I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 88 Covert Struggle

“Wuwu!”

The two small paper balls were just a waste of time. Old Mrs. Luo covered her face and cried bitterly. Liu Haizhong showed off the paper ball in his hand in front of everyone. On it was a crookedly written character "房" (house), which was written by Xu Damao himself.

"Look everyone, this is God's decree: the leaders put in the hardship first and enjoy the benefits later. Even if they're the last to draw lots, the house still belongs to the Liu family, haha!"

To everyone's surprise, despite having a two-thirds advantage, Liu Haizhong ended up drawing the house.

"Haha, hahaha! It's God's arrangement. This house belongs to the Liu family. No matter what you do, you can't defy God."

Second Aunt was overjoyed. She looked at Old Mrs. Luo triumphantly and emphasized that it was the will of God.

The Luo family wasted their precious 4 yuan and could only retreat in defeat. For the first time, the usually strong and spirited old lady Luo showed signs of aging and even needed her daughter-in-law's help to walk.

Hearing the cries coming from the Luo family, everyone in the courtyard felt sorry for them. In fact, the Luo family was the one with the most housing difficulties and the one who should have received the house the most. This was a generally accepted fact.

Watching the Liu family inspect the house with great joy, Jia Dongjin was once again convinced that there is no such thing as God in the world. That's just how the world is. Even if you hit the sky with a stone, it won't make a difference.

Back at the Jia family home, Jia Dongjin was about to ask Jia Zhangshi for advice on why the transfer was done by drawing lots. He was now truly convinced that the transfer was a stroke of genius and couldn't believe that Jia Zhangshi could come up with such a brilliant idea.

Jia Zhangshi proudly laid out a dollar and told Jia Dongjin to buy expensive steamed buns after get off work the next day.

Then, she instructed the young couple, "Good fortune shouldn't be enjoyed to the fullest. Lately, our Jia family has been too prominent. We absolutely cannot occupy the south-facing room, otherwise we'll become a thorn in everyone's side. Even if we manage to draw a room, we won't have a secure position. Just you wait and see. Old Man Yan and Silly Zhu are seething with anger. The Luo family paid four yuan for nothing, and they will never swallow this insult. There may be no open competition, but the underhanded struggle continues. Unless the neighborhood committee intervenes, trouble will inevitably arise sooner or later."

"Mom, you're this one!"

For the first time since his transmigration, Jia Dongjin gave his mother a thumbs-up. Jia Zhangshi's decision to avoid taking on a difficult task and instead leave with three yuan was undoubtedly wise, earning Jia Dongjin's sincere admiration. No wonder, in the original drama, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu worked together seamlessly to secure ownership of the courtyard house for Banggeng. Jia Zhangshi was indeed capable; her shrewdness and composure deserved Jia Dongjin's praise.

With Jia Zhangshi in charge of the Jia family, he no longer had to worry about the rear; he only needed to work hard to earn a living outside.

While the Jia family in the middle courtyard was overjoyed, the Xu family in the back courtyard began to discipline their son.

"Da Mao, I'm going to teach you a lesson today. You better lie down and behave yourself."

As soon as Xu Fugui returned home, he could no longer control his anger. He ordered his son to bend over on the kang (a heated brick bed), and for the first time, he took out his belt and gave Xu Damao a severe beating.

Xu's mother, standing beside him, also looked furious and gave Xu Damao a severe scolding.

"Just one yuan! For a mere one yuan, you tried to be clever in public, but the Jia family got the benefit while you made enemies and offended the Liu and Luo families for nothing!"

"Your mother is right. How can a fool like you carry on the family line in the future? Dongjin's mother is shameless. She knows the house is too hot to handle, so she's only looking for practicality. She's older and a woman, so of course she's not afraid of losing face, but you can't."

Xu Fugui said bitterly, but Xu Damao was his only son. After beating him, he would have to patiently teach him so that his son would not show off his cleverness in the future and suffer a great loss.

In the end, Xu Damao was extremely miserable. He limped over and returned the 4 yuan to the Luo family. Then he went with Xu Fugui to apologize to the Liu family.

He didn't earn a single penny; instead, he lost 3 yuan for nothing. Upon hearing the news, Jia Zhangshi was overjoyed and remained in a good mood for more than a week.

As Jia Zhangshi predicted, the very next day, just as Jia Dongjin bought back the expensive steamed buns, someone from the street office came to handle the house matter. It was none other than Director Wang, the top leader of the street office, who showed how much importance the street office attached to it.

Director Wang from the neighborhood committee personally led a team, bringing in two staff members. Seeing Old Mo's house, she frowned and asked, "What's going on here? Why are you making such a racket?"

Director Wang was exhausted. There was another house-grabbing incident at courtyard house number 95, which gave her a splitting headache.

Before Jia Dong came in, No. 95 Courtyard was an advanced and civilized courtyard that had been recognized for many years. However, two incidents of house grabbing occurred in succession, both of which were extremely serious. Today alone, four letters of complaint were received. Someone even secretly posted a small poster on the wall of the street office, reporting Liu Haizhong's bad behavior of occupying the house. He even attacked the old lady, which tarnished the title of the "manager".

Therefore, Director Wang knew that none of the families in the compound were easy to deal with, and this matter had to be handled properly, otherwise it would cause even greater conflicts.

Upon seeing the leaders come down for an inspection, Liu Haizhong immediately ran over and fawned over Director Wang, saying, "Director Wang, you've finally arrived! I was just about to report to you. This room is just sitting empty anyway, so I was thinking of locking it up to prevent it from being ruined, but then they started arguing with me!"

He had also heard rumors while at work that someone had reported him, and he was constantly uneasy, hoping that Director Wang would show some consideration for him.

Director Wang glanced at the lock, then at the gathered crowd, and said sternly, "Liu Haizhong, this house is collective property. Locking the door without permission is wrong. The neighborhood committee will study the allocation of the house as soon as possible and give everyone a response. Until then, no one is allowed to occupy it without authorization!"

She knew perfectly well that she couldn't side with either side, otherwise it would cause conflict. She could only suppress the matter for now and deal with it slowly later.

Director Wang glanced at Yi Zhonghai, hoping he could help him with the work in the hospital. If handled properly, he suggested replacing Liu Haizhong with Yi Zhonghai instead.

Liu Haizhong's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he muttered, "I'm doing this for the good of the group..."

He knew the house purchase was ruined, but he was still unwilling to give up.

He glanced at Yan Bugui and Old Lady Luo, and seeing the two looking at him smugly, Liu Hai felt a surge of hatred.

Director Wang ignored Liu Haizhong and said to Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi, you used to be a big shot in the courtyard. Keep an eye on things for Old Liu these days, and make sure nothing else goes wrong."

Yi Zhonghai nodded quickly: "Director Wang, please rest assured, I will definitely handle this for Lao Liu."

He deliberately spoke with extreme emphasis, making Liu Haizhong feel utterly ashamed.

After Director Wang left, Liu Haizhong slumped onto the stone bench like a deflated balloon.

Grandma Luo glanced smugly at Liu Haizhong, humming a little tune. Yan Bugui, carrying a large water jug, strolled leisurely to the front yard, muttering something under his breath, seemingly saying something like, "Trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead..."

Although Yan Fugui didn't gain any advantage, he managed to make Liu Haizhong suffer a setback, which was a way of venting his anger.

Yan Fugui knew that this struggle was not over yet, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. He had even planned that if the neighborhood committee did not agree to allocate the houses, he would join forces with the other residents in the compound to petition the neighborhood committee and make them take the issue seriously.

Compared to the Luo family, who have the most housing difficulties, Yan Fugui knows the situation well. Everyone is facing housing shortages now, so it's impossible to really line them up according to housing difficulties. Otherwise, where would all these poor people with housing shortages come from?

Thus, the Yan family also had a chance. He was the first person to submit a report to the subdistrict office to apply for housing, so his chances of getting a house were not small.

Sha Zhu glanced at Liu Haizhong and teased smugly, "Second Uncle, you'd better be more careful in the future, and stop thinking about crooked ways!"

Liu Haizhong glared at him, though he wanted nothing more than to give He Yuzhu a good beating, but he didn't say anything more. This time, he not only failed to get the house, but also lost face in the yard.

Shortly after Liu Haizhong left, Old Mrs. Luo squatted down at the door of Old Mo's house and began muttering, "I need to buy a second-hand double bed, the size has to be right..."

She thought to herself that as long as the neighborhood committee allocated the house to her, she would immediately move in with her grandson and three granddaughters. Maybe her daughter-in-law could even have another grandson.

Grandma Luo knew very well that Yan Bugui was also after the house, and she had to find a way to prevent it. If Yan Bugui dared to compete with her for the house, she would expose his past scandals and make him unable to hold his head up in the yard.

Yan Bugui returned to the house and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. It was an application he had written to the neighborhood committee eight years ago, requesting housing allocation, but to no avail. He gently stroked the paper, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked at the words "to be studied and discussed" on the application.

"Eight years! Eight whole years of research! It even took up our precious daily lives!"

The smell of gunpowder in the courtyard had not dissipated. The locking of doors, drawing lots, and sending letters of complaint were just appetizers. This struggle would not end; it would only continue in another form.