A widower's entertainment

Chapter 311 [Father's Estate] (Please Subscribe)
Regardless of how diligently Lin Youcheng's children read and recited texts at school, and how much filial piety they showed, he, as their father, also worked hard to write articles for them and earn family property.

"Youcheng, are you sure you want to buy a courtyard house like this? It's so old. There's no heating in the courtyard house, and your butt will freeze to death when you go to the toilet in winter. Why do you still want to buy it here? Aren't there already some in Xinghua Hutong?"

Zhang Wei simply couldn't understand why Lin Youcheng would spend money to buy a dilapidated courtyard house in Sixi Hutong. Such a courtyard house was not worth the price at all, and the renovation would be a huge expense.

"If you have this much money, you might as well follow Ma Weidu and open a nightclub to make investments."

Lin Youcheng's lips twitched when he heard Zhang Wei's words. He knew very well what was going on behind the scenes when Ma Wei invested 430,000 yuan in the dance hall.

Now, more than a decade after the reform and opening up, a large influx of foreign ideas has led to a boom in nightclubs. Several nightclubs have sprung up in Beijing, and they are clearly overcrowded, with long queues outside. Market demand is huge, and the companies believe that a nightclub with 150 chairs, plus entrance fees and beverage sales, can make a lot of money. Otherwise, Ma Wei wouldn't have invested 43 yuan to open the Haima Nightclub.

As for the outcome, it is now far more brutal than imagined.

Lin Youcheng had no intention of throwing money away. Even though he was not short of money at all, he was not thinking about investing in nightclubs. He would rather invest in courtyard houses and commercial housing in Beijing.

Of course, there are more investment opportunities behind Lin Youcheng. It is now 1990, and the economy is developing. Lin Youcheng is very clear about what the best investments will be in the future.

"I was thinking of buying one for each of the kids, so they wouldn't fight over the courtyard house later."

When Zhang Wei heard Lin Youcheng's words, he raised an eyebrow. "Every child has a set? This is really just a waste of money."

He also knew Lin Youcheng's current strength. Not to mention "The Time Traveler's Wife" which he recently signed with Time Publishing Company, just the royalties from "The Devotion of Suspect X" and "Love Letter" in Japan really made Lin Youcheng an absolute big shot.

Although he didn't know the exact amount, Zhang Wei had heard that the single volume of "The Devotion of Suspect X" had sold over a million copies in Japan. Roughly calculating, Lin Youcheng could probably earn over a million yen in royalties from it.

In fact, Zhang Wei's thinking was too simplistic, and he had no idea just how terrifying Lin Youcheng, this royalty tycoon, really was.

It's worth noting that Lin Youcheng's "The Devotion of Suspect X" sold over a million copies. In particular, the economic prosperity of Japan in recent years has boosted the publishing industry and literary market, making it easier for writers' works to gain readers' favor and thus bring in higher incomes.

Take Japanese author Hiroshi Mori as an example. His debut novel, *All Become F*, was a bestseller upon release, with an initial print run of 18000 copies. It was reprinted five times within the year, reaching a total of 61000 copies. Over the following years, it sold a cumulative total of 639300 copies. This is Mori's best-selling work, with a cumulative sales of 780,000 copies over the years, bringing him 60 million yen in income. However, even so, Mori admits that he is not a bestselling author, because 780,000 copies is still far from a million-copy sales figure.

There was no way around it; Lin Youcheng's novel, "The Devotion of Suspect X," was just too popular, winning the highest literary award in Japan.

Following this, several of Lin Youcheng's other novels were also very popular after being published in Japan, and their sales were naturally quite good.

"If you have another child in the future, there will be more than six."

It was obvious that Zhang Wei also knew about the relationship between Lin Youcheng and Xie Shuhua. Although he didn't say it outright, it was clear to everyone that Xie Shuhua's heart was with Lin Youcheng, otherwise she wouldn't be running to Xinghua Hutong every few days.

In truth, Zhang Wei also hoped that Lin Youcheng could be with Xie Shuhua soon, so that he wouldn't be alone all the time. After all, he had personally witnessed Lin Youcheng raising the child alone for so many years. Back when he was in Decheng, Lin Youcheng was alone, and now that he has been in Beijing for several years, he is still alone. How could Zhang Wei not hope that Lin Youcheng could have someone by his side soon?

Lin Youcheng naturally noticed the meaningful smile in Zhang Wei's eyes. Although he hadn't thought about having more than six children, it wouldn't matter if he did. He wasn't short of money now, and he wouldn't be in the future either.

Accompanied by Zhang Wei, Lin Youcheng inspected the two courtyard houses. Although they were much more dilapidated than the previous ones, they were both standard courtyard houses with considerable size. Most importantly, they were not in remote areas, being only a few miles away from Xinghua Hutong via Sixi Hutong. Of course, the most crucial factor was the clear property rights, ensuring that there would be no disputes after the purchase.

"Why didn't you choose another house? This courtyard house is really—"

"It was pretty cheap, so I bought it."

Hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Zhang Wei couldn't help but roll his eyes. Two courtyard houses that cost a total of 100,000 yuan were actually being called cheap. He really wanted to curse.

Although the yard is quite dilapidated, it still costs nearly 100,000 yuan!

Zhang Wei glanced at Lin Youcheng and asked, "Youcheng, how much royalty did you receive for the books you published in Japan?"

Lin Youcheng smiled but remained silent, offering no answer to the question.

Clearly, that meaningful smile was as unfathomable as the novel's royalties.

Zhang Wei was just asking casually and didn't expect Lin Youcheng to give an answer. In his opinion, even without considering the Japanese film "The Devotion of Suspect X," Lin Youcheng's royalties in China were probably not small. The popularity of the TV series "Lurking" undoubtedly made Lin Youcheng's novel "Lurking" even more popular. It's just a pity that piracy of books in China is too serious.

However, even with so many pirated books, the current royalty system for book publishing is undoubtedly a great thing for literary workers.

"Speaking of which, Youcheng, the capital is going to host the Asian Games this year. I heard there will be an Asian Games Village and commercial housing there. I think you might as well spend money to buy a house there."

Hearing Zhang Wei's words, Lin Youcheng nodded and said in full agreement, "You're right, we should buy a house in the Asian Games Village." "Keep it in mind, and buy one or two houses there too. The houses there won't be bad."

It can be said that after the Asian Games were decided to be held in the capital city of Beijing, a great deal of preparatory work was done to ensure the success of the Games. The entire nation mobilized to support the city's construction, building the National Olympic Sports Center, which included the main stadium for the Asian Games, and the Asian Games Village. This was because it was the first large-scale comprehensive international sports event hosted by the People's Republic of China, and the whole country made many arduous efforts for this.

Due to funding issues, tens of millions of people across the country generously donated money, and the phrase "Have you donated today?" even became a popular saying at the time. As for the construction land, which was originally Datun Village, a garbage collection point in the northern suburbs, it was sparsely populated, with farmland, wasteland, and garbage dumps. But now it is completely different. 33 competition venues and athletes' villages have been newly built, renovated, and expanded, and the site has become the current Asian Games Village.

It could even be said that such earth-shattering changes transformed a suburban area on the outskirts of the city into a large financial, commercial, and exhibition community. As a result, the urban area of ​​Beijing expanded, and a large number of overpasses and wide roads were built. Significant investments were made in urban transportation transformation and infrastructure construction. The Third and Fourth Ring Roads were already taking shape at this time. For Lin Youcheng's family, who had been in Beijing for several years, they could naturally feel that the city's appearance had been renewed.

Although the scale of construction at Lin Youcheng cannot compare with that of the later Olympic Games, it was still another large-scale construction project in Beijing since the construction of the Great Hall of the People and other "Ten Great Buildings" in 1950. Now, the entire city of Beijing is enthusiastically preparing to welcome the upcoming Asian Games.

Now, Aunt Zhao, the director of the neighborhood office, is also very concerned and starts to promote relevant knowledge in this area from time to time.

Undoubtedly, the Asian Games is a source of great pride for the country, especially in the capital, Beijing. The streets and alleys are already buzzing with publicity for the event, including calls for volunteers. At this time, volunteers are called "volunteer service personnel." Lin Youcheng, a middle-aged widower, naturally didn't volunteer, considering there were so many young people—not just students, but also leading cadres—who were expected to serve the Asian Games.

It can be said that the entire capital city is filled with a joyful and enthusiastic atmosphere in anticipation of the Asian Games that will be held in September.

Zhang Wei naturally knew that the houses in the Asian Games Village must be very nice, but upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, he shook his head and said, "One or two houses? Do you think I'm like you? I still get a salary, and the houses there aren't cheap!"

The housing prices in Beijing are already putting a lot of pressure on many employees. A year's salary can't even buy a few square meters. As for the Asian Games Village, it seems to be some kind of high-end residential area, so the housing prices there must be even higher.

Zhang Wei never even considered buying a house there. In his opinion, his family didn't need to buy another house at all. One house was enough for them, so why did they need to buy several like Lin Youcheng?

However, Zhang Wei also knew that Lin Youcheng had six children. If things really went well between him and Xie Shuhua, they might have more children, which would naturally increase the number of children. No wonder Lin Youcheng wanted to prepare houses for the children so early.

Lin Youcheng was well aware that the price of commercial housing in Beijing had risen. When Zhao Gensheng's family came to Beijing last year, they talked about the housing prices there, which he dared not even imagine.

But Zhao Gensheng, and Zhang Wei now, have no idea that what they truly dare not imagine is yet to come.
Lin Youcheng was naturally thinking that when the commercial housing in the Asian Games Village went on sale, he would prepare at least one apartment for each of his children. There was no way around it; as a father, he had to treat them all equally. Of course, this was only his attempt to treat them equally.

Although the houses in the Asian Games Village are quite expensive, he, as a father, still has the ability to buy several for his children.

To be honest, the houses in the Asian Games Village are really worth it and have great investment potential. Some of the residences here are large units of 200 square meters or four bedrooms, and there is 24-hour hot water supply. These are all novel concepts that have never been seen before, so they are naturally impressive.

Many celebrities will also buy property here, and the Asian Games Village area will quickly become one of the most prestigious wealthy areas in Beijing. The current housing price of around 1500 yuan will jump to around 15,000 yuan in five years, more than ten times. When Beijing completely abolishes the welfare housing allocation policy in 1998 and fully enters the era of commercial housing, that will be the craziest time.

However, Lin Youcheng was not worried about any of these things.

Now that he has bought two courtyard houses in Sixi Hutong and three in Xinghua Hutong, he has five courtyard houses in total. He only needs one more to complete the set. As for the possibility of buying more, as Zhang Wei mentioned, Lin Youcheng had not thought about it and naturally would not consider it. He was thinking that if a suitable courtyard house became available later, the price would probably continue to rise. However, even if the price rose, he would still buy another one. He couldn't afford to be without one.

At least six houses need to be prepared for the Asian Games Village.

"Director Zhang, I think if you have the money, you should really consider buying a house in the Asian Games Village. As for investing in a nightclub like Ma Weidu did, forget about it."

Zhang Wei didn't know why Lin Youcheng wasn't optimistic about opening a nightclub, since it was currently one of the most popular places in Beijing. However, he didn't ask further and simply said, "Even if I had money, I wouldn't buy a house. I don't have as many kids as you."

"Just don't regret it later."

"What do I have to regret?"

Zhang Wei shook his head, seemingly unconcerned, and then said, "By the way, Youcheng, you'd better hurry up with the manuscript for 'The Reader.' Make sure to give it to me as soon as it's finished!"

Zhang Wei naturally urged Lin Youcheng to finish his manuscript. He was waiting for Lin Youcheng to finish writing the rest of the manuscript for "The Reader." He couldn't wait to read the next part of the story. People in the literary circle were also paying attention to Lin Youcheng's new manuscript. He didn't want Lin Youcheng's manuscript to be snatched away by another editor in the end.

Lin Youcheng just smiled at Zhang Wei's words. How could he not hurry up? As a father, he was still building an empire and making a fortune for his children.

Lin Youcheng knew very well that his most important asset was still his manuscripts. After returning to Xinghua Hutong, Lin Youcheng naturally began to earn another asset from books, which he believed was like a golden house, by continuing to write the manuscripts for "The Reader".

Not long after, Zhang Wei received a call from Lin Youcheng, asking him to come and pick up the manuscript.

Zhang Wei naturally rushed over immediately and brought the manuscript back to the People's Literature magazine.

The People's Literature magazine also received the long-awaited "The Reader." The editors in the editorial department had been eagerly anticipating it, wanting to know what kind of manuscript Lin Youcheng had written this time, why he said that the movie might not be made, and just how explicit the content was.

(End of this chapter)