RYEY -Chapter 320 Severed Ties

While they were busy handling the issue with the two pieces of clothing, uninvited guests arrived at Zhao Guoliang’s house. Zhao Guoliang, wearing a strained smile, took out a document and handed it over for him to sign.

When Zhao Guoliang saw it, his heart sank. It was the notice to reclaim the house in the large shared courtyard. The document clearly stated that since they already had a house assigned by the school, the house in the large courtyard had to be handed over.

Seeing Zhao Guoliang still lost in thought, the visitor sneered:

“They say the so-called ‘old scholar’ is cunning and sly—sure enough. So many people are struggling, with a dozen living in one room. And your family of just four isn’t satisfied with two bedrooms and a living room, and still wants to hoard state resources? That’s excessive.”

Zhao Guoliang took a deep breath, picked up a pen, and signed the document. Indeed, they had never actually lived in that house; it had been given to his two younger brothers’ children.

Now that it was being taken back to be given to those who needed it more, he had no reason to refuse. Only, the already thin bond of brotherhood was likely about to end.

After sending the visitors off, Zhao Guoliang went straight to see Zhao Guodong and Zhao Guojian. From a distance, he caught the smell of braised pork and stopped, realizing he had forgotten it was already mealtime.

Just as he considered waiting until the afternoon, Zhao Guojian saw him:

“Big brother, what brings you here?”

Zhao Guoliang glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, but knew he had to explain—otherwise, if the people came tomorrow, it would become messy.

“Where’s Guodong?”

“Eating meat.”

Zhao Guojian snorted, glancing at the tightly shut door. Just eating some meat, yet the door was locked as if someone was going to steal it—though he himself wanted to eat it too.

“Then notify Guodong: that house has been reclaimed.”

“What? Why?”

“They said since I already have a school-assigned house, I no longer qualify to keep this one. Many people still need housing, so it’s being given to families in special need.”

Zhao Guojian rolled his eyes: “Big brother, then you should return the school-assigned house and leave this one for us—we don’t have enough space.”

Zhao Guoliang was taken aback: “If I give back the school house, where will we live?”

“I don’t care. Anyway, I’m not moving.”

Zhao Guoliang took a deep breath and went to knock on Zhao Guodong’s door. He knocked many times, but the door didn’t open. After a long wait, Zhao Guodong finally opened it.

They had hidden the unfinished braised pork, but the room was small and airtight. As soon as the door opened, the aroma of the meat rushed out.

“Eating meat? Why didn’t you call me to join?”

“Just a few pieces for the kids as a treat, so…”

“No excuses. I’m here to notify you: this house has been reclaimed. Move your things out as soon as possible.”

“This… Big brother, aren’t you being too unreasonable? You’re doing this on purpose, right? It’s not like you missed out on two pieces of meat. Do you really need to take the house?”

Zhao Guoliang said nothing. After a moment’s thought, he took two ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to Zhao Guodong and Zhao Guojian:

“This is the last allowance from your big brother. From now on, our ties are severed; we are no longer related.”

“Big brother, I didn’t mean it like that…”

Zhao Guodong took the money but still grabbed Zhao Guoliang’s sleeve, reluctant to let go.

Zhao Guojian took the money, snorted, and shut the door firmly, moving quickly. He didn’t believe Zhao Guoliang would be so foolish as to vacate the house—it must be a trick to rent it out and make them move.

Zhao Guodong’s wife, Lin Fang, spat on the floor. What big brother? A university professor living in a two-bedroom apartment, earning a high salary, yet treating his younger brothers so miserly—even taking this tiny house away. Definitely intentional. Such a big brother wasn’t needed.

The couple exchanged glances, then looked at Zhao Guojian’s tightly shut door, angrily closing their own. From that moment, they severed all ties with Zhao Guoliang.

“Guodong, should we move the house?”

Though Lin Fang hated Zhao Guoliang, she still took his words to heart. Zhao Guodong shook his head—if Zhao Guojian didn’t move, neither would he.

The next morning, while it was still dawn, Zhao Guojian and Zhao Guodong’s doors were knocked on. It was a man who had just been assigned the house, pointing to it and demanding the brothers move their belongings.

“Who are you? This is my big brother’s house. He gave it to us.”

“Your big brother is Zhao Guoliang, right? He’s been ordered to return the house. It’s now assigned to me. See? Here’s the property certificate.”

Seeing the certificate, Zhao Guojian finally realized the truth: big brother really had come yesterday; he hadn’t been bluffing.

“Guojian, did you offend big brother?”

Zhao Guodong suddenly looked at Zhao Guojian. He felt Zhao Guoliang seemed to dislike him, so he directed the question at him.

“Offend him? He’s a professor. How could I dare?”

“Are you moving or not? If not, I’ll smash it.”

The man grew impatient, his tone harsh. They wanted to move quickly—afternoon work awaited, but they didn’t want to lose half a day’s pay.

Hearing the threat, the brothers realized the house really no longer belonged to them. While opening the door, they tried to negotiate:

“Brother, these walls and doors cost money to build. Could you compensate us a bit?”

“Compensate you? The walls weren’t originally there. You altered the structure. I can report you to the housing office for illegally modifying public property.”

“We’ll dismantle it ourselves. No compensation needed.”

Zhao Guodong shivered at the word “report.” He never wanted to experience such a life again—it was too terrifying.

“Forget it. Don’t knock down the walls. Just move your stuff.”

The man had two sons and worried about the small space. The existing walls were useful; only a fool would destroy them.

The two brothers, each with their wives, hurriedly began moving. Zhao Guojian’s wife, Sun Guo, cursed under her breath but worked efficiently. The house was worth a fortune—losing anything hurt.

Finally, everything was moved, but their home no longer felt like home. The small rooms, with a double bed added, were even more cramped.

Zhao Guodong had Lin Fang take out five yuan. He wanted to buy gifts for Zhao Guoliang. With two sons and such a small house, what would they do when the boys married?

Zhao Guoliang opened the door. Seeing Zhao Guodong, his face darkened. He had already declared the ties severed yesterday—why was he here again?