The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Yang Dalin took the paper package and counted it in front of him. Sure enough, there were thirty-five black ten bills, exactly three hundred and fifty yuan.

This is a huge sum of money, enough to cover an average worker's annual salary.

Money has strong purchasing power now; if we were to calculate it to the 2020s, it would be worth tens of thousands.

Therefore, it is very necessary for Yang Dalin to be cautious.

After counting, Yang Dalin also wrote an IOU for Liu Haizhong.

When writing the repayment date, I asked Liu Haizhong, "Uncle Liu, I'll write the repayment date as the end of the year after next. When I wrote the IOU for Uncle Yi, I originally planned to repay it in installments, a little bit each month."

He said that my income might not be high in the first two years, so I didn't need to pay it back monthly; I could just save up the money and pay it all off in one go later.

Is it okay if I write it like this for you too?

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong, like Yi Zhonghai, said, "Okay, no problem, we can pay it all off by the end of the year after next."

After Yang Dalin finished writing and pressed his fingerprint, he handed the IOU to him and asked Aunt Qi to pack a small bag of dried seafood for him.

Liu Haizhong initially declined, saying, "I can't accept this. Dalinzi, you can keep it and eat it slowly."

Yang Dalin said, "It's fine as long as Grandpa Liu keeps it. I've given it to everyone who lent me money."

"We can't just isolate your house, can we?"

After hearing this, Liu Haizhong asked in a low voice, "Did Xu Damao and Niu Dali's families also contribute money to you?"

Yang Dalin knew that Liu Haizhong had seen him when he delivered dried seafood to the two families yesterday.

I'm asking this specifically to find out why I sent it to them and why I didn't send it to him.

Yang Dalin naturally said, "Yes, Brother Niu's family is a bit poor, but they still helped out, so I can't leave without showing my appreciation, right?"

Brother Da Mao hasn't arrived yet, but he'll probably be here soon.

"I arranged it with them last night. I didn't mean to trouble you two gentlemen, but what I managed to gather last night was far from enough, so I'll have to ask the two of you who are the most capable."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong immediately imagined that Yang Dalin had come to deliver gifts yesterday in preparation for borrowing money, but those people were not capable enough and still couldn't raise enough funds.

Everyone who borrowed money received a gift, although it wasn't specified who received more or less.

After all, living in the same courtyard, it would be too uncomfortable to give more gifts to whoever borrows more.

He doesn't care about the quantity of gifts; what he cares about is whether he gets them at all.

Liu Haizhong was very happy that he couldn't receive the gift from Yang Dalin.

Yang Dalin wasn't worried that he would ask others how much he had borrowed.

He can borrow as much as he wants.

He didn't believe that others could borrow more than he could.

He was still confident about this.

As long as I get the biggest favor, that's enough.

Liu Haizhong borrowed the money and left satisfied, carrying a bag full of dried seafood.

Yang Dalin saw him to the door, then came back, poured out the tea he had been drinking, and refilled the cup.

Waiting for the next sucker to come along.

Aunt Qi noticed his little trick and pinched him: "Dalinzi, you're just being mischievous, aren't you? Can't you get a fresh cup of tea?"

Yang Dalin said in a serious tone, "This cup is still usable; we'll replace it for the next person."

Resources are scarce these days, so every little bit helps.

Qi Yulan laughed at his words and asked him again, "You've already borrowed enough, why do you need to borrow more?"

Yang Dalin replied to her, "Auntie, having more debts is nothing to worry about. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

I did it on purpose, to test the intentions of these monsters and freaks in our department.

Don't worry, we can pay it back.

Qi Yulan was absolutely confident that Yang Dalin could repay the money.

Based on the fact that she brought back more than 100 yuan from the eight rabbits last time, she knew that Dalinzi had no pressure to pay back the money.

The loan was deliberately orchestrated; otherwise, it would be too enviable for my family to suddenly have so much money to buy things.

By deliberately pretending to be poor and borrowing a large sum of money, they can let everyone know that their family has a large amount of debt, and at the same time hide their true financial situation.

Aunt Qi just figured it out.

Not long after Liu Haizhong left, our dear Brother Da Mao arrived.

Before even entering the house, Xu Damao was already shouting outside, as if he wanted everyone to know that he had come to deliver money to the Qi family.

Yang Dalin quickly welcomed him into the house, and pushed the teacup in front of him, saying, "Brother Damao, have some tea. I've already brewed it for you."

Seeing Yang Dalin's actions, Aunt Qi quietly lowered her head and smiled.

Xu Damao glanced at Aunt Qi, who was smiling for some reason, but he didn't ask. After greeting Aunt Qi, Xu Damao asked, "Dalinzi, has Shazhu been here?"

"They came. After he left, both Grandpa Yi and Grandpa Liu came."

"How much are you still short? I'll help you make up the difference."

Yang Dalin wouldn't tell him that he had already raised enough. He said directly, "Brother Da Mao, I can't tell you how much others lent me, but I can tell you that I'm still a little short. I can only say that the more the better, right?"

Xu Damao didn't pay upfront; instead, he asked how much was still owed. It seemed he wanted to borrow as little money as possible. This guy is cunning.

Yang Dalin deliberately said that it was still a bit short, wanting to see how much Xu Damao was prepared to pay.

When Xu Damao heard that Yang Dalin wouldn't tell him the real amount, he didn't press him further about how much money he had borrowed.

He said, "Dalinzi, I won't ask how much others lent you, I'll just ask Shazhu how much he lent you, that's something you can at least tell me."

Yang Dalin didn't answer him directly, but instead held up a finger and made a "V" sign.

You can guess for yourself.

Xu Damao certainly wouldn't guess that it was twenty yuan, so it must be two hundred.

I never expected that Sha Zhu, a fool, would be so rich. He borrowed two hundred, but I'll definitely borrow more than him.

Xu Damao first took out a handful of money from his left trouser pocket, then another handful from his right pocket, and finally another handful from his shirt pocket, and handed them all to him, saying, "Brother, I have a total of two hundred and sixty. This is all I have left. I even went home and asked my parents for some more. I'm lending it all to you. Putting everything else aside, you've borrowed more than that stupid cook Sha Zhu, haven't you?"

When Yang Dalin saw him take out 260 yuan from three different pockets, he knew that if he said the money was almost enough, he would definitely take out the remaining 60 yuan as a token.

If I said I was still short, he would only take out 100. I made a peace sign, making him assume that Sha Zhu had borrowed 200. So he took out 260. Luckily, it wasn't 250.

However, Yang Dalin believed that there might be another hundred or two hundred yuan in his other jacket pocket.

That kid is really cunning.

Yang Dalin didn't care about him; if he dared to give it to him, he dared to lend it to him.

This grandson isn't as honest as Sha Zhu. Lending him money so he'll stop swindling widows and young wives is a good thing.

Yang Dalin grabbed Xu Damao's hand, held it tightly, and shook it up and down, saying, "Thank you, Brother Damao, thank you so much. I'll write you an IOU, but it might take a while. How about I pay you back in one go three years from today? I promised to pay back the money they borrowed in the past by the end of two years from now, and I'll also pay back Brother Zhuzi's in three years."

Xu Damao was initially a little unhappy because others were paying back their money in two years, while he was paying back in three years. But when he heard that Shazhu was also paying back in three years, he felt better.

He even added, as a token gesture, "Dalinzi, our friendship is so strong, three and a half years won't be a problem."

Yang Dalin naturally didn't take these words seriously.