Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1250 Why don't you give it to me? (Give Wenrunruyu +18)

The courtyard is not large; strictly speaking, it can no longer be considered a traditional courtyard house. There are only two houses on two sides and walls on the other two sides. The courtyard is also very small, giving the impression that a standard courtyard house has been cut in half and divided into two courtyards.

The homeowner was right next door, running a grocery store around the corner. He was wearing a tank top and shorts, holding a palm-leaf fan in his hand, and had a simple, honest smile. He also had the buzz cut that is most common among Beijing locals.

"This house was left to me by my grandfather, but he's passed away. My family lives in a tenement here. We used to rent it out to people, and later we even ran a bar. This area is a bit remote, so the foot traffic isn't great. After dealing with several owners, I got fed up."

I can't bear to part with it since I live here myself, but I don't have the magnanimity to organize anything else. My family discussed it, and they said it's okay to sell it if possible, so I'll go and buy a ground-floor apartment. This courtyard has never been touched; basically, except for the bathroom, everything is the same old thing.

The group followed them into the courtyard and looked around. The houses were all empty, with only a pair of chairs in each of the rooms.

Xiao Wei asked the guy, "Where's the old item you were talking about?"

The guy gestured with his fan: "The windows and doors are all original."

Chen Hui said, "I guess he sold off everything that could be moved. A few years ago, there were quite a few people who vandalized and messed with these things."

Xiao Wei asked, "How about digging up the old house?"

Chen Hui nodded: "Quite a few people made a fortune by messing around with it. Back then, the old stuff was really popular, and a lot of people were jumping on the bandwagon."

The manager was chatting with the guy on the side: "Dude, you've got nothing but the frame of the house. If you take it over and make changes, what will be left? You'll have to start all over again except for the property certificate. Look at your windows and doors, the previous owner didn't take good care of them, and it looks like you haven't cleaned them much either."

"This is all wood; it rots so easily. Look, isn't it white? It needs to be replaced; it's unusable and can't be repaired. The point of buying an old courtyard house is its antique charm, even if you keep a secondary hall inside, right? This courtyard of yours hasn't been well maintained."

Wang Gong looked at the foundation and searched for things along the base of the walls, while Mi Zhiqi looked at the frame, touching and tapping here and there. Commander Hou, Xiao Wei, and Chen Hui were just watching the show and going by feel.

Xiao Wei asked Chen Hui, "How are you feeling?"

Chen Hui said, "It's alright, I feel it's better than those two over there. You expect Sister Xuemei to make money from this? Just consider it as buying a yard, you won't lose money in the future."

We'll tidy up this yard, demolish the main house and build a two-story building, and convert the side room into a garage, connecting the two sides. The yard gate needs to be rebuilt. This whole area will be used as a bookstore for her; the first floor can be used for listening to music and having coffee, which is nice. The upstairs will be offices.

Xiao Wei nodded and asked, "Why are you so determined to build a two-story building?"

Chen Hui chuckled a few times: "Of course you like it. Plant more flowers and plants in the yard, build a rockery and stream, sit on the second-floor balcony with a book, look down, don't you think that feeling is great? The space feels several times larger."

Xiao Wei said, "If someone walks downstairs again, could you throw a window slat over the roof?"

Chen Hui was stunned for a moment, then kicked him, saying, "You're the one who's like Pan Jinlian!" Xiao Wei laughed and ran to the side.

The homeowner, a man in his thirties with a dark stubble beard, raised an eyebrow as he watched Chen Hui and Xiao Wei chatting and laughing. He then said to Manager Jing, "Anyway, the items are right here. If you want to buy them, we can negotiate the price. If not, I'm not in a hurry."

"Look around this area, there's not a single vacant house. Even students from the Central Academy of Drama could make tens of thousands a year renting it out. If they set it up as a recording studio, it'd be at least a hundred thousand a year. I'm not bragging, but with this yard in my hands, I really don't have to worry about anything."

Jingjingli took out a printed sheet of paper from his pocket, opened it and looked at it, and said, "So you rented it to students from the Central Academy of Drama for eight thousand yuan a year. There was indeed a bar here before, with two different owners. The longest one worked here for ten months from beginning to end, and the rent was forty thousand yuan."

Then there were the students, 8,500. This year, two groups approached you about renting a recording studio; the highest offer was 60,000, but neither deal went through.” Manager Jing collected the printed paper: “Dude, am I sure I didn’t make a mistake?”

"We're serious about buying here. We just feel it's quiet here. You must also want to sell, right? Tell us a reasonable price, and if it's okay, we'll finalize the deal. We won't delay payment; we'll settle the bill on the spot. We'll handle all the paperwork and taxes; you won't have to worry about a penny."

The homeowner brushed his hair with a palm-leaf fan and said, "Two hundred thousand."

Manager Jing smiled and shook his head, saying, "Dude, that's not fair. Where in this area can you find prices this high? Your yard is at most 300 square meters. Do the math yourself, how much per square meter is that?"

The homeowner said, "I'm selling this yard because I want to buy an apartment. I don't have enough space here, so why would I sell it? It's still a source of income."

The manager said, "The housing prices in this area are considered high in Kyoto. This year, they're only a little over 500. If you want to buy a house, you'll need something similar. It has to be in line with market prices, right? We're being sincere."

Wang Gongchong and Xiao Wei nodded: "No problem."

Mi Zhiqi was still looking up and said, "The overall frame is fine, but some of the smaller parts need to be replaced."

Xiao Wei turned to look at the homeowner, walked over, and asked, "How much are you asking for?"

The manager said with a wry smile, "He wants 200,000 yuan, saying he wants to buy an apartment."

Xiao Wei asked, "With housing prices now just over a thousand, how big of a house do you want to buy?"

The landlord said, "It should be at least 150 yuan, otherwise it won't be enough room."

The manager said, "It's not like you can just buy a building whenever you want. There are a lot of people with money who want to buy buildings now, are you really that sure?"

The homeowner said, "We'll figure something out once we have the money. If we don't have enough money, it'll be a waste even if we get a turn. There are lots of buildings being built now, both in the east and west of the city. If we have the money ready, we can ask relatives and friends for help. Maybe we'll get an opportunity. It's better than just waiting around."

Chen Hui said, "Then you'll have to wait. Don't you even know how many vacant spaces will be available after the relocation? Take this tenement courtyard of yours, for example. How many households will be relocated? Is there only a small amount left for you? If it were really your turn, you would have left long ago."

The homeowner waved his palm-leaf fan and said, "Anyway, I'm going to sell these. You guys figure it out. If it's okay, we'll make the deal. If not, we men shouldn't waste our time here."

Xiao Wei looked around and said, "150,000, it's fine if it's okay, otherwise forget it. At worst, we can just take over that restaurant, demolish it, and start over."

The manager looked at the homeowner and said, "150,000 yuan. If that's okay, we'll write it down and give you the money right away. We'll take care of all the paperwork and taxes."

I hesitated a bit about the house, but the manager said, "It's fine. It's already over six hundred. Do you really still want your two hundred thousand? By the time this house goes up to two hundred thousand, meat will be five yuan a pound."

The homeowner rubbed his chin: "All the taxes and fees are yours?"

Xiao Wei said, "How about this, next year I'll get you an apartment in Zhongguancun with an elevator, 150 square meters, and you'll give me another 200,000 yuan, okay? An apartment with an elevator."

The landlord glanced at Xiao Wei and asked, "What do you guys do?"

The manager said, "This is our chairman. We are a real estate development company. We currently have three projects under construction in Kyoto, and a batch of houses will be completed next year. We build elevator buildings, and the average price will be at least 3,500 yuan per square meter."

The homeowner thought for a moment: "150 square meters? Next year?"

Xiao Wei said, "One hundred and fifty. How about late summer next year, around September or October? You can hand over the two hundred thousand when you take possession of the house; it can be written into the contract."

(End of this chapter)