Chapter 170

Hu Haodang had a bitter smile on his face.

Neither he nor his wife wanted to leave Yard No. 40.

Otherwise, with his current status as the director of the steel plant management committee, it would be very easy for him to ask the leader for a house with a private entrance and yard.

Isn’t the reason why I didn’t choose to leave because of the good atmosphere in Yard 40?
So many neighbors are like family to me, so even when I am on duty and not at home, I don’t have to worry about my wife being lonely.

"Daqing, what about you? You have many children. Counting Yushui, you now have three children who have not been separated. Why don't you move in with me? It would be a good opportunity for you to be neighbors with Zhuzi."

Li Jiandong looked at He Daqing again and asked.

Logically speaking, it would be more suitable to move with Daqing. Now he is a neighbor of Shazhu. If he and Daqing move there, then they, father and son, will be neighbors again.

Moreover, Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru have a good relationship.

Since marrying Sha Zhu, the relationship between Chen Xueru and Xu Huizhen has also begun to ease. The two have been neighbors since childhood. Wouldn't it be better if they continue to be neighbors?

However, He Daqing also shook his head repeatedly.
"No, no, I've lived in this courtyard for half my life, and I don't want to go anywhere else. Besides, Zhuzi is a better cook than me now, and I feel too stressed living with him. I'd better continue to live in our courtyard."

Li Jiandong sighed.

"What sin have I committed? I want to trade my big house for a small one but no one wants to do it? If I had known this, I would not have moved out."

Li Jiandong was just talking.

At that time, there were so many people in his family, including four children. Plus he had a bodyguard. How could seven people fit into these two rooms?

Even though the three sons lived in the tavern dormitory building at the time, the remaining family of three and the bodyguard still felt cramped living in such a small place.

But things are different now.

Qin Huairu took the children to Hong Kong, leaving Li Jiandong alone.

Only then did I remember the benefits of the courtyard house.

"Why don't you go find Liu Haizhong? Lao Liu has been saying that he can get a house because of his level, and he has wanted to move out for a long time, but unfortunately there has been no movement from above. If you want to trade with him, he will definitely be willing."

He Daqing said in a muffled voice.

However, this time it was Li Jiandong who shook his head.

"Old Liu, forget it."

He didn't explain much, but in his heart he still disliked Liu Haizhong.

Hu Haodang and He Daqing are both loyal people and are friends who can be open-hearted with each other. They are willing to live in Li Jiandong's house.

But Liu Haizhong is obviously not that kind of person.

Although Li Jiandong is using him now, he has never regarded him as his confidant, let alone as a brother.

Li Jiandong was indeed a little disgusted with letting Liu Haizhong live in his house.

Since the housing problem cannot be solved, the only thing we can do is solve the human problem.

After Li Jiandong left Yard No. 40, he was thinking about whether to find a few more people to accompany her, such as Chang Hanqing. Since Chang Hanqing married Jin Cancan, he has also been allocated a talent housing.

And it has its own door and yard.

The couple now has a child and lives in a house with its own yard, so there is no need for them to come to Li Jiandong's place.

Although Han Chunming lives in a slum, there are officials living in their compound, and living in such a place will be beneficial to his future development.

Li Jiandong is not a self-centered person. He certainly would not let his apprentice give up his personal connections to accompany him just because he is lonely.

But who else could it be?

Sha Zhu and Chen Xueru definitely cannot move. They are already his neighbors, so why should they move in?

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e do have hope, but they have their biological parents next to them. The tavern and the dormitory building are so close together, separated by No. 40, that they can visit them at any time. How can they be allowed to stay away from their parents just for their master?
The same goes for Jia Dongxu.

Apart from them, there are only two female disciples left.

Yang Xue lives in the dormitory building of the tavern. Not only is she close to Director Yang, she is also not far from the steel rolling mill, making it very convenient for her to accompany her parents or go to work.

And he is a girl, and unmarried?
It would be embarrassing to tell others that I asked an unmarried girl to accompany me.

Li Jiandong had a headache.

In fact, he could force Hu Haodang and Ye Xiaoling to move out, but after all, they were all friends, and he knew Ye Xiaoning's situation. If he asked her to leave the harmonious community and return to her own house, he might really become depressed.

So, can I just put up with it myself?

Off work today.

Li Jiandong drove back to the second courtyard. As soon as he entered the alley, he saw Ding Qiunan holding a little boy and standing at the door of his house.

Li Jiandong drove over, parked the car, walked up to Ding Qiunan, and asked, "Qiunan, why are you here?"

Li Jiandong asked this question even though he knew the answer.

Ding Qiunan looked evasive and said hesitantly, "Master, I heard that Master's wife took the children away. You can't be alone at home without anyone to take care of you, so I want to move in to take care of you."

There is nothing wrong with what Ding Qiunan said.

However, Li Jiandong felt a little guilty.

After so many years, I thought Ding Qiunan had let it go. Unexpectedly, as soon as there was a chance, she immediately came to me with her child.

However, to be honest, Li Jiandong still felt a little guilty towards Ding Qiunan.

Although, he occasionally went to Ding Qiunan to care for her over the years. Whether it was about life or children's problems, Li Jiandong would try his best to do what he could.

But, no matter what, Ming has no status.

Ding Qiunan already felt very aggrieved.

However, even so, Ding Qiunan has always been devoted to Li Jiandong.

Just now, I heard that Li Jiandong was lonely living alone, so I wanted to move in despite other people's criticism.

She had even prepared her luggage, which showed how impatient she was.

Li Jiandong couldn't open his mouth to refuse Ding Qiunan.

I could only nod and say, "Okay, then move in."

As Li Jiandong spoke, he reached out and rubbed Ding Niandong's head.

After opening the door, Li Jiandong helped move all the newer items in.

At this point, there was no need to hide it anymore, and Li Jiandong directly let Ding Qiunan live in the backyard.

Of course, in order to avoid gossip, Li Jiandong and Ding Qiunan lived in two separate rooms.

Li Jiandong lives in the east bedroom, and Ding Qiunan and the children live in the west bedroom.

There is a living room in the middle.

His arrangement made Ding Qiunan very happy. She thought Li Jiandong would arrange her to live in the front yard to prevent people from gossiping about her.

Unexpectedly, Li Jiandong was brave this time and actually arranged her to live in the backyard.

Just as I had packed up all my things and made out the bedding, I heard Shazhu's voice from the front yard.

Sha Zhu also came back from get off work and was cooking in the front yard. Ever since Qin Huairu took the children away, Sha Zhu came here to cook every night and then came to eat with Chen Xueru.

I have tried my best to accompany Li Jiandong.

I was cooking today when suddenly a figure walked in.

The silly man didn't answer. "Why are you here so early? I haven't even started cooking yet."

Sha Zhu thought it was Chen Xueru who came.

Until Ding Qiunan said, "Brother He, it's me. Let me help you cook."

Sha Zhu turned around and saw that it was Ding Qiunan. He asked in surprise, "Junior sister, when did you come here? Are you here to visit Master?"

Ding Qiunan forced out a smile:
"I just moved here today. My master's wife passed away, and there's no one to take care of my master at home. I heard from Director Hu and Uncle He that my master felt lonely living here alone, and wanted to move back to the courtyard. But there was no room in the courtyard, so I came here, and I can accompany my master on weekdays. Anyway, I'm the only one at home, so it doesn't matter where I live with a child."

Sha Zhu said "oh".

He was simple-minded and didn't think much about it.
Moreover, when Ding Qiunan spoke, his expression was very natural, and most people would not have any random thoughts after hearing it.

After all, she has always been an introvert. Who would have thought that someone with this kind of personality would be so persistent in love?

Since Ding Qiunan was going to live here permanently, Sha Zhu did not refuse her help.

With someone helping, cooking became much faster, and dinner was ready in less than half an hour.

There were 6 people having dinner, including Li Jiandong and Ding Qiunan, and Shazhu's family of four.

Sha Zhu made a total of 6 dishes and a soup. While eating, Chen Xueru also saw Ding Qiunan. After some inquiries, she learned that Ding Qiunan was there to take care of Li Jiandong.

Chen Xueru was also a woman with a flexible mind. When she saw the appearance of Ding Nianmin and Li Jiandong, she had some guesses in her mind.

However, she didn't show it.

After all, whether it was Li Jiandong or Qin Huairu, they were both people she respected and friends.

Since this kind of thing has already happened, there is no point in pursuing it further. On the contrary, it may easily cause family conflicts. The smartest way is to turn a blind eye.

Even though Ding Qiunan has already moved in, as long as Qin Huairu has no objection, Chen Xueru will definitely not interfere.

After dinner, Chen Xueru and Ding Qiunan cleaned up the dishes together, and then took the children away from Li Jiandong's house.

Ding Qiunan sent the man out, closed the door, and bolted it. She went back into the room to study with the child for a while. After Ding Nianmin finished his homework, she gave him some water to wash his feet, and after a simple wash, she let him go to bed.

After coaxing the child to sleep, Ding Qiunan came to Li Jiandong's room with some foot washing water.

He placed the foot basin on the ground and said, "Master, let me wash your feet."

Li Jiandong said awkwardly: "Qiu Nan, you can go wash yourself and go to bed first, I can wash my feet myself."

However, Ding Qiunan did not say anything else. He just squatted in front of Li Jiandong, reached out and grabbed one of Li Jiandong's ankles, pulled his foot in front of him and took off his shoes and socks.

Then, she pushed his feet into the water and asked, "Is this temperature okay?"

Li Jiandong could only reply, "It's OK, it's pretty good."

Then, Ding Qiunan picked up his other foot, took off his shoes and socks, put it into the water, and then began to wash his feet bit by bit.

Her movements were gentle and careful.

I washed for a full 10 minutes, as if I wanted to make up for the time I had missed over the years.

the following few days.

Ding Qiunan would come to wash Li Jiandong's feet every day, then help him to sleep. She would get up early the next morning before dawn and return to her son's room.

A month passed like this.

December, late.

Suddenly a piece of news came that working in the countryside was about to begin.

With the instructions from the higher-level leaders, local governments suddenly began to pay attention to it. Going to the countryside, which had been lukewarm in recent years, suddenly became the top priority.

For a while, many people panicked.

Especially for families with many children, each family can only keep one child, and the extra children must leave as soon as they reach the age.

This made many unprepared families suddenly feel like the sky was falling.

The same is true in Courtyard No. 40.

When the residents in the courtyard learned that everyone had to go to the countryside, they became nervous.

After get off work, Yan Bugui rode his bicycle directly to the street, found Sha Zhu and asked, "Zhu Zi, what is the "Up to the Countryside" movement? Does every household have to send someone?"

Sha Zhu sighed.

"Third Uncle, it is indeed like this. This is an order from the higher-ups. No family is exempt from this. As long as you have a job, you can stay in North City. So your family only needs Jie Kuang and Jie Di to go to the countryside."

There are four children in Yan Bugui's family.

The eldest son is Yan Jiecheng, the second son is Yan Jiefang, the third son is Yan Jiekuang, and the fourth daughter is Yan Jiedi.

Among them, the eldest son and the second son have already started working and can stay in the north city.

But Yan Jiefang had not yet married and had not separated from Yan Bugui, so he naturally took the only spot that could allow him to stay at home.

As for the remaining three sons and four daughters who are still unemployed, their age is just right for moving to the countryside, and they all have to leave the north city.

When Yan Bugui heard this, he suddenly felt dizzy. His palms and backs of his hands were all made of flesh and blood. He didn't want to let any of these four children leave.

After all, they had heard about the situations of those who had gone to the countryside to work.

Even if you go to some better places, it is still quite hard.

If you go to some more barbaric areas, it's not just a matter of hard work.

Even get bullied.

Especially for girls, it would be a disaster if they went to the wrong place.

But since it is a nationwide mobilization, it is not realistic for my family not to go.

"What should I do? No, I have to go and discuss this with Lao Liu and the others. If Jie Kuang and Jie Di go to a bad place, their lives will be ruined."

Yan Bugui talked to himself anxiously.

After returning to the yard, I immediately found the others.

Like Yan Bugui, Liu Haizhong, He Daqing, Xu Fugui, Jia Zhangshi, and others also heard the news of going to the countryside.

After all, this time the instructions came down from above, so of course the speed of transmission was extremely fast. After knowing the news, they all had the same reaction as Yan Bugui.

I don't want my children to leave
In fact, not everyone is opposed to going to the countryside.

For example, those families whose financial situation is not good to begin with would like to let their children go out to earn money as soon as possible. If there is no job, it doesn't matter if they go to the countryside. At least it can reduce the burden on the family.

However, Courtyard No. 40 is different.

The living conditions of the residents in Yard 40 are relatively good, especially for people like Liu Haizhong, who earn only a hundred yuan a month, which is far too much for them to spend.

Their family has no worries about food and clothing, and all they want is for four generations to live together.

What a wonderful life it is to have children around me.

Once children go to the countryside, it is not a big deal if they suffer a little. The key is that they are afraid that they will not be able to come back after they go there. There are precedents of such things.

If they go to remote areas, it will be out of reach. If they want their children to come back, it will be out of their control.
"Old Yan, I'm afraid we can't solve this problem. Let's go ask Director Li first. Maybe he can find a solution."

Whenever Liu Haizhong reaches a critical moment, he will think of Li Jiandong.

Anyway, whenever you can’t find a solution, just look for Li Jiandong.

Yan Bugui had the same idea. He had worked with Liu Haizhong for so many years, and they both served as the bosses in the hospital. He could be said to be the person who knew Liu Haizhong's abilities best.

If even Yan Bugui couldn't solve the problem, it would basically be impossible to solve it by asking Liu Haizhong.

Therefore, the reason why he came to find Liu Haizhong was actually to ask him to stand with him and go to Li Jiandong together to let Li Jiandong help them with advice.

"Lao Liu, let's go now. Don't leave it too late. Director Li is going to rest. It would be bad if we disturb him."

Yan Bugui said anxiously.

Liu Haizhong also nodded and said, "You are right, let's go find Director Li now."

In fact, Liu Haizhong didn't care too much about his three sons. Before, Liu Guangqi went around to build hydropower stations and didn't go home for many years. He never thought about his sons.

The remaining two sons, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, are even more of a pair of little idiots.

Liu Haizhong looked down on them in the first place, so it would be better to send them out to gain some experience.

The reason why he went to find Li Jiandong was simply to show his presence as the second uncle in the courtyard and let the residents know that he could solve the problem.
If people from other courtyards have to go to the countryside, but people from Courtyard No. 40 don't have to go, then if word gets out everyone will envy Courtyard No. 40.

By then, the reputation of Liu Haizhong, the second uncle, will spread, and he will be respected wherever he goes. What a great feeling that is.

Liu Haizhong has been an official for so many years, but many times others do not respect him, especially in Courtyard No. 40, where there are many people who are more capable than him, many people who are more sensible than him, and even two people who are higher in rank than him.

So when he speaks, people often disagree with him, which makes him very distressed.

If Li Jiandong can help this time and keep the children in the courtyard, everyone will definitely be convinced by him.

It has to be said that Liu Haizhong’s idea was correct. As soon as he and Yan Bugui walked out of the door, other residents in the yard surrounded them.

"Old Liu, do you know about the Down to the Countryside Movement? My son Huzi has just come of age. Can you please not let him go?"

"Yes, Uncle, my daughter Nini has never been far away from home since she was a child. If you let her go to some remote areas all of a sudden, what will happen if no one takes care of her?"

"Second uncle, you are a capable person. This time, our hospital's affairs are handed over to you. Go and talk to Sha Zhu and ask him to make an exception for our hospital, okay?"

"We are all from the same courtyard. We should take care of each other when something happens. This time, I'm counting on you, Second Uncle."

The residents all said that they didn't want their children to go to the countryside.

(End of this chapter)