Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1130 The House Swap Dispute
Upon receiving this confirmation, the Xu and Liu families met outside to exchange information. Xu Desheng and Liu Shuquan also learned about each other's reasons for their falling out with the deaf old lady.

Xu Desheng said that his family's story began with a bowl of braised pork. Once, it was his child's birthday. The child had never eaten anything delicious since childhood, but before the birthday, some classmate boasted to his child that he had eaten braised pork. As a result, the child started to crave that dish.

Xu Desheng was always busy with work and had no time to spare for his family. His wife, who came from the countryside, still had the same habits as she did in the village. She was very frugal and planned her meals carefully, even when the family was well-off. They rarely ate meat. However, when Xu Desheng heard that his child longed for braised pork, he couldn't sit still as a father. He promised his child that he would definitely be able to have braised pork for his birthday.

On the day of Xu Desheng's child's birthday, Xu's wife went out early in the morning and used all the meat coupons she had saved up over the past two months to buy four ounces of meat. Xu Desheng's two children, besides the boy who was in elementary school celebrating his birthday, also had a five-year-old girl. Both children knew that they would be eating braised pork that night and were very excited, looking forward to that meal from the morning.

Xu Desheng finished his workday and returned home early. Today, he was going to cook a meal for his family himself.

Before long, a bowl of braised pork was served, along with several other dishes, making a total of four dishes and a soup. Xu Desheng happily called the children to wash their hands and eat. Xu Desheng's wife also came into the main room from the kitchen with a plate of steamed buns made from two kinds of flour.

Just as the Xu family sat down, and the children were waiting for their father to start the meal before they began to eat, there was a knock on their door. Xu Desheng frowned. In Beijing, it was a big taboo to visit someone's door during mealtime. Even beggars on the street knew this rule. Xu Desheng suppressed his temper and went to open the door.

An elderly deaf woman stood at the door, smiling at Xu Desheng. She said, "Oh, Xu boy, what are you having for dinner today? The aroma of meat is so strong it's wafting into my house. I haven't eaten yet, why don't you invite me in?"

Xu Desheng was usually quiet and didn't like to interact with his neighbors. His family practically lived their own lives behind closed doors. But that didn't mean Xu Desheng's family were unsociable. On the contrary, Xu Desheng was very clever. Within a few days, he noticed that the people in the courtyard were somewhat unusual. Selfishness and greed were written all over their faces. He also noticed Yi Zhonghai's desire for control, Liu Haizhong's ambition for officialdom and arrogance, and Yan Bugui's greed.

Xu Desheng told his family to have less contact with people in the yard, and the Xu family did just that, living their own quiet lives behind closed doors. But the deaf old lady was already standing at the door, and Xu Desheng didn't want to embarrass her, so he said, "Grandma, hello. We did cook meat tonight, but not much. It's only because my son only has his birthday once every few years. If I invite you in, you won't have enough to eat, and neither will we. So we won't invite you to our family dinner. I'll buy meat and cook it for you separately another day."

Upon hearing this, the deaf old lady's face immediately darkened. Xu Desheng had already said so much, so the deaf old lady knew that she wouldn't be able to eat braised pork today. She snorted and said, "You have no respect for the elderly at all. Humph, just you wait and see."

After saying that, she turned and left. Xu Desheng knew he had offended the old lady, so he sighed and went back inside.

The Xu family had just one incident that made the deaf old lady hold a grudge, while the Liu family was much simpler. No matter who came to buy grain from them, they would refuse. If anyone dared to cause trouble, Liu Shuquan would send his son to the street to find someone. So everyone in the compound resented the Liu family.

Now that they knew the whole story, after exchanging ideas, the two suddenly felt that moving out of the compound should be a good thing for them. If they couldn't afford to offend them, they could at least avoid them. After discussing it back and forth, they privately approached Director Wang. After paying him fifty kilograms of flour, Director Wang told them part of their plan.

All Director Wang could say was that the house to be exchanged was the three large rooms and one small side room in the east wing of the front yard of No. 49 Yu'er Hutong. The owner of this house was no longer in Beijing, but he had gifted the house to Wang Zhan and his sister in No. 47 Yu'er Hutong. If the two of them strongly requested to exchange houses, they could try to contact Wang Zhan privately.

After Director Wang took the initiative to help Wang Zhan with the paperwork at his door, the two of them came directly to his door, each bringing their wives. It was clear that they were very sincere and had come to formally handle some business.

After listening, Wang Zhan kept thinking about a question: was it a case of him making trouble for himself by moving to courtyard number 95? He had met the people in that courtyard before, but he could only get along well with Xu Damao in the back courtyard and Yan Jiekuang in the front courtyard. He still harbored resentment towards the others.

Xu Desheng glanced at the hesitant Wang Zhan, then at Liu Shuquan who was drinking tea, and kept giving him meaningful glances, signaling Liu Shuquan to speak and persuade the hesitant Wang Zhan.

Liu Shuquan saw Xu Desheng's anxious expression, then looked at Wang Zhan and said, "Wang Zhan, this is our first time dealing with each other. You may not know this, but Xu Desheng, your brother Xu's house has a rear building in the east wing, a side room, and a wing room. I have two side rooms and a wing room in the front yard. We know about your house in the next yard. We'll exchange these five rooms for three and a half rooms, and we won't charge you the difference. What do you think?"

Wang Zhan glanced at Liu Shuquan. In fact, neither of them knew what Wang Zhan was thinking. The courtyard Wang Zhan was currently living in was a gift from above. When Wang Zhan registered it, he used his sister's name. In reality, the homeowner and the registered owner here was Wang Li. Wang Zhan did not own any house. As for the east wing of courtyard number 95, it had long been taken back by the armed forces department. That belonged to public property. Only this courtyard was private property.

Trading five rooms for three might seem like a huge bargain, but in terms of area, it would only add a dozen or so square meters. Besides, one house would be in the backyard and the other in the frontyard. Wang Zhan hadn't considered any of that. What he was thinking about was that he would be moving to the steel rolling mill after the New Year. That No. 95 courtyard was considered the steel rolling mill's staff housing, and not only that courtyard, but several neighboring courtyards were too. Most of the residents were people from the steel rolling mill. Moving there would make it easier for him to integrate into the steel rolling mill community. That was what Wang Zhan was considering right now.

Wang Zhan lit a cigarette and then pushed the cigarette and light towards the two men. They both waved their hands, indicating that they didn't smoke. Wang Zhan was taken aback for a moment. Birds of a feather flock together, really. Wang Zhan said, "Exchange is fine, but I have two conditions. First, I want to switch between Brother Xu's house and the other house in the east wing of the front yard. The houses can only be in one place. Second, I don't know the nature of your houses. The house that Aunt Sun gave me is private property. You need to consider this."

After listening, Xu Desheng and Liu Shuquan both frowned, especially Xu Desheng, whose house was not private property but rented from the steel rolling mill. Both of them fell silent. Wang Zhan smiled and said, "You two should go back and think about it. You can talk to Yi Zhonghai and Director Wang about these two matters. I think they will be very willing and proactive in helping you."

Xu Desheng and Liu Shuquan left, looking completely bewildered and worried. Wang Zhan stood at the door, smiled, and called out to the backyard, "Hey girl, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

(End of this chapter)