Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

Page 209

"What's with this woman? I never thought this old bastard could have so many romantic entanglements..."

"He's half-buried in the earth, how shameless..."

"I think this old man probably wants to leave himself an heir while he still has some strength left!"

This emotional scene was far more captivating than the fight earlier, drawing a growing crowd of onlookers who speculated and discussed it amongst themselves.

"Yanzi...you...how did you get here..."

As the shadowy figure drew closer, Yi Zhonghai realized it was Zhang Feng's wife, Wang Yan, who had come to his door.

He was dumbfounded, standing there in fear. Zhang Feng had been his apprentice for several years, and he knew that Wang Yan was not someone to be trifled with.

"Yi Zhonghai! It's her again! What's going on?"

Even the usually good-tempered middle-aged woman couldn't keep her composure at this moment, and angrily questioned Yi Zhonghai.

"Oh, don't make things worse!"

"Yanzi... there are too many people and too many eyes outside... let's go back inside and talk!"

Yi Zhonghai approached Wang Yan with a fawning expression and said.

"Don't give me that crap! What are you doing coming into the house! Today I'm going to show your neighbors what kind of person you really are!"

Having been fooled once before, Wang Yan was no longer going to fall for Yi Zhonghai's tricks. She simply moved a long bench to the middle of the yard and stood on it.

"Are all of you Yi Zhonghai's neighbors?"

"Yes!"

The group was extremely enthusiastic, always eager to stir up trouble.

"I don't know if you recognize my man, he's Zhang Feng, Yi Zhonghai's apprentice!"

"Yi Zhonghai first instigated my husband to have a conflict with his superiors and colleagues, and then used my husband to help him frame his superiors and colleagues!"

"Later, when things got out of hand, that shameless old man Yi Zhonghai pretended nothing had happened and made my husband take the blame for him. Zhang Feng is still in jail now!"

"To tell you the truth, Zhang Feng and I have a son who is less than a year old. I have never worked. Now that Zhang Feng is in jail, we, a widow and her son, have no way to survive!"

“I went to see Yi Zhonghai a while ago, and he told me he would try to find a way. It’s been half a month now, and my man still hasn’t come back!”

Wang Yan continued talking to herself, refusing to get down no matter how much Yi Zhonghai tried to pull her.

"This old man wasn't like this before. Ever since he went to jail, I've felt he's not a decent person..."

"I think that's exactly who he is, but he was so good at disguising it before that we didn't notice!"

"What kind of thing did he do? He's just making things difficult for people. It's so hard for a woman to raise a child on her own..."

The whispers and murmurs around him were deafening, and Yi Zhonghai, who was always extremely concerned about his reputation, wished he could disappear into a hole in the ground...

"What's wrong? Are you mute? I saw you shouting quite loudly in the yard just now."

After recounting Yi Zhonghai's crimes, Wang Yan curled her lip and stared fiercely at Yi Zhonghai, asking a question.

“Yanzi…this…how can you say that I instigated Zhang Feng to do this…it was clearly him who had a problem with his boss and colleagues…”

With Li Xiangdong still standing there, how could Yi Zhonghai dare to casually admit that he was the mastermind behind putting up the big-character posters?

"Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? I heard everything clearly when you were teaching Zhang Feng to do these bad things in my house!"

"Zhang Feng used to be such an honest person, he only changed after he became your apprentice!"

Wang Yancai wasn't buying Yi Zhonghai's act; she wouldn't have approached him lightly without being fully prepared.

"Girl, why are you getting so angry on such a cold day?"

“I’ve met Fengzi, and he’s definitely a good kid. This matter… regardless of whose idea it was, a master should accept punishment for a disciple’s wrongdoing!”

"Now that things have come to this, and Yi Zhonghai doesn't have extraordinary abilities, it's really a bit difficult for him to get Fengzi out..."

Seeing that Wang Yan wasn't there because of a secret affair with Yi Zhonghai, as people were saying, the older woman's temper softened considerably. She even stepped forward, wanting to help Yi Zhonghai clean up this mess.

Chapter 292 An older woman tries to smooth things over

"Old lady, who do you think you are?"

"You've gone and said nothing about Yi Zhonghai, do you think I, Wang Yan, am some kind of pushover?"

Wang Yan snorted coldly, showing no kindness to the soft-spoken older woman.

"That was not what I meant……"

“I know it’s not easy for you as a woman without income, taking care of the child at home. Now that Zhang Feng is in jail, crying and making a scene won’t help. You should think more about yourself and the child, right?”

"How about this, as far as I know, Zhang Feng's monthly salary is less than ten yuan. I'll have Lao Yi give you ten yuan every month as living expenses for you and your child."

Despite being a woman, she showed more courage than Yi Zhonghai when it mattered.

"You old woman...you..."

Upon hearing that money was to be paid, Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and tugged at the older woman's clothes. The woman shook him off with some disdain and continued to look at Wang Yan with a kind expression.

"Ten dollars...you think you can get rid of me with ten dollars? No way!"

"If you ask me... this baby is less than a year old, which is a time when money is tight, it should cost at least... at least fifteen!"

Wang Yan knew, of course, that it would be difficult for anyone to get Zhang Feng out of jail. What she truly cared about was not necessarily Zhang Feng; the main problem lay with money.

Wang Yan was genuinely surprised that the older woman had so readily offered to pay, but she still forced herself to remain calm and began haggling.

"This... our combined retirement pensions are less than twenty..."

When the older woman heard Wang Yan demand fifteen yuan, she found it hard to accept. After all, she and Yi Zhonghai's income was only lower than average, and if they gave Wang Yan fifteen yuan a month, they would only have three to five yuan left.

"What do you two old folks need so much money for? Besides, you've committed a crime and you don't want to spend the money? You can't expect to get away with that!"

"Alright... then... then it'll be fifteen..."

The older woman agreed. At this moment, Yi Zhonghai's face had turned green, but he really didn't dare to provoke Wang Yan, so he could only listen silently.

"Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk. Write it down in black and white, and then give me the money for the fifteenth of this month first."

Having achieved her goal, Wang Yan suppressed her inner joy, pursed her lips, and directly reached out to ask for money.

"I've been his neighbor for so many years, and this is the first time I've ever seen him give money to someone else."

"Who says otherwise? In the past, he would hold large-scale meetings and impose fines all the time, and all the money ended up in his pocket."

"It's all karma. Now those two old folks are going to have a hard time for a few days."

The onlookers were filled with sighs of disbelief.

"This is the written agreement, and this is the money for this month."

Since things had come to this point, the old woman had no choice but to comply in order to keep the peace.

"Alright, then I'll trouble everyone here to be my witnesses. If Yi Zhonghai goes back on his word, you will all be my witnesses."

Wang Yan took the money and left satisfied, while Yi Zhonghai immediately went inside. Seeing there was no more excitement to watch, everyone else also left.

"I'm telling you, you old woman, you're really senile. How can she earn fifteen yuan from me every month just by lying at home and sleeping all day?"

"Are we supposed to starve with only three yuan left each month? I think we might as well jump into the well together as a companion!"

Once everyone had left, Yi Zhonghai perked up and complained to an older woman.

"You've got guts. Why didn't you say anything when they were cursing at you in the yard? You're just trying to be tough with me..."

"Don't you think that unless you get Zhang Feng out of jail, she won't let you off easily if you don't give her money? You've only been out for a few days. Do you really want to spend the New Year in there?"

The older woman's series of questions left Yi Zhonghai speechless, and he sat there blankly, drinking his tea.

“Zhang Feng’s case could be a big deal or a small deal. He won’t be sentenced for long. Once he gets out, we won’t have to pay him anymore.”

"Since we've already caused this mess, let's just live a few days. Anyway, we've saved up some money over the years, so if it's really not enough, we'll just live off our savings."

It seems that this older woman is not only more courageous than Yi Zhonghai, but also has a much stronger mentality.

Yi Zhonghai, sitting there, felt too embarrassed to say anything more and could only acquiesce.

Having failed to help Yi Zhonghai last night, He Yuzhu was terrified of running into Yi Zhonghai and the old lady, so he went to the factory early this morning.

Xu Damao was no exception. Since the wedding couldn't be arranged for the time being, and it was no fun being alone at home, he might as well come to the factory early to get some breakfast.

It has to be said that it was Factory Director Yang's words yesterday that motivated them. Working in the workshop is indeed a lucrative job, but the prerequisite is that you can only get paid if you deliver high-quality work. Therefore, both of them were extremely determined to work today.

"Everyone, let's give it our all! There are only three days left, and success or failure hinges on this! At the current pace, we're sure to complete this mission successfully. Let's do our best!"

Before starting work today, Li Xiangdong, as usual, loudly encouraged the workers.

Chapter 293 My Family's Wrong Idea

"Are you two joking? Is this what you assembled?"

Yu Bin was a quick worker, and by mid-morning he had almost finished his work for the day. Li Xiangdong then arranged for him to inspect the other workers.

After the first round of parts production, the workers' skill levels were all quite good, and there were basically no problems. Except, of course, for He Yuzhu and Xu Damao.

Yu Bin wandered over to the two men's workstations and stopped in his tracks. When he picked up the finished product they had assembled, Yu Bin didn't even know whether to laugh or cry.

His questioning also attracted the attention of many workers, who stopped to watch.

"Well, if this were installed on our equipment, everyone's work for half a month would be for nothing..."

"It's like one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel. Anyone with a hand wouldn't do something like this, would they?"