Mixed in 1980

Chapter 303 Miss Zhao's Quick Idea

The saying "pregnancy makes you stupid for three years" doesn't apply to everyone, like Zeng Ali. After giving birth, she continued to handle company affairs as usual and maintained her strong, independent woman persona.

After giving birth, Xu Jinqiu not only exercised to regain her figure, but also returned to work at the foundation, handling matters in an orderly manner.

Zhao Yuanyuan is different; she's genuinely naive!

Sometimes when her son cried, she would pick up her daughter and start to comfort her. After trying for a long time without success, she would realize that she was actually holding her daughter.

Another time, I woke up one morning and saw Chen Fan. He suddenly greeted me, "Hello, going to work?"

So polite?

Chen Fan felt something was off, but still said, "Let's go for a run." After Chen Fan left, Miss Zhao scratched her head and asked Xu Jinqiu, "Was that Chen Fan who just went out?"

Xu Jinqiu burst out laughing: "Zhao Yuanyuan, you're hilarious! You've even forgotten your own man! Oh my... I can't laugh anymore."

Miss Zhao awkwardly touched her nose: "Really, no wonder you looked familiar."

Xu Jinqiu clutched her stomach and laughed for a while: "Yuanyuan, why don't we go to the hospital for a check-up? We don't think you might have Alzheimer's disease."

"Get lost! I'm only twenty-seven!"

After glaring at Xu Jinqiu, Miss Zhao turned and went to the front yard to have breakfast. Halfway through her meal, she suddenly remembered, "Where are my son and daughter?"

She put down her chopsticks and hurriedly ran back to her room. Seeing that Zeng Ali and Xu Jinqiu were both there, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, nothing's missing!"

Zeng Ali sighed helplessly: "Luckily I didn't get pregnant at this time, otherwise, with her absent-mindedness, it would be a wonder if she could take good care of two children."

Miss Zhao was sullen!
I don't want to, but I just can't remember things.

After thinking for a moment, Zeng Ali said, "Let's hire another nanny. There are many children in the family, and Aunt Kong and Xiao Fang are a bit too busy."

Xu Jinqiu nodded and said, "Aunt Kong has been with us for almost nine years. She's in her early fifties now and is getting older. She's not as agile as she used to be. Let's hire two more."

"Let's find someone who's good at cooking and someone who can take care of kids, so everyone can have an easier time."

Including Yan Xi and Xiao Rui, there are five children in the family. Taking care of a group of children is indeed very tiring.

Once the decision was made, Xu Jinqiu began to arrange for the selection of candidates. Many of the foundation's staff members were local or from the outskirts of Beijing, and they could help with inquiries.

Three days later, the candidate was decided.

A woman named Deng Jie, in her thirties, lived in a large courtyard in Nanxiawazi Hutong, Nanluoguxiang. Her father was a chef, and he had passed down his excellent culinary skills.

The other one is named Zhao Xiaozao, and she is only eighteen years old.

He just graduated from high school, failed to get into university, is from a rural area, and couldn't find a job. He is a relative of an employee of the foundation.

With two more hands, Kong Lanchun and Xie Xiaofang were much more relaxed, especially Deng Jie, whose cooking skills were indeed very good, no less than Kong Lanchun's.

With two more people moving in, Xu Jinqiu frowned slightly: "In a few years, when the children grow up, will the house be too small?"

The east and middle courtyards are full, while the back and west courtyards are still empty. The place is quite large, but there are many children in the family, and they will all need their own rooms when they get older.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Nobody cares about rebuilding houses these days, so why don't we renovate the house?"

"Mind your own business!"

Chen Fan rolled his eyes: "Do you think their generation is like us, enjoying living with their elders? They'll all have to move out eventually."

Xu Jinqiu said irritably, "They can only move out after they get married. Even if they do move out, the family still needs to leave them a room."

"How should I change it?" Chen Fan asked, frustrated.

Xu Jinqiu frowned and pondered for a moment: "Let's change the west wing into a two-story one. It will be enough for the children when they grow up."

Chen Fan looked at his wife strangely: "Better a green dragon soaring a hundred feet high than a white tiger raising its head haphazardly."

"What do you mean?"

"In feng shui, the left is the Azure Dragon and the right is the White Tiger. The west wing is on the right, which belongs to the White Tiger. If the White Tiger suppresses the Azure Dragon, it will form the White Tiger Sha, which is bad for the family."

"You believe in this?" Xu Jinqiu asked in surprise.

Chen Fan rolled his eyes: "What a strange thing to say. I'm a Chinese, why would I believe in feng shui? I even consult the almanac when moving."

"The west courtyard needs to be heightened, and the east courtyard needs to be heightened as well, so that both sides are symmetrical and look good."

“If the east and west courtyards are both tall, but the middle courtyard isn’t taller, it will be sandwiched in the middle and won’t look good. People passing by will say, ‘This family is crazy.’”

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Xu Jinqiu asked, feeling frustrated.

Chen Fan thought for a moment: "We don't need to raise the height, we can add more rooms. We can build a few more rooms along the east and west wing rooms in the west courtyard, that will be enough."

The original layout of the west courtyard consisted of three main rooms, two side rooms, three east wing rooms, and three west wing rooms. After the renovation, all of them were opened up together.

The east and west wing rooms were reduced from three rooms to one.

Extending outwards, there's enough space to build four more large houses, with plenty of room left over.

Xu Jinqiu thought about it and agreed that it was indeed feasible: "Then let's arrange it like this. After the New Year and after the snow, we'll find someone to come and fix it."

During dinner, Xu Jinqiu recounted the incident.

The family naturally had no objections, and Ms. Zhao even suggested, "Why don't we buy the whole alley? That way, when the children separate, they can all live in the same alley."

Xu Jinqiu rolled her eyes at her: "What are you thinking? There are many cultural relics sites and courtyards in the alley. How could we possibly buy them all?"

"Even if we can't buy them all, we can still buy some."

Miss Zhao looked at her husband: "Comrade Chen Fan, aren't you most fond of buying courtyard houses? But you haven't made any moves in recent years. Why don't you give it a try?" Chen Fan was somewhat tempted.

If we take over the entire alley, when the capital becomes bustling again, we'll have a quiet place to ourselves.

These days, it's not impossible to take it down.

It's just a matter of how much of a price to pay.

Of course, places like Guanghua Temple, a Ming Dynasty temple; the Prince Chun's Mansion, a Qing Dynasty residence; and the former residence of writer Xiao Jun, known as "Wowoju," must not be touched.

The next day, Chen Fan went to find Sun Shaojie.

Upon seeing Chen Fan, Sun Shaojie was somewhat surprised: "Is the sun rising in the west today? What business do you have to come all this way in person?"

"Stop talking nonsense, I'm here to bring you money."

"What big project is Boss Chen going to invest in this time?" Sun Shaojie's eyes lit up. If Chen Fan made a special trip for him, the investment must be substantial.

Otherwise, it would be a disservice to Mr. Chen's wealth!
Chen Fan took out a cigarette, offered one to Chen Fan, and lit one for himself: "If you have a big project, I'm not against investing, but today is a private matter."

"Can he really throw?" Sun Shaojie rubbed his hands together.

Chen Fan laughed and scolded, "When have you ever seen me hesitate when the project is suitable?"

"Just don't go back on your word later."

Sun Shaojie lit a cigarette and took a puff: "What private matter requires you to make this trip in person?"

Chen Fan exhaled a puff of smoke and touched his nose: "This matter is a bit troublesome. I plan to buy the entire Ya'er Hutong."

"Are you crazy?"

Sun Shaojie spat: "Isn't your own yard enough for you? You must have a dozen or so large courtyard houses, right?"

"Besides, that place has cultural heritage sites and large courtyards where many people live. If you just buy it, where are all those people supposed to live?"

"Forget it, it's hopeless!"

"There's nothing that money can't solve. If there is, it's just that you don't have enough money." Chen Fan smiled, indicating that he shouldn't worry.

He took another drag of his cigarette: "I'll invest in building another residential complex as resettlement housing, and that'll be enough to settle the people there. As long as the compensation is sufficient, why can't I do it?"

Sun Shaojie was both amused and exasperated: "Why are you doing this? Is it really necessary? Courtyard houses are very cheap. Building a residential complex to replace them is clearly a losing proposition."

"I'm rich, so I can do whatever I want, okay?"

"Grass……"

Sun Shaojie was so angry he almost vomited blood. He couldn't help but sigh that money really does allow you to be willful.

These days, who wouldn't want to live in an apartment building?
While traditional courtyard houses may seem spacious, they can be inconvenient for daily life. Only someone like Chen Fan, who spends a lot of money on modern renovations, can live comfortably in one.

Others have to get up in the morning to empty the chamber pots.

Especially the tenement courtyards, to put it bluntly, are just dilapidated places where the whole family is crammed together. Anyone who can afford a house would not want a tenement courtyard.

Chen Fan is the only one who treasures the courtyard house.

That said, the renovated courtyard houses are indeed comfortable to live in, and the space is large enough, making them especially suitable for families with many children.

But how many people can afford to make such a change?

Let alone the cost of renovation, most people can't afford the electricity bills for appliances like air conditioners and electric heaters in Chen Fan's home.

Sun Shaojie smoked a cigarette, carefully weighing his options.

Cultural heritage sites cannot be moved. Other courtyards, some of which are privately owned, are mostly large, multi-family courtyards, and relocating them would be a huge problem.

For the residents of the tenement, this is definitely a good thing. It's not that they don't want to move, but that they have no place or ability to move. Chen Fan's move is tantamount to solving their problem.

As for privately owned courtyard houses, there are very few of them, only a handful. Acquiring one is not difficult; it just requires paying more compensation.

But there's a problem here: how much compensation should be paid?
Is it a private acquisition or relocation compensation? If it's the former, an agreement can't be reached, as the residents of the tenement will not sell.

If we sell the house, where will the whole family live?
The price of a room in a tenement courtyard is only enough to buy two or three square meters of commercial housing. If you sell the house, the whole family will have to live on the main road.

If it's about demolition and relocation, then it has to be done according to policy.

It's not enough to just have more money to compensate. If you raise the price here, other places must follow the same standard, otherwise future demolition work will be impossible.

He explained the intricacies of the matter to Chen Fan: "This is a very complicated matter, and it's impossible for one person's issue to affect the later stages of the city's construction."

"Is there no other way?"

"What other options are there? Private courtyards are easy to deal with; you can just buy them yourself. But what about large tenement courtyards..."

Sun Shaojie stubbed out his cigarette and lit another one: "That's a bomb. It could cause trouble if we're not careful. I suggest we just forget about it."

Chen Fan pondered for a moment.

I was quite tempted by Miss Zhao's suggestion. Imagine how comfortable it would be if my whole family lived in the same alley.

Sun Shaojie's words made sense. He had lived in a tenement courtyard himself and knew all too well the troubles that came with it. He knew he shouldn't get involved in such situations lightly.

If you don't handle it well, you'll end up in a lot of trouble.

But Chen Fan was unwilling to give up so easily; he needed to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

PS: The first update is here~
(End of this chapter)