Chapter 670: Terminally Ill

Xu Damao pondered for a long time, feeling that continuing to argue with Xie Xiaolan like this would never end, so he simply softened his tone: "Xie Xiaolan, I really can't give you this house. You know clearly that even if I had money now, I couldn't buy a house, and even if I bought one, I couldn't transfer the title. If you occupy this place, where am I supposed to live when I marry a new wife?"

Xie Xiaolan listened and gave a sarcastic laugh: "You're marrying a new wife, so I should make room for you? When you were in jail, who brought you things every day? Who was running around outside for you?"

Xu Damao said: "But your move into the city, that counts as me helping you, right?"

"Xu Damao, stop gilding your own face! My job was something I fought for; if I hadn't made a scene, how could Liu Weidong have arranged a job for me?"

Xu Damao glared: "So, you've forgotten all the good I've done? Could you have entered the city without me?"

"It has a little to do with you, but not much! That I am where I am today is because I endured you, because I went and made a scene, because I fought for it; at best, you were just a stepping stone."

"You are unreasonable. I really must have been blind to have known an ungrateful wretch like you!"

Xu Damao was truly anxious.

Qin Jingru was a pure, untouched girl; if he didn't get a divorce, there would definitely be no chance.

He pondered for a long time and said through gritted teeth: "Fine, then I'll take a step back. You take the two side rooms in the courtyard, and the main rooms will be mine."

Xie Xiaolan shook her head, not yielding an inch: "The three main rooms belong to me, and the two side rooms belong to you. This is my bottom line, and you cannot live in this courtyard when you get married, otherwise I will make a scene and ruin that too!"

"If I don't live in this courtyard, what do I need this house for?" Xu Damao's eyes widened.

"Have your mother move over, and you go live in the 95 Siheyuan," Xie Xiaolan said.

"Will my mother agree? That's the house my father left behind!"

"The two rooms in your 95 Siheyuan are also side rooms, and they aren't even as good as the two side rooms in this courtyard. Besides, it's right next to Qianmen, how convenient," Xie Xiaolan said unhurriedly.

The two negotiated for a long time, and finally, Xu Damao nodded.

The two of them had over two hundred yuan in savings, all in Xie Xiaolan's hands. Xu Damao couldn't get it back even if he wanted to, so he simply gave it all to her in one go.

At the entrance of the 95 Siheyuan, ever since Yan Bugui started sweeping floors at the school, his entire presence had diminished, and he was listless all day long. The flowers he kept in pots were just like him, living without any spirit.

At this moment, two people walked into the courtyard entrance: an old gentleman of sixty or seventy, looking quite refined and scholarly, followed by a young, beautiful woman.

Yan Bugui stepped forward to stop them and asked: "Hey, who are you two looking for?"

The woman replied: "I am from the Beijing Hospital, here to treat Chen Xueru."

Yan Bugui was stunned. He hated the He Family to death now, and his tone was snide: "Isn't Chen Xueru already beyond saving? Why are you still looking for someone to treat her? You must have too much money to burn!"

The woman said: "Western medicine has declared her beyond saving, but aren't we trying to see if we can use Traditional Chinese Medicine to give it another shot? If it happens to work, wouldn't that be like snatching a life back?"

Yan Bugui said with a touch of schadenfreude: "I think it's hopeless. She's already using a cane to walk, how much longer can she live?"

The woman ignored him and walked straight into the courtyard.

Yan Bugui called out reluctantly: "There is a moon gate in the back courtyard, just go in through there."

The woman helped the old gentleman walk toward the Houyuan.

In the Houyuan, Bang Geng and He Zheng were playing with a slingshot.

He Zheng recognized the woman at a glance and shouted: "Aunt Jiang Mei, did you come to treat my mother?"

Jiang Mei nodded: "Take me to see your mother."

"Let's go, follow me."

Bang Geng didn't follow them in and ran back home by himself.

Cui Xiu saw Bang Geng and called him over: "Bang Geng, come here."

Bang Geng was indifferent: "What is it, Grandma Cui? Fishing for information again?"

Cui Xiu cursed: "You little brat, when have I ever fished for information from you? Those two doctors just now were going to see Chen Xueru, right?"

Bang Geng nodded: "Look, aren't you fishing for information now?"

Cui Xiu was so angry her teeth itched, and she lowered her voice: "Bang Geng, give your grandma the bottom line, is Chen Xueru really beyond saving?"

Bang Geng shook his head: "Teacher's wife is done for, she won't live past this year; she says she's tired just from lying down all day!"

Just then, Xu Damao returned with a long face.

Bang Geng looked at Xu Damao and asked: "Uncle Xu, is cleaning the toilets fun?"

Xu Damao cursed irritably: "Go play somewhere else, you're getting more and more annoying as you grow up!"

Bang Geng said with a grin: "I heard you like Qin Jingru from the front courtyard, is that true?"

"Stay away!" Xu Damao said crossly.

Bang Geng curled his lips and ran off.

Xu Damao followed Cui Xiu into the room and explained the matter of swapping houses.

Cui Xiu got anxious on the spot: "You little bastard, why are you so troublesome? You mess around outside, and when you can't make it, you set your sights on my house again!"

Xu Damao hurriedly said: "Mom, you're being distant by saying that. If I had the ability, I'd buy a house myself; if I don't have the ability, don't you have to take care of me? When I marry a wife, won't she have to move into this house?"

Cui Xiu sighed: "Fine, tell me, what do you want to do?"

Xu Damao said: "Sigh, Xie Xiaolan is dead set on getting the house from me. In the end, for that small courtyard at Qianmen, she gets the three main rooms, and I get the two side rooms. But she added a condition: I absolutely cannot marry a new wife in there. Mom, I'm truly at my wit's end..."

Luo Jiangtao pulled Cui Xiu into the courtyard and whispered: "Junior sister, I think moving to Qianmen wouldn't be bad. Staying in this courtyard, we're always being pointed at, it's no fun. That place is at least a private courtyard, and Xie Xiaolan seems alright; we won't have any conflicts with her."

"But you're still working as a temp at the Street Office. If we live at Qianmen, won't it be troublesome to come back here to work?" Cui Xiu said.

"It's easy to find work over at Qianmen, don't worry about me!" Luo Jiangtao said.

Cui Xiu thought for a moment and said: "Xu Damao has quite a bit of money, we shouldn't agree to him easily; we must make him compensate us with money."

Luo Jiangtao chuckled: "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about that? That's how it's going to be." Cui Xiu made the final decision.

The two returned to the room, and Cui Xiu said: "Damao, I don't want to move, but your stepfather is thinking of you; he's willing to give up his work at the Street Office here just so he doesn't delay your marriage. However, after your stepfather moves over, he might not find work for a year or so, you have to compensate him, right?"

Xu Damao said with a mournful face: "Mom, all my money went to Xie Xiaolan, I don't have a single cent in my pocket now."

"If you have no money, what are you marrying a wife for? Then we won't move, let's just leave it at that!" Cui Xiu immediately pulled a long face.

Xu Damao saw it wouldn't work and hurriedly said: "Mom, I'll give you one hundred yuan, is that okay?"

"Two hundred at least, not a cent less!" Cui Xiu bit down and wouldn't budge.

"Alright! I'll listen to you. I'll give you the money tomorrow; will the day after tomorrow work for you to move?" Xu Damao had no choice but to accept it.

Liu Yahui and his group investigated at the Tractor Factory for several days, but they didn't manage to ask anything out of anyone.

It turned out that He Yuzhu had already greeted these Experts in advance: as long as anyone came to ask questions, they were to talk only about professional knowledge and discuss nothing else.

And these people who came to investigate were completely ignorant of professional knowledge, and on top of that, they had no social experience, so they just kept repeating those same few lines of labeling people.

Although they were holding back anger in their hearts, He Yuzhu provided them with good food and drink, so everyone was still relatively polite.

Only one person had an especially arrogant attitude and actually slapped an Engineer across the face.

As a result, when this person went to the restroom, a nail pierced his foot, and he was rushed to the hospital.