"Brother, the demolition plan for the village has been released. Shall we discuss how to split the money?"
In Li Daniu's home in Li Village, his younger brother Li Erniu sat opposite him. In front of the brothers was a pot of freshly bought loose wine, with only a plate of peanuts as a side dish.
In Li Village, the brothers Li Daniu and Li Erniu were known as notorious idlers.
Both were in their forties and had not yet married.
They spent their days drinking and playing mahjong at home. Sometimes, when they ran out of money and couldn't afford to eat, they would go to the township to find odd jobs.
But they would only work for ten days or half a month at most. After earning money, they would immediately return home to drink and play mahjong.
However, because the brothers were tall and burly, even though the villagers looked down on them, no one dared to say anything to their faces.
At this moment, the brothers had gathered to discuss splitting money due to the demolition.
*Slurp.*
Li Daniu picked up the small wine cup filled to the brim and drank it all in one gulp.
"Second brother, since you're here to see me, you must have already thought things through, right? There's no one else here, so just tell me what's on your mind."
Li Daniu glanced at Li Erniu and picked up his chopsticks to put peanuts into his mouth.
"Big brother, I've already asked. Our old house and yard can fetch 200,000 yuan, plus the per capita compensation of 30,000 yuan each. That makes a total of 290,000 yuan. We'll each get 145,000 yuan."
After speaking, Li Erniu's honest face was filled with smiles.
145,000 yuan was only two or three years' salary for an ordinary person in Rongcheng city.
But for Li Daniu and Li Erniu, they only earned two or three thousand yuan for a month's odd job in Xinhe Township. For these lazy men who worked for a month and rested for two, this demolition money would take them decades to earn.
Therefore, Li Erniu was naturally very happy thinking about the large sum of money they would soon receive.
"Second brother, your calculation is a bit off. There are only two of us, so at most it's 260,000 yuan. Where did the remaining 30,000 yuan come from?"
Li Daniu put down the chopsticks holding peanuts and tilted his head to look at Li Erniu.
His second brother usually had some sense, so why was he acting foolishly now?
The village accountant, Zhou, was more cunning than anyone. Trying to get more money from him was harder than reaching the sky.
"Big brother, did you forget about Xiao E? There are three of us siblings, so the per capita compensation is indeed 90,000 yuan. If that Zhou guy shortchanges us even a cent, we'll dig up his ancestral grave!"
As Li Erniu spoke, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.
In this world, money was the most important thing to him. Anyone who dared to shortchange him, he would fight to the death.
"Good! Well said! If they dare shortchange us even a cent, we'll dig up his ancestral grave!"
Li Daniu was so excited by this that he slapped the table.
How could he have forgotten that useless sister? He never expected that years later, she would still be somewhat useful, allowing him to get an extra 15,000 yuan.
"Come! Second brother, drink! To our soon-to-be-obtained 145,000 yuan, we must drink to our heart's content today!"
Thinking of the money he would soon receive, Li Daniu happily poured wine for himself and Li Erniu.
The brothers drank cup after cup, their faces turning red and their voices growing louder.
*Creak!*
*Creak!*
The iron gate in the yard, which had been rusted for a long time, made an unpleasant scraping sound.
But the Li brothers inside were too engrossed in their drinking to hear it.
It wasn't until the door of the room where they were drinking was pushed open that they both looked towards the entrance.
"Xiao E?"
"Xiao E?"
The brothers called out in unison.
The person standing at the doorway was Li Su E.
When she saw her two brothers in the room, their faces flushed red from drinking, her expression immediately turned grim.
She hadn't expected that after so many years, they were still so useless, only knowing how to drink.
Thinking back, a large part of the reason why their parents died early was because of Li Su E's two brothers.
Speaking of Li Daniu and Li Erniu, they were the notorious idlers of the entire Li Village. Not only were they lazy, but they were also unfilial sons.
When Li Su E's parents were still alive, the two Li brothers would ask for money to buy wine every few days. If their parents refused or lectured them, they would immediately be met with punches and kicks.
These two beasts were truly capable of inflicting harm. Of course, Li Su E, as their sister, had also been beaten by them.
Therefore, after her parents were angered to death by these two beast-like brothers, Li Su E had almost never returned.
One reason was that there was nothing in this home that made her want to stay, and the other was that she was afraid of being pestered by them for money to buy wine if she returned.
Seeing her sister, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, suddenly return, and having just discussed how to split her share of the money, the Li brothers were a little guilty.
"Xiao E, you haven't been back for several years. Why do you have time to come back today?"
"Yes, where's Jingjing? Why didn't you bring Jingjing back to play with us?"
Li Daniu and Li Erniu spoke one after another, their tones very polite.
Li Su E didn't want to waste time with the two in front of her. She said directly, "Big brother, second brother, I just went to the village. They told me our family's house demolition will get 200,000 yuan, and the per capita compensation is 30,000 yuan per person."
Damn it, Li Su E actually came back for the demolition money.
The two Li brothers exchanged glances upon hearing Li Su E's words.
They had originally planned to find an excuse to trick Li Su E into leaving and then split the money. But now that she had gone to the village, it seemed unlikely they could keep her per capita compensation.
Li Erniu sighed inwardly. When he spoke again, his tone was no longer as polite, "Alright, Xiao E. You haven't been back for so many years, and the first thing you do upon returning is to ask for money. Since that's the case, you can take your per capita compensation in a few days."
As for Li Daniu, he was heartbroken. In the blink of an eye, he had lost 15,000 yuan. He would have to drink less wine for several months.
Why did Li Su E choose to come back at this exact moment, neither too early nor too late? It was truly bad luck.
However, since Li Erniu had already said it, Li Daniu naturally knew that it was unlikely they could hoard Li Su E's share of the money.
After all, if she hadn't returned by the time the money was to be distributed, they could have used the excuse that she was busy and collected the money for her.
But now that Li Su E had gone to the village, she would definitely have to sign in person to receive the per capita compensation. No matter what schemes the Li brothers had, they would be useless.
"Big brother, second brother, actually, I came back this time to tell you two something."
Listening to Li Su E speak again, and looking at her cold expression, the hearts of the Li brothers suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Before our parents passed away, they had already transferred the house to my name. So, this house now belongs to me. The demolition money can only be collected with my signature."
Li Su E said slowly.