Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

He paused, then asked, "Has Uncle Er given us a heads-up? If we're going to do this, the three of us have to be of one mind; we can't each be acting independently!"

"Don't worry!" Yi Zhonghai patted his chest. "I met with Master Liu at the factory this afternoon, and we talked everything out!"

Liu Dong's room—

He finished his dinner slowly, smiled at his mother, and said, "Mom, you can leave the dishes here. I'm going to pick up Xue Ru on my way. You don't need to wait for me. Go to bed early; your health is important."

"If anyone from the neighborhood comes to gossip, you should retort or stop them if necessary. Don't hold back—with you here at home, everything is very stable." "Sigh..." Mother Chen nodded happily.

She felt incredibly relieved that her son-in-law trusted her so much!

Liu Dong went out—

The sky had just darkened, and it was as dark as ink.

He tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of invisibility wine. His body felt light, and he vanished in a flash!

They had barely slipped out of the courtyard when a shout suddenly erupted from the central courtyard: "Meeting time—everyone come out—!"

"We're having a vote-reporting contest today!"

"Report tickets! Report tickets!"

Yan Bugui stood under the locust tree and shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice as loud as the beating of a gong.

As expected of a teacher, he had a strong voice and could be heard clearly throughout the entire courtyard.

It happened to be the vote-getting conference, a major event concerning everyone's food, clothing, and daily life. Who dared to dawdle?

Suddenly, neighbors came rushing out, carrying shoes, wearing coats, and leading their children.

A kerosene lamp hangs from the old locust tree in the middle courtyard.

The light bulb hummed brightly, illuminating the yard as if it were daytime.

A small square table was set up under the lamp, around which three people sat:

Yi Zhonghai sat in the very center, with Qin Huairu and Yan Bugui on his left and right, respectively, all sitting upright.

Everyone else stood in a circle, craning their necks to look.

Yan Bugui grinned from ear to ear: "Everyone's here? Alright! Now, let's welcome Uncle Yi to speak—everyone, give him a round of applause!"

clap clap clap!

He patted the mountain first, making a loud noise.

Immediately, a burst of applause erupted from the side, like popping beans.

Yi Zhonghai glanced around, not seeing Liu Dong, but his face showed no hesitation:

"Dear neighbors, I'm sorry, this vote-getting event would have been more suitable to be held on the weekend. But I thought about it, everyone has work to do, relatives to visit, and children to take care of on weekends... I didn't want to disturb everyone's rest, so I've moved it to tonight!"

"What do you think, is it okay?"

Who would say no?

Quan nodded in agreement: "Okay! We'll do as Master Yi says!"

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand: "Then let's not waste any more time and get straight to the report—the usual rule, starting with the backyard!"

"First family: A deaf elderly woman!"

"I've already written down what the old lady wants. Next up—the second house: Liu Dong!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three old men narrowed their eyes and their lips curled up in a knowing smile.

Liu Dong?

Oh……

When you ask for something later, the three of us will all say the same thing: No!

No matter if you submit grain coupons, cloth coupons, or match coupons, they'll all be blocked!

We'll take care of anyone who dares to defy us!

The point is to make sure everyone in the hospital sees it clearly:

It's true that you, Liu Dong, are the director, but in this courtyard, the ones who have the final say are the three of us from the older generation!

Those who want to climb the social ladder or curry favor with the director should give up on that idea as soon as possible!

The ones who truly hold your rice bowl and your lifeline are the three of us!

"Liu Dong—Liu Dong—!" Yi Zhonghai shouted again.

No one answered.

"Where is everyone? Didn't they come to the meeting?" His face immediately darkened, his brows furrowing. "What kind of behavior is this? Is there no manners at all?"

At this moment, Chen's mother took half a step forward and said softly, "Um... Master Yi, our Liu Dongzhen isn't here. He went to Qianmenlou to pick up Xueru. He'll probably be back later."

"Just tell me if anything happens. Liu Dong instructed me before he left—I'll take charge for him!"

wow——

All eyes immediately turned to her.

The three old men froze on the spot, wondering to themselves:

We were supposed to "get back at him," but he just disappeared in the blink of an eye?

Didn't I just see him loitering around the gate?

When did they slip away? Even if you were as fast as greased, you couldn't have done it that quickly!

This is really bad—

The main character is absent, the stage is set, but the leading actor has run away.

Yi Zhonghai nodded reluctantly, "Well... okay then. So, tell me, what kind of tickets are you planning to submit this month?"

Chen's mother answered crisply, "This month, my family isn't reporting anything, we haven't applied for anything. You should report whatever you need to report, don't wait for us."

ha?

Yi Zhonghai's face turned green:

I've been racking my brains, meticulously planning and deploying my troops; I've even hung up the lanterns.

As it turned out, they didn't even enter the venue; we didn't even see a trace of them.

It felt really bad to miss with a punch that was still in the middle of its trajectory!

Trying to establish their authority at the conference?

Instead of gaining any prestige, he was left standing there dumbfounded on the stage.

Liu Dong didn't come; he just sent an old lady to stand here, and she ruined your place.

If you're not going to report it, then what's the point of all this trouble I've gone through?

The three old men looked at each other, none of them saying a word.

The air was so still you could hear the locust leaves falling to the ground.

"Next one!" Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and continued, "Xu Damao—Xu Damao is here to report!"

Upon hearing Xu Damao's name, Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up, a mischievous glint in them:

Hey... Liu Dong ran away?

Then let's start with the people around you!

You, Xu Damao, are always hanging around Liu Dong, aren't you?

He Yuzhu is also an accomplice!

Okay—

I'll give you the card and ticket later, and I'll still beat you until you're jumping up and down!

We'll make it clear to the entire hospital: if you offend the three of us, nobody will get away with it!

"Uncle Yi, our family wants to report this!" Xu Damao straightened up and stood up, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper to read aloud:

"The light bulb is broken, I need a light bulb ticket; also..."

"Stop!" Yi Zhonghai waved his hand. "One at a time, don't rush."

"Xu Damao—light bulb tickets? No. The street has run out recently."

Xu Damao was taken aback, then frowned: "Alright, we'll talk about the light bulb later. Give us two more soap coupons."

"Soap coupons? None either."

Yi Zhonghai gave a forced smile, staring intently at him: "Anything else? Tell me all at once?"

Xu Damao lowered his head and thought for a moment: "Then... half a jin of laundry detergent coupons."

"no."

Yi Zhonghai answered rapidly, without even blinking. Xu Damao immediately exploded: "Uncle, are you deliberately nitpicking? I mention something, and you say no; I mention another, and you still say no—what do you mean?"

Yi Zhonghai shrugged: "This is really boring, there really isn't any... What a coincidence!"

"The neighborhood committee just issued a notice that all these tickets have been reassigned elsewhere!"

As for whether the street office is short of funds or not, who can say for sure? Xu Damao doesn't squat at the street office entrance every day counting ticket stubs. Yi Zhonghai just said it casually, how could he possibly go over and check the accounts?

"Fine! I won't apply!" Xu Damao waved his hand. "Anyway, I don't need anything else."

Next up is Uncle Er's family.