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

Chapter 321 Yi Zhonghai's 'Retirement Dream'

Yi Zhonghai was very satisfied with this kind of life. Not only did he no longer have to work himself to the bone in the workshop every day, but because he lived in an apartment building, there was less interference between neighbors.

In the past few years, Yi Zhonghai had not lived very comfortably in the back of the courtyard house, because almost everyone in the courtyard disliked him.

But now, the people living in this area don't know each other. Although the neighborly affection has faded a bit, this is actually a good thing for Yi Zhonghai.

So now Yi Zhonghai feels that moving out is the best choice. He can spend his days at home playing with birds, basking in the sun, and drinking tea. The day passes by so easily. Retirement life is so comfortable!

Unfortunately... this comfortable and peaceful life is about to be shattered.

"Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!"

Yi Zhonghai was playing with his birds on his balcony when there was a knock on the door.

Normally, some of the apprentices he had trained would come to visit him, so Yi Zhonghai wasn't on guard and simply went over and opened the door.

But the moment Yi Zhonghai opened the door and saw who it was, he regretted it. He realized that the person was not one of the apprentices he had trained at the steel mill, but his "godson" Bang Geng!

Upon seeing Bang Geng, Yi Zhonghai was immediately taken aback. "Bang Geng? You... how did you find this place? Oh... no, you released it?"

Originally, he wanted to ask how Bang Geng found his way here, but after thinking about it, he felt that asking that question seemed a bit inappropriate, so Yi Zhonghai changed his tone.

Banggeng, on the other hand, pretended to be obedient and said, "Grandpa, I missed you so much! When I went back before, I found that you had all moved away. Ye Jianchuan doesn't even know where you live."

"I thought I'd never find you again. Luckily, when I passed by Liu Guangtian's restaurant just now, he told me you were staying here, so I came looking for you."

After hearing Bang Geng's words, Yi Zhonghai was speechless. Although he had asked Ye Jianchuan to help him conceal his new address, the others were already at odds with him, so asking them to keep it a secret was simply a pipe dream.

Now look what's happened. After being tricked by that wicked Liu Guangtian, Bang Geng is back again. How can I get rid of this little plague?

While Yi Zhonghai was still pondering how to get rid of Bang Geng, Bang Geng's stomach was already starting to rumble, and he immediately asked Yi Zhonghai for some food.

"Grandpa, do you have anything to eat at home? I haven't eaten all day."

Yi Zhonghai wasn't as stingy as Jia Zhangshi when it came to food. He turned around and brought out two packets of pastries for Bang Geng to have something to eat first.

Meanwhile, Yi Zhonghai continued to ponder ways to get rid of Bang Geng.

"Bang Geng, where are you living now? Have you thought about what you're going to do in the future? Your godfather has retired now and can't help you much anymore. If possible, you should find a place to work steadily as soon as possible."

Bang Geng rolled his eyes inwardly when he heard Yi Zhonghai's words, but he didn't show it. Instead, he wolfed down the pastries.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Bang Geng finally revealed his true intentions: "Grandpa, I heard from them that your retirement pension is quite high now that you've retired. So, all the money you saved for your retirement before, you probably won't need it now, right?"

Why don't you give me that money and let me try doing business again? I promise, this time I definitely won't mess around, and I'll do business honestly from now on.

As you know, those previous times, if I hadn't been so reckless, none of those things would have happened. Now I've figured it out, and I won't be so reckless anymore. Even if I earn a little less each month doing business, it's still much more lucrative than working a regular job, right?

By the way, I'll come to visit you two often and take care of you in your old age. What do you think?

After hearing Bang Geng's words, Yi Zhonghai was actually a little tempted, not because Bang Geng said he had reformed and could earn a lot of money every month.

It was because Bang Geng said something very important: he would visit them often and take care of them in their old age!

This was incredibly attractive to Yi Zhonghai. As mentioned earlier, the reason he 'gave up' the Korean song was because he wanted to save some money for his retirement.

However, when he retired, Yi Zhonghai found that his pension was not small at all, and his monthly pension was more than enough to support himself and Aunt Yi.

So the money issue is no longer a problem at all. In that case, what is the biggest problem I'm facing right now? Isn't it that there's no one to take care of me?

Although the elderly couple are in relatively good health, who knows what will happen when they get old? After all, the deaf old lady was barely able to leave the house in her last two years.

If things go wrong at that time, money won't seem to matter as much; what's more important is having someone to look after things.

If Bang Geng could take care of him then, it would be a blessing for him in his old age. So Yi Zhonghai was actually a little tempted after hearing Bang Geng's words.

But before Yi Zhonghai could nod in agreement, the sound of the door opening came from outside. Looking up, he saw that it was Aunt Yi who had opened the door and walked in.

Unlike Grandpa Yi, who spends his days at home playing with birds and basking in the sun after retiring, Grandma Yi goes out every few days to go to the market and chat with the other elderly women in her neighborhood.

Aunt Yi, who was initially quite happy upon entering, immediately lost her smile after seeing the "sticky" (a type of snack).

Previously, Aunt Yi almost always obeyed Yi Zhonghai's orders, but now that she has had more contact with the outside world, she has begun to have her own ideas.

The reason why Aunt Yi's expression changed after seeing Bang Geng was because she was afraid that Yi Zhonghai would give the family's money to Bang Geng again and let Bang Geng squander it.

After all, Aunt Yi knew that her husband hadn't completely given up on his "retirement dream" yet.

Chapter 322 Aunt Yi's 'Awakening'

Seeing Auntie Yi walk in, Banggeng stood up very 'obediently' and greeted her, "Grandma!"

Aunt Yi nodded, then winked at Yi Zhonghai while carrying Bang Geng on her back. After all, they were an old married couple, and Yi Zhonghai immediately understood his wife's meaning. His earlier desire to 'support' Bang Geng vanished instantly.

"Hey, how about this, your godmother and I need to discuss this matter you brought up today. Why don't you go home first and come back tomorrow? We'll let you know the result of our discussion tomorrow, okay?"

Bang Geng nodded, chatted with the elderly couple for a few more minutes, and then said goodbye and left.

In Banggeng's view, the matter was basically settled. After all, the issue of elder care was still Yi Zhonghai's 'Achilles' heel'. As long as he grasped this key point, he would have the other party's lifeline.

As he walked home, Banggeng was already fantasizing again about opening a restaurant and making a few hundred yuan a month.

However, he was unaware that shortly after he left, Aunt Yi began discussing this matter with Yi Zhonghai.

"Old Yi, why did this guy still come knocking on our door? Did Ye Jianchuan tell him where we live? That Ye Jianchuan is really something, we've already moved out, why is he still so confrontational?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head. "It's not Ye Jianchuan, it's Liu Guangtian. Banggeng happened to run into Liu Guangtian today. It was Liu Guangtian who told Banggeng that we were staying here."

Aunt Yi frowned and spoke again, "So what does he want this time that he came to our door? Let me tell you first, although your pension is enough for us to eat and wear, if we have any minor illness or serious injury, the money we have saved will be for life-saving purposes."

You can't expect that little brat to take care of us in our old age. He's unreliable; look at the messes he's made before!

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai frowned and after a long pause, he spoke again, "I think that Bang Geng has changed quite a bit since he was released this time."

Moreover, when it comes to elder care, since we can still move around on our own now, there isn't much difference (blank) 698925850, but what about when we get older?

Think about it, if it weren't for you and Ran Qiuye taking care of her during the last two years of her life, she probably wouldn't even have been able to eat, drink, or relieve herself!

Even if we still have money saved up, if no one comes to take care of us, all that money will be wasted!

After expressing his concerns, Yi Zhonghai felt much better, but Aunt Yi next to him laughed and said, "Old Yi, you're really confused. Have you forgotten what I told you last time?"

You know the Zhou family in Building Six, right? Their son and daughter-in-law are both too busy to come back and take care of their two elderly parents, but they can earn money! They just hired a caregiver to take care of their basic needs.

At this point, Aunt Yi paused for a moment, and then continued, "Think about it, is that little brat Bang Geng, who has broken his promise so many times, more trustworthy, or are those caregivers who are paid to do their jobs more trustworthy?"

I think I trust caregivers who are paid to do a job more, since they won't get paid if they don't do a good job or provide adequate care.

Isn't this model better than simply handing over your entire fortune to Bang Geng and hoping he'll have a change of heart?

After hearing Aunt Yi's analysis, Yi Zhonghai's slightly excited mood instantly calmed down. Yes! As the saying goes, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit," which means that you should remember to learn from your mistakes.

But why do I always forget about this? How much money did those guys take from me under the guise of providing for my retirement?

Why can't I ever learn this lesson? I keep getting tricked as soon as I step out the door, it's all the same.

However, since Aunt Yi had already given him a heads-up, Yi Zhonghai naturally wouldn't agree to Bang Geng's 'request' anymore. After discussing it with his wife, Yi Zhonghai finally decided to just reject Bang Geng outright the next day.

As for if Bang Geng continues to pester me, then if it really doesn't work out, I'll just turn on him! Anyway, I haven't lost any money from him, and it's good enough that I haven't asked him to return those previous 'investments'.

On the other hand, Bang Geng had no idea that the Yi couple had already devised a plan that was extremely unfavorable to him. At this moment, Bang Geng was still happily thinking about opening another restaurant and making a comeback.

Having already eaten quite a few pastries at the Yi family's house to fill his stomach, he was no longer hungry. As he walked back with his hands behind his back, he also began to 'investigate' the location of future restaurants.

Soon, Banggeng returned to Jia Zhangshi's residence and waited for her to come back for dinner.

However, Banggeng soon discovered that Jia Zhangshi showed no sign of wanting to cook dinner today. Although she returned home earlier than yesterday, about the same time as the day before, she quickly washed up and went straight into her room.

Well, the reason is actually quite simple: she didn't cook porridge at home in the morning, so Jia Zhangshi naturally didn't bring any plain porridge to the neighborhood office for dinner.

However, Jia Zhangshi was not the kind of person who would mistreat herself. There was a sesame seed cake shop not far from the street office. After getting off work, Jia Zhangshi bought two sesame seed cakes and ate them on her way home.

By the time they were almost home, they had finished both of the sesame seed cakes in their hands, so Jia Zhangshi didn't feel hungry at all.

But just because Jia Zhangshi isn't hungry doesn't mean Banggeng isn't hungry! The pastries he ate at Lao Yi's house were just a small snack, and now that it's mealtime, Banggeng is hungry again.

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi had locked herself in her bedroom and showed no sign of making dinner, Bang Geng understood that Jia Zhangshi was deliberately making things difficult for him in order to force him to find a job.

Hmph! Since you're so ruthless now, don't blame me for not letting you get a share of the profits when the shop opens!

While enduring his hunger, Bang Geng showed no intention of 'surrendering' to Jia Zhangshi, and secretly began to plot his revenge.

Chapter 323 Auntie's Advice

The next day arrived quickly. When Banggeng woke up in the morning, he found that there was still nothing left in the house. Jia Zhangshi had not left any money or food for Banggeng.

However, this time Banggeng wasn't as angry as he had been the previous two days. After tidying himself up a bit, Banggeng headed straight for Lao Yi's house.

Upon arriving at the Yi family home, Yi Zhonghai, perhaps still mindful of past relationships, served Bang Geng some pastries, just as he had done the day before.

Bang Geng was very happy. It seemed that Old Yi still had a lot of 'feelings' for him. He could make good use of this and try to play the emotional card to get more money out of the old man as capital!

Just as he was thinking this, Yi Zhonghai said something that was like a bolt from the blue for Bang Geng.

"Hey, your godmother and I have discussed it briefly, and we probably won't be able to come up with the financial support to help you open this shop."

As you know, my godfather lost a lot of money in the previous incidents. He only had about a thousand yuan left. Later, he had to move and retire, and I spent a lot of that money too.

I didn't figure it out yesterday, but later I asked your godmother and found that there were only a few hundred yuan left in the house.

These days, a few hundred yuan isn't enough to start a business, so I think... why don't you find a proper job first, work for yourself, save up some money, and then open your own shop later?

After Yi Zhonghai said all that, Bang Geng only heard one sentence: that he couldn't come up with any money for himself.

The rest of the words were unimportant to Bang Geng. If you can't come up with the money to open your own shop, then your dream of making a comeback will be completely shattered!

So Banggeng immediately tried to speak up again, "Grandpa, how come you only have a few hundred dollars left? After I went in, there were only two of you eating, right?"

Back then, with your salary, saving a few dozen yuan a month should have been quite easy, right? Over these three years, adding the original thousand or so yuan you had, you should have at least two thousand yuan, if not three thousand, right?

Bang Geng is quite sensitive about money. When he heard Bang Geng calculate his family's 'balance' in detail, Yi Zhonghai's expression changed, but he still spoke firmly.

"Bang Geng, if there are no other expenses, then that's how it works, but we bought this house, and we spent a lot of money on it."

Not only did they use all the money from selling their original house to subsidize it, but they also took a large portion of their savings to make up for it.

Moreover, this house is quite different from the original courtyard house. Look at the walls and the floors; they're all finished with renovations, and that all cost money!