Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Hearing the whispers and pointing fingers at him, Yi Zhonghai's face darkened. He glared at Bang Geng with gritted teeth, wishing he could skin the little beast alive.

He never expected that this little beast Banggeng would frame him. And Banggeng even yelled for help, saying that he had hit him. This time, he was really in deep trouble.

After comforting Bang Geng, Qin Huairu stood up, looked intently at Yi Zhonghai, and asked in a cold voice:

"Grandpa, why did you push Banggeng down and hit him? Banggeng is still a child. If you hate me, come at me instead of involving the child."

"I……"

Yi Zhonghai's face was extremely grim. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming rage within him, and spoke in a deep voice:

"I'll say it again, I didn't push Banggeng down, much less hit him. I was just trying to help Banggeng up. Banggeng misunderstood me."

Yi Zhonghai was 100% certain that Bang Geng was deliberately trying to frame him, but the key was that no one would believe that a seven-year-old child would frame him, so he had no choice but to say it.

"Alright, everyone, be quiet."

Yan Fugui shouted, and the scene instantly fell silent.

He's been here for a while now and has a basic understanding of the situation. If things continue like this, their institution will become infamous again. Whether the rumors about beating children are true or false, they won't be good for their institution.

"I have a general understanding of what happened. I don't think Lao Yi would hit Bang Geng. Bang Geng must have accidentally bumped into Lao Yi, fell down, and then Lao Yi went to help him up. He misunderstood that Lao Yi was going to hit him."

"Why do I say that? First of all, we all know Old Yi's character. He has always upheld the traditional virtues of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. Moreover, he is the oldest man in the courtyard. Even if he dislikes pheasants, he wouldn't openly beat them in the courtyard, would he?"

"Yes, what the third uncle said makes sense. I guess Bang Geng misunderstood the first uncle."

Upon hearing Yan Fugui's words, Jia Zhangshi immediately flew into a rage.

"Old Man Yan, don't try to defend Yi Zhonghai, that dead son without a family. I saw him hitting the stick on the ground with my own eyes. Do you think I'm blind?"

"Yi Zhonghai, this matter can't be settled without two hundred yuan. If you don't give it to us, we'll go find Director Wang to settle this, and we'll even call the police. I want to see if you can still live as a grown man after beating a child."

Jia Zhangshi had already examined Bang Geng's entire body and found no injuries. However, how could she let such a good opportunity slip by? Yi Zhonghai's salary was so high, and now he wasn't helping their family anymore. If she didn't squeeze some money out of him, she would be letting him down.

"Go ahead and call the police, I'm not afraid of you. You want money? No way!" Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

Yan Fugui approached Yi Zhonghai and whispered, "Old Yi, there are no witnesses here. I think you should give Jia Zhangshi some money and stop her from making a scene. Otherwise, it won't be good for anyone. If this matter goes to Director Wang or the police, it won't do you any good, whether it's true or not."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and glared hatefully at Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng, then whispered:

"Old Yan, that's absolutely unacceptable. If I have to pay compensation, it will prove that I really did abort the child. If that gets out, my reputation will be ruined!"

Yan Fugui patted Yi Zhonghai on the shoulder, revealing a cunning and shrewd expression.

"Old Yi, how about this? You give me twenty yuan, and then give me five yuan as a tip, and I'll take care of this for you. What do you think?"

"become."

Yi Zhonghai was truly at his wit's end; if this matter wasn't resolved, his reputation would be ruined.

After the two finished their quiet conversation, Yan Fugui was overjoyed to see that Yi Zhonghai had so readily agreed to pay him five yuan as a tip.

Those present saw them whispering and knew they were discussing a solution, so no one interrupted.

Now that they had reached an agreement, Yan Fugui didn't delay. He quickly walked up to Jia Zhangshi and whispered:

"Mrs. Jia, Lao Yi is willing to pay twenty yuan. If you agree, take the stick back now and I will deliver the money to your house later. If you don't agree, when the police and Director Wang come, you won't get a penny. You might even be sent back to the countryside by Director Wang. Don't think I don't know that Lao Yi didn't hit the stick at all. You're trying to extort money from me."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi originally wanted to ask for more, but when she heard that she might be sent back to the countryside, she had no choice but to nod and agree.

"Fine, twenty it is. If it's a penny less, I'll never forgive you."

With that, she grabbed the stick and left.

"Bang Geng, come on, let's go home with Grandma, let's go home for dinner."

Qin Huairu knew that Banggeng was not injured and was also very clear that Yi Zhonghai had not hit Banggeng. She did not want to completely fall out with Yi Zhonghai, so she left with Jia Zhangshi.

Seeing this, Yan Fugui waved his hand at everyone in the courtyard: "The matter is resolved. The old man did not hit Banggeng. Banggeng misunderstood the old man. Everyone, please disperse."

The people in the courtyard saw them and only whispered a few words before the matter was resolved. They weren't stupid; they knew that the two must have negotiated privately.

But that's none of their business. They were all there to watch the show, and they didn't care about the final outcome. Now that the show was over, they all went home.

After everyone had left, Yi Zhonghai took out twenty-five yuan from his pocket, handed it to Yan Fugui, and said in a deep voice:

"Old Yan, your money-making methods are really clever! You made five yuan from me so easily?"

Yan Fugui took the money, counted it, and after confirming that there was no problem, he laughed and chuckled.

"Old Yi, look at what you're saying. I was just helping you solve the problem, wasn't I? I earn my money through hard work. Think about it carefully. If I hadn't helped you out of that situation, and things had escalated to the point where Director Wang and the police were called in, how would you explain that to them?"

"Alright, Lao Yan, I, Yi Zhonghai, will take responsibility for this today."

After saying that, Yi Zhonghai walked home with a gloomy expression.

Yan Fugui watched Yi Zhonghai's retreating figure, then looked at the twenty-five yuan in his hand, grinned, and walked towards the Jia family's house.

Today's money was too easy to earn, but he never expected that Banggeng, who was only seven years old, had already learned to frame people. He would have to be more careful of Banggeng in the future, lest he be tricked by this little brat one day.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that Yi Zhonghai would never make a fuss about this. Yi Zhonghai's disadvantage today is that there are no witnesses. He is an old man in the courtyard and someone who cares a lot about his reputation, so he doesn't want to make a big deal out of it.