Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

Fang Zhiyuan stood there, holding his still-sobming son, his expression changing several times.

He wanted to say, "It wasn't my treat," but Zhang Rongshan had already left.

He wanted to say, "I'm not at the same table as them," but the waiter saw him come in with Zhang Rongshan's family.

He gritted his teeth, tucked his briefcase under his arm, took out his phone, scanned the code, and paid.

Three hundred and sixty-eight.

I didn't get the house, but I ended up paying for a meal instead.

As he walked out of the Sichuan restaurant, he glanced back at the empty round table. More than half of the dishes were still left on the table, and the contract lay forlornly in the corner, its corner dampened by spilled tea.

He lifted his son up and turned to walk into the night.

The family of three walked out of the Sichuan restaurant, and the night breeze blew in their faces, dispelling the smell of cooking oil that clung to them.

There were far fewer pedestrians on the street, and the streetlights cast three long shadows of three people, which moved alternately across the sidewalk.

Liu Guilan walked at the front, carrying a takeout bag filled with spicy chicken and boiled fish that she had prepared herself. Her steps were quick and steady, as if she had just won a battle.

Zhang Rongshan followed behind, and only after walking a short distance did he come to his senses. He quickened his pace to catch up with his wife, his tone tinged with confusion:

"I was just about to pay the bill, why did you pull me away?"

And Yifan, you pulled on me along with your mother, you almost twisted my sleeve! How can we let someone else pay for this meal...?

"Are you addicted to being a sucker?"

Liu Guilan didn't turn her head, her tone sharp and exasperated.

"Don't you know how much Fang Zhiyuan has cheated our family out of all these years?"

Last year, when Yifan went to his house to deliver New Year's goods, he wouldn't even let him in. Why don't you talk about family ties?

He showed up today carrying a bag of rotten bananas, and we treated him to a meal. He ordered the food, drank the drinks, and he even brought rotten bananas. What's wrong with him paying for the meal?

Zhang Rongshan was momentarily speechless after her barrage of rebuttals. He opened his mouth to retort, but found that he didn't seem to have anything to say.

He's not even his cousin, and since his wife said that, he didn't care anymore.

He coughed lightly and changed the subject:

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about the meal money. Yifan, you stopped us from selling the house at the dinner table earlier, did you figure something out?"

Zhang Yifan, walking beside his mother, heard these words and glanced at his father.

"Dad, Mom, haven't you both figured it out? My cousin isn't after Jiahao's schooling at all; he's after our house."

Zhang Rongshan nodded, his brows furrowing, and he slowed his pace slightly.

"I can see that too. How could someone who decides to come here for a free meal on a whim possibly carry a printed house purchase contract with them?"

He was after the house; borrowing money was just a pretext. His real purpose was to buy a house after being refused a loan.

But the question is, what does he want from our dilapidated house?

"It's nothing valuable; the paint's already peeling off in layers. Is it really worth all this trouble?"

"I guess..."

Zhang Yifan paused, as if considering his words.

"Our area might be slated for demolition."

Liu Guilan paused, turned around and glanced at her son, her expression as if she thought he was telling a science fiction story:

"Demolition?"

It's been said for over twenty years, ever since you were in kindergarten, and yet no one has ever actually brought a bulldozer.

I know your cousin looks down on our family, but to say he's so wicked as to ruin us...

"Is it really that bad? Besides, if there really was going to be a demolition, how could a regular clerk know in advance?"

"Mom, don't forget he works at the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau."

Zhang Yifan spoke calmly.

"Even if he's just an ordinary clerk, he can always see internal documents, so knowing about demolition plans in advance isn't difficult for him."

Zhang Rongshan remained silent for a long while.

"What Yifan said isn't impossible."

He finally spoke, his voice a few decibels deeper than before.

"Although Fang Zhiyuan looked down on our family in the past, he never took the initiative to visit us."

He showed up uninvited today, asking to borrow money and buy a house, even carrying the contract with him. This is not normal.

If he really heard something from the Housing and Construction Bureau, then he knew our house was going to be demolished and wanted to take it away at a low price before the announcement was posted.

"Buy a resettlement house for around 200,000 yuan; the compensation will be at least several times that amount."

He stopped and turned to look at his wife and son, a flicker of lingering fear crossing his eyes.

"If Yifan hadn't stopped us today, we might have already signed the contract."

Liu Guilan's expression finally changed.

She wasn't unaware that Fang Zhiyuan had a problem, but at most she could only think that Fang Zhiyuan wanted to take advantage of her.

Borrow money and don't pay it back, or buy a house at a low price and sell it at a high price.

She didn't think about the demolition.

If what his son said is true, then Fang Zhiyuan's meal today wasn't to try and get on their good side, but to dig up their graves.

She bought a house that was about to be demolished for about 200,000 yuan. Her family had worked hard for more than ten years to live in the old, dilapidated house, but in the end, the demolition compensation and resettlement house all went to someone else, and her family of three was kicked out.

This isn't just taking advantage; this is trying to ruin her family.

Her lips trembled slightly, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the handle of the takeout bag so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"That beast, would he really dare to do that...?"

"But it's hard to say."

Zhang Rongshan shook his head again, his tone tinged with self-deprecation.

"They've been saying this neighborhood would be demolished since the year we got married, and now Yifan is almost in college and there's still no sign of it being demolished."

"Perhaps this is just another baseless rumor; Fang Zhiyuan has heard false information and wants to drag our family down with him."

"Whether it's true or false,"

Zhang Yifan picked up the conversation, his tone low, but every word was steady and resonant.

"As long as my cousin keeps coming to our house to talk about it, no matter what method he uses."

Whether you raise the price, try to appeal to our emotions, or have someone else plead our case, we will not agree to any of it.

We'll talk about everything after I finish my college entrance exam.

If it's really a demolition, things will become clear once the official announcement is posted; if it's fake news, letting it sit for a month won't cause any trouble.

Zhang Rongshan glanced at his son.

Under the streetlights, Zhang Yifan's profile still retained the features of a young man, but his tone of voice and the sense of propriety in his actions were already making it difficult for his father to keep up.

He didn't ask any more questions, he just nodded: "Okay, we'll listen to our son. Even if Fang Zhiyuan pleads until the sky falls over the next month, we won't sell."

Liu Guilan nodded as well.

She switched the takeout bag to her other hand, freeing her other hand to pat her son's back. The pat wasn't hard, but her palm lingered on his shoulder for a while before she withdrew it.

Zhang Yifan was satisfied at this moment. The system said that a demolition notice would be issued in less than a month.

He will absolutely not let the tragedy the system spoke of happen!