My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 21: Negotiating Compensation

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai said, "Zhang Lei, you don't need to say so much. Just tell me what you really want?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yi Zhonghai and said, "What do you want? I want my house back, what do you want?"

Yi Zhonghai looked around at the people and then said, "Fine, since you want your house back, then I'll give it back to you. Now I'll have them move out."

Upon hearing that the house was to be returned, Jia Zhangshi immediately objected, saying, "Yi Zhonghai, you old widow, what are you saying? This house belongs to us, it was given to our Jia family by you, why should we return it to him?"

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Yi Zhonghai's forehead veins bulged, and he said to Jia Zhangshi, "Fine, since you won't return it, then let Zhang Lei call the police and see if they can arrest you."

Upon hearing that she would be arrested by the police, Jia Zhangshi immediately wilted.

Meanwhile, Jia Dongxu, who was still lying on the ground, came to his senses and looked at his buttocks in confusion. He didn't expect Zhang Lei's light kick to hurt so much; he thought he had hurt himself.

At this moment, Jia Dongxu looked at the angry Yi Zhonghai and quickly advised, "Master, Master, please don't take my mother's words to heart. That's just how she is. You know she didn't mean anything by it. I apologize to you on her behalf!"

Hearing Jia Dongxu's words, Yi Zhonghai didn't argue with Jia Zhangshi, but Jia Zhangshi's words calling him an old man without descendants still made Yi Zhonghai furious.

Although everyone in the courtyard knew that Yi Zhonghai had no children, no one actually cursed him to his face. If it weren't for the sake of his old age, how could he have tolerated that old hag Jia Zhangshi and let her talk nonsense in the courtyard?

Seeing the deep affection between the master and apprentice, Zhang Lei said, "Alright, stop acting."

After Zhang Lei said that, Yi Zhonghai coughed awkwardly twice.

Then Zhang Lei looked at everyone, and then at Yi Zhonghai, and said, "Since you've said so, sir, I'll talk to you about compensation now."

Upon hearing about compensation, Jia Zhangshi immediately became displeased, jumping up and down and cursing, "You little bastard, we've already given you back the house, what more compensation do you want?"

Upon hearing about compensation, Yan Fugui quickly chimed in, "Yes, Zhang Lei, the house has already been returned to you, hasn't it?"

Zhang Lei sneered, "The house is a house issue, and compensation is a compensation issue. You've lived in my house for so long, who knows what kind of mess you've made of it? What, you don't think I'd use the things you've used before, do you?"

At this moment, Jia Dongxu, enduring the pain, got up from the ground and said defiantly, "Zhang Lei, don't push your luck!"

Zhang Lei glanced at Jia Dongxu and sneered, "Alright, you mama's boy, stop showing off your abilities all the time."

Someone in the crowd whispered to Zhang Lei, "Zhang Lei, what's a 'mama's boy'?"

Zhang Lei explained with a smile, "A 'mama's boy' is like a child who hasn't been weaned yet. He stays in his mother's arms all day and expects his mother to do everything for him."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's explanation, everyone burst into laughter. They all secretly thought to themselves, "You know what, Jia Dongxu really is a mama's boy. When he encounters something he can't handle, he relies entirely on Jia Zhangshi to step in and solve it."

Seeing the crowd's mockery, Jia Dongxu angrily roared, "Stop laughing! What are you laughing at?"

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai saw Jia Dongxu's expression and stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, let's get down to business."

He then looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Zhang Lei, are you trying to resolve this, or do you just want to argue?"

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Isn't this just to make everyone happy? Don't be so serious, old man."

Yi Zhonghai immediately reached out and said, "Hurry up and tell me, what other conditions do you have?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yi Zhonghai and said, "Uncle, don't be in such a hurry. We need to check the inside of the house before assessing the damage, don't you think?"

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment, then looked at Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui and said, "Old Liu, Old Yan, you two come with me."

At this moment, Zhang Lei said, "No, I don't trust you. Either your apprentices are occupying my house, or your own families are occupying my house. I don't believe what you say."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Yi Zhonghai angrily said, "Then what exactly do you want?"

Zhang Lei said, "It's nothing special, just something to have everyone in the yard go and take a look."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Zhang Lei otherwise, Yi Zhonghai said, "Fine, if you want people to follow, then let them."

At this moment, the people in the courtyard also wanted to see what the current situation was like at Zhang Lei's house, so they all followed him inside.

When everyone arrived at Zhang Lei's house, in the middle room where Jia Zhangshi had lived, they were all immediately shocked. This wasn't a house; it was practically a pigsty.

Zhang Lei looked at everyone's expressions, then angrily shouted, "Jia Zhangshi, are you a pig? Huh? How did you manage to ruin my house like this? Is this a place for a human to live in? Huh? Tell me!"

Hearing Zhang Lei's angry rebuke, no one stepped forward to stop him. After all, who wouldn't be angry if their home was ransacked like that?

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at Yi Zhonghai and said, "Uncle, I don't want anything in this house anymore, just pay the original price."

When Jia Zhangshi saw Zhang Lei ignore her and look at Yi Zhonghai, she immediately shrieked, "What compensation? What compensation? Hey, these things are all perfectly fine!"

Everyone looked at Jia Zhangshi with disdain, thinking to themselves how could she say such a thing.

Zhang Lei didn't argue with Jia Zhangshi at all; he just stared intently at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai's lips trembled slightly as he said, "Why don't you have Aunt Zhang tidy it up for you first? This thing is still usable."

Zhang Lei stared at Yi Zhonghai and said, "Alright, old man, since it works, let's swap. Move your furniture to my house, and I'll move mine to yours."

Yi Zhonghai immediately jumped up and said, "How can that be allowed?"

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's reaction, Zhang Lei said with disdain, "So you know it won't work?"

At this moment, Zhang Lei pretended to suddenly realize something and said, "Oh, right."

He paused, then continued, "The money my parents left me."

Then he looked at Yi Zhonghai and said, "Uncle, Liu Haizhong, Yan Fugui, could you please check if the money I kept under my bed is still there?"

Upon hearing that there was money under the bed, Jia Zhangshi was filled with remorse.

Jia Zhangshi's heart skipped a beat. She cursed herself for being so foolish. She had lived there for so long, how could she not have thought that the money was hidden under the bed? When she first moved in, she had turned the house upside down.

At this moment, under Zhang Lei's command, Liu Haizhong squatted down, lifted two bricks under the bed, reached down and pulled out an iron box.

All eyes turned to the metal box, curious about what was inside.

Liu Haizhong twisted the metal box open with force, and seeing that it was empty, he frowned and said, "Zhang Lei, are you playing me? There's nothing inside!"

Zhang Lei immediately feigned anxiety, stepping forward and saying, "What's going on? How could it not be there? I clearly put the money in this box!"

He abruptly turned to look at Jia Zhangshi, pointed at her, and said sternly, "Jia Zhangshi, give me back my money! That's my parents' pension, the money they left me, hand it over right now!"