Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

That afternoon, the news that He Yuzhu's family had moved away quickly spread throughout the entire courtyard.

The main house in the middle courtyard, where Liang Lati's sons and daughters used to live, and the main house in the back courtyard, where He Yuzhu and Liang Lati lived... were all locked up.

Looking at the two main rooms in the courtyard, which were locked up tight, Jia Zhangshi's mind quickly started working.

The Jia family's house was mortgaged by Bang Geng. If they couldn't raise 1,700 yuan to pay off all their debts before the new year, the house they were living in would be taken over by Old Wang's family in the front yard.

Given Qin Huairu's current income, it would be almost impossible for him to raise all the debts before the end of the year.

Therefore, both Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi were mentally prepared for the Wang family in the front yard to take their house away.

At that time, the Jia family would no longer own property in the courtyard house, and he would have to live in Yi Zhonghai's house. He would have no right to speak in front of Yi Zhonghai, and he would have to act like a coward before he died.

This was absolutely unacceptable to Jia Zhangshi, who had been a shrew her whole life.

Now that He Yuzhu has moved out of the courtyard house, two rooms have suddenly become available in the previously cramped courtyard house. Moreover, both rooms are larger than the main rooms of the Jia family's house. If he can get his hands on them, he will no longer have to live in Yi Zhonghai's house and will no longer have to be controlled by others and live at the mercy of Yi Zhonghai before he dies.

As for how to get hold of these two rooms, Jia Zhangshi was quite confident.

The main house in the middle courtyard belonged to the Wang family. The Wang family had money and power, and were the least likely to be offended in the courtyard. Jia Zhangshi had no hope of getting her hands on this house.

But Jia Zhangshi was quite confident about the room in the backyard.

The room in the backyard belongs to He Yuzhu. Although the Jia family has no relationship with He Yuzhu now, and they are even somewhat at odds, their daughter-in-law Qin Huairu was He Yuzhu's wife for a period of time.

I know He Yuzhu inside and out, and I'm quite clear about some of his personality traits.

If Qin Huairu is willing to take action, he has a good chance of getting his hands on that house in the backyard.

Moreover……

The house in the backyard did not originally belong to He Yuzhu; it was passed down to him after the deaf old lady died.

Yi Zhonghai also took care of the deaf old lady back then, so in principle, Yi Zhonghai should also be the heir to that house.

If Yi Zhonghai is willing to help Qin Huairu, the Jia family will definitely have a greater chance of getting this house.

That evening, right after dinner, Jia Zhangshi shared her thoughts.

"Huairu..."

"Silly Pillar from the backyard moved out, and their house in the backyard is now empty..."

"The east wing room we're living in now will be taken away by Old Wang from the front yard by the end of the year at the latest..."

"Although Lao Yi's family still has a small room for me to live in, there will be nowhere for Bang Geng to live after he comes back."

"If we could get our hands on that main house in the backyard, not only would Banggeng have a place to live, but he wouldn't even need to buy a house for his future marriage..."

"After all, you were once Sha Zhu's wife..."

"Let's see if we can find a way to get Sha Zhu to sell that house to the Jia family at a low price..."

"Old Yi, you have a lot of ideas and you understand Sha Zhu's personality better than we do. Help us think of a solution too."

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's sudden idea, Yi Zhonghai's first reaction was that he was tempted.

If I could really find a way to get my hands on He Yuzhu's house in the backyard and sell it secretly, I would have an extra two thousand yuan in my pocket for retirement, and I would no longer be short of money for my retirement.

But the idea was quickly rejected. Times have changed.

The current He Yuzhu is no longer the He Yuzhu who was at his mercy more than ten years ago. In addition, his wife Liang Lati is also a very shrewd person, and Wang Dong and Tang Dashan give him advice from time to time. It is too difficult to get his hands on that house in the backyard. The possibility is almost zero.

As for getting it for the Jia family...

Yi Zhonghai rejected the idea without even thinking about it.

The Jia family is about to lose their house, and Qin Huairu is unaware that the house she lives in has already been sold.

To ensure that Banggeng will have a house and get married in the future, he tries every means to flatter and serve her.

If the Jia family gets a new house, even if Qin Huairu still wants to get her hands on the house she's currently living in, she won't continue to fawn over her like she does now.

Therefore, in order to ensure that her retirement life would not be affected, and in order for Qin Huai to continue to serve her as he does now, the best way is to keep the Jia family from having a house and forcing them to target her.

Based on this analysis, Yi Zhonghai will not only not help Qin Huairu scheme against He Yuzhu's house in the backyard, but will also try every means to sabotage the Jia family's scheme to get that house.

Meeting the expectant gazes of Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, she replied, "Jia Zhangshi... Huairu..."

"You overestimate me..."

"What I know is He Yuzhu from more than ten years ago..."

"If this had happened more than ten years ago, I would have had many ways to make Sha Zhu give in and obediently transfer the house to the Jia family."

“But it’s different now.”

"If I remember correctly, Sha Zhu hasn't spoken to me for several years. When we meet in the yard, he treats me like a stranger and doesn't even bother to say a word."

"He's not only married now, but he also has his own son and daughter. He's no longer the silly Zhu I used to know..."

"How can I help...?"

"To put it bluntly: even if I were to stand in front of Sha Zhu right now, he would immediately treat me like an enemy and curse me away without saying a word to me."

"So I definitely can't help with this."

Qin Huairu was aware of the conflict between He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai, and the Jia family, so she did not show any dissatisfaction after hearing Yi Zhonghai's refusal. Instead, she thought for a moment and then replied.

"Old Yi..."

"I didn't intend for you to go to Sha Zhu yourself to ask for the house..."

"I just want you to come up with some ideas, to see if there's any way to force Sha Zhu to give in and sell the house to our Jia family at a low price."

"I heard that Sha Zhu can now earn four or five hundred yuan a month at Dongjun Hotel, and Da Mao also went to work at Dongjun Hotel, earning more than one hundred yuan a month."

"Er Mao became the head chef at Dongjun Restaurant, and he can earn more than two hundred yuan a month..."

"Da Mao and Er Mao's wives were also sent to Dongjun Restaurant to work as waitresses. With Liang Lati's salary at the steel mill, the whole family's monthly income exceeded one thousand yuan. They definitely wouldn't be interested in the two thousand yuan they sold the backyard house for."

"As long as we find a way to exploit Sha Zhu's weakness, given his personality, he will definitely try to downplay the situation and sell us the house at a low price."

After hearing Qin Huairu's thoughts, Yi Zhonghai had to admit that Qin Huairu was much more shrewd than she had been more than ten years ago, and her methods of scheming were much more sophisticated; she was looking to exploit Sha Zhu's weaknesses from the start. (End of Chapter)