Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1251 The Tenant's Courtyard

The homeowner glanced at Manager Jing, then at Xiao Wei and Chen Hui, and then at Engineer Wang and the others.

Commander Hou said, "I've already told you what to do, what are you hesitating for? Whether you can even get a number to buy one yourself, and whether you even have the money, are questions that need to be addressed. We only charged you 350,000 yuan; can't you do the math?"

Mr. Wang laughed and said, "He was confused, wondering if we were scammers."

Commander Hou took out his military officer's ID and handed it to the homeowner: "Come and take a look, call and verify. That construction site is where we are working."

Xiao Wei said, "It's fate. I really like this courtyard. It just so happens that you want to buy an apartment, and I have one. So let's swap. You give me this courtyard, and I'll give you the apartment over there. I'll pay you an extra 200,000 yuan and we'll have the deal."

Hao Dawei said, "Next year, the area around Lianhuachi will also be available. You can choose yourself: Zhongguancun, West Railway Station, or Guomao. You can choose whichever you want."

The homeowner glanced at Commander Hou's military officer's ID, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll take this deal. Let me ask if it's possible for others in our compound to buy an apartment? We can figure out the money; we'll give you all the apartments here as collateral, as long as we can guarantee you an apartment."

Chen Hui said, "Then it's impossible to pay the price I gave you; at most, it will be a little lower than the market price."

The homeowner said, "That's no problem, as long as we can buy it. To be honest, we're desperate to move. Look at this environment, it's awful and noisy, and it's difficult to even get a car in."

Moreover, there are about ten households living in the courtyard, making everything inconvenient. Even going to the toilet requires queuing. My family can manage, but my childhood friend's family is practically starving and he doesn't even have a partner.

As you people in this industry know, there's no chance of demolition or redevelopment in this area. You might end up crammed into this communal courtyard for the rest of your lives. What do you think?

Xiao Wei looked at Chen Hui: "What do you think?"

Chen Hui said, "Sure, why not? It doesn't matter who we sell to. How big is that yard? It's all messy outside, you can't tell."

The homeowner said, "It's all for making a little money. The street-facing side has been completely changed. Why don't you all go in and take a look? It's hard to explain otherwise."

Several people came out of the yard without locking the door and went directly to the opposite side of the T-junction, to the general store run by the homeowner.

The main gate of the courtyard was right next to the general store, or rather, the convenience store. It was a bright and spacious gate with a mottled screen wall, wide doorposts, and a threshold about a foot high that had been worn down by footsteps, revealing the natural color of the wood.

Only one of the two doors remained, leaning against one side; the other was gone, its huge door studs exposed.

The courtyard is like a small world. What was once a spacious courtyard is now a dense cluster of makeshift houses, making it impossible to discern its original appearance. The small path paved with blue bricks is more like a traditional alley than the ones outside, winding and twisting its way into the courtyard.

"San'er, busy!" A middle-aged man wearing glasses pushed his bicycle out from inside. When he saw several people walking towards him, he pushed his bicycle to the side, leaned against it, and made way for them, greeting the landlord as he did so.

"Teacher Wang, are you going out?"

"A student hasn't come to school for three days. I'm free today, so I'm thinking of going to check on him."

"You've gone to so much trouble. There aren't many teachers like you these days."

"Don't mention it, it's all my duty," Teacher Wang said, sounding a little embarrassed.

The homeowner, San'er, rubbed his head with a palm-leaf fan and said, "Teacher Wang, these people are in the real estate business. They said they have some new apartments coming up next autumn, with elevators. They can give us a back door, so we don't have to wait in line. We can use one of these apartments to pay part of the price. I'll bring them in to take a look."

Teacher Wang looked at Xiao Wei and the others: "Really?" She shook her head: "I can't even imagine it. Did you go to their place to check? You should be more careful."

The landlord said to Xiaowei, "This is Teacher Wang, a cultured man, and his character is the best in our compound." He gave him a thumbs up.

"Teacher Wang, don't worry. We've been living in the same courtyard for decades. You even watched me grow up. We can all work together to figure out how to pay the money. You can pay it back slowly. We can't just leave your family here."

Teacher Wang smiled and shook her head: "Thank you so much, but I wouldn't dare to think about it, and I certainly couldn't afford to repay you."

Xiao Wei asked the homeowner, "How many families live in this courtyard? How many households are there?"

The homeowner thought for a moment, then turned to Teacher Wang and asked, "Teacher Wang, how many households are there in this courtyard?"

Teacher Wang thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "I really don't know how many households there are. There are twelve families: three in this courtyard, three in the side courtyard, two in your courtyard, and four in our backyard. But I haven't asked the exact number. For example, Old Mrs. Chang's family must have three or four households, right? Her second son lives in your side room, so you can ask him."

Chen Hui asked, "Isn't twelve households the same as twelve families? Aren't 'this' and 'family' different?"

Hao Dawei said, "It's different. There were twelve families when the land was first allocated. Back then, there were definitely twelve households. Now, after living here for decades, the children have all grown up and gotten married. Sometimes, a family consists of three or four households. The demolition compensation is calculated per household, based on the household registration book."

Chen Hui asked Hao Dawei, "These construction sites of ours also need to provide housing, right? How many households are there?"

Hao Dawei said, "It's different. This isn't considered old city renovation. The government has resettled most of the households affected by the demolition. There are only about fifty or sixty households in Zhongguan Village that need to be resettled, and about the same in Lianhuachi. There aren't any in Dabeiyao, because that's a rural area with few people."

Chen Hui nodded: "The government handled this matter very well. I'll treat them to a meal sometime."

Xiao Wei said, "But for someone like Teacher Wang, moving anywhere is inconvenient. It must be at least ten kilometers away from here, right? How will she get to work?"

The homeowner said, "There are plenty of people who commute across half the city in Beijing. These days, housing is the most important thing. Jobs can be taken care of later."

Engineer Wang said, "Dabeiyao is closer."

The homeowner shook his head and said, "If I had to choose, it would be Zhongguan Village. I was immediately interested when you mentioned it. We have to work hard to earn money, and there are more opportunities here. Why would I go to Dabeiyao and starve?"

Chen Hui said, "Wouldn't it be easier to do business near the train station by Lotus Pond?"

The homeowner shook his head again: "The train station is too chaotic. We ordinary people wouldn't dare to mess around in that place; it's a dangerous place."

Chen Hui said, "That's true. No matter which station you go to, it's always the most chaotic and difficult to get by. But you're a local, what are you afraid of?"

The landlord said, "I'm not afraid anywhere else, but not at the train station. That place is all about fists. Gentlemen, shall we go inside and take a look? Teacher Wang is in a hurry to leave."

Xiao Wei said, "Look, they've all come in. But, how should I put it, you've changed this yard so much that it's unrecognizable. If we take it, we'll just have to tear it all down. What a pity."

(End of this chapter)