Courtyard House: Passing through the Silly Pillar, Activating the Blessed Cave Heaven

44

"Uncle Pian, shouldn't we draw up a written agreement or a receipt to avoid any disputes in the future?" He Yuzhu suggested.

"Of course! A written agreement will put both of us at ease." Qiu Guangpu finished speaking, then turned and ran into the house. "I'll go get some paper and pen right now!"

"The amount matches up, exactly two thousand yuan, not a penny more, not a penny less," Qiu Guangpu's wife said with a smile as she walked over, waving the banknotes in her hand.

"That's good." He Yuzhu sat on the stone bench and replied calmly.

A short while later, Qiu Guangpu, clutching paper and pen, hurried back into the courtyard: "Xiao He, look at this contract, who should draft it?"

He Yuzhu took the brush from Qiu Guangpu, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "Master Pian, please sit down and rest for a while. I'll write this." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Current policies do not allow private real estate transactions. If we were to write a house sale contract directly, the risks would be too great."

How about this, we'll write it as you borrowing 50,000 yuan from me, using the middle and back courtyards of your Daqianmen courtyard house as collateral.

If you fail to repay this loan within one year, then the property will belong to me.

How about this?

"Okay, let's do it your way. This way it's safe and won't cause any trouble." Qiu Guangpu nodded in agreement.

Seeing that the other party agreed, He Yuzhu picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and quickly wrote powerful characters on the Xuan paper: "I hereby borrow RMB 50,000 from He Yuzhu, using the middle and back courtyards of the Daqianmen Courtyard under Qiu Guangpu's name as collateral."

If the loan is not repaid within one year, the property will belong to He Yuzhu, and Qiu Guangpu will not have any objection.

Borrower:

"Mr. Pian, please take a look and see if there are any problems." He Yuzhu pushed the still-wet ink IOU in front of Qiu Guangpu. "If there are no problems, please sign here and put your fingerprint on it."

Qiu Guangpu squinted and carefully examined the IOU. After confirming that it was correct, he took the brush, signed his name, and then gently blew on the ink a few times to speed up the drying process.

He pressed his thumb firmly into the inkpad, then pressed it onto the signature and the amount in the next place.

"All done!" When he handed the IOU back to He Yuzhu, the bright red handprint stood out vividly in the sunlight.

He Yuzhu put away the receipts, stood up and said, "All the formalities are complete. My uncle will bring you the final payment tomorrow."

After you've finished packing, just hand the keys to my uncle. Before leaving, he turned back and reminded him, "Uncle, remember to bring an extra two hundred yuan—it's for the cost of building the wall and clearing the backyard passageway. We should pay for it; we can't let Uncle Pian spend the money."

After He Yuzhu's figure completely disappeared outside the courtyard gate, Qiu Guangpu turned to look at Cai Quanwu and asked curiously, "Manager Cai, what is the background of your cousin? He can casually pull out two thousand yuan as a deposit. He seems even more generous than Chen Xueru. He's really generous."

Cai Quanwu twirled his teacup and chuckled as he countered, "I can tell you, but first you have to tell me why you're selling the house. Is it really because your family is facing difficulties, as you say?"

"I might need to rely on you in the future, so I won't hide it from you." Qiu Guangpu smiled and leaned closer to Cai Quanwu, lowering his voice.

"Have you heard of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill outside Dongzhimen?" Cai Quanwu didn't answer directly, but asked instead.

"Who in Beijing doesn't know the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill? Before the joint venture, it was Lou Bancheng's business, and it had a huge reputation in Beijing!" Qiu Guangpu suddenly widened his eyes and said in shock, "Could it be... that your cousin is related to Lou Bancheng?"

Cai Quanwu straightened his back and said proudly, "My cousin is now the deputy director of the logistics department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, and he's about to be promoted to a full-fledged position. He has a bright future ahead of him."

"Hiss—" Qiu Guangpu gasped, and the surrounding air seemed to become hotter.

He composed himself, frowned, and said, "Manager Cai, even if your cousin became a deputy director at such a young age, with his meager salary, even if he started saving money from birth, he couldn't possibly save up such a large sum as 50,000 yuan, could he? Is the source of this money reliable?" After saying that, he stared intently at Cai Quanwu, waiting for his explanation.

"Uncle Pian'er, you're right. My nephew was recently promoted to deputy director, so the money to buy the house certainly wasn't saved from his salary." Cai Quanwu deliberately kept Qiu Guangpu in suspense, whetting his appetite.

Qiu Guangpu was indeed anxious and hurriedly asked, "Where did He Yuzhu's money come from? If it's money from an unknown source, I dare not accept it, lest I get into trouble."

"He got married last year. He married the daughter of the Lou family, who is Lou Bancheng's only daughter."

"The Red Star Steel Rolling Mill used to be owned by the Lou family, now you understand, right?" Cai Quan said calmly without any emotion.

"What? He Yuzhu married Lou Bancheng's daughter?" Qiu Guangpu's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief, as if he had heard the biggest news in the world.

"That's right, and she's Lou Bancheng's only daughter. All of the Lou family's assets will belong to the couple in the future," Cai Quanwu added.

"This kid's luck is just too good! It's so enviable!" Qiu Guangpu said with a face full of envy.

"Master Pian, you can rest assured now, right? The source of this money is absolutely clean and reliable," Cai Quanwu asked with a smile.

"I'm relieved! I'm relieved!" Qiu Guangpu nodded repeatedly. "Even a little bit of money that Lou Bancheng casually spills out is more than all of Chen Xueru's assets. He Yuzhu will never have to worry about money for the rest of his life."

"Actually, even if he doesn't marry the Lou family's daughter, my nephew is not short of money."

He is exceptionally capable and became a deputy director at a young age. His future prospects are limitless, and he may very well become a high-ranking official.

"Once you reach that position, what does money matter? By the way, his current rank is the same as a county magistrate, which is incredibly impressive," Cai Quanwu continued, his face full of pride.

Qiu Guangpu was shocked again and quickly asked, "Such a young cadre? How old is he exactly?"

"He should be 21 years old this year."

Uncle Pian, please don't be surprised. I've already told you about my nephew's situation.

"Now, it's your turn to tell me the real reason you're selling the house, isn't it?" Cai Quanwu remembered the look He Yuzhu gave Qiu Guangpu before leaving. He understood that He Yuzhu wanted him to figure out Qiu Guangpu's real intentions for selling the house, so that he wouldn't end up with nothing and get into trouble after buying the house.

Qiu Guangpu leaned close to Cai Quanwu's ear and whispered, "Manager Cai, since you're being so frank, I won't hide anything from you either."

As you know, my ancestors were Manchus, and we have many relatives outside the Great Wall.

A few days ago, a relative from outside the Great Wall wrote to say that there was a mountain of grain there, more than they could eat, but they couldn't convert it into cash.

I sent my three sons to check it out in person, and the situation was indeed as my relatives had described.

I figured I could make a lot of money by bringing grain from outside the Great Wall back to Beijing to sell, but I lacked the capital, so I decided to sell my house to raise funds for this business.

Cai Quanwu nodded slowly, and asked thoughtfully, "I see. No wonder you're in such a hurry to sell the house."

"Since you have grain supplies from outside the pass, do you have any familiar buyers in Beijing who can help you sell your grain?"

Qiu Guangpu waved his hand with a wry smile, his tone tinged with self-deprecation: "The house has only just found a buyer, the money hasn't even warmed up yet, and there's not even a glimpse of the grain. Who would believe I have a large amount of grain on hand? Even if I told others, no one would believe me; they would just think I'm bragging."

Cai Quanwu pondered for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "If you trust me, Master Pian, after the money is settled tomorrow, you can go to the border to arrange the grain. Don't worry about the sales."

"Once the grain arrives in Beijing, I'll take care of the sales. I guarantee you'll get a good price and won't lose out." With that, he looked intently at Qiu Guangpu, awaiting his reply.

A hint of joy flashed in Qiu Guangpu's eyes. He slapped his thigh excitedly and said, "This really solved my urgent problem! I know Manager Cai's character better than anyone. He's honest, reliable, and trustworthy. We can't go wrong with cooperating! I'll handle the matters outside the pass. I guarantee the grain will be transported back smoothly."

"The business in Beijing depends entirely on you, so you must keep a close eye on things for me."

"It's a deal!" Cai Quanwu extended his right hand, ready to shake hands with Qiu Guangpu.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Qiu Guangpu quickly reached out and tightly grasped Cai Quanwu's thick and strong hand, his face full of excitement.

"Alright, I've explained everything that needed to be explained. I should head back now; I still have things to take care of at the tavern."

"Uncle Pian, remember to go see Chen Xueru tomorrow and cancel the house sale. Don't let her have any more hope." Before leaving, Cai Quanwu specifically reminded Qiu Guangpu.

"Don't worry, I'll go and talk to Boss Chen first thing tomorrow morning and tell her that the house is no longer for sale."

"Thank you so much today, Manager Cai. Without your help, I don't know how long it would have taken me to sell this house," Qiu Guangpu said sincerely, full of gratitude.

"Don't mention it. We're friends, helping each other is only natural. I wasn't much of a help anyway." Cai Quanwu waved his hand, then asked curiously, "But I'm still a little curious, why are you so reluctant to sell to Chen Xueru? The price she offered, although a bit lower than you expected, wasn't too bad."

Qiu Guangpu sighed and said with a helpless expression, "To be honest, I really don't want to sell it to her."

This woman usually looks down on me and is very arrogant; she doesn't even look at me.

If it weren't for your help in introducing your nephew to buy my house, I probably wouldn't have been able to find any other buyers and would have had to sell it to her anyway.

But the thought of her condescending attitude makes me feel suffocated, and I really don't want to sell the house to her.

Cai Quanwu laughed and said, "I didn't expect that Master Pian'er is also a straightforward person with clear likes and dislikes."

"Alright, I'll head back to the tavern now. Come visit sometime, let's have a couple of drinks." With that, he turned and walked out of Qiu Guangpu's house.

On the other side, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

As soon as he entered, Lou Xiao'e eagerly greeted him, asking anxiously, "Brother He, how did it go? Did you buy the house? Did the negotiations go smoothly?"

"I bought it. I told you this morning, and since you said so, how could I not buy it?" He Yuzhu smiled and took out the IOU written by Qiu Guangpu from his pocket, handing it to Lou Xiao'e. "Look, this is the proof."

Lou Xiao'e breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the house had been successfully purchased.

She took the IOU, examined it carefully, and asked suspiciously, "Why is it an IOU? Shouldn't we get a property deed? Does this prove the house belongs to us?"

He Yuzhu lowered his voice and explained, "Now the authorities don't allow private buying and selling of houses; if you want to sell, you can only sell to the government."

So this is the only way we can do it: write an IOU, mortgage the house to me, and that way it's a de facto transfer of ownership, and nobody can say anything about it.

Lou Xiao'e frowned, still somewhat worried, and said, "But the property deed isn't in our hands. What if he mortgages the house to several people at the same time? Wouldn't we suffer a huge loss? We wouldn't be able to explain ourselves then."

"No, don't worry." He Yuzhu waved his hand and comforted him, "We only paid the deposit today. We'll give him the balance tomorrow, and then he'll hand over the property deed to us for safekeeping."

With the property deed, even if any problems arise in the future, we'll have proof and won't be afraid of him reneging on his promise.

"Oh, I see. That puts my mind at ease." Lou Xiao'e nodded, then asked, "By the way, you have to go to work tomorrow. How are you going to deliver the final payment to Qiu Guangpu? You can't let it interfere with your work, can you?"

"I've already arranged with my uncle that he'll deliver the final payment tomorrow."

"Anyway, I've already seen the house, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just a matter of paying the final payment and getting the deed. Whether I go or not doesn't matter, it won't make a difference," He Yuzhu said.

Lou Xiao'e blinked and asked curiously, "You've already given the money to your uncle? I didn't see you carrying so much cash when you left this morning. Fifty thousand yuan is no small sum. Where did you hide it?"

"Where would we get so much cash at home?" He Yuzhu said with a smile. "I hid the money in the house in Qudeng Hutong. I picked it up on my way home after get off work and gave it to my uncle. He'll bring it to Qiu Guangpu tomorrow."

"I've been to that house before, but I don't remember where I could hide so much money." Lou Xiao'e tried hard to recall the layout of the house in Qudeng Hutong, but she couldn't think of a place where the money could be hidden.