The Beginning of Siheyuan: The Pig Killer of Qinjia Village

Before Jia Zhangshiwu finished speaking, Zhang Xiaoyu took over. "Our Jia family donated fifty yuan. Even if we only have one steamed bread a day, we will do our part to help the volunteer soldiers." She said this with great righteousness.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhang's face immediately turned pale. She glanced at Zhang Xiaoyu and wanted to change her words, but Zhang Xiaoyu quickly stopped her. She whispered a few words in her ear, her face gloomy but she didn't say anything else.

When Yi Zhonghai heard the sound of the letter m after the five characters of Jia Zhangshi, he immediately wanted to strangle her to death. He was really stupid. Fortunately, his daughter-in-law was smart and could adapt to the situation. Now he was very satisfied with Zhang Xiaoyu. Although she looked ordinary, she was very smart. This daughter-in-law was very good...

Afterwards, each household reported the number of people and went home to give it to Yan Bugui for record.

Chang Wei watched every move of the Jia family. The daughter-in-law of the Jia family was very smart. Who knew whether she would secretly join forces with Yi Zhonghai or become corrupt...

Qin Huairu asked in a low voice. "Boss, how much should we donate?"

Chang Wei smiled. "Donate 200 yuan! It's donated to the volunteers anyway, no one dares to touch it."

After every household had donated, Chang Wei came forward with two hundred yuan. "Teacher Yan, our family will donate two hundred yuan."

Yan Bugui nodded and took note. "Okay!"

Then Chang Wei looked at Yi Zhonghai with a smile on his face and said, "Master Yi, since the donations from each household have been recorded, why don't you also hand in the account of this record? Let the government know how much our residents care about the volunteer soldiers, what do you think?"

Chang Wei is in control. We earn as much as you do, so we have a say.

Hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's face froze, then he smiled and nodded. "Of course, of course." Under the watchful eyes of the public, he had no choice but to agree. He had originally thought of gaining a lot of favor from the government. He received reliable information that the government was going to set up a street office next year and select activists in each district...

Chang Wei continued, "Teacher Yan is a meticulous person. Fundraising and accounting will not go wrong when he handles it. Tomorrow, Master Yi will bring Teacher Yan to the Korean War Association to hand in the money. If you ask him, he will be able to tell you everything." After saying that, he smiled and turned away.

When Yan Bugui heard that there was an opportunity to show his face, he immediately said happily, "Hey, Awei still understands me."

Liu Haizhong was not stupid either. He could not miss this opportunity, so he came over and said, "Old Yan, I'm going too."

Although he didn't beat around the bush, he felt that what Chang Wei said actually made sense. The money couldn't be donated in vain, and he had to show up if he had the chance.

Yi Zhonghai's expression changed again and again.

Xu Fugui's face was calm, he saw it all and was well-informed, but he didn't care about any of it. In his heart, he was laughing at Yi Zhonghai for failing to steal the chicken and ending up losing the rice.

After the donation was completed, everyone dispersed.

Jia family.

As soon as she got home, Jia Zhang questioned Zhang Xiaoyu with a gloomy face. "Tell me? What's the reason?"

Jia Dongxu looked at Zhang Xiaoyu in confusion. Donating fifty yuan was more than his two-month salary...

Zhang Xiaoyu looked at the mother and son of the Jia family and sighed tiredly. "Mom, cousin, Master organized a fund-raising, and you shouted 50 cents. Isn't this a slap in his face? You deliberately contradicted Master. Are you planning to make fun of him in the courtyard, or are you planning to draw a clear line with Master?"

After hearing this, Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu finally understood a little.

Zhang Xiaoyu continued. "You said that your family is in financial difficulty, and our family donated fifty yuan. This is my unlimited support for Master. Will he treat our Jia family unfairly? I guarantee that before your cousin starts paying, if you tell Master that your family can't afford to eat, he will immediately pay. Even if he doesn't tell you, I estimate that he will have to send us the fifty yuan in the next two days..."

When she heard Jia Zhangshi say the word starting with Mao, she was so anxious that she interrupted him. She was thinking about what fifty yuan was nothing. The Jia family responded to Yi Zhonghai so well, and if they substituted themselves, the return would definitely be greater...

"Wife, you are so smart." Jia Dongxu realized it later and hugged Zhang Xiaoyu happily. "Mom, it's a good thing that Xiaoyu is here, otherwise after what happened today, Master would definitely not like me anymore."

Jia Zhang also understood everything. Although it was impossible for Yi Zhonghai to really dislike her son, based on her understanding of Yi Zhonghai, he would definitely not be in a good mood for a period of time.

……

Chang Wei and the other man returned to the yard.

Qin Huairu giggled. "Boss, why are you trying to trip up Yi Zhonghai?"

She figured it out at the time. If Yi Zhonghai took the money and the bill to the district meeting to hand it in, wouldn't it be obvious that he was seeking credit? Nowadays, people talk about patriotism and selfless dedication, but you just showed me an account book. Why do you want the government to write you an IOU? The best result of doing this is that it will not leave a good impression on people.

Chang Wei put his arm around her waist and said with a smile, "Wife, if Yi Zhonghai had made a normal donation, I wouldn't have cared. But for his own selfish reasons, he insisted on expanding his victory and made a record in public, morally blackmailing the residents in the courtyard, which is equivalent to forcing donations. I am such a kind person, how could I not do a good deed and help him?"

Qin Huairu giggled and followed her husband's lead. "Yes, you are the kindest one in the family, so you must give him a push."

In fact, Yi Zhonghai took the money, no matter how much, and handed it over to the district's Anti-US Aid Korea Association. Needless to say, he could just say that it was raised by the residents of the courtyard for the volunteer soldiers, which would definitely increase his favorability. With the popularization of street offices and neighborhood committees, he would definitely benefit from it. If he could handle it well, he would have a good chance of becoming a street activist...

When Yi Zhonghai returned home, his face turned pale and blue with anger.

He forgot that there was a marginal figure named Chang Wei in the courtyard, who looked harmless but was actually someone who was easy to mess with.

This matter needs to be remedied, otherwise the money and effort will be wasted.

After thinking deeply for a while, I found that the breakthrough point lies with Yan Bugui. As long as Yan Bugui helps, no one else will know what the district will say about the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.

As for the money donated by the Jia family, I will make it up to Dongxu tomorrow. My daughter-in-law is so smart and sensible, and she is here to help. How can the Jia family pay out of their own pockets?

After thinking it over, Yi Zhonghai hurried out again.

After observing that there was no one in the yard, he quietly went straight to the front yard.

When they arrived at Yan's house, they quietly called out Yan Bugui and went to the public toilet outside the yard, where the two of them whispered.

Yi Zhonghai spoke the truth. "Old Yan, we have been friends for so many years, let me tell you the truth, today's donation... I got reliable information that the government will become a street office, so I..."

Hearing this, Yan Bugui understood. "Old Yi, do you mean that we only pay the money, but not the account books?"

"Yes, it would be bad if we handed it over. Now only the two of us know about this. If you don't tell me and I don't tell anyone, no one else will know. How about we say tomorrow that we organized this together?"

Yan Bugui was tempted. "Did you forget that Lao Liu is going with you? And can those street activists really become cadres?"

"Then we three will do it." Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and continued to induce. "It should be possible, but it's useless to have the support of the few people in our courtyard. It needs to be recommended by the neighborhood. I don't think there is much hope. But activists can't be responsible for such a large area alone. How can they handle it? There must be people below. We hope a little more." He actually still held out hope. It's human nature for ordinary people to want to climb up and become cadres.

After hearing this, Yan Bugui hesitated. "The people below are not cadres anymore, right?"

Yi Zhonghai directly prescribed the right medicine. "Old Yan, not being a cadre also has its advantages. The twenty-five yuan you donated tonight will be counted on me."

"Really?" Yan Bugui's eyes lit up. How could those meaningless things be as convincing as the tangible benefits in front of him?

"How can I lie to you?" Yi Zhonghai knew Yan Bugui and was prepared, so he took out twenty-five yuan and gave it to him.

"Okay, I'll take it without hesitation." Yan Bugui happily took the money and put it in his pocket, but he didn't forget the main thing. "Lao Yi, let's make a deal tomorrow. It's me who organized it. You go talk to Lao Liu."

Yi Zhonghai twitched his lips and nodded. "Okay."

……

----