Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 347 Jin Land
The middle-aged man rubbed his hands together, a smile spreading across his face: "Master He, you see, our families have lived in this east wing for so many years. This wing is part of the main wing, and you wouldn't want the whole wing to be missing a part, would you? Now that your family is so wealthy and you've even taken back the main wing, you're not short of money, are you?"

Before He Daqing could speak, He Yuxin scoffed, "What do you mean you don't care about this little bit of money? Do you think our family's money grows on trees? To be honest, the He family can do without this east wing, but if the policy changes, we might be the ones collecting the rent. As for how the rent will be adjusted, you'd better think it through."

The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he forced a smile, saying, "Brother He, you can't say that."

"What do you mean? You think we're renting it to you at the price the neighborhood committee set more than ten years ago? What are you thinking?"

The middle-aged man could no longer smile. Given the current situation, the policy might really change. But he was unwilling to give up the opportunity, seeing others move into nice courtyards and receive a sum of money.

"Then, what price can your family offer?" the middle-aged man asked reluctantly after holding back for a long time.

“Naturally, the price was set by the neighborhood committee. The market price is for proper courtyards. We’ll just use this as a garden. You built all those houses yourself, right? We don’t care about them,” He Yuxin said.

"This is a bit too low, isn't it? We can't even afford to buy a house outside."

"The neighborhood committee must have policies for people like you, right? How can you take this opportunity to get a bigger, better house?" He Yuxin sneered. Actually, if these people had started to change their attitude, there would have been some discussion, but now, things are what they are.

"The neighborhood committee's pricing is too low. They set it based on the land area, not the house itself. Look." The middle-aged man's face was extremely ugly. If it were based on the house price, they would have sold it long ago. It's their fault for taking advantage of the chaos and the subsequent natural disasters to find various excuses to move in, build houses, and settle down.

The neighborhood committee was forced into issuing the permits, so naturally they are unwilling to process them as legitimate housing now.

He Yuxin glanced back at his father, He Daqing, who thought for a moment and said, "What you're doing with the neighborhood committee is none of our business. Let's stick to the facts. This east wing, even if it's just land, is worth about the same as the surrounding alleyways and courtyards. What else do you want?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback. He hadn't expected He Daqing to have asked. He had originally planned to take advantage of the information gap, but now his plan had failed.

"Master He asked!" the middle-aged man chuckled awkwardly.

"That's the price, all settled. If you feel it's a loss and don't want to move, that's fine too, you can stay and live there as you please. Son and grandson, you can go now, we're going back!"

"No, no, we agree, but what about the living space?"

"Area? Calculate it according to the certificate issued to you by the subdistrict office. Why do you want to calculate it based on the entire courtyard?" He Daqing said irritably.

"What do you mean?" the middle-aged man asked, turning around.

The people behind him were at a loss for what to do.

He Daqing added fuel to the fire, "I advise you to hurry up, or I'm afraid you won't be able to buy a large courtyard house if you wait any longer!"

"When can I complete the procedures and get the money?" the middle-aged man asked.

“If all the residents of the east courtyard agree, we can proceed this afternoon. It won’t work if even one household is missing. We don’t have the time to argue with that one household,” He Daqing said.

"Let's go back and discuss it!"

“I live in courtyard number 66. Once you’ve decided, come find me. Then we won’t need so many people; just the head of each household can go.” After saying that, He Daqing led the way home.

This time, the middle-aged man didn't stop them, but instead headed towards the east courtyard, and the people who followed him went back to the east courtyard with him.

Back home, Chen Lanxiang asked He Daqing, "How did it go?"

“I can still let them dictate the price; they can set whatever price they want,” He Daqing said smugly.

Chen Lanxiang looked at her son and grandson. He Yuxin, He Yaozu, and He Yaozong didn't point out that He Yuxin had been handling most of the negotiations, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Okay, you win. When are you going to complete the formalities?"

"Well... they still need to go back and discuss it further, but I reckon it's pretty much a done deal."

"So, the negotiations haven't been finalized yet!"

"It can't be that fast. The Jia family took this long to move anyway," He Daqing said.

"Don't compare anyone to that family."

"I think these people today are pretty much the same."

"Since you've taken this job, you can handle it yourself."

“Okay, no problem.” He Daqing agreed, but after glancing at his son and grandson, they all nodded slightly, indicating that they wouldn’t let the old man have his own.

He Daqing smiled with satisfaction, then strolled into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Li Shoucheng, along with two experts and Fan Hu and others, left Beijing and headed west, their first stop being the capital of Shanxi Province.

Thanks to the connections of Li Shoucheng's former colleagues, they actually saw quite a few good things in the warehouses of state-run antique shops and Friendship Stores.

Experts Qian and Zheng's eyes lit up, and Li Shoucheng was also full of enthusiasm. Following the experts' advice, he carefully acquired a batch of valuable and rare porcelain and calligraphy pieces.

The transactions were mostly cash-based, with all the paperwork completed and everything went smoothly.

I spent several days in the provincial capital and had a very fruitful experience.

According to the plan, Li Shoucheng prepared to head south to his next stop, Yaodu.

The convoy left the city and headed south along the national highway. Outside the car windows was the typical landscape of the Loess Plateau, with ravines and vast, desolate loess plateaus.

When they came to a fork in the road in the middle of nowhere, they suddenly saw a mule cart lying across the middle of the road ahead, piled high with firewood, completely blocking the narrow dirt road.

Fan Hu, who was leading the way, immediately became alert and signaled the vehicles behind to stop.

He jumped out of the car and led a team member forward to check.

"Hey folks, could you please move your car so we can get through?" Fan Hu called out.

Two men, dressed in old cotton-padded jackets and with white towels wrapped around their heads, were squatting beside the mule cart. Upon hearing this, they stood up, their faces bearing honest yet slightly awkward smiles: "Sorry, sorry, this mule is stubborn. Let's rest for a bit, we'll move it right away."

The two men made a move to lead the mule, but their movements were slow and hesitant.

Fan Hu frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping around. There seemed to be a figure moving behind the earthen slope by the roadside.

He calmly retreated to the car, grabbed the radio inside, and whispered, "Something's not right. All vehicles, stay alert."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dozen men suddenly stood up from behind the earthen slope by the roadside, carrying sticks, shovels, and even two old hunting rifles. They quickly surrounded the convoy, blocking both the front and rear of the road.

A lean middle-aged man in his forties emerged from the crowd. He was dressed in a slightly neat Zhongshan suit, with a smile on his face, but his eyes revealed shrewdness and scrutiny.

"Gentlemen, please don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it." The middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting, his gaze sweeping over the impressive cars. "I heard you're big bosses from Beijing, specializing in collecting antiques?"

“You only accept those with proper documentation,” Fan Hu said.

"You're not the leader, are you? Let your leader come out and speak," said the man in the Zhongshan suit.

Li Shoucheng was in the second car. Seeing this, he took a deep breath, opened the door, and got out of the car.

Experts Qian and Zheng were also a little nervous, as they were kept in the car by 'Wolf Fang' and not allowed to get out.

“Comrade, we are a legitimate organization, out on official business to make purchases. We wouldn’t dare accept anything from you, no matter what it is,” Li Shoucheng said, trying to remain calm.

The man in the Zhongshan suit smiled and said, "Boss, you're doing big business. Since it's big business, the more valuable the items, the better, right? We're the birthplace of China, and many of our fellow villagers have ancestral treasures. Are you sure you don't want to take a look?"

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and several men next to him came forward with several items wrapped in rags, and were about to open them without saying a word.

Fan Hu stepped in front of Li Shouchang, blocking his path, and said in a deep voice, "What, trying to force a sale?"

The middle-aged man still had a smile on his face, but it had become much more somber: "To tell you the truth, we've been to state-run stores, and they only give those few people a pittance, not enough to do anything. I've heard that Boss Li is rich and powerful; he can just buy one item from us and that's enough for us villagers to improve our lives. Take a look, take a look first, I guarantee they're all good stuff, passed down from our ancestors, and they're very clean!"

The men had already lifted the rag, revealing what was inside: a bronze jue (wine vessel) with mottled patina, two gray pottery jars, and several pieces of jade with deep patina.

Inside the car, Qian, the expert, saw the bronze jue (a type of ancient Chinese wine vessel) through the car window, and his pupils contracted slightly. Zheng, the expert, also frowned.

Li Shoucheng was indeed knowledgeable and experienced. As soon as he saw the rust and shape of the bronze jue, he secretly thought that something bad was going to happen. It looked like something that had been buried alive!

He remained calm and said, "Comrade, these items of yours are too old, we can't understand them. You should find another way."

"Can't understand?" The middle-aged man chuckled and pointed to Qian and Zheng in the car. "I heard that you have two experts in your line of work. Why don't you ask them to come down and take a look? The price is negotiable."

Seeing this, Fan Hu knew that things wouldn't end well, so he quietly reached for his lower back and gave his teammates a wink.

The team members understood and seemingly casually adjusted their positions, placing the two trucks loaded with goods and the vehicle carrying the experts in the middle.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Just then, a series of urgent car horn blasts and engine roars came from behind.

Everyone turned around and saw two green jeeps speeding towards them, kicking up dust, and screeching to a stop behind the roadblock.

The car door opened, and several people in police uniforms jumped out. The leader had a serious expression, and the holster on his waist was particularly conspicuous.

"What are you doing! Hou Laoqi, what are you trying to do by surrounding the road with your men?!" the leading policeman shouted sternly.

The middle-aged man's expression changed instantly, and his previous arrogance vanished in an instant. He gave his subordinate a look, and the subordinate quickly repackaged the items.

He put on a smiling face and went to greet him: "Oh, Captain Wang, what brings you here?" "How could I not come? Take your men and get out of here!"

"We're leaving now, we're leaving now!" Hou Laoqi nodded, then turned around and waved to his men with a dark face. The group of people scattered in a flurry.

Li Shoucheng greeted the police with a smile. Fan Hu watched Hou Laoqi leave thoughtfully. Didn't these policemen care about those items?

Why did they just let them leave like that? And the timing of this is just too coincidental!

Captain Wang chatted with Li Shoucheng for a few minutes, and Li Shoucheng even showed him his letter of introduction. After a short while, Li Shoucheng returned and said, "Tiger, let's go. Follow their car, we're going into the city."

Fan Hu wanted to say something, but held back, nodded, and returned to the car.

The convoy followed the jeeps slowly into Yaodu city. Then the car in front suddenly stopped, and Captain Wang came over and said that they had other things to do and would not be going into the city with them. Li Shoucheng expressed his gratitude and even gave him two packs of cigarettes.

Seeing the two jeeps drive out of the city again, Fan Hu's doubts deepened.

Upon entering the city, the convoy stopped in front of a rather nice-looking guesthouse, attracting quite a crowd of onlookers. Such nice cars are truly rare here, and they even had a sign that read "Sijiucheng" (meaning "Beijing City").

After Li Shoucheng checked in, Fan Hu arranged for his team to unload the goods. They carefully carried the boxes containing the acquired cultural relics into the guesthouse room and assigned someone to guard them in shifts.

He then pulled Li Shoucheng and the two experts into the room.

"Manager Li, Mr. Qian, Mr. Zheng, don't you think this is too much of a coincidence?" Fan Hu closed the door and lowered his voice.

"What do you mean by coincidence? The group you mentioned that blocked the road?" Li Shoucheng asked.

"No, I was referring to the police who arrived later. They came at just the right time, and they seemed to know that Hou Laoqi very well. They just scolded him a couple of times, didn't check his belongings, didn't arrest him, and let him go."

Expert Qian said solemnly, "Comrade Xiao Fan is right."

Expert Zheng nodded in agreement: "I also went out with the archaeological team. I think that Hou Laoqi and his group are not ordinary farmers. They are a bit strange."

"A tomb raider?" Li Shoucheng asked.

“Yes,” said Expert Zheng.

“I could tell at a glance that those things were unearthed goods, which is why I refused them, but I really couldn’t tell what Tiger was talking about.”

"Hehe, what if they're not here to protect us?" Fan Hu said.

“You mean,” Li Shoucheng said.

"It's quite possible; they're here to protect those guys," said Expert Zheng.

"I forgot to ask, Lao Li, did you see their identification?"

"No, I'm wearing my police uniform," Li Shoucheng said.

The others exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison, confirming their suspicions.

"What's wrong? Are those two cars fake?" Li Shoucheng asked.

“That’s possible, otherwise why would they have turned back out of the city halfway?” Fan Hu said.

"what is it now?"

"Let's wait and see. We're unfamiliar with this place, so it's better to be careful," Fan Hu said.

Li Shoucheng sighed: "Then shall we still go to the Friendship Store as planned tomorrow?"

"Just the two of us, no money, let's go and take a look first," Fan Hu said.

"Okay, then."

That evening, they had all their food delivered from outside, served with plates and bowls.

The next morning, one or two people drove to the Friendship Store in Yaodu City.

The store manager was a chubby middle-aged man surnamed Zhao. He was very enthusiastic and led them to see the inventory in the warehouse. Most of the items were Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain, the wood used for furniture was average, and there were some folk embroidery items. In short, there were nothing of great quality.

Just then, some noise came from the other side of the shop. Hou Laoqi walked in with two other people, carrying several boxes, and placed them directly on the counter.

"Old Zhao, the goods have arrived, let me see the price!" Hou Laoqi's voice was loud, but his eyes glanced at Li Shoucheng and his group.

A hint of awkwardness flashed across Manager Zhao's face, but he still greeted him with a smile: "Boss Hou, you've found another good deal?"

As he spoke, he opened the box, revealing the items he had seen on the road yesterday—a bronze wine vessel, a gray pottery jar, and jade artifacts.

Li Shoucheng and Fan Hu exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking.

This thing was being sold to people on the street yesterday, and today it's openly appearing on the counter of the state-run Friendship Store?
Manager Zhao examined them carefully, especially the bronze jue (a type of ancient Chinese wine vessel), and then smiled at Hou Laoqi, "Boss Hou, these are quite nice. The shop happens to be short of these kinds of items. Shall we do it the usual way?"

"Okay, hurry up, issue the invoice and pay." Hou Laoqi urged, his gaze sweeping over Li Shoucheng. "What a coincidence, gentlemen! Look, this item is now from the Friendship Store, all proper paperwork. How about it? Interested? Manager Zhao, these are big clients from Beijing. You've hit the jackpot this time!"

Manager Zhao immediately understood, picked up the bronze jue (a type of ancient Chinese wine vessel) and said to Li Shouchang, "Manager Li, look at this jue, it's a fine piece from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and this pottery jar is from the Yangshao culture, and this jade artifact..."

“We saw this yesterday. Our shop is too small to handle this kind of goods.” Li Shoucheng politely declined, then pulled Fan Hu away.

Manager Zhao's smile froze instantly, and Hou Laoqi's face darkened as he waved to his two subordinates.

After Li Shoucheng and his companion left the store, Manager Zhao lowered his voice and asked, "What's going on? How dare you send these things to me?"

"We had no other choice. We ran into a tough customer. They wouldn't buy it even if we tried to stop them. They have weapons," Hou Laoqi said, gesturing with his hand.

"You can't send it to me."

"Hey, they said they only accept items from official channels, so I'm just checking if it's okay."

"Take your things and get out of here, don't make me end up in jail with you."

"No, your men are tight-lipped, don't you think, brother!" After saying that, Hou Laoqi patted Manager Zhao on the shoulder, took the things and left.

"Pah! What a piece of trash." After Hou Laoqi left, Manager Zhao spat out a mouthful of filth. He couldn't afford to offend these guys, not only because they were ruthless, but also because they had spent money to bribe a lot of people.

As Li Shoucheng and Fan Hu exited the Friendship Store, before they even reached their car, five or six people emerged from the alley and blocked their path.

The leader was a burly man with a fierce face, wearing a leather jacket, grinning to reveal a gold tooth.

"Gentlemen, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Our boss would like to invite you to visit our store. We guarantee that the goods in our store will not disappoint you."

Fan Hu stepped in front, his hand already on his lower back, his eyes sharp: "Get out of the way."

"Oh ho, pretty cocky, huh?" The gold-toothed man sneered. Several men surrounded him, their hands bulging in their pockets, clearly hiding weapons.

"What, want to give it a try?" Fan Hu looked down and stared intently at the muscular man with the gold teeth.

"This is the first time I've seen such a natural outsider like you in Yaodu territory." The burly man with gold teeth smiled sinisterly.

Just then, a sidecar motorcycle roared up and screeched to a halt on the side of the road.

A young policeman jumped out of the car. Fan Hu glanced at him; he wasn't the same one he'd seen yesterday.

"Liu Jinyou, what are you doing? Do you want to go to jail again for a few more days?" the young policeman shouted, his gaze sweeping over the gold-toothed man with a warning.

The man with the gold teeth seemed somewhat wary. He curled his lip, gave Fan Hu and Li Shoucheng a "you're lucky" look, and led his men back into the alley.

The young policeman walked up to Li Shoucheng and whispered, "You're from Beijing. This place is murky. You'd better leave quickly."

"Comrade, do you have a captain surnamed Wang?" Li Shoucheng asked.

"No! Don't trust anyone you meet on the street!" After saying that, the young policeman turned around, got on his motorcycle, and sputtered away.

Li Shoucheng frowned deeply. Why were all the people in this place so strange?

Fan Hu's face was gloomy, and he said in a low voice, "Old Li, we can't stay here any longer. We need to leave Yaodu immediately."

"Where to go?"

"Let's go back to the provincial capital first."

"You're not going to Qin Province?"

“We can’t take this road anymore,” Fan Hu said.

“Okay, let’s hurry back to the guesthouse,” Li Shoucheng said.

After saying that, the two got into the car, and Fan Hu started the car and drove quickly towards the guesthouse.

(End of this chapter)