Chapter 163

Li Jiandong said anxiously,

"I just received a message from my superiors that an earthquake is about to happen. I have to go and inform other people. Please spread the word and get everyone to leave their homes and hide in open areas."

"By the way, send a reliable person to the kindergarten and primary school to ensure the safety of the children."

What Li Jiandong cares about most is his children, who are now in elementary school and kindergarten. This is why he did not inform Qin Huairu first but returned to the street.

When Sha Zhu heard the news, he immediately took it seriously.

He quickly ordered people to use loudspeakers to spread the word, and he himself rode his bicycle to go to schools and kindergartens to make announcements.

After Li Jiandong got back into the car, he headed towards his home.

Second entrance to the courtyard.

Qin Huairu and Chen Xueru were studying clothing styles when they heard the sound of vehicles outside.

Chen Xueru asked, "It seems like there's a car coming outside. Could it be Director Li coming back?"

Qin Huairu said, "No way? It's not time to get off work yet."

As the two were talking, they saw Li Jiandong rushing in from outside.
"Qin Huairu, come out quickly! There's going to be an earthquake soon."

Li Jiandong ran and shouted.

Qin Huairu was about to speak when the ground suddenly shook.
Li Jiandong was so anxious that he ran and shouted, "Hurry up, come out quickly."

Qin Huairu and Chen Xueru finally reacted and ran to the yard together.
The earthquake was mild at first, but became more severe after a few seconds.

Qin Huairu had just run out of the house when she lost her balance and fell forward. Fortunately, Li Jiandong was quick to grab her waist and picked her up.

The earthquake did not last long, but the damage it caused was significant.

In just a few minutes, many houses collapsed.
After comforting Qin Huairu, Li Jiandong drove back to the steel rolling mill.

He is the director of the steel mill. When such a big thing happened, he had to stand with the workers.

As soon as I returned to the factory, someone came to report
"Director Li, there was an earthquake just now. Our factory's workshops and workshops have suffered varying degrees of damage. One of the workshops has collapsed. Fortunately, the workers were notified in advance and moved outside the workshop, otherwise this accident would have been serious."

The leaders were all very scared. If the workers in the workshop had not run out in advance and something happened, at least double-digit deaths would have occurred.

This is the case when the workers react quickly. If everyone reacts slower, there are dozens of people in this workshop.

Li Jiandong nodded and his expression relaxed a little.

Many of the workshops in the steel mill are old. Although they are not in disrepair, there are definitely some problems.
This earthquake came so suddenly and the noise was so loud that if one workshop didn't collapse, there would be a problem.

"You did a great job, was anyone hurt?"

"No, but some people fell down during the earthquake. A few people went to the infirmary just now and they only had some broken skin."

Li Jiandong was completely relieved and said with a sigh of relief:
"It's okay. No one is hurt. Go and inform the workers now. Everyone stay where they are. Do not enter the workshop. Wait until the aftershocks are over before you can start rescue work."

"Also, arrange for someone to build a canopy immediately. It will rain soon after the earthquake. Take out all the wooden boards in the warehouse."

Usually there is not just one earthquake, but often one wave after another, and there will be aftershocks after one wave. It is actually quite dangerous to carry out emergency repairs at this time.

From the morning until almost evening, there had been no aftershocks for several hours. Li Jiandong finally felt relieved and organized the workers to repair the workshop.

Although several workshops were severely damaged, they were repaired quickly due to the large number of workers.
Li Jiandong asked all the workers to leave work early. Although there were no major problems at the steel mill, the workers' homes might have suffered varying degrees of damage. After they finished repairing the steel mill, they had to go back to their homes to build awnings.

Li Jiandong did not go home.

His second courtyard is relatively solid and did not collapse during the previous earthquake.

He came directly to the courtyard, where his children were still.

Previously, at school and kindergarten, the children were taken to open areas by their teachers, so no casualties were caused.

When Li Jiandong saw that the children were all fine, he felt relieved.

"Director Li, it's raining. Come to our yard to take shelter from the rain."

Liu Haizhong was arranged to come back early to be in charge of the affairs in the yard. When he saw Li Jiandong, he walked over with an umbrella.

The dormitory building of the tavern was built with cement and was relatively new, so the earthquake did not cause any damage to it.

Siheyuan is quite old, and the earthquake caused the roofs of several houses to collapse.
Liu Haizhong, holding an umbrella, accompanied Li Jiandong to the dormitory building of the tavern.

As soon as the two of them sat down in the house, Sha Zhu came back from his work on the street.
"Master, I just came back from the street. Two rooms collapsed in the prison. One of them happened to be the old lady's room. It was said that she was no longer breathing when she was taken out."

Sha Zhu was in a bad mood. After all, he was the one who arrested the old lady.
It was supposed to be released in a few years.

Unexpectedly, an earthquake collapsed two houses and killed only one person, a deaf old lady.
Li Jiandong saw that he was in a bad mood, stepped forward, patted his shoulder and said,

"Don't think too much. It's not your fault. It's her fate."

"I know, Master!"

Sha Zhu nodded. Even if he was given another chance, he would still have to arrest the old lady again.

After all, it wasn't his fault, it was the deaf old lady's fault.

"But Master, the old lady has no family. I want to collect her body. Is that okay with you?"

Sha Zhu is worthy of being the protagonist of Siheyuan, he is indeed a man of loyalty and friendship.

Logically speaking, there was no emotional relationship between him and the old lady, they just lived in the same courtyard for a period of time.

At that time, Mrs. Zhong often bullied others and was not popular in the yard.

This idiot is still willing to collect the other party's body.

He is worthy of being called Shazhu, he is indeed stupid, so stupid that Li Jiandong was moved.

Li Jiandong nodded, "Okay, go ahead. I support you."

With Li Jiandong's words, Sha Zhu felt relieved.

The old lady's body was smashed beyond recognition. Sha Zhu hired a mortician to put makeup on the old lady, and then rented a house to set up a mourning hall for her.

Death is a big deal.

Originally, those people in the courtyard who hated Old Lady Long came to give her a dozen pieces of paper after learning of her death.

After all, everyone had lived in the same courtyard for several years. Even if there were some grudges, they were all written off when she was sent to prison. Now that they heard the news of the old lady's death, everyone felt sad.

"As a human being, you still have to be kind. God is watching what you do. If the old lady had been a little more kind, she wouldn't have died in the cell."

Yan Bugui sighed and said,
He Daqing next to him also had a strange expression on his face.

The deaf old lady had taught him how to cook. Although she didn't teach him much, He Daqing always remembered the kindness of the old lady as a teacher is like a father for life.

It's a pity that the old lady was not ambitious and made trouble in the courtyard again and again. Even so, He Daqing still remembered her and secretly visited her several times after she was imprisoned.

Including this time when Sha Zhu brought her back from prison, it was also approved by He Daqing.

The body remained for two days while the people in the courtyard helped bury the old lady.

The whole process was very simple, not because the hospital was afraid to spend money, but because there had just been an earthquake and the yard was in a mess.

Many people's houses need repair now, and they don't have time to waste on a dead old lady with a bad reputation.
"Lao Liu, come here for a moment. I want to discuss something with you."

That day Yan Bugui found Liu Haizhong, pulled him into the room and said:

"Look at other courtyards. After the earthquake, they are all expanding their houses. You have so many children, and I have quite a few too. The house we have now won't be enough for them when they grow up."

"So, I think we should take advantage of this earthquake to expand the house. Even if we only build one more room, wouldn't it be a profit?"

The situation Yan Bugui described has become common in recent days. Many people are taking advantage of the earthquake to renovate their houses by extending them outwards. Many families even built an extra room.

They claim it is a temporary house, but it is made of cement bricks.

Once it is built, it will definitely not be easily dismantled.

Yan Bugui is such a calculating person that he would certainly not miss such a good opportunity. If he could have one more room, that would be the money for one more room.

Liu Haizhong is now the director of the management committee of the steel rolling mill. When he was in office, the surrounding environment had changed.

Therefore, even though he is now at the deputy department level, he still has not been allocated a house with its own entrance and courtyard.

Not to mention him, Hu Haodang is already at the department level now, but he doesn’t have any points, right?
Moreover, his two children, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, have grown up slowly.

The rooms in the tavern dormitory building have also been divided up.

Seeing that Liu Guangtian was getting older and would soon start a family, there was only one room in his house, which was indeed not enough.

Yan Bugui saw this clearly, so he came to discuss with him.

After all, they are the ones who have the final say in the compound, so they just need to deal with Liu Haizhong first.

Then the two of them went to find Li Jiandong together, and the three uncles decided on the matter, and it was set in stone.

Liu Haizhong thought about it and felt that this was something that could be done.

So he nodded and said,

"I have no objection, but I still need to discuss this matter with Director Li first."
Yan Bugui also said,

"Of course, we can't hide this kind of good news from Lao Li, otherwise when he finds out, he'll think we're keeping it to ourselves.

Although, I think even if we tell him, he may not care about this room, after all, he lives in a private house with his own yard."

Yan Bugui had a smile on his face. No matter whether Li Jiandong wanted to build a house or not, he had to tell him about this matter first.

It's a question of respect.

Whether it is Yan Bugui or Liu Haizhong, they will be extra alert when it comes to Li Jiandong.

After all, they all knew that their current life was inseparable from Li Jiandong's care.
"Okay, let's go find him now."

Today is the weekend,
Li Jiandong should be at home, so Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong rode their bicycles to Qianmen Street.

Li Jiandong opened the door and saw Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui standing outside. He asked in confusion, "Old Liu, Old Yan, why are you here? Have all the houses in the yard been repaired? Please sit inside first."

Li Jiandong took a step back and let the two men into the yard.

As the three of them walked into the house, Yan Bugui started talking.
"Lao Li, we came to you to discuss the renovation of the house. You live here now, so you may not be very clear about what's going on in the compound."

"After the earthquake, many courtyards are expanding their buildings while taking the opportunity to repair houses. I was thinking that since our courtyard is so spacious, if we use part of it to build houses, wouldn't it be possible to provide more places for people to live?"

"Look, my Jie Kuang has grown up slowly, and Lao Liu's Guang Tian is already 20 years old this year. If we don't think of a way out, this house may not be big enough for us to live in."

As Yan Bugui was speaking, the three people had already walked into the house.

After they sat down, Qin Huairu brewed a pot of tea and poured a cup for each of them.

Li Jiandong took a sip of the teacup and said carefully,

"As for building a house, you guys can decide for yourselves. I won't get involved."

In fact, Li Jiandong didn't want to build more houses in the yard. A nice courtyard was turned into a slum.

After every household had built their houses, all three courtyards had become houses. Not only were the original flower beds and corridors gone, but even the walking space in the middle had become very narrow.

It was originally a quadrangle, but now it has become a slum and has lost its value.
But if Li Jiandong stopped others from building their own houses, it would seem a bit inhumane.
As for what Yan Bugui said, that there are more and more children in the yard, this is not really a problem.
Because, when we are about to return to the countryside to experience life, in a year or so, a large number of young people will go to the countryside.
By then, each family will only be able to keep one worker, and young people will be driven to remote areas. By then, houses will be vacant and work places will no longer be so tight.

However, no one except Li Jiandong knew about this kind of thing.
It is also unrealistic to use this to convince Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong.

Seeing that Li Jiandong did not object, Yan Bugui could not help but grin, "I knew that Old Li would not like this little house. He lives in a second courtyard, so how could he care about our little place?"

Liu Haizhong also said:

"Since Director Li has no objection, Lao Yan and I will go back and start preparing,"

Li Jiandong nodded.

"Go ahead. If you two take the lead, the others will surely follow suit. If possible, it would be better for each household to build fewer roofs, at least to leave a wider aisle for walking."

Li Jiandong now not only has a second courtyard, but also a small Western-style building. He no longer cares so much about the two houses in the courtyard.

But I can't guarantee that I will go back to the courtyard in the future. If I leave it a little wider, it will not only provide better lighting, but also make people feel less depressed.

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong of course agreed readily. They still cared very much about what Li Jiandong said.

After returning to the courtyard, Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong started to build the house. They took advantage of the situation and they were able to occupy the largest space.

Other people in the yard realized it later and started adding more buildings to the outside.

Unfortunately, the yard is so small.

Everyone was rushing to build the house. If you expanded it one foot, I would have to expand it ten feet. This even led to some neighborhood conflicts.

……

At the end of the year.

Yang Xue is back from Eagle Country.
When she arrived at the courtyard and saw her parents, Yang Xue started crying sadly.

Since she was a child, her father was assigned a separate house with a courtyard. Unexpectedly, now that he is old, he has to live back in a slum.

Director Yang and Mrs. Yang are quite open-minded about it.

Although the living space has become smaller, there are more people around me, and the relationship between the residents in the courtyard is very good, like a family.

This is something they can never experience no matter how big the house they live in.

The steel mill is closed for the holiday.

People all over the country are waiting for the New Year.

When Yang Xue came back, all of Li Jiandong's disciples were present. Including the last disciple, Han Chunming, Li Jiandong's nine disciples gathered together. Together with Li Jiandong's four children, more than a dozen people came to the courtyard.

"Old Li, I still remember when you first entered this hospital, you were just 30 years old and alone. I didn't expect that more than a decade later, your family has become the largest in the hospital."

Yan Bugui looked at the many people in Li Jiandong's family and said with some envy
These days, having a large family is considered awesome.

Although nine of them are apprentices, each apprentice is half a son. Take his son Yan Jiecheng for example, the feelings between Yan Jiecheng and Li Jiandong are probably deeper than his feelings for him.

He Daqing also laughed beside him.
"That's right. I still remember that Yi Zhonghai always laughed at Lao Li, saying that he was an old bachelor. But Lao Li now has many children and grandchildren, but I don't know where Yi Zhonghai has disappeared to."

Qin Huairu said beside him,
"Daqing, you can't say that. It's okay to say that my family has many children, but where did my brother Jiandong get his grandchildren?"

He Daqing laughed and said,
"My grandson is your brother Jiandong's grandson! And Dongxu's son, Jiecheng's son, whoever sees your brother Jiandong will call him grandpa, right, Lao Li?"

Li Jiandong smiled and waved his hand.

"You can't count it that way. A grandson has to be your own child. I think you are thinking about my New Year's money for your grandson."

Li Jiandong's words immediately caused laughter in the room.
The New Year's atmosphere here is very harmonious.
Yi Zhonghai over there was suffering terribly.

It has been almost two years since he left the courtyard. During this time, he has been hiding from place to place, running back and forth between the urban area and the countryside.

The days of being homeless were really painful. As the New Year was approaching, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but think of the courtyard house.

Although his wife and children are not there, his house is there.

(End of this chapter)