Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 22

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Grandpa, look, Brother Dongxu has also built a house. I'm planning to build a house too, but I don't have the money."

Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched. Was this some kind of attempt to make exorbitant demands?

He Yuzhu didn't give him a chance to interrupt, and continued, "I asked Master Song, and it will cost 300 yuan to repair this house. Could you lend me 300 yuan, sir?"

"What three hundred?" Jia Dongxu was startled and immediately lost his voice.

Yi Zhonghai frowned and asked, "That's not right. Didn't you say you wanted to borrow 200?"

He Yuzhu chuckled twice: "Isn't the situation different now? I plan to fix it even better."

Yi Zhonghai instantly understood. Zhu Zi didn't have a note before, so borrowing 200 yuan was a normal loan. But now that He Yuzhu had something on Jia Dongxu, the amount had been increased by 100 yuan.

He knew perfectly well that this loan was just hush money to keep quiet about the matter, and that there was no way he would ever pay it back.

"300 yuan is too much." Jia Dongxu was still in shock and didn't know what to do.

I was reluctant to give him the 300 yuan, but then I thought about the consequences—my reputation would be ruined.

Not only would he lose his job at the steel mill, but he would also be branded a thief and unable to hold his head high in the area.

He was at a crucial time for dating, and if his reputation was ruined, people would know he was a thief with just a little inquiry.

Which parents would agree to their daughter marrying a thief?

If I delay for three to five years, when I get older, I will only be able to find divorced widows.

Thinking about that tragic outcome, 300 yuan doesn't seem like much.

Yi Zhonghai was also conflicted. He would have readily given 30 or 50 yuan, but he did not expect He Yuzhu to have such a big appetite, asking for 300 yuan right off the bat.

"This number is indeed a bit too much."

"Is that a lot? I don't think so."

He Yuzhu said, "My father ran away with all the money in the house. I can barely make ends meet. I have no way to renovate the house. If I don't renovate the house, I won't be able to get a wife."

"Grandpa, you can't just stand by and watch me remain a bachelor, destined to have no descendants, can you?"

"You..." Yi Zhonghai was so angry that he didn't know what to say.

My husband and I have been married for over 10 years, and I'm almost 40, but we still don't have any children.

I also know that some people are gossiping behind my back, saying that I am childless.

Hearing those two words made my cheeks burn, but I couldn't get angry when He Yuzhu said it like that.

He Yuzhu said, "Besides, if Brother Dongxu loses his job, won't his wedding be delayed?"

Jia Dongxu said angrily, "You can't ask for 300 yuan! That's way too much. We need to renovate the house and prepare for the wedding. Where am I going to get that much money?"

He Yuzhu said, "Look at what you're saying. If you lose your job, then you don't need to get married, so renovating the house isn't necessary."

The threat in her words was quite clear: if He Yuzhu's demands were not met, he would definitely spread the word far and wide, making sure all the neighbors knew about it.

Nowadays, most marriages are arranged by matchmakers, but many families will ask someone to inquire about the other person's character before the wedding to confirm that the other person is of good character.

If all the neighbors know that Jia Dongxu is a thief, then he won't be able to find a partner at all.

Jia Dongxu wanted to argue and lower the price, but Yi Zhonghai had already made up his mind and said through gritted teeth:

"Okay, I'll give it to you."

Chapter 31 300 Yuan in Hand

"Master?" Jia Dongxu called out, unsure how to comfort him.

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand: "Alright, stop talking. Zhuzi isn't an outsider. Just consider it a donation to help him with his wedding and house repairs."

Yi Zhonghai's heart was bleeding. Although Jia Dongxu had started receiving a salary, he had to hand it all over to Jia Zhangshi every month.

Getting him to make up for the money would be extremely difficult; in the end, he would have to pay for it himself.

This is no small sum of money; 300 yuan is enough for a worker's annual salary.

Even for myself, it would take almost half a year's salary.

But this was for his only apprentice, so even though it hurt him terribly, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and take out the money to solve the problem.

The apprentices these days are not the kind of casual apprentices that will be taken in later. Jia Dongxu has kowtowed to him and served him tea; he treats him better than his own son.

After their master died, the disciples would all wear mourning clothes and carry a mourning stick, just like their own sons.

That's why Yi Zhonghai endured the pain and gritted his teeth to agree to take out 300 yuan.

Yi Zhonghai felt heartbroken, and so did Jia Dongxu. They had originally thought that their master would provide more money to support them in such important matters as repairing their house and getting married.

But after this incident, the master had already given He Yuzhu 300 yuan, so how could he possibly have the ability to help himself?

Everything is He Yuzhu's fault. He's such an ungrateful wretch. I treated him well when we were kids, so why does he threaten me now that we're grown up?

I ended up losing 300 yuan.

He Yuzhu was in a great mood. When he discussed it with Master Song, he said that adding two side rooms and renovating the house would cost about 150 to 200 yuan.

I got 300 yuan from Yi Zhonghai, so I have more than 100 yuan left to replace all the furniture in my house.

Although I can't afford the three turns and one sound (referring to a radio, a sewing machine, and a watch), the house is newly built, with three main rooms and two side rooms, making a total of five rooms.

This doesn't even include the house where He Yushui lives.

If I change the furniture, then when I get married, my fiancée won't be able to find fault with it.

Besides, I'm only 16 this year. I have to wait until I'm 20 to get married, which is a full four years. By then, I'll be able to get a proper salary, and buying a car and a radio won't be a problem.

He smiled and said, "Then thank you, sir."

"Alright, enough of this useless talk. Since you promised, you have to keep your mouth shut and not talk about it outside."

"Don't worry, I will never talk about this. I value integrity above all else. After all, they are neighbors, and we should help each other. How could I kick someone when they're down?"

Yi Zhonghai was furious. At this point, you said you wanted to help each other, but then you shouldn't have asked for 300!

"Alright, stop talking big. Just keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone. I'll give you the money tomorrow night."

"Okay, thank you for your generosity, sir."

He Yuzhu realized at this point that his previous strategy had been somewhat flawed, and that Yi Zhonghai still couldn't be kept at a distance.

Although he is hailed as the Moral Supreme, a gentleman deceives him by his own methods. As long as he clings to this reputation, there will be some flaws in his character.

If you use morality to bind him, he will have to act according to morality.

Maintaining a certain relationship will allow you to extract some benefits from him.

If we never see each other again, where will we get the 300 yuan?

You should know that right now a pound of rice costs just over ten cents, and even the best quality rice only costs 16 cents a pound.

That's enough to buy 1800 jin of refined rice.

Now that the matter had been settled, He Yuzhu didn't linger. He got up and went to the inner room to take He Yushui back to his own room.

"Master, this silly Zhu is bullying us too much! Isn't this just setting us up?" Jia Dongxu complained.

"Forget it, learn from this experience. Be more careful in the future, and don't even think about taking out the parts again anytime soon."

"Yes, Master." Jia Dongxu reluctantly agreed. If he couldn't take out the parts, he wouldn't even have any pocket money left.

The following evening, after dinner, Yi Zhonghai knocked on He Yuzhu's door.

He Yuzhu came in carrying a cloth bag. He first told Yushui to go to the inner room, and then Yi Zhonghai emptied the contents of the bag out.

After a strange noise, He Yuzhu saw a pile of silver dollars and banknotes on the table.

At that time, because it was right after liberation, the use of RMB was not very standardized. Many people, due to the rapid depreciation of RMB, became accustomed to using silver dollars for transactions.

At the current exchange rate, one silver dollar can be exchanged for three yuan.

Yi Zhonghai said, "There are 50 silver dollars here, and 150 dollars in cash."

These silver dollars were part of what Yi Zhonghai had hidden away for future use. Many people like to keep a small amount of cash on hand, but most of their money is secretly exchanged for silver dollars and gold bars in order to cope with the situation when the reactionaries attack.

He Yuzhu knew that he had originally hidden a lot of Yuan Shikai silver dollars at home, but He Daqing had taken them away beforehand.

Otherwise, He Daqing wouldn't have let He Yuzhu off so easily after deducting 300 yuan in cash.

He Yuzhu casually picked up a silver dollar from the pile, weighed it in his hand, blew on it, and put it to his ear to listen.

Yi Zhonghai grinned and said angrily, "Do you think I would try to fool you with a fake?"

He Yuzhu was deliberately trying to provoke him; he had already checked with his mental power and confirmed that the silver dollars were genuine.

If fake silver coins contain lead or tin, the weight will be different and they won't make a sound when blown.

"I believe in the old man's character."

Yi Zhonghai thought to himself, "I don't trust your character. You look honest and kind, but you've already swindled me out of 300 yuan."

"Where's the note?"

He Yuzhu didn't say much, and took out the confession written by Jia Dongxu from his pocket.

Yi Zhonghai took it, opened it, and confirmed that it was Jia Dongxu's handwriting.

"Zhu Zi, you can't waste this money. Use it to repair the house, and save the rest for your wedding."