Zhonghai heard Director Wang's words, his face turned so dark it looked like it was about to drip water. He had been slapped to the ground by a woman today, and he had lost all face. Now Director Wang was saying that the old man in charge could only mediate neighborhood disputes and did not have the privilege of punishment. If anything happened in the courtyard in the future, everyone would go to the street office. What prestige would he, this old man, have left?

Wang Feng was speechless when he saw Director Wang, who was known for his authoritative titles. He still picked up the book heavily and put it down gently. Even though the two managers were fighting, he didn't remove their managerial status. That was quite something.

However, he didn't intend to meddle, since they wouldn't affect him and Jingru anyway.

"Alright, that concludes the plenary meeting. Everyone, please go back now."

After Director Wang finished speaking, he left with a cold face.

A college-wide meeting ended with all eleven people being punished.

Wang Feng and Qin Jingru also carried their stools back into the house. As soon as they got inside, Qin Jingru couldn't help but laugh.

"Hehe, Brother Wang Feng, today's show was really amazing! I haven't seen such a wonderful show in a long time."