Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 107

The old lady immediately tried to take advantage of the situation: "My dear grandson, I've finally waited for you to come back."

He Yuzhu was quite annoyed, since He Daqing also called her "Grandma," and asked, "Old lady, what brings you here?"

"If I hadn't come, your Uncle Yi would have gone to jail." Although the old lady felt that He Yuzhu wasn't as enthusiastic towards her as before, now was not the time to think about it.

"Jail?"

He Yuzhu was very surprised. He had thought that after he sent Xu Damao to prison, Xu Wude would come begging to him. He was also worried that Xu Wude's wealth had shrunk and he could no longer squeeze any money out of him.

Who knew that these three people would come together, and then they would hear the news that Yi Zhonghai had been taken to the police station.

The old lady said irritably, "That Xu guy reported your Uncle Yi."

Xu Wude said sarcastically from the side, "Since Lao Yi ordered Da Mao to commit the crime, of course I have to tell the police the truth."

He Yuzhu exclaimed in surprise, "What? Da Mao tried to kill me with a kitchen knife? Was it Yi Zhonghai who ordered him to do it?"

He Yuzhu knew perfectly well that the three of them had come to him because of the incident where Xu Damao tried to stab him with a kitchen knife.

I was just guessing that Xu Wude had persuaded the old lady and Liu Haizhong to act as intermediaries, but who knew that it was Yi Zhonghai who instigated this incident and led to their trip to the police station.

The old lady quickly denied it: "It wasn't your Uncle Yi who instructed it, it's just a misunderstanding."

Of course, the old lady couldn't confirm Yi Zhonghai's guilt. She wanted to downplay the severity of Yi Zhonghai's case to avoid alienating He Yuzhu and Yi Zhonghai.

"Misunderstanding? Sending Xu Damao to chop me with a kitchen knife is a misunderstanding? Then if I send Xu Damao to chop Yi Zhonghai with a kitchen knife tomorrow, is that also a misunderstanding?"

"My dear grandson, what are you saying? How could your Uncle Yi do such a thing?"

Xu Wude interjected, "Zhu Zi, Da Mao is still just a child. How could he know the seriousness of the matter? It was Lao Yi who fanned the flames and sowed discord behind the scenes. That's why Da Mao acted rashly and came here without thinking."

Xu Wude knew that the most crucial thing right now was He Yuzhu's attitude, so he didn't care about falling out with the old lady. His first priority was to protect his son.

Selling grain has already wiped out all of my family's wealth. If my only son also goes to jail, then what was the point of all my hard work in this life?

The old lady was furious and shouted, "You, surnamed Xu, shut up! It was Da Mao who used a kitchen knife to attack my precious grandson. What does it have to do with Yi Zhonghai?"

Of all the people in the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai was the kindest to the old lady. She had long observed that Yi Zhonghai was the only one who could help her in her old age; the others were all bad people who did not know how to respect the elderly and care for the young.

Therefore, we must do everything we can to protect Yi Zhonghai right now; this is a mutually reinforcing relationship.

Xu Wude wanted to argue further, but Liu Haizhong finally spoke up: "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Right now, we need to resolve this problem so that Lao Yi and Da Mao can come out."

Xu Wude and the old lady then came to their senses. They realized that arguing any further would be useless. They still needed He Yuzhu to nod and write a letter of understanding to minimize Xu Damao's guilt.

The three of them had already discussed it before, and now they were caught in a strange situation. The old lady wanted Xu Wude to drop the charges against Yi Zhonghai, and she was willing to give him some financial assistance, since Xu Wude had been in the grain business and had lost several hundred dollars this time.

For Xu Wude, the loss of a few hundred yuan only wiped out his family's savings. Money can be earned back, but his precious son, Xu Damao, was sent to the police station by He Yuzhu and might have to serve a few years in prison.

Therefore, Xu Wude needs the old lady and Liu Haizhong to come and work on He Yuzhu to get Xu Damao out first. Only when Xu Damao is safe will Xu Wude agree to go to the police station to drop the charges against Yi Zhonghai.

The key to all of this is to gain He Yuzhu's understanding; it's a series of interconnected steps.

He Yuzhu then asked, "Why is Yi Zhonghai also in?"

The old woman sighed and whispered, "What a tragedy!"

Xu Wude also regretted buying grain from He Yuzhu. He had now lost his entire life savings and even his precious son.

Seeing that the two remained silent, Liu Haizhong could only recount what had happened.

He Yuzhu then realized that Xu Damao had come to attack him and that Yi Zhonghai had instigated him behind the scenes, which increased his hatred for him even more.

This time, I can't be soft-hearted.

I need to take advantage of this opportunity to recoup my losses.

The old lady said, "Zhuzi, this is all a misunderstanding. Don't take it to heart. Your uncle watched you grow up. He was just confused for a moment and said a few words out of turn. Don't take it to heart."

"It's alright, don't bother with him."

He Yuzhu had already categorized Yi Zhonghai as part of Class 2 in his mind, and he would settle accounts with Yi Zhonghai later. Right now, he didn't need to deal with Yi Zhonghai's affairs himself.

Xu Wude said, "Zhu Zi, let's not talk about anything else for now. Let's talk about Da Mao first. You see, he's still a child. He doesn't understand anything. After being instigated, he acted impulsively, grabbed Lao Yi's kitchen knife, and came over."

He Yuzhu remained silent, simply watching coldly how Xu Wude would explain himself.

Seeing that He Yuzhu remained unmoved by his words and was only looking at him coldly, Xu Wude understood in his heart that given the less-than-good relationship between the two families, he would not be able to get through this situation without paying a price.

That's why I forced myself to say, "Zhu Zi, you seem perfectly fine right now. How about we just let this matter drop? Uncle Xu will lend you 100 yuan for the tavern's operation."

"One hundred?" He Yuzhu asked angrily.

"Yes...yes, look at you, you're perfectly fine, but all my grain was confiscated, and I don't have a single penny left at home."

He Yuzhu said, "If that's what you're saying, I can accept 100 yuan, but I have one condition: if you agree to it, I won't even take the 100 yuan."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wude was overjoyed. Could it be that a pie in the sky was falling into his lap?

He Yuzhu took pity on himself and even waived the 100 yuan fee for himself?

He quickly asked, "Zhu Zi, you said you'd do anything I could for you? Do you want to get engaged to Zhao Di?"

When He Yuzhu's tavern business was booming, Xu Wude casually mentioned at home that it wouldn't be bad to have He Yuzhu as his son-in-law!

Who knew that Xu Zhaodi would take it to heart and even discussed it with her mother. Could it be that Xu Zhaodi and He Yuzhu were already in love and He Yuzhu wanted to take this opportunity to get her to agree?

He Yuzhu retorted angrily, "What engagement? Why does your Xu family always like to do such ungrateful things?"

Xu Wude was furious. He had been fantasizing that if He Yuzhu became his son-in-law, this conflict would be easy to resolve. With a son-in-law who owned a tavern, he would never have to worry about food and drink again, as his son-in-law would take care of him.

However, He Yuzhu's denial directly shattered all of this.

She shouted, "What do you mean by repaying kindness with enmity? What's wrong with our Zhaodi? She's the prettiest girl in the courtyard. How is she not good enough for you?"

Chapter 96 Old lady, you don't want Yi Zhonghai to go to jail, do you?

Liu Haizhong quickly said, "Alright, Lao Xu, stop shouting. We're here to discuss business. How much longer do you want to drag this out?"

Just look at this tavern, it's always packed with people, business is booming, you can tell how much money He Yuzhu makes every day. What's more, he bought this tavern with a big yellow croaker, so owning this house makes him the richest man in the courtyard house world.

He Yuzhu's status in the courtyard house would then rise accordingly, and he would gain considerable influence.

He Yuzhu becoming Xu Wude's son-in-law is something he doesn't want to see.

"Pillar, let's be frank. Just tell me what you want. What did you want to ask for?" Liu Haizhong said generously. Even if he asked for a high amount, Xu Wude would have to pay and do the work, so Liu Haizhong put his words very nicely.

He Yuzhu said, "If I'm going to pay you 100 yuan, I have one condition?"

"Go on," H. Wood said patiently.

He Yuzhu said, "Then after Xu Damao comes out, I'll just pick a day and, when he's not paying attention, take a kitchen knife and try to chop him up. If he can dodge it, he's lucky; if he can't, he's just unlucky. Is that alright?"

"What? You idiot Zhu, are you looking for death? That Da Mao is my lifeline, and you actually want to kill him?"

“It’s just a matter of reciprocity. I’ll give you 100 yuan after I cut the price,” He Yuzhu said nonchalantly.

"Are you even speaking human language?"

Hüwood said angrily, "What are you thinking? Is this your attitude towards solving problems?"

Liu Haizhong then said, "Yes, Zhuzi, this isn't a solution either."

He Yuzhu retorted, "Is a hundred yuan compensation the solution?"

The three were stunned and speechless. Although one hundred yuan was a lot of money, equivalent to three months' wages for an ordinary person, it was indeed too little as compensation for being attacked.

Liu Haizhong asked, "How much compensation do you want?"

He Yuzhu didn't speak, but slowly raised his hand and then extended one finger.

"Hiss!" The three of them gasped in unison. Although they had guessed before, they only thought that a few hundred yuan would be enough. They didn't expect He Yuzhu to ask for such an exorbitant amount, demanding a round number.

"What? You...you want a thousand?" Xu Wood's voice trembled with surprise.

"Is it a lot? Not really, right? I was almost killed by Xu Damao. It's not that I'm lucky that you can all sit down and eat now."

He Yuzhu said angrily, "How about I chop Xu Wude up, pay him a thousand yuan in compensation, and then I'll throw in two extra tables of food as a bonus?"

"No, I don't want to die yet," Xu Wude said quickly.

He Yuzhu said, "Don't worry, I definitely won't kill you. If I do, I know that a life for a life is not something that can be solved by paying money. I guarantee I won't kill you."

“That won’t work either,” Xu Wude quickly said.

It's a joke. He Yuzhu is the toughest fighter in the courtyard. If someone suddenly attacks him with a kitchen knife and cuts off an arm or a leg, what good would 1000 yuan in compensation do?

But let alone 1000 yuan, I can't even come up with 100 yuan. I don't have any savings at all, and I'm having trouble even eating. Where am I going to get 1,000 yuan?

Even if he wanted to pay for it, he didn't have the money. Although he didn't ask, He Yuzhu definitely wouldn't accept credit.

"I really have no money left. My savings were all used to buy grain, which was then confiscated."

Xu Wude was quite helpless; he had truly reached a dead end.

He was speechless at Da Mao's stupidity. If he had killed He Yuzhu, he would have gone to jail himself. He hadn't even scratched He Yuzhu, and he would have had to pay a thousand yuan in compensation.

One thousand yuan!

That's three years' worth of wages. It would take at least six or seven years to save up that much money.

The old lady, wanting to do He Yuzhu a favor, advised, "Old Xu, your situation is special. How could you use a knife to attack someone? A thousand yuan in compensation isn't much."

"Yes, not many," Liu Haizhong added, offering his advice.

Xu Wude shouted angrily and helplessly, "Where would I get any money? My savings were all used to buy grain and were confiscated."