Yi Zhonghai had not expected Zhang Yu to be so cunning in her argument, and it infuriated him.
Of course, he was aware that there were certain tacit agreements within the stewardship of the courtyard, and if the neighborhood committee found out and decided to make a discovery visit to the Hongxing Courtyard House.
Could he still rule the courtyard with an iron fist in the future? Yi Zhonghai’s eyes bore into Zhang Yu, "Good, very good, you’re really something."
"I had never realized before how articulate you could be." Yi Zhonghai had never truly given Zhang Yu a second thought, seeing her as nothing more than a young girl.
It was only Zhang Hao and his wife who treated her and her sister like treasures, and he hadn’t interacted with them much, just knowing that she was a polite child.
To his surprise, he had suffered such a great loss, "You, you..."
"Do you really consider yourself a resident of the courtyard house?" Implicit in Yi Zhonghai’s words was the warning that if Zhang Yu continued to make a fuss, she would no longer belong to the courtyard house.
"My household registration is at the Hongxing Courtyard House."
"Whether or not I’m a member of this courtyard house, I don’t believe I need your approval."
"If you think I’m not part of the courtyard house, fine, I just walk through the gate and turn the corner to my home."
"I don’t need to go anywhere else in the courtyard house."
"If that’s still not acceptable, you could just split the gate in half to let my sister and me come and go."
Truth be told, she would rather not associate with them; the thought of future troubles was just too vexing.
"You..." Yi Zhonghai was backed into a corner with her words; retreat was his only option.
Divide the courtyard gate in half? Wouldn’t that just openly expose the internal conflicts and subject them to the neighbors’ scrutiny?
What would Director Wang and others think? Would they believe he, Uncle Steward, was incompetent?
Yi Zhonghai knew he had no choice but to compromise this time. No matter, he would just ensure that everyone stopped interacting with the two sisters; he wanted to see how this young girl would cope.
A clueless little girl, what could her job status do for her? Even if she were eloquent, what difference did it make?
Yi Zhonghai couldn’t believe he couldn’t handle these two young girls; otherwise, his life would have been for naught, "Little Yu, let’s not make a big deal out of courtyard matters."
"After all, we are a harmonious community." Yi Zhonghai decided to resort to the notion of collective honor to manipulate Zhang Yu.
Without mentioning it, he might have been better off, but once he did, Zhang Yu was amused, "Yes, a harmonious community."
"Whatever happened before, that was when my parents were in charge, and we were just kids."
"But now that my parents have passed away, I’m in charge of my household. Even though in your eyes, Comrade Yi Zhonghai, I’m just a child,"
"You can still make decisions for me under the guise of what’s best for me."
"Sorry, I don’t accept that. I know that within the bounds of reason and the law, no one can make decisions for me."
"First Elder, you like to meddle in other people’s family matters, with your consistent double standards. I’m well aware of it."
"I don’t see how you, with such unfair behavior, can have any supposed seniority to criticize and dictate over my household affairs."
"By the way, Comrade Yi Zhonghai, I know that you’ve already made a deal with the chief of the technical section to buy my father’s job for 400 yuan."
"Someone in the neighboring courtyard sold a workshop job for 400 yuan, and my dad’s driver position is somehow also going for 400."
Zhang Yu looked at Yi Zhonghai with a smirk, "That price..."
"You must think I’m making trouble, especially since it ruins your plan."
Yi Zhonghai broke out in a cold sweat with fear. To keep it a secret, he hadn’t even told First Elder’s wife.
To his amazement, the young girl knew about it. How had she found out?
Yi Zhonghai was thoroughly perplexed, "You, how did you find out..."
"That, I won’t tell you, Comrade Yi Zhonghai, otherwise why would I have gone out early this morning?"
"Why else would I seek out Director Wang, and why would I bring it up at the factory?"
She let the old man stew in his suspicions. After all, only two people were involved in the matter.
Yi Zhonghai would surely suspect that the leak came from the chief of the technical section, yet he couldn’t afford to confront him.
Yi Zhonghai knew Zhang Yu had no need to lie to him. Could there really be an issue on the other end?
His heart raced with anxiety, "Zhang Yu, I was also considering your family’s current situation, I thought..."
"Yi Zhonghai, don’t bother explaining. I know what kind of person you are,"
"I can even imagine that as soon as I get the money, you would initiate so-called donations for your favorite disciple’s family."
"Of course, the main contributor would be me, the big sucker, since we have both the condolence money from the work unit and the cash from selling the job." Zhang Yule was gleefully observing Yi Zhonghai.
"Oh, and Comrade Yi Zhonghai, did you decide what to do about my house and whether the gate needs to be split into two?"
Zhang Yu knew Yi Zhonghai would never agree to divide the gate. Such an action would blatantly signal to the neighbors that all was not well in the Hongxing Courtyard House.
No matter how mad Yi Zhonghai was at the moment, she was busy considering how to organize the house.
After all, she and her sister planned to live there for a long time, and she intended to get married and have children there if there were no problems.
If Zhang Li’s boyfriend didn’t have much space at his house, he would end up living with them at some point.
Therefore, the house definitely needed a good renovation.
As Zhang Yu was contemplating how to tidy up the house and the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai was fuming with rage.
He had stormed home, ready to give Zhang Yu a piece of his mind, to let her know that living in the courtyard house meant following its rules and that she had to abide by them.
But to his shock, he was the one who ended up being severely chastised. He was naturally furious and was just about to step forward.
Zhang Yu turned around, "Comrade Yi Zhonghai, shouldn’t you be heading to work?"
"It wouldn’t be right for you, as a glorious worker and a Seventh-Level Fitter like you, not to set a good example."
Zhang Yu shook her head continuously, "No wonder your disciple, Jia Dongxu, has been working in the rolling mill for ten years and is still a Level 2 Worker."
"There must be a reason for that, huh?"
"You..." Jia Dongxu had been stuck at Level 2 and just couldn’t advance to a Level 3 Worker. As his master, Yi Zhonghai must have been anxious, right?
Yi Zhonghai wanted to hold back the young man to increase his dependence on him, intending to suppress his advancement.
The plan was to trip him up at the Level 3 exam and have him reach Level 5 Worker by 40, then, upon retirement, to guide him just enough to pass as a Level 6 Worker.
But to his dismay, Jia Dongxu didn’t even manage to become a Level 3 Worker; in fact, he only passed the Level 2 exam because Yi Zhonghai had rigged it for him.
Now, even if he wanted to rig the exam, it was impossible, as a master could not oversee his apprentice’s test.