Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Upon hearing that another college-wide meeting was being held, Qin Jingru urged, "Brother Wang Feng, the college-wide meeting is starting, let's go quickly."

Wang Feng smiled and waved his hand: "Don't rush, everyone is busy early in the morning, it won't be that quick. Go and knead the dough first, then you can go later."

"Um."

Sure enough, it took about ten minutes for everyone in the courtyard to arrive at the central courtyard early in the morning.

"Jingru, almost everyone's here. Go get some chairs."

"They're here."

Wang Feng and Qin Jingru arrived at the conference venue and moved a stool to sit in a corner. They were late this time, and all the seats in front were taken.

"Brother Wang Feng, over here, over here." Xu Damao waved to Wang Feng and pointed to the spot next to him.

"Jingru, come on, sit in the front," Wang Feng said with a smile.

The two approached Xu Damao, who moved the stools for them so that one could fit.

Wang Feng didn't stand on ceremony; he put down his stool and pulled Qin Jingru to sit down.

This time, Yan Fugui did not bring out the octagonal table; he, Yi Zhonghai, and Liu Haizhong simply stood in a row.

Yan Fugui did not inform Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong beforehand. The matter was urgent. If these residents were allowed to go to work at the steel mill, Jie Cheng's affair would be exposed. He had to suppress the matter before the residents went to work.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong knew that the Yan family's matter was not trivial, so they didn't hold it against Yan Fugui for not discussing the matter with them beforehand when holding the hospital-wide meeting.

After waiting a few more minutes, Yan Fugui saw that everyone had arrived, and he loudly addressed the crowd in the courtyard:

"Dear neighbors, we held a general meeting this morning mainly to talk about my neighbor Jiecheng stealing chickens. Since everyone has to go to work later, we'll hurry up so as not to delay you."

"Third Uncle, tell me first, were the several thefts in our yard committed by Yan Jiecheng?"

"Third Uncle, where is Yan Jiecheng? Tell him to come out. Such a big thing happened, where is he?"

"Old Man Yan, your little bastard Yan Jiecheng has been caught stealing chickens. What else do you have to say? I'm going to the neighborhood office to tell Director Wang, and I'm going to report it to the police. You can just wait to explain to Director Wang and the police officers!" Jia Zhangshi shouted.

Yan Fugui winked at the Third Aunt, who nodded slightly, quickly went to Jia Zhangshi, whispered a few words in her ear, and Jia Zhangshi chuckled and fell silent.

Seeing this, Yan Fugui gestured to the crowd below:

"Everyone, Jie Cheng was seriously injured yesterday and is still lying at home. But I've already asked him, and he absolutely has nothing to do with the several thefts that happened in the yard before. I can guarantee that. Besides, our house was also robbed of more than two thousand yuan last time. Does Jie Cheng think he can't even steal from his own house?"

"Third Uncle, you make it sound so nice, but what guarantees do you have? I bet Yan Jiecheng stole it."

"Wang Feng, go report this to the police immediately and let them investigate Yan Jiecheng."

"Yes, yes, report it to the police and have them thoroughly investigate Yan Jiecheng."

"Quiet."

Yan Fugui shouted, "Everyone, many of us have been neighbors for decades. Many of us have watched my Jie Cheng grow up. Don't you know what kind of person Jie Cheng is?"

"The reason Jie Cheng stole Wang Feng's chicken this time is because there was a misunderstanding between our family and Wang Feng's family. As you all know, Jing Ru is now the head chef in the third canteen. A while ago, Jie Cheng went to the third canteen to get food. He probably got less food than usual, so he misunderstood and thought Jing Ru was stirring the wok for him. My Jie Cheng was angry about this, so he wanted to steal Wang Feng's chicken. Let me explain to everyone, this is not stealing, this is retaliation."

"Just now, Auntie and I went to Wang Feng's house to apologize. I also compensated Wang Feng for the cost of the two old hens. What does this mean? It means that Wang Feng and Jingru have forgiven my family and made peace."

"Uncle, even if Yan Jiecheng didn't steal from the yard a few times before, he was caught red-handed this time. You can't just say it wasn't theft; we've caught him red-handed."

"Uncle, this isn't right. When we went to the third canteen to get food, why didn't Qin Jingru stir-fry it for us? Even if you're right, your family has some issues with Wang Feng, and Qin Jingru stir-fried Yan Jiecheng's food, that doesn't mean she should steal his chicken!"

"That's right, stealing is stealing. No matter what reasons Yan Jiecheng has, he can't steal things."

Yan Fugui gestured with his hand: "Listen to me, everyone. This is really a misunderstanding on Jie Cheng's part. Jie Cheng wants to get revenge on Jing Ru. Think about it, I, Yan Fugui, am a teacher, and my family is considered a scholarly family. How could I do something like stealing chickens? I've lived in this courtyard for decades, and who has ever heard of anyone in my family stealing anything?"

"Okay, tomorrow is Sunday. When Jiecheng and Yuhua got married, we were planning to have a few tables set up. We'll have a few more tables set up in the yard tomorrow. But this time, we won't accept any monetary gifts. We guarantee the feast will satisfy everyone. This is Jiecheng's way of apologizing to everyone, is that alright?"

"Third Uncle, if you allow two people from our family to attend the banquet, and there must be meat, I can keep this matter a secret."

"That's right, it has to be two people. I also need to bring my grandson along, otherwise I'll go chat with the other aunties in the courtyard later."

"No, my whole family has to go. Otherwise, when I go to the steel mill later, I'll tell my colleagues about this."

Upon hearing that they could enjoy a free banquet, all the aunties and grandmas in the courtyard were excited. Anyway, it wouldn't do them any good if word got out, and it would only damage the reputation of the courtyard. Now that there was a free banquet, it was a real benefit, so why wouldn't everyone be happy to take advantage of it?

"Quiet."

Seeing that everyone wanted to eat at the banquet for free, Yan Fugui loudly addressed the crowd below:

"As you all know, my family's situation is like this. A while ago, that despicable thief stole all our life savings. The money I'm treating everyone to this free meal is all borrowed. Please don't make things difficult for me, considering how many years we've been neighbors."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment, then stood up and said loudly:

"Everyone, this matter has a great impact on Jie Cheng. We have all watched Jie Cheng grow up, so please don't talk about it outside. Besides, if this gets out, it won't look good for our institute's reputation."

"Think about it, if your son gets married in the future and hears that there's a chicken thief in your compound, the girl might be too scared to come. Also, the compound handles its own affairs. We won't get the advanced compound award this year. If word gets out, Director Wang will definitely find out, and we might not get the advanced compound award next year either."

"I did have some misunderstandings with Lao Yan's family these past few days, but we can't be too selfish and always think about ourselves. I think we should just leave it at that. Lao Yan can host a few more tables, and each family can send two people to eat. That will be enough to make amends to everyone."

"Good, old man, you're really generous. You just got beaten up by Yan's wife, but you still put aside your prejudices. I, Old Hu, am impressed."

Just as Sha Zhu was about to object—he was actually hoping the Yan family would be arrested and imprisoned—he saw Yi Zhonghai wink at him. He quickly realized what was happening and shouted:

"An old man is an old man, and I, Shazhu, will listen to him and will never tell anyone else."

"Uncle, don't worry, I promise my family won't tell anyone."

"Me too."

"And me too."

When Yan Fugui saw that Yi Zhonghai had spoken up for him, he breathed a long sigh of relief and felt quite grateful to Yi Zhonghai.

"Quiet."

Yi Zhonghai gestured for everyone to quiet down before speaking loudly:

"Now everyone, let's all say what we think. Who wants to spread this around? Raise your hand."

After a while, no one raised their hand, and Yi Zhonghai nodded in satisfaction.

"Since no one objects, Lao Yan, tomorrow is Sunday. Go and prepare the groceries you need to buy today. Tomorrow I'll have Sha Zhu cook, and we'll have a lively gathering in the courtyard."

"Alright, that's settled then. Tomorrow at noon, each family will send two people for the feast. Everyone hurry back and have breakfast, don't be late. You may all leave now."