The conspiracy of the courtyard

Chapter 56: Meeting Again

When I walked to the gate of the courtyard, I saw Yan Bugui standing at the gate, rubbing his hands, craning his neck to stare at the direction of the alley, pacing nervously, just like the wife in the book who was looking forward to her husband's return. When I saw Chen Ping, I immediately ran over and asked anxiously: "Chen Ping, you are back. Did you see Xiao Zhao? Didn't they say that the power company would come to install the light bulbs before get off work? Why haven't they come yet? It's just the last step."

Chen Ping was confused by the question and said, "Didn't Xiao Zhao say that everything was installed and we just had to screw in the light bulb? Didn't your family leave any light bulbs?"

Yan Bugui seemed to understand something and relaxed: "I gave it to you. I thought I would come to install it like you do. Isn't this discrimination? If I had known, I wouldn't have waited here for an entire afternoon. It's really irresponsible and has no sense of contract. I paid more than 40 yuan myself. It's so much money, but they don't even install a light bulb. Forget it, I won't bother with you. I'll install it myself. Thank you, otherwise I'll have to wait."

Chen Ping was speechless. How could he feel that he was at a disadvantage for such a small matter? How fine a needle must be to stop such a vicious mind? "Teacher Yan, I want to ask you a question. Does Jiang Xiangpai know about it?" Seeing Yan Bugui's confused look, he knew that it was not him who was in league with Lu Zhihai, so he smiled and said, "It's okay. It doesn't matter if you don't know. I'm asking for my friend. Thank you." After that, he went home.

As soon as she got home, Chen Ping smiled very brightly. Her son liked to see this smile the most. He said it was called Auntie's smile. As long as she smiled, her son would agree to everything she asked: "Son, what do you want to eat tonight? How about crucian carp and tofu soup? Let Zhuzi make it. Put less salt and add some milk powder. Is that okay? If yes, I'll go call Zhuzi to come."

Lu Zixuan seemed to be in deep thought, nodded slightly, and said yes. But in his heart, he was suspicious, "Did you hear my voice again? This shouldn't be the case. Today, my emotions have never fluctuated. There has been no ripples. Could it be that the mother and son are really connected by heart?"

That's it. With my mother's IQ, isn't that just cannon fodder and passerby? What's going on? I'd rather not have this pretty skin than this smart soul.]

Chen Ping flew out of the house, still feeling scared after leaving the house, "I was almost exposed again. No wonder my son said that he gets stupid when he's proud. It seems to be true. My son just said it in his mind, and I said it out loud. Isn't he a complete idiot? Next time I should go against him, and everything should be fine, right? You little brat, you even guess my IQ? I can't even find it myself, how can you connect it? Haha."

Thinking about something, he walked to the door of He Yuzhu's house. Seeing that the door was open, he stood at the door and called out, "Zhuzi, are you back?"

He Yushui jumped out of the house and said ecstatically: "Sister, the teacher said I got the first place in the exam, are you happy? Your Yushui has made it, what about Xuanxuan? I have to tell him quickly so that he can laugh at me every day."

"Really? Our Yu Shui is so awesome! She's pretty, speaks well, and is also a good student. How come I have all the credit? How can this be justified? Look, she even knows how to use honorifics." Chen Ping never hesitates to praise He Yu Shui, and makes the little girl very happy every day.

He Yushui said seriously, "Only you, others? Don't even think about it. I just like you, sister. I heard that there will be a meeting for the whole hospital. Are you here to call brother? Brother just got off work and changed clothes. You are so conceited every day. You are a grown man, changing and washing every day, more frequently than a pretty girl like me."

Chen Ping also likes to be close to He Yushui. "Really? How can this be? No one can surpass our Yushui, so let's talk about him together. He can't change clothes more often than our Yushui. Who said to hold a meeting of the whole hospital? How come I didn't know? No one said anything." He Yushui pulled Chen Ping's clothes, indicating that she should squat down and whisper. Chen Ping understood and immediately squatted down with his ear tilted, ready to listen.

He Yushui showed a very understanding expression, leaned over to Chen Ping's ear and said: "I secretly heard it at the door of Yi Zhonghai's house yesterday. Uncle Liu wanted to be the second uncle, so he gave Yi Zhonghai two bills. I don't know how much it was, and asked him to discuss it with Teacher Yan. Just now I saw Uncle Liu laughing like a fool, and he walked out of Yi Zhonghai's house, and said that the meeting in the evening was all up to my brother. It must have been done, and I guess he will come to notify us soon. Look, Brother Dongxu is here, and he must be notifying us of the meeting."

"Chen Ping is here too, that's great, it saves me from having to make a trip. Go and inform the people in the backyard that my master, no, it's the second uncle, is going to call a meeting for the whole courtyard, and they must be there in half an hour. Yu Shui, go ask your brother to turn on the lights in the courtyard, go quickly, none of them have any eyesight. Oh, Yu Shui, ask your brother to move the table out too." Jia Dongxu raised his head, pointed at Chen Ping and He Yu Shui with his chin, and ordered proudly.

The two looked at each other and looked at Jia Dongxu with contempt. No one moved. Five seconds later, Jia Dongxu said "huh" contemptuously and walked to the backyard. Chen Ping looked at He Yushui and asked, "Has he always been so stupid? Where's your brother? Hurry up and ask him to go to the backyard to cook. The crucian carp we bought yesterday is still alive. There is also tofu. You need to ask your brother to think about how to make it delicious. Your brother is almost spoiling our appetite. I guess you won't be able to eat the food I cook in the future. Okay, go call your brother."

"No need to shout, I'm here, sister. You're really my sister. Master told me not to stick to one type of cuisine and taught me a few Cantonese dishes. I can't make them with just words, and you're here. I'll make you a classic Cantonese dish, crucian carp and tofu soup. It's different from what we make. Let's go, hurry up. I'm going to find Xiaoxuanxuan first...haha." He Yuzhu was so excited that he was about to fly, and his voice had to follow his footsteps to the backyard.

As soon as He Yuzhu entered the room, he saw Lu Zixuan, dozing off on his small table out of boredom. "Xiao Xuanxuan, your uncle is here. Guess what your uncle brought you? Ha... It's carved from radish. Does it look good? Do you recognize peach blossoms? Your uncle carved them himself. When you grow up a little, your uncle will take you to the overpass to watch acrobatics, listen to Kunqu opera, listen to crosstalk, and then take you to the temple fair. Haha... It's beautiful just to think about it. Xiao Xuanxuan, you have to grow up quickly. Your uncle will teach you how to fight... No, your mother doesn't allow you to fight. Then I'll teach you how to cook. Let me tell you, your uncle has lost a lot of face with the master now..."

It was not until he saw Chen Ping and He Yushui come in that he stopped talking and said, "I'll go cook for you first. Let you taste the classic Cantonese dishes made by Chef He himself."

Seeing Lu Zixuan concentrating on listening to He Yuzhu's nonsense again, Chen Ping said angrily, "Well, Chef He hasn't finished showing off to your nephew yet? Go and cook quickly, or someone will urge you to attend the whole hospital meeting soon."

"Understood! Ying Qin has destroyed the country without justice, and heroes are fighting on all sides. Sit back and drink in the treasure tent, and wait to hear the military intelligence." He Yuzhu sang the lines of Overlord and went to cook.

He Yushui stared blankly at He Yuzhu as he walked out the door before asking, "Is my brother crazy? Why is he acting so crazy? Xiaoxuanxuan, tell me the truth, did you cast a spell on him? Why is he so excited? I have never seen He Yuzhu like this before."

Chen Ping stopped him, "Don't talk nonsense. Your brother has been in the kitchen for too long without talking to anyone. He was feeling depressed when chatting with Xuanxuan, so he just sang. You were the same. You were talking to me, and when you were happy, you hummed and sang. Although I didn't understand what you sang..."

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Follow-up of power outage

Yan Bugui learned from Chen Ping that Xiao Zhao was also looking for the power supply company to run the circuit, and he was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. Why? Because he finally had the opportunity to get his compensation back from Old Sun and Zhao Saner in an open and aboveboard manner.

After reporting to school the next day, I was flattered and arranged to attend classes in the afternoon. I put on the three Daqianmen cigarettes Liu Haizhong gave me before the election and immediately went to find Xiao Zhao, the secretary, to offer him cigarettes and flatter him. In a few words, I explained the whole story and described the miserable life without electricity as horrible.

Secretary Zhao was straightforward and agreed to help make the contact, but since he was going to run the line alone, he had to bear the cost of the wires and the workers' wages. In addition, if there were other houses in the courtyard that did not have circuits installed, they would also need to be installed. The power supply company would not come a third time, so Yan Bugui had to make the contact.

Yan Bugui was so confused that his head was buzzing. He didn't hear a word of what was said next. He had already inquired about it. Electric wires are much more expensive than electric lights. How much would such a long wire cost? How much would it cost? How much would the whole family have to save to make up for the money for the wire? He regretted it, really regretted it. Why did he go against the whole hospital? Why did he care about the insignificant electricity bill?

There were two other companies. He wanted to take this opportunity to make them thank him and return the money he had extorted. But what about now? If he didn't do it right, he would fall again. Yan Bugui really didn't understand what had happened during this period. He lost 40 yuan for a bowl of white noodles, and 70 yuan for his bad mouth. He didn't know how much he would have to pay this time.

Yan Bugui was in no mood to chat, and walked home as if he had lost his soul. After a long period of feeling lost, he told Aunt Yang about the wires. Aunt Yang was also heartbroken after hearing this. She scolded Yan Bugui for being too calculative, not considering his family, only calculating small profits, and not having a broad mind and courage. Yan Bugui also complained that Aunt Yang acted on her own and took other people's things without permission, causing irreparable losses.

The two quarreled for two days, and then had a cold war for two days, but the problem still had to be solved. If quarreling was useful, there would be no need to teach. Yan Bugui apologized proactively, and only then did he get the right to eat at the table. Yes, since the quarrel, Aunt Yang has not cooked Yan Bugui's meal again. It was still Yi Zhonghai who felt sorry for Yan Bugui and let him have dinner at home every day. After the two shook hands and made peace, they discussed and decided to go to the other two families to test the waters before making a decision.

It was hard for Old Sun's family to live without electricity. Although Yan Bugui paid some compensation for the kerosene, he felt bad when he saw that other people's houses were brightly lit while his house was dark. He didn't feel the benefits of electric lights before, thinking that they were just different ways of lighting, but when he really compared them, he realized that the difference was huge.

As long as people enter the door and turn on the light switch, everything will be bright immediately. But what about kerosene lamps? You have to find matches in the dark first, and then use the weak light of the matches to find the kerosene lamp and light it. When it is windy, you have to go to a place sheltered from the wind to light it. It may not light up in one go, sometimes because of strong winds, sometimes because the matches are damp, sometimes because the matches burn your hands, sometimes because the wick is not oily... There are too many reasons why it can't light up, how can it be compared with electric lights?

In addition, kerosene lamps are not safe. In the past, because my grandson was young, he wanted to light a lamp but couldn't find a match, so he used the fire from the stove to light it, which almost caused a disaster. My daughter-in-law also almost had a miscarriage because she couldn't find a kerosene lamp when she got up at night.

Seeing his grandson staring at the lights in other people's houses with eyes full of longing for the light, the old man felt sad. His wife complained every day that he was delayed in making shoe soles because of a small amount of money. Because of this, he quarreled with others at an old age. Although he got some money for kerosene, he lost much more.

First, the name of the last eunuch spread out, and then the son doubted his origins and insisted on doing a blood test to prove his kinship. If the hospital hadn't said that it was inaccurate, who knows what would have happened. Now the daughter-in-law doesn't even talk to the old couple. What's the point?

Old Sun also inquired about it, and when he was told that he had to pay for the wires himself, he also felt distressed. The family discussed it and came to the same conclusion: wait, wait for the other two families, I don't believe that they don't envy the bright lights, I don't believe that they don't have troubles.

Of course there were worries. Zhao San'er was at home, being scolded by his wife like a grandson. "What do you want? Just because of a worthless Third Uncle who said a few nonsense principles? Is he better at calculating than the people in the country? Is he more reasonable than the people in the government? If he was capable, he wouldn't have stolen the flour and been caught. If he was good, he wouldn't have paid the money? If he was capable, he wouldn't have treated everyone in the hospital to a meal."

"You haven't seen it, but you must have heard of it, right? Is Yan Bugui really that awesome? He would apologize to Sister Chen and give in to Sister Chen? You are so proud of yourself after hearing those two compliments, right? Bullshit, young and promising. If you were promising, you wouldn't have been bullied in the village long ago. Go teach and educate people. You guard our stove every day. When you see something fishy, ​​you come to get close to you. Who are you? An apprentice who can't even get into other people's eyes."

"What did the old man say the other day? People in the city are all smart, who is not better than you? Those from poor families all know that this is a good policy. You are just a fool, listening to the nonsense of that half-baked teacher. If I could go out to work, I would slap you to death for being a coward."

"I've asked Sister Chen, there will be a second batch of people coming to install the lights, and you'll need to pay for the wiring yourself. If you continue to listen to Yan Bugui's bad advice, let's just call it quits. I'll go home and find a widower who's not a coward, which is better than being with a wimp like you who knows nothing and loves to listen to nonsense."...

Just like that, the three families cooperated again. But the process was not so smooth. The total cost of the wires, lights, and labor, including the street lights, was 69 yuan. After Xiao Zhao's reasonable allocation, Yan Bugui's family needed 31 yuan for the main line, Zhao Saner's family needed 15 yuan, and Lao Suntou's family needed 23 yuan for the backyard.

After several unfriendly negotiations, since it was Yan Bugui who had urged the family not to install the lights, there had to be a penalty, so it became: Yan Bugui 41, Zhao Saner 10, and Old Suntou 18. The two families also agreed to return the previous compensation, and only then did they reach an agreement and install the lights.