Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 344 They're all drama queens
Yan Bugui quickly stepped forward and grabbed He Daqing's arm.

"Great Qing, Great Qing, don't be anxious! We can talk things over, we can talk things over!" Yan Bugui said urgently. "Old Liu was just saying that, don't take it to heart."

"Why do I think he's serious?" He Daqing stopped in his tracks.

"Old Liu, Old Liu, come here! Quickly tell Da Qing that you've been wanting to sell that house for a long time!" Yan Bugui shouted back to Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong reluctantly walked over and said, "Daqing, don't mind me. You can see how we old brothers are living. There are no women in our homes anymore. If we don't have some money in our hands, we won't be able to make a living in the future."

He Daqing teased, "Is it really a matter of not having money? You two both have pensions, right?"

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and carefully began to speak: "Great Qing, we really don't dare to have that much money. I'm not afraid of losing face today. The kids raised by our two families are all wolves. If we really got this money in one go, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to keep it for more than a few days."

Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement, unusually not contradicting him: "Old Yan is right. If my second and third sons knew I had so much money, they would definitely come and cause trouble every day."

He Daqing nodded. He had heard about this before. Looking at his two grandsons beside him and thinking about his own children, He Daqing felt a great sense of satisfaction.

At this moment, He Yaozu suddenly spoke up: "Grandpa, how about this, the money can be paid in installments. We can give you both living expenses monthly or annually. This way, we can solve the housing problem and ensure that you both have a worry-free life in the future."

He Daqing's eyes lit up, and he looked at the two old men, saying, "This is a good idea. What do you think? Giving money on time every month, plus your pensions, should be enough, right?"

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance, both seeing attraction in each other's eyes, but also some worry.

"How much will they give us on a monthly basis, and how can we be guaranteed to receive it?" Yan Bugui asked cautiously.

“Based on market prices, your two rooms are worth this much together,” He Daqing said, gesturing with his hands. “If you pay in ten years, I can give you roughly this much each month.” He gestured with his hands again.

Yan Bugui quickly calculated in his mind, his eyes growing brighter and brighter: "This is more than double my current pension!"

Liu Haizhong also became agitated, but still tried to remain calm: "What if we don't live for another ten years?"

He Daqing laughed: "Don't worry, even if you're gone, the remaining money will go to your children. But let me make this clear: you need to leave a will, or we'll start fighting again."

Both Liu and Yan looked embarrassed.

Yan Bugui then asked, "What if we get sick? Can we get the money in advance?"

"I'm telling you, Yan, you stingy old man. The money is all yours. Whether you take it all at once or pay in installments is up to you. In the end, it's just trouble for us. Otherwise, it would have saved me so much trouble if I had just given it to you."

"What do you think of Lao Liu?" Yan Bugui asked Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I think it's okay, but we need to have a written agreement and have the neighborhood committee witness it."

"Of course," He Daqing laughed. "Shall we go to the neighborhood office now?"

"No, no, this has to be done secretly. We need to have a fight with the Qing Dynasty now."

"You stingy old man Yan, you're really cunning," He Daqing laughed.

Liu Haizhong wasn't stupid; he immediately understood what was going on. He looked at Yan Bugui, as if to say, "Your idea is yours, so you can go first."

Yan Bugui arrived as soon as he was told. After gathering his emotions, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "He Daqing! Don't think you're so great just because you have a few stinking coins! I've lived in this house for most of my life, it's my root! No matter how much money you offer, I won't sell it!"

Liu Haizhong chimed in, his voice even louder, as if he wanted everyone in the surrounding courtyards to hear: "That's right, you want to kick us out? No way! I'd rather die in this house!"

He Yaozu and his brother were stunned. Even acting isn't done like this.

He Daqing wasn't about to back down either, pointing at the two of them: "Fine, you two old codgers have guts! Then let's see how long you can hold out! Yaozu, Yaozong, let's go! This lousy place, I won't even come back here if they invite me again!"

After saying that, he turned around angrily, and He Yaozu and He Yaozong quickly helped their grandfather away from No. 95 Courtyard amidst the peeking and whispering of the neighbors.

The performance was so convincing that everyone in the courtyard thought the three parties had completely broken off negotiations.

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu also came out.

"Uncle Liu, Uncle Yan, what's wrong?" Qin Huai asked knowingly.

"What else could happen? He Daqing is dishonest. He thinks we two old men are easy to bully, and he's trying to lower the price when he wants to buy the house back," Yan Bugui said.

"Uncle Yan, are you asking for too much?"

"Is there a problem with us charging the market price? What do you think, Lao Liu?" Yan Bugui asked.

"He Daqing is a scoundrel! He wants us two old men to be homeless in our old age!" Liu Haizhong shouted at the top of his lungs.

He Daqing, who hadn't gone far, stumbled. These two bastards were going a bit too far with their acting.

"Grandpa, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, talking behind people's backs is just a foul mouth," He Daqing said loudly and angrily.

Yan and Liu exchanged a glance and felt that it was enough; any further acting would probably ruin the performance.

They both snorted, then one hunched over and the other with his hands behind his back went into the courtyard and back to their own homes.

"Huai Ru, the He family can't possibly lower our price, can they?" Jia Zhangshi believed the act, and she asked somewhat uneasily.

"No way, it's written in black and white."

"No, we have to do it quickly, I'm afraid the He family will change their minds."

"Mom, it can't be that fast. We haven't even chosen a house yet, and besides, there's Old Tan's situation."

“I don’t care about you all, I’m going to get my eldest grandson a house where he can get married,” said Madam Jia.

"I understand." Qin Huairu was secretly pleased. She had worked for the Jia family for decades, and even now, her mother-in-law's most important person was still her eldest grandson.

That afternoon, Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong strolled out of No. 95 Courtyard one after the other, and like thieves, they made their way through the maze to the "He Residence" in Nanluoguxiang.

When they knocked on the door, the two looked around nervously, as if afraid of being seen.

He Yaozong opened the door, and upon entering the "He Residence," the two couldn't help but marvel at how prosperous the He family had become. The house had been renovated so well that it looked brand new.

"Daqing, I'm really sorry for what happened at noon. We two old brothers said some harsh things." Yan Bugui said hurriedly when he saw He Daqing come out.

"You all know that what I'm saying is unpleasant?"

"There's no other way, otherwise the performance won't be convincing, Lao Liu, Lao Liu," Yan Bugui said, tugging at Liu Haizhong, as if to say, "Why don't you say something, or it might fall through."

"Da Qing, I just said it offhand, don't take it to heart!" Liu Haizhong quickly said.

"Hmph, I bet you'll say the same thing about me if things don't go well," He Daqing said.

"No, no," the two said.

"Let's go, Housing Management Office. You all brought the property ownership certificates, right?" He Daqing said.

“I brought it, I brought it, that one.” Yan Bugui rubbed his index and middle fingers together with his thumb.

“Yaozu!” He Daqing shouted.

He Yaozu turned around and took out a briefcase. He opened the briefcase and showed it to Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong. It was full of black ten-dollar bills. Yan and Liu swallowed hard. They had never seen so much money before.

"Let's go, we'll pay on the spot when we complete the formalities."

"Well, I saw your car outside, and we don't want others to see it," Yan Bugui said shamelessly.

“If you want to take a ride, just say so. I’m telling you, Yan Laoshi, when are you going to change your ways?” He Daqing said irritably.

"Hehe, I've never ridden one before, have I?" Yan Bugui said.

"Yaozu, go find your third uncle and get the car keys."

"Okay, grandpa!"

"He's driving?" Yan Bugui asked after He Yaozu passed through the hanging flower gate.

"What, you're afraid to sit? That kid was driving around everywhere a few years ago."

"oh oh."

After taking the car keys and opening the car door, the group got in. Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong originally wanted to sit in the back and have He Daqing sit in the front passenger seat.

"Why are you all sitting in the back?" He Daqing asked.

"Wasn't it all done by the leaders in the beginning?" the two said in unison.

"Then who's going to give us directions? We don't know the way!"

"Oh, okay, I'll sit in the front, I'll sit in the front." Liu Haizhong was excited. He got out of the back at incredible speed, sat directly in the passenger seat, and then touched and fiddled with everything, his smile never fading.

He Daqing couldn't bear to look at his behavior, and Yan Bugui regretted that he was a step too slow.

The housing management office wasn't far, only a ten-minute drive away. When they arrived, Liu Haizhong was reluctant to get out of the car.

"Are you still going to complete the formalities?" "Will I still be able to sit in the front when I go back?" Liu Haizhong asked.

"Once things are done, let my eldest grandson take you on a tour of Beijing," He Daqing said with a dark face.

"Okay, okay, that's great." Liu Haizhong then got out of the car.

After entering the service hall, the group waited for a while; there were still quite a few people buying and selling real estate.

When it's their turn, the paperwork is fine, but the housing management office doesn't care about installment payments.

Yan and Liu hesitated.

"Are you still going to sell? The money's all tied up here." He Daqing urged.

“We dare not take so much money,” Yan Bugui said.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" He Daqing asked.

"Should we go to the neighborhood office first?"

“It’s not too late to go after we’ve finished here. Or you can keep this money for now,” He Daqing said.

"Are you guys going to get your business done or not? There are other people waiting!" The group kept nagging and dawdling, and the clerk couldn't take it anymore.

"We'll do it," Liu Haizhong said, though he was already holding his briefcase in his arms.

"Old Liu, that money isn't yours."

"I know, I know, I'll just take it for a little while." Liu Haizhong hugged it even tighter.

After finally completing the formalities, the property certificate was handed to He Daqing, who then told He Yaozu to keep it and walked out.

"Da Qing, Da Qing, slow down, are we going to the neighborhood committee office now?"

"Let's go, or they'll be closing time," He Daqing said irritably.

Once you arrive at the neighborhood office, select a house, and get the certificate, you still have to pay the fee. This time, the neighborhood office won't allocate a house to you, but the price will be much cheaper than the market price, although the location won't be very good.

Then, after much persuasion from Yan and Liu, the neighborhood committee acted as the impartial judge. They knew these two neighborhood committees very well, and the situation they described was true, so they couldn't just ignore it.

"Old Yan, are they all written correctly?" Liu Haizhong asked Yan Bugui, since he couldn't recognize all the characters.

“It’s written very clearly. The monthly deposit into our bank card is this amount. If it’s paid off in one lump sum, the monthly amount will be this amount over ten years,” Yan Bugui said.

"Here's the down payment, count it. You can withdraw the rest from the bank each month." He took the down payment out of the bag and gave it to Yan and Liu. He took the rest of the money back, and the two old men stared at the bag longingly.

"How about we pay in one lump sum? Look at you two, it's like I'm robbing you." He Daqing said, handing over his bag and reaching for the agreement. To be honest, he had a little compassion for these two old Bi Dengs who had fallen on such a miserable state. Otherwise, whether they sold or not would be too much trouble.

Of course, he asked Xiaoman when he got back. Xiaoman said it was no big deal, just deposit the money in the bank and let the bank transfer it automatically every month.

"No, no, we'll just take a look, just take a look." Yan Bugui nudged Liu Haizhong.

"Yes, I'll take a look," Liu Haizhong said with difficulty.

"Alright, I'll take you to see the new house. You can handle the paperwork yourselves."

"Okay, let's look at the house."

After leaving the street office, we got in the car and went to Chaodou Hutong. The two of us ended up in a courtyard, a mixed courtyard with four rooms, two rooms for each person.

The yard wasn't small, and it wasn't too messy, so it must have been recently moved out by the previous residents.

"How about it?"

"It's good, it's good, this place is quiet," Yan Bugui said.

"That's fine then. We'll take you back. You can't ask us to help you move, right?" He Daqing said.

"No need, no need, we'll do it ourselves. Just drop us off at the entrance of Nanluoguxiang in a bit."

"Okay, let's go."

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, four tricycles quietly stopped at the entrance of No. 95 courtyard.

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong had packed up almost everything they owned. There weren't many large items, mainly clothes, bedding, pots and pans, and a few small things that they each treasured—Yan Bugui's old books and flower arranging supplies, and Liu Haizhong's old radio.

As for the larger items, they had long been scraped clean, though each of them still had a broken bicycle.

The two directed their helpers to quickly load the items onto the vehicle and tie them up with rope.

The whole process was done quietly, for fear of disturbing the people in the middle and back courtyards.

After packing their things, the old man started his bicycle. Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong, holding their own bicycles, took one last look back at the courtyard where they had lived for most of their lives, their feelings complicated.

"Let's go!" Yan Bugui said softly.

"go!"

They climbed onto the vehicle and followed behind the tricycle, which creaked and groaned as it drove out of the alley and disappeared into the morning mist, leaving behind two lonely figures.

When the sun was high in the sky, Qin Huairu went out with a vegetable basket on her shoulder, ready to go grocery shopping.

As she passed the front yard, she subconsciously glanced at the west wing and the small courtyard by the gate, feeling that it was unusually quiet this morning.

That one glance was enough to make her stop abruptly.

The few half-dead rose bushes in front of Yan Bugui's door have disappeared!
The old rattan chair in front of Liu Haizhong's house, where he used to sit and boast, is gone!

Upon closer inspection, both houses had empty windows and the doors appeared to be unlocked.

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat. She quickly walked over and peered through the window—the room was empty, with only some trash and debris on the floor that couldn't be moved.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, nearly dropping the vegetable basket in her hand.

She instinctively shouted, "Help! There's been a thief in the front yard! Teacher Yan's house and Grandpa Liu's house have been emptied!"

Her shout brought over Jia Zhangshi, Banggeng, Xiaodang, Huaihua, and everyone from the left and right courtyards.

Everyone gathered around to take a look, and they were all dumbfounded.

"This wasn't a burglary; when were they moved out?"

"I didn't hear a sound at all!"

"She was perfectly fine last night!"

Madam Jia came out, glanced at the scene, and pursed her lips: "What do you mean 'attracting thieves'? They just moved away on their own. Who are they trying to protect themselves from? They didn't even say goodbye!"

Qin Huairu stood in front of the empty window, a chill running through her heart. Wasn't this just to keep an eye on her family? Were there other people in the courtyard?

She was planning to scheme against those two old men, but they were too ruthless. They didn't even leave an address, apparently because they didn't want their own children to come looking for them. That's pretty ruthless of them.

"Alright, everyone disperse. They've sold their house and are just moving, what's so interesting about that?" Tan Yonghui said as he stepped out.

"That's enough, that's enough."

"Wow, those two old men are something else!"

"Who says it isn't?"

After everyone had left, Madam Jia asked, "Little Tan, when are we going to complete the formalities?"

"I'll go today," Tan Yonghui said through gritted teeth.

It's clearly inappropriate for just their family to live in such a large yard. Even if others knew that the other houses were occupied, they would still gossip.

Tan Yonghui took leave that day and went to the He family with Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu and a few others. He Daqing from the He family came on their behalf, bringing his two grandsons with him. The others didn't get such good treatment; the He family went by bicycle, while Tan Yonghui and the others walked.

After going around in circles, Jia Zhangshi was exhausted, but she was quite satisfied with the house she had been given in exchange. The two courtyards were next to each other, one with five rooms and the other with three rooms. That was because Jia Zhangshi had spent some of her savings; otherwise, she would have only been able to get two rooms, and she didn't want anyone else to live in that courtyard.

After completing all the formalities, Chen Lanxiang couldn't stay still any longer. The next day, she planned to take her grandchildren to No. 95 Courtyard to take a look and, incidentally, urge them to move.

"Yaozu, Yaozong, Ningxue, come on, let's go for a walk in the courtyard over there with Grandma," Chen Lanxiang called out.

Feeling bored at home, He Ningxue immediately jumped up and grabbed her grandmother's arm.

He Yaozu and He Yaozong had no problem with it, and besides, their father had already given instructions that they would follow their grandparents' orders during this period.

Nanluoguxiang is not long. Starting from the He family's house, it only took a few minutes to walk to No. 95.

More than a decade later, when Chen Lanxiang walked into this courtyard again, she was filled with many emotions, but she didn't show them on her face.

(End of this chapter)