Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 277: It’s hard to buy money but I am happy

"My sister is pregnant?" Tao Yumo screamed, then immediately realized, "I'm going to be an aunt?"

"Your sister is pregnant, why are you so excited?"

"I'm not happy for you."

Tao Yumo ran to Tao Yushu, who was resting on the bed after returning home by Lin Chaoyang, and asked, "Sister, are you really pregnant?"

"Nonsense! Can your brother-in-law still lie to you about something like this?"

"I'm just asking."

Tao Yumo looked at her belly, eyes full of curiosity, "How come she's pregnant just like that?"

It was difficult for Lin Chaoyang to explain to her that this was the result of several months of hard work by Comrades Lin and Tao. Tao Yushu scolded her angrily: "Don't you have anything to say? If you have nothing to say, go and cook."

"Your temper is really getting worse!"

Tao Yumo muttered something to himself and ran away obediently.

Lin Chaoyang reminded her again, "Don't tell your family about your sister's pregnancy yet. Wait until your sister tells you herself."

"understood."

While eating, Tao Yumo stared at Tao Yushu.

"Sister, do you want to vomit?"

"Sister, do you want something sour?"

Tao Yushu was annoyed by her and glared at her. Tao Yumo immediately behaved herself.

"Your sister is only a month pregnant and doesn't have any symptoms."

"She was still confused yesterday?" Tao Yumo said.

"The doctor said it might be due to overwork. There were too many visitors yesterday. We won't have any more visitors in the future."

Lin Chaoyang felt a little regretful that he had asked Tao Yushu to do a lot of work when he invited guests yesterday, but she didn't care at all.

"What's the harm in doing some work? Li Tuo is right.

It has become a tradition to have dinner at our house after the awards ceremony every year, which is a good thing for us and everyone.”

"The point is not to treat, but to work."

"Why don't we just let them work in the future? We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater," said Tao Yushu.

Lin Chaoyang humbly accepted her opinion and said seriously: "From today on, Ms. Tao Yushu's words are the highest instructions of the family."

Tao Yushu rolled her eyes at him coquettishly, while Tao Yumo on the side had a look of disgust on his face.

"Brother-in-law, you are really good at flattering me!"

After a few jokes and dinner, Tao Yumo stayed in the courtyard overnight.

It was already late today, and before she came, she told her family that she would stay in Mianhua Hutong for the night.

The next morning, when Tao Yumo went out, she found that her sister was sitting on the back seat of her brother-in-law's 28-inch bicycle.

She hurriedly asked, "Sister, you don't ride your motorcycle to work anymore?"

"Your brother-in-law won't let me ride it anymore."

Tao Yushu said this in a quiet voice, with dissatisfaction and grievance in his tone.

Hearing this, Tao Yumo's eyes suddenly lit up and he circled around the red motorcycle.

"Don't look at it. I'll have to ride it again after I give birth."

Tao Yushu saw what his sister was thinking at a glance.

Tao Yumo took her arm and begged, "Then let me ride it for the time being while you're not having the baby."

“Riding a motorcycle is too dangerous.”

"If you can ride, why can't I?"

Although Tao Yushu usually has a bad temper towards her sister, most of the time she can't stand it when Tao Yumo acts coquettishly.

After she shook his arm for a while, Tao Yushu's attitude softened.

“You can’t ride a motorcycle.”

"I can learn if I don't know how. If you promise to lend it to me, I will learn it right away."

"Wait until you learn it."

Seeing her sister relax, Tao Yumo cheered and said, "Just wait and see, I will be able to learn it in a few days."

On Sunday, the couple came to the Tao family and announced the news of Tao Yushu's pregnancy to everyone, and the whole Tao family was filled with joy.

It has been four years since they got married in early 78, and Tao Yushu is finally pregnant. Her father and mother are extremely happy.

After celebrating, Lin Chaoyang took a few days off from the library on Monday.

He planned to buy a house closer to the Yanjing Municipal Cultural Bureau compound, preferably one that could be a few minutes' walk to work, so that he wouldn't have to worry about Tao Yushu's commuting to and from get off work in the future.

The Cultural Bureau compound is on West Chang'an Street, so Lin Chaoyang will definitely look for a house nearby.

Although he had been in Yanjing for three or four years, he had mostly been outside the Third Ring Road. He was familiar with some landmark buildings, but if he wanted to walk the streets, he needed two people who were born and raised in Yanjing, so he brought Li Tuo and Chen Jiangong along.

"You want to buy a house, what does it have to do with us? It's just a hassle."

The two were dragged out of bed by Lin Chaoyang early in the morning and couldn't help but complain a few words.

After graduation, Chen Jiangong was assigned to the Yenching Writers Association to become a professional writer. From then on, he allowed himself to run wild, and basically stayed awake during the day and went out at night.

This kind of schedule is certainly not for pleasure, but for creation.

Most of the writers around Lin Chaoyang have this problem. They are used to creating at night, and he is no exception. Everyone generally reflects that when night falls, the inspiration for creation is much stronger than during the day.

“When you came to our house for dinner a few days ago, everyone else came with things in their hands, but you two were empty-handed.

I'm active during meals, so why not ask you to help me a little?"

Lin Chaoyang blocked their complaints with just two words.

Since Deng Xiaoping made an important speech on the housing issue in 80, the domestic real estate market has gradually loosened up, and cities such as Guangzhou, Xi'an, Liuzhou and Nanning have taken the lead in implementing commercial housing pilot projects.

The real estate market in Yanjing City has also changed a lot. Last year, the first batch of commercial residential buildings came out in Tuanjie Lake and were sold to all citizens without any conditions at 180 yuan per square meter.

That place is on the East Third Ring Road. If it weren't for the fact that it was too far from his living and working circles, Lin Chaoyang would have wanted to buy one there. In addition to the construction of commercial housing, private housing transactions in Yanjing City have also gradually become active in the past two years.

Many people sell their private homes for various purposes, many of which are old courtyard houses.

At this time, whether buying a house or not, most people rely on relatives and friends to mobilize their interpersonal relationships to find the right person, or they make some small advertisements and post them everywhere. This method is likely to be caught and educated by the neighborhood committee auntie, and they will also be fined.

There are also those who are not short of money and go to the newspaper to advertise, but these people are generally in urgent need of money.

Li Tuo and Chen Jiangong had already helped mobilize relatives and friends, but Lin Chaoyang was anxious to buy a house, so he dragged the two of them to the vicinity of West Chang'an Avenue to look around and ask if there were any families who wanted to sell their houses.

This time he was also planning to buy a courtyard house, one for Tao Yushu's work, and the other for investment.

For pregnant women, living in a courtyard house and in an apartment building have their own advantages and disadvantages.

It is inconvenient to take a bath and go to the toilet in a courtyard house, and it is equally inconvenient to go up and down the stairs in an apartment building.

This section of West Chang'an Avenue used to be under the feet of the emperor. A little further east is the Zhongnan Sea, and further east is the Forbidden City, the central axis of Yanjing.

So going east is definitely not an option, the only options are west, south, north, and they can’t be too far.

In early spring, the sky in Yanjing is blue. There is no wind or sand in the past two days, which is a rare good weather.

In the small alleys beside Chang'an Avenue, the spring scenery is more colorful than on Chang'an Avenue.

The three of them wandered around the alley for a long time and found out that there were two houses for sale. Unfortunately, they were selling by the room, not the yard. This kind of house naturally could not meet Lin Chaoyang's needs.

"It's really hard to find a house with you."

"No way, who lets him be rich?"

After walking outside for the whole morning, Li Tuo and Chen Jiangong, who were usually lazy, started talking strangely again. But when Lin Chaoyang treated them to a meal at noon, their attitudes immediately changed and they became as attentive as agents in the afternoon.

In the morning, the three of them walked around the north side of West Chang'an Avenue, and in the afternoon they walked around the south side of West Chang'an Avenue. The Daliubukou Street here is almost opposite Tao Yushu's unit.

After wandering along Daliubukou Street for more than half an hour, the three of them actually found a house for sale, right in Xiaoliubukou Hutong.

The courtyard is a three-story quadrangle, which was newly built during the Republic of China. It is less than sixty years old and is considered young among the quadrangle courtyards in Yanjing City.

The courtyard faces south and is composed of two courtyards, east and west. The main gate is located in the southeast corner, with a screen wall at the entrance. There is a back house in the front yard, a main house and east and west wing rooms in the middle yard, and a main house, east and west wing rooms and east and west ear rooms in the back yard.

The houses in the east courtyard have been demolished and rebuilt, and their original appearance is hard to find, but the houses in the west courtyard are well preserved.

The first and third courtyards are traditional quadrangle buildings, while the second courtyard is a Republic of China-era building that incorporates Western architectural decorative techniques and has a strong Western style. The doors and windows are all brick-built arched.

After walking around the yard, Lin Chaoyang became more and more satisfied.

This courtyard has both the charm of a traditional siheyuan and the architectural style of the Republic of China period, which is rare among the siheyuans preserved in Yanjing today.

Especially in the second courtyard, there are two sturdy plane trees. In midsummer, the lush branches and leaves would probably cover half of the yard under the shade of the trees, which is quite literary.

The person who received Lin Chaoyang and his two companions was an old lady named Cheng, who was in her sixties. Her husband's surname was Hu, and it was said that this courtyard was built by her father-in-law.

The old man studied abroad and after returning to China, he devoted himself to serving the country through industry. His business was booming and he had two factories in Tianjin.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the Hu family's factory in Tianjin was forcibly occupied by the Japanese. The Hu family had no choice but to move to Hong Kong, leaving the old lady's family in Yanjing to guard the house and the few properties.

During the period of the epidemic, the old lady's family was hit and her husband passed away. She contacted her family in Hong Kong two years ago, and her son and grandson went to Hong Kong one after another.

Now that his children and grandchildren have established themselves in Hong Kong, they are thinking of taking the old lady over, so they are thinking of disposing of this house.

"You are so blessed. Your children and grandchildren are so filial." After looking at the yard and listening to the old lady talk about the history of the yard and their family, Lin Chaoyang complimented her.

"What filial piety? He said he wanted to take me to live a happy life. In fact, he was just thinking about selling this yard and buying a house in Hong Kong.

Houses in that place are very expensive. Selling this ancestral home to buy a house, ah..."

The old lady sighed helplessly when she said this.

Seeing this, Lin Chaoyang couldn't continue to praise, so he could only get back to the point, "So how much do you plan to sell this yard for?"

"Twenty thousand dollars."

The old lady counted and almost made Chen Jiangong and Li Tuo drop their jaws.

"Old lady, your courtyard is really well built. The east and west courtyards have three entrances, which is much larger than the average three-entry courtyard.

But look at your east courtyard, what a mess it has become. It's not worth twenty thousand dollars."

The old lady's yard was occupied in the 1960s. More than a dozen families lived in the east yard, and the original buildings have been ruined beyond recognition. The only thing that is truly valuable is the west yard.

After a lot of buzzing, it was only after their overseas relatives called the government several times that they finally got the East Courtyard back.

Nowadays, a better courtyard house with three entrances in Yanjing City costs about 18,000 yuan. The courtyard house of the old lady's house is new, and it has east and west courtyards. It is a bit expensive to charge 20,000 yuan, but it is also within a reasonable range.

However, the buildings in the East Courtyard are in a state of disrepair now, so their value is naturally discounted.

Moreover, if Lin Chaoyang bought the courtyard, it would cost a lot to restore the buildings in the east courtyard.

"This courtyard of ours is not the only one in Yanjing City, but at least it is the only one in Xicheng.

When my father-in-law built it, he intended for four generations to live together and for the family business to last for a hundred years, so the materials he used were all good stuff.

Apart from anything else, look at the hanging flower gate and these pillars..."

The two talked for a long time, and the old lady reduced Lin Chaoyang's salary by 3,000 yuan, and then she refused to reduce it any further.

"Madam, I really want to buy it, but it's not easy for you to find a buyer.

How about this, you should discuss this with your son and grandson.

I'll pay you 15,000 yuan and I can get some money right away. If your family is willing, please contact me later. If not, forget it."

After negotiating the price with the old lady, Lin Chaoyang took Li Tuo and Chen Jiangong out of the yard.

When they came to the street, the two of them sighed. They were silent in the yard just now, but now they began to sigh.

Looking at their friends, only Lin Chaoyang could afford to spend 15,000 yuan to buy a courtyard house.

"Chaoyang, this house is too expensive. After buying it, you still have to clean it up. Twenty thousand won't be enough, right?" Chen Jiangong asked.

"I estimate that the money from the renovation is enough to buy another courtyard house with three entrances," said Lin Chaoyang.

"Then you still buy it?"

"This courtyard has a rare style, with Chinese and Western styles next to each other. Even if it's 20,000 yuan, I would still like to buy it.

Besides, this place is so close to Yushu and her colleagues’ workplace, it will be very convenient for them to go to and from get off work in the future!"

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, Chen Jiangong felt that his values ​​and views on money had suffered a great impact.

Spend 20,000 yuan to buy a courtyard house just to be closer to work?
Oh, no, I have to add one more thing: Money can’t buy my happiness!
(End of this chapter)