A Chinese man who refused the Government’s generous offer to buy his property for the construction of a new motorway now finds himself living in the middle of said motorway.

A few years ago when Chinese authorities knocked on his door in Jinxi, a town southwest of Shanghai, offering to buy his two-storey house for a fair bit of money and three other properties, Huang Ping decided to play hard-to-get in hopes of getting an even better deal. Unfortunately, his bet didn’t pay off, as the Government simply decided to build around his property instead of giving in to his absurd demands. In the end, all the other property owners in the area sold their land to the Government, leaving Huang isolated in the middle of a soon-to-be-inaugurated highway.

“If I could turn back time, I would agree to the demolition conditions they offered…” Huang told Chinese reporters. “Now it feels like I lost a big bet, I regret it a bit.”

The defiant old man who lives with his 11-year-old grandson was offered 1.6 million yuan ($220,700) and two other properties, an offer that was later increased to three properties. He refused, hoping to get an even better offer, but he overestimated Chinese authorities’ interest in his property, and eventually found himself the owner of a “nail home“, an iconic symbol of the struggle between stubborn homeowners and the Chinese state.

Huang, who has to pass through a concrete pipe in order to leave his home isolated in the middle of a highway, spends most of his time in the center of Jinxi, away from the noise of the construction site around his home and only returns in the evening, when the workers leave. But he fears things will be even worse when the motorway gets inaugurated in Spring. The roof of his house is level with the motorway, and the noise of the passing traffic is sure to be unbearable.

For now, Huang Ping’s nail house is a quirky tourist attraction because of its unusual location in the middle of a motorway, but all the attention only reminds the old man of his poor decision-making.