Courtyard House: Is Xu Damao a childless man? Let me help.

Yes! This time, Jia Zhangshi, just like her grandson, has her eyes on the Yi family's 'savings'.

The idea was good, but putting it into practice would be difficult. After all, her beloved grandson had had this idea for quite some time, but so far, Bang Geng still hadn't been able to find where the money was hidden.

If even the sticks can't be found, how could Jia Zhangshi possibly find out where the money was hidden?

However, when Jia Zhangshi was doing something bad, she was quite quick-witted. She soon remembered that when she asked Uncle Yi for the compensation of more than one hundred yuan last time, Uncle Yi went into the inner room to get the money.

In other words, the money must be in the inner room of their house! But where exactly in the inner room is it? You'll have to find out for yourself.

How to test the waters? It's simple, just think of another way to get Uncle Yi to give you some money, right?

It just so happens that Madam Jia had already considered selling her grandson, so why not take this opportunity to find out where Uncle Yi hid his money!

After several days of peace, Madam Jia finally found an opportunity today and stopped Uncle Yi at the entrance of the courtyard.

"Old Yi, Old Yi, I need to talk to you about something!"

When the old man looked up and saw it was Jia Zhangshi, he was immediately startled and tried to duck and walk into the courtyard, but Jia Zhangshi stopped him...

Left with no other option, the old man could only ask, "What do you want to talk to me about? Let's go to my house."

As he spoke, Uncle Yi tried to walk into the courtyard again, but Madam Jia Zhang hurriedly said, "No, no, no, this is not convenient to talk about at home!"

Grandpa Yi was taken aback. Was it inconvenient to talk about this at home? Was he afraid his wife would overhear? Then... could it be that this Jia Zhangshi had feelings for him?

Thinking of this, Uncle Yi was startled. This wouldn't do. Although he wasn't exactly a young man anymore, he wasn't so desperate as to eat anything. An old hag like Jia Zhangshi was not an option!

That doesn't make sense. I really offended Jia Zhangshi that day. I'm lucky she's not plotting to kill me. How could it be something like that?

While Uncle Yi was lost in thought, Madam Jia continued, "I wanted to talk to you about the matter of the stick."

Grandpa Yi finally came to his senses. "The matter of Bang Geng? What matter of Bang Geng?"

Jia Zhangshi said in a low voice, "Old Yi, I know what you're thinking. You just want to find someone to take care of you in your old age, don't you?"

Whether you were good to our Dongxu before, or good to Shazhu later, you were actually thinking about the same things.

After hearing what Jia Zhangshi said, Uncle Yi wanted to explain... no, to cover it up, but Jia Zhangshi didn't give him the chance and continued speaking.

"There's no point in hiding this anymore; basically everyone in our compound knows about it anyway."

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Uncle Yi's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but he still lowered his voice and asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Since you're so eager to find someone to take care of you in your old age, wouldn't you like Bang Geng to stay with you forever? Maybe... one day it might even change its surname to yours?"

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Uncle Yi's eyes lit up. Although he had always thought about finding someone to take care of him in his old age, it was ultimately just about taking care of him.

Chapter 230 Asking for an exorbitant price, haggling on the spot

However, Jia Zhangshi's condition was completely different. If Banggeng took her surname, wouldn't that mean she would have an heir?

Having descendants means that simply finding someone to take care of you in your old age is not the same as having an heir. It means that the Yi family line will not die out and can continue to be passed down!

Although Bang Geng isn't actually his biological child, passing down a surname, aside from blood relatives, is a form of inheritance.

So when Uncle Yi heard what Jia Zhangshi said, he immediately became excited: "Are you telling the truth? What are your conditions?!"

Jia Zhangshi rolled her eyes, then made up a reason: "Old Yi, you know me, I don't have any stable source of income anymore."

So I was thinking, maybe I should just go back to the countryside. The conditions there are a bit worse, but it won't cost much, and I'll have family to help me out, so I should be able to manage.”

Uncle Yi interrupted Jia Zhangshi halfway through her conversation, and then decisively said, "Sister-in-law Jia, I know all that you're saying."

Tell me your conditions, and if I can agree to them, I will definitely agree to them!

Jia Zhangshi hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai to be so generous, but she wasn't going to be polite. Since he had said so, she had no choice but to ask for an exorbitant amount.

"Our Jia family only has Banggeng left, it's a pity that this old woman is useless and can't afford to raise him anymore. Old Yi, if you really want Banggeng to take your surname, then you... give me eight hundred yuan!"

What does it mean to ask for an exorbitant price? This is what Jia Zhangshi's case is all about. In those days, someone who could afford the "three turns and one sound" (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) was already considered extremely wealthy.

So how much does the "three turns and one sound" set cost in total? The radio is 270 yuan, which is already the most expensive item. The sewing machine is over 100 yuan, the bicycle is over 100 yuan, and the watches can be over 200 yuan, but most of them are over 100 yuan.

So if you don't count the tickets, the three turns and one sound system together only cost about 800 yuan.

When Jia Zhangshi opened her mouth, she directly asked for the price of a set of three turns and one sound. If this is not considered asking for the moon, then what is?

So when Grandpa Yi heard the price, he immediately frowned. "Eight hundred yuan? Let's not even talk about whether we have eight hundred yuan."

Even if we had the money, if we gave it to you, our family would be left without a livelihood! No, no, the price you're asking for is too high!

After the previous 'debt collection' incident, Jia Zhangshi had figured out that since this old man was so shrewd, he would definitely try to bargain.

Since you're sure you'll try to bargain, I'll start by giving you a very high price, leaving you plenty of room to negotiate.

So when she heard that Uncle Yi refused, Jia Zhangshi was not in a hurry at all. Instead, she said, "Hehe, old Yi, I'm not trying to criticize you, but why are you so stingy?"

How many years have you been receiving this salary of ninety-nine yuan? How come you haven't saved a thousand or so yuan?

The reason you save this money is simply to prepare for your retirement and for unforeseen circumstances.

Now that you'll have a powerful family to support you in your old age, this retirement money isn't that important to you anymore, right?

That makes sense, but even 800 yuan was still a bit too much for Uncle Yi.

However, after Jia Zhangshi's persuasion, Uncle Yi relented and started bargaining, saying, "Sister-in-law Jia, your eight hundred yuan is really too much."

"If it were one or two hundred, I would have given it to you, but eight hundred is simply beyond my means."

Upon hearing what Uncle Yi said, Jia Zhangshi immediately became anxious. "What? One hundred or two hundred? Yi Zhonghai, you're really dreaming! One hundred or two hundred?"

Let me tell you, I only did it because you forced me into a corner. Otherwise, would I have been willing to let my grandson change his surname?

I considered you one of my own, which is why I talked about my work life at the dinner table.

"But what about you? You actually turned around and ran to tattle on me?"

I haven't even settled the score with you yet, and now you want to take advantage of my misfortune and trick my grandson into changing his surname for a hundred or two hundred?

Let me tell you! If that's really the case, I'd rather send the dog back to Qin Huairu to raise! Even if it takes the Qin surname, it's better than taking the Yi surname!

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi was angry, Uncle Yi quickly waved his hand and pulled Jia Zhangshi aside.

After all, two people chatting normally at the entrance of a courtyard house might not cause any problems, but if they start arguing and are seen by the residents of the courtyard house, it could lead to some other trouble.

"Sister-in-law Jia, don't worry. What I meant by one hundred or two hundred was that I wanted you to lower the price a little."

How about this, three hundred yuan, what do you think? Three hundred yuan is enough for you to live on for a long time if you take it to the countryside and spend it sparingly.

Uncle Yi raised the price to three hundred yuan, but this obviously did not satisfy Jia Zhangshi. "Old Yi, this is no fun."

Okay, let's each compromise. Six hundred yuan. That way, I can go back to my hometown in 243 and live a peaceful life.

"You, even though you spent 600 yuan, you should still have quite a bit left, right? When Banggeng comes with you, your worries about retirement will be solved. It's a win-win situation for us!"

Hearing what Jia Zhangshi said, Uncle Yi hesitated a bit. Six hundred yuan was a bit painful for Uncle Yi, but he could still afford it.

However, Mr. Yi felt that the price could be negotiated a little more, so he spoke again, saying, "Then... five hundred yuan!"

Five hundred yuan is not a small amount, Sister-in-law Jia. You should know that if Banggeng comes with us, the expenses will be quite high.”

Jia Zhangshi was too lazy to argue with Uncle Yi any further, since it didn't matter to her how much money they ended up with.

In the end, no matter how much money Uncle Yi has, I will definitely get it all for him. If I take more now, I can steal less when I steal later, but the total amount will definitely be the same.

So Jia Zhangshi didn't want to dwell on the difference of one hundred yuan. "Alright, Uncle Yi, it'll be five hundred yuan then! Go and give me the money now, and I'll immediately go to the countryside to get the necessary documents, and then we'll go together to complete the adoption procedures!"

Chapter 231 After all that, the money was in the shoe!

The two had settled their 'human trafficking' deal, so Uncle Yi happily led Jia Zhangshi home.

Upon arriving home, Uncle Yi excitedly headed straight for the inner room, with Jia Zhangshi following closely behind.

It's unclear whether it was because he was so happy to have an heir that he forgot all about it, but he didn't bother to avoid Jia Zhangshi at all. He went straight to the bedside and squatted down next to the bedside table.

He quickly took the shoes out of the drawer under the bedside table, then lifted the insoles and pulled out a thick wad of cash.

He turned around and counted the bills one by one. Soon, Grandpa Yi counted out a full fifty ten-yuan bills, which was five hundred yuan!

After stuffing the remaining money back, Uncle Yi turned around and handed the fifty ten-yuan bills in his hand to Jia Zhangshi.

When Aunt Yi saw this, she was about to go over and ask what was going on, but Uncle Yi spoke first.

"I'll tell you about this tonight. It's good news, and you'll definitely be happy to hear it!"

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi had completely forgotten about being 'reserved'; all she could think about was the thick wad of money that Uncle Yi had just pulled out.

If a pair of shoes needs insoles, then the soles should theoretically not be very thick, meaning that not much money can be stuffed into them.

But just now, Uncle Yi pulled out a whole wad of cash from those shoes. Judging from the way he was counting it, there must have been about a hundred bills.

There are two shoes in total. If there's also this much money hidden in the other shoe, then the total should be around two thousand yuan.

Even if they give me 500 now, the Yi family will still have 1,500 left. I'll find a way to steal all 1,500 and then sell the house!

Adding the few hundred yuan I've saved over the years, I should have a total of nearly three thousand yuan.

With this money, let alone going back to the countryside to retire, even if I just move to a different alley and rent a house, this money would be enough for me to live comfortably for ten or twenty years.

Moreover... I have more than just this much money. I'll tell Zhang Xiangyang about the new address, and I'll have six months' worth of income every month thereafter.

In this way, even if he doesn't have a grandson to support him in his old age, he shouldn't have to worry about not surviving.

Just as Jia Zhangshi was imagining how she would spend the money after she got her hands on it, Uncle Yi spoke up again.

"Sister-in-law Jia, I've already given you the money. Shouldn't you give me a receipt or something?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi was taken aback. "What? Old Yi, do you not believe me?"

Uncle Yi was indeed reluctant to believe Jia Zhangshi, but he certainly couldn't say it directly, so he waved his hand and then spoke.

"No, no, how can you say I don't trust you? I'm just doing this to be on the safe side. It's five hundred yuan, after all. It's always better for me to be careful, right?"

Besides, as long as you've kept your promise, I'll just return the receipt to you anyway. It makes no difference; I'm just doing this for peace of mind.

Jia Zhangshi didn't want to dwell on this issue too much. After all, whether she signed it or not, she could just slip away and run away. It would be quite difficult for Yi Zhonghai to find her.

Moreover, as I just mentioned, I have left all the necessary documents in the countryside, so I need to go there myself.

This trip will take a day or two. By the time Yi Zhonghai realizes he was lying and tries to find him, he'll have already made his escape!