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In the past few days, things have suddenly become much quieter around Feng Tieyou. He no longer leads people to block the entrance, nor does he send people to take turns shouting in the street.

But Xiao Dongbei was not at ease at all.

Because he knew Feng Tieyou all too well; the quieter he was, the more he was brewing some big move.

People like Feng Tieyou are not uncommon in today's restless Beijing; they believe that this way of speaking is the most effective.

Feng Tieyou is not the first trouble Xiao Dongbei has encountered, nor will he be the last.

However, Xu Shengli has been quite relaxed lately because he has realized that Feng Tieyou is plotting against Xiao Dongbei.

Once you realize that Feng Tieyou is unlikely to actually offer a high price, there will still be some twists and turns ahead.

That evening, Xu Shengli returned home and passed by the counter, where Xiao Dongbei was staring blankly at the ledger.

Xu Shengli put down his bag and leaned against the counter. "Little Northeast, what are you thinking about?"

Xiao Dongbei pushed the ledger aside. "I'm thinking about Feng Tieyou. He hasn't made a move these past few days. Do you think he's given up?"

Xu Shengli said, "Do you think it's possible?"

"..." Xiao Dongbei thought for a moment and shook his head.

Xu Shengli pulled up a chair and sat down. "Little Northeast, let me analyze this for you. Feng Tieyou offered twenty yuan a room before, and your uncle was tempted. Do you think Feng Tieyou was really willing to pay twenty yuan? He's a contractor, and the people under him don't pay for their own housing; he provides them with food and lodging. You understand what providing food and lodging means, right? The lower the cost, the more he earns. So he can't really offer you a high price. His first step was to tempt your uncle with twenty yuan, to create chaos within Dong Qu Chun Lai. Now your internal situation is indeed chaotic, and more than half of the people have left. So his second step should come soon."

Little Northeast asked, "What's the second step?"

Xu Shengli drew a downward arrow on the counter with his finger. "Bargain. You wait and see. Next time he comes to you, he definitely won't give you twenty yuan per person. He'll find all sorts of reasons to push the price down."

Xiao Dongbei was taken aback for a moment, "If he tries to lower the price, I won't rent it to him. What's so difficult about that?"

Xu Shengli shook his head. "It's not that simple. The problem now isn't whether you rent to him or not, it's that your uncle already wants to rent to him. Your uncle is looking at twenty yuan a room. If Feng Tieyou suddenly says three yuan, will your uncle still think it's a good deal? Feng Tieyou wants to move in first, and then find all sorts of ways to settle accounts with you. You don't have many options left now, most of the tenants have already left, the hotel's income has dropped significantly, and the situation now is that you have to rent it whether you want to or not."

Xiao Dongbei was completely silenced by Xu Shengli's words, realizing that he had been confronting Feng Tieyou head-on, putting up a show of force, but Xu Shengli was thinking about Feng Tieyou's next move.

Xiao Dongbei looked at Xu Shengli with a look that wasn't there before. "Old Xu, you usually write scripts quietly, but I didn't expect your mind to be faster than anyone else's."

Xu Shengli stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "If a screenwriter doesn't understand human nature, then what they write isn't a screenplay, but a mundane account. Just you wait and see! As winter turns to spring, things will only get more complicated."

"..."

……

Guo Zongbao and the others were secretly discussing countermeasures, since it was inevitable that Feng Tieyou and the others would move in.

But it seems they have no better options than to silently endure it.

Xu Shengli looked at Zhuangzhuang with a complicated expression and reminded her, "Zhuangzhuang, things will get more and more chaotic as winter turns to spring. Have you thought about moving away?"

"I have already applied for company accommodation and I believe I will receive a reply soon."

"This is fine too. Staying in the dormitory is better than staying here."

"And what about you? What are your plans?"

"I'll most likely have to go back home and outwit my old man." Tao Liangliang smiled helplessly.

"I'm contacting my fellow villagers to see if they have any suitable houses there," Guo Zongbao said, sounding somewhat desperate.

"I...I found a new job, it includes room and board, it should last me a while." Cao Ye had decided to join the fake painting studio.

Xu Shengli still hasn't given up on finding Director Weng. "Sigh! I don't have any good ideas right now. I just hope that Director Weng, who is on a business trip out of town, will come back soon."

"..."

……

Xu Shengli's prediction came true three days later.

Feng Tieyou returned as winter turned to spring, his face beaming with the satisfaction of a bountiful harvest.

This time, Feng Tieyou didn't bring a bunch of brothers; he only brought two people, one of whom was carrying a black faux leather briefcase. It was obvious that he had come to finalize the rental contract.

When Feng Tieyou entered, he had a smile on his face, as if he were seeing an old friend. "Little Northeast, I'm here again. I won't argue with you today. Let's sit down and talk things over."

Xiao Dongbei stood behind the counter without moving. "What do you want to talk about?"

Feng Tieyou took the briefcase from his assistant, unzipped it, pulled out a contract, and slapped it on the counter. "Rental contract. I had someone knowledgeable write it for me. Take a look."

Xiao Dongbei glanced down at the contract but didn't pick it up immediately.

He opened the contract and read it line by line from beginning to end.

The first few items were normal, such as the lease term and the purpose of the property, but when he saw the rent section, his eyes immediately froze.

There is a number written on it.

It's not twenty, but half the original price of six, and there's no limit on the number of people allowed to live there.

In other words, it's Feng Tieyou's prerogative to cram as many people into the room as he wants, and Xiao Dongbei shouldn't interfere easily.

Xiao Dongbei looked up at Feng Tieyou, his face already showing his anger. "Three yuan? You kept saying it would be twenty yuan per person, but now you're only writing down three yuan? You're breaking your promise!"

Feng Tieyou spread his hands, his smile incredibly irritating to Xiao Dongbei. "Xiao Dongbei, that's not how you do things. What's the situation now that winter is over and spring is here? Almost everyone's left, and the whole hotel is practically empty. You're just leaving it empty anyway, and at three yuan per person, you can still make some income. Besides, I'll book the whole hotel for you; since there are so many people, the wholesale price will definitely be cheaper."

Xiao Dongbei slammed the contract on the counter. "Feng Tieyou, let me tell you, even if this room is completely empty and overgrown with weeds, I won't rent it to you, much less rent it to you for three yuan per person. You treat your own words like farts, turning twenty yuan into three yuan, do you have any shame?"

Feng Tieyou's smile faded slightly, but he didn't get angry like last time.

“Little Northeast, don’t try to play tough with me. You know how much money you’re losing every day with these empty rooms. How are you going to explain this to your uncle? You won’t rent them for twenty yuan, and you won’t rent them for three yuan. So who are you going to rent them to? The original tenants have all moved out. Do you think they’ll move back so easily? As far as I know, you personally brought them back from Beijing West Railway Station one by one. You put in a lot of effort, didn’t you?”

"You..." Xiao Dongbei felt a tightness in his chest from those words, and wished he could punch this shameless Feng Tieyou.

Feng Tieyou took a step back and gestured to his follower with his lip, "I'll leave the contract here for you. No rush, take your time to consider it. But this price might change in a couple of days. I'm easy to talk to, but you have to be sensible."

After saying that, Feng Tieyou led his men out in a swagger, and the door slammed shut behind them.

Xiao Dongbei stood behind the counter, staring at the contract, feeling like a monkey being played around by Feng Tieyou.

Xu Shengli came out of room 108. He had heard the noise outside, but he hadn't come out.

He felt that he couldn't be of much help even if he came out, and he was also listening to what Feng Tieyou was saying to verify his previous judgment.

Xu Shengli walked to the counter, picked up the contract, and flipped through it. When he got to the page about rent, he smiled, "Just as I expected." "..." At this moment, Xiao Dongbei was even more depressed.

Xu Shengli put the contract back. "Half the original price, three yuan, exactly as I guessed."

Xiao Dongbei said, "You're still laughing? I want to cry now."

Xu Shengli patted his shoulder and sat down in the chair opposite him. “Don’t worry. Feng Tieyou is now exploiting your weaknesses. He knows you have empty rooms, he knows your uncle is putting pressure on you, and he knows you’re reluctant to part with your old guests. He’s calculated all of these things. If you want to break this deadlock, you have to expose the things he hasn’t considered.”

Xiao Dongbei asked, "What didn't he calculate?"

Xu Shengli thought for a moment, "To be honest, I haven't made up my mind yet. But there's one thing: don't agree to him. Absolutely do not sign for three yuan. If you sign, he'll only cause you more trouble later. Just stall him for as long as you can."

Xiao Dongbei leaned back in his chair, looking up at the light on the ceiling. "Xu Shengli, I give up. Last time you said Feng Tieyou would definitely try to negotiate the price, I thought you were overthinking it. Now the contract is right here, and I really have no other options."

Xu Shengli said, "It's not that I'm good, it's that you're too honest. You're good at confronting people head-on, but you're not good at playing it safe. There will be more and more troubles as winter turns to spring, so you'd better be mentally prepared."

Xiao Dongbei revealed a bitter smile, realizing he had already walked into Feng Tieyou's trap.

In the original storyline, Zhuangzhuang and Xu Shengli would have set up a clothing stall together at this point, where they would have encountered Feng Tieyou's ex-wife, Chen Yan.

Chen Yan is a shrewd and capable woman from Wenzhou who holds leverage over Feng Tieyou and his emotional entanglements.

In the original drama, Xu Shengli completely resolved the problem of Feng Tieyou through Chen Yan.

But now, the plot has taken a sharp turn.

Because of Suning's presence, Zhuangzhuang no longer sets up a stall at the alley entrance to sell clothes.

Instead, she joined Mingju Real Estate as a saleswoman, became the top salesperson, and spent her days in the sales office wearing a business suit, receiving customers, signing contracts, and calculating down payments.

Zhuangzhuang would never be at the stall, nor would she encounter Chen Yan in that setting.

Therefore, Xu Shengli also did not know Chen Yan.

Xu Shengli continued writing his endless scripts every day, occasionally doing odd jobs, but this woman never appeared by his side.

Xu Shengli doesn't even know what Chen Yan looks like now, so naturally he's powerless to help Feng Tieyou.

With just a gentle flap of a butterfly's wings, the entire course of the story changed.

Without knowing Chen Yan, there would be no opportunity to seize on Feng Tieyou's weaknesses, and no one could influence Feng Tieyou at the most crucial moment.

Xiao Dongbei and his uncle could only tough it out, but they couldn't hold out for long against the tricks of people like Feng Tieyou.

……

Feng Tieyou finally got his wish and moved into Winter Comes and Spring Arrives, but it cost five yuan per person per day. Xiao Dongbei refused to agree to anything lower.

On the day of check-in, Feng Tieyou and his dozen or so brothers, carrying bedding rolls and all sorts of odds and ends, surged into the hotel like a mudslide.

The corridor was filled with their heavy footsteps and shouts. Someone was carrying a shovel and leaning against the wall, scraping off a large piece of plaster.

Someone was smoking in the hallway, and cigarette butts were scattered everywhere.

Someone stepped directly into the room wearing rubber boots covered in mud, leaving a trail of mud on the floor.

At night, the sounds of drinking games, cursing, and storytelling on the radio at maximum volume all blend together, enough to lift the roof off the house.

The few long-time residents who were still staying at the hotel couldn't stand it anymore.

Tao Liangliang was bumped into by a worker in the corridor, almost knocking his saxophone case off. He argued with the worker, "What's wrong with you? Can't you see me, a living person?"

The other person chuckled, "Kid, why don't you blow one for me?"

"You...you wish."

"What? You look down on me?"

"I……"

"Hmph! I've heard you've been bragging about making money in the underpass, do you think I can't pay?"

"Hmph! Unreasonable! I can't be bothered with you."

Such arguments played out every time winter turned to spring, leaving the remaining guests in a state of great distress.

Cao Ye's drawing board was damaged by those people, and Xu Shengli was so disturbed by the noise that he couldn't continue writing.

Guo Zongbao tried to have a proper talk with Feng Tieyou and his group, but he could only back down in the face of their unreasonable behavior.

Now, as winter turns to spring, the place has become a mess, and all the residents who could move out have already left.

After all, there was really no need to stay here and continue to fight Feng Tieyou, since they weren't really going to be unable to find a new place.

The rent was indeed cheaper than other hotels as winter turned to spring, but it wasn't enough to make them stay and endure the chaos.

In the dead of night, Xiao Dongbei stood alone behind the counter, watching these people turn the seasons around and become like this, and his heart felt like it was bleeding.

The ground was littered with stubbed cigarette butts and sunflower seed shells, and there were several scratch marks on the wall from some unknown object. The air was filled with a stench of sweat mixed with cheap liquor.

Xiao Dongbei could only silently take the broom and sweep, but it would get dirty again after he finished sweeping, so he eventually stopped sweeping altogether.

However, the person who regrets it the most is not Xiao Dongbei, but Xiao Dongbei's uncle.

After all, the hotel belonged to Uncle Xiao Dongbei as winter turned to spring, and the daily losses pained him deeply.

Now that the contract has been signed and the people have moved in, the hotel is getting worse every day, and they can't be kicked out no matter what.

The uncle made a special phone call to Xiao Dongbei, hoping that Xiao Dongbei would get rid of Feng Tieyou and his gang.

But Xiao Dongbei complained on the phone, "Uncle, you're the one who told me to rent this place. Now you think it's a hot potato and want me to kick them out. How am I supposed to kick them out?"

"..." The uncle couldn't say a word on the other end of the phone.

"Uncle, the current situation is that Feng Tieyou has us cornered. We just hope he can finish the current project quickly and then go back to where he came from."

"Yes! I fell for their trick."

...(End of this chapter)