Siheyuan: The Counterattack of Passerby

"Xiao Lin, what did you say?" The aunt tried to suppress her heartache and stared at Lin Geng in disbelief. She asked Lin Geng in a trembling voice, as if she didn't believe her ears. She hoped that Lin Geng would say it again to make sure if she had heard it wrong.

"If you want me to write a letter of apology to Yi Zhonghai, then you have to compensate me two thousand yuan. Of course, this does not include the two hundred yuan consolation money that Yi Zhonghai secretly withheld from me by the factory! The total is two thousand two hundred yuan!" Lin Geng continued to hold the teacup, blowing the hot water leisurely and drinking the hot water with a slurp, as if two thousand yuan was just a small amount of money like twenty yuan in his eyes.

The old lady's eyes went dark and she almost fell to the ground again. This time she heard it clearly. Lin Geng really said that they should compensate him two thousand yuan. Not only that, but also the two hundred yuan plus that, a total of two thousand two hundred yuan.

This is 2,200 yuan! Even though the aunt knew that her family had much more than 2,300 yuan in savings, she still felt so distressed that she could hardly breathe when she thought about having to pay Lin Geng 2,200 yuan.

You have to know that the purchasing power of two thousand yuan in that era was quite terrifying. For example, the two main rooms in the middle courtyard that Sha Zhu lived in, which were left to him and He Yushui by He Daqing, would not cost more than eight hundred yuan at that time. The side room on the west side where Lin Geng lived would only cost about six hundred yuan at most.

The two rooms where the Jia family lived were ear rooms, the smallest in the central courtyard, and their price would not exceed five hundred yuan.

Although real estate transactions are not allowed now, they can still be traded privately using excuses such as gifts, or as debt repayment or non-repayment when due. There is still a market price for the property.

As soon as Lin Geng opened his mouth, it was equivalent to asking Yi Zhonghai to compensate him for almost three main rooms like the one where Sha Zhu and He Yushui lived.

If we use grain as an example, at the current price of meat, which is around 70 cents or 75 cents per pound, 2,000 yuan can buy nearly 3,000 pounds of pork. According to the current average weight of pigs sold, which is 200 to 200 pounds, that would be more than a dozen pigs! It is enough for a family to eat for a lifetime.

If converted into grain, one pound of good rice or flour is about 1.2 to 1.5 cents, which can buy 15,000 pounds of rice or flour, which is 7.5 tons. If a bag weighs 50 pounds, that would be 200 bags.

If converted into cheaper corn flour, at seven cents a pound, that would be more than fifteen tons. This way, you can intuitively understand how huge a sum of money Lin Geng wanted for two thousand yuan was. No wonder the old lady was so distressed that she could hardly breathe. Anyone would be scared to the point of being breathless.

Even the second aunt and Qin Huairu, and even Xu Damao who was there to watch the fun, were so shocked when they heard Lin Geng's request for compensation that their jaws almost dropped to the ground, and their eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets and fell to the ground.

The three of them opened their mouths wide in shock, their eyes bulged out, and they seemed petrified, completely stunned.

The aunt held her chest for a long time before she calmed down a little. Her face turned pale and she cried to Lin Geng: "Xiao Lin! How can our family have so much money? Are you trying to force us to death?"

Lin Geng threw the teacup onto the table with a loud bang, his face sank again, and he snorted coldly, "Aunt Yi! If you say that, I won't be happy. If you don't want a letter of apology to rescue your old Yi, then just say so. When old Yi is sent to the northwest to eat sand or is even taken to target practice, take the money he has earned over the years and remarry! I won't say anything!

But you said your family doesn't have that much money, that's just a lie! Do you want me to calculate how much money Yi Zhonghai has made over the years and how much money you save every month? Don't think I'm a fool, I went to high school, my math skills are pretty good!

If your family’s savings are less than five or six thousand, I will write the word “Lin” backwards from now on!

Since you don't agree, forget it. Please go back and forget what I said. Poor Yi Zhonghai, he probably never imagined that his wife, who was a good person in everyone's eyes, actually wanted him to die for the little money he saved!

Haha! Please go back, Aunt Yi, and live on the little money that Old Yi earned for you! I don’t even want it! It’s a good opportunity for Yi Zhonghai to go eat peanuts!”

When the aunt heard what Lin Geng said, she was shocked. She didn't expect that Lin Geng could actually calculate the approximate total amount of their family's savings. It can be seen how meticulous Lin Geng is. She really can't fool this guy!

If she refused to agree, then all the efforts Yi Zhonghai had asked her to make before would probably be in vain, because those leaders who came forward to protect Yi Zhonghai had clearly told her that they could protect Yi Zhonghai, but the prerequisite was that they must give Lin Geng satisfactory compensation and get a letter of understanding from Lin Geng.

If she was reluctant to give Lin Geng the amount of compensation he had proposed, then no one would dare to protect Yi Zhonghai at all costs. In that case, Yi Zhonghai would probably not be dead, but would at least be sentenced to more than ten or twenty years in prison and sent to the northwest to dig sand.

And if she doesn't agree, then everyone will say that she is a vicious woman who doesn't care about her man's life for money. Then she will probably not be able to stay in this courtyard. Besides, there are so many residents in the courtyard, and they are probably listening outside with their ears perked up. Good news doesn't go out, but bad news travels a thousand miles. It is estimated that this matter will soon spread throughout the city and everyone will know about it.

Even if she took the money and left the courtyard and found another place to live, people would probably know that she was a vicious woman who would not even care about a man's life for money.

And because she had not been able to give birth to a child for Yi Zhonghai for all these years, Yi Zhonghai never divorced her and remarried, or found another woman to give birth to his children. This made the aunt very grateful to Yi Zhonghai, but she also always felt guilty towards him.

Although Auntie is also selfish, she is not a vicious person, nor is she a miser like Jia Zhang who would do anything for money. She still cares about her reputation.

So the aunt calmed herself down, looked at Lin Geng with tears in her eyes and said, "Xiao Lin! This is too much, can you give me less? I'm begging you!"

Lin Geng showed a trace of disdainful sneer and said: "Is this a lot? Compared to your Lao Yi who wanted to force me to death and almost forced me to death, is two thousand yuan a lot?

Besides, Yi Zhonghai's life is not worth even 2,000 yuan? If you think it's too much, you can just not give it to me! I really don't want it! Let the police do what they want, I will also sue him to the higher authorities and demand that he must be severely punished!"

Seeing that Lin Geng was not willing to give in at all, the auntie did not dare to continue bargaining with him. She gritted her teeth, nodded fiercely, revealed a look of determination, stomped her feet and said, "Okay! I agree, I'll go get the money for you right away! When you get the money, write a letter of understanding to Lao Yi!"

"No problem! Although I, Lin Geng, am not very old, I know more about honesty and trustworthiness than your Lao Yi! My character is ten thousand times better than your Lao Yi's! You can rest assured about this, Brother Damao is watching here and can testify for you!

If that doesn't work, Brother Mao, please ask the third uncle to come over and ask him to help you come here as a witness!" Lin Geng immediately said to the aunt.