Chapter 20: Aunt Zhang’s Difficulties

“What? Boss Zhao was beaten up?”
“Who did this? They must have nerves of steel!”
Hearing these words, Chang Yu, sitting in the guard booth, shrank his head guiltily.
If Zhao Dasheng hadn’t been beaten up a second time last night, then perhaps the ‘culprit’ Vice President Yao was referring to... was none other than himself.
Although Chang Yu was trying to keep up a calm exterior, inside he was filled with anxiety.
From the sound of it, all the police in H City had been mobilized and were now searching the city for the suspect!
As the instigator of the whole affair, Chang Yu was terrified that he’d be found out and taken away by the police.
It seemed this time the police were truly taking things seriously; with such a large-scale operation, surely it wouldn’t be just for show.
“Have they caught the culprit yet?” Fat Wang voiced the question Chang Yu most wanted answered.
“No, not yet. At the time, the assailant wore a mask, so Zhao Dasheng and his people couldn’t see the attacker’s face clearly. The police haven't made much progress.”
Chang Yu breathed a sigh of relief at this, and his expression loosened.
He thought to himself that it was a good thing he’d had the foresight to cover his face with a plastic bag; otherwise, Zhao Dasheng would have gotten a good look at him.
If that had happened, he wouldn’t be sitting leisurely in the guard booth now but would already have been taken away by the police.
What awaited him then would most likely be a prison cell.
Vice President Yao wore an expression of grief and lingering fear as he said, “Boss Zhao has always been a decent man!”
“Not only is he shrewd and capable, he’s never delayed paying his employees’ wages. The only flaw is his ambiguous relationship with his female secretary.”
“But then again, Boss Zhao has been divorced for years and never remarried. Even if he’s close to his secretary, that’s a matter between two consenting adults!”
“No one has any right to meddle in his private life. Who could have guessed that just as he was minding his own business last night—”
“A madman suddenly dropped from the sky, dragged him out of his car without a word, and gave him a savage beating.”
“All the while, he kept saying he was doing heaven’s work, stopping Zhao Dasheng from taking innocent lives, speaking with the utmost conviction.”
“In the end, he declared, ‘Justice may be delayed, but it will never fail to arrive!’”
“Tell me, is this something a human being would do?”
“Just look at how outrageous this culprit is,” Fat Wang said, shuddering as he listened to Vice President Yao’s account.
“I can’t talk now, I’m in a hurry to visit Boss Zhao at the hospital.” Vice President Yao gripped the steering wheel, preparing to drive out of the company gates.
“No matter what, we’ve got some ties with Boss Zhao. It’s only right to visit him in the hospital; we can’t neglect our manners.”
Fat Wang understood the urgency of the situation and hurriedly raised the gate with the remote, opening the way for Vice President Yao to leave.
Watching the Audi sports car speed away, Fat Wang wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said to Chang Yu with a sigh,
“Tell me, how did the world get so chaotic?”
“No matter where you go, there’s no guarantee of personal safety.”
“The next time I get a chance, I’ll be sure to tell Boss Zhao to hire a bodyguard for himself.”
“Brother Wang, can I ask you something?” Chang Yu asked awkwardly.
“What is it?” Fat Wang lit a Chinese cigar, clamped it between his teeth, and exhaled smoke.
“What did your wife mean earlier by ‘handling business’?” Chang Yu asked, his large eyes filled with innocent curiosity.
……

After Fat Wang’s lengthy explanation, Chang Yu finally realized how deeply he had misunderstood Zhao Dasheng.
It turned out he had indeed wronged Mr. Zhao Dasheng, the model entrepreneur; the man had never intended to silence anyone.
Taking the bus, Chang Yu returned home under the cover of night.
He’d always lived simply. Even now, having just become a man with tens of thousands to his name, he wouldn’t splurge.
If he could take the bus, he’d never pay for a taxi.
When he reached the entrance to his rented flat, he saw a middle-aged woman with a perm—his landlady, Aunt Zhang—waiting by his door.
“Oh, Aunt Zhang, what brings you here?” Chang Yu’s tone was lukewarm, clearly still holding a grudge over the two thousand yuan she’d squeezed out of him before.
Just thinking of it made his blood boil!
“I’m here to talk to you about the rent,” Aunt Zhang said with a sly grin, unfazed by Chang Yu’s attitude and getting straight to the point.
“For something like this, you didn’t need to come in person. I could’ve just sent you the money on WeChat, like always.” Chang Yu took out his keys, opened the door, and ushered Aunt Zhang inside.
This time, Chang Yu didn’t feel a bit guilty in front of her. He was a different man now.
As the saying goes, money gives a man courage.
With wealth comes confidence.
“Chang Yu, I’m not just here to collect this month’s rent. There’s something else I need to inform you about.” Aunt Zhang mustered her words, looking righteous and unyielding.
Here it comes, Chang Yu thought.
He’d already sensed something was off today. If she only wanted the rent, she could’ve called—no need to come all this way.
So if Aunt Zhang had gone to the trouble to visit, it had to be for some other reason.
Based on experience, anything involving Aunt Zhang never boded well.
With this in mind, Chang Yu’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
He simply watched her quietly, waiting to see what she was up to.
As expected, Aunt Zhang dropped a bombshell as soon as she opened her mouth: “I’m here to tell you that, starting next month, your rent will be twelve hundred!”
Chang Yu was stunned. He’d expected her to pick a fight, but he never imagined she’d come to raise the rent.
He glanced around the shabby, old, dilapidated apartment, the peeling walls, the battered furniture—nothing about it seemed worth twelve hundred a month.
He’d chosen to rent here in the first place because the unit hadn’t been renovated in twenty or thirty years. The condition was poor, so the rent was lower.
The floors were bare concrete, not even proper tiles or floorboards. Every step kicked up dust, so he had to sprinkle water on the floor before sweeping or the dust would drive him out.
The place got no sunlight, and the musty, damp smell was overpowering. The walls hadn’t been repainted in years, stained and mottled, a shocking sight.
The only appliance in the house was an ancient water heater in the bathroom. There was no fridge, washing machine, or television, and not even a fan for the summer heat.
Chang Yu wondered how Aunt Zhang could have the nerve to raise the rent with such a miserable place. Did her conscience not trouble her?
Honestly, for these living conditions, even eight hundred felt steep.
And even if she wanted to raise the rent, it should go up by a hundred at a time—who jumps straight to a four hundred increase?
Wasn’t this just blatant bullying?
Chang Yu was furious, his face turning as red as an apple. Did she really think he was such an easy mark? Once wasn’t enough—she wanted to fleece him again?
“Aunt Zhang, twelve hundred is outrageous! For this kind of apartment, it’s just not worth the price!” Chang Yu’s frustration was evident in his words.

“Hey, child, why do you have to talk like that?” Aunt Zhang instantly took offense. “You think eight hundred a month is too little for me?”
When Aunt Zhang lost her temper, there was a certain shrewishness to her. She could make a case even when she was clearly in the wrong.
“Mrs. Qian’s apartment upstairs went up to twelve hundred last month, and people are still renting it, aren’t they?”
“If they can rent theirs for twelve hundred, why can’t I?”
“If I keep charging you just eight hundred a month, do you know how much money I’d lose every year?”
“If you don’t have the money, just say so, but don’t keep picking faults with my place.”
“If you don’t like it here, you should move out as soon as possible.”
“With your broke look, even if you wanted to rent my place, I wouldn’t want you here!”
Aunt Zhang’s nasty words were so caustic that Chang Yu felt his anger rising uncontrollably.
He knew all about Mrs. Qian’s apartment upstairs.
It had just been renovated—new floors, new furniture, all the appliances, even an air conditioner, and the walls freshly painted just last month.
For a place like that, twelve hundred was reasonable; even a penny-pincher like Chang Yu thought it was worth it.
But look at Aunt Zhang’s place—its condition didn’t even compare to a thirty-yuan roadside motel!
If he weren’t so stingy about the extra hundred a month, he’d rather sleep in a cheap motel every night than stay in this dump.
It was just too miserable!
Twelve hundred wasn’t beyond his means—he had money now, after all.
But the point was that it had to be worth spending.
He had no desire to hand his money over to this greedy landlady.
Who knew if giving in to her unreasonable demands this time wouldn’t just encourage her to try it again?
Thinking back on all the times she’d bullied him, Chang Yu finally lost his patience and said, “Fine, I’ll move! I don’t care to stay here any longer!”
“Good, you said it!” Aunt Zhang was just as angry at being contradicted.
She’d long been fed up with Chang Yu—no money, no prospects. Renting to such a loser was bad luck in her eyes.
“Then hand over this month’s eight hundred in full—not a penny less!”
“And you’ve got two days to move out. After that, I’ll come and inspect the place myself.”
“If you’re still here then, don’t blame me for tossing your things out myself!”
“Two days? That’s too short!” Chang Yu protested.
Finding a new place in just two days was next to impossible.
“Two days. No more,” Aunt Zhang said coldly, looking at him with a sneer. “Whether you like it or not, you have to move out in time.”
“The longer you dawdle here, the longer I have to wait to rent to someone else. Remember, I’m informing you, not asking for your opinion.”
Chang Yu bit his lip, swallowing his humiliation and resentment, and finally said coldly, “Fine. Two days it is.”