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Now that the three old men in the courtyard have retired, the courtyard has become lively again.

Xiao Shan glanced at Yi Zhonghai, then left with his children.

Who is Jia Zhangshi? She's a notorious gossip.

So the news that Xiao Shan had resigned from the steel rolling mill quickly spread throughout the courtyard.

When the three old men were playing chess together, Yi Zhonghai brought up the matter: "Xiaoshan is smart to resign now. Haven't you seen the current situation? It's about to change! If he doesn't resign, he'll be in trouble."

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's sarcastic words, Yan Bugui chuckled and said, "Old Yi, you have a prejudice against Xiaoshan! Old Liu, you used to be a leader, do you know what Xiaoshan is like?"

"Xiaoshan does have a long-term vision, but he made a terrible mistake this time!" Liu Haizhong said with a look of regret. "He gave up a perfectly good position as deputy factory director and resigned. What else could he be but a fool?"

Yan Bugui didn't argue with Liu Haizhong either: "Let's wait and see! Lao Yi, Banggeng is back this year, and he's reached the age to get married. The Jia family doesn't have the money to help Banggeng get married right now, and even if he gets married, he won't have a place to live. I advised you before not to rush into adopting a godchild; this isn't such an easy thing."

Upon hearing Yan Bugui's words, Yi Zhonghai's face immediately darkened.

The Jia family lived in two rooms, housing four people. Xiao Dang and Huaihua were now grown-up girls.

The small house where Banggeng used to live has long been dilapidated and filled with clutter over the years.

Besides, what bride wants to live in a run-down house?

“Old Yi, our Jiefang is quite good. Why not let him take care of you, cook and do your laundry, and you can pay him a regular salary every month? Isn’t that better than finding a scoundrel?” Yan Bugui said with a smile to Yi Zhonghai. “If you’re not satisfied, you can fire Jiefang anytime. He’s much more reliable than some so-called godson!”

Hearing Yan Bugui's words, Yi Zhonghai was somewhat tempted, but still shook his head and said, "I'll think about it some more."

Over the years, Yi Zhonghai has invested a lot of money in the Jia family. Now that he is asked to leave, how could he possibly be willing to do so?

Watching Yi Zhonghai turn and leave, Yan Bugui said to Liu Haizhong, "Old Yi hasn't figured out the situation yet! Once the Jia family has emptied Old Yi's pockets, we'll see how miserable he ends up!"

Liu Haizhong agreed with Yan Bugui's statement.

After all, Liu Haizhong knew exactly what kind of people the Jia family were.

Shortly after Yi Zhonghai returned home, shouts suddenly came from inside the house.

Upon hearing the sound, Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong abandoned their chess game and quickly got up to check the situation.

Everyone else in the courtyard rushed out to see what was going on at Yi Zhonghai's house.

In Yi Zhonghai's home, an elderly woman lay pale-faced at the bedroom door, while Yi Zhonghai stood beside her, at a loss.

Seeing this scene, Yan Bugui quickly said to Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi, don't just stand there, get him to the hospital right away!"

Yi Zhonghai then came to his senses and quickly called for everyone's help.

Soon, the young people in the courtyard found a handcart and helped take the old lady to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the woman was immediately taken to the emergency room.

Outside the emergency room, Yi Zhonghai was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Now, the old lady is his only thought. If she passes away, Yi Zhonghai doesn't know how he will live his life.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's state, Yan Bugui and the others naturally tried to comfort him.

More than an hour later, the door to the emergency room finally opened.

Upon seeing the doctor emerge from inside, Yi Zhonghai rushed forward and asked impatiently, "Doctor, how is my wife?"

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's condition, the doctor sighed and said, "Please accept my condolences. We did our best! Go in and see the patient one last time. The heart attack was too sudden; there was no way to save him."

Yi Zhonghai was struck dumb and immediately lay back down.

Fortunately, Liu Haizhong caught him from behind.

Otherwise, if he had hit his head on the ground like that, Yi Zhonghai might have followed the old lady to his death.

Chapter 553, The Sticky Reincarnation is Coming Back! (Please Subscribe!)

The group pinched his philtrum and slapped his face until they finally managed to revive Yi Zhonghai.

"Old Yi, hurry up and go to the emergency room, otherwise you might not even get to see the old lady one last time!" Yan Bugui said from the side, looking at Yi Zhonghai, who looked somewhat dejected after waking up.

Upon hearing Yan Bugui's words, Yi Zhonghai struggled to his feet and headed towards the emergency room.

The others quickly followed.

When they entered the emergency room, the woman was barely clinging to life.

An older woman looked at Yi Zhonghai as he entered and said with difficulty, "Old man, I won't be able to take care of you anymore. Be careful living on your own, and don't skimp on your food."

"Yes, don't worry, I won't mistreat myself," Yi Zhonghai said, his voice choked with emotion.

After giving Yi Zhonghai his instructions, the older woman looked at the others and said, "If Old Yi ever does anything wrong in the courtyard in the future, I hope everyone will be lenient with him for the sake of our long-standing neighborhood!"

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong quickly replied, "Don't worry, we definitely won't let Lao Yi suffer!"

"Zhu Zi, your uncle has wronged you in some ways, but for the sake of all the time we've spent together, please help him with his stutter!" An old woman looked at He Yuzhu with hopeful eyes.

Hearing the old woman's words, He Yuzhu seemed to see the deaf old lady holding his hand and talking to him when she passed away.

So He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Don't worry, ma'am!"

Upon hearing He Yuzhu's agreement, the old woman closed her eyes and stopped breathing completely.

The older woman was quite popular in the courtyard, so many people's eyes welled up with tears as they watched her leave.

Especially some older women, who usually get along well with her, feel a sense of empathy when they see an older woman pass away like this.

When Xiao Shan returned from a long walk with his two children, he noticed that the atmosphere in the courtyard seemed a bit off.

Especially after arriving at the Intermediate People's Court, Xiao Shan discovered that a large number of people had gathered in front of Yi Zhonghai's house, and a mourning banner was hanging at the door.

He Yuzhu was squatting by the door smoking, clearly in a bad mood.

"Brother Zhu, what happened?" Xiao Shan walked up to He Yuzhu with his two children and asked.

He Yuzhu looked up at Xiaoshan, sighed, and said, "Ah, an old lady is gone. Good people don't live long!"

Xiao Shan was taken aback for a moment.

Earlier at dinner, Ding Qiunan had told herself that she would buy some things and visit the old lady the next day, but now the old lady is gone.

After regaining his senses, Xiao Shan patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder.

He understood He Yuzhu's feelings.

In this courtyard, besides He Yuzhu's relatives, the people he was closest to were the old lady and an older woman.

Originally, Yi Zhonghai was also there, but because Yi Zhonghai withheld the child support payments that He Daqing gave to the siblings, Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu rarely speak to each other now.

After returning home with his two children, Xiao Shan asked Ding Qiunan to take care of them, while he prepared to visit Yi Zhonghai's home.

No matter what, we were all from the same compound. Now that the old lady has passed away, we have to go and see her.

Upon entering Yi Zhonghai's house, Xiao Shan found Qin Huairu bustling about like a mistress of the house, almost as if her mother had died.

Xiao Shan said to Qin Huairu, "Sister-in-law, you're busy. If there's anything you can help with, just let me know. That old lady was well-liked in the neighborhood. Now that she's gone, let's lend a hand if we can."

Qin Huairu pulled Xiao Shan aside and said, "Xiao Shan, I heard you resigned. What a fool you were! Deputy director of the steel rolling mill, such a good job."

Actually, there's something Qin Huairu didn't say.

Why did you resign now?

I have to wait until Bang Geng comes back and arrange a job for him before I resign!

Now that you've resigned, we won't be able to find you to help us when the time comes.

Hearing Qin Huairu's words, Xiao Shan smiled and said, "I'm just tired of working in the steel rolling mill for so long, and I want a change of environment!"

Qin Huairu had nothing to say, but felt that Xiao Shan was being too pretentious.

She's a widow who works as a fitter and supports a large family without ever getting tired of it, and you, as the leader, are already complaining?

After thinking for a moment, Qin Huairu said to Xiao Shan, "It's nothing serious. We'll keep everything simple for now. The body will be laid in state for two days, and then cremated and placed in the cemetery."

"Sister-in-law, Banggeng should be back soon! He's over twenty now, and he needs to find a job, a partner, money, and a house. You'll have to worry about him a lot."

After saying this, Xiao Shan bowed before the old woman's coffin, then turned and left.

Qin Huairu was also very worried about Banggeng. She knew all too well what was going on with him after he returned from the countryside.

Many of them just loiter on the streets and don't have any real jobs.

However, now is not the time to talk about this. We should wait a few days until the old lady's matter has passed before finding an opportunity to bring it up with Yi Zhonghai.

After all, Yi Zhonghai is Bang Geng's godfather. Now that Bang Geng is back, he can't just ignore his godfather!

As Xiao Shan left Yi Zhonghai's house, Xu Damao approached him and said, "Xiao Shan, I heard you resigned? Are you free tonight? Come over to my house for a drink."

"Okay, I'll go back and tell my wife. I'll come over to your place later for a drink and a chat," Xiao Shan nodded.

Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I've had a drink with Xu Damao.

When Xiao Shan returned home, he told Ding Qiunan about what he had seen at Yi Zhonghai's house.

After listening to Xiao Shan's story, Ding Qiunan said with some emotion, "That old lady was such a good person, one of the few good people in our neighborhood, and now she's gone!"

“Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all part of life. This lady already has a heart condition, so don’t be too sentimental! As you get older, you’ll experience more and more of these things.” Looking at Ding Qiunan’s sentimental expression, Xiao Shan said slowly, “By the way, Xu Damao invited me to his house for a drink. You stay here and watch the kids.”

Ding Qiunan rolled her eyes at Xiao Shan and said, "What's the point of drinking with him? He's either bragging or flattering you."

"Haha, that's right. But I'm just idling around anyway. After I resign, I'll rest at home for a while. I need to find something to do to pass the time," Xiao Shan said with a smile.

Upon hearing Xiao Shan's words, Ding Qiunan did not say anything further.

Xiao Shan went into the kitchen, took a bottle of Fenjiu liquor from the cupboard, and left with it.

When Xiao Shan arrived at Xu Damao's house, Xu Damao had already prepared the dishes.

Peanuts, scrambled eggs, a plate of chicken, and a plate of braised meat.

"Brother Mao, this is quite a feast, you've gone to a lot of trouble." Xiao Shan placed the Fenjiu liquor directly on the table and said to Xu Damao.

Xu Damao laughed and said, "Why are you being so polite, brother! It just so happens that Haitang brought Duofu back to her parents' home today, so we can drink to our hearts' content."

Chapter 554, Xu Damao Still Wants to Climb Higher! (Please Subscribe!)

Xiao Shan opened the bottle of wine, and the two of them drank a small glass first.

"Xiaoshan, tell me the truth, is it because the situation is changing too fast these days and you can't quite grasp it?" Xu Damao asked Xiaoshan with a gossipy look on his face after putting down his wine glass.

Xu Damao felt it was a great pity that Xiao Shan resigned!

That's the deputy factory director! How can he just resign like that?

Moreover, he was promoted by Xiao Shan, and now that Xiao Shan has resigned, he has lost his backer!

Upon hearing Xu Damao's question, Xiao Shan shook his head: "It doesn't have much to do with the situation. I just want to rest for a while and change my environment!"

After a slight pause, Xiao Shan continued, "And during this rest period, I can also spend quality time with my wife and children!"

"Xiaoshan, to be honest, I really envy you!" Xu Damao filled their glasses. "If it weren't for making a living, I would rather quit my job and go home to be with Haitang and Duofu!"

When talking about Xu Duofu, Xu Damao's face beamed with an undisguised smile.

Clearly, Xu Damao truly treated this adopted child as his own son!

After a few more drinks, Xu Damao, slightly tipsy, asked Xiao Shan, "Xiao Shan, do you think I can climb any higher now that I'm a section chief?"

Clearly, Xu Damao was not content with remaining a minor purchasing department head.

Xiao Shan was speechless upon hearing Xu Damao's question.

What's the point of climbing up now?

If the situation changes, we might have to start all over again.

However, Xiao Shan did not dampen Xu Damao's spirits. Instead, he smiled and said, "Of course it's possible! Director Li of the steel rolling mill is still the top leader. If you give Director Li a gift now, you will definitely get promoted! But it's hard to say how long you can stay there. You might have to step down next year."

"Then forget it, it's not easy for me to save up this money!" Hearing Xiao Shan say this, Xu Damao shook his head and said, "Let's see how things go first, maybe the new leader will appreciate me more!"

The two chatted for a while longer, finished a bottle of Fenjiu liquor, and then Xiao Shan went back.

Inside the house, Ding Qiunan was coaxing her two children to listen to the radio.

"Finished drinking?" Ding Qiunan asked, looking at Xiao Shan as he entered the room.

Xiao Shan nodded: "Yeah, I chatted with Xu Damao for a while, and Xu Damao still wants to climb higher!"

"He got his position as section chief thanks to you. Now that you've resigned, it's a miracle he hasn't fallen from grace. How can he possibly climb any higher?" Ding Qiunan said, somewhat speechless.