Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman felt dizzy and almost fainted on the spot.

Just then, Yi Zhonghai walked into the courtyard and, seeing the situation, rushed over and, together with Jia Dongxu, helped his swaying wife.

An older woman grabbed his sleeve, her voice trembling, "Old Yi... are you really going to the Northwest?"

Yi Zhonghai sighed heavily, his face contorted with bitterness: "It's not a matter of whether I go or not... I've been tricked." He turned to Jia Dongxu, "Dongxu, go to the backyard and ask the deaf old lady to come over."

Without saying a word, Jia Dongxu turned and ran to the backyard. Before long, he hurriedly returned with the deaf old lady.

"Zhonghai, what exactly happened?" the old lady asked anxiously.

Yi Zhonghai's lips moved, his voice low and hoarse: "Mom... I have to leave in a few days to go to the Northwest... I'll be entrusting Xiufen to you from now on. Dongxu, please take good care of your teacher's wife as well."

Jia Dongxu nodded immediately: "Master, don't worry, I will take good care of your wife."

An older woman asked anxiously, "Old Yi, what exactly happened?"

"I got scammed, most likely by Sha Zhu. Suddenly, a volunteer application for aid work in the Northwest popped up at the factory, which I signed, and I have to leave in five days..."

Yi Zhonghai looked miserable; as soon as he said that, he wanted to slap himself. Everyone knew he wanted to get back at He Yuzhu, except for the deaf old lady. Every time he drank and boasted with Jia Dongxu behind closed doors, his words were full of scheming, and even the hard-of-hearing old lady could hear most of it.

The deaf old woman had known what was going on all along, but because Yi Zhonghai often brought her some good food, and because of the help she received from the older woman, she pretended to be deaf and dumb, turning a blind eye. But she never imagined that this man would actually send her to the Northwest.

She slammed her cane down abruptly and said in a deep voice, "Zhonghai, are you out of your mind!"

The older woman panicked: "Old Yi, hurry up and go talk to Zhu Zi! If all else fails, I'll beg him! You're the pillar of this family; if you leave, won't this family fall apart?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head: "It's too late. The notice has already been issued. We have to leave whether we want to or not."

After saying that, he told Jia Dongxu and the deaf old lady to go back first. The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire compound in the blink of an eye—even those who didn't work at the steel mill heard that Yi Zhonghai was going to provide aid to the Northwest.

But the couple is now staying indoors, refusing to speak to anyone who comes. Unable to get the truth out of them, everyone can only whisper among themselves. After all, they are genuinely in trouble, and it's not appropriate to force their way in. Only Liu Haizhong couldn't sit still and was thinking of holding a hospital-wide meeting to discuss it properly, but since the main characters were hiding in their room, the meeting couldn't be held.

Inside the Yi family's house.

Yi Zhonghai was giving the old woman detailed instructions on how to handle things after he left.

As soon as he left, she moved in to live with the deaf old lady, and also looked after the Jia family, but she couldn't give them much—at most ten or so catties of cornmeal. At other times, she always claimed she had no money—all the money was sent to him.

He doesn't need to spend money in the Northwest, and he can send his wages back home. However, he should be frugal and only have meat with his grandmother twice a month; he shouldn't be extravagant.

Keep a close eye on Jia Zhangshi. That woman was willing to let Jia Dongxu support her in her old age because she wanted the Yi family's wealth and, more importantly, the skills he possessed. Now that he's gone to the Northwest, Jia Dongxu can't learn the trade, and Jia Zhangshi will definitely try to find ways to extract money from their family.

If things really get out of hand, just say he took all the money, leaving not a single penny. If the other party persists, simply call in the deaf old lady. Who in the courtyard isn't afraid of the old lady? At over seventy years old, she could easily handle Jia Zhangshi with her cane.

After nagging all night, Yi Zhonghai went to work as if nothing had happened the next morning at the crack of dawn.

But then the factory's loudspeaker blared: "Comrades, our factory worker Yi Zhonghai has volunteered to support the construction of the Northwest. His spirit is commendable! We urge those with lighter family burdens to learn from him!"

The slogans are loud, but few people actually respond. Who doesn't have a family to support? Abandoning decades of family ties to reclaim wasteland sounds glorious, but in reality, what ordinary person would dare to emulate such a move?

Only someone like Yi Zhonghai, who had no elderly parents or children to worry about and possessed excellent skills, was happily let go by the factory leaders. If it were anyone else, even if they volunteered, the leaders would have to persuade them to leave—if something really happened, their families would cause trouble, and they couldn't afford the responsibility.

For the next few days, Yi Zhonghai was met with "admiring" glances wherever he went, constantly bowing and scraping. But he knew very well that this respect was more painful than a knife.

He would rather be ignored for the rest of his life.

That evening, back in the courtyard house, I was packing my luggage for my trip to the Northwest when there was a sudden knock on the door.

When I opened the door, it was Liu Haizhong.

Yi Zhonghai frowned: "Old Liu, what's up?"

Liu Haizhong, hands behind his back, struck a pose befitting a high-ranking official: "Old Yi, I heard you're going to the Northwest. Honestly, you're really got a high level of awareness! If I didn't have three sons, I'd definitely sign up with you!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai felt a rush of blood to his head.

If he had a son, would he have ended up like this? Would he have been sent away by some hothead?

"I'm learning from your dedication to supporting the Northwest, and by the way, I'm checking if you're having any difficulties—as the only caretaker of the courtyard, I should naturally take the lead in responding to the leadership's call and lend you a hand. After all... you don't have many people in your family."

Liu Haizhong emphasized the words "the steward" heavily, and brought up "responding to the call" to embellish the situation. Finally, he didn't forget to add a stab in the heart, saying "there are few people in the family" lightly, but it was like a needle piercing Yi Zhonghai's heart.

Yi Zhonghai was so angry his forehead was throbbing with rage, but seeing the figures moving around in the courtyard and the neighbors gathering in twos and threes, the whole courtyard meeting was about to begin. He knew there was no way to avoid it.

Since he was destined to leave, he might as well leave with dignity. As for Liu Haizhong, that clown? Yi Zhonghai would remember that debt. It's just a pity that there might not be another chance to turn against him in the future; nobody could say for sure.

Once everyone had arrived, Liu Haizhong was now the only "manager" left in the courtyard, which made him feel very comfortable and smug.

The only glaring thing was that troublemaker He Yuzhu was still standing there. If He Yuzhu weren't around, he wouldn't just be the manager; he'd be the head of the courtyard!

However, He Yuzhu was quite well-behaved today and showed no signs of causing trouble. Liu Hai felt slightly relieved, cleared his throat, and began to speak formally:

"Today's hospital-wide meeting has only one theme—to say goodbye to Lao Yi! As everyone knows, Lao Yi has signed up for the Northwest Reconstruction Project and will be setting off in a few days."

"This spirit of sacrificing one's own family for the greater good is something we should all learn from! I'm just implementing the instructions from higher authorities, calling on everyone to follow Comrade Yi Zhonghai's example, and also asking if Old Yi has any practical difficulties. We're neighbors, so let's lend a hand, contribute our efforts, and pool our wisdom and strength!"

He launched into a tirade of official jargon and platitudes, even the punctuation was stiff and unnatural. Finally, he shut up.

The room fell silent, like a dry well; no one spoke. Liu Haizhong's heart pounded—this was his first time hosting a conference alone, and if he couldn't handle the awkward silence, he would be the one who lost face!

He cursed under his breath in frustration: Why are they all standing there like wooden stakes? Looking down, he saw that there was still no sound. His anger flared, and he even resented his two sons—neither of them were any good! If his eldest son were home, he wouldn't be stuck here staring blankly.

Just as he was racking his brains, a brilliant idea struck him. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Old Yi! You're the main character! Say a few words! Share your thoughts, your insights, anything goes!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai nearly cursed on the spot. Thoughts? What thoughts could he possibly have! He'd been tricked into going to the Northwest, not volunteered out of a moment of patriotic fervor!

But under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could only swallow his anger, force a bitter smile, and slowly walk forward.

"Dear neighbors, my wife is in poor health, and after I leave... I would like to ask you all to look after her. That's all I have to say."

The moment the words were spoken, the courtyard erupted in chaos.

"Don't worry, Master Yi! Just let Aunt Yi know if anything comes up!"

"Yes, yes, from now on, fetching water and carrying coal will be on my family's payroll, and I'll have my son do the errands!"

"Master Yi has contributed to the country; we must hold the line back!"

Ever since Yi Zhonghai was stripped of the title "Uncle Yi," everyone except the Jia family has switched to calling him "Master Yi." Plus, the kindness he showed by delivering cornmeal to every household a while back still exists, so no one dares to pretend they didn't know.

Moreover, they're going to support the Northwest, a glorious mission. If anything goes wrong back home, the neighborhood committee and the steel mill will be the first to hold them accountable.

Only Jia Zhangshi's lips twitched slightly, her face full of displeasure: She mentioned all the neighbors, but why didn't she mention Dongxu? He's your apprentice, after all! Didn't you arrange a way for him before he left? Besides, why didn't this old lady join the Jia family? It would be so convenient!

At this moment, Liu Haizhong strolled out with his hands behind his back, looking kind and gentle: "Old Yi, you can rest assured. Your wife has some heavy work to do at home, so I've asked my two sons to come and help! Besides that, is there anything else we can do to help? Tell us now!"

"Of course!" Xu Damao suddenly jumped out, his voice loud and clear. "As the saying goes, 'A poor family travels with plenty of money.' Master Yi has traveled a long way, so he must have had a lot of travel expenses, right? Second Uncle, you're the only person in charge in the courtyard, shouldn't you take the lead and express your support?"

Not long ago, when Xu Fugui moved away, Liu Haizhong kept saying in front of others that it was not appropriate for Xu Damao to live alone in this courtyard. Without his parents to take care of him, trouble would inevitably arise sooner or later. It was much more reliable to have his own Liu Guangqi.

Xu Damao overheard these words and immediately held a grudge. Today's hospital-wide meeting was the perfect opportunity for him to vent his anger, so he promptly uttered a sarcastic remark:

"Second Uncle, you were the one who organized this meeting to help Master Yi, so please don't be stingy."

One sentence hit a nerve. Liu Haizhong's face flushed instantly, and he slammed his teacup on the table, making the lid bounce. He said in a deep voice, "Who's being stingy? I was just about to speak! Xu Damao, don't interrupt during meetings, don't you know the rules?"