Chapter 2677

This time when he came, Hou Wenhai specifically found the eldest of the Li family. He said he wanted to ask the eldest of the Li family and his family to help him look after and take care of this courtyard in his absence, because they couldn't live here for long, so they still needed such a person.

Such a large courtyard, if no one looked after and took care of it, would lose its original luster over time. And for Hou Wenhai, the eldest of the Li family and his family were naturally the most suitable candidates.

This courtyard was originally the Li family's, and they had deep feelings for it. Moreover, the eldest of the Li family was not the kind of person who was greedy for money and forgot righteousness. This could be seen from his insistence on not selling his own courtyard.

The eldest of the Li family used to be a worker, and his wife was a housewife. Now the eldest of the Li family had also been laid off, and his son was still in college, so the family's economic conditions were not very good, and they were living a tight life.

But even in such a situation, he refused Hou Wenhai's request to buy his courtyard. Even when Hou Wenhai offered such a high price, he was not moved. Although he didn't have much education, he also had the character of a gentleman who remains poor as found in traditional Chinese culture.

Therefore, Hou Wenhai found the eldest of the Li family and asked him to help look after and take care of his courtyard in his spare time. The price he offered was three thousand yuan per month.

The average salary in the capital now was probably only a little over one thousand yuan, and the eldest of the Li family couldn't earn that much by doing odd jobs. Hou Wenhai offered three thousand yuan a month at once, saying it was to ask the couple to look after and take care of this courtyard. This immediately stunned the eldest of the Li family.

He was stunned for a while and asked, "Comrade Hou, how did you think of asking me to help you look after this courtyard?"

Hou Wenhai found it a bit funny that the eldest of the Li family actually still called him Comrade Hou, but he didn't say anything. He said, "My brother and I won't live in this courtyard much, at most two or three months a year. The rest of the time, no one lives in this courtyard, so we need someone to look after it. And I trust your character very much. This is the reason why I asked you."

The eldest of the Li family was still hesitating, and he didn't know what he was hesitating about. Such a good thing, if he agreed directly, the family's life would be better. Every day, he would just clean and look after the courtyard. This courtyard used to be theirs, wasn't this what he often did before? The difference was that he didn't earn money before, but now he was earning money.

But he was still hesitating because he didn't have a good impression of Hou Wenhai. He had bought their family's courtyard, which naturally made him have some hostility towards Hou Wenhai.

Hou Wenhai knew the psychology of the eldest of the Li family. He said to the eldest of the Li family, "How about this: you go to your family's original courtyard and take a look, see what it looks like now."

The eldest of the Li family had seen people coming in and out these days, and heard noises inside every day, as if they were renovating. However, he really didn't know what the courtyard looked like now. He couldn't help but feel curious and followed Hou Wenhai.

Originally, it only took one courtyard gate to get from his small courtyard to here, but now the courtyard gate was sealed, so he had to come out of his own door, go around a circle, and enter from the side gate of the large courtyard.

After entering the large courtyard, the eldest of the Li family was stunned. Was this still their family's old house?

Ever since he could remember, the Li family's old house had a sense of decline. After the liberation, they didn't have much money, and they didn't have money to renovate the house. The things in the house were also taken out and sold. For nearly twenty years, the ground in this courtyard had been uneven, and the tiles on the roof were incomplete. In short, it looked like a scene of ruin.

But now, this courtyard had been renovated. This newness was not the newness of a newly built house, but a taste he couldn't describe. If he had to say it, it might be an antique-style newness, which immediately restored the charm that this courtyard should have.

He didn't know when it started, but the eyes of the eldest of the Li family became moist until tears streamed down his face. This courtyard was left by his father, and he had always wanted to spend money to fix it up. However, the money spent to fix up such a large courtyard was definitely not something he could afford, so he had never been able to realize this wish.

But now an outsider had fixed up their courtyard. He really wanted to thank Hou Wenhai, but immediately remembered that Hou Wenhai was the one who bought their family's courtyard. How could he thank him?

Hou Wenhai said, "Brother Li, is this courtyard okay now?"

The eldest of the Li family couldn't speak against his conscience. He nodded and said, "Comrade Hou, you have indeed renovated the courtyard well."

Hou Wenhai said, "We can't live here for a few months a year, so this courtyard really needs someone to look after and take care of it. If I use someone else, I won't be at ease. If you are unwilling to do this job, this courtyard will soon return to its previous appearance. How about it, have you thought it over?"

The eldest of the Li family wiped away his tears and nodded, "Comrade Hou, I am willing. Even if you don't pay us, we are willing to look after this courtyard."

Hou Wenhai smiled, "That's great. However, money still has to be given. Your life hasn't been good, so how could you have the heart to look after this courtyard well? This money is for you, consider it your first month's salary. This job starts today. As long as you do it well, your salary will be increased in the future."

Hou Wenhai handed over a bunch of keys and a stack of money. The eldest of the Li family took it. He felt that the money was more than three thousand, so he counted it, and it was actually five thousand. He said, "Comrade Hou, you gave too much money, didn't you?"

Hou Wenhai smiled, "Not much. You have to look after this courtyard, so you still need to buy some labor tools. This extra money is considered the money for buying labor tools."

The eldest of the Li family said, "But this is still too much."

Hou Wenhai said, "Didn't I say it? We won't necessarily be here often, so you might need to use this money for a long time. Is this still too much?"

The eldest of the Li family nodded silently and didn't say anything else. However, he swore in his heart that he must look after this courtyard well. This was not only for the integrity of the employer but also because of his feelings for this courtyard. Just as he said just now, even if he didn't want money, he had to look after this courtyard well.

Hou Wenhai told Su Xinghui about this matter. Su Xinghui smiled, "Wenhai, you really know how to use people. If you use this eldest of the Li family, he will definitely help you look after this courtyard properly, and there won't be any mistakes at all."

Hou Wenhai said, "Yes, this person still has some backbone and is not the kind of person who is greedy for money. He kept his father's last words for decades and never sold his own courtyard. Such people are too rare now. So, I admired him very much last time. Otherwise, why would I let him keep his own courtyard and not sell it?"

Su Xinghui nodded, "This person is indeed a person worthy of admiration. He will definitely have good fortune in the future."

The eldest of the Li family didn't sell that courtyard, and now he had a stable income, which meant he wouldn't sell this courtyard in the future. This was indeed a kind of good fortune for him. In another ten years or so, this courtyard would be a huge fortune. By then, he could be considered to have made it through.

It's just that I don't know what his brothers who sold the courtyard will think in the future, and whether they will come to him to argue. Su Xinghui thought they would definitely be able to do such a thing. However, since the eldest of the Li family is guarding the courtyard for Hou Wenhai, and Hou Wenhai is there to uphold justice for him, he won't suffer any losses.

Su Xinghui's understanding of human nature is still very profound. Ten years later, the price of the eldest of the Li family's courtyard did indeed skyrocket, worth tens of millions. Of course, he didn't think about selling it, but his brothers suddenly felt psychologically unbalanced. They felt that their original courtyard was sold at a loss.

They didn't dare to argue with Hou Wenhai, who was already a billionaire, and besides, they couldn't argue with him. So they went to argue with the eldest brother, asking the eldest brother to sell the courtyard and share some with them, which caused quite a stir.

The baseness of human nature is often like this, and this is also something that leaves people speechless.

Later, it was indeed Hou Wenhai who helped to settle the families of those Li brothers, and they didn't dare to make trouble again. Only then did the eldest brother live a stable life. Of course, these are all stories for later.