Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

There are not many people who are in a hurry and can afford a high price. Besides, those who dare to buy a house at a high price show that they have a high salary, but it is impossible for people with high salaries to not have a company-owned house.

Since you already have a house, you don't have to be a sucker and buy a high-priced house, unless the daughter-in-law demands that she not marry without a separate house. But a family that can afford so much money will not worry about their son not being able to find a wife. Even if the daughter-in-law doesn't want to miss such a good opportunity, she can't be so tough.

After all, it's normal to sell a house at a lower price when you're in urgent need of money.

The female landlord decided to take a step back: "Give me another thousand."

Ye Fan shook his head: "Your furniture is not worth that much. Unless there are treasures? For example, gold, silver and jade hidden in the cracks of the bricks."

Female comrade: "I even searched in the cracks between the beams and tiles. My father is so stingy that he left nothing behind except the furniture and these beautiful but worthless things."

"Eight thousand five?" Ye Fan said, "Otherwise I can ask my brother and his brother to borrow some money to buy the house. If I ask my parents-in-law to live with us, my eldest uncle will definitely pay for it immediately."

The female comrade was also willing to lend money to her brother's wife, and took the opportunity to send her parents-in-law away. The female comrade hesitated for a moment and said, "Then 8,500. When will the transfer be made?"

"You didn't bring your property certificate, did you? In the afternoon, let's meet at the Housing Authority here at two o'clock?"

Lesbian: "Are you sure about two points?"

"We will definitely go there. If you raise the price temporarily, we will look somewhere else."

The female comrade asked again: "Say 6,000 to the public?"

"Sure!" Ye Fan said, "If your sister-in-law knew about it, there would only be one possibility: you let it slip."

The sister-in-law dared to ask for a high price because she knew that the lesbian had a house. The lesbian would never dream of telling her how much the house was sold for.

Ye Fan said: "Write me a letter saying that all the furniture and tableware in the house will belong to me."

The lesbian looked disgusted and said, “I don’t want those things!”

Ye Fan: "I'm worried that your father wants to return home to retire or your brother can't make it out there and comes to claim that everything is his."

The female comrade wanted to laugh: "Comrade, you make it sound like it's hard to get by abroad. It's much better abroad than here."

Ye Fan: "In our country, foreigners look down on us. If we go abroad, will they look up to us and let us make money from them?"

The lesbian's smile froze.

Ye Fan dragged Geng Zhiye out, and the female comrade followed him subconsciously, unconsciously locking the door. When they reached the entrance of the alley, the hustle and bustle of traffic startled the female comrade. She couldn't help but look at Ye Fan carefully and said, "You know so much, and you have such a good temperament, you are definitely not an educated youth."

Ye Fan smiled and said, "See you in the afternoon."

Didn't deny it, that was to admit that she guessed right? The lesbian regretted not asking for 10,000. When she thought about the five big houses at the back, they were only 12,000. Although they were farther away than this place, they were spacious enough. They didn't have a car at home, and they had to walk even if the alley was 10 meters wide. Then she thought about what Ye Fan said about her brother not being able to make it out there. If her brother asked for the house, she would have no choice. It would be better to get it as soon as possible.

Geng Zhiye seemed to be dreaming: "Eight thousand five hundred for a house and a room full of furniture?"

"Is eight thousand five not enough? An average worker earns about thirty a month, and a working couple needs to save for a lifetime. If there are no elderly people, children, or people with serious illnesses at home, they still need to save for twenty years." Ye Fan said, "Besides, this place can't be compared with East City or West City. Secondly, she is in a hurry to use the money. Another thing, don't you see? She doesn't like this house - she would rather live with her parents-in-law and sister-in-law than move in."

"But is it really like this?" Geng Zhiye felt it was a joke.

Ye Fan nodded: "She doesn't know the value of things. I gave her advice because I felt that if I gave her too much, I would be reluctant to give her too little, and if I gave her too little, I would feel guilty."

Geng Zhiye didn't understand, so he asked, "The furniture is very expensive, is it red sandalwood?"

"I didn't look closely at the furniture." Ye Fan shook his head. "The furniture is not Ming style, it should be from the late Qing Dynasty. It's just that the wood is expensive, and it has no historical value. The bamboo carved pen holder is valuable, and the carving is very good. If it is made by a famous artist, it may be worth the same as the mahogany Luohan bed in the main room. She also said that porcelain from the late Qing Dynasty is not valuable. In fact, things are valuable because they are rare. If it was used by Guangxu and there is only one piece left, it may be more valuable than the Qianlong period."

Geng Zhiye was surprised: "Is this line of work so complicated?"

"Otherwise, why would I refuse to lend money to Chen Xiaohui?" Ye Fan said, "Take the pen holder for example. I know that some bamboo carvings are more expensive than jade carvings, but I will never buy anything over five dollars. Unless it's from a state-owned second-hand store where the items are guaranteed."

Geng Zhiye pulled her aside and said, "You bought it by chance. You don't have to look for it specially. Chen Xiaohui looked for it specially, didn't she almost fall into someone else's trap?"

Ye Fan told Geng Zhiye about that incident: "I still remember it."

"I won't forget what you said."

Ye Fan rolled his eyes at him.

Geng Zhiye smiled nonchalantly: "But her house doesn't match the family background she said?"

"This situation is also common. Her grandparents died, and her father was born out of wedlock, so he was separated by the eldest son to live alone. It is also possible that the family has fallen into poverty, and houses are easier to cash in than antiques, so the big house is replaced by a small one."

Geng Zhiye: "Never mind all that, as long as the house is fine. Are you going there this afternoon?"

Ye Fan nodded: "I told them that if it rains heavily the night before or on the day of the incident and I can't drive, I won't go there."

"There is less rain in the north, so the weather may be good by the time I go to school." Geng Zhiye saw the bus coming and asked Ye Fan to get on first.

Ye Fan got on the bus and realized that she would get off after two stops. Geng Zhiye heard her mumbling and whispered, "It's hot outside, but it's cool in the bus." He opened the window and let in a cool breeze.

Then the two got off the bus and waited for a while before they caught a bus, but it did not go directly to the bus stop behind Gengjia Hutong, so they took another bus to get there.

When Geng Zhiqin got home, he asked about the house.

Ye Fan said it was OK. Geng Zhiqin thought he was not optimistic and did not ask any more questions.

In the afternoon, Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye went out. Geng Zhiqin thought they were still looking. When they came back from the transfer, Geng Zhiqin was so surprised that he was speechless: "Buy, buy - have you bought? Sister-in-law, are you buying vegetables?"

Ye Fan: "If it's suitable, buy it. Aunt Yu, you and Zhiye can take Benben, Dabao and Erbao to clean up in the next few days and move the small things in the house over. I will use the three-wheeled vehicle from the supply and marketing cooperative to transport the big things over."

Yu Wentao: "Moving now? Does your mother know?"

Ye Fan: "Tell her later. Jingjing is too young to leave her. She can't help me clean up and is worried about this. She must be upset because of this."

"how much?"

Ye Fan did not answer directly, but smiled and said, "It's not cheap, but it's not expensive either. I looked around and it's closer to Xiaoqin's school than here. It's also closer to Huihui's grandmother's house. It's less than a kilometer away from Benben's school. It's about four or five hundred meters away from Erbao's elementary school."

Geng Zhiye explained that in addition to the master bedroom, there are three other bedrooms. His stepmother can live in the young master's room, Dabao can live in the former landlord's room, and Erbao can live in the landlord's sister's room.

Ye Fan waited for Geng Zhiye to finish speaking before saying, "The most important thing is that they all moved out safely. The bed is quite wide and can accommodate two people."

Yu Wentao had never dared to live alone in the room she shared with her husband. As soon as Ye Fan finished speaking, Yu Wentao said, "We'll go over and take a look when you leave."

Ye Fan took the bus to the supply and marketing cooperative to ride his three-wheeled motorcycle, while Yu Wentao, Geng Zhiye and Geng Zhiqin took the four children to their new home by bus.

In the past, Yu Wentao had visited her leader’s home and seen the furniture that the leader collected. The room that Geng Zhiye arranged for her was full of that kind of furniture, so she was so satisfied that she wanted to move in immediately.

The next morning, Yu Wentao cleaned up the house and asked Geng Zhiye, Geng Zhiqin and Geng Huihui to help her move the luggage and clean the room. Ye Fan had worked hard in the countryside, so he rested at home and kept an eye on the three children.

Yesterday, Geng Benben heard his uncle say that he could share a room with Dabao and help clean up in the future, because he hated going to his grandmother's house very much. There he had to practice calligraphy at night and recite ancient Chinese texts in the morning.

Geng Benben knew that his grandmother hoped that he would be well-read and elegant, but he had to study at school, at home, and even on Sundays during the summer vacation, which made him very annoyed.

Seeing that he really wanted to go, Geng Zhiye took him with him.

When he got there, Geng Zhiye first borrowed a ladder and checked all the tiles in the room to make sure there were no leaks or cracks in the walls before he officially cleaned the house.

When Geng Zhiye was tidying up the kitchen, he didn't want to use tableware from people he didn't know, so he threw away the broken ones, wiped the old and intact ones with a rag, and then stuffed them into the treasure cabinet in the main room.

Geng Zhiye accompanied Yu Wentao for three days and had to report to school.

Ye Fan had still early school to start, so she continued to travel back and forth between the city and the countryside. During this time, Geng Zhiqin's uncles and aunts took the bus to Ye Fan's stall to help her sell vegetables and familiarize themselves with the market. Geng Zhiqin and Geng Huihui took the time to move their belongings to their new home.

Two days before school started, Ye Fan told the people in Yujia Village that she had to go to school and could only go there on weekends. Then she used one day to move her things over, and went to her parents' home the next day to confess.

Tao Chunlan was very unhappy and felt that Ye Fan was estranged from her. Ye Fan said that there was no one to take care of Jingjing when she was not at home.

Chen Xiaohui wanted to say that she could take her, but when she thought that Ye Fan buying a house was a good thing, she immediately said, "Yes, I can't handle Jingjing by myself." Then she asked Ye Fan where he bought the house and whether it was spacious.

Ye Fan: "East of your school."

"There are either universities, elementary schools, or high schools all around. What a great place! If I had the money, I would buy one too."

Tao Chunlan immediately took her granddaughter out, complaining in her heart, "It's not enough to buy a house of rubbish, you also want to buy a house. You think about it slowly."

Ye Fan said: "I'll call you if there's any profitable business in the future."

Chen Xiaohui said hurriedly: "I've remembered it." With her understanding of the future and Ye Fan's brain, she will definitely be very wealthy in the future!

Why didn’t I think of this before?

How stupid!

Chen Xiaohui asked again: "Are you going back there later?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Except for the furniture, everything else has been moved out. I've been living there for the past few years, and I go over to clean the old house occasionally."

"Why don't you go back early this afternoon? I'll go with you to get to know the place."

Ye Fan was very tired these days and didn't want to entertain her: "My mother-in-law is at home, are you going?"

"Forget it." Chen Xiaohui shook her head. "If I go there on purpose, she will definitely be weird. I'll stop by when school starts."

Ye Fan: "Then I should go back first? I need to transfer Dabao and Erbao's school registration."

Chen Xiaohui subconsciously asked: "Now?"

"I'll organize the information today and go there early tomorrow morning. After they have made all the arrangements, I'll report to the school." Ye Fan said.

Chen Xiaohui said: "Then go quickly."

Ye Fan went outside to talk to her mother for a while, saying that the house still needed to be cleaned up and she should go back. Tao Chunlan nodded and said, "Xiaohui will go to school in a few days. I have nothing to do at home. I will take Liangliang to see if there is anything missing."

Ye Fan wanted to say, no need, her mother-in-law has prepared it, her mother might be upset: "Okay. Dabao has been talking about the delicious food you cook every day."

"Can't you remember it?" Tao Chunlan said unhappily.

Ye Fan: "There are people playing at home, his cousins ​​are at home. I asked Benben to accompany him to take the bus. It's two stops away, but Benben is embarrassed. The child is like Dabao's second uncle, honest and shy, and he doesn't feel comfortable at his grandmother's house."

Ye Fan had mentioned before that when she and Geng Zhiye arrived at the capital from the island, there were people at Geng's house. Geng Benben not only cleaned the house, but also lit the stove to boil water.

Tao Chunlan asked him why he was alone at home. Ye Fan explained that he was uncomfortable at his grandmother's house, so he stayed at Geng's house during the day and went back to his grandmother's house in the evening. So Tao Chunlan believed Ye Fan's words without a doubt.

Ye Fan saw the door of a second-hand shop was open while on the bus, so he got off at the bus stop. Suddenly he remembered that the antique shelves in the main room and the wing rooms were very empty, so he planned to find a few items to put on them.

Although the previous owner left many porcelains, Ye Fan had no intention of using them, so she told others that they were gone, because the previous owner mentioned that her father did not allow her to sell them. One day her brother came back and asked her to ask him to take those things back, but even with the owner's letter of guarantee, it was inevitable that there would be disputes.

When Ye Fan saw the salesperson, he directly said that the house was empty and he wanted to buy a few nice-looking and cheap items to put on display. The reason he didn't go to the department store was that he thought he could make some money by selling them in a few years.

The salesperson took Ye Fan to the warehouse and asked her to choose the porcelain ornaments herself.

There are so many things in the warehouse, and many of them are intact. The colors are very bright, and the bright red and green look good together. Ye Fan wants to laugh at every one of them.

Seeing her struggling, the salesperson said, "I'll find you a sack and give you a stack of newspapers. Can you wrap it up and put it in the sack?"

"But I can't fill them all. I need a few for all three rooms in my house." Suddenly I remembered that I didn't have much money with me: "Find a small bag and buy a few first. I'll come back on the weekend. I have to go to school tomorrow."

The college entrance examination has been suspended for ten years, and many students in the school are high school students from ten years ago. The salesperson looked at Ye Fan's age and estimated that she was from the third grade, so he didn't ask about the past, so as not to upset her. "It's time to start school." He asked casually, "Which school?"

Ye Fan: "Beijing University."

The salesperson almost lost his balance, and after a while he said, "This girl is amazing!"

Ye Fan smiled modestly: "It's just luck. I'll find these simple ones to put in my son's room first." Erbao was too young, and Ye Fan was worried that she would accidentally break them and hurt herself. "My mother-in-law likes bright colors, so I'll buy those fancy ones in a few days."

The salesperson didn't intend to help, but when he heard that she was from Peking University, he helped her pack it up and even walked her to the bus stop.

Ye Fan said that her mother-in-law's words were actually just a compliment, and Yu Wentao might not like it. But seeing the salesperson was so polite, Ye Fan decided to come over if the weather was good on the weekend.

Ye Fan took out the bottle when he got home. Geng Huihui and Geng Zhiqin liked it too because the color was beautiful. Ye Fan wanted to give it to them, but they refused, saying that they would see it better if he put it on the antique display cabinet in the living room.

Ye Fan: "Dabao, Benben, Erbao, you are not allowed to fight in the house from now on."

When Yu Wentao was cleaning the furniture, she found a lot of things in the cabinet and asked, "Which is more expensive, this or the things in the cabinet?"

Ye Fan honestly said that she didn't understand. Maybe she bought something expensive today, or maybe the things left by the previous owner in the cabinet were expensive.

Yu Wentao was troubled: "How do we distinguish them?" Ye Fan: "They are all porcelains from the late Qing Dynasty, so there is no need to distinguish them so clearly."

"Why not use the one in the cupboard?"

Ye Fan said, "Those don't belong to the owner of the house. Maybe some of them were given to her father by relatives. If you take them out and someone recognizes them, it will cause trouble. If someone asks you about it in the future, just say that there were only furniture in the house when you bought it."

"Why are you so careful?" Yu Wentao didn't understand.

Ye Fan looked around at the whole family: "Is there anyone in this room who can fight? Don't make trouble for yourself. Besides, these things are not valuable, but you will earn money if you buy them."

Yu Wentao was confused: "If it's not worth the money, how can you make money by buying it?"

"Gold is worth gold in troubled times, jade is worth jade in prosperous times, and antiques are worth thousands of gold in peaceful times. Life will get better and better in the future, does that count as peace?" Ye Fan said, "Now I sell vegetables and no one drives me away. In the future, everyone will do small businesses to make money. When I have money, I want to buy some nice things for my home. The price will go up a bit if more people buy them."

Geng Zhiqin poked his niece gently and winked at her, remember, this is the key point!

Geng Huihui nodded: "Grandma, go with Auntie later and fill up the antique shelf in your room."

Yu Wentao: "Why would I buy these? They are not edible or playable and they break easily. I would rather buy gold and jade. My gold is valuable when there is chaos, and my jade is valuable when there is no chaos."

Geng Huihui asked: "When are you going? I want to go with you to broaden my horizons."

"Let's talk about it later." Yu Wentao asked, "Dabao, Erbao, what do you want to eat? Grandma will cook."

Ye Fan: "I cooked the dish that my uncle gave me."

Before, the vegetables Ye Fan brought home were all leftovers. The last time he went to Yujia Village, Yu Wentao's brothers from her mother's family prepared a bag of fruits and vegetables for Ye Fan, including two tender pumpkins that could be fried, each weighing more than ten pounds. They said that Ye Fan had a large family and needed one for each meal.

The people in Yujia Village only had two meals a day, and cooked some soup at night to fill their stomachs. Ye Fan couldn't say in front of them that my family had enough rice and noodles and didn't need so many vegetables, so he took the vegetables back and sent them directly to the new home.

Yu Wentao asked her daughter to help wash the vegetables.

Geng Huihui waited for her to leave and said, "Grandma used to be very generous, but since Grandpa passed away, she seems to have changed into a different person, and is especially concerned about her money. My mom said she was afraid that we would not want her. Auntie, what is my grandma thinking about every day?"

Ye Fan wanted to say that rural women have no home after they get married. But Geng Huihui would definitely not understand. Ye Fan thought of the house at the back and said, "Go ask your grandmother if she wants to buy a house. The five rooms at the back are as spacious as my mother's house, and they cost twelve thousand."

“Why did grandma buy a house?”

Ye Fan said half-truthfully, "She was afraid that we didn't want her because she didn't have a home of her own. If we kicked her out, her parents' home wouldn't have any extra room for her to live in, so she'd have to sleep under a bridge."

Geng Huihui ran out.

Dabao stared at her mother: "You won't chase grandma out. Why do you say that?"

Ye Fan poked his son's face with his dirty hand and said, "Houses are just like these antiques. There is no market for them. Buying them now is a good deal. When she gets old, you can give her to your aunt, so she doesn't have to share a bed with Erbao."

Geng Benben: "I want to buy a house too! In two years, Dabao and I will grow up, and that bed won't be big enough for both of us."

Ye Fan wanted to remind him that his grandmother's house was spacious, a small building. But he was also worried that the young boy was sensitive and thought he was chasing him away, so Ye Fan smiled and said, "Are you really going to buy it? It just so happens that your uncle has seen it. There is another one in the southeast corner, about a mile away, on the other side of Erbao's school, and it costs about 10,000 yuan."

"I only have a little over a hundred yuan." Geng Benben shook his head and said with regret, "It's still two zeros short."

Ye Fan: "Your parents have high salaries, so they can buy one for you and your sister."

Geng Benben: "My parents don't have much money."

Ye Fan was not speaking nonsense.

I once heard Geng Zhiye say that his second brother and second sister-in-law needed to give money to the family. Geng Zhiye's father said that he couldn't spend all his pension, so why would he need his son's money? Geng's second brother and second sister-in-law would buy things for the elderly during festivals and occasionally buy clothes for their children. Toiletries and school supplies were either bought by Geng Zhiqin or by Geng's father when he was taking a walk.

The couple eats in the cafeteria and lives in the company. They have very few holidays and no time to spend money. They save more money than Ye Fan does on Hengshan Island, where prices are extremely low.

Geng Erge has been working for nearly 20 years, and saving 500 yuan a year is enough for his son to buy a house in a university town far away from the city center. Second sister-in-law's salary is not as high as that of the second brother, but the money she has saved over the years can also buy the house of Ye Fan's family.

However, Geng Zhiye’s second brother may not buy it and may even ask why he needs so many houses.

Ye Fan said to his eldest nephew, "Your mother works longer hours than me, and your father works longer hours than your uncle. If we can afford it, then so can they."

Geng Huihui came in and said angrily, "Aunt, grandma said I'm sick!"

Ye Fan was not surprised at all. She cleaned the things and put them in order. "What does an old woman like her need a house for?"

Geng Huihui couldn't help but nod her head repeatedly. The little aunt was shocked: "I said I would give it to my aunt in the future, but she said I wanted to kill my aunt!"

Ye Fanxin said that he was worried that they would become estranged after living separately in a house, and we would not care about her and your aunt's life or death in the future.

"Your grandma is worried about meeting someone who will eat her whole family." Ye Fan said, "Tell your grandma to buy the house and rent it out. The monthly rent is like the interest paid by a bank. If anyone asks about it, just say I bought it."

Geng Huihui made money with her aunt, and subconsciously thought that she would not lose anything if she listened to her aunt: "Then let me ask again?" After saying that, she ran back to the kitchen.

Dabao held up his chin and said, "Sister Huihui doesn't feel tired either."

Ye Fan: "Dabao, the total area of ​​the house here is about the same as the old house. You can have one and Erbao can have one."

Dabao stood up: "What about you and Dad? Don't you want us anymore?"

Ye Fan was speechless but wanted to laugh. Why were all the old and young in her family worried that she and Geng Zhiye would not want them? "Mom and Dad live in the company. The company gave Dad a house. Besides, Mom is so capable. When she makes money in the future, she can buy all the houses around here. When your grandpa and mom retire, give them a house and we can all live together."

Geng Benben: "Give me one set too?"

Ye Fan smiled and nodded: "If there are many apartments, I will give you one. But it's useless for me to give it to you. Your parents don't even want the old house. How can they let you take my house?"

Geng Benben shook his head, definitely not.

"If my parents agree to buy a house, then my sister and I will have a house, and my aunt won't have to give it to us." Geng Benben sighed, "In the end, my parents still have to give in. My dad has been using wrenches for too long, and his brain is getting more and more twisted."

Dabao and Erbao couldn't help laughing out loud.

Geng Benben nodded to prove that he was not talking nonsense. "Really, I'm not kidding. They think my grandparents love me and treat me well, so they asked me to stay at my grandparents' house. But I don't want my grandma to be so nice to me. Fortunately, my aunt and uncle are back. My aunt studies well, and so do Dabao and Erbao. My parents don't agree with me staying at your house, but they don't dare to say it because they are afraid that I will learn bad things."

Geng Huihui came in and lowered her voice mysteriously, "Grandma agreed. But she didn't agree at first. My aunt said to write your name and you should give grandma a written receipt." She was puzzled when she said this, "But even if there is a written receipt, she can't do anything if you don't want to give it to her in the future. Is grandma stupid?"

Ye Fan whispered, "Your aunt is coaxing her."

Geng Huihui didn't understand: "What do you mean?"

Ye Fan: "Ask your grandma when she's going to visit. I'll ask Dabao and Erbao's grandma to come stay for a day and cook for them. I'll accompany your grandma to the Housing Authority."

Geng Huihui curled her lips and said, "If you don't tell me, I'll ask myself later."

Ye Fan nodded: "We'll talk about it later. Let's go ask first." As he spoke, he wiped the antique shelf again, stepped back a few steps, and found that it didn't look good if it was filled with vases. "Dabao, will it look better if Mommy buys some jade, stone, wood, and bamboo sculptures to put on it someday?"

Erbao: "Mom, why don't you ask me?"

Ye Fanxin said, you are only a few years old, what do you know? "Because there is no antique shelf in your room, mom subconsciously forgot." Ye Fan did not wait for her daughter to complain, "But there is a bookshelf in Erbao's room, and the empty space on the bookshelf can also be used to place small things. Erbao, help mom too."

The little girl's face turned from gloomy to bright, and Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

Dabao nodded his little head and said, "Mom, put bamboo and wood carvings on the top so they won't break if they fall. If you put a vase, it will break if it falls. Stone carvings will hurt if they hit you."

Geng Benben nodded: "Dabao is right."

Erbao also nodded: "Brother is right."

Ye Fan asked: "So the three of you still fight in the house?"

The three little ones didn't want to answer this question and wanted to go out and play immediately.

It was almost time for dinner, and Ye Fan asked the three of them to play in the yard for a while while waiting for dinner.

Erbao would take out her rope and ask her brother and cousin to wind the rope while she jumped. If Erbao tripped over the rope or got tired, her brother or cousin would take over.

Geng Huihui leaned against the kitchen door frame and watched for a while before joining in.

Yu Wentao muttered in the kitchen: "It's so hot, isn't it hot to jump rope under the sun?"

Ye Fan came in to see if she needed help. When he heard her words, he smiled and said, "Get some sun to grow taller."

"Did your mother say that?" Yu Wentao asked.

Ye Fan: "The doctor said so. Get some sun to supplement calcium. You need calcium to grow. You see, Erbao will be as tall as me in the future, Huihui can grow a little taller, and Dabao and Benben will definitely be taller than their dad."

"Your second brother isn't tall either." Yu Wentao muttered again.

Geng Zhiye's second brother is half a head shorter than Geng Zhiye, and his second sister-in-law is also half a head shorter than Ye Fan. One of the couple is honest and the other is quiet, and they don't seem to have any particular abilities. So when Yu Wentao said that the second brother and his wife didn't have any particular abilities, the neighbors never doubted it.

Ye Fan was too lazy to argue with her mother-in-law: "I have to report to school tomorrow. Do you want to go and look at the house yourself? When talking about the price, just say that you can't decide and you should ask me who is in college."

Yu Wentao had never bought a house before and was unsure about it, but when she heard that Ye Fan wanted to negotiate the price, she was no longer afraid.

The next morning, after returning from Erbao's school, Yu Wentao went to the back, which was just two alleys away from Ye Fan's house. The owner of the house was still living there, but there was only an old lady at home.

After chatting with her for a while, Yu Wentao found out that the old lady's eldest son and youngest daughter were abroad, and the second son was not doing well in his studies, so he went to a technical school. The old lady and her husband did not want to die in a foreign land, so they stayed in the country with their second son.

Now we can communicate with the outside world. The eldest son and the youngest daughter have been asked to go out and houses have been arranged for them.

Yu Wentao praised the old lady's children for being filial, saying that they were unlike her in that she only had one daughter.

Geng Zhiye and Yu Wentao were seen by the old lady when they were moving. The old lady specially asked the neighbors around Ye Fan's house and confirmed that they were very unhappy about buying that house.

The old lady had been wanting to ask how much money it was but had no chance. When she heard Yu Wentao's words, she asked first: "Isn't Comrade Geng your son?"

"I'm his stepmother. His mother passed away when he was young, so I raised him. My daughter-in-law is also filial. But what's the point of being filial now? When my grandson grows up and gets married, the house won't be big enough, so he will kick me out." Yu Wentao sighed, "My nephew also misses the money the old man left for me. I'm a country boy, I don't have money."

The old lady nodded in understanding.

"I wanted to buy a bigger house while I still had money, but my daughter-in-law wanted to save face, so she didn't take my money and bought the house without telling me."

The old lady asked: "Your son and daughter-in-law are good-looking and have good temperament. Are they officials? Officials all want face."

Yu Wentao instinctively wanted to show off that Geng Zhiye was at the National Defense University, but suddenly she remembered Geng Zhiye's previous statement that where he would be assigned in two years would depend on his performance. She immediately did not dare to tell the truth, fearing that she would cause trouble for him. "My son is not as capable as my daughter-in-law. She is now a student at Peking University."

The old lady was shocked: "Peking University? It's not easy to get in!"

"Yes. After graduation, they will definitely go to state-owned enterprises." Yu Wentao said.

The old lady nodded: "No wonder you are so careful about your reputation. How much is that house?"

"My daughter-in-law said the owner had many expenses and wanted to marry a daughter-in-law, so he sold it for 6,000 yuan."

The old lady immediately wanted to curse, how could it be sold at such a low price? The house should cost at least 8,000 yuan, and if it was well maintained, it would cost at least 10,000 yuan!
"You - your son and daughter-in-law got a great bargain." The old lady said insincerely.

Yu Wentao: "The house is very old, not as bright as yours. Your house is quite expensive, right?"

The old lady blurted out, "Fifteen thousand."

Yu Wentao wanted to curse. Even if the "six thousand" that Ye Fan mentioned this morning was not the real price and it was actually ten thousand, fifteen thousand for this old lady was too much.

"No wonder my son and daughter-in-law bought that one. Fifteen thousand is too much to afford." Yu Wentao said and then stood up to say goodbye without any hesitation. It seemed that she didn't want to buy it.

Yu Wentao actually didn’t want to buy it.

The old lady stopped Yu Wentao and said they could talk further.

Yu Wentao said, "The house over there includes furniture."

The old lady said: "We can't take the furniture with us, including the furniture."

Yu Wentao still said too much. The old lady asked her to name the price, and Yu Wentao said 10,000. The old lady wanted to beat her out with her cane. Yu Wentao didn't wait for her to say goodbye, but took the initiative to leave.

At noon, Ye Fan took the bus back home. When Yu Wentao saw her, she said, "The house behind is too expensive. That old lady is not as generous as our previous owner. She might raise the price again when she gets to the Housing Authority. I'll look for something else tomorrow."

Ye Fan was curious: "You can tell that he is stingy in just half a day?"

Yu Wentao nodded: "Your words and deeds reveal that our former owner is stupid. I don't like such people. I agree if you want to buy it, but I can't let such people get away with it. Ten thousand at most!"

(End of this chapter)