Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

They need to come up with a plan!

We absolutely have to find a way!

Otherwise, if things continue like this, young people will stop listening to their elders, and how will they survive?

Yi Zhonghai gave a wry smile.

"We're in the same boat now."

Yan Bugui looked up at him and suddenly said, "Then why is it that old bastard Liu Haizhong is alright?"

Yi Zhonghai was stunned.

Yan Bugui got more and more excited as he spoke: "Look at him now, he's a big shot in the courtyard. He may not have any real power, but at least he has a title. He has four employees in his family, two of whom are cadres, and he's living a comfortable life! While we're here drinking alone, he's at home reading the newspaper with a teacup!"

"Why should I?!"

I'm not afraid of my brothers living a hard life, I'm afraid of my brothers driving Land Rovers.

Yi Zhonghai frowned.

Yan Bugui slammed his fist on the table: "No way! We can't keep suffering while he's all living it up! Old Yi, call him here!"

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and nodded.

Liu Haizhong was dragged here by Yan Jiecheng, the eldest son of Yan Bugui.

He entered the room with a somewhat reluctant expression on his face.

"Hey Lao Yan, why are you calling me so late at night? I was just about to go to sleep."

Yan Bugui pressed him down onto the stool and poured him a glass of wine.

"Old Liu, have a seat. It's been a long time since the three of us had a drink together."

"I bought Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), undiluted!"

Liu Haizhong glanced at the peanuts and pickled radishes on the table, then at Yi Zhonghai's bitter and resentful face, and felt a tiny bit panicked.

In particular, the fact that Lao Yan invited people to drink without diluting the drinks is a huge problem.

"What's wrong? Drinking alone?"

Yi Zhonghai remained silent.

Yan Bugui sighed, "Old Liu, you're living the good life now. Four employees in your family, two of them cadres, and Guangqi is even a powerful official. You're a big shot in the compound; you don't really have much to do, but at least you have a title. And what about us?"

Liu Haizhong picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and didn't say anything.

He wasn't the brightest, but he knew that these two guys inviting him for drinks were definitely up to no good. He could drink, but he couldn't make any promises lightly—that was a warning his eldest son had given him.

Yan Bugui continued, "You know what happened at Lao Yi's factory; a level seven worker was downgraded to a level four. My school said they might let me go back to teaching, but who knows when that will be? The 'big boss' system is gone; my title of 'third uncle' is just a formality. So, what do you think we should do?"

Guangqi had told Liu Haizhong about the abolition of the "manager" system, and Liu Haizhong already knew about it.

But Guangqi told him not to make a fuss, that no one knew about this, and that he should just continue to be his boss. Even though he had no real power and hadn't made any money, he hadn't lost anything.

Liu Haizhong naturally listened to his eldest son, and so he has been doing this job in a daze ever since.

He put down his wine glass and looked at Yan Bugui.

"Old Yan, what exactly do you two mean by telling me this? Do you want me to help you?"

Yan Bugui and Yi Zhonghai exchanged a glance.

Yi Zhonghai spoke up: "Old Liu, we've known each other for so many years, I won't beat around the bush. You're a big shot in the courtyard now, but to be honest, it's not all that great. Zhang Dabiao keeps the young people in check, and as long as the Jia family doesn't cause any trouble, you're basically out of the picture."

Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement. With Zhang Dabiao and Liu Guangqi around, even Sha Zhu couldn't cause any trouble. He was basically in a state of having the title of "Grandpa" but having nothing to do, bored to death.

For example, when it came to procuring food for self-help, Guangtian and Zhang Dabiao simply gave the order, and everyone in the courtyard did exactly as instructed.

Yi Zhonghai continued, "But we're different. For me to get ahead in the factory, I needed skills and mentoring apprentices. For Lao Yan to get ahead at the school, he needed that vegetable garden and the leaders' approval. But what about us in the yard? We've lost our status. Who will listen to us anymore?"

Liu Haizhong remained silent—[What does it matter to me if no one listens to you?]

Although I don't have anything to manage right now, young people respect me; my son is the president of the mutual aid association!

Yi Zhonghai looked at him: "Old Liu, are you content with this? Just coasting along in this old man's position?"

Liu Haizhong remained silent—["I'd love to! Fame, but no worries, what's not to like?"]

[I'm just a bit free.]

Seeing that Liu Haizhong remained unmoved, Yi Zhonghai delivered the fatal blow—"Didn't you always want to be a leader?"

His eyes flickered behind his bangs.

He gets excited when the topic of being a leader comes up!

He wanted to be a leader; that was his biggest dream in life.

Being a big shot in the factory is basically just being a housekeeper, managing all the trivial matters. What he wants is to be a real leader, to have a place in the factory, to have people listen to him and follow his lead.

But now?

Guangqi has become successful, and Guangtian has also started working. Life at home is much better now.

But what about his bangs?

He was still a group leader in the same workshop, not even qualifying for the position of deputy workshop director. This was only because Li Huaide had given him the position of group leader out of respect for Zhang Dabiao and Liu Guangqi; it wasn't even a position of "worker-in-charge".

"Old Yi," he said slowly, "you... just say what you want to say. This is all so vague, I don't understand."

Yi Zhonghai looked at him and said, slowly and deliberately, "The three of us need to figure something out."

"What plan are you thinking of?"

"We need to find a way to regain our status," Yi Zhonghai said. "Otherwise, if things continue like this, young people won't listen to us elders anymore, and how will we survive?"

Yan Bugui nodded in agreement: "Yes, we need to think of a way!"

Liu Haizhong remained silent for a long while.

He picked up his wine glass and took sip after sip.

Then he put down his glass and looked at the two old buddies in front of him.

"Okay," he said. "We can figure something out."

Watching Zhang Dabiao boss those three young cadres around every day, sometimes even calling them pig-headed, Zhang Dabiao, though not a cadre, was more like one! Liu Haizhong was incredibly envious.

He also wants to take his bangs to the next level!

After a few rounds of drinks, they started talking more.

Liu Haizhong also relaxed his guard, leaned back in his chair, squinted his eyes, and began to mutter.

"Tell me, what's the point of me being an old man like this?"

Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui exchanged a glance but did not respond.

Liu Haizhong continued, "When you guys were here, the courtyard was quite lively. One family would argue today, another would cause trouble tomorrow, and I could at least say a few words and try to manage things. But now?"

He counted on his fingers.

"Job issues? Everything that needed to be resolved has been resolved. Guangtian didn't get into university this year, so he quickly went to work for his brother Guangqi. Our Liu family now has four employees and two cadres, and we're living a comfortable life."

"Food problem? Everyone has a ration, and the Youth Mutual Aid Association is taking care of them. I haven't seen anyone starving to the point of collapse. Even the Jia family doesn't dare to bring up the ration anymore. After Qin Huairu took over the job, her ration for herself and her two children was solved."

He paused, then snorted.

"Only that ungrateful brat from the Jia family complains about being hungry all the time. But that's just him wanting to eat well; what does it have to do with anyone else?"

Yan Bugui couldn't help but laugh: "Old Liu, what you said is quite insightful."

Liu Haizhong waved his hand: "What do you mean by 'seeing through everything'? I've seen through everything. Being this old man in the courtyard is just for show."

He looked at Yi Zhonghai.

"Old Yi, to be honest, it's not as good as when you were an old man. At least there was something to watch back then."

Yi Zhonghai gave a wry smile and remained silent.

So, in your eyes, all I'm supposed to be is someone who provides amusement?

Liu Haizhong took another swig of wine.

"I want to be a leader. A leader in the factory. A workshop director or a deputy director would be fine, as long as I can manage a few people and have some real power."

He put down his wine glass and looked at Yi Zhonghai.

"You want me to help you become the boss again, I have no problem with that, but—"

"What's in it for me?"