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

Yi Zhonghai, the former manager, felt the time was ripe.

Thanks to the two small but significant wedding banquets held at Xu Damao's and Yan Bugui's homes, the courtyard regained a rare sense of warmth and cohesion. And he, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui all played "positive roles" in it.

Yi Zhonghai was in charge of mediating, which made him appear fair—those who had been taken advantage of by him had been compensated, and no one pursued the matter further. Moreover, he did perform well at the factory.

Liu Haizhong maintained order, appearing authoritative—but only superficially. Anyway, his family had the most working members; his son was a factory leader and also the president of the Youth Mutual Aid Association in Compound 95, so everyone gave Old Liu some face.

Although Yan Bugui lost money, he was stingy, but he still managed to host the banquet and earned a reputation for "keeping his word".

This is their legal capital.

So, Yi Zhonghai began to take action.

He no longer wore a stern face all day; instead, he smiled at everyone he met and greeted the neighbors proactively. After dinner, he would stroll around the courtyard with a large tea mug, chatting with people from all walks of life.

"Sister Wang, is your husband busy at the factory lately?"

"Brother Li, you need to stack these honeycomb briquettes properly so the kids don't knock them over."

They would always subtly steer the conversation toward the management of the hospital.

"Sigh, this yard is getting more and more crowded, and the kids are getting more and more unruly. It's really going to be a mess without someone in charge. Look at the other day, there were cars coming and going late at night. If it weren't for Lao Liu and me helping to keep things in order, it would have been a complete mess."

"Our courtyard used to be so orderly. Now? There's a pile of junk in one neighborhood and a pile of cabbages in the other, it's even hard to walk."

When he said these things, he always looked worried and like he was doing it for everyone's good.

Gradually, some sounds began to come from the courtyard.

"That's true, the old man is right."

"Someone needs to take charge."

Liu Haizhong also cooperated actively. Every day after get off work, he would patrol the yard. If he saw that someone's windowsill was not clean or that there was garbage at someone's door, he would go up and "instruct" them. He was really into his official duties.

Yan Bugui played the roles of both "victim" and "wise man." When someone mentioned the money he lost a couple of days ago, he waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Hey, it's all in the past. Money is just an external thing. As long as everyone in the compound can get along, what does it matter if I personally suffer a little loss?"

He said it so well that even he almost believed it himself.

The three of them worked together seamlessly: one played the good cop, one played the bad cop, and one was responsible for gaining sympathy.

Zhang Dabiao watched all of this from the small wooden house in the east courtyard.

As he peeled an apple for Mu Wanqing, he joked with Qin Jingru and He Yushui, who were doing their homework nearby: "See? From ancient times to the present, those who want to take charge are the same everywhere. First, they create a problem, then they tell you that they are the only ones who can solve it. That's called 'creating demand'."

Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes at him: "You think you know everything?"

"Of course." Zhang Dabiao handed her the peeled apple, then picked up another one and took a bite. "Just wait and see, these three old men are about to make their 'triumphant return'."

as predicted.

On the first Saturday of December, before leaving for work early in the morning, Yi Zhonghai wrote several large characters on the small blackboard in the courtyard with white chalk:

[Notice: A plenary meeting of the Intermediate People's Court will be held tomorrow at 12:00 noon. This is a very important meeting, and attendance is mandatory!]

Then Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian were instructed to go door-to-door to inform everyone that a meeting would be held at noon the next day.

Everyone in the courtyard knew exactly what that "major matter" was.

The restoration efforts of the three stewards have finally reached their final stage – the election.

The entire courtyard was filled with an eerie atmosphere of tension and anticipation.

------------

Night fell early over Beijing. A cold wind blew straight into the stable through the cracks in the door, making the doors and windows rattle and creak.

Inside the stable, however, was a completely different world. The charcoal brazier burned brightly, making the room warm and cozy. Zhang Dabiao leaned back in his chair, drawing, a piece of apple Mu Wanqing had just sliced ​​in his other hand, which he ate with a satisfying crunch. Qin Jingru was mending old clothes, while He Yushui was flipping through university textbooks under the lamplight. They lived a life more comfortable than immortals.

The stable is now basically their studio; after meals, they all gather here and do whatever they need to do.

Two meows suddenly came from outside. Da Biao heard them and went to open the gate to the other side of the courtyard. Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, and Yan Jiecheng, wrapped in old cotton overcoats, hunched over and sneaked in like three mice.

Seeing that her cronies had arrived to discuss business, Mu Wanqing went home first. The new house in Sesame Alley wouldn't be ready for occupancy for a while; Master Lei and his team hadn't finished renovations yet, estimating it wouldn't be ready until the end of December. Therefore, she and her adoptive mother, Aunt Mu, were still living in the adjacent courtyard, in their original room. Qin Jingru and He Yushui, seeing the people arrive, could only purse their lips and return to their east wing.

Xu Damao, his arms bulging, stood in front of the table, pulled out a package wrapped in ink-stained newspaper, and slapped it open, revealing a pound of roasted peanuts. Yan Jiecheng went even further, pulling out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) with a bulk label from under his arm, grinning from ear to ear. Liu Guangqi, a man of refinement, had brought three small wine cups, lined up in a row, and half a pound of pig's head meat.

"Da Biao, not asleep yet?" Xu Damao rubbed his frozen hands and pulled up a stool to sit down.

Zhang Dabiao rolled his eyes and tossed the apple core into the wastebasket: "A weasel... barging into my house, up to no good. What's it doing here in the middle of the night, not at home on its warm bed, but causing trouble in my stable?"

The three men exchanged a glance. Tomorrow at noon was the general meeting for the entire compound, a meeting crucial to whether the three "former elders" could regain control of the compound. While the old guys were out campaigning and rallying votes, the younger generation of the "No. 95 Compound Youth Mutual Aid Association" naturally needed to meet up as well. Most importantly, they needed to figure out Zhang Dabiao's intentions. If Zhang Dabiao were to overturn the table on the spot tomorrow, none of them would be in the best position.

Da Biao loves to flip tables; he has a terrible temper. He's the one who caused most of the trouble in the compound these past two years.

"Da Biao, you're being too polite." Liu Guangqi picked up the wine bottle, first filling Zhang Da Biao's glass, then pouring for the rest of the group. "What's your take on the meeting tomorrow? We're all a bit unsure, so we came to let you know in advance."

"To avoid misunderstandings and hurting our brotherly relationship—"

Zhang Dabiao picked up the wine cup, smelled it, pursed his lips, and didn't drink it. There was something wrong with the wine that Yan Jiecheng had brought. He picked up a peanut with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and chewed it with a crunching sound.

"I'm abstaining from tomorrow's meeting and won't say a word," Zhang Dabiao said, slapping his thigh and making his intentions clear.

The three were a little confused. "Didn't you, Zhang Dabiao, used to be the most opposed to the old man system in the compound?"

You finally managed to bring down Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui, so why are you abstaining now that they want to regain power?

That doesn't make sense.