Requiem for a Crook

Beijing, China

This is actually about my landlord and a bit of a sad story. I wonder if this is typical of Chinese landlords or landlords in general. It went like this:
Before meeting him he was described as a true Beijinger. I still wonder if that was referring to his character or just his very thick Beijing accent. I was also told (related to the first remark or not) that he may seem a bit rough on the outside but was a good enough person.
When I first arrived I understood nothing of what he said both because of the accent and my extremely limited vocabulary. He seemed ok with my flat mates. When one of them moved out he was very flexible - along the lines of "if you need to stay don't worry".
Only when my Chinese became good enough to handle things myself did I begin to realise it wasn't all like this. Getting his contribution of RMB50 to our first big water payment (something he had collected from a previous tenant) required all three of us talking to him.
Then began the time when I met him by myself. I started realising that he was actually treating me like an idiot repeating things over unnecessarily. He didn't seem to grasp the difference of not understanding because of a language barrier and (as he thought) failing to understand his meaning. He also turned out to be quite pushy. Matters were always urgent. If we had arranged a meeting he would call the day before to remind me and on the day 5 to 15 minutes before the meeting to tell me he was already waiting and why wasn't I there yet. Annoyed I would in turn remind him of the time remaining to the agreed meeting and only meet him at that time.
I also began to see that if he could not reach one person he would call everybody else in the flat and rush them around in his search. On the other hand when there was something urgent for us we had to follow his rigourous schedule of work.
The best thing was, however, yet to come when I moved out this Tuesday. I had paid up to and including the 25th. I was hoping to stay that night and then catch my train early the next morning. I had received most of my deposit back - RMB900 out of RMB1000. Then there was viewing on that afternoon and I gave him the key and went to my last class telling him I still needed to sort out some things later. After class I was chatting to some friends when he called asking why there was still stuff in my place and I needed to move out immediately because somebody was coming to live. I was surprised and replied that I had paid for today. No, I was to move right now (it was 8 in the evening). He even seemed to say something about helping me move my things. At that I told him not to touch my belongings. I rushed back angry at the interruption to my good-byes and confronted him. Why was it so urgent now? I insisted that I had paid for today and the room should be mine until mid-night at least. No, he insisted, I was wrong. When he started listing some reasons, just excuses I believe, I even slapped his counting hand away and told him to get going and open the flat for me. At least, I needed some time to finish my packing. Then half an hour later he called again and I told him I would let him know when I was done. A short while later he even turned up unannounced with another guy who was to help him clean the room. I told them to wait outside. He now proceeded to argue with the other two tenants. There was a leaking tap in the bathroom and he told them it was our responsibility to get it fixed. I ended up shouting at him that it was his problem - that's how it was all over the world. No, I was wrong, but I didn't listen to his reasons. I was too furious. In the end everything was done and I moved my backpack outside. He came to say good-bye and welcome to come to China again and we were still friends. Yes, yes, bla, bla. I said good-bye to my flatmates and only then remembered the outstanding RMB100. I told him. No, there was no outstanding debt. I had stayed five more days and there was also something about an electricity bill I should have payed at the beginning. I was shocked. No, there wasn't any such thing - we had calculated this through! He insisted and called one of the flatmates to translate to me what I had already understood. He wouldn't cheat me for RMB100, would he? Bullshit! I told him again, irate now. Fine! He was also angry now, pulled out a bunch of notes and pressed a RMB100 note into my hand. He would show me that he wouldn't argue about such a minor matter. Pah! My major had after all been mathematics. Then I seemed to have not studied well. We were not friends after all, then. That made me laugh. At least, I had the satisfaction of having won this final battle, even though things had got a little ugly. Still, without knowing he had given me the reason to shout at him I had waited for for so long. Friends? With him? I still have to laugh at the idea.