My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 162: Zhang Lei Gains Benefits 3

Hearing the two arguing again, Zhang Lei smiled and waved his hand: "Silly Zhu, you and Xu Damao are indeed different."

Sha Zhu looked puzzled: "What's different?"

Zhang Lei suppressed a laugh: "Although Xu Damao bears secondary responsibility, he is still considered a 'victim'."

"He's the victim? What about me?" Sha Zhu immediately bristled, pointing to his clothes, "Jia Dongxu sprayed me with shit all over my body, aren't I a victim too?"

Zhang Lei shook his head and waved one hand, "It's different, it's different. You were lying face down, while Xu Damao was lying face up."

He feigned confusion: "Is there any difference?"

Upon hearing this, the people around immediately understood and burst into laughter. Xu Damao's face turned bright red with embarrassment, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

Zhang Lei looked at Sha Zhu and said slowly, "Think about it, if poop is spraying everywhere, and someone is standing there with their head up and mouth open, what would that look like?"

Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what he meant, pointed at Xu Damao and laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight: "Xu Damao ate shit!"

Zhang Lei nodded.

Xu Damao was so angry he jumped up and down, pointing at Shazhu and yelling, "Shazhu, you're the one who eats shit! Your whole family eats shit!"

Sha Zhu laughed even harder: "I knew it! Xu Damao, you idiot, you actually ate that stuff! I'm happy to pay back the money!"

Seeing that Sha Zhu had relented, Zhang Lei raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Alright, that's settled then. Xu Damao will pay 30 yuan, and Sha Zhu will pay 50 yuan. That's a perfect solution."

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at everyone and said loudly, "Did everyone understand? Those who understood, let's give them a round of applause!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a round of applause erupted in the courtyard, mixed with a few cheers.

Behind the crowd, Ye Shuhua stood on tiptoe to peek forward, her face beaming with joy. She couldn't help but shout, "Well done, sir!"

Just then, Uncle Liu Haizhong sidled up to Zhang Lei and quietly gave him a thumbs-up. Zhang Lei smiled and asked, "Uncle, how did I do on this?"

Liu Haizhong smiled broadly: "Good, very good!"

Zhang Lei turned to look at him and said slowly, "Second Uncle, my twenty..."

Liu Haizhong was taken aback: "What, twenty?"

"It's a tip, twenty yuan," Zhang Lei said matter-of-factly.

Liu Haizhong's eyes widened immediately: "What? A service fee? And twenty?"

Zhang Lei smiled confidently: "Of course, Second Uncle, do you think my analysis isn't worth twenty?"

Just as Liu Haizhong was about to retort, Zhang Lei added, "If you think it's not worth it, then I'll continue—don't blame me if you don't get the compensation."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong quickly waved his hand, "Okay, okay, twenty it is!"

Seeing that he had relented, Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Second Uncle, don't feel like you lost out. I got all this money back thanks to my skills. If you had taken it to the police station, you might not have gotten this result."

Liu Haizhong thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll give you twenty yuan." He turned to leave, but Zhang Lei grabbed him.

"Second Uncle, don't go!"

Liu Haizhong turned around, a hint of impatience on his face: "What else do you want?"

Zhang Lei laughed even harder: "Second Uncle, there's a great opportunity to boost your reputation, would you like to hear it?"

Upon hearing "improve reputation," Liu Haizhong immediately perked up and leaned forward: "Zhang Lei, tell me, how do we do that?"

Zhang Lei lowered his voice and said slowly, "Second Uncle, later you should give each household in the courtyard one yuan as compensation for emotional distress."

Liu Haizhong was immediately displeased upon hearing this, frowning as he said, "What? One yuan per household? There are over a dozen households in this courtyard, that's over a dozen yuan!"

Zhang Lei looked at him and laughed, "Second Uncle, aren't you being stingy? You can get more than three hundred yuan back by reselling it. If you give each family one yuan, that's only a little over ten yuan. If you do the math, you'll still have more than three hundred yuan left. Isn't that a great deal?"

"But..." Liu Haizhong was about to mutter something when Zhang Lei put his arm around his shoulder and leaned closer, saying, "Think about it, Jia Zhangshi is a scoundrel, and Sha Zhu and Xu Damao are incredibly cunning. If you don't take this opportunity to show everyone what you're capable of, who will genuinely help you keep an eye on getting this money back? What if Jia Zhangshi changes her mind later? Who will you turn to then?"

These words were like a sudden awakening. Liu Haizhong's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in realization, "That's right! This will not only make the people in the courtyard look at me, your second uncle, with more respect, but it will also get them to help keep an eye on those three families to pay back the money. It's a win-win situation!"

Zhang Lei patted him on the shoulder, his expression as if to say, "Finally, you've got it," and laughed, "That's right!"

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at the group of people who were about to leave and quickly stopped them, saying, "Everyone, wait a minute!"

Everyone was surprised when he called them back. Someone asked, "Zhang Lei, isn't everything settled? What else do you want to say?"

Zhang Lei looked at everyone and explained, "It's not that I have something to say, it's that Second Uncle has something to say, and I'm speaking for him."

Upon hearing that it was Second Uncle speaking, everyone was even more puzzled and looked at Zhang Lei, asking, "What does Second Uncle want to say?"

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Because Jia Dongxu sprayed excrement at Second Uncle's wedding, no one ate well. Second Uncle felt bad about it and was quite guilty. He thought of making amends to everyone, and the compensation is one yuan per household."

Upon hearing that there would be a dollar in compensation, everyone perked up immediately. After all, they had only given a few cents as a gift, and they were so engrossed that they couldn't move.

Seeing that everyone had stayed, Zhang Lei smiled and raised his voice, asking, "Everyone, tell me, wasn't Second Uncle's handling of this matter fair and just?"

"Great!" the crowd exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with jubilation.

"Since it's so open and honest, let's give Second Uncle a round of applause!" Zhang Lei said, pushing his bangs forward as he did so.

Uncle Er was pushed in front of the crowd. Seeing the applause, his face beamed with joy, and he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It's my duty, it's my duty!"

At this moment, Zhang Lei turned to Jia Zhangshi, Xu Damao, and Shazhu, and said loudly, "You three, don't just stand there! Hurry up and go home to get the money and give it to Second Uncle so he can distribute the compensation to everyone—does everyone agree?"

"Yes!" the crowd echoed. Some tugged at Jia Zhangshi's arm, some nudged Xu Damao, and others urged Shazhu, "Hurry up, go get the money!"

Pressed relentlessly, the three of them reluctantly went home.

Before long, Jia Zhangshi's three hundred yuan, Xu Damao's thirty yuan, and Shazhu's fifty yuan were all handed over to Liu Haizhong.

Zhang Lei quickly snatched 20 yuan from the old man's hand and said, "Uncle, this is mine."

Liu Haizhong nodded imperceptibly.

Zhang Lei reached out and stopped Xu Damao, who was about to leave: "Xu Damao, here's my 10 yuan."

Seeing his expression, Xu Damao was furious: "Zhang Lei, I've already lost 30, and you still want more?"

Zhang Lei looked at him and said slowly, "That's right, didn't I save you 20? It's still better than you losing 50, isn't it?"

Xu Damao was so enraged that he cursed, "Did I earn that 20 yuan by eating shit?!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately covered his mouth, clearly realizing that what he said was inappropriate.

Zhang Lei suppressed a laugh and deliberately leaned closer: "What? I didn't hear you clearly, Xu Damao, say it again?"

Seeing his increasingly demanding attitude, Xu Damao angrily pulled out 10 yuan from his pocket and shoved it at him: "Here you go! Here you go! You'd better buy lots of good food and stuff yourself to death!"

Zhang Lei didn't seem to care at all. He patted the ten yuan in his hand lightly and smiled, "Thanks."