Siheyuan's Journey Through the Ages

Chapter 48 Hai Zhong is angry and embarrassed
Liu Haizhong remained silent, but he was unwilling to give up. His son would graduate next year, and of course he wanted to keep his promising eldest son by his side. After thinking for a long time, Liu Haizhong decided to go and ask. Anyway, he would try his best even if it didn't work out, and he wouldn't suffer any loss.

Taking advantage of the alcohol, Liu Haizhong knocked on the door of Ma Qing's house. This old Deng really came with nothing. This time he came to do things purely relying on his face and luck, without any investment.

"Second uncle, what are you doing..." Ma Qing pretended not to know.

"Hey, Ma Qing, Second Uncle asks you for a favor, you have to give Second Uncle some face." Liu Haizhong is just being a rogue.

"Uncle, if you have anything to say, just tell me. We are all neighbors and we will definitely help if we can." We are all just neighbors, so please don't go too far, Old Deng.

"My eldest son will graduate next year, and I only have this one son. I want to keep him by my side, but there is really too much space in our house, so I wanted to discuss renting a room in your house." Liu Haizhong was really complaining, and he affectionately demonstrated the deep love a father has for his son.

"No, Second Uncle, you have three sons. What's more, you live in the main house in the backyard, which is almost twice as big as mine." Ma Qing was actually refusing in disguise, but Liu Haizhong didn't care.

"I will rent a room in your house and give you 3 yuan every month. When the time comes, Guangtian and Guangfu will move in with you. I will redecorate the house, partition the two sides and leave a living room in the middle. Your second aunt and I will live in the east end. Guangqi will also graduate, so I will find him a wife, and the couple will live in the west end. It's a beautiful thought." Liu Haizhong planned beautifully.

My goodness, you really think you only have one son. Guangtian and Guangfu are lucky to have a father like you.

"But Second Uncle, I will get married and have children in the future, so I can't rent out this house."

"You are worried about this, don't worry, you are just in technical secondary school now, you will graduate in four years, you are fifteen this year, our country's policy is to get married at the age of twenty, it will take at least five years before you can get married, you can rent the house to me, Guangqi and Guangfu will live next door to you, you can use them for anything, after five years, these two guys will be adults, it's time for them to go to work, then I will kick them all out, don't worry about this."

To be honest, Ma Qing felt that Liu Haizhong was able to do this because he had a space. It was really inconvenient for two people to live in his northeast corner courtyard. What's more, he really hated Liu Haizhong as a person, so how could he possibly give him convenience?

However, according to people of this era, there is really no logical problem with Liu Haizhong's proposal. He has three rooms in his house and he is in school. If he rents a room to others and pays 3 yuan per month, it would be 36 yuan a year, which is equivalent to an ordinary person's monthly salary. It is very sincere.

"Three dollars a month, you are really willing to spend it, but you know my family's situation. We don't need this money. This is the house my parents left me. It contains our memories of the past. I won't rent it out. Please take it back."

Liu Haizhong might have been drunk, or he might have felt that he had offered such generous conditions, but Ma Qing still disagreed. His blood rushed to his head and he became incoherent: "Ma Qing, you are not giving your second uncle any face. We are neighbors in the same courtyard. Do you have any class feelings? When your parents got into trouble, we neighbors were busy running around." Ma Qing got angry when he heard this. After crossing over, everything went smoothly. Ma Qing was no longer the cautious person he was when he first came. He said bluntly: "Liu Haizhong, I give you face and call you second uncle. You really think you are an important person. You come to my house to discuss renting a house. It doesn't matter if we have a discussion. You have your requirements and I have my plans. This matter itself is not a matter of impoliteness, but what is the matter with you making such a fuss now? I say again, I won't do it. Leave my house immediately."

The voices of the two people were getting louder and louder, and immediately attracted a lot of people. It was already night time, and the bored neighbors gathered around to watch. Now, Ma Qing's small yard was crowded with people. Yi Zhonghai, Yan Bugui, Xu Damao, He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu and a few extra neighbors were all there. It was estimated that the children and women in the yard were standing outside Ma Qing's small yard eating melons.

"Lao Liu, Ma Qing, what's wrong with you two? Why are you arguing so loudly? Just talk it out. We have been neighbors for many years. Don't hurt each other's feelings." Yi Zhonghai was probably asking the question even though he knew the answer.

"Old Yi, please be fair. I just wanted to rent a house from his family for my child to live in. I paid him 3 yuan a month, which is a high price. Not only did he disagree, he also scolded me." Liu Haizhong turned the tables in the hope of arousing everyone's sympathy.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Ma Qing, and Ma Qing sneered, "This Liu Haizhong is quite good at talking. When I came back today, Liu Haizhong came to my house and said he wanted to discuss renting my house. That's nothing, we just discuss it. He was the one who proposed it, and it's up to me whether to agree or not. But I didn't expect that this guy would get angry and start threatening me when I disagreed. How can I tolerate him?" Everyone knows how to put on an eye drop, and Ma Qing also started talking nonsense. Anyway, there are only two of them, and if you say I scold you, then you should scold me.

"Bullshit, when did I threaten you? I begged you in a friendly manner. How could I threaten you? You framed me. Do you have any class feelings at all? You even wrote "My Motherland and I"? Do you have any political awareness? This is how you treat your neighbors who helped you." Liu Haizhong yelled, and his words were very coquettish.

"The loudness of the voice does not matter if you are right. Don't tell me about the help you have given to my family. In this compound, every family helps each other. You only helped my family, not others. Just for this matter, I have to rent my house to you. What the hell do you want?" Ma Qing became more and more unscrupulous. Since they had already fallen out, they should not pay attention to these details.

"Also, if everyone thinks that because I wrote 'My Motherland and I', I must be a noble person and have a spirit of sacrifice for others, then I'll tell you directly that I, Ma Qing, am just an ordinary person. Don't talk to me about self-sacrifice and dedication. I don't buy it. If you have the guts, go ahead and make a scene. You can report it to the police or the government. It's up to you. I don't care."

"Not really, not really. Old Liu was just drunk and talking nonsense. It's your house and you are the one who decides what to do with it. No one can decide what to do with it, right, Old Yi?" Yan Bugui interrupted.

"Yes, yes, yes, Old Liu is drunk. Zhuzi, Damao, quickly help your second uncle back." Yi Zhonghai hurriedly gave instructions. He Yuzhu and Xu Damao reluctantly clamped Liu Haizhong on both sides and dragged him away. Perhaps because there was a step for him to step down, Liu Haizhong did not resist.

"Okay, it's alright, let's go, it's not a big deal, it's just a quarrel after drinking, everyone should drink less in the future, it will cause trouble." Yi Zhonghai directly set the tone, and then said to Ma Qing: "It's your uncle who is wrong this time, don't bother with him, it's late, you should go to bed early."

"Okay, I won't offend anyone unless they offend me. I'll listen to my uncle." Ma Qing did not comment, and a farce was averted.

(End of this chapter)