Life in siheyuan era

Around one o'clock, Zhang Yong and Guo Yanhong left first. The four of them drank for another half hour, and Wan Chunfang said with lingering interest, "Xiaoxue, Zhiyuan, listen to your big sister in the future, and you'll never go wrong."

Wan Chunfang spoke heartily for two hours, not only to Zhou Zhiyuan but also to Han Xue. In the end, it was just "Xiaoxue" and "Zhiyuan."

These were two good listeners. Not only did they let her talk, but their appropriate additions made her conversation even more lively, and she drank her wine happily. One bottle wasn't enough, so she asked for another.

But they couldn't drink another bottle. Zhou Zhiyuan handed half a bottle of wine to Wang Dagang and said in a low voice, "Brother Wang, take it back and drink it slowly."

Wang Dagang took it and put it in his cotton coat pocket. Wan Chunfang said, "I'll take you two to my 'fortress household'."

They walked out of the restaurant. Wan Chunfang pointed in a direction and said, "The steamed bun shop in front is our 'fortress household'. Let's have some tea to sober up before going back to the office."

Wan Chunfang revealed her "fortress household," but Han Xue couldn't go. She said in a low voice, "I have to go back and hold the line."

Zhou Zhiyuan didn't want to go either. He said in a low voice, "I have some errands to run."

Hearing him say he had errands to run, Wan Chunfang and Wang Dagang both laughed and turned to leave.

Han Xue asked in a low voice, "What errands are you running?"

Zhou Zhiyuan asked back in a low voice, "What will you say when you get back?"

Han Xue was prepared and said in a low voice, "I'll say you continued to visit those illegal construction households, and I came back to report."

Hearing her say that, Zhou Zhiyuan shook his head slightly and replied in a low voice, "You can't say that. Say that in the afternoon, we split into three groups. Wan Chunfang and Wang Dagang went to see those illegal constructions, and Zhou Zhiyuan went to Xu Laoer's house to check on their demolition progress. You came back to report."

This explanation made Han Xue understand, and she said in a low voice, "Let's go together."

Zhou Zhiyuan shook his head slightly and replied in a low voice, "You can't go. We can't count on Wan Chunfang and Wang Dagang for help in this matter. They are watching us to see if we can twist ourselves into a rope. This battle will decide it."

"Our goals are the same, but we can't tie ourselves to the same rope. There must be support when there is an attack. It's best if I attack and you provide support."

Zhou Zhiyuan expressed his thoughts, and Han Xue nodded slightly. Their thinking was almost the same.

Wan Chunfang and Wang Dagang should have been working together for many years. Facing these two veterans, Han Xue and Zhou Zhiyuan, as newcomers, must unite and cooperate.

Han Xue thought of this. Seeing that Zhou Zhiyuan had also thought of this, she blurted out happily, "Aren't you afraid of being left alone after I leave?"

She asked tactfully, but Zhou Zhiyuan spoke frankly, "In a group, the most important things are character and ability. If you have these two things, after you leave, there will be people who want to partner with me."

Han Xue didn't comment on his answer and said in a low voice, "Be careful."

Zhou Zhiyuan replied, "Don't worry." So the two separated and went their separate ways.

This scene was seen by Wan Chunfang, who was hiding in the distance. She turned her head and said in a low voice, "They really separated."

Wang Dagang replied impatiently, "Are you serious? You're acting like a thief. I think they're doing fine."

"Your brain..." Wan Chunfang said angrily, "Han Xue is clever and perceptive, and Zhou Zhiyuan is a fighter. If they cooperate closely, what's left for us?"

Wan Chunfang was worried about this, but Wang Dagang said, "Han Xue is the head of the Urban Management Section. She will leave in half a year. How will their close cooperation affect us?"

Hearing this, Wan Chunfang was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized that Wang Dagang was right. It really wouldn't affect them.

Thinking this way, Wan Chunfang started walking forward. Wang Dagang, who was following behind, asked, "Zhiyuan is going to Xu Laoer's house, right?"

Wan Chunfang replied, "Of course. Doesn't Zhou Zhiyuan want face?"

She got to the root of the matter. This matter involved face, and everyone had to pay attention.

Of course, Zhou Zhiyuan was very concerned. Xu Laoer's illegal construction problem not only involved whether he and Han Xue could gain a foothold but also involved establishing an image.

There are some who say the 'Yazi' is a divine beast, and some who say it's a fierce beast. Regardless of which beast it is, its style is very good. The style of 'an eye for an eye' should be promoted.

Zhou Zhiyuan promoted this point very thoroughly. He would never wave his hand until he had subdued his opponent.

The Xu Laoer brothers were subdued by him, but there was a loophole here. He was a public official, with leaders above him and colleagues supervising him. The Xu Laoer brothers wanted to exploit this loophole.

Thinking this way, he felt that the Wu-style Tai Chi Chuan he had learned was not a health-preserving skill. After carefully savoring it, he opened his eyes and seemed to see an old man with white hair slowly starting his stance...

As each move unfolded, the figure of the white-haired old man was also slowly changing until the black-haired youth delivered an 'Elbow Bottom Hammer'. With the closing movement, this figure slowly disappeared. Zhou Zhiyuan then blinked his eyes, wondering in his heart, "Can illusions appear in the daytime too?"

Thinking of this, he looked up at the sky. The sky was clear, a scene he liked.

Looking down and thinking about it, he determined it to be an overflow phenomenon of the orange's conceptualization.

At this time, he wouldn't ask the orange. There were no answers there. How to understand it was up to him. So, he raised his wrist to look at his watch, deducing that Li Huaiyi should have confronted Han Xue. This was the time for him to enter the alley.

Zhou Zhiyuan walked into the alley. At this time, Li Huaiyi was finally impatient. He had been entrusted by someone, and he hadn't even enjoyed his lunch. He had rushed back to the street office before one o'clock, but Han Xue and the others hadn't returned.

After waiting for more than an hour, Han Xue returned. Regardless of how dark his face was, she reported the morning's visits to him in a proper manner. They had visited four neighborhood committees in the morning, and the directors of these neighborhood committees had reported many situations. Han Xue wanted to report to Deputy Director Li in detail.

Li Huaiyi didn't want to listen, but because Nie Yucheng was sitting opposite him, he had to listen patiently.

Half an hour later, Nie Yucheng walked out of the office. Li Huaiyi interrupted Han Xue's report and said in a deep voice, "I've heard about your work. You are very serious about your work, but there are problems with being too rough."

After affirming them, he put a hat on them. Li Huaiyi continued, "We must do patient and amiable work with the people who have made mistakes. We can't just ask them to tear down their houses right away."

"Your rude attitude towards Comrade Xu Zhong has caused a very bad influence. Nearby residents have complaints and have reported them to me."

"In order to eliminate the negative impact, my attitude is to strengthen education for Comrade Xu Zhong, not to force him to tear down his house."

Li Huaiyi spoke a lot of high-sounding words. Han Xue nodded slightly, but she was thinking about her response.

She couldn't directly retort like Zhou Zhiyuan, but she could just nod and not say anything.

Seeing Han Xue nod, Li Huaiyi thought this matter was over. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked casually, "Bring the three of them over and unify their thinking."

This time, Han Xue had to speak, "We had a meal outside at noon. We split into three groups in the afternoon. I came back to report to Deputy Director Li..."

Seeing Li Huaiyi's eyes widen, she continued, "Wan Chunfang and Wang Dagang are in a group, going to see the other illegal construction households, following Deputy Director Li's instructions, doing a good job in publicity and education, and at the same time..."

She didn't mention Zhou Zhiyuan. Li Huaiyi interrupted her again, "Where is Zhou Zhiyuan?"

Han Xue paused slightly before replying, "He went to talk to Xu Laoer properly."

Hearing this, Li Huaiyi said angrily, "Talk about what?"

Han Xue replied readily, "He thinks Xu Laoer is very suspicious..."

Before she could finish, Li Huaiyi roared, "Immediately call Zhou Zhiyuan back."

Li Huaiyi gave the order, and Han Xue readily got up and walked out.

At this time, Zhou Zhiyuan walked into Xu Laoer's house. At this time, there was no one in the yard. Zhou Zhiyuan strolled into the front yard, opened the door, and walked into the house. He saw someone lying on the kang (heated brick bed), with four people sitting around the edge of the kang, two sitting and two squatting.

Zhou Zhiyuan walked over to take a look. He saw Xu Laoer lying on the kang, and Xu Laosan sitting cross-legged on the kang, playing cards with three young men. The squatters on the kang were the losers.

The four of them were intently looking at the cards in their hands, not even noticing Zhou Zhiyuan standing by the edge of the kang.

Zhou Zhiyuan looked at the cards in the young man's hand. He was hesitating which card to play, so he gave him a suggestion, "Play two 8s."

The young man immediately replied, "Are you stupid? Lao San still has two cards in his hand. If I play two 8s, won't I let him go?"

Xu Laosan immediately said, "Hurry up and play your cards, don't dawdle."

Zhou Zhiyuan continued, "You idiot, didn't you notice that Xu Laosan has three cards in his hand? A big king and two sixes. If you play a single card, you're dead."

He revealed Xu Laosan's hole cards. Xu Laosan was furious, raised his head, and roared, "Earthworm, you TM..." He saw Zhou Zhiyuan as he roared, and the roar immediately disappeared without a trace. Then, a terrified cry came from the room, "Ah..."