Courtyard House: From Bloodsucking Jia Zhangshi to Industrial Giant

Chapter 22 Zhang Chengfei moves, Yan Bugui is heartbroken!

Are they arguing? Zhang Chengfei stopped and listened intently.

Liu Haizhong's voice rang out immediately: "Let me tell you, Zhang Erya, asking you to vacate the house is a difficult task assigned to me by the organization! Stop talking nonsense with me and hurry up and move your pile of junk out."

Around 4 PM this afternoon, the leader from the Housing Management Section of the Factory's Personnel Department came to see him, saying that someone wanted to move into the front wing of courtyard number 95. Knowing that he lived in this courtyard, they asked him to help the new colleague settle in as soon as possible.

Nine years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Haizhong did some quick calculations and realized this was the first time a leader had assigned him a task. And why was he being asked to do it specifically, instead of dealing with that in-house manager, Yi Zhonghai? What did that mean?

It signifies acknowledging one's status within the courtyard house and one's competence at the factory!

Liu Haizhong felt that if he handled this matter well, even if the leaders didn't say it, they would remember his contribution.

Thinking of this, Liu Haizhong put his hands behind his back again and looked at the furious Zhang Erya: "This is public housing. It was wrong of you to occupy it without permission before. No one lived there at the time, so it was okay for you to put your things there."

If you continue to cause trouble, I'll get the neighborhood committee and the subdistrict office to handle it!

After saying that, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, like two powerful generals, immediately rushed to the door of the side room and forcibly pried open the lock.

Yan Bugui sneered from the side, thinking that Zhang Erya was not the only one who had her eye on this room.

He had wanted to make a move at first, but he couldn't bring himself to do it because of his pride as an intellectual, and Zhang Erya beat him to it.

Now that things have turned out this way, he feels a sense of satisfaction at finally getting revenge, but at the same time, he thinks that once the house is divided up, he will have no hope left.

However, this house has been vacant for almost two years. Why are people suddenly moving in again?

Seeing that she couldn't save her house, Zhang Erya plopped down on the ground: "Gods! The steel mill and the neighborhood committee are bullying us widows and orphans! Our family of five is crammed into one house, and we've asked the neighborhood committee and the factory several times, but they won't give us a house."

Old Jia, if you're watching from heaven, please come and see! Some little brat has come from who-knows-where, trying to steal our house! If you're alive, please take that little bastard with you…”

Ah, this...

Seeing that the insults were directed at him, Zhang Chengfei couldn't just stand by and watch. He stood in front of the screen wall and first shouted, "Where's Er Ya? Is Er Ya home?" Then he quickened his pace and walked into the courtyard.

It's Uncle San! Why is Uncle San here at this hour? I can't let him see me like this, acting like a shrew!

Zhang Erya immediately jumped up from the ground, patted the dust off her bottom, and looked flustered.

Liu Haizhong sneered, "You, Zhang Erya, are unreasonable, fine. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to call your parents."

He refused to believe that Zhang Chengfei, a high-ranking cadre, could be as unreasonable as Zhang Erya.

Upon hearing the phrase "call the parents," Zhang Erya immediately panicked: "Liu Haizhong, you dare! If you dare to tell on me, I'll pee in your pot tonight!"

"You're such a shrew!" Liu Haizhong sobbed with anger.

While the two were talking, Zhang Chengfei had already passed through the hanging flower gate and arrived at the front yard.

Yan Bugui, who was watching the commotion from the side, was the first to notice the roll of luggage on his back: "Third Uncle, why are you carrying luggage?"

Zhang Erya quickly smiled and said, "Second Uncle, are you coming to stay at our house tonight? That makes sense, our house is close to the factory, so it'll be convenient for commuting."

Zhang Chengfei patted his luggage: "Since there are so many people in your family, I won't squeeze in. The factory has arranged a house for me, saying it's in the west wing of the compound. I've moved here."

What? Moving?

Zhang Erya immediately beamed with joy, slapped her thigh, and exclaimed, "This is truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple; we don't even recognize our own kind!"

"Third Uncle, it's good that you moved here. Now that you've moved here, we can look after each other. With you here, I'm not afraid of being bullied anymore." She glared at Liu Haizhong fiercely when she said the word "bully."

Liu Haizhong snorted coldly, but then he thought that since the house was allocated to Zhang Chengfei and Zhang Erya voluntarily vacated the house, he could consider it a satisfactory completion of the task assigned by his superiors.

He walked with a pigeon-toed gait, turning to leave. Liu Guangfu hurriedly called out, "Dad, dinner's almost ready! Where are you going?"

Liu Guangtian didn't turn around, he just waved his hand: "I'm going to report to my boss. Remember to tell your mom to save some food for me."

Liu Haizhong left, and Yi Zhonghai didn't return. Yan Bugui, as the only manager present, warmly welcomed Zhang Chengfei's arrival.

"Chengfei, from now on our two families will be neighbors. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Let's get along well from now on." He patted Zhang Chengfei on the shoulder.

Zhang Chengfei followed suit and retorted, "Bu Gui is right, let's get along well."

Oh, is it expensive?

Yan Bugui was speechless. He was about to find fault with her, but then he thought that he was of the same generation as Zhang Erya, while Zhang Chengfei was a generation older than Zhang Erya.

If you think about it that way, it doesn't seem wrong for Zhang Chengfei to call himself Zhang Erya.

It's just... being taken advantage of by a young punk is infuriating, extremely infuriating!

He tried to speak up: "Actually, we can each say our own version of Dongxu's story."

Zhang Chengfei shook his head: "That won't do. What do we value most in Beijing? Rules!"

Zhang Erya also insisted that the generational order should not be confused. Yan Bugui and their family's old Jia were always on good terms, so since they were brothers, her third uncle was Yan Bugui's third uncle.

"Old Yan, you're supposed to be a teacher, yet you don't even understand this?"

"Well, alright then..." It wasn't that Yan Bugui was being unreasonable; the main issue was that Zhang Chengfei's seniority was indeed higher.

He insisted, still unwilling to give up, "Dongxu's mother, you should talk to your second uncle and first uncle. The generational order can't be messed up."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao, who was standing to the side, revealed a sly smile.

Zhang Chengfei unlocked the door to the side room with his key, and Zhang Erya immediately called over Banggeng, Jia Dongxu, Qin Huairu, and Xiaodang to move all the broken railings out of their house. The other neighbors in the courtyard had never seen Zhang Erya so attentive before, and they all stood at the door to watch the spectacle.

While Jia Dongxu and his family of four were moving their belongings, she fetched a basin of water and helped Zhang Chengfei clean the heated brick bed.

The previous residents of this house went to the area outside the Great Wall to support construction, leaving behind a broken table, two rickety chairs, and a heated kang bed.

While wiping, Zhang Erya said that her third uncle now had a house and the next step was to buy property.

Seeing that there was a profit to be made, Yan Bugui quickly poked half of his body into the house: "Well, I have an acquaintance at the trust store. Tomorrow, on the weekend, I'll take... take Uncle San to buy some decent furniture."

In order to make money, I'll just have to accept my third uncle.

Zhang Chengfei shook his head, his expression sincere: "There's a heated kang bed and tables and chairs. We can just buy a stove when it gets cold... We don't need to buy any other furniture. I moved into the courtyard house to make it easier to contribute to the country, not for personal enjoyment."

That's quite an insightful statement!

Zhang Erya gave a thumbs up, saying that her third uncle was truly extraordinary, but at the same time, she was also a little worried. Her third uncle was much colder today than yesterday. She guessed that Xu Damao's words had left a thorn in his side. No, she had to find a chance to explain.

The other neighbors in the courtyard all praised him. Only Yan Bugui felt bitter; his house had been taken away, and he hadn't even had the chance to make a little money by dealing in secondhand furniture.

This Zhang Chengfei is something else. How come he's so young, yet he can't even bear to buy furniture? He's even more frugal than me!

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