307: 307 307: 307 Upon hearing Ye Tian say that, the two security guards beca instantly tense, knowing all too well from television that reporters love to secretly film with caras and record with pens.
Since this person had said it outright, they must have co prepared.
One of the guards, older and sowhat more experienced, knew it was ti to pass the buck, and said, “We only know that this old lady is from the Red Flag Street neighborhood; you should go there and ask around.”
Without paying any further attention to Ye Tian behind them, the two guards returned to the bank, one after the other, while the elderly woman continued muttering “repay money, save people,” her aning unclear.
Ye Tian turned to Mo Yan standing beside him, “What should we do?”
“How should I know?
None of my business.”
“If you don’t care, I’ll just take her into the alleyway.
Considering how pitiable your grandfather is as a lonely old man, I’ll find him a companion.”
“…Shaless.”
“You should know exactly the kind of person I am.”
…
The further they walked, the muddier it beca.
Red Flag Street neighborhood sounded nice, with its ‘Red Flag’ and ‘neighborhood’ connotations, but on arrival, it was clear that this was nothing more than a bona fide urban village, a place even cabs were reluctant to enter.
Looking at the mud-strewn ground, Mo Yan frowned, wondering how such a place could still exist in Beiping, where even living in subsidized housing was an option.
“Auntie, where is your ho?” Ye Tian asked, stretching his neck out and speaking next to her ear to ensure she could hear him.
“Over there.” A dry finger pointed forward, indicating a low-set house ahead.
If the elderly woman hadn’t pointed it out herself, Ye Tian would have taken it for a public toilet.
Indeed, such a small space seed more suitable for a communal lavatory.
“You go take a look first, see if there are any people there?”
“Why don’t you go?”
Glaring at him, Mo Yan sent Ye Tian obediently on his way, too lazy to argue with her.
Ye Tian walked over and knocked, but there was no response.
Wooden doors, concrete walls, cramped houses – it really did resemble a toilet.
Hard to imagine anyone actually living there.
The door was unlocked, so Ye Tian pushed it open…
It truly was a toilet.
Excrent everywhere, filth flowing freely.
“Why have you co back already?
It looked like you never even went in.”
A look of dejection on his face, Ye Tian said, “Auntie, you’re really not honest.”
From the looks of it, they had been played by the old lady.
Mo Yan didn’t say anything, but she could hardly contain her amusent.
“Hey, what are you all doing here?
Isn’t this Xiuzhi?
What, soone brought her back again?”
“Dongzhi, right?
What, went to buy vegetables?”
Another elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket walked up and asked a question, and then the two of them struck up a conversation, leaving Ye Tian and Mo Yan completely sidelined.
Ye Tian could see now that the elderly woman’s mind wasn’t always foggy; she was lucid at tis and wasn’t feigning ignorance.
Sure enough, after a short chat, the old woman’s problem kicked in again; her head cocked to the side, her shoulders slumped, and she fell silent, muttering to herself just as she had been before.
Seeing the mont was right, Ye Tian approached the vegetable-shopping elderly woman and said, “Ma’am, good day, we’re from the finance bureau.
We’ve co specifically to resolve so issues, so we really need you to share with us so more details about the situation.”
There, he had switched jobs three tis over – this guy would be an ace at multi-level marketing.
Ye Tian had no idea how he managed to negotiate, but in the end, he insisted on taking her to visit the aunt’s ho.
After about a five-minute walk, they ca in front of a dilapidated two-story house.
It was called a two-story, but it was actually only a ground floor since the second floor had been demolished, leaving behind only the bare walls covered with a thick layer of white snow.
“This is Xiuzhi’s ho.
It’s very dirty inside, better not to go in.”
Stubbornly, Ye Tian insisted on going inside, saying it was necessary to analyze and secure the best compensation.
Seeing Ye Tian so resolute, the aunt stopped objecting, “If you don’t mind the ss, then go ahead.”
As the door opened, a layer of dust drifted down.
It seed no one had lived there for a long ti.
“Is there no one living here?”
“Where can they live when they’ve all been driven out?”
The aunt who sold vegetables brought over a few stools, beckoning everyone to sit.
She wiped them with a handkerchief before sitting down, then looked over to see what the two of them would do.
“Please tell us more about the situation here.”
As if endowed with the inherent right of constant chatter, giving won a natural sense of victory, Ye Tian could only obediently sit down and listen.
“Her na is Xiuzhi, a long-ti resident here.
Her husband was a taxi driver but later died in a car accident.
Just his bad luck, the person he hit was the grandson of a high-ranking official, crippling him.
Actually, the fault lay with the other person running a red light, but they had power and influence.
They threatened, ‘You break my leg; I’ll break your neck for compensation.’ Eventually, they put her husband away, and he was brought out as a corpse.
The prison guards said it was a fight between prisoners, an accidental death.
From then on, she beca a widow.
She appealed repeatedly, but they ignored her completely, wouldn’t even look her in the eye – the case was handled by their own people.”
“So, there are no other males in the family?”
The elderly vegetable-selling aunt beca visibly upset at the ntion of Xiuzhi’s son, “Humph, don’t get started on that son of hers, hasn’t bothered to co see her in ages.
But do you think no one knows about the shady things he did?”
Ye Tian furrowed his brows, “What things?”
“What else?
Her son lost all his money gambling and then disappeared with all the cash, leaving behind only a seven-month-old baby.
But I heard that even the kid isn’t his own, but so other man’s because he’s impotent.
Hehe, and here I thought he was sothing special, always strutting around with a stern face.
In the end, he just cuckolded himself – serves him right.”
Listening to this, Ye Tian felt the conversation losing focus, so he quickly steered it back, “Then do you know why she went to the bank?”
“It was also because of money.
But really, you can’t bla the bank in this case.
When her son ran away, he took all the money with him, leaving nothing behind in the house.
Later, the baby got sick.
What disease, you ask?
Leukemia!
My goodness, that’s a serious illness.
Without a few hundred thousand, how could he survive?
Forget leukemia – just getting an IV or seeing the doctor costs hundreds of yuan.”
“That doesn’t sound right.
Aunt doesn’t seem like soone who gets greedy at the sight of money,” Ye Tian purposely remarked.
“Of course, our Xiuzhi isn’t that kind of person.
But you never know when trouble might arise.”
It was only then that Ye Tian learned that the place was already slated for developnt, just waiting for the houses to be cleared to start work.
This was actually a good thing and, being under the prince’s jurisdiction, there was no issue of forced demolition or withheld paynts; not a single cent would be shortchanged.
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