Courtyard House: Passing through the Silly Pillar, Activating the Blessed Cave Heaven

81

"Brother Zhu, you're amazing!" Wu Youli said, his eyes sparkling with admiration. "When I miss you, can I come to your house to play?"

"Of course! I'll show off my skills and cook you a delicious meal."

"I want to go too! I want to eat the feast Brother Zhu makes!" Wu Xiangyun tugged at He Yuzhu's clothes, jumping up and down.

The little girl's childish words made everyone laugh.

"Okay, okay, come on over."

"Rain, say goodbye to your uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters. It's time for us to go home." He Yuzhu gently rubbed his little sister's head and said softly.

"Master and Mistress, please don't see us off any further. Let's stop here."

He Yushui waved politely and said goodbye to everyone.

He Yuzhu carried his younger sister in one arm and a bundle in the other, walking towards Nanluoguxiang.

At the same time, Yi Zhonghai was standing at the door of Liu Haizhong's house in the backyard, raising his hand to knock on the door.

"Old Liu, are you home?"

"It's Lao Yi, come in quickly."

Yi Zhonghai went inside and found a seat.

Liu Haizhong poured him a glass of water and asked, "Did you come over at this hour because something's wrong?"

"Before lunch, He Yuzhu from the Intermediate People's Court came to see me and said that his father, He Daqing, had run off to Baoding with a widow and left his two children in Beijing."

"What?" Liu Haizhong jumped up from his seat, looking shocked. "You mean He Daqing, that old man in our compound? He really did that?"

"It's him."

I came to see you to discuss how to handle this matter.

"What else can we do?" Liu Haizhong rubbed his hands excitedly. "An old man in the courtyard suddenly ran away. We must report this to Director Wang of the street office immediately! The courtyard is missing a senior man in charge. If it delays the work arranged by the street office, who can take responsibility for that? We need to get the leaders to reassign someone as soon as possible." The thought of possibly being promoted to senior man made Liu Haizhong unable to contain his excitement.

"That's what I was thinking too. Shall we go to the neighborhood office now?"

"Let's go!" Liu Haizhong grabbed his coat impatiently, as if he could already see himself sitting in the old man's seat.

The two rushed to the street office and learned from the gatekeeper, Uncle Qin, that Director Wang was in his office. They breathed a sigh of relief – their trip hadn't been in vain.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong walked into Director Wang's office. Director Wang looked up and saw them, and said with a smile, "I was just looking for you two, and you've come first."

Is there something you need?

"Director Wang, please go first," Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance and said in unison.

"Hey, this morning He Daqing from courtyard number 95 came to see me and said he was going to leave with a widow from Baoding and had resigned from his position as the head of the courtyard."

I plan to elect a new steward in the front yard, so that each yard will have a steward, which will be fairer.

I will go to the compound tonight to announce this decision. You should go back and inform the residents first.

"By the way, what's the matter that you wanted to see me about?"

"We also came to report He Daqing's matter to you, but we didn't expect that he had already told you beforehand."

"Then we won't bother you any longer, we'll head back now." After saying that, Yi Zhonghai left the office with Liu Haizhong.