Chapter 21: Kicked Out?

Tu Shan pushed the small wheelbarrow home, feeling quite happy.

As she walked into the courtyard, she was met with Auntie Wang’s "widow-mourning" face.

"Oh, good, so it was you, you little pest! You made me search for you for ages. I’ve been cursing here all morning until my throat is hoarse. You have to guard against everything, but it’s hardest to guard against a thief in your own house.

I was wondering why you were suddenly acting so well-behaved; you were just waiting for this, weren't you?

Oh, look at you, you’ve even changed into new clothes. All bought with my hard-earned money, I suppose?

You little brat, you sure know how to pick. You’ve got an eye for the good stuff, don't you? If I hadn't been keeping a close watch, would you have emptied out my whole house?

Who told you to touch my cart? What did you use it for? Did you touch anything else? What else did you move? If you don't give me an explanation today, I’ll..."

A one-yuan bill was slapped onto Auntie Wang’s forehead, sealing her mouth shut. Tu Shan then took out some candy she’d bought at the department store and shoved a piece into the woman’s mouth.

"Rental fee. Don't mention it. I’ve put your cart back."

Auntie Wang ripped the money off her forehead, licked the candy, and curled her lips into a cold sneer. "I’ll spare you this time. If there’s a next time, see if I don't curse the sh*t out of you."

Tu Shan pouted. "Funny how you’re never this capable in front of your own son."

Auntie Wang didn't say a word; she turned around and headed back into her room, slamming the door with a loud bang.

Tu Shan hummed triumphantly, washed her pot, and started cooking. She planned to go out in the afternoon to get something good to celebrate making it into the national team.

There was still no one in the small courtyard at noon; it was quiet and still.

Tu Shan cooked another pot of "everything stew," slurped it all down, and felt full for the next hour.

She hadn't slept the night before, so after eating, she lay down, intending to nap for a couple of hours.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep before she was jolted awake by a cacophony of smashing, crashing, and shouting.

Dazed, she sat up and wiped her face.

"Bang..." Her bedroom door met its end.

Tu Shan:...

"Get up, get up! Get out of here right now! This house isn't being rented out anymore. Move, move, move!"

Tu Shan:???

Wait, was Auntie Wang really that petty? She was going to be kicked out just for saying the truth?

There were still a few hours left on her three-day lease.

"What are you standing there for? Looking for a beating? Get lost!" A man as thin as a monkey dragged Tu Shan out.

Tu Shan didn't resist. She decided to give the old lady some face; after all, life had been hard for her over the years, and it was also a favor to Ling Yang.

Once outside, she realized something was wrong. While she had been sleeping, many of the other tenants had returned, and all of them were being driven out. A group of thugs was brandishing clubs, and anyone who resisted was met with a brutal beating.

The tenants were wailing, cursing, and scratching, but in the end, they couldn't fight the power. One by one, they were pushed out of their own doorways.

"Bandits! Animals! Beasts! You’ll all die a horrible death, a horrible death!"

Tu Shan turned her head and saw Auntie Wang, looking like a madwoman, lunging at the men to scratch them, only to be kicked away, lunging again, and being kicked away again...

She was like a cockroach that just wouldn't die.

Sorry, but Tu Shan couldn't help it—she burst out laughing.

Auntie Wang whipped her head around, her eyes bloodshot, and glared at Tu Shan. "What are you laughing at, you little brat? What’s so funny? I’m being bullied by these animals, and you’re happy? If I don't get anything good, you won't either.

Aren't you so capable? You kicked my unfilial son against the wall, so why are you being kicked out now too?

If you’re so talented, help me get rid of these animals, and I’ll give you a room. Can you do it? Can you?"

Tu Shan’s eyes lit up. There was such a good deal on the table?

She leaned in close to the old lady and asked, "Tell me first, what exactly is going on?"

The furious Auntie Wang deflated in a second, collapsing onto the ground and wiping away tears of grief. "It’s a curse... that wicked beast. I should have pressed him into the chamber pot and drowned him the moment he was born."

Tu Shan was expressionless. "Oh, and why didn't you? Was there not enough urine?"

Auntie Wang:...

Damn it, why did she have to have such a mouth? All her emotions were gone.

"Are you still listening or not?"

Tu Shan zipped her lips. "Go ahead."

Auntie Wang didn't bother with the emotional buildup anymore and simply recounted the story. In short, she had raised an unfilial son.

Wang Fugui was idle, lazy, and had a gambling problem.

However, he was a coward, only daring to pull small stunts.

But this time, he’d run into someone greedy who set him up, and he’d lost over a thousand yuan.

When he came back the first time to ask for money and didn't get it, the people he owed beat him up and forced him to sign a house-sale agreement. Now, these people were here to collect.

Auntie Wang glanced at Tu Shan. "After you kicked him against the wall, he ran away in a panic without saying a word." That was why she hadn't known anything; otherwise, today wouldn't have happened.

Wang Fugui had been truly terrified, which was why he hadn't dared to show his face today.

Tu Shan looked over gloomily and reached a sensible conclusion: "So... I kicked him too lightly."

Auntie Wang:...What could she even expect from this girl?

Tu Shan asked, "Whose house is this, yours or your son's?"

Auntie Wang looked at her as if she were stupid. "You just said we’re mother and son, so whose could it be? Mine is my son's. When I die, everything goes to my son."

Tu Shan looked at her with disdain. "If you’re uneducated, read more books. Who the house belongs to depends on whose name is on the deed. If it’s in your name, let alone your son, even your husband or your father wouldn't have the right to sell it.

When you die, legally speaking, your husband is the first heir, followed by your children and parents. If you have no husband or parents left, the house isn't just your son's. Your other useless children should technically have inheritance rights too."

Auntie Wang looked enlightened. "It can be like that?"

Tu Shan scoffed. "Tell me, whose name is on the deed?"

Auntie Wang thought for a moment. "The house was earned by my husband and me working ourselves to the bone. The deed has both our names on it. But my husband is dead—does that change anything?"

"No change. Does the offer to give me a room still stand?" Tu Shan thought about it. Even though she was going to the Tu family, she needed a nest of her own—it would be convenient for cooking special meals for her parents and doing her own things.

Houses were hard to buy these days, and renting elsewhere meant dealing with neighbors she didn't know, which wasn't very convenient.

Tu Sanmei had lived in this courtyard for so many years; she knew all the neighbors. Even if they all had their own little schemes, there were no truly evil people among them.

If Auntie Wang really gave it to her, she thought it was worth it.

Of course, buying it would work too.

But Auntie Wang hesitated.

Tu Shan didn't rush her, waiting calmly for Auntie Wang to think it over.

Auntie Wang was weighing her options: could she get the house back without Tu Shan? If she couldn't, was it worth trading one room to save the whole courtyard?

The conclusion was that she couldn't get it back. These people weren't kind; they had gone to great lengths to set up her unfilial son just to get the house.

They wouldn't give up until they got it, and she didn't have the ability to protect it.

Even if she managed to save it this time, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be a next time. What would she do then?

If Tu Shan could help her keep the house, it would prove she had the ability.

Having a capable person sitting here meant she wouldn't have to worry about being robbed again in the future.

Ah, killing two birds with one stone. It was a good deal.

"Fine."

Tu Shan grinned broadly. "First time I’ve noticed you have a bit of a brain, old lady. Just wait."

Auntie Wang was annoyed again. What did she mean, she had "a bit of a brain"?

That little brat, she knew she wasn't a good person.

(End of chapter)