chsdbacks Chapter 5: Dispute Erupts in the Courtyard; System Gifts Medical Skills
Chapter 5: Dispute Erupts in the Courtyard; System Gifts Medical Skills
Led by Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui, followed closely by Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and He Yuzhu, along with a few neighbors who came to join in the fun, a group of seven or eight people marched in a grand procession toward the west wing of the backyard. Each of them had a different expression and their own plans.
At this moment, Sun Jingyuan was holding a pencil and carefully writing down the parts of the house that needed repair on a piece of scrap paper. His handwriting was neat and clear, without the slightest carelessness.
Now that he has accepted the accommodation, he intends to renovate it to his own needs and not just make do with what he has.
In particular, the toilets and bathrooms are the parts he is focusing on. Currently, there are no private bathrooms in this courtyard house, and all the residents have to go back and forth to the public toilet in the alley, which is extremely inconvenient for daily life. He does not want to compromise on this matter and plans to take advantage of the renovation to directly convert them into independent toilets and bathrooms.
The paper was filled with repairs for walls, replacement of doors and windows, and leveling of the floor. It also included a simple renovation sketch, with the water pipe layout, partition division, and bathroom placement clearly marked. He was pondering the details of the renovation when the door was suddenly pushed open and a group of people rushed in, instantly breaking the silence inside the room.
Sun Jingyuan put down his pencil, looked up at the newcomers, his expression calm, showing only a hint of ordinary surprise, without any extra emotion, and asked in a steady tone, "What do you want?"
The middle-aged man at the head of the group stepped forward, standing upright with the composed demeanor of an elder in the courtyard. He introduced himself with a slightly condescending tone: "Hello, I am Yi Zhonghai, the eldest uncle in this courtyard, responsible for managing the daily affairs of the courtyard."
Standing to the side, He Yuzhu crossed his arms, glanced at Sun Jingyuan from head to toe, and curled his lips into a disdainful smile. He spoke sarcastically in a flippant tone: "Hmm, so he's all delicate and tender. He looks more like a scholar than someone who can settle down in a compound."
Qin Huairu mingled in the crowd, subconsciously glancing at Sun Jingyuan before quickly lowering her head, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.
Sun Jingyuan was tall and straight, with regular features and a calm, scholarly air about him, which was quite different from the workers in the yard who worked year-round. It was hard not to take a second look.
Sun Jingyuan completely ignored He Yuzhu's sarcastic remarks and kept his gaze fixed on Yi Zhonghai, who was at the head of the group. He asked again in a calm tone, "What is it? Just say it."
"Well, we'd like to ask, how did you apply for this house?" Liu Haizhong, standing next to him, took a half step forward, his back straight, striking the pose of a seventh-level fitter in the factory. His tone was somewhat official, and his eyes were full of inquiry.
"Assigned by my work unit," Sun Jingyuan replied calmly, offering no further explanation and simply stating his answer.
"Which one is yours?" Jia Zhangshi immediately squeezed to the front of the crowd, her eyes darting around, her gaze fixed on the most spacious and best-lit room in the house, and asked urgently.
She had her eye on this room for a long time, planning that if Sun Jingyuan only got one room, she would find a way to change rooms. Now that she saw that the room was spacious, she was even more greedy.
Sun Jingyuan pointed to the three large rooms side by side in front of him, his movements calm and his tone even: "These three rooms were allocated to me."
"Nonsense!"
Madam Jia immediately flew into a rage, putting her hands on her hips and yelling shrilly, "Boy, stop lying through your teeth! How could one person have three rooms? You're clearly taking over the rooms in the courtyard!"
"I don't know you at all, so there's no need for me to lie to you." Sun Jingyuan's expression turned indifferent, and his tone was clearly displeased. "The house has proper allocation procedures. If you don't believe me, you can go and verify it. There's no need to make trouble here. If you have nothing to do, please leave and don't delay my work."
"Get out? I've lived in this courtyard for decades. Who gives you, a mere outsider, the right to kick me out?" Jia Zhangshi said arrogantly, adopting a spoiled and unreasonable attitude, her tone extremely harsh. "I think you've gone astray to occupy this house in the courtyard. Today, I'm going to settle this with you!"
"Residents in this compound are expected to follow the rules, and being old is not a reason to be unreasonable." Sun Jingyuan said coldly, too lazy to argue with her any further. His gaze returned to the sketch on the table, and he was unwilling to pay any more attention to the others.
"You brat, how dare you talk back!" Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi was so angry that she jumped up and down. She lunged forward to try to pull Sun Jingyuan away, but Qin Huairu behind her quickly reached out and held her back tightly, afraid that she would cause even more trouble.
"Kid, you're pretty arrogant. Talking to your elders like that is so disrespectful!" Upon seeing this, He Yuzhu immediately stepped forward, raised his chin, and shouted at Sun Jingyuan with an arrogant expression, as if he was going to stand up for him.
"If you have something to say, say it. If you don't, don't make a scene here." Sun Jingyuan glanced at him, his tone calm but distant, showing he had no intention of getting entangled with this group.
"Damn it, you think you're so great, huh!"
He Yuzhu immediately became angry. His face darkened, and he clenched his fists, wanting to rush forward and teach this arrogant newcomer a lesson. However, he was stopped by Yi Zhonghai, who was standing next to him, with a stern rebuke.
"Shazhu, stop! Don't do anything reckless!" Yi Zhonghai shouted in a deep voice, then turned to look at Sun Jingyuan, putting on a serious expression, "Young comrade, your attitude is not right. Living in the same courtyard is about neighborly harmony and mutual assistance. With your words and actions, it will be difficult to integrate into the life in the courtyard."
Sun Jingyuan looked up at him, his expression indifferent, without the slightest hint of flattery: "I have no connection with any of you. I just want to live here in peace. It's not a matter of good or bad attitude."
"I'm the oldest man in the compound, so naturally I have to take care of things here." Yi Zhonghai raised his voice, trying to use his status to intimidate people and put on an air of upholding justice.
"The rules in this compound are for residents who live legally, not for interfering with other people's legal housing." Sun Jingyuan pointed to the house behind him, his tone cold. "These three rooms are legally allocated private property with complete paperwork, recognized by the street office and the allocating unit. Even the elders in the compound have no right to interfere arbitrarily."
Yi Zhonghai was speechless after being rebuked, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly. He was seething with anger, his face turning pale and then red. Looking at the stubborn young man in front of him, he wanted to explode on the spot, but he was too proud to do so because of his status.
"Grandpa, don't stop him! He's being so unreasonable, I'll teach him a lesson on behalf of the neighborhood!"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, He Yuzhu broke free from Yi Zhonghai's obstruction, clenched his fist, took a step, and smashed it straight at Sun Jingyuan's face. He went all out and wanted to give Sun Jingyuan a hard time.
Sun Jingyuan remained calm and composed. Seeing the fist coming, he easily dodged to the side with a clean and swift movement. He then raised his right leg and delivered a precise back kick, striking He Yuzhu squarely in the abdomen.
Caught off guard, He Yuzhu instantly curled up like a shrimp, trembling with pain and struggling to breathe.
Before he could react, Sun Jingyuan delivered a solid knee strike, slamming He Yuzhu right in the face. He Yuzhu didn't even have time to groan before falling backward to the ground, blood gushing from his nose.
"How could you hit someone! That's outrageous!" Uncle Yan Bugui immediately stood next to Yi Zhonghai, pointed at Sun Jingyuan, and reprimanded him with a righteous and stern expression, adopting the demeanor of a cultured man.
"He attacked first, and my actions were in self-defense, not provocation." Sun Jingyuan dusted off his trousers, speaking calmly and clearly without the slightest panic.
Yan Bugui's face flushed red instantly. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word of rebuttal for a long time. He always considered himself a cultured person in the courtyard, but now he was speechless because of Sun Jingyuan's words. He could only shut his mouth in embarrassment.
"Young comrade, no matter what, it's wrong to resort to violence. You were too impulsive." Yi Zhonghai quickly stepped forward to help He Yuzhu up from the ground, then turned to Sun Jingyuan with a stern face and said in a deep voice, "You are all alone, occupying three large rooms. This is already taking more than your share, which is unreasonable. Now you've resorted to violence, which is even more unacceptable."
"So, how do you plan to handle this?" Sun Jingyuan asked calmly, looking at Yi Zhonghai.
"I'll take charge of this matter. Sha Zhu is magnanimous and won't pursue your mistake of injuring someone. Let's just let this matter drop." Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, adopting a magnanimous and fair stance. He turned and glared fiercely at He Yuzhu, who wanted to argue, forcing him to swallow his anger.
"According to you, I should be grateful for your magnanimity." Sun Jingyuan's tone was flat, revealing no emotion whatsoever. He simply looked at him quietly, waiting for his next words.
"No need for gratitude, we're all neighbors, no need to fuss over such things." Yi Zhonghai waved his hand and finally revealed his true purpose, "But you must give up two rooms. After Jia Dongxu got married, the four of them squeezed into a small room, which was extremely inconvenient and difficult for them; Uncle San's family of six also squeezed into a small house, and they lived a very frugal life. If you give up two rooms, it will help solve the difficulties of your neighbors."
Yan Bugui, standing next to him, nodded hurriedly and kept giving Yi Zhonghai meaningful glances, hoping that he could be assigned a room.
Liu Haizhong stood there, completely stunned, his mind blank. He watched as the two of them quickly divided the houses, and only then did he realize that he had been left out the whole time.
Yi Zhonghai noticed Liu Haizhong's expression and quickly moved closer to him, lowering his voice to add, "Second Uncle, don't make a wasted trip. Once this kid gives up the house, each of the two families will chip in fifty yuan for you. That way, your efforts won't be in vain."
Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong immediately perked up, puffed out his chest, and adopted a righteous and indignant posture, echoing, "Yes, I also think this is against the rules. You should give up the house. Neighbors should help each other."
"Who are you?" Sun Jingyuan looked up at him and asked in a calm tone.
"I'm the second oldest in the compound, and a level seven fitter at the steel rolling mill. I'm a respected figure in the factory," Liu Haizhong said, puffing out his chest with an arrogant expression, deliberately displaying his status in an attempt to intimidate Sun Jingyuan.
"So, what you all mean is that I have to give up this house, there's no room for negotiation?" Sun Jingyuan's lips curled into a faint smile as his gaze slowly swept over everyone present, his expression remaining calm.
"Yes! You have to give up this house, no questions asked!" Jia Zhangshi immediately shouted, yelling in a shrill voice, looking determined to get it.
Sun Jingyuan did not argue further and said calmly, "In that case, I will go to the subdistrict office now to verify the allocation of the house and ask how this matter should be decided."
After saying that, he turned and walked out of the house without any hesitation or further argument with the others.
"We'll wait here and see what the neighborhood committee says. I don't believe you can hold onto the house and refuse to let go!" Yi Zhonghai shouted at Sun Jingyuan's back, convinced that Sun Jingyuan was just bluffing and would eventually give in.
"Wait until he gets back, and I'll teach him a lesson. I'll make him give up the house today!" He Yuzhu covered his bleeding nose and endured the pain in his abdomen, uttering harsh words in a muffled voice, his face full of resentment.
Qin Huairu stood silently to the side, watching Sun Jingyuan's departing figure, and then looked at the furious He Yuzhu in front of her. She knew that with Sun Jingyuan's two swift and decisive moves just now, He Yuzhu would have no chance to fight back if he were to attack again. However, she dared not say anything and could only lower her head and stand silently in the crowd.