Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

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When Banggeng was short of money, he would ask Qin Huairu for it. Qin Huairu controlled the household finances, holding three pay slips: Shazhu's, Yi Zhonghai's, and her own. She could say she held the reins of the family finances. If Banggeng asked, Qin Huairu would always give him what he wanted.

But that's not possible now. He was swindled out of eight thousand yuan, and Qin Huairu even helped him pay back two thousand to his colleague, so he doesn't have much left. Even if he asks for it, Qin Huairu can't give him any.

If you can't get the money from Qin Huairu, who should you turn to?

Bang Geng's first thought was to borrow from his colleagues. But news of him being scammed out of 8,000 yuan had already spread, so there was little chance he would be able to borrow money from anyone at this point.

Ask relatives? Bang Geng thought for a moment. He didn't have any relatives at all, otherwise he wouldn't have gone back to Qin Huairu's hometown, Qin Family Village, to borrow money. This approach was clearly not going to work.

After thinking it over, Banggeng suddenly remembered his two younger sisters—Xiaodang and Huaihua.

Xiao Dang is now a primary school teacher. Although her monthly salary isn't high, it's stable. She's been doing it for three or four years, so she must have some savings. As for that brat Huaihua, needless to say, she made a fortune assembling antennas and even bought a bicycle. Now she's working at a cannery, so she's definitely rich!

With this in mind, Banggeng understood the situation and prepared to go back to the courtyard to ask his two younger sisters for money.

After practicing qigong with the master for a while, Banggeng checked the time and it was already 5 pm. It was time for Xiaodang and Huaihua to get off work. Banggeng rode his bicycle to the courtyard house.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, several middle-aged women smiled at him, then huddled together whispering amongst themselves. Bang Geng's face darkened; it was obvious they were talking about him. Being swindled out of eight thousand yuan would probably be enough for these women to gossip about for years.

"Damn it! They're all laughing at me! Once I learn Qigong, I'll make them all sick and speechless, and show them how powerful I am!" Bang Geng secretly vowed.

Although he was annoyed, he didn't dare to argue with these middle-aged women, knowing he couldn't win against them.

Upon arriving at the courthouse, Banggeng parked the car and went inside. Xiaodang and Huaihua were both there. Shazhu and Qin Huairu had borrowed four thousand yuan from Wang Jun and were busy renovating the restaurant; they wouldn't be back until evening. Now was the perfect opportunity to ask for the money back.

Banggeng strode over and said casually, "Xiaodang, Huaihua, each of you give me 150 yuan. I need it."

Huaihua asked for a little more, 150 yuan per person, totaling 300 yuan. After paying the tuition, we still had 100 yuan left, just enough for a meal at a restaurant.

The plan seemed shrewd, but Xiao Dang and Huaihua were absolutely unhappy. Why should they give him the money they had worked so hard to earn?

Xiao Dang spoke first: "I have no money. My monthly salary is only thirty or forty yuan. I can't save much at the end of the year. Where would I get the money to give you?"

Huaihua chimed in, "I don't have any money either, and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."

The two refused outright, which ignited Banggeng's anger. He rushed over and slapped each of them. Xiaodang and Huaihua were stunned and burst into tears on the spot.

Banggeng wasn't afraid at all. When they were little, he often beat up his two younger sisters, and making them cry was a common occurrence.

"Stop crying! Let me tell you, if you don't pay me, I'll beat you up today!" Bang Geng shouted impatiently.

Hearing the crying, Jia Zhangshi ran out from the inner room. However, she sided with Banggeng—Banggeng was her hope for old age, the only heir of the Jia family, so naturally she favored him. As for Xiaodang and Huaihua, in Jia Zhangshi's eyes, they were two money-losing items, not worth worrying about at all. If it were decades ago, she would have married them off long ago to raise dowries.

Madam Jia glared at Xiao Dang and Huaihua and scolded, "Cry, cry, cry! What are you crying for! Bang Geng is asking you for money, just give it to him! He's the only male in the Jia family, who else can you give your money to if not Bang Geng? Hurry up and give him the money!"

Under the coercion of Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi, Xiao Dang couldn't take it anymore. He went back to his room, took out 150 yuan, handed it to Bang Geng, and hid inside to cry.

Huaihua remained motionless, showing no intention of paying.

Jia Zhangshi panicked and personally searched Huaihua's pockets, but only found five mao (0.5 yuan). Huaihua kept all her money with Wang Jun, so it was impossible to find it on her.

Unconvinced, Jia Zhangshi rushed into the locust flower room and ransacked it. Drawers—nothing; blankets—nothing; she searched every nook and cranny, but still found not a single penny.

Jia Zhangshi glared at Huaihua and threatened, "You brat, you must have money! Hand it over now, or I'll hit you!"

Huaihua retorted, "Grandma, this is robbery! It's illegal! If this continues, I'm going to call the police. You don't want to see the police, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately cowered. She really didn't dare to do anything reckless. What if this brat actually called the police? How could she face anyone when the police came to her door?

Bang Geng didn't dare to make a move. Being scammed out of eight thousand yuan was already embarrassing enough; if he were to hit Huaihua as well, things would get even worse if the police were called. A reporter might even go to his workplace to interview him, which would be a huge loss of face.

In the end, Banggeng had no choice but to ask Jia Zhangshi for 100 yuan and leave in a hurry.

That evening, while Wang Jun was eating, Huaihua sneaked over and brought up the matter of Banggeng asking for money.

During this time, Huaihua started visiting Wang Jun more and more often, sharing her worries and grievances with him.

This time, Banggeng asked Xiaodang for 150 yuan and Jia Zhangshi for 100 yuan. However, she had all her money with Wang Jun, so she only lost 50 cents. Although she was slapped, Huaihua was still quite happy because she didn't lose any money.

Huaihua said, "My brother asked Xiaodang for 150 yuan and then asked Grandma for 100 yuan, which adds up to 250 yuan. I bet he's going to do something stupid again. He's really sick."

Huaihua looked down on Banggeng more and more, and her words became increasingly impolite.

Wang Jun laughed and said, "Who cares? The courtyard house has already started renovations, and we can move in in a few days. What foolish things he does is none of your business."

Huaihua was overjoyed to hear this. Moving out meant she wouldn't have to put up with her family's opinions anymore, and she'd have her own bathroom—it sounded wonderful!

After chatting for a few minutes, Wang Jun remembered something, so he took out two bottles of skincare toner and said, "These are skincare toners. Take them home and try them out, see how they work."

"Okay, thanks, Brother Jun."

Huaihua trusted Wang Jun completely; she didn't even ask where the skincare lotion came from, and happily took it and left.

……

At this moment, in the hot pot restaurant, Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li were settling accounts.

The hot pot restaurant has been open for over a month now, so today I'm going to do some calculations to see how much money we've made.

Yu Li pressed the calculator and kept calculating until she finally got the result.

8246 yuan!

This is the profit for one month!

Looking at the number, Yu Li's heart pounded with excitement, and even her fingers trembled. That was over eight thousand yuan! An ordinary factory worker might not earn that much in ten years!

Yan Jiecheng's eyes gleamed as he looked at the number, feeling as if he had instantly reached the pinnacle of his life, and he was finally able to hold his head high!

Yan Jiecheng let out a smug laugh and said, "Hahaha, I can't believe I earned over eight thousand in a month! I'm almost a ten-thousand-yuan household now! In this entire courtyard, besides Wang Jun, we're the richest. From today onwards, who dares to look down on me!"

Yan Jiecheng laughed heartily, extremely excited, and wished he could burst into song.

Yu Li calmed down a bit and said, "Next, we need to divide the money, that is, distribute the dividends. We'll do it according to the shares."

Upon hearing about the money being divided, Yan Jiecheng immediately became depressed.

This hot pot restaurant was started with borrowed money, and whoever contributed more money owns more shares. Currently, Yu Li owns 65% of the shares, more than half; Wang Jun owns 5%; and Yan Jiecheng owns 30%, less than half of Yu Li's share!

That's really heartbreaking.

As a man, the fact that he owns more than half less shares than his wife is a joke.

Yan Jiecheng deeply regretted not being more proactive when he borrowed money, and instead borrowing more so that he could have acquired more shares.

At this moment, Yu Li held a calculator and began calculating the dividends.

Yu Li quickly calculated the results. Her shareholding was 65%, so her dividend for this month would be 5359.9 yuan; while Yan Jiecheng's shareholding was 30%, so his dividend would be 2473.8 yuan.

Finally, it was Wang Jun's dividend, which totaled 412.3 yuan.

Yan Jiecheng's face darkened immediately upon hearing this. The hot pot restaurant had earned over eight thousand yuan, but he only received two thousand four hundred yuan, which left him feeling very disappointed.

Yan Jiecheng looked at his own share of the profits, then at the shares of Yu Li and Wang Jun, and felt very unhappy.

"That's so unfair."

"I'm busy every day, working like a dog, and I only earn a little over two thousand four hundred yuan."

"That woman, Yu Li, actually took five thousand three hundred, much more than me."

"If word gets out, I'll lose all face."

"Also, Wang Jun did nothing but take over four hundred."

"That's so unfair!"

At that moment, Yan Jiecheng had a thought in his mind—to take the money and open his own hot pot restaurant!

If I opened my own hot pot restaurant, all the profits would be mine; I wouldn't have to share with anyone else. Earning seven or eight thousand yuan a month would quickly add up to nearly one hundred thousand a year. Buying a large courtyard house would be a piece of cake then!

Besides, if he had money, he wouldn't have to put up with Yu Li's attitude anymore. To be honest, Yan Jie had lived a miserable life for the past ten years or so, constantly being scolded by Yu Li, and he had long since lost all feelings for her. With money, he could easily divorce her and find a pretty young woman.

Maybe being with pretty young girls will cure my bad habits.

Thinking about this, Yan Jiecheng's heart pounded with excitement, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Opening his own hot pot restaurant—this was the beginning of a new life!

As the saying goes, money emboldens the timid. Yan Jiecheng had money, although it was only a little over two thousand yuan, but his courage had grown and he had his own ideas.

The thought of making a fortune and dating young girls at will filled Yan Jie with immense excitement. He made up his mind to confront Yu Li immediately; he couldn't bear it any longer!

Yan Jiecheng looked at Yu Li and said loudly, "Yu Li, I have something to tell you. I want to open my own hot pot restaurant and be my own boss."

Yu Li was taken aback.

Then it dawned on me: Yan Jiecheng was dissatisfied with his shares and wanted to be the boss himself.

Yu Li glanced at Yan Jiecheng and said, "Oh, now that you have money, you've gotten bolder, huh? You actually want to be your own boss. I really don't know where you get your confidence from."

Yu Li knew Yan Jiecheng very well. He had limited abilities and couldn't even borrow money, yet he wanted to open a hot pot restaurant and be his own boss. Did he have too much money?

Seeing that Yu Li looked down on him again, Yan Jiecheng felt a surge of displeasure and said, "Yu Li, I know you look down on me. But I'm different now. Let me put it this way, I've had enough of your attitude. I'm going to be my own boss. Do you understand now?"

Now, Yu Li truly understood—Yan Jiecheng not only wanted to open his own hot pot restaurant, but also wanted a divorce.

Yu Li wanted to confirm, so she said, "Yan Jiecheng, what do you mean by that? You want a divorce, don't you?"

Yan Jiecheng nodded fiercely and said, "That's right, I want a divorce!"

Yu Li smiled when she heard this.

So she really does want a divorce.

Yan Jiecheng wanted a divorce, but Yu Li was not afraid at all; on the contrary, she was very happy!

For the past ten years or so, after marrying Yan Jiecheng, she had lived a miserable life, barely able to afford meat twice a month, and her living conditions were poor. To make matters worse, Yan Jiecheng had health problems, preventing her from having a child. She was constantly gossiped about behind her back, and she had had enough of this kind of life.

Originally, she planned to file for divorce after she had earned enough money. Unexpectedly, Yan Jiecheng beat her to it and wanted to divorce her.

Yu Li reminded him, "Yan Jiecheng, aren't you afraid your father will beat you if you divorce me?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng was genuinely a little scared. However, no matter what, he had to get a divorce; only after the divorce could he find a new life for himself.

Yan Jiecheng shouted, "I'm an adult now, and I can make my own decisions! I want a divorce, and nobody can stop me!"

Yu Li said decisively, "Yan Jiecheng, you want a divorce, don't you? Fine, after we settle the accounts, we'll go and get the divorce papers done!"

Yan Jiecheng still owns 30% of the shares, so Yu Li plans to give him some money to buy back those shares. That way, the hot pot restaurant will belong to her and Wang Jun together.

Yan Jiecheng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. To be honest, he had thought Yu Li wouldn't agree to a divorce, but she had agreed so readily. This was a good thing.

Yan Jiecheng nodded quickly and said, "Okay, let's settle the score, and then we'll get a divorce tomorrow. Anyway, I've had enough of you."

For the past ten years or so, Yan Jiecheng had been constantly criticized by Yu Li, and he had long felt uncomfortable about it. Now that everyone had spoken out about it, Yan Jiecheng could no longer bear it.

Yu Li said, "Yan Jiecheng, you own 30% of the shares in the hot pot restaurant. I'll offer 5,000 yuan to buy back those shares. What do you think?"

Yan Jiecheng calculated that his bonus this time was 2,400 yuan, plus 5,000 yuan, giving him a total of 7,400 yuan. This amount was more than enough to open a hot pot restaurant.

Yan Jiecheng became excited at the thought of soon having more than seven thousand yuan and said, "Okay, give me five thousand yuan, and I'll give you this 30% share."

The two quickly signed the contract, and then Yu Li handed over 7,400 yuan to Yan Jiecheng.

Next, the two discussed the family's valuables. The most valuable item in the house was a color television set, which Yan Jiecheng wanted, and he gave Yu Li back nine hundred yuan.

Yu Li didn't want the blankets or furniture anymore; she just wanted to take her own clothes.

After settling the accounts, Yu Li breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, the accounts are settled, and the things have been divided. Yan Jiecheng, remember to go and complete the divorce proceedings tomorrow."

Yan Jiecheng smiled and said, "I remember. But Yu Li, we're getting a divorce tomorrow, so why don't we spend tonight together?"

Yu Li glanced at Yan Jiecheng and said, "Even if we're together, what can you do? Don't you know about your health problems? Let's go."

Yan Jiecheng's face darkened upon hearing this; he wasn't exactly unhappy. However, his body was weak, and his voice lacked strength.

Yan Jiecheng said angrily, "Yu Li, you're looking down on me again. Once I've made a lot of money, I'm definitely going to find a beautiful woman..."

Yu Li said, "Yan Jiecheng, you're thirty or forty years old, don't you have any self-awareness about your own body? Even if you found ten beautiful women, it wouldn't make a difference."

These words were truly hurtful, and Yan Jiecheng didn't want to say anything more, so he slunk away.

"I started this hot pot restaurant all by myself from beginning to end."

"Yan Jiecheng, even if you have a sum of money, opening a hot pot restaurant isn't an easy task."

"There's a good chance we'll lose all six or seven thousand yuan."

Yu Li wasn't optimistic about Yan Jiecheng opening a hot pot restaurant, but she didn't say anything. Anyway, they were getting a divorce tomorrow, so why bother saying anything? Even if she did, Yan Jiecheng wouldn't want to listen.

"There's a good chance we'll lose all six or seven thousand yuan."

Yu Li wasn't optimistic about Yan Jiecheng opening a hot pot restaurant, but she didn't say anything. Anyway, they were getting a divorce tomorrow, so why bother saying anything? Even if she did, Yan Jiecheng wouldn't want to listen.

The next day, Yu Li and Yan Jiecheng met at a hot pot restaurant and then went to the street office, where they found the civil affairs office.

There were quite a few people at the divorce processing window. Since the second version of the Marriage Law was promulgated, many people who can no longer make a living choose to divorce, with more than a dozen people processing divorces every day. Therefore, the staff handling divorces have become numb to this kind of thing.

After waiting in line for a while, it was finally Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li's turn. The staff tried to persuade them, but seeing that both wanted a divorce and had no children, they stopped trying to dissuade them and proceeded with the paperwork.

Soon, the two obtained their divorce certificates.

Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li walked out of the civil affairs office, both in good spirits.

Yan Jiecheng felt that he no longer had to be at Yu Li's beck and call, and with a sum of money in his hands, he was about to reach the pinnacle of his life.

Yu Li felt that after the divorce, she would no longer have to face that useless Yan Jiecheng. At the same time, the hot pot restaurant was practically hers, and with her abilities, the business would definitely grow bigger and bigger.

At this moment, Yan Jiecheng glanced at Yu Li and suddenly realized that although his ex-wife was over thirty years old, she was still quite beautiful and had a good figure. He felt a little reluctant to part with her.

So Yan Jiecheng asked, "Yu Li, what are your plans after the divorce? Are you going to look for another man?"

Yu Li glanced at him and said, "Of course I need to find one. I've been with you for so long and haven't been a woman myself. I definitely need to find a man to settle down with. What, are you reluctant to give him up?"

Yan Jiecheng felt uncomfortable upon hearing this. The thought of his former wife being with another man made him very unhappy.

But since we're already divorced, there's no point in feeling uncomfortable now.