My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 53: The Four Who Paid the Money

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, someone in the crowd couldn't help but mutter, "Isn't it the same? The stuff will be brought up anyway, so why bother selecting people to go in?"

Zhang Lei just smiled and didn't say a word.

Among the crowd, there were some insightful individuals, especially Yi Zhonghai and Yan Fugui. The two of them instantly grasped the key point—those who went down first would definitely be able to pick out the best items and take the opportunity to hide more, and might even be able to smuggle some goods without the others knowing.

Before Liu Haizhong could even process what was happening, he stubbornly shouted at Zhang Lei, "Zhang Lei, this is ridiculous! What do you think this place is? You want me to pay to enter a secret room?"

Zhang Lei completely ignored him and said bluntly, "Anyway, the rules are set. If you want to go in, you pay. If none of you want to go in, I'll go in myself, and you can wait outside."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai quickly intervened, saying, "No!"

Zhang Lei looked up at him, a half-smile on his face, and asked, "Oh, old man, are you about to pay and go in?"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and struck a leading pose: "Since I'm the oldest person in this compound, I should definitely set an example. Tell me, how much does it cost to go in?"

Zhang Lei held up his hand, indicating a number: "10 yuan."

"What?!" Yi Zhonghai exclaimed in surprise, raising his voice, "Just to go in and take a look, you dare ask for ten yuan?"

Zhang Lei remained unfazed, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "This is the price. Take it or leave it. If you don't go in, I'll go in first."

Yan Fugui looked at Zhang Lei, frowning as he bargained, "Zhang Lei, you're asking for too much. Can you lower the price a bit?"

Zhang Lei shook his head directly, his tone resolute: "No, this is the price, 10 yuan, no bargaining."

Then, Zhang Lei turned to Master Lei and ordered in a deep voice, "Master Lei, have your men guard the entrance. If anyone dares to force their way in, throw them out. I'll take responsibility for anything that happens."

Master Lei immediately looked troubled, stood there hesitantly, and remained silent for a long time.

Looking at his expression, Zhang Lei sneered, his tone carrying a hint of threat: "Hey Master Lei, if you think the money for this house renovation is too little, you're free to ignore me."

Master Lei's heart skipped a beat when he heard Zhang Lei's words.

In this day and age, finding such a large construction job is an incredibly rare opportunity. Moreover, Zhang Lei is generous, providing them with two meals a day, which greatly reduces the financial burden on his apprentices and brothers' families. Many of them rely on this job to supplement their household income.

So Master Lei immediately reprimanded them, "Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear what the boss said? Get to the door and keep watch. Anyone who dares to force their way in, I'll break their legs!"

Upon hearing Master Lei's stern shout, the workers dared not delay and immediately surged towards the entrance of the east courtyard, blocking the entrance completely.

Yi Zhonghai was startled when he saw this. He didn't expect these workers to listen to Zhang Lei so much. What made him even more uneasy was that Zhang Lei completely ignored the commotion and instead walked further and further away from the secret room with his hands behind his back.

Yi Zhonghai quickly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Zhang Lei, wait a minute!"

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's shout, Zhang Lei immediately stopped and turned around, coldly asking, "Yi Zhonghai, what exactly do you want?"

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai looked at Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui and said urgently, "We can't let Zhang Lei go alone. We won't know what's inside! As an elder, I'll sacrifice for everyone. I'll pay for it, I'll go!"

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Yan Fugui quickly squeezed forward, vying to speak, "Old Yi, as the third uncle, I also bear responsibility for this matter. I'll pay for it too, I'll go!"

Seeing the two scrambling to offer their share, Liu Haizhong suddenly felt like he'd missed out on a huge benefit, as if he'd failed in his duty. So, forcing himself to speak, he patted his chest and said, "As the second uncle, it's my duty to pay too. It's just ten yuan, right? I'll pay!"

Madam Jia was extremely anxious and quickly nudged Jia Dongxu in front of her, urging him in a low voice, "Dongxu, you go too!"

Jia Dongxu looked at Jia Zhangshi with a troubled expression: "Mom, I want to go too, but I don't have any money!"

Madam Jia gritted her teeth and hurriedly said, "Wait a moment, I'll go get the money. Don't leave me behind! Keep a close eye on things after I go downstairs, and don't let anyone else take advantage of us!"

Seeing the three old men in charge vying to take out their money, Zhang Lei was overjoyed.

He immediately waved his hand, signaling the workers to make way.

Then he turned to look at Yi Zhonghai and the other two, a smile on his face, and said, "Alright, since the three of you gentlemen are willing to go, then bring the money over."

Just as the three old men in charge finished paying, Jia Dongxu quickly squeezed to the front and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wait a minute, I want to go too!"

Zhang Lei looked up at Jia Dongxu, a half-smile on his face, and asked, "Where's the money?"

Jia Dongxu quickly waved his hand: "Wait a minute, my mom went to get the money!"

Zhang Lei raised an eyebrow and teased, "Wow, your Jia family is rich enough to just hand over ten yuan like that."

The other people in the courtyard had considered going in to join the fun, but when they heard it would cost ten yuan, they all immediately gave up the idea.

After all, in those days, ten yuan was no small amount; it was equivalent to one-third of an ordinary worker's monthly wage and enough to feed a half-grown child for two whole months.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi ran over breathlessly and stuffed the crumpled ten yuan into Jia Dongxu's hand.

Everyone felt uneasy watching the Jia family readily hand over the money. After all, when the Jia family was in trouble before, the neighbors in the courtyard had donated money to help them a lot.

Yi Zhonghai glared at Jia Zhangshi, inwardly cursing her for being more trouble than she was worth. Taking out money at this critical juncture was just blatant flaunting of wealth and inviting hatred.

The Jia family's readily handing over ten yuan shattered their previous image of feigning poverty and hardship. Who will believe them now if they try to gain sympathy by pretending to be in dire straits in their courtyard house?

Meanwhile, Jia Dongxu happily handed the money to Zhang Lei and stood proudly next to Yi Zhonghai, looking extremely smug, as if he were superior to everyone else.

Looking at his disciple who was more trouble than he was worth, Yi Zhonghai was furious, but he couldn't show it in front of so many people. So he could only lower his voice and warn him: "Look carefully when you go downstairs. Don't just keep laughing like an idiot."

Jia Dongxu, oblivious to the dissatisfaction in his words, patted his chest foolishly and laughed, "Don't worry, Master, my eyesight is 1.0, I can see everything clearly!"