The train driver in the courtyard

"Brother Aiguo, please replace the teacher you hired for me. He is not fit to be a teacher. We are wasting five kilograms of corn flour every month."

"As long as we give Uncle San a pound of corn flour, Uncle San can help me with my homework."

"We are at a great loss when we ask him for extra lessons."

Under the eaves.

Seeing Li Aiguo mentioned his studies, He Yushui mustered up the courage to speak out his thoughts.

When He Yushui first learned that Chen Ziliao was a researcher at the Institute of Mathematics, he had high expectations.

But I found that I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t understand it.

What that researcher is best at is using very complicated methods to solve simple problems.

He Yushui didn't understand at all.

After listening to this, Li Aiguo felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.

I knew that Chen Ziliao was not cut out to be a teacher, but I never expected that he was not even qualified to tutor junior high school students, and couldn't even earn five kilograms of corn flour.

"If I have time, I will talk to Chen Ziran."

The two chatted for a while, and suddenly He Yushui's nose twitched and she smelled a fragrant aroma of meat.

"Brother Aiguo, can you smell it? Who is eating meat?"

Li Aiguo naturally also smelled this scent.

People these days lack oil and water in their stomachs, and the aroma of meat is like a hook that seduces the soul. Even if it is just a trace, it can easily penetrate the air, get into people's nostrils, and hook out the desire hidden deep in their hearts.

"Maybe someone secretly cooked the meat. It's their business. Don't worry about it."

Li Aiguo didn't care and told He Yushui to focus on his homework.

Li Aiguo didn't care, but someone else did.

Jia family.

With the corn flour that Qin Huairu brought back from her mother's home, Qin Huairu cooked half a pot of corn flour stewed with wild dried vegetables in the evening.

In the watery cornmeal porridge, there were a few wild dried vegetables floating here and there, without a speck of oil on them.

Jia Zhang just took a look and put the dishes and chopsticks on the table.

"Huai Ru, I've been busy all day, and this is how you send me away? Where are the steamed buns?"

Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhang, whose face was gloomy, and explained hurriedly: "Mother, we only have 30 kilograms of corn flour. We have to hold on until the beginning of next month when the factory pays salaries. If we don't save some money on food, it will definitely not be enough.

You just deal with it for a while, and when Dongxu brings back his salary and food coupons, I promise to buy you some flour at the grain station."

"Hey, Huairu, do you think I'm greedy? No! I'm thinking about you."

Jia Zhang rolled her eyes and said with a pursed mouth, "I am not in good health. If I only eat cornmeal, I will easily get a headache. It will cost a lot of money to go to the hospital."

Eating cornmeal can cause headaches? This was the first time Qin Huairu had heard of this, but she knew that Jia Zhang was just trying to cheat.

She was just thinking about how to respond when Jia Zhang suddenly sniffed, stood up abruptly and ran to the door.

Her nose twitched like a dog's, and her eyes were fixed on Xu Damao's house: "This guy Xu Damao is actually cooking meat at home!"

Jia Dongxu was eating corn noodles at the time. When he heard this, the noodles in his mouth suddenly lost their flavor.

"Xu Damao went to the countryside to show a movie yesterday. He must have stolen some chickens and ducks from the villagers. I wonder if Xu Damao knows to send some to our family?"

Qin Huairu almost laughed out loud when she heard this: "Although Xu Damao often gives things to everyone, they are all worthless things. This is meat, how could he be willing to give it away."

"If only I were a projectionist, I could steal things from my fellow villagers. No, that's not called stealing, that's a gift from my fellow villagers to me." Jia Dongxu felt disappointed at this moment.

Jia Zhang narrowed her eyes and looked at Jia Dongxu: "Dongxu, do you want to eat meat?"

"Yes, I want to eat meat even in my dreams. But if we ask Xu Damao to lend us meat, he will definitely not give it to us."

"Borrow? Who said borrow? I want Xu Damao to give us the meat on his own initiative."

"Mom, have you come up with any good ideas again?" Jia Dongxu was overjoyed.

Jia Zhang waved at Jia Dongxu and whispered something in his ear. Jia Dongxu's eyes widened little by little, and finally could not close anymore.

"Mom, your idea is the best. Don't worry, I will go find Xu Damao now."

Jia Dongxu walked out of the house quickly with his hands behind his back.

Jia Zhang looked at Jia Dongxu's back and narrowed her eyes: "I can't cure Li Aiguo, and I can't cure you Xu Damao either."

At this time, Xu Damao had been busy in the kitchen for more than half an hour and brought out a plate of steaming meat.

"Wife, do you want to smell it?" Xu Damao put the plate in front of Liu Lan.

The fragrant smell almost made Liu Lan drool.

Nowadays, even ordinary people crave meat, let alone a pregnant woman like Liu Lan, who craves meat even in her dreams.

One night, Liu Lan almost bit off the skin on Xu Damao's arm.
Liu Lan was a person who had seen the world after all. She swallowed her saliva and regained her composure: "Da Mao, what kind of meat is this?"

"Bird meat." Xu Damao picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and squinted his eyes in enjoyment.

"Bird meat?"

Liu Lan was also a girl who grew up in the countryside. She knew exactly what kind of birds there were in the countryside, but she had never seen such a big bird.

Just as she was about to ask carefully, there was a hurried knock on the door.

"Who is this? Come early or late, come before dinner time."

Xu Damao stood up and was about to open the door, but Liu Lan grabbed his arm and pointed at the plate of meat.

Xu Damao slapped his forehead suddenly, said "I'm negligent", and quickly picked up the plate of meat and hid it in the cabinet against the corner.

After closing the cabinet door, Xu Damao walked over and opened it.

"Jia Dongxu, why are you here?" When Xu Damao saw that it was Jia Dongxu standing outside the door, his face suddenly darkened.

Jia Dongxu did not answer Xu Damao, but walked into the house with his hands behind his back.

When Xu Damao saw Jia Dongxu being so arrogant, he couldn't help it and pushed Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu hadn't had much to eat for a while and felt particularly weak. When he was pushed out of the house, he staggered and almost fell.

"Mani, Mani! You are like a devil invading the village, so arrogant and rude, don't you even look at your own moral character?"

"Xu Damao, who are you calling a Japanese?" Jia Dongxu suffered a loss and wanted to get angry at that time, but his expression suddenly softened.

Jia Dongxu sniffed and winked at Xu Damao: "Da Mao, are you hiding at home eating meat?"

"No, what are you talking about? Where did I get the meat?" Xu Damao's face changed drastically and he denied it flatly.

"How could the smell of meat in this room be hidden from me? Do you really think I'm a fool?"

Jia Dongxu's face gradually turned cold. He stared at Xu Damao and said, "Take out the meat and give half to my family. I will pretend that I didn't see anything."

After hearing this, Xu Damao was stunned.

He looked at Jia Dongxu in surprise, and after making sure that Jia Dongxu was not joking, he said coldly: "Jia Dongxu, even if I am eating meat, it has nothing to do with you. Why do you want my meat?"

"Why? Well, Xu Damao, we have been good brothers for many years. I was going to give you some face. Since you don't appreciate it, you can't blame me."

Jia Dongxu stared at Xu Damao with his neck stiffened, then walked into the house again and asked word by word, "Where did you get your meat?!"

"I"

Xu Damao, who was so aggressive just now, was asked about the origin of the meat. His face suddenly turned red and he stammered, "You, you have no right to interfere."

"Did you steal from your fellow villagers? The leaders of the subdistrict office repeatedly warned us not to pick up our fellow villagers' belongings during the meeting. How dare you steal!"

"Xu Damao, I'm giving you face by not sending you directly to the police station."

"Now take out all the meat and send it to my house. I will pretend I didn't see anything."

He only wanted half of the meat just now, but now he wants all of it. Xu Damao was shocked by Jia Dongxu's shamelessness.

"Jia Dongxu, this is not what you think. I cannot tell you where the meat came from for some special reasons. But I didn't steal the meat. Please leave quickly and don't delay our dinner."

If it were in the past, Xu Damao would definitely have to carry the stainless steel pot on his back and fight a big battle with Jia Dongxu.

But now Liu Lan is pregnant and is waiting to eat meat, so she has no time to argue with Jia Dongxu.

In Jia Dongxu's view, Xu Damao's concession was a sign of guilt.

"Xu Damao, I'm warning you one last time."

"You, don't warn me anymore. Go home and squat at the door to drink the northwest wind. Otherwise, your mother will drink up the northwest wind too."

Without waiting for Jia Dongxu to finish speaking, Xu Damao said something sarcastic and pushed Jia Dongxu out of the house.

The door closed with a bang.

"Okay, Xu Damao, I was going to give you some face, but since you're looking for death, you can't blame me."

Jia Dongxu was so angry that he screamed and turned around and ran towards Yi Zhonghai's house.

The dinner at Yi Zhonghai's house was quite sumptuous, with black steamed bread and cornmeal as the staple food, and pickled vegetables as the side dishes.

Just as they were eating with relish, they saw Jia Dongxu coming. An aunt stood up and invited Jia Dongxu to eat with her.

"No need." Jia Dongxu looked at Yi Zhonghai angrily and said, "Master, someone in our compound is stealing meat."

"Dongxu, those who eat meat at home and are unwilling to share with their neighbors are indeed morally inferior. Their moral standards are far inferior to those of an old man like me." Yi Zhonghai put down his bowl and chopsticks and taught him a lesson: "But they are not breaking the law. As an old man, I am not suitable to intervene."

Seeing that his words were misunderstood, Jia Dongxu stamped his feet and said, "It was Xu Damao who stole the meat. He stole the meat from the countryside."

"What? Xu Damao stole the chickens and ducks of his fellow villagers. Well, Xu Damao, you are finally in my hands. Let's settle the old and new grudges together."

Yi Zhonghai had long held a grudge against Xu Damao. This troublesome guy always caused trouble for him, an old man.

Xu Damao sold him fake medicinal wine a while ago. If this kind of thing was not convenient for outsiders to know, Yi Zhonghai would have dealt with Xu Damao long ago.

However, Yi Zhonghai still thinks we should be cautious.

Xu Damao is easy to deal with, but Li Aiguo has already returned.

If a fight really breaks out and he is not completely sure of his situation, he might be dealt with by Li Aiguo.

Yi Zhonghai is now afraid of ropes for ten years after being bitten by a snake once.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at Jia Dongxu: "Dongxu, what exactly is going on? Tell Master everything in detail. Don't exaggerate."

Jia Dongxu told him about how Xu Damao hid at home and ate meat, and how he panicked when he was discovered.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up: "Xu Damao has been hiding the origin of the meat?"

Jia Dongxu nodded heavily: "Yes, Master, doesn't this prove that Xu Damao's meat was stolen from his fellow villagers?"

Yi Zhonghai thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case, which made him even more excited.

"Okay, okay! Dongxu, wait for me to change my clothes and then I'll go and deal with Xu Damao. No, I'm going to maintain order in our compound."

Jia Dongxu got Yi Zhonghai's assurance and left excitedly. An old lady had been hiding nearby and eavesdropping. When she saw Yi Zhonghai was about to change into a Zhongshan suit, she quickly grabbed his arm.

"Old Yi, Liu Lan is pregnant now. If something happens to Xu Damao, Liu Lan will have a hard time. You are the boss of the compound, but you don't want to help. Now you have to deal with Xu Damao. You..."

"I am a very upright person. I have very positive thoughts, I am impartial, I sacrifice myself for the truth, I have a clear mind, I put justice above my relatives, I am upright and just, I am fair and just. What other words are there?
Forget it, I can't remember. Anyway, even if it's a relative who commits a crime, I can't turn a blind eye to it, so don't use this personal relationship to hold me back."

Yi Zhonghai shook off the aunt's arm, straightened his collar, and walked out of the house with his hands behind his back.

The lady looked at his back and scratched her head: "When you helped Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu in the past, didn't you tell the residents to be united and not to make things worse? Why did you change your mind today when it was Xu Damao's turn?"

In the evening, the setting sun is like blood.

Yi Zhonghai walked out of the house with his hands behind his back and came to the pond in the middle courtyard.

At this time, the residents who had just finished dinner were gathered by the pool chatting. When they saw Yi Zhonghai coming over, they all felt a little strange.

Yi Zhonghai considered himself a seventh-level master chef and the boss of the compound, and he disdained to squat by the pool and chat.

"Uncle, you are here."

Yi Zhonghai nodded solemnly, then slowly walked to the center of the crowd.

He took a deep breath, then suddenly opened his throat and shouted: "There's a thief in our compound!"

The sound was like a sudden thunder in the clear sky, spreading throughout the entire compound with overwhelming force.

The word "thief" was like a sharp stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly breaking the original tranquility of the compound.

The tranquility was like fragile glass, shattered by the roar.

The residents were frightened by the sudden roar and trembled all over. They stood up and looked towards Yi Zhonghai.

Li Aiguo was instructing He Yushui on his homework and looked up at Yi Zhonghai.

Xu Damao chased Jia Dongxu away and had just sat down and picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks when he was startled by the sound.

He shook his wrist and the meat fell into the plate.

"This will not allow people to eat meat."

Liu Lan stood up and pried open the crack in the door to look outside. Seeing Yi Zhonghai's appearance, she whispered, "Da Mao, something might have happened in the yard. Don't eat yet."

Although Xu Damao was eager to eat the meat, he still wanted to join in the fun.

After hesitating for a moment, he hid the plate back in the cupboard, opened the door and ran out.

The third uncle was collecting waste at Zhang Gangzhu's house. When he heard Yi Zhonghai's shout, he dropped the cardboard and ran over.

Uncle Three shouted from a distance: "Old Yi, what's wrong? Is there a thief in our compound? Where is the thief?"

The residents also gathered around.

"I haven't heard of anyone losing anything."

"Yes, our compound is a civilized compound, how could there be thieves?"

"Oh no, could it be that the vegetables in my cellar were stolen?"

You have to know that everyone was poor those days, and every needle and thread was very precious. If it was stolen, how could we live?
When the residents thought that there was a thief in the compound, they were all panicked for a moment.

Yi Zhonghai looked at the panicked residents and said seriously, "Just now I received a report from enthusiastic people that someone was hiding at home and secretly eating meat. The meat was actually stolen from the rural members."

The only person in the compound who often went to the countryside was the projectionist Xu Damao, and the only person who liked to steal mountain products from the fellow villagers was Xu Damao.

Xu Damao was chatting with Li Aiguo while waiting to eat the melon, and when he heard this, he immediately felt something was wrong.

When he looked up again, Xu Damao became even more unhappy when he saw the residents looking at him meaningfully.

"Why are you all looking at me? I didn't steal the meat."

Jia Dongxu hid behind Yi Zhonghai, imitating Xu Damao's previous behavior, and said sarcastically: "Xu Damao, you didn't steal the meat, why do you feel guilty?"

“Who is guilty?”

Xu Damao looked at Jia Dongxu, then at Yi Zhonghai, and seemed to understand what had happened. His expression suddenly changed.

Seeing that Jia Dongxu had opened up the situation, Yi Zhonghai pointed at Xu Damao and said, "Xu Damao, did you eat meat today?"

"I" Xu Damao wanted to deny it.

Seeing Jia Dongxu standing behind Yi Zhonghai in a bully-like manner, he immediately lost his temper. "So what if I ate meat? Eating meat is against the law."

"It's true that eating meat is not against the law, but stealing meat is definitely against the law! Xu Damao, where does your meat come from?"

"I" Xu Damao hesitated again.

Xu Damao felt as if he was a little guilty, so he said stiffly, "Anyway, I didn't steal the meat."

Yi Zhonghai saw Xu Damao's expression and felt relieved: "Xu Damao, although our manager is not a comrade from the police station, he cannot allow the residents to steal the members' things."

Yi Zhonghai looked at the third uncle and said, "Old Yan, please say something."

"The Master said: A gentleman is all-round but not partial, while a mean man is partial but not all-round. The great ones climb up the roof and jump over the beams, while the small ones touch the walls and touch the walls. Therefore, plots and conspiracy will not arise, and thefts and robberies will not occur. They follow the usual busy roads and peek into the bookshelves to steal."

The third uncle adjusted the frame of his glasses, put on the airs of a cultured man, and spoke a lot of correct nonsense in a long-winded manner.

The residents looked at each other in bewilderment. How could the Third Uncle go to Beijing to take the imperial examination?

Yi Zhonghai also saw that the third uncle did not want to offend Xu Damao, and raised his eyes to look at Liu Haizhong: "Haizhong, there is a thief in our compound now, shouldn't our uncle in charge investigate it?"

"Investigate! We must investigate." Liu Haizhong said firmly.

Are you kidding? He hasn’t eaten meat for half a year and can’t even afford peanuts.

Every time he drank, he leaned on a rusty iron nail, taking a sip of wine and sucking on the nail.

Why, he can only chew nails while Xu Damao can eat meat!

With Liu Haizhong's support, Yi Zhonghai looked at Xu Damao again: "Xu Damao, tell me the truth, where did you hide the meat?"

Xu Damao was still hesitant, looking like he was hiding a big secret.

Jia Dongxu raised his hand: "Master."

"Don't call me Master, I'm an uncle."

"Uncle, the meat is hidden in the cabinet of Xu Damao's house."

"Let's go and get the evidence first."

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed and looked at Xu Damao with admiration. He turned around and led the residents to Xu Damao's house.

Jia Dongxu walked quickly to the cabinet and suddenly opened the cabinet door. The worn cabinet door made a creaking sound. In the corner of the cabinet, there was indeed a plate of meat.

"Master, I found it!"

The surface of the meat was slightly oily, and the gravy was a rich amber color, thick and mellow, with a mellow aroma.

The residents who were watching couldn't help swallowing.

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes. He was considered a well-informed man and had even eaten tiger and leopard meat, but he couldn't tell what kind of meat this was.

"Xu Damao, where did this meat come from?"

"I" Xu Damao still had a look of having eaten shit on his face.

Seeing that something was wrong, Liu Lan pinched her waist with one hand, pointed at Yi Zhonghai's nose with the other, and shouted: "This is our family's meat, what does it have to do with you? You just barged in like this, are you trying to bully us?"

"Huai Ru, Third Uncle's family, please keep Liu Lan at bay. Her belly is getting big, don't let anything happen to her." Yi Zhonghai secretly winked at Qin Huai Ru and Third Aunt.

Qin Huairu and the third aunt held Liu Lan's arms.

Although Qin Huairu has a bad relationship with Liu Lan, she feels a little sympathy for Liu Lan because she is pregnant now.

"Liu Lan, this is a man's matter. It has nothing to do with us women. Let them make a fuss."

The third aunt had received a lot of pecans from the Xu family and owed them a favor. Now she was also worried that something might happen to Liu Lan.

"Yes, this matter has alarmed so many people. It would be inappropriate if we don't give everyone an explanation. Liu Lan, I know you are a good girl. You should stay away from this matter."

Liu Lan wanted to say something but was helped out the door by two people.

After Liu Lan left, the situation in the room suddenly became clear.

Catch the thief and seize the stolen goods. Now with this plate of meat, Xu Damao's crime of being a thief has been confirmed.

Yi Zhonghai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his collar, and looked at the residents who were watching: "Today's incident is very serious. After everyone has dinner, let's go to the middle courtyard for a meeting."

In the past, residents would definitely oppose holding a meeting, after all, it is a waste of time.

But this time it concerns the safety of their own belongings, so the residents raised their hands to express their agreement.

Some families haven't had dinner yet, and it will take at least half an hour. Yi Zhonghai was in a dilemma looking at the plate of meat.

It was obvious that this plate of meat could not stay here any longer.

If Xu Damao gets desperate and destroys the evidence when no one is paying attention, it will be troublesome.

The key is that this evidence is too easy to destroy.

"Now we should choose someone to be responsible for keeping this plate of meat." Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and made a decision.

"Master, this plate of meat is evidence. How about letting me take it home for safekeeping?" The great hero Jia Dongxu raised his hand without hesitation.

Hear the words.

Jia Zhang's eyes sparkled.

Qin Huairu's eyes sparkled.

Yi Zhonghai was almost blinded by their gazes.

If this meat was kept in the Jia family, it would be like throwing meat buns at a dog and never be taken back.

Yi Zhonghai ignored Jia Dongxu who volunteered and turned to look at the third uncle.

I can't trust the third uncle either.

Who knows if he would steal a few pieces of meat and put a piece of mud egg on the plate to pretend it was meat?

Yi Zhonghai looked at Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong is no good either. Everyone knows that he has been licking nails for two months and is just waiting for something to go with the wine!

Yi Zhonghai was a little discouraged for a moment.

Why are all his subordinates a bunch of scum?

Finally, Yi Zhonghai came up with a good idea.

"Let's put a seal on the cabinet and assign two people to guard it. This will ensure that the items are safe."

(End of this chapter)