Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

On Monday, Liu Guozheng embarked on his regular itinerary, rushing from Hope New Village to the office.

However, he was blocked at the entrance of the alley leading to the office.

Looking around, there were crowds of people, and it was as lively as a temple fair.

All I could hear was the clanging of gongs and slogans, loud enough to break the sky, and some radical shouting and cursing, which was extremely harsh to the ears.

Liu Guozheng understood instantly. He wondered which unlucky guy would be criticized here today.

"Dad, look, there are so many people!" The car stopped helplessly. Liu Xiaoxiao, who was in the car, leaned on the window, staring at the dark crowd curiously, with excitement flashing in her eyes.

“I want to watch too!” Liu Lele on the other side was not to be outdone and immediately joined the crowd watching the fun, with his little face pressed against the car window and his eyes wide open.

"Brother Zheng, why don't we get off the car and take a look?" Lou Xiao'e's bright eyes sparkled with anticipation. She has always been positive about watching the fun.

"Okay, okay!"

The two little guys, Xiaoxiao and Lele, clapped their hands excitedly, with expectant smiles on their faces.

Three of the four people in the car were eager to try. What else could Liu Guozheng do? He smiled helplessly. Most importantly, he was curious about who was being criticized this time. He clearly remembered that it was Yan Bugui who was criticized last year. What about this year?

Since there was no way forward, the car had to be parked on the side of the road, leaving Xu Fang in the car without having to worry about anyone causing damage.

After getting off the car, Liu Guozheng held Xiaoxiao and Lou Xiaoe held Lele. With so many people around, they didn't dare to take the risk of letting the two little girls run around by themselves.

After much effort, they finally squeezed in. They saw that the person kneeling on the makeshift platform was Yi Zhonghai! It was really unexpected.

Yi Zhonghai knelt there, saying nothing. It was impossible to tell whether his face was happy or sad, because his face was painted black, with the darkest part being his lips.

There was a pot next to it, with a thick layer of ash on the bottom of the pot.

From time to time, someone would come up, smear a handful of soot on the bottom of the pot, and then smear it hard on Yi Zhonghai's face.

What’s even more interesting is that someone was muttering as he was smearing: “You old bastard, don’t you like to smear red? Today we’re going to smear black on you!”

"Dad, why is that man kneeling there?" Liu Xiaoxiao stretched out her little finger and stared at Yi Zhonghai on the stage curiously.

"Yes, yes." Liu Lele also joined in the fun, his face full of confusion.

Liu Guozheng took a look and said meaningfully: "Well... maybe I made a mistake."

Liu Xiaoxiao tilted her head, still not quite understanding: "Then why is it that when I make mistakes at home, my mother only scolds me and never makes me kneel?"

Liu Lele's eyes rolled around and she suddenly interrupted, "Is it because we don't have that table at home?"

The innocent words of the two little girls instantly caused the crowd around them to burst into laughter. Seeing the focused eyes of the people around them, the two little girls suddenly became a little shy and hurriedly shouted that they wanted to leave.

Even after I separated from the crowd and turned into the alley, I could still hear bursts of laughter behind me.

"Brother Zheng..."

Xu Damao spotted Liu Guozheng in the crowd and waved his arms and stood on tiptoe, trying to attract Liu Guozheng's attention. Unfortunately, Liu Guozheng turned into the alley in the blink of an eye.

The main reason was that there were too many people, and Liu Guozheng didn't even see Xu Damao in the crowd.

When they arrived at the office, the two little girls had fun with their friends again.

Liu Guozheng also heard from Huang Qiuxia the reason why Yi Zhonghai was criticized: Yi Zhonghai wore lipstick and Tan Guihua put on powder.

Originally, Tan Guihua would also be criticized, but considering her physical condition, Liu Haizhong was afraid that someone would die, so he let Tan Guihua reflect on herself at home.

Last year, Yi Zhonghai reported Yan Bugui, and this year Yan Bugui reported him back. This really proves the saying: tit for tat.

Liu Guozheng asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Sister Huang, you said Yi Zhonghai was wearing lipstick? Isn't this nonsense?"

"The problem is, people believe it!" Huang Qiuxia spread her hands and said helplessly.

"Why?" Liu Guozheng continued to ask.

"It is said that Yi Zhonghai's lips were indeed red yesterday, and Tan Guihua's face was as white as if she had been powdered." Huang Qiuxia explained.

After saying that, Huang Qiuxia poked her head out from behind the counter and looked outside. Then she lowered her voice and continued, "I heard that Yi Zhonghai ate chili peppers yesterday and his lips turned red from the spiciness. As a result, Yan Bugui reported him for wearing lipstick. Don't you think this is a rumor?"

After taking a breath, Huang Qiuxia added, "But Tan Guihua's face is white, but I really don't believe that she puts on makeup. Just think about it, anyone who stays indoors all year round will have a white face."

"But, what's strange is that when Yan Bugui wiped Yi Zhonghai's lips, his hands were stained with red. When Yang Ruihua wiped Tan Guihua's face, white powder appeared on his hands." Huang Qiuxia's face was full of confusion. To her and to many people, this matter was like an unsolvable mystery.

After hearing what Huang Qiuxia said, Liu Guozheng finally understood everything.

It was obvious that Yi Zhonghai and his wife had been tricked by Yan Bugui! He didn't even need to ask any more questions to guess that Yan Bugui must have secretly returned home on the day of the incident.

You should know that Yan Bugui's family has red paper. That red stuff will fade. As long as you touch it, your hands will be immediately covered with red.

As for the white powder in Yang Ruihua's hand, Liu Guozheng knew without a doubt that it was flour.

Yang Ruihua seemed to be working as a kitchen helper in a steel rolling mill, so naturally he had easy access to flour.

According to the Yan family's nature of taking advantage, when Yang Ruihua was in the kitchen, she would definitely put a handful of flour into her pocket from time to time. Over time, her pockets would definitely be full of flour.

The red paint in Yan Bugui's hand and the white powder in Yang Ruihua's hand did not need to be prepared specially, and could be used anytime and anywhere to frame Yi Zhonghai.

It seems that Yi Zhonghai did not suffer any loss. He never expected that Yan Bugui's desire for revenge would be so strong.

"Brother Zheng, have you thought of something?" Lou Xiao'e asked curiously, looking at Liu Guozheng's expression of sudden enlightenment.

Huang Qiuxia and her husband also kept a close eye on Liu Guozheng, waiting for his next move.

Liu Guozheng then told them all his guesses. After listening to his analysis, the expressions on the faces of several people were very interesting, especially Huang Qiuxia and her husband. They looked at each other and had the same idea in their minds: I should have less contact with the people in Courtyard No. 95 in the future. Those people are too cunning and hard to guard against.