The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

The alley was completely silent; everyone was terrified by the stakes.

1000 yuan, plus a big house in the west wing, has Liu Hao lost his mind?

Or does the Jia family really have more than 1000 in savings?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

To onlookers, the Jia family did seem to be struggling financially. The family of five relied on Qin Huairu's meager salary of 27.5 yuan to make ends meet. They might have some savings, but it certainly wouldn't exceed 1000 yuan.

The residents of No. 95 Courtyard also share this view.

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu's expressions changed drastically, and their hearts jumped into their throats.

They know exactly how much savings they have!

Yi Zhonghai panicked. Although he didn't know how much money the Jia family had saved, he was certain that it was definitely more than 1000 yuan!

After a two-second silence, Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi, and Qin Huairu shouted in unison, "Shazhu..."

"Okay, I'll bet with you!"

Sha Zhu grinned and said, "The Jia family is dirt poor. Sister Qin is having such a hard time! How could she possibly have more than 1000 in savings?"

"It's a deal, everyone's a witness, don't go back on your word if you lose!"

As if propelled by a spring, Jia Zhangshi sprang to her feet and shrieked, "Silly Zhu, I don't gamble, so don't search my house!"

Sha Zhu asked in confusion, "Jia Zhangshi, what's wrong with you? Are you afraid that Liu Hao will renege on his promise?"

I'll mess with your mother! I'll mess with your father! I'll mess with your ancestors for eight generations!

Madam Jia was so angry that she cried, wishing she could kill this scoundrel, Sha Zhu.

Qin Huairu had a sudden inspiration, stepped forward and grabbed Sha Zhu's hand, tears streaming down her face.

She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, her face showing just the right amount of grief and resentment, and choked out, "Zhuzi, we won't gamble. A person should live with dignity and integrity. Our family is poor and struggling, but no matter how hard life is, we can't make money through such dishonorable methods as gambling and searching our family's assets."

As she spoke, she looked at the onlookers with teary eyes.

"Neighbors, we Jia family are poor but not lacking in spirit. We live honest and upright lives and down-to-earth lives. Even if we eat cornbread with cold water every day, it is all earned by my own hard work, not by gambling, making trouble, or relying on other people's charity."

The voice, filled with grievance, touched everyone's heart.

Yes, poverty doesn't diminish ambition. Liu Hao's way of making a bet is a bit humiliating.

Qin Huairu observed the changes in everyone's emotions and secretly rejoiced.

Immediately afterwards, she bowed to Liu Hao again, putting on an expression of unwavering loyalty and a willingness to die rather than be humiliated, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Accountant Liu, our Jia family cannot afford this bet. It's not that we're afraid of losing, it's that we care about our reputation."

"No matter how difficult things get for my family, we don't want this kind of ill-gotten gain. I think dignity is more important than money, more precious than a house!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm and resounding, making her seem like a virtuous woman who remained steadfast in her principles despite being in dire straits. Anyone who saw her would have to admire her fortitude.

Madam Jia quickly chimed in, "That's right, we won't gamble. Even if we're poor, we'll maintain our integrity!"

Sha Zhu doesn't think so. Can backbone put food on the table?

Besides, if he beat Liu Hao, he would not only get 1000 yuan, but also the house in the west wing. He wouldn't have to borrow money to repair the Jia family's house anymore. He would be rolling in money.

"Sister Qin, just bet with him! It's my decision to bet with him, it has nothing to do with you."

"I know you're an upright person, Sister Qin, and you never take advantage of others. The west wing is mine, and I'll give you the three main rooms, isn't that enough?"

Qin Huairu's blood pressure soared, and she felt like she was suffocating. If she had a knife, she would not hesitate to stab Sha Zhu to death.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai came up with a good idea to drive Liu Hao and Ye Juan away.

He cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "I almost forgot something. A few days ago, Huai Ru borrowed 1000 yuan from me privately, planning to buy a workstation for her older brother. Huai Ru, you don't want to take advantage of Accountant Liu, and you're also afraid that your mother-in-law will find out about the loan and make a scene, right?"

"Don't worry, this bet wasn't our idea, it was Accountant Liu's. Why shouldn't we bet with him?"

"Alright, Accountant Liu, aside from the 1000 yuan I borrowed from Huai Ru, if we find another 1000 yuan or more, Zhu Zi and I will give you 2000!"

Borrow 1,000 yuan to buy a workstation?

The onlookers weren't stupid; they immediately realized what was going on.

Qin Huairu was unwilling to gamble, and they could believe that Qin Huairu had integrity.

But for Jia Zhangshi to say that one should be poor with dignity is like a Japanese soldier saying he is a good person... pure nonsense.

Therefore, the Jia family definitely has more than a thousand yuan in savings. Yi Zhonghai is talking nonsense and his purpose is to scam Liu Hao and Ye Juan.

That Yi Zhonghai is truly insidious and shameless!

Jia Zhangshi's eyes darted around a few times, and she knew that Yi Zhonghai was talking nonsense and that Qin Huairu would never lend money to her older brother to buy a workstation.

I saved more than 1500 yuan. Qin Huairu may have secretly saved some as well, but it probably didn't exceed 500 yuan!

Deduct 1000 yuan from Yi Zhonghai's salary...

Madam Jia swallowed hard, a glint of greed in her triangular eyes, her mind filled with images of a big house! A big house! A big house in the west courtyard!

Our Jia family is a prominent and wealthy household, so we have to live in this big house.

Oh right, there's also 1000 yuan. I won't give a single cent to Sha Zhu; it's all my retirement money!

Greed instantly consumed her reason. Jia Zhangshi's eyes darted around, and she said in a pretentious tone, "Huai Ru, look at the mess you've made! If you had told me about borrowing money to buy a workstation, I would have definitely agreed. Do you think I'm the kind of unreasonable person?"

do not you?

Qin Huairu was on the verge of tears, knowing that Jia Zhangshi had fallen for her.

What to do? What to do?

At this moment, an elderly man with gray hair couldn't help but speak up to warn, "Accountant Liu, don't gamble with them. They're setting a trap for you!"

Sha Zhu cursed, "Old man, what's it to you? Why are you being so nosy?"

"You son of a bitch, you dare insult my father?"

Three tall, burly men stepped out from the crowd, and Sha Zhu then noticed that this old man was the butcher from the neighboring No. 93 courtyard.

The butcher and his wife both worked at the meat processing plant. They were well-off, and their three sons had been well-fed since childhood. Each of them was burly and had a fierce face; any one of them could easily beat him.

Sha Zhu felt a chill run down his spine and shrank behind Yi Zhonghai to hide.

Yi Zhonghai cursed inwardly for Sha Zhu's loose tongue, then cupped his hands to Uncle Niu and said with an awkward smile, "Brother Niu, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this Sha Zhu is just a muddle-headed guy, he's bad at talking, don't take him seriously."

Grandpa Niu glanced at Sha Zhu and snorted coldly.

"What a load of rubbish! A filthy scoundrel, full of evil intentions!"

hahaha~

The crowd laughed and agreed with Grandpa Niu's assessment of Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but dared not talk back for fear of being beaten.

Yi Zhonghai quickly changed the subject, saying in a slightly provocative tone, "Accountant Liu, do you still dare to gamble? If not, let's call it a day. It's getting late, everyone go back to warm up by the fire and cook!"

Before Liu Hao could speak, Ye Juan declared decisively, "We'll bet!"

Ye Juan trusts Liu Hao unconditionally. Since Liu Hao made this bet, he must have calculated that the Jia family's savings are definitely more than one or two thousand, probably more than three thousand.

So, the couple got their marriage certificate today and are going to make an extra 2,000 yuan – double happiness indeed!

Liu Hao laughed and said, "My wife has the final say."

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed and only wanted to get rid of Liu Hao and Ye Juan, completely unaware that Qin Huairu was frantically giving him meaningful glances.

"Everyone here is a witness, we can't go back on our word! Let's go, we're going to the Jia family!"