Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 195

Sha Zhu had previously hit Xu Damao and rejected Xu Zhaodi's marriage proposal. Xu Damao even drew a knife to kill Sha Zhu. The two could be considered comrades-in-arms on the same side.

“This…” Xu Damao hesitated.

Jia Dongxu stepped forward, put his arm around Xu Damao's shoulder, and whispered, "Reselling flour is actually very profitable. You can make several yuan a day, it's easy. Why don't you come and do it too?"

"How can this be allowed?" Xu Damao was still somewhat hesitant.

Xu Damao understood that he wouldn't be able to make money by extorting money from the business run by the deputy factory director's son, so he might as well join in and make money together.

Seeing that Xu Damao was somewhat tempted, Jia Dongxu said, "I'll treat you to drinks tonight, and we can have a good talk. This is also a chance to make a lot of money. Don't you want to buy another bicycle?"

When the country was first liberated, bicycles were very expensive, costing more than 300 yuan each. But after the first Five-Year Plan was implemented in 1953, bicycle production skyrocketed.

The corresponding selling price has also dropped rapidly, and it's now less than 200 yuan.

Jia Dongxu couldn't afford it before, but after the recent price drop, he's been wanting to buy a bicycle. He's thinking of making a fortune during this period so he can buy one.

Xu Damao had another plan in mind when he asked Sha Zhu to report the incident. If Sha Zhu agreed to report it, he would spread the word that Sha Zhu was the one who reported it after the incident occurred.

When the time comes, all those who get arrested will hate Sha Zhu, and they might try to ambush him or kidnap him. In short, Sha Zhu won't gain anything and will only get himself into trouble.

But Sha Zhu wasn't fooled and didn't even think about reporting it.

Xu Damao's thought was that since Sha Zhu was unwilling to report it, he might as well join the flour resale business himself. Seeing that Jia Dongxu had agreed to introduce him and that there would be a drink that evening, he nodded and said:

"Let's talk about it when we have drinks tonight."

"Okay, I'll treat you to dinner at my place tonight."

After the two parted ways, Jia Dongxu went to find the so-called Brother Gao, who was the son of Deputy Factory Director Gao. After listening to his story, the other party nodded in agreement. In any case, having another person to help act as a go-between would allow him to earn more money.

In the evening, Xu Damao arrived as promised. Jia Jia Dongxu prepared two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, then opened a bottle of strong liquor and drank with Xu Damao.

Under normal circumstances, women don't eat with men when they drink; they usually eat alone in the kitchen. Granny Zhang and Qin Huairu sit not far away, coaxing their son.

Because of the angle, Xu Damao could see the beautiful Qin Huairu perfectly. After drinking a few cups of wine, he felt even more that Qin Huairu was so graceful and charming.

Her shy, beautiful face, still rosy and fair, with bright, moist cherry lips and high, full breasts trembling with each breath, revealed her fair, delicate skin and voluptuous, sensual body, where one could almost see her well-defined curves.

Her most captivating feature was her pair of bright, clear, and watery eyes. Every time they turned, it seemed as if they contained a ball of fire, stirring the soul. Her mature, charming, and sexy womanly figure made Xu Damao lose his mind and his young heart flutter with excitement.

Jia Dongxu wasn't a big drinker, so he didn't notice Xu Damao's unusual behavior. He just kept urging Xu Damao to drink more, talking about how profitable it was to resell flour.

Xu Damao mechanically went through the motions, his drunken eyes fixed on Qin Huairu's figure.

Qin Huairu vaguely sensed that someone was watching her, and took the opportunity to glance at her sideways, only to find that Xu Damao was staring straight at her.

Her pretty face flushed slightly, and then she turned back. This Xu Damao had just come of age, yet he was so eager for sex; he was truly audacious.

Before her son finished drinking, Granny Zhang went to the inner room to rest early. Little Banggeng was also coaxed to sleep, leaving only Qin Huairu to stay by his side.

Neither Xu Damao nor Jia Dongxu could hold their liquor, but Xu Damao had Qin Huairu on his mind, so he drank less. Under his deliberate flattery, Jia Dongxu finally succumbed to his alcohol and passed out first.

"Sister-in-law, Brother Dongxu is not doing well, come and help him over."

Qin Huairu got up and came over. Xu Damao also stood up and, swaying slightly, threw himself into Qin Huairu's arms.

Qin Huairu hugged Xu Damao tightly. He held the beauty he had missed all night in his arms, and smelling her fragrance, Xu Damao was immediately satisfied.

I wish I could hold this every day!

"Oh dear, Damao, you're drunk." Qin Huairu was startled at first. Although Jia Dongxu was drunk, he was still alive. She quickly helped Xu Damao up and put him on a chair.

Then she helped Jia Dongxu to the bedroom, and when she came back, she said to Xu Damao, "Damao, wake up, we're going home."

Xu Damao was already drunk. He stood up unsteadily, looked at the beauty in front of him, and forgot where he was. He fell directly onto her, then hugged her neck and kissed her face.

Qin Huairu was both angry and embarrassed. How could Xu Damao act like a hooligan when he was drunk? She was caught off guard and Xu Damao kissed her face several times.

He finally broke free, went outside, looked around to make sure no one was there, wiped the drool off his face, went to the backyard, and called Xu Zhaodi and her mother over to take Xu Damao to the backyard.

The next day, Jia Dongxu took Xu Damao to meet Gao Jun, the son of Deputy Factory Director Gao, and then Xu Damao became one of the flour resellers.

At first, Xu Damao was a little scared, but after a few days he got used to it. Xu Damao had an advantage over Jia Dongxu because he could go to the countryside and easily get wheat and rice.

Ever since Xu Damao and He Yuzhu talked about Jia Dongxu reselling flour, I've thought about it and realized I really shouldn't report him.

If the report is filed, Jia Dongxu will be implicated in a whole host of people, directly offending all the leaders at the Zha Steel Plant.

Moreover, this matter is not confidential, because the information came from Xu Damao. It's like handing over a handle for Xu Damao to use against you, and who knows what Xu Damao will do then.

After much deliberation, He Yuzhu decided that this matter could not be leaked from his side.

Just like when Jia Dongxu was imprisoned, the Jia family still has no evidence to prove that they reported him; they only have suspicions.

However, although He Yuzhu could not report him, he did do something. During this period, he tried to follow Jia Dongxu. He encountered Jia Dongxu several times, including scenes of him exchanging flour purchase certificates with other people in the alley and giving them benefits.

However, no valuable clues have been found.

But seizing this opportunity won't do any good. What He Yuzhu is thinking about is whether he can find their hideout and then act accordingly.

As the saying goes, perseverance pays off. After half a month of diligent investigation, they finally followed Jia Dongxu to a small courtyard.

After Jia Dongxu and Xu Damao obtained the flour purchase permits, they bought flour separately and delivered it to this place.

Previously, Jia Dongxu was just a middleman and not in charge of buying and selling flour, so he didn't usually come here.

Today was the settlement day, so he came over. Before entering the courtyard, Jia Dongxu looked around to make sure no one had seen him before pushing the door open.

He Yuzhu didn't need to get too close to him; he only needed to be about 10 meters away, just keeping him suspended.

While tracking him, I kept my mental energy open and immediately confirmed that Jia Dongxu had entered the courtyard.

He Yuzhu quickly went around to the alley behind the courtyard and carefully inspected the small courtyard.

This is a traditional courtyard house with one entrance. The east wing has been converted into a warehouse, where some empty sacks are scattered, and there is a lot of flour and scraps of rice on the ground.

It seems the grain has already been transported away. Jia Dongxu arrived relatively early, and there was no one else in the courtyard, so He Yuzhu waited patiently.

A short while later, a man came over, took out a large bag of silver dollars from his pocket, and said, "This is the money from selling grain today. Please leave it here."

Jia Dongxu asked, "Where are they?"

"There's more to come. They said they're going to buy some wine. They made money today, so everyone should have a good drink."

Jia Dongxu asked, "You brought the money over, didn't he use it to buy wine?"

The man slapped his forehead, looking very annoyed: "How could I be so forgetful? I was only focused on bringing the money back, and now I've forgotten to give them the money."

Jia Dongxu smiled and said, "Then you'll have to make another trip."

“Okay, here’s over three hundred yuan. I’ll take it to them to pay for the wine.”

The man took the money off the table, put it in the drawer of the chest of drawers next to him, and then took two silver dollars and left.

Jia Dongxu was the only one left in the courtyard.

He Yuzhu had been using his mental power to monitor the movements in the courtyard, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He was quite surprised to see the man go out again.

The drawer contained more than 110 silver dollars, with a total value exceeding 340 yuan.

He Yuzhu suddenly had a thought. He had originally followed them to find out their hideout and wait for an opportunity to have Tiedan catch them, provided that he got rid of himself. But now he suddenly had an idea: should he double-cross them?

Right now, only Jia Dongxu is left in the courtyard. If I were to double-cross him, wouldn't Jia Dongxu be the one to be blamed for losing the money?

Even though he didn't report it, these people wouldn't let it go after losing more than 300 yuan; they wanted Jia Dongxu to return the money.

Isn't this even more satisfying than reporting it directly?

Since they benefited from the situation, these people would only vent their anger on Jia Dongxu. Jia Dongxu lost money, and if he wanted to keep his job, he would have no choice but to grit his teeth and pay the money out of his own pocket.

He Yuzhu acted on his idea immediately. He climbed over the wall in the alley, took out a wooden stick from his spatial storage, and went to the outside of the main room. He could use his mental power to confirm that Jia Dongxu was sitting there drinking tea, calculating how much money he could get and dreaming of getting rich.

He Yuzhu threw the wooden stick in his hand with force. Jia Dongxu heard the sound of the wind and looked up, just in time to see the wooden stick coming right in front of him.

He cried out "Ouch!" and was hit on the forehead, falling straight backward.

He Yuzhu came in to confirm that Jia Dongxu had fainted. Then he put on gloves, opened a drawer, took the cloth bag containing silver dollars, and left.

Soon, Jia Dongxu shakily got up, first rubbing his head where a large bump had appeared, then looking up to see that the opened drawer was empty.

The cloth bag containing the silver dollars had vanished without a trace!

Jia Dongxu was completely terrified. What had happened? He had been double-crossed!

You should know that no outsiders knew about this secret hideout. He had just managed to find over 300 yuan here, and he was the only one guarding it when someone knocked him unconscious and stole the money.

If Gao Jun returns, won't I have to pay compensation?

Jia Dongxu panicked immediately; where would he get the money to pay over 300 yuan in compensation?

After figuring out what had happened, Jia Dongxu hurriedly walked out, opened the courtyard gate, and saw Gao Jun, Xu Damao, Shouhou, and several others coming over with wine and food.

Xu Damao laughed and said, "Brother Dongxu, why did you come out to greet me?"

Chapter 144 Jia Dongxu: I really didn't steal it!

"Of course, of course." Jia Dongxu secretly groaned, realizing he couldn't run away now.

Soon the group entered the house. Skinny Monkey noticed that the drawer was open and the cloth bag he had just put in was gone, so he asked, "Jia Dongxu, did you put the money somewhere else?"

"No, I was just looking for you! The money is gone!"

"What do you mean the money is gone?" Gao Jun asked.

Jia Dongxu pointed to the bump on his forehead and said, "After I left to deliver the goods, a group of people suddenly came and knocked me unconscious, and they robbed me of my money."