Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 54

"Yes, I lost money, 100 yuan."

Yi Zhonghai questioned, "Did you and Tian Zao only meet recently?"

"Why do you say that? Didn't I tell you? We've been playing together since we were kids." He Yuzhu suddenly had a bad feeling, but he still forced himself to say what he had said before.

"Don't lie to me. I've already inquired and found out that you two didn't know each other at all before. You only met recently," Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

"So what? You wanted to be the butler, but you failed to get elected now."

"How dare you say that? You didn't do anything at all. You're clearly lying to me, aren't you?"

"What, are you planning to kick me while I'm down? Is this something you can hold against me for later?"

Although I didn't contribute anything, I didn't obstruct him either. The matter is over, so what does Yi Zhonghai mean by coming here?

Do you want to get that 100 yuan back?

Yi Zhonghai said, "I now suspect that you didn't contribute anything at all. You and Tian Zao didn't know each other before, you only met on the day the announcement was made, right?"

"You know it all?"

"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place." What crime is it to deceive people into knowing?

“I’ve asked the police, and they said you could definitely be arrested and sentenced for this. But since I’ve watched you grow up, if you just return that 100 yuan, no, that 400 yuan, I’ll be magnanimous and not hold it against you.”

"I've spent all the money. Besides, don't try to scare me. When we get to the police station, we'll explain everything clearly. You actually tried to bribe me. I don't know if they'll arrest you or me."

"You?" Yi Zhonghai had only intended to scare Sha Zhu by mentioning going to jail, but he hadn't expected that he wouldn't be able to frighten him.

After all, this is something that can't be brought to light. If the police were to report it, his intention to bribe would be exposed.

In that case, neither Sha Zhu nor I will benefit. He's just an apprentice, and at most he'll be fired from the restaurant.

But I've been working in the steel mill for decades, and now I only get a high salary of 60 yuan a month.

What if the steel mill fires me?

Not to mention that once the matter is exposed, he will also lose his position as the head of the management department. In short, he will lose much more than Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu is like a barefoot man who has nothing to fear, a dead pig who isn't afraid of boiling water. If he makes a big fuss, he'll surely bring himself down.

Yi Zhonghai suppressed his anger and calmed down before saying, "Zhu Zi, you can't do this to me."

"Who cheated you? You need to explain yourself clearly. You lent it to me, I didn't cheat you."

"Then give me back my money."

He Yuzhu spread his hands: "I have no money."

"Fine, you win."

Yi Zhonghai slammed the door and left in anger.

"Nonsense, once the money is in my hands, you want it back? No way."

Although his methods were not entirely aboveboard, the money was lent to him by Yi Zhonghai, who was a close associate. Besides, he had a backup plan, as he had already donated the money.

Even if this matter is handled by the authorities, I am not afraid of them.

Since Yi Zhonghai has come to ask for money, who knows what he will do? In that case, we should tell Tian Zao about this and clear ourselves of the situation.

Let's also see if we can bring down Old Yi's manager.

Yi Zhonghai became increasingly angry as he left Sha Zhu's house. He stood at the door for a moment, then turned and went to the backyard.

Since we've only known each other for a short time, and it seems Tian Zao isn't his backer, do you think you can't handle him?

The next evening, when He Yuzhu returned home, he saw Liu Haizhong, Xu Wude, and Yi Zhonghai drinking and chatting happily in the east wing.

I didn't think much of it, but I had just washed up with the rain and was getting ready to rest.

"boom blah blah"

Yi Zhonghai banged on the door and went inside, followed by Liu Haizhong and Xu Wude. All three reeked of alcohol and looked hostile.

He Yuzhu raised an eyebrow and immediately retorted sarcastically, "Oh dear, anyone who didn't know better would think we'd gone back to pre-liberation times overnight, and the Japanese invaded the Central Plains!"

Although he knew they came with ill intentions, He Yuzhu still didn't give them a friendly look.

"Silly Zhu, what nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by 'the Japanese have entered the Central Plains'?"

Yi Zhonghai usually calls him Zhuzi, but today he was angry and called him Sha Zhu.

He Yuzhu, smelling the strong smell of alcohol, didn't bother arguing with him about names. He pointed to Liu Haizhong, who was following behind him, and said, "Look at this scene, it's exactly like a Japanese soldier entering a room. If you gave him a Type 38 rifle, it would look even more like one."

Yi Zhonghai turned around and saw that Liu Haizhong's face was flushed from drinking, and because it was getting hot, the buttons of his jacket were undone.

Yi Zhonghai was immediately amused. It must be said, if Liu Haizhong, with his fat head and big ears, were carrying a Type 38 rifle, he really would look like a Japanese soldier entering a house.

They quickly realized that their thinking was wrong. The three of them had come together to settle scores with Sha Zhu, so how could they mock their comrade-in-arms?

Liu Haizhong was still confused and shouted, "Shazhu, I'm asking you, what's the deal with that 100 yuan?"

"Silly Liu, that's not right of you. It's just a loan of 100 yuan, and you're already coming to me for it after only a few days?"

"Silly Liu?" Liu Haizhong was a little stunned, still wondering if this was a way of addressing him.

Yi Zhonghai immediately jumped out and said, "Shazhu, you're being too presumptuous. Liu Haizhong is your elder. You should at least call him 'Grandpa.' What are you doing calling him 'Sha Liu'? You have no respect for your elders. Don't you know how to respect the elderly and care for the young?"

He Yuzhu was furious. Hearing such words gave him a headache. It was as if Yi Zhonghai was some kind of saint, and that everyone else's discomfort was his fault. He never looked in the mirror and saw how utterly awful he looked.

He allowed Jia Dongxu to steal factory supplies without reporting it, and even bribed him to become the manager of the factory. He's a complete treacherous villain, and he still has the nerve to come and criticize him.

"Silly Yi, don't flatter me. You barged into my house in the middle of the night like a Japanese soldier invading a village. Go to hell, you old man."

"You..." Yi Zhonghai was furious. This silly Zhu had really changed. He used to be such an honest kid, someone he could manipulate at will.

Now that He Daqing has left, he seems to have been provoked and become extremely irritable. Before anyone could even say a few words to him, he started swearing.

For a moment, I didn't know how to refute it.

Xu Wude, who came in last, originally wanted to offer some advice, but after listening to what he heard, he realized it wasn't quite right for him. He decided it was better not to be the first to speak up and to remain a humble person.

I secretly took a step back and watched the show from the very back.

At first, Liu Haizhong didn't understand what was going on and was confused about the situation, but he could still understand when the person who was standing there swearing.

Enraged, he pointed a trembling finger at Sha Zhu: "You're too insolent! I'm your grandpa, how dare you insult me?"

Although he was drunk, Liu Haizhong knew he couldn't beat Sha Zhu, so he didn't dare to go up and hit him. He just looked around, wanting to find a handy weapon to beat Sha Zhu like he would his two sons.

He Yuzhu shouted, "Come on, try hitting me!"

If Liu Haizhong touches him even slightly, he will immediately retaliate, so that he can stand on the moral high ground and not give others anything to say about him.

Liu Haizhong was so provoked that he couldn't hold back.

He immediately raised his hand and rushed over: "I'll beat you to death, you little brat!"

Yi Zhonghai quickly stopped him. He had more important things to do today, not to fight. Besides, how could Liu Haizhong, who was drunk, possibly beat Sha Zhu right now?

Isn't this just asking for trouble?

He Yuzhu sighed inwardly at the pity and began to shoo people away: "It's the middle of the night, and you're all acting like bandits. You'd better hurry back, or I'll have to chase you away with a stick later."

“Who’s a bandit? Didn’t I knock on the door?” Yi Zhonghai retorted.

"Was that knocking? Did I agree? Oh, so you can just knock twice and come in, regardless of whether I agree or not? Fine, then when you and your wife are halfway through, I can knock twice and come in to watch too?"

"Are you... are you even speaking human language?" Yi Zhonghai was furious.

"Of course I'm speaking in standard Beijing Mandarin."

He Yuzhu asked, "What about you? Are you even doing human work? Anyone knows that you have to wait for the owner's permission before you can come in after knocking. You just push the door open and come in, isn't that something only Japanese soldiers would do?"

"You... Lao Yi, don't stop me from killing him." Liu Haizhong was furious and struggled to rush over and hit him again.

Xu Wude hid at the very back, not wanting to show his face at all. Today's events made him realize that He Yuzhu was no longer the silly Zhu from before.

At such a young age, he is so quick-witted and eloquent. What's more, he is also quite capable in a fight.

This is disheartening. Nowadays, all conflicts between neighbors are resolved with fists. Only when fists fail do they sit down and start cursing in the street.

It seems that we can't openly target Sha Zhu anymore; we can only sabotage him from the shadows.

It took Yi Zhonghai a long time to calm down the irritable Liu Haizhong. He turned around and didn't dare to call him Sha Zhu anymore, lest Sha Zhu start yelling and pestering him.

"Zhu Zi, we've come here today to discuss something with you."

"Oh, so you know how to call me Pillar now? Where were you before?"

He Yuzhu said, "Don't go around acting crazy in front of me when you're drunk. If you call me 'Silly Zhu' again, I'll call you 'Silly Yi,' 'Silly Liu,' 'Silly Xu,' or 'Silly Auntie.'"

All three of them looked helpless. They couldn't argue with Sha Zhu no matter what they tried, and they were just afraid that such a nickname would get around.

"I promise I won't call you 'Silly Pillar' anymore, I'll just call you Pillar."

Yi Zhonghai quickly said, "We came here to discuss money with you."

"Are you going to lend me money again? That would be great!" He Yuzhu interjected. "I'll borrow another 100 yuan from each of you so I can buy a bicycle."

"What? What kind of pipe dream are you having? It's not that we want to lend you money, it's that you have to pay us back."

Yi Zhonghai said, "Zhu Zi, you're not like this. You extorted 100 yuan from me without doing anything."

"That's right, they even cheated me out of 100 yuan, give it back to me right now," Liu Haizhong said angrily.

Xu Wude thought to himself that he was lucky he only lost 50 yuan, but he still opened his mouth and said, "Zhu Zi, you really don't do things like this. How can you take money and not do the job?"