Chapter 36: Strike First to Gain the Advantage

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The broken gong sounded like a massive iron hammer, shattering the tranquility of the courtyard's evening.

A loud auntie's voice drifted from outside the door: "Attention, residents! Once everyone has finished dinner, gather in the middle courtyard for a big meeting."

A big meeting?

It didn't seem like anything major had happened in the courtyard today.

Li Aiguo frowned, his expression wary.

His gaze couldn't help but fall upon that bag of high-quality flour.

He never hesitated to speculate with the worst possible malice regarding the pack of beasts living in this courtyard.

Just then.

Xu Damao shouted from outside, "Aiguo, the meeting is starting."

"Coming."

Li Aiguo picked up his stool and headed out.

It was currently a summer dusk.

The sunset clouds on the horizon were burning beautifully, casting a reddish glow over everyone's faces.

A light breeze blew, carrying a hint of coolness in the air that felt quite comfortable.

By the time he reached the middle courtyard, a dense crowd had already gathered under the old camphor tree.

In the center of the crowd sat a square table, with three managing uncles sitting upright on long benches.

They carried themselves with an air of authority, possessing the dignified aura of patriarchs from a feudal society.

Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, and Qin Huairu—who was holding Banggeng—sat in the very front.

As if sensing Li Aiguo's gaze, Jia Zhangshi turned her head, her lips curling into a strange, subtle smile.

That smile reminded Li Aiguo of a hunter who had set a trap and was waiting for the prey to fall into it.

The meeting was presided over by the First Uncle, Yi Zhonghai.

However, the first to speak was the fame-hungry Second Uncle, who babbled for two minutes before inviting the First Uncle to preside over the meeting.

The First Uncle stood up with a serious expression and began to speak.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Today, we are mainly here to discuss the matter of the high-quality flour."

The chaotic scene instantly fell silent, and the members of the Jia family nodded repeatedly.

Xu Damao whispered to Li Aiguo, "Aiguo, I don't think Yi Zhonghai has good intentions. Seeing that you got your hands on high-quality flour, he's looking to scheme against you."

Li Aiguo smiled. "I'll deal with him as he comes."

Without waiting for Yi Zhonghai to continue, he stood up and said, "First Uncle, before we discuss the flour, I think we should first resolve the food issues of the struggling households in our courtyard."

Li Aiguo's statement received unanimous approval from the crowd.

In this era of food shortages, filling one's stomach was far more important than eating well.

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and he stood up to echo him, "First Uncle, some families are already going hungry. Is it a bit sinful to be discussing high-quality flour at a time like this?"

Yi Zhonghai hadn't expected Li Aiguo to strike first. He had to swallow the words he was about to say, gritting his teeth as he replied, "Comrade Li Aiguo's suggestion is very reasonable. Indeed, there are several families in our courtyard currently lacking food. Therefore, following the principles of unity, friendship, and mutual aid, those families who are doing well should help those in need."

He stared directly at Li Aiguo. "Today, I heard that Comrade Li Aiguo..."

Before Yi Zhonghai could finish, Li Aiguo stood up again. "First Uncle, my family was indeed short on food a while ago, and I want to thank you for your kind intentions. However, I have just passed my exams to become a train driver and received a reward from the locomotive depot, so I can manage for now. If you are looking to distribute food, I will uphold my principles and pass the opportunity to families even more difficult than mine."

This kid was too cunning; he kept cutting him off.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned red from suppressed frustration. He took a deep breath and waved his hands hurriedly. "No, Comrade Li Aiguo, you have misunderstood my meaning..."

Li Aiguo interrupted again. "You are a Grade 7 fitter, earning seventy-five yuan a month, and there are only two people in your house. Even if you ate meat every day, you wouldn't spend all that money. You are the family with the best living conditions in our courtyard. I originally thought that as the First Uncle, you were a man of high character and integrity, and that today's meeting was to proactively help the impoverished. It seems I overestimated your moral standards."

Xu Damao almost stood up to applaud.

This was what it meant to strike first to gain the upper hand.

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened completely.

He could see that Li Aiguo was simply being difficult and unreasonable.

However, everything the boy said was the truth, leaving him with no way to refute it.

It was an incredibly stifling feeling.

Yi Zhonghai could only cast a secret glance at Jia Zhangshi.

Since reasoning wasn't working against Li Aiguo, they would have to resort to being hooligans.

Jia Zhangshi jumped out and said, "Li Aiguo, today's meeting is to discuss your family's high-quality flour, so stop talking about other things. You alone got dozens of catties of high-quality flour and won't even help your neighbors—you truly have no conscience! Besides, we aren't asking for your flour for nothing. According to the grain station's rules, two catties of cornmeal can be exchanged for one catty of high-quality flour."

Someone in the courtyard agreed with her: "That's right, Li Aiguo can't finish dozens of catties of high-quality flour by himself."

Seeing Jia Zhangshi succeed, Yi Zhonghai felt a bit smug in his heart.

As expected, when dealing with a smart person, one had to let an unreasonable person like Jia Zhangshi take the lead.

To his surprise, Xu Damao was not willing.

He had just spent ten catties of cornmeal to exchange for high-quality flour.

If Li Aiguo exchanged it to others at the rate of two catties of cornmeal per catty of flour, what would that make Xu Damao?

A sucker?

Damao was a famous clever man in the city; he only ever took advantage and never took losses.

Xu Damao looked at Jia Zhangshi and said sarcastically, "Old woman Jia, you really are daydreaming. Two catties of cornmeal for one catty of high-quality flour? Fine, I'll give you two catties of cornmeal right now, and you give me one catty of high-quality flour! If you can't make that trade, then stop talking nonsense here."

Jia Zhangshi hadn't expected Xu Damao to speak up for Li Aiguo. She stood up, hands on her hips, and cursed, "Xu Damao, you bastard! What does it have to do with you if I exchange food with Li Aiguo? If you don't act with good intentions, watch out, you won't be able to have children. I think you're destined to have no heirs!"

Jia Zhangshi's words weren't entirely baseless.

Xu Damao had grown up with Shazhu. When Shazhu bullied him, his favorite thing to do was kick Xu Damao in the crotch.

Even if that thing were made of iron, it couldn't withstand years of kicking.

It was likely already broken.

Xu Damao, not yet married, didn't realize the tragedy of the future; he only felt that Jia Zhangshi's words were foul.

"Old woman Jia, your mouth is so vile, no wonder you cursed the old man Jia to death."

This hit Jia Zhangshi's sore spot.

She rolled up her sleeves, extended her "Nine Yin White Bone Claws," and launched a savage charge, intending to attack Xu Damao's face.

Xu Damao quickly ducked behind Li Aiguo.

His cowardly manner caused a burst of laughter.

Yi Zhonghai was satisfied with Jia Zhangshi's performance. He reached out to stop her and looked at Li Aiguo. "Aiguo, it's not that I insist on having your flour, but the Deaf Old Lady's health hasn't been good lately, and she needs nutritional supplements."

"I need nutritional supplements too!" Jia Zhangshi said indignantly.

As soon as she said this, the residents burst into laughter.

Jia Zhangshi and Liu Haizhong were collectively known as the "Double Fat" of the courtyard.

In this era of scarcity, Jia Zhangshi weighed a full 150 catties, which could only be described as a miracle.

And now she was claiming she needed nutritional supplements.

Who would believe that!

*What a useless teammate...* Yi Zhonghai cursed inwardly, then looked up at Li Aiguo. "Aiguo, regardless of how you look at it, we are all in the same courtyard. The old lady is an elder of this courtyard and a person under state care; you can't just watch her fall ill."

Auntie Liu, who had been silent until now, stepped forward: "First Uncle, we all see your filial piety toward the old lady, but you shouldn't be so generous that you let Li Aiguo suffer a loss."

Zhang Gangzhu and his wife, Wang Gangtie, stood up. "That's right, Aiguo's life hasn't been easy. Just as he's getting by a little, you come to fleece him? Do you even act like a First Uncle?"

Both of them were large-framed people, standing there like two black iron towers, looking quite imposing.

Yi Zhonghai found himself missing Shazhu a little.

Seeing this, Xu Damao's eyes narrowed slightly.

This kid Li Aiguo had actually managed to win over so many people without saying a word.

It seemed that in the future, when he went to the countryside and got mountain goods, he would have to share some with his neighbors too.

That way, if he was ever bullied by Shazhu, there would be people to stand up and speak for him.

(End of Chapter)