“First Master, you must save me.”
Sha Zhu stammered, “I got into this trouble trying to save you. If you don’t help me, who will dare to save you in the future?”
With death looming, Sha Zhu no longer concealed anything.
He spoke his mind.
“Sha Zhu, there’s no need for us to talk like this between us. Whether or not you got into trouble helping me, if you’re in trouble, I must help you.”
Yi Zhonghai said very openly.
He also felt suffocated inside.
He was almost chased and hacked to death by Chen Jianye, and now Chen Jianye turned around and came to him as a victim to ask for money.
Although Chen Jianye was asking Sha Zhu for money, Yi Zhonghai couldn’t escape this matter.
Ultimately, it would still fall on him.
“First Master, then please help me with the money first. When I get my salary, I’ll slowly pay you back.”
“I’ll pay you ten yuan a month. We can sign and fingerprint; it’ll definitely be fine.”
Sha Zhu’s eyes lit up, and he quickly said.
“Tsk, let me think about it more.”
Yi Zhonghai was unwilling to agree easily.
Seven hundred yuan!
Assuming Sha Zhu paid him back ten yuan a month, that’s only 120 yuan a year.
It would take six years to pay it off.
And that doesn’t even include interest.
Moreover, Sha Zhu was almost thirty years old now; he would need money for marriage later and for having children.
Paying back ten yuan a month, how many years could he keep it up when Sha Zhu’s expenses increased later?
“Think about what, First Master? Just take out the money.”
“At worst, at worst, I’ll take care of you in your old age.”
Sha Zhu, feeling cornered, gritted his teeth and said.
Yi Zhonghai looked deeply at Sha Zhu.
If he had heard Sha Zhu say this yesterday, he would have been very happy.
Now, with Sha Zhu saying this in a life-or-death situation, it was clearly out of unwillingness, using his old-age care as a bargaining chip.
Unreliable.
“If you don’t have money, then scram.”
Chen Jianye urged impatiently.
“Jianye, don’t rush. We’ll discuss it among ourselves.”
“No matter what, we’ll definitely give you a definite answer.”
Yi Zhonghai stood up.
Chen Jianye’s face was full of indifference.
He didn’t continue to rush them, though.
He could afford to wait this much time.
Moreover, he was confident that Sha Zhu would definitely ask Yi Zhonghai to help with the money, and Yi Zhonghai would also dig a pit for Sha Zhu.
Chen Jianye didn’t care; he just wanted the money.
If Sha Zhu was determined not to pay, Chen Jianye would indeed be in a difficult situation.
Even though his head was wrapped in bloody gauze, he had actually recovered.
If the Public Security came to check his injuries, it would be exposed immediately.
And even if Sha Zhu confessed and went to jail, being sentenced to five or six years for intentional injury, Chen Jianye would lose the chance to deal with him.
Going to jail would actually give Sha Zhu a chance to live.
If Sha Zhu paid compensation, Chen Jianye could get a large sum of cash, and then he wouldn’t need six years; at most, one or two years, he could kill Sha Zhu.
Getting the money and having plenty of opportunities for revenge later, wasn’t that better?
Yi Zhonghai took Liu Haizhong, Yan Fugui, and Sha Zhu outside.
“How is it?”
“What did Jianye say? Is he really going to call the Public Security?”
“Did you guys manage to convince him?”
The Siheyuan (Courtyard) residents gathered at the Chen family’s door asked one after another.
Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, responding to the questions of the many Courtyard residents with silence, and led the four directly towards the Yi Family.
“Sha Zhu, wait outside.”
At the entrance of the Yi Family, Yi Zhonghai said.
Sha Zhu stopped.
The Three Great Masters entered the Yi Family.
A few minutes later, Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui came out.
“Second Master, Third Master.”
Sha Zhu called out anxiously.
Waiting outside was truly agonizing for him.
“Go home and get money. Whatever money you have, bring it.”
Liu Haizhong instructed.
“You two tell me, what is First Master planning to do?”
Sha Zhu asked in a panic.
“Listen to your First Master’s arrangement. He won’t harm you. Go.”
Yan Fugui advised.
Sha Zhu heard that there seemed to be hope, felt much relieved, and went home to search through boxes and cabinets for money.
When he came out, the Three Great Masters were already waiting for him at the door.
“How much did you get?”
Yi Zhonghai asked with a dark face.
“One hundred seventy-two yuan and fifty cents.”
Sha Zhu replied.
“Only this much?”
Yi Zhonghai’s face grew even darker.
Damn it, to compensate seven hundred yuan, Sha Zhu couldn’t even come up with two hundred yuan.
He would have to cover the rest.
Even slaves in the qian dynasty homes in the Courtyard weren’t exploited this much, were they?
“This... I just have a lot of expenses.”
“From now on, I’ll save money properly and try to pay back your money first.”
Sha Zhu explained with a silly grin.
“Sha Zhu, your First Master is going to help you advance the compensation money. You’ll pay the small portion, and your First Master will pay the large portion.”
“You have to give something to make your First Master feel at ease, what do you say?”
Yan Fugui said.
“What can I give? I don’t have anything.”
Sha Zhu spread his hands.
He only had this hundred-plus pounds of flesh; even if he sold himself, it wouldn’t be enough for compensation.
“Sha Zhu, think carefully, you have a title deed for this house, don’t you?”
Liu Haizhong prompted.
Sha Zhu fell silent.
Many residents lived in the Siheyuan (Courtyard); most were arranged by the street, and not many had title deeds.
The He family was one of them.
Before He Daqing ran off with the white widow to Baoding, besides teaching Sha Zhu a skill, he also left Sha Zhu the house’s title deed.
These two things were the foundation of the He family siblings’ livelihood.
Sha Zhu was never really foolish.
He understood what Liu Haizhong said.
Hand over the title deed to Yi Zhonghai, get money back to compensate Chen Jianye.
Sha Zhu didn’t want to do it.
If the title deed was mortgaged, the house would no longer belong to the He family.
“Sha Zhu, who would lend you several hundred yuan for no reason, especially when you’re in trouble?”
“If you mortgage the title deed to your First Master, the matter of borrowing money will be easy to discuss.”
Yan Fugui stated clearly.
Just now, Yi Zhonghai took them both into the room to discuss this very matter.
It’s just that Yi Zhonghai himself found it awkward to tell Sha Zhu directly, so he had to find an intermediary.
“He Yushui also has a part in this house; I can’t decide alone.”
Sha Zhu held back for a long time, then found an excuse to deal with it.
“What nonsense are you talking about? He Yushui will eventually be someone else’s wife. What does the He family’s house have to do with her?”
Liu Haizhong said unhappily.
“Then, then she still needs a place to live, right?”
Sha Zhu muttered, head bowed.
“Sha Zhu, your nickname truly wasn’t given wrongly. If your First Master takes your title deed, would he really kick you siblings out of the house?”
“You still don’t know what kind of person he is? He’s the softest-hearted.”
“You mortgaging the title deed to him is just to give him peace of mind. Later, you’ll honestly pay back the money, and when the money is paid off, the title deed will still be yours.”
“Even if you can’t pay back the money, if you take care of your First Master in his old age, won’t your house, along with his house, all be yours in the future?”
Yan Fugui explained it point by point, persuading him with sound reasoning.
Sha Zhu’s mindset shifted, and the more he listened, the more reasonable it seemed.
Mortgaging the title deed to Yi Zhonghai was just moving its storage location; Yi Zhonghai wouldn’t go to extremes.
If he took care of Yi Zhonghai in his old age, the two families would become one, and what was yours or mine would all be his, Sha Zhu’s.
Thinking about it, Sha Zhu couldn’t help but smile.
The Three Grandpas saw the joy on Sha Zhu’s face and knew that the matter was settled.
“Stop dawdling, go get the title deed quickly.”
Yan Fugui urged.
“Alright.”
Sha Zhu nodded, went back into the house, got the title deed, and came out.
The four returned to the Yi Family and simply wrote a mortgage agreement for the title deed.
Sha Zhu mortgaged the He family’s property title deed to Yi Zhonghai for five hundred yuan, with Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui as witnesses.
“Five hundred yuan, a pure market price, Sha Zhu, your First Master didn’t press you for a single cent.”
“Sha Zhu, you should be grateful you met First Master. He’s an honest man and didn’t take advantage of your misfortune.”
Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong said sincerely.
“Thank you, First Master.”
Sha Zhu said excitedly, clutching a thick wad of Great Unity notes.
“Put away the title deed, and let’s go to the Chen family.”
Yi Zhonghai nodded lightly, instructed First Aunt, then said calmly.
Thus, the four went out and headed to the Chen family again.