Yan Shu flew into a rage, "That's utter nonsense!"
Zhang Shuyun considers herself her mother-in-law, but what kind of mother-in-law is she!
A nanny who's paid a salary is acting like she owns the place—isn't that like a cuckoo taking over someone else's nest?
Yan Qiao pulled her aside and advised, "Mom, Grandma Zhang's matter isn't urgent. Let's deal with this little brat first."
She tugged hard at the ear on her hand, causing Fang Mao to groan in pain.
"Apologize to my mom, or I'll cut your ear off."
Fang Mao: "..."
"Apologize, do you hear me?" Yan Qiao flipped his ear back 180 degrees again.
Fang Mao was in excruciating pain and apologized to Yan Shu while grimacing.
He thought that as long as he apologized, Yan Qiao would let him go.
Unexpectedly, Yan Qiao still grabbed his ear and said, "Come on, let's go to your house and find your grandma!"
Yan Shu was slightly taken aback. She had originally intended to let it go, since they were all neighbors and it wouldn't look good if things escalated.
Yan Qiao said, "Mom, no matter what the reason, it's none of these neighbors' place to interfere in our family affairs. If we handle things gently, they will only take advantage of us because we are easy to bully."
Yan Shu thought about it carefully, and her expression became serious.
"Just between us, I don't owe them anything."
During the first few years of the pandemic, she waived most of the rent and returned the deposit to them. After the pandemic subsided, she never asked them for it back.
At that time, this place was locked down many times, and Yan Shu paid out of her own pocket to purchase supplies for everyone, believing that she had done enough.
She has good character, that's her business, it's not a reason for others to take advantage of her.
Then, the mother and daughter grabbed Fang Mao and went to find Aunt Tang.
Tang's son and daughter-in-law both have to work, so she usually takes care of Fang Mao at home.
Seeing that Fang Mao's ears were swollen, Aunt Tang cried out and hugged her grandson with heartache, checking his body.
"Who twisted your ear like that! Good heavens, my heart must be aching terribly."
Yan Qiao coldly said, "Your grandson threw eggs at us, he deserved to be hit! You should be glad that the egg didn't actually hit my mother, otherwise I would have done more than just twist her ear."
Aunt Tang stood protectively behind Fang Mao, sleeves rolled up, back straight.
“My grandson is upholding justice! Someone as unfilial as your mother, who mistreats her mother-in-law, deserves to be beaten!”
She projected her own experience onto Zhang Shuyun's situation, which is why she was so indignant and unable to distinguish right from wrong.
Yan Shu turned pale with anger. "Aunt Tang, we've been neighbors for so many years. Don't you know what kind of person I am? You'd rather believe what Zhang Shuyun said than believe my character and conduct?"
Aunt Tang snorted coldly, "You might be pretending in front of us, but if you treat your mother-in-law like this, that's enough to tell you what kind of person you are."
Yan Shu laughed angrily, "Fine! Even if you don't believe me, this is my own family matter. When did it become your business to interfere?"
Aunt Tang spat, "I was just doing this because I saw injustice! If you were really that kind of person, why don't you lower the rent for us? All these years, all the hard-earned money my son has made has ended up in your pocket, and you still have the nerve to talk to us about your character! You're just a capitalist, a bloodsucker!"
Yan Shu gritted her teeth. These people were the real ingrates.
“You need to understand, the rent for this three-bedroom apartment was agreed upon as 6,000 yuan when you signed the contract! But because of the pandemic a few years ago, I halved it for you, and since then, the rent you've been paying is 3,000 yuan! You can't find a three-bedroom apartment this cheap in the entire city of Yancheng!”
She understood the economic downturn during the pandemic and wanted to give everyone a break before bringing up rent increases when the contracts expired.
Who would have thought that Aunt Tang would speak like that, taking her kindness for granted!
Yan Shu was so angry her liver hurt. "Since you say that, the contract is expiring, so you all need to move out. I don't need tenants like you!"
Aunt Tang said matter-of-factly, "I'll move then! I don't want to live in a place like yours! I won't let you take advantage of my son's hard-earned money again!"
Yan Shu snorted coldly, "Fine! Since that's the case, then please tell your son that there's no need to renew the contract. My house will not be rented to you!"
Yan Qiao looked around and reminded them, "Remember to move out before the lease expires, or I won't be so polite."
As they went outside, they could still hear Aunt Tang cursing and smashing pots.
Yan Qiao took out her phone, paused the recording, and saved it.
“I kept this in mind and have this recording, so I'm not afraid they'll try to renege on their promise. In this society, it's never a bad thing to be a little more careful. We shouldn't cheat others, nor should we fall into someone else's trap.”
Yan Shu's face was full of sorrow, and she still felt cold inside.
"We've been neighbors for so many years, and I never knew that these neighbors were this kind of people."
I didn't have a close relationship with them normally, but when something happened, I finally saw their true colors.
Yan Qiao disagreed. "Mom, what do you think of Aunt Tang usually?"
Yan Shu thought of her daughter-in-law and refrained from commenting, as she never liked gossiping about others behind their backs.
Yan Qiao understood from her expression: "Look, you also think Aunt Tang is bad, right? This only shows that she is that kind of person. We can't generalize. Most people are good. People like Aunt Tang are just a minority."
Yan Shu sighed softly, and the two went downstairs.
Before long, they saw Aunt Man, who lived in the same building as them, walking over.
"Xiao Shu, I've been looking for you."
Yan Shu forced a smile. "What is it?"
Aunt Man looked troubled. "Don't think I'm trying to sow discord. Your Aunt Zhang isn't a good person. You have to be careful of her."
Yan Shu's expression softened slightly. "What did she say to you yesterday?"
Aunt Man spat with disgust, "She's blaming you, saying she served your father-in-law her whole life, and you still treat her like an outsider, wanting to kick her out. Don't worry, we all know your character, of course we won't believe her. I'm just telling you, in case you trust her too easily, she's not a good person."
Aunt Man patted Yan Shu's hand and said, "I think she's got her eye on you because you have so many houses."
She just can't stand people like that.
Yan Shu felt a surge of emotion. "Thank you, Aunt Man."
"No need to thank me. In the first few years, when our family was struggling, you were the one who helped us. I told my daughter that since the contract is about to expire, the rent will definitely go up again. We'll continue to rent. It's been so many years, I can't bear to move."
Yan Shu smiled and said, "Let's raise it by five hundred, and we'll keep calculating it at this rate from now on."
Aunt Man lived on the fourth floor, and the layout was the same as Yan Shu's house, with three bedrooms.
The rent increases by 500, making it 3,500, but it's still much cheaper than outside.
Aunt Man was grateful, "Actually, it would have been right to charge the original price."
Yan Shu held her hand. "We're not talking about money. We've lived together for so many years, and this bond can't be measured in money. I'll have Xiao Li do a survey later to see if there's any damaged furniture or any problems with the house that need repairs. You can report it, and I'll find someone to take care of it for you."
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