As the third uncle finished speaking, several people in the courtyard who had not yet donated money came forward one after another.
"Old Chen's family, donate a piece!"
"Lao Wang, please donate two yuan!"
…
Following the shouts of the third uncle, every one of the twenty or so families in the courtyard donated money.
This is the third uncle with a smile on his face. He really made a splash in the courtyard today.
He glanced at the first and second uncles who had been reduced to foils tonight, and mused,
"Lao Yi, Lao Liu, don't be idle. Take out all the money in the donation box and count it. I will also do statistics here to see if there are any discrepancies."
The first uncle nodded, glanced at the second uncle and said,
"Old Liu, please count the money in the box in front of everyone."
When the second uncle Liu Haizhong heard this, he felt aggrieved. In the past, during meetings in the courtyard, he could show off his presence to some extent, while the third uncle was just a foil.
He would never have thought that one day he would be reduced to a foil, watching from the sidelines as the third uncle Yan Bugui stole the show, and even now he had to work for him.
Thinking of this, Liu Haizhong suddenly felt a sense of crisis in his heart. He was wondering if he should find an opportunity to suppress Yan Bugui, lest he lose the position of the first master in the courtyard and be replaced by Yan Bugui.
The second uncle's position was taken away.
At this moment, Liu Haizhong was counting the money in front of everyone, but at a certain moment, he pretended to cough, put his hand behind the box, and secretly hid a banknote in his sleeve.
Then he took out the money ticket from the donation box as if nothing had happened and said loudly,
"Forty-five! Forty-six! Fifty-one!"
This was repeated, and finally Liu Haizhong looked at the crowd with a thick stack of money and said,
"This time our hospital donated a total of sixty-nine yuan!"
Then he looked at the third uncle and asked, pretending to be concerned,
"Lao Yan, do you think this number is correct?"
The third uncle now took the abacus and checked the records on the red paper twice. Hearing the second uncle's words, he frowned and said,
"Old Liu, did you count wrongly? I've calculated it again and found that everyone donated a total of seventy yuan."
The second uncle showed a surprised expression and said,
"Lao Yan, you didn't make a mistake, did you?"
"Impossible! I've checked it carefully twice. There's no way it can be wrong."
The third uncle said, looking at the second uncle suspiciously and said,
"Old Liu, did you count wrongly?"
"Everyone is watching me count, how could I count wrongly?"
The second uncle shook his head and continued,
"Lao Yan, if you don't believe it, then I'll count it again!"
After the second uncle finished speaking, he counted the thick stack of money notes one by one in front of everyone.
"Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine!"
After the second uncle counted the last dollar, the gloating look in his eyes disappeared, and he pretended to be concerned and looked at the third uncle and said,
"Lao Yan, it's really only sixty-nine yuan!"
"This is weird!"
The third uncle frowned and guessed,
"Lao Liu, could it be that someone in the hospital donated less?"
That’s what I’ve been waiting for!
When the second uncle heard this, a hint of joy flashed in his heart. He suddenly stood up from his stool and said loudly to everyone,
"Everyone in the hospital, when I checked the donation amount with Lao Yan, I found that one dollar was missing. Lao Yan suspected that some of you gave less when donating. Whoever gave less will come forward!"
When everyone in the courtyard heard the second uncle Liu Haizhong's words, there was a sudden commotion and discussions.
Then someone looked at Liu Haizhong and said,
"Second uncle, which family donated how much? The money was put in in front of you three uncles. How could it be less?"
Liu Haizhong nodded, then looked at Yan Bu Gui and said loudly,
"Lao Yan, are you overly suspicious? Everyone wants to help the Ergen family, how could they do such a thing?"
The elder Yi Zhonghai, who had been silent until now, also followed up and said,
"Lao Yan, don't make random guesses. When everyone donated money, Lao Liu and I were watching. It will be no less! Did you make a mistake when you kept the account?"
Yan Bugui shook his head and said,
"It's impossible. When everyone donates, I always report the amount."
Liu Haizhong heard this and guessed,
"Lao Yan, is it possible that you said the amount of everyone's donation, but made a mistake when you wrote it?"
After hearing Liu Haizhong's words, Yan Bugui was a little unsure and frowned,
"Did I really write it wrong? What should I do?"
The second uncle sighed and said,
"Okay, Lao Yan, don't blame yourself. It's such a cold weather, don't let everyone freeze here. I'll make up for this dollar for you!"
Yan Bugui heard Liu Haizhong's words and said gratefully,
"Old Liu, isn't this not good?"
"Okay, you can't be polite to me anymore."
As Liu Haizhong spoke, he took out a dollar from his pocket, looked at the people in the courtyard with a righteous look and said,
"Everyone in the courtyard, Lao Yan himself made a mistake in donating money. I will give him one dollar to make up for the seventy yuan, so that he will not have to guess whether someone has given less."
Well, your bangs are digging a hole for me to jump into!
Yan Bugui didn't expect Liu Haizhong to come out like this, and immediately blushed, but he couldn't bear to ask him to pay the one dollar himself. He could donate three yuan to Liu Ergen and his family was already Yan Bu Gui.
It was a rare blessing for you. Although Yan Bugui was dissatisfied with this, he could only bear the loss of being dumb and silent.
Liu Haizhong was secretly proud when he saw that Yan Bugui didn't say anything. Then he looked at Yi Zhonghaidao,
"Lao Yi, Lao Yan, I will give this money to Ergen's wife, do you have any objections?"
Hearing this, Yi Zhonghai nodded and said,
"Old Liu, you can figure it out!"
Yan Bugui looked at Liu Haizhong with an aggrieved look. He was supposed to give the money to the Ergen family in front of everyone, but at this point he could only admit defeat.
"I have no opinion."
When Liu Haizhong saw this, he immediately took a thick stack of bills and walked up to Ergen's wife, handed the money to her and said,
"Two pieces of his wife, this is a tribute from everyone in the courtyard, a total of seventy yuan, you count!"
Liu Ergen was still taking care of Grandma Liu in the hospital, so it was Liu Ergen and his wife who came to attend the hospital meeting.
Liu Ergen's wife took the money from Liu Haizhong's hand with red eyes, waved her hands and said,
"It's no use counting!"
Then he bowed deeply to everyone and said gratefully,
"Thank you everyone for your help to our family. We will definitely repay your kindness."
…
Evening, nine o'clock.
Heavy snow fell in the sky again.
The meeting in the courtyard also ended, and Su Cheng returned to his home in the backyard from the central courtyard.
As soon as I entered the house, I saw an old lady sitting on the sofa, rubbing her knees, with a look of pain on her face.
Su Cheng did not dare to neglect, and immediately stepped forward and asked,
"Grandma, what's wrong with you?"
When the old lady saw Su Cheng coming back, she tried her best to put on a calm face and said,
"It's an old problem. When the weather gets cold, my legs aren't very flexible. It's nothing serious!"
Su Cheng knelt down, squeezed the old lady's knees, and said with concern,
"Grandma, are you feeling cold again? It's a cold day. Please don't sit here. I'll help you lie down on the kang first."
The old lady nodded, took the crutches on the side, and was helped by Su Cheng to the kang. Seeing the frowning Su Cheng, she smiled and comforted,
"Chengzi, grandma is fine, you don't have to worry."
Su Cheng sat on the edge and helped the old lady pinch her knees and other joints to activate her muscles, and asked with concern,
"Grandma, do you feel better now? Does your leg still hurt?"
The old lady smiled and said,
"With my dear grandson squeezing my legs, grandma's legs no longer hurt."
Su Cheng shook his head and said,
"Hey, don't be brave. Just wait, I'll find you two hot water bottles to cover you up."
When the old lady heard this, she did not refuse and said cheerfully,
"Okay, just listen to my dear grandson."
Su Cheng nodded and covered the old lady with a quilt.
Then he went to the kitchen, heated some hot water on the stove and put it into a hot water bottle.
At this time, Su Cheng was sitting on the edge, covering the old lady's knees with a hot water bottle through the quilt and saying,
"Grandma, how are you? Do you feel better?"
The old lady said cheerfully,
"Okay, it doesn't hurt anymore. You have to go to work tomorrow, so go back to the house and sleep early."
Seeing this, Su Cheng asked a little worriedly,
"Then if you need to get up for something at night, you must remember to call me, you know?"
The old lady smiled warmly in her heart and said,
"I know, why are you more verbose than an old woman like me?"
Can it be done without being verbose?
You have a cold leg attack and have difficulty moving. What if you fall when you get up at night?
Su Cheng was worried and reminded again,
"Grandma, even if you think I'm verbose, I still have to say, remember to call me if you have anything to do at night, otherwise I'll be in a hurry with you!"
…………
Siheyuan, Xu Damao's house.
There was a plate of peanuts and a bottle of bulk soju on the square table in the room.
Xu Damao sat at the square table, put a peanut into his mouth, and then took a sip of soju.
Then he looked at Lou Xiao'e and complained,
"Ezi, Yi Zhonghai is just going too far! Since I am the boss of this courtyard, I have tolerated it because I always favored Silly Zhu in the past. But now you are using your background as an excuse to force us to
Donate money, I’m not done with him!”
Lou Xiao'e looked at Xu Damao and said with guilt,
"Da Mao, don't be angry. It's just five yuan, so we don't need to be angry with him."
"If Yi Zhonghai can kindly ask me to donate more, so that I can gain more face in the hospital, then it won't matter if we donate more money!"
Xu Damao said angrily,
"But what I can't bear is that even if we donate money, we still get ridiculed in public. What's the point?"
When Lou Xiao'e heard this, she sighed and said,
"Da Mao, you have been wronged because of my family's relationship. Do you particularly regret marrying me now?"
Xu Damao shook his head, took Lou Xiao'e's hand and said softly,
"Ezi, don't worry, I don't mean that. Being able to marry you is a blessing I earned in my previous life!"
Lou Xiao'e said suspiciously,
"real?"
Don't blame Lou Xiao'e for being suspicious. As the saying goes, there must be a monster when something goes wrong. Xu Damao has been coaxing her with sweet words these days. While Lou Xiao'e is happy, she always feels that it is a bit unreal.
When Xu Damao saw Lou Xiao'e doubting her, he immediately vowed,
"of course it's true!"
Then he explained softly,
"Ezi, we have been married for several years. I didn't know how to cherish it before, so you were wronged. Just don't blame me!"
Lou Xiao'e heard this and was moved and said,
"Da Mao, you are so kind."
Then he looked at Xu Damao and said shyly,
"Da Mao, it's getting late. Let's go to bed and rest. Let's work harder tonight. I'm going to give you a big fat boy who will block the mouths of the people in the hospital."
When Xu Damao heard this, he felt a dark feeling in his heart. His waist felt a little painful for no reason, and he said with a guilty conscience,
"Ezi, this matter cannot be rushed. The more anxious we are, the more counterproductive it may be. Do you understand?"
Then he thought about it and said,
"Today Yi Zhonghai kidnapped our morals, and the people in the courtyard also took advantage of it. Only Chengzi was willing to stand up and say a few fair words for us. I have to go find him for a drink and thank him properly!"
When Lou Xiao'e heard this, she didn't think much and said immediately,
"Da Mao, we have to thank you very much. But it's so late, wouldn't it be a good idea for you to disturb them?"
Xu Damao glanced at the time, shook his head and said,
"It's not even ten o'clock yet. Chengzi doesn't go to bed so early. If you're sleepy, go to bed first and don't wait for me!"
Seeing this, Lou Xiao'e could only do this. She took Xu Damao's big coat and put it on her, and then told her,
"Da Mao, don't talk to Su Cheng too late, you know?"
Xu Damao nodded while carrying a bottle of wine and a plate of peanuts, and then went out.
At this time, it was snowing heavily outside the house, and the sky was so dark that he could not see his fingers. Xu Damao glanced in the direction of Su Cheng's house and saw that there were still lights in the house. He breathed a sigh of relief, secretly glad that Su Cheng was not asleep yet.
Otherwise, Lou Xiao'e may know how to torment him tonight.
If it was really possible to create humans, Xu Damao would naturally be willing to do so, but now that his own family knows his own affairs, how could he have the motivation?
But he didn't dare to tell Lou Xiao'e that he couldn't have children, for fear that Lou Xiao'e would divorce him, so Xu Damao suddenly changed his gender in the past few days and took great care of Lou Xiao'e.
At this time, he had walked to Su Cheng's door and shouted softly inside,
"Seiko, it's me, Damao!"
Inside the house, Su Cheng had just settled the old lady's house, and looked very worried.
Just when I heard Xu Damao's voice outside the door, I stepped forward and opened the door.
Seeing Xu Damao holding a bottle of wine and a plate of peanuts in his hands, he was slightly surprised and said,
"Da Mao, what are you doing? You won't go to work tomorrow?"
Xu Damao smiled bitterly and said,
"Shengzi, it's really cold outside, please let me go inside first!"
Su Cheng nodded, poured Xu Damao a cup of hot water to warm his hands, and sat down in the living room.
Xu Damao put the wine and peanuts on the low table in front of him, took the hot water from Su Cheng and said with a smile,
"Shengzi, I have to thank you for speaking a few words of justice on my behalf today. The old lady has gone to bed, right? I brought wine over, how about two glasses of wine tonight?"
Su Cheng originally wanted to refuse. He had to go to work tomorrow and he was afraid that he would be unable to get up after drinking too late. But at the moment, he also had something on his mind. He just wanted to have a drink with Xu Damao and have a few words to talk about their feelings, so he said,
"Okay, let's drink some."
After Su Cheng finished speaking, he stood up and took two pairs of kuaizi and two small wine glasses, and then the two of them sat at the low table in the living room and started chatting.
At this time, Xu Damao had just taken a sip of shochu and then said,
"Shengzi, today you are pointing at the old man and calling him a moral kidnapper. I feel the same way!"