HPDBC Chapter 176 The Three Frightened Old Men
Chapter 176 The Three Frightened Old Men
Chapter 176 The Three Frightened Old Men
Li Qin's voice was not loud, but after he spoke, everyone fell silent.
The three stewards sitting above turned pale instantly.
His eyes were filled with panic.
Li Qin's words were far more serious than what they had said before. If they were to be spread by someone with ulterior motives, the three of them would be in serious trouble.
"Li Qin, don't talk nonsense. When did we become emperors? We have the utmost respect for our instructor."
Yi Zhonghai couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up abruptly and spoke up immediately.
Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, who were standing to the side, also stood up and nodded immediately after Yi Zhonghai finished speaking.
Li Qin glanced at the three of them with a disdainful expression:
"Since you don't acknowledge these things, I'm even more curious. What makes you think I have a problem or have made a mistake?"
Just because you're in charge doesn't mean you can do this.
If I remember correctly, the neighborhood committee appointed you as the "managers" mainly to prevent enemy agents from infiltrating and sabotaging the area.
Besides that, it involves mediating disputes among neighbors and handling minor matters within the courtyard.
In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the household registration system was imperfect and the street offices were understaffed. In order to prevent enemy agents from infiltrating and sabotaging, a steward was selected from the large, complex courtyards.
Similar to the ancient system of reporting suspicious individuals, it required immediate reporting upon discovery of any abnormal personnel.
Another role is to act as a mediator, mediating disputes among neighbors, conveying information from the street office, and assisting the street office in handling trivial matters.
However, under the manipulation of Yi Zhonghai and his associates, the power of the steward in their courtyard will only increase over time.
These all stemmed from the selfish motives of a few old men.
Yi Zhonghai's aim was to gain control of the courtyard house and transform it into a retirement home that suited his preferences.
Liu Haizhong, on the other hand, wanted to use the identity of the second uncle in the courtyard to satisfy his desire to become an official:
Yan Bugui hoped to use his identity as the Third Uncle to gain an advantage over the residents of the courtyard house.
When Li Qin revealed the steward's role, the expressions of Yi Zhonghai and the other two changed drastically.
If they really did as Li Qin said and obediently acted as stewards, wouldn't the courtyard house be beyond their control?
The three of them were naturally unwilling.
At this moment, Li Qin continued speaking:
"I'm neither an enemy agent, my identity is not problematic, and I haven't had any conflicts with anyone. I want to know what right you three have to tell me what to do?"
From the moment Li Qin began speaking, the expressions of everyone present changed repeatedly.
The way these people looked at the three old men began to subtly change.
Upon realizing this, Yi Zhonghai and his two companions immediately became anxious.
They knew that if they couldn't suppress Li Qin today, controlling the courtyard house in the future wouldn't be so easy.
In the end, Yi Zhonghai's brain was still the most useful:
His expression turned serious, and he spoke with righteous indignation:
"The three of us don't mean to interfere with you. As the elders of this courtyard house, we've noticed that you've been doing some things wrong, and we wanted to use this meeting to remind you so that you don't go down the wrong path."
"Yes, yes, yes! Lao Yi is right. We just wanted to remind you to avoid going down the wrong path and making mistakes."
As soon as Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, Liu Haizhong nodded immediately and said with a look of agreement.
As for Yan Bugui, who had the weakest presence, he didn't speak at this moment.
But he was nodding.
"Yeah?"
Li Qin seemed to be misled by Yi Zhonghai's statement, his face showing a look of doubt and uncertainty.
Of course, all of this was just an act by Li Qin.
He wanted to give these people hope.
They also genuinely don't intend to dwell on past events.
After all, these people are precious sources of emotional power. If he kills them all at once, he will lose a stable source of emotional power.
"Yes, yes!"
At this moment, Yi Zhonghai and the others nodded repeatedly.
Initially, the three of them wanted to join forces to deal with Li Qin.
But unexpectedly, Li Qin was so capable that not only did he fail to rectify the situation, but he also almost got himself accused of a fatal crime.
Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were already feeling some regret.
If they had known Li Qin was so powerful, they wouldn't have accepted Yi Zhonghai's invitation.
Among them, Yan Bugui felt he had lost out the most.
The main reason he agreed to Yi Zhonghai's offer was because he had failed to gain any advantage over Li Qin on several previous occasions.
I just felt a little resentful.
That's why he agreed to Yi Zhonghai's request, hoping to use this conference to completely suppress Li Qin.
It would be best to break Li Qin's pride, making it easier to scheme against him later.
There are no benefits to be seen at all, and I almost got myself into trouble.
Yan Bugui was almost in tears.
"Since that's the case, then tell me, what did I do that warrants a college-wide meeting?"
Li Qin nodded, then looked at Yi Zhonghai and the other two with a puzzled expression.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Li Qin seemed to have put the previous matter behind him.
However, after what had just happened, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were somewhat intimidated by Li Qin and remained silent.
She simply sat quietly to the side, her gaze fixed on Yi Zhonghai.
It was clear that the two of them did not intend to get involved in what was to come.
Although Yi Zhonghai didn't show it on his face, he was already cursing these two useless guys in his heart.
In fact, only Yi Zhonghai himself knew best that he had actually wanted to push Liu Haizhong or Yan Bugui forward.
However, his reaction was not as fast as the other two.
Now that things have come to this point, he has no way to back down.
Yi Zhonghai tidied up his words a little.
After what happened before, he dared not speak carelessly now, otherwise Li Qin might seize on his weakness again.
That would be difficult to handle.
"Li Qin, you've lived in our courtyard for over a year now, so you should know that the residents here usually live a very simple life."
This fully demonstrates the hardworking and resilient spirit of the residents of our courtyard houses.
But ever since you moved into the backyard, you've been cooking meat every few days. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?
Moreover, your actions will also affect other residents in the compound.
That's why we thought of having a meeting to talk to you about it, so that you can identify your problems in time and correct them as soon as possible.
After hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Li Qin ignored the reactions of others; he was quite speechless.
He looked at Yi Zhonghai with a helpless expression.
He simply couldn't understand what Yi Zhonghai had just said; at the very least, he couldn't discern any logic in it.
Then he looked at everyone present.
Surprisingly, some people even showed expressions of approval on their faces.
This left Li Qin even more speechless.
"No wonder this courtyard house is jokingly called the 'Birds-filled Courtyard.' I used to think it was because of Yi Zhonghai and his group, but now it seems that many of the remaining people are also mentally unstable."
However, just as there are people who approve of Yi Zhonghai, there are also people who do not.
For example, Xu Damao, who sat next to Li Qin, and Liu Guangqi, who sat quietly in a secluded spot watching the play.