The Fitter Master in the Courtyard: Surrounded by Dead Men

Yan Fugui nodded slowly, pushed up his glasses that had slipped down to the bridge of his nose, and said to Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi, that makes sense."

"I paid the money, got the house, and I'm not losing out either way."

Yi Zhonghai remained silent, his mind reeling.

There are 22 households in the entire compound; besides myself, there are 21 other households.

Ten yuan per family, a total of two hundred and one, for two rooms... a good deal.

Moreover, giving one room to the Jia family would tie Jia Dongxu down, providing an extra layer of security for his retirement; giving the other room to the Liu family would give them a chance to recoup their investment elsewhere in the future.

The abacus beads clicked in his mind, and finally, he raised his head, a resolute look flashing in his eyes.

"become."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear: "I'll pay for it."

Ten yuan per household, I'll accept it.

After saying that, he stared straight at Yang Ping, his voice urging her with an undeniable authority: "Yang Ping, take your property deed and certificate. We're going to the neighborhood office right now to get the paperwork done."

Before Yang Ping could respond, Li Tiezhu, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, spoke first, his voice rough, like sandpaper rubbing against wood: "What's the rush?"

Yang Ping's voice rang out first from the crowd: "Master Yi, it's more reassuring to get the money into everyone's hands first. If you say you can't come up with it later, we'll have no one to reason with."

"Yes, we need to see the money first!"

"That's what I mean!"

The surrounding voices echoed one after another, all carrying a spirit of not backing down.

Yan Fugui pushed up his glasses and slowly chimed in, "Old Yi, that's definitely the truth."

"An old man like you can't just spout nonsense!"

Jia Zhangshi also squeezed to the front, her voice loud and clear.

She was unwilling to miss out on the benefit of ten yuan per household.

Jia Dongxu's expression changed slightly, and he quietly tugged at his mother's clothes.

Yi Zhonghai is not only his mentor, but he is also currently working hard to help him with his house. Forcing him to pay money at this time would seem rather unreasonable.

When Yi Zhonghai saw Jia Zhangshi also stand up to ask for money, he felt as if he had been pricked by a needle, and a feeling of indescribable frustration welled up inside him.

But the words had already been spoken, so he had no choice but to accept them.

"My child's mother,"

He turned to his wife, his voice a little dry, "Go inside and get two hundred yuan to share with everyone."

"this……"

The middle-aged woman stood there, her brows slightly furrowed.

She felt something was off about the whole thing, and though she opened her mouth, the words stuck in her throat.

"Go quickly!"

Yi Zhonghai's tone revealed anxiety, and his face darkened.

The woman then moved, went inside to get the money, and returned to distribute the bills to everyone.

"Thank you so much, sir!"

Yang Ping held the ten-yuan note, a smile spreading across his face. "If I could receive this kind of help every month, that would be wonderful."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's expression stiffened, his lips moved, but he ultimately did not respond.

Once a month? Even if he had ninety-nine dollars a month, he couldn't afford to spend it like that, let alone have to use it from his retirement savings—that's absolutely impossible.

"Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you so much. If it were available every month, that would be wonderful."

"Yeah yeah!"

Clutching the money in their hands, everyone wore satisfied smiles, and amidst their chorus of thanks, there was also a hint of expectation that they would take advantage of the situation.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's face immediately darkened; he simply couldn't come up with a reply.

Yan Fugui accepted the banknotes, said thank you, and then said nothing more.

When it was Jia's turn, Jia Dongxu stared at the money the old woman handed him, a hint of hesitation on his face—he knew he shouldn't accept it, but seeing that everyone else had taken it, he felt he would be at a disadvantage if he didn't.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zhangshi snatched the money away, stuffed it into her pocket, and said "Thank you" repeatedly.

I'm too lazy to say anything.

Jia Dongxu secretly regretted that his hesitation just now would make it much harder to get money out of his mother's pocket.

Yi Zhonghai saw this and his expression darkened further.

Liu Haizhong, on the other hand, quietly put the money away, thinking that he might as well take advantage of the situation.

"Alright, Yang Ping, the money has been distributed. Let's go to the neighborhood office to complete the formalities."

Yi Zhonghai suppressed his emotions and spoke.

Thinking that this matter was finally settled, he felt inexplicably relieved; at least the money hadn't been wasted.

"Sir, when did I ever say I was going to hand over the house?"

Yang Ping smiled slightly.

"You just now clearly—"

Upon reflection, Yi Zhonghai realized that Yang Ping had never actually said she would hand over the property; the only thing she mentioned was "handing it over."

That statement was merely to entice him to contribute money to help everyone; he never explicitly stated that he intended to give up the house.

Only then did he fully realize that he had been tricked by this brat.

The moment he understood, Yi Zhonghai's vision went black, a rush of blood to his head nearly made him faint on the spot.

After all that fuss, I ended up spending two hundred yuan for nothing and didn't get any benefits in return.

Liu Haizhong, Yan Fugui, and the Xu family members standing nearby were also stunned.

No one expected that Yang Ping would pull such a trick, easily outmaneuvering the old fox Yi Zhonghai.

You know, no one in the whole courtyard had ever been able to beat him before, otherwise he wouldn't have been sitting in this old man's seat all this time.

"Alright, I'm too lazy to waste any more time with you guys!"

Yang Ping picked up the stool and turned to leave.

The farce in the courtyard is nearing its end. It's unlikely that we'll be able to outmaneuver others today. It's better to stop for now and deal with these scoundrels later.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Jia Zhangshi became anxious and immediately started cursing, "You bastard with no father or mother! You occupy three rooms all by yourself, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning? Give the houses back right now!"

She couldn't just stand by and watch the house fall into emptiness; she had to force Yang Ping to hand it over.

Yang Ping's expression suddenly turned cold.

Almost simultaneously, Li Tiezhu, Ma Dachui, and seven or eight other men rushed forward and slapped Jia Zhangshi across the face.

"He's constantly causing chaos in the compound, ruining neighborly relations, and preventing everyone from being recognized as an advanced worker—shouldn't this kind of scourge be dealt with?"

"Should!"

The group even came up with a set of high-sounding excuses.

To be honest, that demeanor did bear some resemblance to Yi Zhonghai's usual impartiality.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

After being slapped more than a dozen times, Jia Zhangshi's cheeks were already swollen like steamed buns.

The slap not only stunned Jia Zhangshi, but also left Yi Zhonghai and his group speechless.

No one expected Li Tiezhu and his group to act so impulsively, and they couldn't understand what this matter had to do with them or why they suddenly attacked Jia Zhangshi.

It seems unlikely that he would stand up for Yang Ping.

Yang Ping had no dealings with these people before, and even though he had just been promoted to a second-level fitter, it was not enough to warrant such hard work from them.

It's probably because Jia Zhangshi's foul mouth has offended too many people, and today she's just using this as an excuse to vent her frustrations.

Li Tiezhu and his men did not stop.

The sound of slaps echoed, startling the stunned crowd in the courtyard.

But no one dared to step forward to stop it, fearing they would get burned. Even Jia Dongxu shrank back and could only watch helplessly as his mother was beaten.

"Alright, alright! Stop fighting! If you keep going, someone might get killed!"

Yi Zhonghai finally gritted his teeth and squeezed into the crowd.

"Uncle, this old hag is a real troublemaker in the compound, ruining our chances of being nominated for awards and causing everyone in the compound to lose over ten kilograms of grain coupons a year—this kind of black sheep needs to be taught a lesson!"

Li Tiezhu's voice rang out in the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai felt a buzzing in his ears. He was all too familiar with these words—the kind of reasoning that had always come from his mouth. Now, every single word was being thrown back at him, almost making him choke on his own breath.

Jia Zhangshi was already unable to speak. Her swollen cheeks squeezed her eyes so that they were only two slits, and tears mixed with dust kept streaming down her face.

She could only frantically wave her hands around, letting out muffled sobs.

"Sister-in-law Jia knows she was wrong!"

Yi Zhonghai quickly chimed in, "We've been neighbors for years, and she's suffered enough. She definitely won't do it again."

"In that case, let's just let it go this time."

Li Tiezhu scanned the crowd, "But if anyone disturbs the peace in the courtyard again, don't blame us for being ruthless."

The crowd gradually stopped fighting.

After all, if the fighting continued and someone died, no one wanted to go to jail for it—how could they work for Yang Ping while in jail?

That's all for today, everyone can call it a day!

Yi Zhonghai announced loudly.

He felt that everything today was strange and didn't want to cause any more trouble.

Judging from Yang Ping's composed demeanor, forcing him to vacate the house was clearly not going to work.

Anyway, it's still a long way from Yang Ping being promoted to senior technician; there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Yang Ping picked up the stool, turned around, and went back into the house.

Having tricked Yi Zhonghai and witnessed Jia Zhangshi being beaten, the resentment in his heart finally dissipated.

The days ahead are long, and there's still plenty of "show" to come in this courtyard.

I'm afraid it will only get tighter and tighter, until these scoundrels completely submit.

Liu Haizhong slipped away as fast as he could, afraid that Yi Zhonghai would make him share the unfair cost.

Yan Fugui clutched the ten yuan he had just received in his pocket and plunged into his own doorway without looking back.

In the blink of an eye, the once crowded courtyard became empty, leaving only Yi Zhonghai standing alone in the twilight.

Jia Dongxu helped his mother take a few steps, then looked back and saw his master still standing there, lost in thought.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only supporting the wailing Jia Zhangshi as she staggered toward the door.

Jia Zhangshi walked and sobbed, her chest feeling like it was stuffed with a wet cotton ball.

She'd been a tyrant in the courtyard for decades, and everyone had let her yell and shout. Who would have thought she'd be slapped like this today?

The wind swept through the alley, ripping her sobs into fragments.

Qin Huairu followed at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, her steps as light as a cat's.

She watched the staggering figure ahead, a crescent-shaped smile curving her lips—all the harsh words she had endured over the years now transformed into an unconcealable gleam in her eyes.

"An old man!"

Sha Zhu was so anxious that he stomped his feet at the gate of the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai simply waved his hand, his shadow stretching long in the setting sun. "You go back first."

The sound was dry and brittle, like sun-dried bean pods.

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't make a sound. As he turned around, the iron gate slammed shut with a dull thud.

Yi Zhonghai sat alone on a stone bench under the old locust tree, his fingers unconsciously picking at the patch on his knee.

He just couldn't figure it out—he, the old man who had the final say in the courtyard, had been tricked by that brat Yang Ping.

The wind whipped up the fallen leaves, swirling them around his feet.

Inside the Yan family's house, separated by several walls, was a completely different scene.

Yan Fugui closed the door tightly, took out the ten-yuan note from his inner pocket, and examined it again and again in the window light.

A smile gradually emerged from the deep wrinkles: "If it weren't for Yang Ping today, we wouldn't have gotten this benefit. We'll have to thank him properly another day."

"Shouldn't we be entitled to this money?"

The three women were wiping their hands on their aprons.

"Women are short-sighted!"

Yan Fugui slammed the bills on the table. "Yang Ping has finally figured things out. Even Yi Zhonghai has fallen for his tricks. How can he be expected to stay in the game? If we don't cultivate this relationship now, we won't even get a taste of the good stuff later!"

He tapped the table with his index finger: "Ten yuan in pocket, two or three yuan for gifts, it's a win-win situation."

The three aunts and Yan Jiecheng exchanged glances.

This sounds awkward—Dad used to always say, "Every action is a loss."

Why are you calculating profits today?

"Shortsighted!"

After uttering those four words, Yan Fugui fell silent, only turning his back and gazing out the window.

As dusk slowly engulfed the courtyard wall, the aroma of scallion oil wafted from someone's stove.

Back at the Xu family home.

Xu Fugui stepped into the house, sat down at the table, and his expression revealed a hint of emotion.

"Yang Ping, without making a sound, really gave Yi Zhonghai a hard time, and two hundred yuan went down the drain."

"Dad, you think too highly of him."

Xu Damao scoffed, crossing his legs. "With Yang Ping's spineless attitude, if it weren't for everyone in the courtyard eyeing that little bit of money, would Uncle Yi have been able to pay this much? He was just lucky."