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

"Thirdly! This old man's job is simply to help the neighborhood committee deliver documents, read out policies, and mediate minor disputes like someone's scallions being stolen by a dog. If people respect you, your words carry weight; if they don't, your name is worthless!"

"The neighborhood committee is coming today; we neither oppose nor support it, it's entirely up to you, the residents, to volunteer. We're just here to observe and witness. As long as you don't create chaos, we don't care who does this job. But if you make a mess of things, we can remove you at any time!"

Having said that, Director Wang ignored the bitter expressions on the faces of the three men on stage and walked directly to Zhang Dabiao's side. Zhang Dabiao, with his keen senses, had already brought over several benches. Director Wang sat down without any ceremony, casually grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from Zhang Dabiao's pocket, and started cracking them open, clearly intending to watch the show.

She was Zhang Dabiao's "Aunt Wang" (self-proclaimed), and Zhang Dabiao was a wealthy man, so there was nothing to be ashamed of. In the past few months, she and Master Lei had collected a lot of good things for Zhang Dabiao, treating him no differently than their own nephews and nieces.

The young people below, led by Xu Damao, were suppressing their laughter, their shoulders twitching. Even the usually honest Sha Zhu was scratching the back of his head and grinning foolishly.

What Director Wang said...

This is practically a public execution.

However, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were seasoned veterans who had prepared themselves mentally before coming. As long as they could regain their status, they were willing to endure a few words of criticism.

The election had to continue, albeit reluctantly. The campaign speeches began.

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

Liu Haizhong was the first to lose his temper and rushed to the table. He cleared his throat, his huge belly protruding, one hand behind his back, the other waving wildly in the air.

"Ah... well, comrades. Spring is here, everything is coming back to life... our courtyard, ah, it needs to come back to life too. As... as the old man of our courtyard, I've never been dismissed, I've done a pretty good job, haven't I? I think we need to find a couple of helpers for this, right? Anyway, it's just..."

He had no real knowledge, yet he insisted on imitating a high-ranking leader's speech. He stumbled over his words, his face flushed red, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

At the back of the crowd, Tiger cupped his hands into a megaphone and shouted in his hoarse voice, "Uncle Liu, did you lose your words in your shoe and can't find them?!"

A burst of laughter erupted throughout the entire courtyard. Liu Haizhong trembled with anger, pointing at Hu Zi, speechless for a long time.

Fortunately, the crowd remembered that Liu Guangqi was the president of the Youth Mutual Aid Association, and that although Liu Haizhong had been obsessed with officialdom, he was generally decent and fair, and apart from his past habit of beating children, he hadn't done anything wrong. So, after some whispering among themselves, they let it pass as a joke.

Everyone agreed that Liu Haizhong, the person in charge, should be retained.

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

Seeing that the situation was getting a bit tense, Yan Bugui quickly stepped forward to put out the fire. He relied on his forte: scheming.

"Gentlemen, this is about to be the toughest time. Living well requires careful budgeting! I, Yan Bugui, may not boast about anything else, but I'm a master at accounting. If any family is struggling to make ends meet, or food rations are unevenly distributed, I'll help you plan everything out for free, guaranteeing that every penny will be used wisely!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xu Damao's low voice drifted out from the crowd: "Oh dear, Teacher Yan. You just threw a banquet a couple of days ago, and the eating and drinking drove you to the hospital for a stomach pump, costing you three yuan in medical expenses. You've been calculating to the extreme, and in the end, you're rolling your eyes in despair. If we were to hand over our food rations to you, wouldn't we all have to pawn our underwear for cornbread?"

"Hahaha!" This was such a harsh blow that even Director Wang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Yan Bugui's old face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and he nearly choked on his own breath, almost passing out on the spot. But his mind worked quickly, and he hurriedly tried to salvage the situation: "Well, what do you mean! I'm a teacher! Everyone has a son or daughter, right? If your child skips school or does poorly in school, I'll tutor them! I'll even write the couplets for the New Year!"

[But you still have to pay the writing fee! You have to provide your own red paper and ink! If you don't have any, I'll charge you for the paper and ink later, that's not unreasonable, is it?]

After those words were spoken, the winds shifted.

In this day and age, teachers are still respected.

After some thought, everyone realized that those mischievous kids at home really needed someone to discipline them. As long as Yan Bugui wasn't stingy and caused trouble, keeping him around as a free private tutor wouldn't be a bad deal.

As for the feud between Yan Bugui and Zhang Dabiao—since Yan Bugui didn't beat their child, everyone naturally ignored it.

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

The pressure ultimately fell entirely on Yi Zhonghai. This former local tyrant of the courtyard houses, holding a teacup, slowly stood up and walked to the center of the crowd.

Yi Zhonghai truly lived up to his reputation as a master manipulator. Unlike Liu Haizhong, he didn't resort to bureaucratic rhetoric, nor did he engage in the emotionally charged discussion of money like Yan Bugui. Instead, he immediately established a moral high ground.

"Neighbors, everyone heard what Director Wang said. It's true, this old man in charge doesn't pay us, doesn't distribute food, and does all the work that offends people." Yi Zhonghai's eyes reddened, his voice tinged with a sense of weariness. "But in this compound, dozens of people live under one roof—that's fate! A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Sha Zhu standing in the crowd, then shifting to Qin Huairu's family, who were hunched over.

"Everyone has their ups and downs in life. I know I was biased before, but look at everyone now—Old Sister-in-law Jia has had a tough time. Dongxu is gone, leaving behind a widow and her children. As her godfather and mentor, shouldn't I take care of her?"

"Zhu Zi is a kind-hearted kid, but he's always getting into trouble. Should I discipline him?"

"I, Yi Zhonghai, have lived most of my life without children, and I've long considered everyone as my own family. Yes, I admit I used the wrong methods before, but I've made mistakes and corrected them. Our policy is to cure the disease, save the patient, and learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones. You have to give me a chance to change, right?"

"If you trust this old man, I'll risk my life to help you all get through this difficult time!"

These words were perfectly worded. Not only did they reaffirm the moral principle of neighborly assistance, but they also subtly pointed out the Jia family and Sha Zhu, creating a tragic target for everyone.

In addition, he recently risked his life to help the factory fulfill its pledge, which can be considered a meritorious act. Not to mention the previous scheming incident, for which he has already lost all the money he owed.

The masses are the most forgetful. Seeing him admit his mistakes and act sincerely, many people nodded in agreement, barely swallowing his sweet talk.

And most importantly, there are many steel mill workers in this yard, and everyone knows about Yi Zhonghai's recent contributions to the factory and his prominence. There's no need to go against a factory darling who has an 8th-grade worker skill level and leads 5 6th-grade workers. So they decided to go along with it.

Whoever takes the position, it's not a question, right?

Just as the atmosphere was getting right and the anonymous voting was about to begin, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Jia Zhangshi, who had been hiding behind Qin Huairu, suddenly darted into the crowd with a loud cry, like a cunning old sow.

"Wait!"

"I have a problem with that!"