aircannonsinc Chapter 999 Educating Xu Damao
Chapter 999 Educating Xu Damao
Yan Bugui's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard, but he didn't dare glance at the dishes on the table again—the braised pork in the bowl was square, coated in glistening sauce, trembling and gleaming; next to it, a plate of scrambled eggs was bright yellow, still steaming, the aroma of scallions wafting into his nose, making his stomach rumble. But Gu Nan's attitude clearly showed he wasn't welcome, and he wouldn't get anything out of it no matter how much he lingered. He could only turn away dejectedly, hurrying out, muttering to himself: This Gu Nan is really stubborn, he won't let anyone take advantage of him at all. I wasted so much time talking, and didn't even get a single piece of meat.
Gu Nan slammed the door shut, shutting out the noise outside, and turned back into the house. Ran Qiuye was carrying the last bowl of winter melon and pork rib soup out of the kitchen. Seeing him come in, she smiled and said, "You guessed it! Just now, Third Uncle was shouting in the yard that Second Uncle proposed to hold a meeting for the whole courtyard and that everyone should gather in the middle courtyard."
Gu Nan picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, and smiled nonchalantly: "Let it be. What new things can a meeting in the courtyard have? It's just gossip about this and that. Let's eat first and fill our stomachs. After we're full, you can take Shiya home to play, and I'll go out and deal with things."
Ran Qiuye nodded quickly. She really didn't like joining in on this kind of noise. The old men and women in the courtyard loved to argue and bicker whenever they had a meeting. They could talk about trivial family disputes for half a day, which was a real headache. She put a piece of pork rib into Gu Nan's bowl and instructed him, "Don't get angry with them when you get there, especially Second Uncle and Third Uncle. They like to take things seriously. Just go along with what they say and come back as soon as the meeting is over."
Gu Nan raised an eyebrow, picked up a piece of pork rib and gave it to his daughter Shi Ya, making the little one giggle: "Do I look like someone who likes to get angry? Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, there's no need to take it seriously."
The family sat around the table, eating their meal peacefully. Outside the window, they could hear the footsteps of neighbors, the shouts of children chasing and playing, and Yan Bugui knocking on doors and calling out to people—clearly, the assembly for the whole compound had begun.
In the courtyard, Liu Haizhong stood with his hands behind his back under the pomegranate tree, directing several young men to bring over a few benches. While Yan Bugui was running around calling out to everyone else, he felt that Xu Damao was likely involved in the matter and that he needed to go in person to show his respect. Reaching Xu Damao's gate, he paused, straightened his clothes, and then gently knocked on the door: "Damao, are you home?"
Xu Damao was curled up on the sofa, seething with anger. He'd been cornered at the door by Yan Bugui for ages, bombarding him with questions, which had thoroughly annoyed him. And then there was the fact that the promised benefits from Deputy Factory Director Li hadn't materialized yet, making him even more irritated. Hearing a knock, he shuffled to the door, only to find it was Liu Haizhong. His brows immediately furrowed. "Uncle? What are you doing here at this hour? I was just about to rest."
Liu Haizhong's face was expressionless and serious. He said in a deep voice, "Xu Damao, the hospital is holding a general meeting. This matter concerns you, so I came to call you. Hurry up and get ready to come with me."
Although Xu Damao was unhappy, he thought that Gu Nan hadn't held it against him during the day, so things might still turn around. His expression softened a bit: "I understand, Uncle. I'll be right there."
Liu Haizhong nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave—he knew that the main event of tonight's meeting was the trial of Xu Damao, and there was no need to linger here. Xu Damao watched his retreating figure, pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then headed towards the Intermediate Court with a belly full of thoughts.
The neighbors gradually gathered in the central courtyard, standing in twos and threes, whispering and guessing the reason for the courtyard-wide meeting. Xu Damao walked over slowly, and seeing that there were many people in the courtyard, he did not go to the front, but went straight to the back of the crowd—he was wondering who had started this, and decided to stay away and observe first.
Yan Bugui, with his sharp eyes, spotted Gu Nan leisurely walking out of the east wing, hands in his pockets, looking completely unconcerned. He stood at the back of the crowd, as if watching a spectacle. Yan Bugui snorted inwardly, thinking: You'll get what's coming to you later.
He winked at Liu Haizhong. Liu Haizhong cleared his throat, took half a step forward, and scanned the crowd before finally fixing his gaze on Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, this matter concerns you today, so you should stand at the front. As for what it is, you'll find out soon enough."
Xu Damao was initially genuinely confused, his mind racing through recent events. But upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words, he instantly understood—it was just that he had shown a movie in the courtyard a while ago and invited a few friends over to support him, which resulted in a minor altercation. Several days had passed, and nothing had happened. These people were probably trying to use this incident to their advantage, thinking he was easy to bully and wanting to extort some benefits from him.
Xu Damao wasn't one to back down either. He stiffened his neck and looked at Liu Haizhong: "Uncle, I really don't know what I did wrong. What's the big deal that it's worth making such a fuss and holding a hospital-wide meeting? Tell me, what exactly did I do wrong?"
Liu Haizhong was taken aback by the question, and his eyes involuntarily glanced at Yan Bugui—it was Yan Bugui who had instigated this whole thing, so if anyone was going to offend someone, it was naturally him who should be the first to step forward. "Old Yan, why don't you tell us? You were there at the time, so you saw it clearly."
Yan Bugui was a little annoyed. He hadn't expected Liu Haizhong to be so cowardly, completely absolving himself of any responsibility. But since things had come to this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet. He sneered and looked at Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, you're saying this isn't your fault? The other day, when you were showing a movie, you brought some shady characters into the yard without permission. Those people were making a ruckus and almost got into a fight with the neighbors. Did you think that had nothing to do with you? If you hadn't brought those people in, would we have had all this trouble?"
Xu Damao opened his mouth, wanting to refute—those people were clearly after Gu Nan. If Gu Nan hadn't offended someone at the factory, would they have been able to find the courtyard house? But he swallowed his words, glanced at Gu Nan beside him, and ultimately didn't say it outright—if he did, wouldn't that drag Gu Nan into it too? If the two of them hadn't discussed it beforehand, and Gu Nan denied it, it would make him look dishonest.
Xu Damao remained silent, but Yan Bugui refused to give up. He suddenly changed the subject, staring intently at Gu Nan behind the crowd: "Of course, Gu Nan is also partly to blame! If you hadn't offended someone outside, would they have been able to find their way into our courtyard? In the end, it was you who caused the trouble, dragging down the entire neighborhood!"
As soon as he said that, the courtyard fell silent. All eyes turned to Gu Nan, waiting to see how he would respond.