Siheyuan: I, an ordinary resident, the king of chefs

Jia Dongxu shook his head. "If you are patient, you will have peace of mind. If you take a step back, you will have a broader horizon." Zhang Liang said with a smile, "Maybe he has his own difficulties."

"I hope so. I'll think about it." Jia Dongxu stood up and patted Zhang Liang on the shoulder. "Thank you, Zhang Liang. I feel much better after talking to you."

"You're welcome, Brother Dongxu, feel free to come to me if you need anything.

After seeing Jia Dongxu off, Zhang Liang returned to his desk and continued studying. He knew that resolving conflicts required wisdom and patience, but he believed that as long as everyone communicated calmly, they would always be able to find a solution.

The next day, Zhang Liang went to work as usual. In the factory, he was thinking about how to talk to Yan Bugui to resolve the conflict in the yard. After get off work, Zhang Liang decided to take the initiative to talk to Yan Bugui. He pushed open the gate and saw Yan Bugui sitting in the yard smoking, so he walked over.

"Uncle Yan, do you have time? I want to talk to you.

Yi Zhonghai is an old resident of the Siheyuan and a retired worker.

On a hot summer afternoon, the sun shone through the gate of the courtyard and sprinkled on the bluestone slabs in the yard. The yard was quiet, with only a few sparrows chirping on the branches. Sweat had soaked his shirt. He put down his toolbox and was about to go to the well to fetch water to wash his face when he suddenly heard Yi Zhonghai's voice coming from the other end of the yard.

"Zhang Liang, you're back!" Yi Zhonghai sat on a rattan chair, looking at Zhang Liang with a smile. Several children gathered around him, listening to him tell stories about the steel mill.

"Yes, Uncle Yi, what are we going to talk about today?" He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat next to Yi Zhonghai.

"Today I will tell the children about the steel mill in the past." Yi Zhonghai's eyes were shining with memories, "At that time, our factory was a well-known advanced unit in the country!"

"Really? Grandpa Yi, what was the steel mill like at that time?" Xiao Banggeng asked with his eyes wide open and full of curiosity.

"It's a bustling place!" Yi Zhonghai laughed and gestured in the air, "The factory starts to get busy before dawn every day. Workers wear blue work clothes and safety helmets and shuttle between machines. The rolling mills rumble and the heat waves hit us, but everyone is full of energy and no one is willing to fall behind."

"Then how do you work?" another child, Liu Guangfu, also came forward and asked.

"Our work is very hard." Yi Zhonghai nodded, with a hint of pride in his tone, "The temperature of molten steel is extremely high, and you can get burned if you are not careful. My colleague Lao Zhang was accidentally burned, but he didn't say anything and continued to work. Later everyone found out that his hands were burned and had blisters!"

"So amazing!" The children were stunned.

"Uncle Yi, you are amazing. The workers at that time were very hardworking." Zhang Liang sighed. It was incredible. The spirit of that time should be learned by young people today. "Yi Zhonghai sighed, his eyes full of memories and emotion.

At this time, Qin Huairu came over with a basin of washed clothes and said to Yi Zhonghai with a smile: "Brother Yi, your storytelling is getting better and better. The children are fascinated by your story."

"Sister Huairu, are you done?

"Yes, I just finished washing clothes. I thought the children were here, so I came to see them." Qin Huairu put down the laundry basin and sat aside. "Brother Yi, please continue."

"Okay, then I'll tell you about the advanced people in our factory." Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and continued, "There is an old worker named Master Li, who is a real technical expert. When the steel rolling mill broke down, everyone was at a loss. Master Li got into the machine without saying a word and solved the problem in no time. That skill is really admirable!"

"Master Li is so awesome!" the children praised.

"Yes, Master Li's skills are the treasure of our factory." "At that time, everyone was proud to be able to learn from Master Li."

"Uncle Yi, please teach us too." "Although we don't work in the factory, we also want to learn some skills."

"Okay, as long as you are willing to learn, I will definitely teach you." His tone was full of satisfaction.

"Thank you, Uncle Yi!" Zhang Liang and the children said in unison.

At this time, Yan Bugui walked in from the courtyard gate, his face gloomy, obviously in a bad mood. He saw everyone gathered together, "Why are you gathering here? Aren't you going to work? We are listening to Uncle Yi's stories. He smiled and said, "You should come and listen too, Uncle Yi's stories are very interesting."

"Hmph, I don't have time to listen to these useless things." Yan Bugui said disdainfully and walked straight towards his room.

Qin Huairu looked at Yan Bugui's back and whispered, "Manager Yan seems to be in a bad mood recently and loses his temper easily. He even had a fight with Liu Guangfu a few days ago. She frowned slightly and said, "This won't work. I have to find a chance to have a good talk with him."

"Zhang Liang, you have a good heart and always think about everyone." Yi Zhonghai said approvingly, "However, Manager Yan's temper is indeed difficult to deal with."

"I'll give it a try. We can't let conflicts like this always occur in the yard." Zhang Liang said firmly.

In the evening, there was a cool breeze in the yard, and Zhang Liang decided to go and talk to Yan Bugui. He walked to Yan Bugui's door and knocked gently: "Uncle Yan, are you there?"

"Who is it?" Yan Bugui's voice came from inside, with a hint of impatience.

"It's me, Zhang Liang." Zhang Liang replied.

The door opened, and Yan Bugui poked his head out, frowning: "What's the matter? I want to talk to you." Zhang Liang smiled and said, "It's about our yard."

"Huh, what's there to talk about? But he still opened the door.

Zhang Liang walked into the room and saw a pile of account books on Yan Bugui's desk, obviously he was doing some accounting. He picked up one and flipped through it: "Uncle Yan, are you calculating the water and electricity bills? There are so many things to do in such a big yard." Yan Bugui sighed, with a hint of helplessness in his tone.

"Uncle Yan, it's not easy for you to take care of all these things by yourself." "However, there are some things that you can discuss with everyone, don't always carry them alone."

"Humph, I do want to, but who among them is willing to listen to me?" Yan Bugui sneered.

"Uncle Yan, don't be angry." Zhang Liang said gently, "Look, Liu Guangfu and his family didn't intend to default on the water bill, it's just that their family is in financial difficulty."

"Difficulties? Who doesn't have difficulties?" "These are the things I manage. I can't turn a blind eye. You are right. Rules are rules." Zhang Liang nodded in agreement. "However, if we understand each other, we will be more harmonious."

"Hmph, you are quite good at talking." Yan Bugui glanced at Zhang Liang, "Then what do you say we should do? I have a suggestion. Why don't we hold a regular meeting and sit together to discuss things." Zhang Liang suggested, "This way, everyone can solve problems in a timely manner, and you can save yourself the trouble."

"Council meeting? Humph, that's an idea." Yan Bugui nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, then you go and arrange it."

"Okay, Uncle Yan, I'll do it right away." Zhang Liang said happily, turned and left the room.

Zhang Liang returned to the courtyard, gathered the neighbors together, and told them his idea. The neighbors all agreed that this was a good idea. So, everyone decided to hold a courtyard meeting every Saturday night to discuss matters in the courtyard.

On Saturday night, the neighbors of the courtyard gathered together and sat in the open space in the middle of the courtyard. Yan Bugui sat in the middle, looking a little uncomfortable. Zhang Liang stood up and said with a smile: "Hello everyone, today is the first courtyard meeting of our courtyard. If you have any questions, you can bring them up and we will discuss them together."

"Let me talk first." Qin Huairu stood up. "Everyone knows about the recent water bill problem. Can you give us a few days' grace?"

Yan Bugui frowned but didn't say anything. Zhang Liang took over the conversation: "Sister Huairu, this issue can be discussed. Let's set a time, such as the first week of each month to pay the water bill. What do you think?"

"I think it's okay." Liu Guangfu nodded, "This way we will have some time to prepare."

"That's it, the first week of every month

Liu Haizhong is Zhang Liang's colleague.

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the bluestone slabs of the courtyard, and the whole courtyard was shrouded in a warm golden light. Zhang Liang finished a day's work and returned home with his toolbox on his back. He ran into Liu Haizhong, his old colleague and good friend. Liu Haizhong was drawing water from the well and saw Zhang Liang, "Zhang Liang, you're back! You've been so busy today." He walked over to help fetch water, "Why did you come back so early today?"

"There was a major overhaul project in the factory today, and overtime was arranged for us. But after I talked to my master for a few words, he let me come back early to rest." Liu Haizhong explained with a smile, his hands still moving skillfully.

"You are so lucky." "But you should come back earlier. You seem to be so busy lately that you don't have time to spend with your family."

"That's right. The kids all say that I don't get to meet them as much as the machines in the factory." Liu Haizhong said with a wry smile, "What about you? How are you doing lately?"

"It's OK. It's busy, but I can still handle it." Zhang Liang said, putting down the bucket. "Uncle Yi told the children a lot of stories about the steel mill today."

"Oh? Uncle Yi is an old worker, so what he said must be valuable information." Liu Haizhong seemed very interested. "What do you think he said?"

"He talked a lot about the past, especially the stories of the skilled workers in the factory," Zhang Liang said. "You know, like Master Li."

"Master Li, he is truly a legendary figure," Liu Haizhong exclaimed, "He was the idol of us young workers at that time."

The two chatted as they walked into the yard. Not far away, Qin Huairu was busy packing the children's clothes. Seeing them coming back, she smiled and greeted them: "Zhang Liang, Haizhong, you are back."

"Sister Huairu, are you busy?" Liu Haizhong said with a smile.

"Yes, the children's clothes can never be washed completely." Qin Huairu smiled helplessly, "Do you want to come over and sit for a while? We can chat." Zhang Liang responded and walked to Qin Huairu's house with Liu Haizhong.