Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

He Yushui was looking at people, but Yan Bugui was staring at the fully loaded cart.

He said today is a good day; when he opened his eyes this morning, his eyelids kept twitching, which meant he was destined to make a small fortune.

After finishing my afternoon classes, I rushed home, afraid of missing the opportunity.

Yan Bugui knew in his heart that today was not payday, so the unexpected money was most likely in the courtyard, or he might find a wallet on the road. In any case, there was no hope of finding it at school.

As soon as he got home, his wife, Yang Ruihua, told him some shocking news.

A new resident moved into the courtyard. He lived in the east wing room of the front yard and slapped Jia Zhangshi twice.

See, it matches up perfectly!

When new people move in, the most important thing is definitely to get some furniture and supplies.

The same process applied when Sun Youtian moved in at the beginning of the year. As soon as the items were bought, Yan Bugui used a combination of soft and hard tactics, begging and pleading, to get new bowls and chopsticks for the Jiefang and Jiekuang brothers.

After all, Xiao Sun was too poor. He just got lucky. As soon as the joint public-private enterprise work group entered Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill and started recruiting, they selected him from the rural suburbs.

They were so frugal when it came to buying a new house that they even had to ask the factory for an advance on a month's salary.

Yan Bugui remembered it perfectly; his eyelids didn't twitch that day.

If you think about it that way, today's residents must be easy targets.

Yan Bugui set a target for himself: he had to acquire at least 10,000 yuan worth of goods, otherwise it would be a disservice to his ever-active eyelids.

"Hey? Rainwater? What are you doing here? Why aren't you staying inside reading? You're always running around."

As the cart approached, Yan Bugui finally saw He Yushui and immediately put on a stern face.

No student is afraid of their teacher, and He Yushui was no exception. Moreover, this Teacher Yan was petty, meticulous, and held grudges.

"Teacher Yan, no, Uncle Yan."

"I went shopping with Brother Sheng. He just moved in today, and there's nothing in his house yet."

He Yushui was so nervous that she could barely speak.

Gao Xiaosheng could feel that the little girl's palms were starting to sweat.

"Oh? Is this young man a new resident of our compound?"

Yan Bugui took two quick steps and came to stand in front of Gao Xiaosheng.

Gao Xiaosheng and He Yushui stood side by side, holding hands, forming a triangle with Yan Bugui.

Gao Xiaosheng, who is 1.8 meters tall, Yan Bugui, who is 1.6 meters tall, and He Yushui, who is less than 1.4 meters tall, look like a spiral staircase with only three steps when they are put together.

What's even more comical is that He Yushui looks up at Yan Bugui, and Yan Bugui is in the same position, staring back at Gao Xiaosheng.

"Hello young comrade, welcome to Courtyard No. 95."

"My name is Yan Bugui. I'm a primary school teacher and also the head of the front yard. The younger generation calls me Third Uncle."

Although he verbally welcomed her, Yan Bugui's body language betrayed his true feelings.

With hands behind their backs, heads held high and chests out, they strive to demonstrate the noble qualities of a people's teacher who is incorruptible and dedicated to nurturing future generations.

Yan Bugui had used this tactic many times, and it was always successful.

The teaching profession has been respected since ancient times; otherwise, why would someone be willing to earn less salary just to get a teaching position in a school?

Having been a small business owner for over a decade, Yan Bugui knew all too well how to maximize profits.

Being a teacher is a matter of prestige, and it can largely offset the influence of being a small business owner, thus avoiding being isolated or treated differently by the public.

The manager was the real boss; he made up for the shortfall in his salary by exploiting his neighbors.

As for how the unreliable small business owner became the manager, that's not something outsiders can know. In short, his ability to opportunistically curry favor with powerful figures far surpasses his teaching skills.

Yan Bugui thought he was showing the integrity of a scholar, but in Gao Xiaosheng's eyes, he vividly illustrated what it means to be a monkey in a crown.

Short and thin, dark-skinned, with a pointed snout and monkey-like cheeks, and annoying triangular eyes, it was no different from the mischievous monkeys of Mount Emei.

He's a stingy old man who'd taste the saltiness of even a passing manure cart. Trying to act cultured in front of him? Pshaw!

"Hello, Comrade Yan."

Gao Xiaosheng deliberately glanced at Yan Bugui's hands behind his back and simply skipped the handshake.

"I'm busy moving things here, I can't talk to you now."

"Please unload the goods, sir. Let's carry them together. You can watch the cart in the rain, and if anyone tries to steal anything, just shout loudly."

Gao Xiaosheng, as if going through the motions, exchanged a few words with Yan Bugui, then immediately turned to look at Ban'er Ye beside him.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, what do you mean by unloading?"

Yan Bugui never expected that this kid would not play by the rules at all.

According to his plan, after he revealed his dual identity as a teacher and the steward, Gao Xiaosheng would have to say something nice and flatter him.

If someone casually blurts out, "I'll treat you to dinner another day," Yan Bugui will seize the opportunity to make sure it's a formality, specifying the time and place, with no room for change, even if it's raining knives, he'll still treat them.

If Yan Bugui keeps quiet and doesn't find an opportunity to take advantage, he still has a backup plan.

He understood all too well the power of mutual flattery.

The two chatted for a while to build rapport and lower his guard. Then, he would suddenly make a request, and the item would be obtained without any trouble.

Even if Gao Xiaosheng wanted to go back on his word, it wouldn't work. A promise is a promise; once it's made, it's like water spilled on the ground. Want to back out? No way.

This was a plan he tailored specifically for Gao Xiaosheng.

Since Gao Xiaosheng dared to hit someone just a few minutes after entering the hospital, Yan Bugui was naturally not stubborn enough to confront him head-on. Even if a conflict eventually broke out, he had to be in the right first.

If it were Sun Youtian, who's so quiet you can't even fart, there wouldn't be so much trouble. He could just raise his arm to stop them, act like a big shot in charge, and conduct an inspection under the guise of anti-espionage. As for if anything is missing after the inspection, that's just normal wear and tear.

Who would have thought that Gao Xiaosheng wouldn't follow the script?

Not only was there no respect in his eyes, but he also couldn't be bothered to say more than a few words. It was as if he didn't take his double buffs seriously at all.

Do you really think the manager is just a figurehead?

"Young man, Xiao Gao, it's not that I'm being picky, but you're moving all this stuff from the truck into the yard without my permission?"

"I'm the head of the front yard, responsible for fire prevention, theft prevention, and security. You have to wait until I've checked everyone and made sure there are no problems before you can enter the yard, understand?"

Even a clay figure has a touch of earthiness, let alone Yan Bugui, who has had a smooth and successful life these past few years.

Sensing Gao Xiaosheng's disdainful attitude, Yan Bugui couldn't stand it any longer. He immediately performed a Sichuan opera face-changing act, shedding his scholarly demeanor and transforming into a dignified old man.

"Comrade Yan, as a teacher, don't you know you should be more careful with your words?"

"Officer Zhang only told me there were three neighborhood supervisors in the compound, where did this 'old man' come from? Did you appoint him yourself?"

"Fire prevention, theft prevention, and anti-spy prevention? This truckload of stuff was all bought from trust stores and supply and marketing cooperatives. If there's a problem, go talk to the government. If they can sell it, I can buy it too. It's none of your business."

"Damn it, I served in the army for four years, and now I have to be interrogated by you in Beijing?"

"You think you can pass off rotten garlic as daffodil? Who do you think you are?!"

Gao Xiaosheng got more and more excited as he spoke, pointing at Yan Bugui's nose and spewing a torrent of abuse.

I was feeling irritable from shopping on a hot day and was looking for a way to cool off when this old man popped up on his own initiative. If he had hesitated for even half a second, he would have been neglecting his health.

Moreover, he never intended to get along with these beasts; he was hoping to use them to increase his chances of winning the lottery.

"You, you, you..."

Yan Bugui was so angry that he trembled. His previous plan to use softness to overcome hardness had long been forgotten.

It has to be said that Gao Xiaosheng's success this time was a lucky accident.

What teachers find most unacceptable is students talking back, and it has even escalated to the point that any junior student must obey them without question and cannot disobey in any way.

Some late-stage patients include their peers, a point that most people with good teachers in their families can deeply understand.

Yan Bugui belongs to a special type of late-stage patient.

When faced with peers he couldn't afford to offend, such as Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Xu Fugui, He Daqing, and Jia Zhangshi, he never acted out and remained obsequious.

But when dealing with a junior like Gao Xiaosheng, who is around twenty years old, if his blood boils, he must strike hard and not tolerate his bad habits.

Even the most formidable young fighter in the compound, Sha Zhu, has been directly confronted by Yan Bugui several times.

"Gao Xiaosheng!"

"I'm telling you right now, if you don't accept the inspection today, you're not getting a single thing into the yard."

Yan Bugui stiffened his neck and took two steps back, spreading his arms wide, transforming himself into a human doorway.