I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Zhou Weiguo sneered, "Old lady, what do you mean by 'not going too far'? If it wasn't going too far, I would have just called the police. Why would I bother arguing with you in this yard?"

The deaf old woman's face darkened, and she said nervously, "How many do you want?"

Zhou Weiguo chuckled inwardly. "Robbery?" He'd finally gotten a chance to extort money from Old Yi, but simply demanding money wouldn't cut it. Considering the time and calculating Old Yi's approximate salary, he made a ridiculously large demand: "Yi Zhonghai embezzled 1,100 yuan from the He family. I originally wanted to call the police and handle it officially, since I have all the evidence, including the post office receipt. But that would only get him back 1,100 yuan at most, which I felt was a loss. That's why I came back to the hospital to resolve this. As I said before, three or five thousand yuan won't solve the problem."

The deaf old woman was shocked, not expecting the amount to be so large.

Yi Zhonghai was so frightened he almost collapsed to the ground, blurting out in a panic, "Comrade Zhou, I...I meant well back then! I was thinking of saving it for Zhuzi, it would be his sooner or later. You can't go so far! I've spent a lot of money and effort taking care of Zhuzi and Yushui over the years, I'll give him all the money now, and even a few hundred extra, but...but you can't go too far, otherwise you'll be disregarding neighborly relations, how are we supposed to get along in the future!"

The deaf old woman secretly thought to herself: Xiao Yi was too impulsive. What kind of time is this to use moral blackmail? Don't you even think about whether Zhou Weiguo has any morals at all?

Zhou Weiguo scoffed, looking at the deaf old woman: "I thought your words carried weight! Since that's the case, I'll put it this way: ten times the compensation, eleven thousand yuan! If you don't have it, I'll go to the neighborhood committee and the police station right now! I want to see how the police will rule!"

Yi Zhonghai only then realized what was happening, and upon hearing this, he immediately lost his momentum. The deaf old woman pulled him aside and muttered something to herself for a long time.

After a while, the deaf old woman let go of his hand, looking helpless: "Xiao Zhou, 11,000 is too much, Yi Zhonghai can't come up with it. How about this, all his money adds up to only 6,000, let's just forget about the 6,000, is that alright?" Yi Zhonghai looked pained and stared at Zhou Weiguo anxiously, waiting for a reply.

Zhou Weiguo sneered, "If he hadn't tried that moral blackmail with me earlier, six thousand yuan might have been enough to settle things. Now I'm asking for eleven thousand, not a penny less! He doesn't have the money? You're on good terms with him, why don't you cover the other part for him?"

Or we could use the houses to settle the debt, right? That's a great idea, it's settled then. I know your houses are all private residences, three back rooms in the backyard and three side rooms belonging to Yi Zhonghai. We'll settle the debt with Zhuzi and Yushui, as long as you agree. Six rooms plus six thousand yuan, six is ​​a lucky number, how about it? Is it decided so happily?

And after settling the debt, you just need to pay them rent every year. As long as you don't move out voluntarily, they won't kick you out. I'll give you 10 minutes to think it over. Don't say anything unnecessary to me, and don't try to stall for time. I don't have that much time to serve you. If it doesn't work out, I'll call the police right now!

The deaf old woman pulled Yi Zhonghai aside and started discussing it again: "Xiao Yi, you were too impulsive just now! The most important thing now is to suppress this matter; the people in the courtyard haven't left yet."

Yi Zhonghai said helplessly, "Grandma, what should I do? I really don't have that much money. My entire fortune is just over six thousand yuan. Where am I supposed to get the extra five thousand yuan? How about I offer gold as collateral?"

The deaf old woman shook her head in denial: "This Zhou Weiguo is not easy to deal with. If he sets his sights on us, it will be even more troublesome. Let's avoid touching his deepest secrets if possible. Xiao Yi, are houses worth anything now? Are there any vacant rooms in our yard? If houses aren't hard to buy, then giving him our house as collateral isn't out of the question, but there are a few conditions."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up. He thought, "That's right! Didn't the factory say they were going to introduce a new policy? From now on, houses won't be worth anything, and they can't be traded. Even private houses will be nationalized and then redistributed. The factory was just saying a couple of days ago they were going to allocate welfare housing to those without houses. Zhou Weiguo, I'll rip you off this time! As for the old lady's house, it's not mine anyway, so I'll just have to pay for it! Haha, that's settled then."

"Grandma, I heard there's a new policy coming out soon. All houses will be nationalized and then rented out to the public. The old houses in the courtyard aren't worth much anymore. My three rooms—not only will no one buy them now, but even if they did, they'd only be worth a few hundred yuan. Besides, the factory said the other day they're going to provide welfare housing for those without homes. I have some connections at the factory, so getting another room shouldn't be a problem."

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman's face paled: "Zhonghai, are you sure the government is going to confiscate all the properties?"

Upon hearing the deaf old woman's words, Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up. He casually remarked to her, "Grandma, it's true. The factory leaders are all saying that if you have a house outside, you should try to sell it. I'll ask that young man later if he can get it done with just my three rooms and six thousand yuan."

The deaf old woman looked at Yi Zhonghai meaningfully and said, "Young Yi, I don't have any houses outside. I handed them all over back then. But from what I've observed, that kid definitely won't be satisfied with six thousand yuan plus three rooms."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes darted around, and he pleaded, "Grandma, could you lend me some money? I'll pay you back slowly later, or even in gold."

The deaf old woman gave a bitter smile: "Where would I get money? I have just as much gold and silver jewelry as you, but all I get each month is five yuan for living expenses from the neighborhood committee, and even that was collected by Cuilan. Ah, Zhonghai, if all else fails, you can mortgage my house to them too!"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes reddened: "Grandma, this is your retirement home, how could I..."

The deaf old woman feigned kindness: "Silly child, you and Cuilan have taken care of me all these years, I've long considered you my own son."

Yi Zhonghai was deeply moved: "Godmother! I will take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die. As long as I have food to eat, you won't go hungry!"

A calculating glint flashed in the deaf old woman's eyes: "Alright! Let's tell Zhou Weiguo that we'll settle the debt with the house!" With that, she pulled Yi Zhonghai toward Zhou Weiguo.

Zhou Weiguo watched them whispering and chuckled to himself: Could this be considered a legendary scene?

The deaf old woman spoke up: "Xiao Zhou, we've reached an agreement. Yi Zhonghai will compensate you six thousand yuan, and we'll also give you our two houses as payment. We'll go to the neighborhood committee tomorrow to complete the formalities. But there's one condition: until Xiao Yi finds a place to stay, he can stay here temporarily without paying rent. As for my house, as long as I'm alive, I can stay rent-free. You can't kick me out."

Zhou Weiguo was overjoyed, thinking, "Good heavens, I wonder if these two will regret it later. In the next few decades, private houses in Beijing will be extremely valuable. These are the last batch of private houses before Feng Ting. After that, they will all be rented."