The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

Her hair was shaved in a Hong Kong style three-seven part.

He wore brown aviator sunglasses and a short-sleeved floral shirt.

The collar was unbuttoned, the old tie was gone, and now a large gold chain was around his neck.

Wearing a black Crocodile brand automatic buckle belt around his waist and a pair of pointed lace-up leather shoes, dressed like a Hong Kong and Taiwan star, Xu Damao appeared in the courtyard of Nanluoguxiang in such a flamboyant manner.

The large gold chain around his neck glittered in the sunlight, attracting attention. Anyone who saw it would have no doubt that this guy was incredibly rich.

With one hand in his pocket and the other clutching a small leather bag, he walked with a swagger, clearly a gangster. If it weren't for his forty-something-year-old face, he might actually have managed to fool a young woman.

"Stop right there!"

"Li Hui, what's wrong? You see your Uncle Xu and you don't even say hello?"

Seeing Li Hui carrying a plate in both hands as she walked past him from the central courtyard, pretending not to see him, Xu Damao, who had been smug, straightened his face and immediately called her back.

On the plate were washed, large, bright green apples. Xu Damao, unlike a stranger, pulled his hand out of his pocket, picked up an apple, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Eh, eh~!"

It's not that I don't know Xu Damao, but his reputation in the courtyard is indeed not good.

Li Hui was too lazy to pay attention to him, but after he called her over, he actually picked up an apple he had washed and started eating it.

"What do you mean 'hey'? I grew up in this yard with your dad, and he even saved my life. What's wrong with me eating an apple from your family? If your grandma were here, I'd dare to take it too!"

Juice was bursting out of his mouth as he chewed. The green apple was a bit sour, but it was very appetizing. Xu Damao muttered to himself as he ate.

Li Hui was so angry that her nose was crooked. The Li family wasn't that stingy, but she had never seen anyone as shameless as him, still calling him Uncle Xu.

"Forget it, the apple's already in his mouth, what can I do about taking it back?" Li Nan rolled her eyes and headed back inside.

"You may not acknowledge me as your uncle, but I can't deny you as my niece. I won't eat your apple for nothing, okay?"

Xu Damao gestured to Li Hui not to rush into the house, then unzipped his handbag and took out a digital watch.

The light-colored dial and light brown rubber strap give it a trendy look that's very appealing to today's young people.

A green apple in exchange for a digital watch—Li Hui had never encountered such an eager sale before, and her mind went blank for a moment, unable to process it.

"Now that you're in college, you'll need a watch to tell time. This watch can also set an alarm, it's waterproof, and it's from Hong Kong—it's not expensive!"

The digital watch was placed directly into the plate containing the apples, and the apple core, which was more than half eaten, was casually tossed into Yan Bugui's flower bed.

"I don't want it, you can take it!"

No gifts can be accepted at home; that's a set rule. The price of the digital watch is unknown, but Li Hui definitely won't accept it. What if Xu Damao reports her for bribery again? He's not incapable of doing something like that.

“Just take it. Your Uncle Xu, these days, I was able to turn my life around thanks to the advice your dad gave me. I wouldn’t dare give away anything expensive. There’s so much of this stuff in Hong Kong that nobody wants it. It’s cheap, only five Hong Kong dollars, which is only four dollars!”

"Alright, that's settled then. I need to talk to your uncle about something. If you want to bring anything from Hong Kong next time, just let Uncle Xu know. I have connections there!"

Having installed a rather large wave, Xu Damao waved his hand dismissively and turned to enter Old Yan's house.

It seems that not only does Xu, the owner of the Youth Video Hall, not care about a few dollars anymore. Old Yan, who was peeking through the window, immediately made up his mind.

"Hey, I'm telling you, old man, are you waiting for me?"

Upon entering and seeing Old Yan with his full head of silver hair, Xu Damao's lips curled up slightly. He tucked his small bag under his arm and sat down in the room with an air of nonchalance.

Old Yan was reluctant to turn on the electric fan, fearing it would waste electricity, but Xu Damao turned it on directly.

"I think it's about time, aren't you? Are you thirsty? Let me get you some water!"

Seeing Xu Damao come to his door in person, Yan Bugui smiled broadly, his face crinkling into deep wrinkles. After pouring Xu Damao a glass of cold water, he rubbed his hands together beside him, his gaze subtly fixed on the small leather bag in Xu Damao's hand, his eyes gleaming slightly. "It's not that I want to take your share of the money, but the crackdown on these products has been quite intense lately, and even loose stock takes time to sell. To be honest, I don't want to do the cassette tape business. My videotape business is thriving; I don't have to worry about selling them."

Xu Damao picked up his water glass, took a small sip, shook his head, and started acting pretentious, striking a pose like a domineering old man.

Circumstances are stronger than people. Whether it's a black cat or a white cat, as long as you can make money, that's good. Now that others have a way to make money and are willing to take him along, what does Yan Bugui care about face? He can throw away his pride.

"Yes, yes, Boss Xu is now soaring like a roc, his business is getting bigger and bigger. Your grandpa is retired now, and he doesn't even care about his kids. I really misjudged him back then. You, Xu Damao, are the only one who cares about the people in the courtyard. Even my own children aren't as good to you!"

Old Yan, who has always been very flexible in his stance, has lost all his old-fashioned demeanor. He squinted his eyes and kept saying nice things, hoping that Xu Damao would continue to give him a hand.

"This batch of goods is all sold out. Let's check the accounts first. You invested three thousand yuan in me, and after that batch of tapes was sold, it came to four thousand six hundred and fifty-three yuan!"

Upon hearing that the three thousand yuan he had invested in Xu Damao had turned into more than four thousand, earning him over sixteen hundred yuan—a profit of more than fifty percent—Old Yan's hands began to tremble.

Li Feng earns 200 yuan a month, and it would take him eight months of work to earn that much. What merit does a retired elementary school math teacher like him possess...?

"The round-trip fare was 100 yuan, the accommodation and food were 100 yuan, and the tapes were resold through their own channels, so that's 653 yuan. The change is theirs. The pure profit is 1,000 yuan. I told you, tapes don't make money!"

The accounts were relatively simple, but Xu Damao grumbled and cursed as he came to the end, seemingly dissatisfied with the results.

But for Yan Bugui, every time he heard about the expenses in the profit, his heart ached terribly, more painful than if someone had pinched him. Good heavens, 653 yuan, gone in the blink of an eye.

"Da Mao, a round-trip train ticket from Beijing to Shenzhen only costs a little over seventy-six yuan. Accommodation and food shouldn't cost that much at all..."

Xu Damao was very casual in his accounting, rounding up in many places, but this was unacceptable to Lao Yan, a master of abacuses. Accounts should be detailed down to the cent!

Xu Damao, grumbling and dissatisfied, turned his head and met Old Yan's gaze. He slammed his right hand on the table, startling Yan Bugui.

“I said I wanted it. I'm the one arranging for people to run around. You just put up the money and wait to get your share. There are risks in this business. If you go there and ask, they'll just sell you the tapes. They have the goods, so it doesn't matter who they sell to. If the goods are stolen or you get cheated, they'll say you're the one who does it. The simplest thing is, can you tell the difference between a real and a fake Hong Kong businessman?”

"With your stingy nature, if you hadn't begged me, it wouldn't matter who I brought along to earn this money. Sha Zhu is just timid, otherwise I would rather bring him along than argue with you over such small amounts."

Now that the Heavenly Spirits have been turned upside down, Xu Damao started scolding Yan Bugui. Something that would never have happened before was now unfolding in Old Yan's house.

Old Yan, who was being scolded mercilessly, stammered and dared not refute anything. He knew he had said the wrong thing, but the constant slaps of "hundreds of yuan" were enough to kill him.

"Okay, okay, whatever you say, I'll pay it. Da Mao, you know I've been a math teacher for so many years, I'm used to it, I'm used to it!"

"That's a bad habit. They're short of capital, not connections. If you haggle with them over every little thing, they'll just turn around and go find someone else. There has to be some semblance of cooperation. You can't treat them unfairly; that's the bare minimum. You might earn a little less yourself, but it's all about making a living in the long run!"

Old Yan is numb to it all. He's always the one lecturing others, but now it's Xu Damao, who's been in jail, who's turning the tables and lecturing him.

Old Yan has lived for so many years, how could he not understand social etiquette? But when it comes to his personal interests, he simply doesn't want to understand. He wants Xu Damao to take on more of the burden, but he's also afraid that Xu Damao won't take him next time.

After deducting all expenses, the profit is only one thousand yuan. I won't take advantage of you; I'll only take 40%. Normally, it's a 50/50 split, so it's six hundred yuan over two months. I, Xu Damao, have done you a fair deal.

Xu Damao pulled out a wad of banknotes from his small handbag and started counting them, but Lao Yan, standing to the side, was heartbroken. Watching Xu Damao count the money, his eyes twitched.

One thousand yuan, and in the blink of an eye, Xu Damao, the middleman, swindled another four hundred yuan away. Old Yan's heart was bleeding. No wonder Xu Damao treated the digital watch like an Apple; he was utterly inhuman.

"There's been some talk from above lately, so business has to be temporarily suspended. We'll see how things go. Three thousand six hundred dollars, here, count it yourself!"

Xu Damao slammed the money on the table, took out a red Marlboro, lit it with a Zippo lighter, and watched Lao Yan count the money with a look of contempt in his eyes.

"In Hongxing Residential Area, Qin Huairu's apartment has been unwanted for a long time, not because someone died there. Could you help me find out if I can buy it?"

“I’ve been to jail, I have a bad reputation, and even if I have money, no one is willing to sell me. You’re a retired teacher, your reputation is better than mine. Ask around how much it costs, and I’ll pay for it. Here’s four hundred for you!”

Xu Damao took out the four hundred yuan he had just received from his bag and waved it in front of Lao Yan. This is what you call taking other people's money to do your own thing.

As for the bad luck associated with houses where someone has died, Xu Damao doesn't mind... (End of Chapter)