Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 311 The Triumphant Relief

The next afternoon, after finishing his work at the recycling station, Liu Guangtian went to the grocery store at the entrance of the alley to make a phone call and arranged to meet Deputy Director Wang at the usual place that evening.

It was past eight o'clock in the evening, and the lights were on in the room in the courtyard. Deputy Director Wang knew something was wrong when he saw Liu Guangtian's expression as he entered. Liu Guangtian took the photo out of his pocket, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it in front of Deputy Director Wang.

Deputy Director Wang glanced at it, his expression changing drastically. "Who gave it to you?"

"Yan Jiekuang. He's the one whose Andingmen scrap metal business was shut down."

Deputy Director Wang frowned. "Where did he come from?"

"I don't know. He said he still has the negatives." Liu Guangtian's voice was hushed. "Director Wang, could it be that you have someone on your side...?"

He didn't finish his sentence. Deputy Director Wang understood what he meant: Guangtian was asking if he was a match for him, and those who wanted to bring him down had a very small chance of doing so.

He picked up the photo again. It wasn't particularly clear, but everything that needed to be seen was there.

"Have you spoken to him?"

"We've talked. He wants to revive the business at Andingmen."

"You agreed?"

"If we don't agree, he'll release the photos," Liu Guangtian's voice became shrill. "He says he has more than one."

Deputy Director Wang placed the photo back on the table, leaned back on the sofa, and after a few seconds, waved his hand: "Go back first and keep him calm. Restore the business at Andingmen tomorrow, and I'll handle the rest."

Liu Guangtian remained seated, not moving. "Director Wang, those negatives..."

"I'll handle the film issue," Deputy Director Wang interrupted him. "Don't provoke him. Just agree to whatever he wants and wait for my news."

Liu Guangtian nodded, stood up, and walked out, but stopped at the door. "That man is very greedy; one sanitation station might not be enough for him."

"Let's keep him calm first."

Liu Guangtian pushed the door open and went out. The door closed gently behind him, the sound of the latch snapping back into the lock particularly clear in the night.

In the main room of the courtyard, He Yuzhu took a brown paper envelope from the desk drawer and handed it to Xu Damao, who was sitting opposite him.

Xu Damao pulled out the photo and was stunned for a moment. Then he exclaimed "Oh my!" and made a "tsk tsk tsk" sound, as if he had a scalding hot yam in his mouth.

He suddenly threw down the stack of photos and rubbed the goosebumps on his arms back and forth with both hands, the movements quick and forceful, like scraping.

"Brother Zhu...this is Liu Guangtian." Xu Damao put the photo back in the envelope. "This is disgusting."

He Yuzhu laughed while clutching his stomach, "Sharing the good times is good. I was disgusted for two days, and this scene still sometimes appears in my mind."

"Good heavens, that's powerful. Brother Zhu, you're really unfair, you're deliberately trying to harm me."

Xu Damao shuddered, probably recalling the scene in the photo. "I knew that kid was effeminate, and I was right. Who is he with?"

"He's from the Dongcheng Sanitation Bureau. You little rascal, if I didn't tell you this, you'd definitely blame me in the end. If I did tell you, you'd still say I was dishonest. It's hard to be a good person."

Xu Damao clicked his tongue and chuckled, "That's true. Brother Zhu, what's next?"

"Whatever. I threw those two photos into Yan Jiekuang's recycling bin; he used them to threaten Liu Guangtian yesterday. Let's wait and see what happens."

The phone rang at the Andingmen Sanitation Station.

Director Sun received a call from his superior as soon as he arrived at work. He jumped on his old-fashioned bicycle and rushed to Qianmen Hutong. Pushing the bike into the courtyard, he called out, "Is Brother Jie Kuang here?"

Yan Jiekuang came out of the house and saw that it was Director Sun. A smile appeared on his face: "Director Sun, what brings you here on such a hot day?"

Director Sun walked over and patted him on the shoulder, a smile on his face, his voice low and probing: "Brother Jie Kuang, why didn't you say you knew Deputy Director Wang earlier? He called and said to continue as before. What's your relationship with Deputy Director Wang?"

Yan Jiekuang stood there, a smirk playing on his lips, neither suppressing nor concealing it. He looked at Director Sun with a subtle hint of smugness in his eyes, but simply shook his head with a smile.

Director Sun looked at his expression and said, "Fine, if you don't want to tell me, I won't ask. If you need anything in the future, just come to me directly, don't beat around the bush."

Yan Jiekuang nodded in response: "Director Sun, I'll be troubling you a lot in the future."

"No trouble at all, it's my pleasure." Director Sun smiled and walked out, pushing his bicycle and waving to Yan Jiekuang, who then turned out of the alley.

Xiao Dang came out of the house and saw Director Sun get on his bike and leave. Looking at Yan Jiekuang's expression, he asked, "Brother Jiekuang, is business really back?"

"Of course." Yan Jiekuang raised an eyebrow. "The bread truck will run as usual tomorrow."

Xiao Dang stood at the door, his eyes crinkling with joy. Jie Di came over and saw Yan Jie Kuang's expression, putting down the cardboard box she was holding. "Brother, you really did it? How did you do it?"

Yan Jiekuang looked at his sister's face, then at Xiao Dang's expectant eyes, and his lips curled up even wider. "I can't say, but just keep the business at Andingmen running normally from now on."

"Brother, please tell us how you did it!" Jie Di pressed.

"Someone helped us," Yan Jiekuang waved his hand. "Don't ask about the details."

Xiao Dang and Jie Di exchanged a glance and didn't ask any more questions, but the surprise and joy in their eyes were still there.

By the end of July, Yan Jiekuang's life was going smoothly. His bread cart from Andingmen made a trip every morning at dawn, and after settling all the expenses, he netted more than seven thousand yuan a month.

The Liu family withdrew from the scrap metal business in Qianmen Hutong, and all the scrap metal in that area went to Yan Jiekuang. In July, the scrap metal business brought in over three thousand yuan, and the two businesses combined exceeded ten thousand. Xiao Dang finished calculating, "Jiekuang... over ten thousand."

Yan Jiekuang lit a Zhonghua cigarette. "Ten thousand is just the beginning. Once you have ten thousand, you'll have twenty thousand." A greedy glint appeared in his eyes.

One evening in early August, Yan Jiekuang went to the backyard again. Liu Guangtian was sitting on the edge of the bed shelling peanuts. When he saw Yan Jiekuang come in, he didn't stand up: "What are you doing here again?"

"Business at Andingmen is stable now." Yan Jiekuang sat down opposite him. "I'm thinking of opening another one. Could you put in a good word for me with Deputy Director Wang?"

"I can't do it." Liu Guangtian refused outright. "I've said before that other sanitation stations are already occupied."

"Then give up yours."

Liu Guangtian clenched his fist, and bits of shell leaked through his fingers, landing on the bed. He looked up at Yan Jiekuang, his gaze as cold as ice. "Jiaodaokou is the lifeline of my brother and me."

Yan Jiekuang refused to back down, saying, "I don't care about that, I just want one more environmental protection station."

Seeing that Yan Jiekuang was unwilling to give up, Liu Guangtian could only stall for time. "Give me some time. I'll ask Deputy Director Wang and see if he can resolve this."

Yan Jiekuang nodded: "Okay, I'll give you time. Don't drag it out too long."

He pushed open the door and left. Liu Guangfu stood at the door of the east wing, holding a shovel in his hand. Yan Jiekuang didn't even look at him, and walked straight through the door in the wall.

Liu Guangtian was still sitting on the edge of the bed, the peanuts in his hand already crushed.

"Brother," Liu Guangfu stood at the door, "what does he want this time?"

"He wants to go to Jiaodaokou." Liu Guangtian's voice was very soft, with an uncontrollable chill. He shook all the peanut crumbs in his hand into the plate, and when he looked up, the warmth in his eyes had disappeared.

Liu Guangfu stood at the door without coming in, looking into his brother's eyes, a chill running through him. "Brother, maybe... let's just forget about it. Let's leave Beijing."

Liu Guangtian sighed, "Guangfu, what can we do if we leave Beijing? Don't worry about this, I can handle it."

He Yuzhu was drinking at Xu Damao's house when he sensed all of this. He knew that when Yan Jiekuang proposed Jiaodaokou, Liu Guangtian's last resort was blocked. A person with no way out will not follow the rules in the next step.