Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

The poisoning incident involving an elderly woman served as a wake-up call for the courtyard house, exposing the shortcomings of its lack of effective management and mutual assistance mechanisms. In the past, the three elderly men in the courtyard relied on "coordinating" all matters, big and small, but in reality, these three (especially Yi Zhonghai) were self-serving and had limited abilities, making them unreliable in truly serious situations.

Although Wang Huanbo was busy with national affairs, he still lived in the courtyard, and a stable and harmonious living environment was important to him. He didn't want to come home from get off work to a chaotic mess of people crying and screaming. He felt it was time to establish some rules for the courtyard.

It was Sunday, a rare day off for Wang Huanbo. He instructed Sha Zhu to inform the heads of the front, middle, and rear courtyards that a general meeting would be held in the middle courtyard after dinner. With Chief Engineer Wang's word, who dared disobey? Even the troublesome Jia family, represented by Qin Huairu, attended.

After dinner, an octagonal table and several long benches were set up in the courtyard. The three elders (Yi Zhonghai was absent, claiming illness and mainly ashamed, so an older woman represented him), Wang Huanbo, Shazhu, Xu Damao, the Yan brothers, the Liu brothers, and more than ten other heads of households sat together. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward; no one knew why Wang Huanbo, this powerful figure, had suddenly convened this meeting.

Wang Huanbo sat in the main seat, his expression calm, and got straight to the point: "I've called everyone here today for no other reason than that a lot of things have happened in the courtyard recently, with the Jia and Yi families both suffering. We're all old neighbors, living in the same courtyard, seeing each other all the time, so we should help each other out. But helping each other can't just rely on someone having a change of heart; there needs to be a plan."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "I propose that our institute establish a few new rules, and that we follow those rules from now on. We should also select a few truly fair and enthusiastic people to be responsible for the institute's daily coordination and emergency response."

Everyone looked at each other, not expecting Wang Huanbo to be planning to "establish laws and regulations." Yan Bugui's small eyes darted around, and he was the first to chime in: "Huanbo is right! Without rules, there can be no order! I agree!" He thought to himself that he might be able to get a job through this selection process.

Liu Haizhong straightened his back and said, "That's right! It should have been rectified a long time ago! Some people are not self-aware!" He felt that as a level seven blacksmith and the second uncle, he should be selected.

Wang Huanbo ignored their thoughts and directly stated his solution:

"First, establish a 'compound public fund.' Each household will pay a small fee per person per month (for example, five cents per person) to be used for cleaning public areas, replacing light bulbs, and for temporary emergency funds when any household in the compound faces a real crisis. The accounts will be made public and managed by someone trusted by everyone."

"Secondly, establish 'Neighborhood Mutual Aid Groups.' Each courtyard will elect a group leader from the front, middle, and back yards. If someone in the neighborhood has a sick person who needs temporary care, or if there's an emergency and no one is looking after their children, the group will lend a hand. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative."

"Third, we must eradicate feudal superstition and illegal medical practices. From now on, anyone who uses unorthodox remedies, talismans, or introduces unidentified 'miracle doctors' will be subject to stricter measures by the entire hospital, and the matter will be reported to the local street office and police station!"

Fourth, we advocate civilized living. It is forbidden to pile up debris in public areas, dump sewage indiscriminately, or make loud noises late at night. Each family should take good care of their children and prohibit fighting.

These rules were all reasonable and addressed the current problems. The third rule, in particular, was clearly aimed at people like Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Regarding the selection of those in charge," Wang Huanbo continued, "I think Teacher Yan Bugui is literate, reasonable, and has a strong sense of responsibility, so he can be in charge of managing the public fund and regularly publishing the accounts. Sha Zhu is enthusiastic and has a lot of strength, so he can serve as the leader of the mutual aid group in the middle courtyard. As for the group leader in the back courtyard, I think Comrade Liu Guangqi is young and steady, so we can give him a try. As for the front courtyard, Yan Jiecheng is getting older, so let him get some experience. Does anyone have any objections?"

This arrangement considered both ability (Yan Bugui in charge of accounting), enthusiasm (Sha Zhu), and gave opportunities to young people (Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiecheng), achieving a balance. Liu Hai was a little disappointed, but he was still proud that his son had been selected. Yan Bugui was overjoyed, finally having "power"! Sha Zhu scratched his head and grinned foolishly, feeling that the Huanbo brothers thought highly of him.

"No objections!"

"Chief Engineer Wang made excellent arrangements!"

It was unanimously approved.

"Alright, then it's settled." Wang Huanbo made the final decision. "The rules have been established, and I hope everyone will abide by them. Our No. 95 compound, even if it doesn't become a model compound, should at least be clean, quiet, and have mutual support, so that outsiders won't laugh at us."

After the meeting, the atmosphere in the courtyard was refreshed. Yan Bugui immediately took out his notebook and began planning how to use the fund. Sha Zhu was eager to get started. Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiecheng also felt a sense of responsibility. Although the Jia family was still struggling, the mutual aid group mechanism meant that when Qin Huairu occasionally needed to go to the hospital to take care of Jia Dongxu, she could ask a neighbor to help look after the dog, which eased the pressure somewhat. Yi Zhonghai, hiding at home, felt even more ashamed after hearing about the new rules and became completely withdrawn.

With his prestige and wisdom, Wang Huanbo effortlessly reshaped the order of the courtyard house. For him, it was a simple matter, yet it saved him a great deal of unnecessary trouble. He had more important things to consider—Red Star automobiles continued to sell well overseas, but major European and American manufacturers wouldn't stand idly by; technological competition and trade friction were inevitable. The construction of several new domestic automobile plants was nearing completion and they were about to go into production, but the development of more advanced engine technology and the management experience for large-scale production urgently needed to be addressed. And the blueprints for integrated circuits and early computers in the system space were also reminding him that it was time to quietly sow the seeds for the next technological breakthrough.

As night fell, the courtyard returned to tranquility. Wang Huanbo sat under the lamp in the west wing, spread out new blueprints, and began another round of arduous work. The world outside the courtyard was in turmoil, while life inside flowed gently like a stream, but his gaze remained fixed on the more distant future that needed him to explore and protect.