Zhang Yi completely disregarded Lin Damei's words as nonsense.
However, having nothing better to do, he decided to tease the old lady a bit.
"Wow, Lin Damei is so hopeful! If you're so capable, why don't you call Chen Zhenhao and Xu Hao downstairs to shovel the snow?"
He named and shamed in the group chat, with no regard for anyone's dignity.
Chen Zhenhao, also known as Brother Hao, was a well-known thug.
He was the one who had initially burst into Zhang Yi's home with a pickaxe leading the way.
Xu Hao, an arrogant rich second generation, was the first to pull a knife on Zhang Yi.
In short, except for a very few good neighbors, the rest had all participated in attacking or robbing Zhang Yi.
He could even guess that after his past demise, each of them had taken their share of his belongings.
Therefore, Zhang Yi did not offer respect to anyone; he tore off their fig leaves to disgust them without reservation.
Upon seeing the message on her phone, Lin Damei's face changed color.
Zhang Yi's direct naming and shaming put her in a difficult position.
At the end of the day, if she backed down now, she would become the laughingstock of the community.
Plus, no one would listen to her commands in the future.
With no choice left, she reluctantly tagged Chen Zhenhao and Xu Hao in the group chat.
"Family members, the community is our home and clearing snow is everyone's responsibility. Those who are available, please bring your tools and join us in shoveling the snow together."
After a short while, an ID marked '25#602 Chen Zhenhao' sent several question marks followed by a voice message.
"Shovel snow? Shovel your **** head, are you blind? Can't you see the heavy snow still falling outside?"
"****, you got a problem in your brain? Go and get checked at a hospital, instead of barking here. Tag me again, and I'll kill you, believe it or not?"
Chen Zhenhao cursed Lin Damei vehemently, in a most vulgar manner.
After listening, the homeowners in the group chat could not help but laugh, holding their stomachs.
Lin Damei thought too highly of herself, but people didn't care about her one bit.
A mere committee member had some influence over the common homeowners but not on these socially influential figures.
They would never consider her significant.
Xu Hao, the rich second generation, also sent a voice message.
"What's snow shoveling to me? I don't need to go to work; it doesn't matter if I sleep all day at home."
After saying this, he even shared a picture of himself lying in a thick quilt, with a woman in his arms.
The apartment was just another property Xu Hao bought to keep his mistresses, and it happened to be his shelter now.
Lin Damei asking him to shovel snow was, in his mind, mad.
After Chen Zhenhao's verbal attack, Lin Damei didn't dare retort; she didn't have the courage to provoke a real tough person!
However, seeing Xu Hao's provocation, she still stubbornly replied, "Regardless, you are a member of the homeowners! Shoveling snow is your duty."
Xu Hao disdainfully responded, "Pff! Is the property fee I pay every month for nothing? Without my money, all of you in the committee would starve."
"****, taking the homeowners' money and ordering people around as if you're in charge. Hilarious!"
None of the rich kids were simple; although Xu Hao led an idle life, he had seen the world.
He wouldn't take Lin Damei seriously, not even for a second.
He continued with mocking arrogance:
"I am who I am today because of my parents and our family's power; can you poor beggars be the same?"
"You better hurry up with the snow shoveling; you all need to earn your bread! Once you've cleared the snow, I can finally leave this dump."
As everyone listened to Xu Hao's arrogant words, they were filled with indignation but powerless to retort.
Who could blame him for the good life he was born into?
Though his words were harsh, it was a bitter truth that could not be denied.
With Chen Zhenhao and Xu Hao stirring up trouble, everyone else grew disheartened.
Lin Damei's words were ignored, and she was livid.
However, in her heart, she wasn't angry at Chen Zhenhao or Xu Hao; it was Zhang Yi who had angered her the most!
She felt she had successfully mobilized the homeowners until Zhang Yi, the troublemaker, ruined everything.
Angry, she sent a private message to Zhang Yi, "Zhang Yi, are you deliberately trying to make my life difficult?"
"What exactly do you want? Did I say that everyone has to go out and shovel snow?"
"Now, thanks to you, no one's doing it. Do you want us to be stuck at home forever?"
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow.
Oh, someone's coming to seek a scolding?
"Don't play dumb with me! You bully the weak but fear the strong—you're nothing, and here you are barking up the wrong tree?"
"Getting cursed out and not daring to say a peep, now you're looking for a sense of presence with me?"
"Let me tell you, your grandpa here isn't easy to push around. Keep barking, and see if I don't take you down!"
Zhang Yi had a clear grasp of Lin Damei's character—a person who bullies the soft and fears the hard.
Sure enough, after hearing Zhang Yi's harsh words, Lin Damei was scared out of her wits.
She, an old woman raising her grandson alone, only got respect because of her position in the neighborhood committee.
If others disregarded her committee status and came after her life, she wouldn't stand a chance.
She suddenly didn't dare to speak, fearing she might truly infuriate Zhang Yi.
Lin Damei quickly blocked Zhang Yi, fearful he might berate her again.
Her body trembled, not sure if it was from the cold or from the fear that Zhang Yi instilled in her.
"That bastard! He's just trouble, a lunatic!"
"Now's not the time to provoke him. I'll find a way to make his life miserable in the future!"
Lin Damei envisioned herself using her committee position to make life difficult for Zhang Yi in the future, like deliberately delaying his allocation of supplies or keeping him in the dark about community events.
She fantasized about Zhang Yi regretting his actions, begging for her mercy, only for her to coldly shut the door on him, saying, "Weren't you acting all high and mighty? Keep it up now!"
Lost in her thoughts, Lin Damei contented herself with a smile.
"One day, you'll come crawling to me!"
"For now, I won't stoop to your level."
Lin Damei satisfied herself with this "spiritual victory," continuing to urge others in the chat to go shovel snow.
Although everyone looked down on Lin Damei, most of them would have to go to work in the future and were worried about being able to leave their homes. Some honest folks still grabbed their tools and went out to shovel the snow in the bitter cold of more than seventy degrees below zero.
Zhang Yi, however, didn't expect that having just dismissed Lin Damei, someone else would come looking for trouble.
This time, he received a call on WeChat.
Upon glancing at the profile photo, it was none other than Chen Zhenhao from the group chat.
It seemed that Zhang Yi's recent remarks in the group had irked him, prompting this call to intimidate Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi, who already harbored resentment towards this thug, narrowed his eyes upon receiving the call.
In his current state, he was actually quite keen for this short-sighted fool to come looking for trouble.
After all, Zhang Yi wasn't about to leave his safe house, but if anyone dared to come looking for him, he had plenty of ways to ensure they met a very grim end.
So, Zhang Yi answered the call.