Chapter 54: Eyeing His TV and Fridge
It was a small place; anything that happened would be known by everyone within a day.
Yu Deng had only gone downstairs at 8:30 AM to get his milk when the proprietress grabbed him for some gossip.
“I heard Xiao Zhou offended someone?”
The proprietress lived in a building two blocks away, so the commotion last night hadn’t woken her.
This morning, the matter was being discussed fervently.
The shop had just stocked new spicy strips, so Yu Deng walked among the shelves, looking for snacks he liked.
“Yeah, he fired a local thug at the construction site, and that person came to retaliate against him.”
“At the construction site?” The proprietress was surprised.
Everyone was saying that Zhou Yuejun had offended someone at the dance hall because he had hit on someoneās lover and was fooling around.
They also said that Zhou Yuejun had taken down seven or eight people all by himself.
The rumors were becoming quite fantastical.
Yu Deng knew that some people weren’t satisfied with just gossip; they loved to fabricate and slander.
“Yes. Now that the construction site has hired more workers, it’s even more chaotic than the dance hall.”
Zhou Yuejun would occasionally mention a few things to Yu Deng, so whether it was the construction site or the dance hall, Yu Deng knew a thing or two.
Hearing this, the proprietress covered her mouth in alarm.
She also knew some thingsāpeople said there were convicts on parole and murderers at the construction sites.
The dance hall was a place of mixed characters with plenty of fights, but she hadn’t heard of anyone losing their life there.
None of them were to be trifled with, and yet Zhou Yuejun had one foot in each world.
The proprietress sighed, her brow furrowed with worry. “It’s not easy to make money. Once youāve saved up some, find a more stable livelihood.”
“By the way, are you guys leaving soon?”
She had heard that university students usually started school in late August or early September and had to undergo some kind of training.
Yu Deng paid for his things. His fluttering dark eyes trembled slightly, creating ripples, and his gorgeous, rose-colored lips were pressed moistly as they moved.
“Yes, we’ll be leaving in about half a month to go to school.”
So fast. It felt like they had just arrived here yesterday, and yet they were leaving so soon.
The proprietress looked like she had something difficult to say, but she spoke anyway: “It’s that Auntie Zhou, the one who wanted you to sell the TV to her before.”
“She didn’t come looking for you, probably because she’s scared of Xiao Zhou. Instead, sheās been nagging in my ear, asking if the appliances in your house are for sale.”
“She says you won’t be able to watch TV when you go to university, and since your home isn’t here, you might as well sell the TV and fridge.”
She showed a look of disdain and held up one finger. “Sheās so stingy, only agreeing to give one thousand.”
Yu Deng knew that old woman; she loved taking advantage of others and was very difficult to deal with.
He heard that someone used to have a broken bicycle that could still be ridden, but it would always fall apart halfway.
She had set her sights on it, acting wretchedly, pestering them to death while shouting abuses. Eventually, the person was so exhausted by her that they had no choice but to give it to her.
Later, her grandson fell while riding the bike, and she actually went to demand compensation for medical expenses.
She was more of a thug than the actual thugs.
“One thousand?!” Yu Dengās round eyes widened in outrage, and his voice rose.
“I wouldn’t even sell it for three thousand. She might as well just go and rob someone.”
The proprietress’s expression was complicated, her sneer containing a hint of bitterness. “Heh, that’s actually possible. What wouldn’t she do?”
Yu Dengās palm-sized face was tense, and he frowned, feeling frustrated and annoyed. He gritted his teeth.
“Anyway, Iām not selling. We’re going to live in the inner city; we need the appliances.”
The proprietress’s expression seemed to tell Yu Deng to pray for good luck.
“She definitely won’t give up.”
“If you ask me, you should move them away while she’s not paying attention, so she stops eyeing them.”
Yu Deng kept this in mind, thinking he would mention it to Zhou Yuejun when he returned.
But he temporarily forgot, because Zhou Yuejun brought him fried cakes and cold cakes at noon.
The fried cakes were golden and crispy, and the cold cakes were drizzled with brown sugar water. They would be incredibly delicious after being chilled.
With his “food brain,” as soon as he saw something to eat, his mind stopped working.
He could only wait until Zhou Yuejun came back in the afternoon to speak.
The bedroom faced the sun, so Yu Deng pulled the curtains to take a nap.
He usually napped for a long time, but halfway through, there was a “bang bang bang” sound of pounding on the door.
Yu Deng was so startled that he shuddered, his leg twitching in shock, before he finally woke up.
The house’s soundproofing wasn’t great; it felt like someone was banging gongs and drums right by his ear.
The commotion was too loud, as if someone had come for a vendetta.
Yu Deng threw off the blanket and got out of bed. While putting on his slippers, he asked impatiently, “Who is it?”
Being so aggressive, could it be Zeng Hui again?
If it really was Zeng Hui, he would have to be a bit more polite; he couldn’t be so fierce.
“Me.”
Just one word, yet it carried a sharp, shrewish sense. Although the voice was old, the volume was high.
Yu Deng knew exactly who it wasāZhou Aifeng.
She had come to ask for his TV and fridge.
This door absolutely could not be opened.
Although he hadn’t spoken many words to Zhou Aifeng, he knew what kind of character she had.
If he opened the door and Zhou Aifeng tried to rob him by force, he would have to protect the items, and Zhou Aifeng would surely fly into a rage.
At that time, it was truly possible she would smash his TV and fridge.
Zhou Aifeng was capable of such things.
If they got bumped or scratched, she would surely push the responsibility onto Yu Deng, saying that if Yu Deng hadn’t tried to snatch them, they wouldn’t have broken.
Yu Deng stood behind the door, feeling utterly frustrated. “Oh, the appliances at home aren’t for sale. Weāre moving to the inner city later.”
“What, moving?!”
“Isn’t your family from the countryside? How could you possibly have a house in the city?”
Her tone was very contemptuous, making Yu Deng’s already poor temper even more irritated.
He huffed twice and said in a fierce, hard tone, “It’s none of your business where we live. Not selling means not selling!”
“Hey, you little brat…”
Zhou Aifeng outside the door whispered a few curses and then shouted loudly.
“You usually go to school, and your brother works at the construction site. You don’t use the appliances much. Things will break if they aren’t used. If you leave them for a long time, won’t they just become waste? You might as well sell them early. I’ve already prepared the money.”
Zhou Aifeng slapped the door hard a few more times. “Open the door! You have no manners. How did the elders in your family teach you?”
Her arrogance was quite blatant. Yu Deng feared that if he opened the door, Zhou Aifeng would surely rush in and hug the television.
He wasn’t that stupid.
Yu Deng refused to back down. Across the door, he clenched his fists, straightened his neck, and retorted directly.
“I won’t open it. If I do, I’m afraid you’ll come into my house to steal things!”
Zhou Aifengās mouth was always foul. Since she hadn’t gained any advantage now, she couldn’t control her mouth even more.
“Something born but not raised by a mother, ptui.”
“People from small places are just petty. Buying your things is like buying your life.”
“…”
Yu Deng already hated the heat. Sharp and mean words came one after another, making the fire in his heart grow even larger.
Anger rushed to Yu Dengās heart. He clenched his fists, really wanting to rush out and get into a scuffle with her.
“Leave quickly!” Bad old woman.
The door of the house was a wooden one, and it kept shaking from Zhou Aifengās kicks. He feared that if she continued kicking like this, the door might actually break.
Yu Deng was also worried that Zhou Aifeng would play dead at his doorstep to extort his family.
“Fine, you won’t leave, right? If you don’t leave, I’ll call Zhou Yuejun back to deal with you.”
Zhou Yuejun was still quite intimidating.
Previously, when Yu Deng and Zhou Yuejun went out, except for the proprietress, everyone else would scan Zhou Yuejun with a wary look.
Yu Deng walked through the living room and bedroom to the balcony and shouted downstairs, “Auntie Yu, help me call Zhou Yuejun! Tell him Zhou Aifeng has come to our house to rob us!”
Just as he finished shouting, the response he got was Zhou Aifengās verbal abuse: “Are you trying to die? I haven’t even entered the door!”
The proprietress downstairs also shouted back, “Alright, I’ll call him!”
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