Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 199

"Yes, what will we do tomorrow? Where will we get the money to pay Dongxu's fine?" Granny Zhang was also worried.

When Granny Zhang reported the incident, she asked the police to be lenient. However, in order to protect Jia Dongxu, they couldn't just let him go, since everyone else had been fined and some were even sent to prison.

The henchmen only fined him, the lowest amount being 50 yuan, which was already quite lenient towards Jia Dongxu.

Qin Huairu sighed, knowing that Xu Zhaodi had come to her door earlier and she couldn't refuse to give her 100 yuan. If Xu Zhaodi were to spread the word about Granny Zhang's report, the losses would be far greater than 100 yuan could cover.

"Mom, what should we do now?"

Qin Huairu actually knew that her mother-in-law had a secret stash of money, but Granny Zhang was a glutton who only took in money and never gave it out, so getting her to take it out was extremely difficult.

Just as expected, even for the sake of her son, Granny Zhang would not easily use her secret stash of money.

Granny Zhang said, "I'll go find Old Yi to borrow it."

Qin Huairu sighed as she watched Granny Zhang leave. Sure enough, it was the same thing again. But this time, Granny Zhang went on a whim and returned disappointed. Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and said that he had no money left.

Granny Zhang came back and cursed all night. She had no money to pay the fine the next day. On the contrary, Xu Damao came out in the afternoon and returned to the courtyard.

After taking a bath at the public bathhouse, Xu Damao talked about the matter at home. Only then did he learn that it was not He Yuzhu who reported the incident, but rather Jia Dongxu's mother, Granny Zhang, who went to the police station to report it in order to save money.

"Sister, why do you only want 100 yuan? You should have asked for 200. Would she have refused?"

Xu Zhaodi was somewhat astonished. Yes, she had foolishly opened her mouth and only asked for 100 yuan, thinking that she would pay the money and let Xu Damao come out. Why didn't she think of asking for more money?

Xu Zhaodi, not wanting to back down, rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Be grateful. I'm just glad I was able to get you out of there. It's a miracle we didn't have to spend any money this time."

Xu Wude was in jail and had no savings. If he hadn't gotten 100 yuan from Granny Zhang, Xu Damao would definitely still be in detention.

"I heard that Jia Dongxu hasn't been released yet. Do you think it's because the Jia family doesn't have any money?"

Xu Damao became honest after that, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Who knows? They probably had some before, unlike our family, which has no savings at all."

"Alright, I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Xu Zhaodi asked with some concern.

“Since Sha Zhu helped us so much, I’m going to go find him and reconnect with him.”

Xu Damao realized that if He Yuzhu hadn't told him, he wouldn't have gotten the 100 yuan benefit. Although Sha Zhu had something to prove his innocence, he still owed him a favor.

So Xu Damao bought two jin of pastries and went to the shop on Yandaixie Street.

He Yuzhu was somewhat surprised to have invited this uninvited guest in.

"Zhu Zi, thank you so much for your guidance this time. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get out now, and my family wouldn't have the money to pay the fine."

"You're too kind. Although our two families had some conflicts before, it's all in the past. I'll lend a hand if I can."

He Yuzhu thought to himself, if I don't say that it was Granny Zhang who reported it, that silly girl Xu Zhaodi will only spread rumors behind my back that it was I who reported them and got them arrested.

If it weren't to avoid trouble, I wouldn't have told Xu Zhaodi that it was Granny Zhang who was behind it.

Xu Damao said, "Yes, I only found out after I came out that it was Zhang who was behind it all. It's all her fault. Now I don't even know if I can keep my job."

He Yuzhu asked, "So, have you learned anything about movies?"

"I know how to do it, but I'm not very good at repairing machines."

He Yuzhu knew that at this time, all maintenance personnel were in short supply. No matter what machine they were operating, everyone needed to learn some maintenance skills.

The most famous example is driving a car. Every driver must first learn how to repair cars, otherwise, if the car breaks down on the road, there will be no one to repair it.

If there are minor problems, the driver has to fix them himself.

The same applies to showing movies; there are practically no repair shops on the market, so it's the projectionists who know some basic maintenance and repair knowledge.

You can't just stop showing a movie halfway through because there's a minor problem.

The two chatted for a while, and He Yuzhu invited him to stay for dinner and drinks that evening.

Xu Damao's return today surprised many people in the courtyard, since everyone knew that Xu Damao's family was penniless.

They're living off Yi Zhonghai's help these days. He paid the fine and was released the next day, but Jia Dongxu still hasn't been released.

In the west wing of the courtyard, Qin Huairu said with some worry, "Mother, look, Da Mao has already come out, when will Dong Xu be able to come out?"

"Damn police station, they insist on paying 50 yuan to release Dongxu, it's infuriating!"

Today, Granny Zhang went to the police station again, wanting to discuss releasing Jia Dongxu directly, since it was Granny Zhang who reported the case.

However, the police officers at the local police station did not agree to release Jia Dongxu for free.

He said, "Jia Dongxu is an important member of the gang, unlike Xu Damao, who was the last to join. Xu Damao was fined 100 yuan. Jia Dongxu's case would have resulted in a fine of 200 or 300 yuan. The current fine of only 50 yuan is already a lenient reduction. It's impossible for him not to be fined at all."

"Jia Dongxu will only be released after the fine is paid; otherwise, he will be detained for half a month."

Grandma Zhang was thinking about going to work, but she couldn't earn 50 yuan in half a month.

You have to understand that Jia Dongxu only earns a little over 38 yuan a month. Half a month's wages are less than 20 yuan. If you calculate it this way, it would be better to be detained for half a month and then released, which would save 30 yuan.

So Granny Zhang didn't want to pay the 50 yuan.

Hearing Qin Huairu urging him again, he said, "That's my own flesh and blood, how can I not be anxious? But where am I going to get this 50 yuan?"

Qin Huairu muttered, "If you're detained for half a month, won't you lose your job? Besides, it's not like we don't have money at home. If you're unwilling to pay for it, won't Dongxu feel disheartened?"

"Where would I get money? I don't have any."

Granny Zhang said angrily, "He was born from me, and I raised him from infancy. What? You want Dongxu to be unfilial to me?"

"No, no, Mother, don't talk nonsense. I absolutely didn't mean that." Qin Huairu quickly denied it. She couldn't bear this accusation. If word got out that she was unfilial, she wouldn't be able to hold her head high.

Xu Damao couldn't hold his liquor well either; he got drunk after only a few ounces. He Yuzhu had no choice but to hastily end the party, asking, "Damao, are you sure you can get home by yourself?"

"It's okay, I'm not drunk." Although Xu Damao was walking unsteadily, he still stubbornly refused to admit that he was drunk.

He insisted on walking back by himself, so He Yuzhu saw him to the door and then went straight back.

It was still autumn, and the autumn wind made Xu Damao much more awake. He walked back, stumbling along the path.

As I approached the courtyard house, I suddenly felt the urge to urinate, so I turned into an alley. When I came out, I happened to run into Granny Zhang, who was returning from the direction of the toilet.

Xu Damao shouted, "Aunt Zhang, come here, I have something to say to you."

"What is it?" Granny Zhang was reluctant to answer Xu Damao, and while asking the question, she was actually thinking of leaving.

Xu Damao, who was in a bad mood after drinking, reached out and dragged Granny Zhang into the alley.

"Let go of me, Xu Damao!" Granny Zhang shouted.

"Fine, if you dare to run away, I'll tell everyone that you were the one who reported me."

Granny Zhang immediately lost her temper and was dragged into the alley by Xu Damao.

“Hey Zhang, don’t think this is over. Give me another 100 yuan, or I’ll tell everyone.”

Chapter 147 Xu Damao's Romantic Encounters

Granny Zhang was dumbfounded. She had already felt the pinch of giving Xu Zhaodi 100 yuan, and now Xu Damao, who had just come out, was trying to extort another 100 yuan from her.

"You're trying to extort money from me, I didn't."

"If you say no, then I'll tell everyone."

"I really don't have any money." Granny Zhang's attitude softened a bit, and then she said, "Da Mao, don't force me. I really can't come up with any money. If I had money, I would have paid the fine and let Dongxu out long ago."

Xu Damao only came out today and didn't know the latest situation. He thought Jia Dongxu had also come out. Upon hearing this, he asked:

"You mean Dongxu hasn't come out yet?"

Granny Zhang was extremely aggrieved: "Yes, I don't have a penny to my name. If I had money, I would have paid the fine. My own son is still not out, and Zhao Di took all the money."

He thought to himself how lucky he was that he hadn't listened to Qin Huairu and used his savings to pay Jia Dongxu's fine, otherwise things would have been very different.

Hearing this, Xu Damao began to believe it. He Yuzhu had also told him earlier that Jia Dongxu had received 200 yuan from Yi Zhonghai.

Of the 100 yuan, Gao Jun received it, while the remaining 100 yuan became Xu Damao's fine.

"You really don't have any money?"

"Really, we don't have any. Several things have happened in our family, where would we get the money?"

Granny Zhang shouted, having already made up her mind, she was determined to stick to the fact that she had no money this time.

Anyway, it's no use what Xu Damao says; he has no money to give him.

Xu Damao was now in a difficult situation. He had originally planned to ask for more money as compensation, but Granny Zhang had no money and he really couldn't squeeze any out of her.

But letting Granny Zhang go like this felt unfair, as I had gone to the police station again and received a disciplinary action, while Granny Zhang, who reported me, hadn't been punished at all.

We can't exactly beat up Granny Zhang, can we? If we hurt her, she might turn around and accuse us of paying for her medical expenses.

Seeing that Xu Damao was starting to believe her, Granny Zhang poured out her grievances, repeatedly emphasizing her family's difficulties. In short, she had no money, but she could take anyone's life.

Xu Damao had drunk some wine today and had just seen He Yuzhu's beautiful wife. He also wanted to find a beautiful wife to marry.

Looking at the plump Granny Zhang in front of him, he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of water.

Although the old Granny Zhang looks ugly, she was quite beautiful when she was young; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to give birth to such a handsome Jia Dongxu.

You can tell from Jia Dongxu's portrait that he was a handsome young man back then.

This suggests that Granny Zhang is not bad-looking. She is only 40 years old and still has a certain charm.

Looking at the woman in front of him, Xu Damao suddenly became emboldened by lust. Under the influence of alcohol, Xu Damao reached out a hand to stroke Granny Zhang's face.