Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 350 Return to Anton

After more than eight hours of travel, we had a meal in Meigouying and arrived in Andong at around 6 p.m.

Liu Sui had already booked a room at the Andong Hotel, and she was already waiting for Xiao Wei in the hotel lobby when he arrived.

Xiao Wei parked his car and went into the lobby to thank Liu Sui. He really had to thank her. Although Liu Sui was doing it out of respect for Chen Hui, one should know how to be grateful. He should remember the favors he received. Besides, Chen Hui is Chen Hui; his father's abilities are his own. Xiao Wei knew clearly that he was just a farmer, and in reality, he had nothing and was nothing, even though he now had a Fengtian urban household registration.

"Brother Liu, thank you so much, thank you so much. I won't say anything else, really, if you ever need anything in the future, just let me know, I promise I won't say no." Xiao Wei said, holding Liu Sui's hand.

Liu Sui laughed and said, "Why are you being so polite? I don't know what to say. It's fate that we met. This is all I'm capable of; I can't do anything else important."

Xiao Wei said, "You're too kind to me. If you can't even handle important matters, what's the point of my life?"

Liu Sui laughed and said, "Let's go, put our things inside first, and then we'll have a drink."

The two entered the elevator and arrived at the guest room. There wasn't much there; they simply familiarized themselves with the room and got their room key and card.

When they went downstairs to the restaurant, Liu Sui brought several colleagues from the power industry with her. They were all leaders and cadres who got along well with Liu Sui. They didn't say a word and started drinking.

When Xiao Wei opened his eyes, it was already nine o'clock the next morning. He didn't even know how he got back to his room. He hadn't even taken off his clothes when he got up and felt a splitting headache and his whole body was aching. He stripped naked, took a shower, and changed his clothes, which finally made him feel a little better. He poured himself a cup of hot water and slowly drank it to calm himself down. He shouldn't drink in the first place, but he felt it wouldn't be right not to drink in this situation. He was really suffering.

I was sitting there when there was a knock on the door. I got up and opened it to find Liu Sui walking in cheerfully. She said, "You're up? You really can't drink. Okay, I won't ask you to drink anymore. Are you feeling unwell? Does your head hurt? You'll feel better after a while. You didn't even tell me you couldn't drink. Now look what's going on."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Brother Liu, how can I refuse to drink now? What kind of person would I be?"

Liu Sui patted Xiao Wei on the shoulder and said, "Buddy, you're a good guy, aren't you? If you're okay, let's go to the grain bureau and get things done. The sooner we finish, the better, and I'll have something to take care of too."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'm fine. Let's go. Hurry up and finish with Brother Liu so you can get back to your own business. You've been keeping me busy for days."

The two went downstairs and drove Xiaowei's car straight to the Grain Bureau.

After entering the grain bureau compound and parking the car, Xiao Wei carried the money and went upstairs with Liu Sui to the third floor, to the director's office.

Liu Sui knocked on the door and pushed it open. An old man standing by the table pouring hot water turned his head and saw the doorway. Liu Sui smiled, pushed the door open, and went in, saying, "Director Che, what are you busy with?"

Director Che was a short man, less than 1.7 meters tall, over fifty years old, balding, and chubby. He smiled and said, "Director Liu, I'm just getting by these days. What's the point of the grain department being so busy? Have a seat, want some water?"

Liu Sui turned around and pulled Xiao Wei to the front, saying, "Come on, let me introduce you. This is Boss Zhang. You can call Director Che Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei, this is Director Che, you can call him Uncle Che."

Xiao Wei nodded, smiled, and called out, "Uncle Che."

Director Che glanced at Xiao Wei and nodded, saying, "You want to buy that house on Binjiang Road? That house is quite old. If you set up a restaurant there, you'd have to spend money every year, and it'd be barely surviving. This kind of business is best left to private individuals; the government can't do it."

Xiao Wei said, "The main problem is that Uncle Che and you guys don't have time to manage things. If there's no one to keep an eye on the people below, things won't work."

Director Che smiled and shook his head, saying, "What do you need that house for? To open a restaurant? The location is alright, close to the park, and there's a decent transient population there. It's definitely doable for a private business. Did you bring the money?"

Xiao Wei said, "I brought it." He put the 120,000 yuan in cash he was carrying on the table and said, "Uncle Che, does that building belong to your grain bureau?" It was an old three-story building with several other buildings connected to it. At this time, most of the old bungalows in Andong were still there. They were wide and large, and there weren't many buildings. They were usually located by the river or on the main road. Most of them were built by the Japanese back then.

Director Che shook his head and said, "How could that be? That area has been changed hands many times over the years. There must be three or four units in there now. Our house was only able to stay here because it was used as a restaurant. Otherwise, it would have been occupied by others long ago. Now we are talking about property rights and issuing certificates. Before, whichever unit saw a vacant house could just occupy it and use it without anyone caring."

Xiao Wei asked, "I see several storefronts next to the restaurant, all belonging to companies. What's behind them?"

Director Che scratched his head, grinned, and thought for a moment before saying, "I can't remember. It's been years since I've been to that area. There was a kindergarten behind it, right? I think there was also some small factory belonging to the street administration, and there were also offices from the Materials Bureau and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission nearby. I doubt anyone can say for sure." He went behind his desk, opened a drawer, took out a large red booklet, and threw it on the table, saying, "That's the property certificate for that house. It was renewed back in '77. I've been looking for it for ages."

Xiao Wei reached out and took the property certificate, looking at it. It was for permanent commercial use, and the area listed was 920 square meters. Director Che glanced at the certificate and laughed, saying, "Is it big? 920? Haha, I don't know what they were thinking back then. They just wrote it down randomly. That house would be lucky to be 300 square meters. I've already prepared the letter of introduction. You just need to go to the finance department, pay the money, and sign it."

Xiao Wei asked, "Uncle Che, when I go to transfer the ownership and get a new certificate, do I need to change the area?"

Director Che laughed and said, "Why change it? It can't be changed. This is the foundation. Isn't this good? In the future, it will take up a lot more of your resources."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "That's not bad, haha, what time can we claim it?"

Director Che laughed heartily, pointed at Xiao Wei, and said, "Well, you'll have to wait. Judging from the current situation, you can forget about it for at least ten or twenty years. Just wait patiently."

After paying the money and getting the letter of introduction and old certificate, the two of them drove to the real estate bureau. It's so much easier to get things done if you know someone there. If Xiao Wei had come on his own, he would have run himself ragged. Back in the 90s, there were no service halls. Getting stamps, signatures, and preparing materials would have been an absolute nightmare.

At that time, there was no land bureau or land certificate, only a property certificate, the kind with a fixed format and all handwritten. There were also some ridiculous projects with no funds or maintenance. After finding someone and showing a letter of introduction from the grain bureau, Xiaowei filled out the form, handed back the old certificate, and the staff found a property certificate (back then it was called a property certificate, not a property ownership certificate), copied the data from the old certificate, filled it in with a pen, wrote Xiaowei's name on it, and then stamped the property certificate with a red seal that read "Private and Permanent" with a rubber stamp. The whole process was then complete.

No blueprints, structural measurements, or anything like that—it's all so convenient. Of course, this is only because Xiaowei has enough connections to avoid all the trouble. Otherwise, haha, do you think you can get things done smoothly without spending at least half a year without treating people to meals and favors? Don't even think about it. In the 1990s, China was completely a society based on personal connections and networks; the efficiency of government agencies was truly appalling.

(End of this chapter)