My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 220: Liu Haizhong's attempt to buy a house hits a snag.

Hearing Yan Jiecheng's words, Ye Shuqin frowned slightly, but didn't take it to heart—after all, Zhang Lei had said before that if no one wanted these things, they should be taken to the scrap yard. So she said to Yan Fugui, "Third Uncle, let's settle the accounts for these things first. I'll sell them all to you. As for how you sell them afterward, that's your business."

Yan Fugui nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I'll start calculating now." He then started fiddling with the abacus, and the sound of clattering filled the air as he calculated the price of each item, from bowls and chopsticks to the table.

Before Yan Fugui could finish calculating the last amount, Ye Shuqin announced the total: "It's 87.54 yuan in total."

Yan Fugui was taken aback, then quickly finished the last calculation. The result was exactly as predicted, and he immediately praised, "Ye Shuqin, you're really amazing!"

Zhang Lei was also startled and leaned closer to Ye Shuqin, asking, "Wife, how did you calculate that? You're faster than Uncle San using an abacus."

Ye Shuqin replied with a smile, "Honey, I can figure out these numbers in my head, so there's no need to use an abacus."

Zhang Lei thought to himself that his wife was amazing, and he felt even more that entrusting her with the family's finances was the right thing to do. He smiled and praised her, "My wife is really capable. You should still be in charge of our family's finances. With your math skills, it would be a shame if you weren't a teacher."

"Don't praise me, sir. This arithmetic is just a minor skill. You are the pillar of our family." Ye Shuqin waved her hand with a smile.

Zhang Lei felt flattered by the praise and joked, "From now on, all our family's money will be yours. I'll rely on you to support me and be a kept man."

Ye Shuqin pinched his waist in an annoyed tone and whispered, "Honey, there are so many people watching."

Zhang Lei smiled awkwardly. The people in the courtyard chuckled as they watched this scene. Some envied the couple's affection, while others secretly felt jealous.

At this moment, Yan Fugui finished counting the money and said, "Zhang Lei, how about we round it down to 87 yuan?"

Seeing his calculating look, Zhang Lei refused directly: "No, it has to be the price you're owed, otherwise I won't sell it to you."

Yan Fugui quickly pulled out another 54 cents from his pocket and reluctantly handed the money to Zhang Lei. Zhang Lei took the money and immediately gave it to Ye Shuqin.

After Yan Fugui finished paying, he smiled and said, "Zhang Lei, can I borrow your room for a bit?"

Zhang Lei thought for a moment and agreed: "Okay, you can use it, but you have to clean the house thoroughly after you're done."

Yan Fugui patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry! I guarantee I'll clean it spotless!"

Yan Fugui, having gained an advantage, was overjoyed. Meanwhile, Liu Haizhong returned home from the backyard, slamming his fist on the table in anger, cursing, "Damn it, that Zhang Lei really doesn't give his uncle any face! Just wait and see how I deal with him!"

Seeing his furious state, Auntie Er quickly advised, "Husband, let it go. Zhang Lei's family has more people and more power now. It's not worth it for us to go against him."

"So what if there are a lot of people? Who have I, Liu Haizhong, ever been afraid of in my life?" Liu Haizhong shouted, his neck stiff.

Aunt Erda's eyes darted around, and she leaned closer to him, saying, "Honey, Zhang Lei did snatch the house from Yi Zhonghai's family, but the two rooms in the backyard belonging to the deaf old lady are still empty! Those are the main rooms, even better than Yi Zhonghai's house."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's eyes lit up. He thought about it and realized it made perfect sense. He immediately said, "That's right! Wife, you're absolutely right! I'll go to the neighborhood office right now and take over those two rooms belonging to the deaf old lady. Then let's see how Zhang Lei will act so cocky with me!"

As he spoke, Liu Haizhong immediately took his second aunt and hurriedly headed to the neighborhood office.

Inside the neighborhood office, Director Wang was handling official business when he saw Liu Haizhong and his wife enter. He asked with a puzzled look, "Liu Haizhong, what brings you here?"

Liu Haizhong approached with a smile: "Director Wang, it's like this, you see, the funeral for the deaf old lady in the backyard is all over..."

"Didn't we already give you the funeral allowance?" Director Wang interrupted him.

Liu Haizhong quickly waved his hands: "No, no, it's not about the money!"

"What is that?" Director Wang asked, even more puzzled.

Liu Haizhong forced an awkward smile and stammered, "It's...it's a house. Director Wang, you see, my two sons are both grown up, and the house is too cramped for them to sleep in. I was thinking that the two rooms that the deaf old lady has are just sitting empty anyway, so could the neighborhood committee allocate some to our family?"

Director Wang immediately showed his displeasure: "Liu Haizhong, the two rooms of the deaf old lady have already been taken over by the government! The housing provided by the street office is already enough for your family. Do you want more? Your thinking is really wrong."

Liu Haizhong was momentarily speechless, and the second aunt quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "No, no, no, Director Wang, we don't want to take it for free, we want to buy it! Yes, we'll pay for it!"

Liu Haizhong quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we'll buy it! We'll buy it with our own money!"

Director Wang waved his hand dismissively, saying, "No way! Publicly owned housing can't be bought or sold right now. There are still many families without homes waiting to be allocated housing. What are you doing here?"

Liu Hai was indignant and immediately spoke up: "Director Wang, government-owned houses are not allowed to be bought and sold, so how come Zhang Lei from our compound bought Yi Zhonghai's house?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang's face immediately darkened, and he said sternly, "Zhang Lei bought Yi Zhonghai's house voluntarily! Liu Cuilan owed Zhang Lei three thousand yuan and couldn't repay it, so the house was used as collateral! Moreover, Yi Zhonghai's house is a private property, not public property, so the neighborhood committee naturally has no say in this!"

These words immediately deflated Liu Haizhong, who said awkwardly, "Director Wang, I'm sorry, I didn't understand the situation clearly."

Director Wang looked at him, her tone softening slightly but still reproachful: "Alright, forget about it. If you really want a house, have your son work hard and find a stable job. When it's time to allocate housing, you'll naturally get one. Nobody's well-off these days. You're the only one in your family who works, and you've already received your share of housing. Stop thinking nonsense. You're the second oldest in this courtyard house; don't you understand these rules?"

Liu Haizhong lowered his head and nodded repeatedly: "Director Wang, I understand, I understand, thank you for your help."

Watching Liu Haizhong and his wife leave dejectedly, Director Wang frowned in anger, inwardly cursing Liu Haizhong for being hopeless. If it weren't for the fact that there were no more suitable people to choose from in the courtyard, he would never have wanted Liu Haizhong to be the second uncle—he had already inquired about Liu Haizhong's reputation in the courtyard; it wasn't good, just average and not up to par.

When Liu Haizhong and his wife walked back to their courtyard house dejectedly, they saw Yan Fugui in the middle courtyard arguing heatedly with the other residents, haggling over the price of the items.

It really does prove Yan Fugui's favorite saying: "You won't get poor from eating or dressing, but you will if you don't plan ahead." His personality is such that he has calculation ingrained in his bones; he has to figure out every single detail and won't give an inch.

However, the people in the courtyard saw that Yi Zhonghai's furniture was still quite new and much cheaper than what they could buy outside, so they didn't care about haggling over a few cents and were willing to argue with him.

Yan Fugui was extremely pleased with himself for his method of making money without any investment, and his eyes were filled with undisguised joy.