Chapter 369: Dog Egg's Dad is Dead

Huzhou Street.

There was a crowd of people.

Cheng Wanwan bought a house and was in a good mood.

She plans to buy a lock and change the lock on the gate to the yard.

As she was walking, she suddenly heard a wailing sound behind her. She turned around and saw Gou Dan, the child, running forward while crying loudly, his face full of grief.

He seemed to have accidentally stepped on a small stone, and stumbled and fell to the ground, landing right at Cheng Wanwan's feet.

She bent down and helped the child up: "Goudan, what happened to you?"

"My father, my father is dead..."

Goudan was crying so hard that he was out of breath. He just stood up and tried to run, but his legs went weak and he fell down again.

Cheng Wanwan then noticed that the child's shoulders were also covered in injuries. What had happened in such a short time?

Lu Yingxue helped pull Gou Dan up: "Where do you live? Wanwan and I will take you home."

Dog Egg cried until he was completely exhausted, and sobbed, "In Radish Alley..."

Upon hearing the name Radish Alley, Lu Yingxue knew it was the poorest alley in Huzhou, where several families, all impoverished, lived in a single courtyard.

She led the way, and Cheng Wanwan helped Gou Dan as they walked towards Gou Dan's home.

Luobo Lane is only half a meter wide, very narrow and damp, and sunlight cannot penetrate. In such a narrow lane, there are women sitting in the lane washing clothes, making it even more difficult to walk.

After walking to the very end of the alley, we finally arrived at Gou Dan's house.

The door opened, revealing a small courtyard filled with many people, all gathered around the doorway of a house, pointing and whispering.

"father!!"

Goudan let out a mournful cry and rushed in.

"Goudan, why did you just come back?"

"Your father suffocated himself to death. How cruel."

"What will happen to you three siblings if we leave you behind?"

"..."

Gou Dan went inside and, together with his two older sisters, clung to a middle-aged man and cried uncontrollably.

Cheng Wanwan stood in the courtyard for a while and then found out what had happened. The courtyard was not big and housed four families. Gou Dan's family of four lived in one house. His mother had died long ago, and his father was sick all the time. He coughed all the time and took medicine every day, but it didn't help. Later, he broke his leg and had been lying in bed for more than a year. He was kept alive by the children earning money to buy medicine.

Yesterday, Gou Dan coughed up blood. I heard that it would cost a lot of money to buy medicine. Gou Dan's two older sisters wrote contracts to sell themselves into servitude, intending to sell themselves cheaply to raise money for medical treatment. As a result, today Gou Dan's father covered himself with a blanket and suffocated to death.

Cheng Wanwan sighed, completely at a loss for words.

"Not paying rent for a month is bad enough, but you even dared to die in my house!" A plump woman stormed in, hands on her hips. "Pack your bedding and get out! You're such a jinx, how can anyone live in this yard? It stinks! Get out, get out now!"

Gou Dan's older sister knelt on the ground and pleaded, "We'll move out immediately after my father's burial, please give us a few more days..."

"Grace period my ass!" the landlord roared. "Pay this month's rent right now, and get out of here with your fathers' corpses! You're bad luck, you're incredibly bad luck!"

The landlord covered his nose, looking disgusted, and grumbled.

Even Lu Yingxue, an outsider, was furious. She pulled Gou Dan up and said, "Didn't you just make seven taels of silver? Take it out and throw it in her face!"

Dog Egg burst into tears: "I didn't earn any money, I have nothing, Master took it all..."

Cheng Wanwan's face darkened. That guy called Lao Wu is a real scoundrel. He even dares to embezzle a child's hard-earned money.

She walked up to the landlord and asked calmly, "How much is the rent per month?"

Someone nearby answered for him: "One hundred and fifty coins a month."

Cheng Wanwan took out two hundred copper coins directly from the store: "Give me an extra fifty coins and give me a day and a half's grace."

My father died, so we have to make arrangements for his funeral. We can't just pack up and sleep on the streets.

The landlord took the coin and snorted, "If you're not out by tomorrow night, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Dog Egg knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing.

Cheng Wanwan took out a tael of silver from her sleeve and handed it to the two older girls: "One of you stay here and prepare your father's remains, and the other of you hurry up and get the coffin and incense. Don't waste any time."

The two sisters hesitated for a moment, then, as if struck by a sudden thought, they took the silver with resolute expressions, wiped away their tears, and immediately went to carry out their tasks.

Cheng Wanwan pulled Gou Dan up: "Take me to the brokerage firm. I want to see who dares to withhold your money."

With tears blurring his vision, Gou Dan mechanically stood up and led Cheng Wanwan and Lu Yingxue back to the brokerage firm.

Inside the brokerage, Old Wu was humming a tune with satisfaction. For these errand runners, earning seven taels of silver at once was like receiving a huge sum of money. He had to think carefully about how to spend it: should he go out for drinks and entertainment, or go to the casino for a couple of rounds?

Just as he was feeling smug, he saw Gou Dan return. He glared at him, about to yell at him.

Cheng Wanwan walked in, sat down in a chair, and said coldly, "Call the manager out here."

The people in the room looked at each other, wondering why this big customer had come again. He looked like he was here to cause trouble, so they lowered their heads and continued working, deciding not to get involved.

"What? You just took over seven thousand taels of silver from me, and now you're turning your back on me?" Cheng Wanwan slammed her hand on the table. "Although it's a cash-on-delivery transaction, and the deal is done, I've already discovered a major problem before I even took possession of the house. Your manager has to come out and give me an explanation! If you refuse to admit it, fine, I don't mind taking you to the authorities. The government should also regulate your brokerage business. You don't respect your customers, you sell inferior goods, and you cheat people out of their money!"

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, Gou Dan rushed in and brought the shopkeeper out.

The shopkeeper was checking the accounts. He had easily sold a three-courtyard house this month, and his task for the month was almost completed. He felt refreshed and invigorated.

As soon as I came out, I ran into someone who was looking for trouble.

Cheng Wanwan slammed the deed on the table and sneered, "When you introduced the courtyard to me, you said that all the furniture in the courtyard was made of the finest huanghuali wood. I just took a look and it's clearly metasequoia wood. I bought this courtyard because of the huanghuali wood, and I paid the money readily. Aren't you just ripping me off? Give me my money back, give me my money back right now! I don't want the courtyard anymore!"

The shopkeeper immediately got angry.

And what about huanghuali wood? Who brought huanghuali wood from the wind and left it in their old house without moving it?

Yellow pear wood is a type of wood that only high-ranking officials and nobles can afford. A set of furniture made from it can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of silver. Who would leave an unwanted house and sell it as a side business?

The people in his brokerage firm couldn't possibly be so ignorant; they're just trying to sell the house by deceiving people.

The shopkeeper's expression changed, and he glared angrily at Old Wu: "You handled this house, come here and explain yourself! What exactly happened?!"

Old Wu glared at Gou Dan. No wonder this kid sold the house so quickly; he was just spouting nonsense. He even dared to make up stories about yellow pear wood, which was a disgrace to the real estate brokerage.

Old Wu grabbed Gou Dan by the collar and said, "This customer is the one you brought to see the house. You tell me what's going on."

Gou Dan lowered his head and said, "Wasn't this courtyard under your management, Master? The manager's ledger should also have been signed by you, Master, so it should be your responsibility. What does it have to do with me?"

Old Wu's expression changed drastically.

If he wanted to receive his commission, he had to sign the ledger before the manager would give him the seven taels of silver. Therefore, according to the brokerage's records, he was indeed personally in charge of this courtyard, and he was responsible for handling any problems that arose.

This kid deliberately set a trap for him.

He raised his hand and slapped Gou Dan hard across the face.

However, Cheng Wanwan intercepted his hand mid-air and sneered, "Gou Dan has been fired from the brokerage. He came with me, so he's one of my people. If you want to lay a hand on my people, shouldn't you ask for my permission first?"