My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 28: Cutting Off the Lifeline

“Brother Xu, your courtyard is quite nice—especially the location. It’s right in the heart of the city yet feels surprisingly peaceful.” Li Chao took a good look around the Siheyuan and liked it more and more the longer he looked; it was much more to his taste than his own large villa. After exchanging a few polite remarks, Mr. Xu introduced Mrs. Xu and Yang Lina, then led Li Chao to the storage area for dried goods and salted pork. All the goods had been packed into cardboard boxes and neatly stacked. “Brother Li, would you like to check them?” Li Chao, of course, wouldn’t let such a basic mistake slip by, so he naturally stepped forward to randomly check a few cardboard boxes. The air-dried goods were fine, though the salted pork had been sun-dried a bit too long—it looked a little dry and had a dull color, so the texture would likely be slightly inferior, but it was nothing to worry about. “No problem—I’m very satisfied with this shipment.” Mr. Xu was delighted and immediately invited Li Chao into the living room to begin the actual transaction. As soon as Li Chao entered the living room, he felt a wave of warmth and asked curiously: “Brother Xu, do you have a diesel generator at your place too?” Mr. Xu shook his head, pointed overhead, and explained, “It’s not a diesel generator. We’ve installed solar panels on the roof—we use solar power at home.” “No wonder I didn’t hear any engine noise. This house must have been renovated just a few years ago, right? Solar power has only really taken off in the last couple of years.” “We bought the house just last year, and that’s when we had the solar panels installed,” Mr. Xu replied. Li Chao nodded: “That makes sense.” No sooner had Mr. Xu and Li Chao sat down than Mrs. Xu came over carrying two cups of tea, adding casually, “It’s nothing special—just something to quench your thirst.” “Thank you!” Li Chao quickly replied. After serving the tea, Mrs. Xu didn’t leave; she turned and sat down next to Mr. Xu, apparently not wanting to leave him alone to handle the money. As for Xu Dong, he figured out of sight, out of mind, so he took the two Ke Ke sisters upstairs to play video games. The three exchanged a few pleasantries, and then the main event began. Li Chao went back to the truck’s cab, pulled out a bulging black plastic bag, then returned to the living room and handed it directly to Mr. Xu. Mr. Xu opened it to find bundles of 100-yuan bills inside. Xu’s mother had also been prepared; she’d previously asked Xu Dong for a bill counter, and the elderly couple began counting the money right in front of Li Chao. They checked the money three times over—not a single jiao more, not a single jiao less, and not a single counterfeit bill. “Exactly 600,000. Brother Li, we’re even now.” Mr. Xu extended his right hand and gave the other man a firm handshake, a beaming smile spreading across his face without him even realizing it. Li Chao was equally beaming, and finally made what he called a “small request”: “Brother Xu, could you help me move the goods? There are so many boxes—I can’t handle them all by myself.” Mr. Xu waved his hand dismissively: “It’s our duty. Even if you hadn’t asked, we wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing—it would be an embarrassment if word got out.” Yang Lina nodded in agreement from the side. With 600,000 suddenly coming into the household, she was the happiest of all—after all, she couldn’t count on her husband, and the family couldn’t just sit around living off their savings forever. Seeing everyone start to move the goods, Mrs. Xu called out to the upstairs: “Dongzi, hurry down and help move the goods.” Although reluctant, Xu Dong still came downstairs with his two daughters. With his parents doing all the heavy lifting, it wouldn’t have looked right for him not to show up. Xu Dong exchanged a brief greeting with Big Boss Li and joined the team carrying the goods. Even though he didn’t care for the man, he couldn’t skimp on basic courtesy—he had to set a good example for the children. Li Chao spotted the twins and casually complimented, “Old Xu, your granddaughters are so adorable. How old are they this year?” “Six years old—they just started first grade.” Xu’s father introduced them, then had the twins greet him. “Hello, Grandpa Li!” Li Chao looked very pleased and immediately slipped a large red envelope into each of the twins’ hands—envelopes he’d prepared before coming. Half an hour later, the small van pulled away from the Siheyuan. Xu Dong felt a sense of loss, yet at the same time, a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Let the meat go, and may the people find peace! "Let's just sell them, then. We've got plenty left in the warehouse anyway, and what matters most is that our family is happy. At the very least, with this income, they’ll feel a lot more at ease. That evening, the family sat in the living room, discussing what to do with the money. Mrs. Xu and Yang Lina wanted to put it in the bank for a rainy day—a common sentiment among women who value stability. Mr. Xu, on the other hand, wanted to keep running the convenience store; having just experienced this “big windfall,” he felt even more confident about running the business. Xu Dong was firmly opposed to this. “The money we made this time came from the dried goods and salted pork that Mom and Nana worked so hard to make—it has absolutely nothing to do with the convenience store.” Just as Xu’s father was about to object, Xu Dong cut him off: “Dad, please let me finish.” Xu Dong urged him earnestly: “Given the current situation, even if we open a new store, you won’t be able to renovate it, you won’t find suppliers, and you might not even be able to get a business license. We’d be better off waiting a bit—at the very least until the water, electricity, and internet are all connected. It won’t be too late to open a store then.” Xu’s mother thought her son had a point, so she chimed in: “Honey, why don’t we wait a little longer? Otherwise, with rent running into tens of thousands a month, how can we afford to take that loss?” Mr. Xu thought it over and realized he’d been too hasty—it seemed the 600,000 yuan had gone to his head, and he’d indeed been acting a bit irrationally. So he readily agreed: “All right, let’s wait another two months and see.” The next morning, after a night of thinking it over, Xu Dong felt things couldn’t go on like this. Last night, aside from discussing the new store, Mr. Xu had also asked him about the supplies in the basement because the store was running low on stock. Although he’d managed to fob him off for the time being, the signs were very ominous! Having learned his lesson the hard way, Xu Dong decided to “put the greater good before family ties.” That afternoon, Xu Dong made up an excuse about looking for a new supplier and set out to run an errand; his father didn’t suspect a thing. Wearing a mask, Xu Dong quickly found an elderly woman in her fifties. According to neighbors, the woman had a feisty personality, was always looking to get a bargain, and had a very bad reputation. This was exactly the kind of person Xu Dong was looking for. “So you’re saying, give me 5,000 yuan to cause a scene at the convenience store?” the elderly woman asked, puzzled. Xu Dong nodded. “That’s right. Not only do you have to cause a scene, but you also have to file a complaint with the Health Bureau.” “Isn’t that against the law?” the woman asked, looking a little scared. Xu Dong explained, “You don’t have to frame anyone—just cause a scene. Simply causing a scene isn’t against the law.” In the end, lured by the promise of 10,000 yuan, the elderly woman agreed. In less than half an hour, the two had worked out the details of their plan. Then, the show began. A little after 5:00 p. m. , the elderly woman went to the Cola Convenience Store to buy something, and then, in full view of everyone, pulled a dead rat out of the rice bin. The dead rat was, of course, Xu Dong’s handiwork. It was the peak shopping hour, so word spread like wildfire. Even though Xu’s father offered to pay the elderly woman 500 yuan in compensation for emotional distress, she remained unmoved and insisted on calling officials from the Health Bureau. The final outcome was that the convenience store was ordered to suspend operations for three months for rectification. Holding the penalty notice, Xu’s father looked as if he’d lost a close relative, his face a mask of disbelief. Xu Dong, meanwhile, stood by and offered insincere consolation: “Dad, just think of it as taking a vacation. Three months isn’t that long, and we’ve pretty much sold out of everything in the store anyway.” Since there was nothing he could do to change it, Xu’s father had no choice but to accept the decision. As the afterglow of the setting sun bathed them, the father and son locked the convenience store’s doors once more.