Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 258 Viewing a House
That night.

Zhang Yan picked up Chen Hong near the Beijing Film Studio and headed straight for Li Chengru's largest property within the Second Ring Road.

Upon arriving at the location, Chen Hong frowned as she gazed at the palace wall not far away and said, "It's so close to the Forbidden City, I'm afraid the renovation will be difficult to get approved."

She has never been particularly keen on hoarding houses. Although the houses Zhang Yan bought have appreciated a lot, the problem is that the RMB has also lost value, and other industries have been making more and faster money in the past two years.

"It's not like we absolutely have to buy it, let's go in and take a look."

Just as Zhang Yan was about to park his car on the side of the road, a traffic policeman on a bicycle ran over, pointed to the intersection and told him to park further away, saying that parking was not allowed in this area at night.

Zhang Yan had no choice but to drive another mile or so before walking back with Chen Hong.

The regulations in this area are indeed quite strict. For example, in the area around the couple's new house in Dongcheng, there are many houses that have been converted into garages with their front-facing (street-facing) units facing the street, and no one has ever seemed to care.

Of course, it wasn't so easy to demolish all the bungalows and rebuild them into villas. Zhang Yan spent more than a year pulling strings and trying to get the reconstruction permits done.

Upon arriving at the main gate, they saw that the interior was brightly lit, and there were quite a few people wandering around inside. It seemed that Li Chengru had found quite a few buyers.

Zhang Yan led Chen Hong to the main hall, but they didn't see Li Chengru. Instead, Ma Weidu was inside drinking tea and chatting with someone.

"Hey, Mr. Zhang~"

"Oh, Teacher Ma~"

Zhang Yan bowed to him and said with a smile, "It's been a while since we last met."

"You know, the last time I saw you was at Yu Hua's wedding." Ma Wei put down his teacup, stood up to return the greeting, and then blinked his small eyes, asking, "So, are you two here to look at houses too?"

"Isn't it the same for you?"

"I'm different."

Ma Wei shook his head and said, "I can't afford this house right now. I just brought my friends over to join in the fun and broaden their horizons."

As he spoke, he tapped his fingers on the coffee table and said, "Listen to this sound. These are all top-quality antiques. I was the one who helped find them back then."

Then he pointed to his companion who had just been drinking tea with him and said, "This young man is Yu Qian. I met him when we were filming 'Hippocampus Dance Hall.' We get along very well."

The young man came over and called out, "Sister Hong."

"It's really you."

Chen Hong hurriedly introduced Zhang Yan: "He's the one who found those two Border Collies for our family."

Yu Qian added, "Back in 90, I even helped distribute flyers to Teacher Zhang."

"You play rock music too?"

"No, I just enjoy listening to it. My main job is performing crosstalk, and I occasionally act as an actor."

Just then, someone notified Li Chengru, who strode in from outside, his bald head gleaming under the light.

"Mr. Li, what's going on?"

When we met a few months ago, Li Chengru's hair was still very thick.

Li Chengru said with a wry smile, "Half of it was white, and half of it had fallen off, so I might as well shave it all off—come on, brother, I'll show you around."

Zhang Yan looked at Ma Weidu, who waved his hand and said, "You guys go about your business. Come back for tea when you're tired."

So Zhang Yan and Chen Hong followed Li Chengru and took a short walk around.

This courtyard is a typical three-section structure, with a large middle section and smaller ends. Its total area is about twice that of Zhang Yan's new house. However, considering that Zhang Yan's house is a three-story villa, the actual usable area is much smaller.

The houses have all been renovated and the drainage system is fine, but only a few rooms have heating and air conditioning, and the water heaters used for showering are imported electric water heaters.

It looks like it's habitable, but there's absolutely no sign of life in it.

After briefly showing Zhang Yan and Chen Hong around, Li Chengru stood in the courtyard and pointed towards the Forbidden City, saying, "You can fly a kite in the courtyard and it will float all the way to the Forbidden City—in the future, if you want to entertain foreign guests, setting up a table here will definitely make you look very prestigious."

If you happen to meet someone knowledgeable, just tell them who has lived here before; that'll definitely put them in their place!

"It's a pity that parking isn't very convenient."

Even if it's nothing.

Li Chengru said, "Prepare a few tricycles for him, make them look like sedan chairs, and bring them directly from the nearby parking lot. Also, arrange for two women in cheongsams to stand at the entrance. When they see someone, they should bow, show their legs first, and then their chests. That would look really authentic!"

Even though he went bankrupt, his stubbornness hasn't changed at all. It seems he still has the will to fight back, and he should have a chance to make a comeback in the future.

Just then, another group of people came to see the house. Li Chengru told Zhang Yan to take a look around first, and then hurriedly went to the front yard.

Zhang Yan and Chen Hong found a room with heating, rubbed their hands together, and asked, "What do you think of this house?" Chen Hong was starting to waver, mainly because the scene Li Chengru described was indeed quite satisfying to her vanity.

However, she finally shook her head and said, "You've always been the one to make the decisions when it comes to buying a house."

"I'm also a little undecided."

Zhang Yan leaned back in his armchair and said, "I used to think about hoarding houses and waiting for them to appreciate in value, but now that our business is growing bigger and bigger, there's nothing that makes money faster than flipping houses, unless it's real estate development."

Just then, someone suddenly peeked out from outside.

"Yu Qian?"

Chen Hong, with her sharp eyes, recognized Yu Qian and asked in surprise, "Do you need something from us?"

"Nothing else."

Yu Qian looked back to make sure no one was outside before coming in and saying, "Sister Hong, President Zhang, I actually know a courtyard with a similar layout. Although it's a bit out of the way, the gate is wide open, allowing four cars to park on either side, and it's much cheaper than this place."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan couldn't help but laugh and ask, "What, you also work part-time as a real estate agent?"

No, no.

Yu Qian hurriedly explained, "I just feel that buying here isn't worthwhile. Actually, they're also in a hurry to sell off their stock over there, but they haven't gotten the furniture yet—it would be best if we could move the furniture from this yard over there, then everything would be perfect."

"They're having a clearance sale over there too?"

"Hey, Mr. Li isn't the only one in Beijing who speculates in foreign exchange. Their circle of people all have similar interests, and their methods of raising money are nothing more than selling houses and cars."

Speaking of selling cars, Zhang Yan glanced at Chen Hong next to him: "Didn't you say that the Ford Tianba wasn't easy to drive? How about we try a Mercedes-Benz W14?"

"There's no need for that."

Chen Hong shook her head at first, then couldn't help but ask, "How much cheaper can he sell it for?"

"Let's ask about it later, just in case it's suitable."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he asked Yu Qian, "Where is that courtyard you mentioned?"

“It’s in the western part of the city, near Guang’anmen,” Yu Qian said, then added, “I don’t know the master’s family, but Master Ma definitely does. If you want to see it, you can ask Master Ma to act as an intermediary—but don’t ask here, it’s best to contact him tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan suspected that Ma Weidu wanted to act as an intermediary. Considering that they were all acquaintances, it was somewhat unethical for him to do so.

But since it didn't concern him, Zhang Yan didn't inquire further. Instead, he discussed with Chen Hong about going to Xicheng to take a look again tomorrow.

By then, we'll have two houses, one from the East and one from the West, and we'll have everything we need.

After delivering the message, Yu Qian slipped back to the front yard.

Not long after, Li Chengru led two more people in, a man and a woman holding hands, both of whom Zhang Yan knew.

"Director Chen, Sister Ni."

The visitors were Chen Kaige and Ni Ping.

Upon seeing Zhang Yan, Ni Ping quickly greeted him, "Oh, Mr. Zhang is here too. And this is...?"

"Chen Hong, my fiancée."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he extended his hand to Chen Kaige and said, "Director Chen, this is the third time we've met, isn't it?"

"Yes, this is the third time."

Chen Kaige's attitude was much warmer than the previous two times, but his enthusiasm was tinged with a hint of reserve and self-satisfaction.

Although Zhang Yan has been doing well in the industry recently and has even become one of the pilot private enterprises, he is only good at fighting within his own circle. How can he compare to him, who soared to fame with "Farewell My Concubine" and made a name for himself in front of foreigners?
Moreover, this has become one of the pilot projects for private enterprises, yet all they've produced is a TV series. With such a limited vision, it's hard to praise them.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Yan told Li Chengru that he needed to go back and discuss it first.

Such a large deal is rarely settled on the spot, so Li Chengru personally saw the two men out the door.

Ni Ping watched the two figures disappear into the distance and couldn't help but sigh.

"what happened?"

"It's nothing, it's just that Zhou Tao, who was made famous by Zhang Yan, will most likely replace me as the host of 'Variety Show' next year—this young man is indeed capable, the ratings of 'Chinese Poetry Conference' once even surpassed those of 'Variety Show'."

Chen Kaige was brimming with confidence when he heard his girlfriend praising Zhang Yan like that. He immediately patted his chest and said defiantly, "What's so special about that? I'll plan a variety show for you later. I guarantee it won't be any worse than 'Variety Show' and 'Chinese Poetry Competition'."

(End of this chapter)