Siheyuan: Survival Guide for Courtyard No. 95

Finally I went to Tong Ren Tang. I remembered it when I saw the pharmacy. I have to buy ginseng seeds (I don’t know whether Tong Ren Tang sells them. There is no information available from the 50s, so just assume they do sell them). I would be sorry to the readers if I didn’t buy them.

I have almost finished buying things and it is getting dark. I ride my bike back to the courtyard. I have finished the radish skins with soy sauce, so I can change my taste for the evening.

By the time they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, it was completely dark. Zhao Shanhe was about to push the cart into the courtyard when he saw a man coming out from the Guangliang gate. When he saw him, he said.

"Xiao Zhao, why did you come back at this time? I have been waiting for you for a long time."

The sudden sound frightened Zhao Shanhe so much that he couldn't even hold on to his bicycle. Fortunately, he threw all the things he bought into the small world, otherwise they would have been scattered all over the floor. Other things would be fine, but if the pickles fell on the floor, they would be inedible.

Taking a closer look in the dim light at the gate, I realized it was Uncle Zheng from the front yard.

"Uncle Zheng, it's late at night, it's scary, it's scary to death."

Zheng Heping probably didn't expect to scare Zhao Shanhe like this, so he hurriedly explained.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Zhao. I was just a little anxious waiting for you. Is the car okay?"

"It's okay. This car is durable and it's already made all the noises that shouldn't be made. Uncle Zheng, what do you want to see me about this late at night? Do you have to wait for me at the door?"

Zheng Heping looked around. Although there was no one around, he felt that this was not the place to talk.

"I have something to talk to you about. Let's go to your house to talk. It would be bad if someone saw us at the gate."

Zhao Shanhe didn't think much about it and pushed the cart directly to the backyard. Maybe it was because he was lucky, or maybe it was because it was cold and no one wanted to come out. The two of them walked all the way to the door of Zhao Shanhe's house and didn't meet anyone.

He went into the house, turned on the lights and lit the stove. After the stove was lit, Zhao Shanhe asked Zheng Heping.

"Uncle Zheng, can we talk about something now?"

This guy was really patient. He watched Zhao Shanhe light the stove for more than ten minutes without saying a word. He only responded when the other party asked him a question.

"Xiao Zhao, do you want to buy a house?"

"Ah? House? What house? Uncle Zheng, are you planning to sell the house?"

These words surprised Zhao Shanhe a little. The housing supply in Beijing has been very tight since 55. Many people dream of getting a house, because owning a house means having a household registration, and only with a household registration can one eat commercial grain.

"Xiao Zhao, don't get excited yet. Listen to me. The valve factory where I work recently acquired a lot of yards in Haidian. I have the opportunity to get two rooms, but I must have no property to be able to get a room, so I plan to sell the house I live in now.

I thought about everyone in this yard. Old Yan in the front yard will definitely not buy it. If he had that much money, he would not have let Yan Jiecheng do odd jobs all the time.

Yi Zhonghai in the central courtyard has no children, so two rooms are enough for the couple. As for Sha Zhu's family, they already have a main room and an ear room, so they and their brothers and sisters will not lack a place to live. Although the Jia family only has one room, you know the relationship between my family and theirs. I would rather let the house rot in my hands than sell it to them.

After much thought, only Liu Haizhong, Xu Wude and you can buy a house. Liu Haizhong can buy one because Liu Guangqi will graduate from secondary technical school next year, and his family will not have enough space when he gets married.

The same goes for Xu Wude. His two rooms will definitely take some time to buy after Xu Damao gets married, but these are not considered urgent needs. Only you live in the back room, and you have your father's pension, so I'm going to ask you first, do you want to buy a house?"

Zhao Shanhe was stunned by this huge pie. When asked if he wanted to buy a house, only a fool would say no.

Although there was a small window in the back room facing the street, when the sun came out, it was still blocked by the deaf old lady's backyard and not a single ray of sunlight could be seen.

However, the houses in this yard are not so easy to buy. A bunch of beasts are just waiting for someone to move out so that they can apply for housing from the street. How could they easily let me move from the back house to the front yard?

"Uncle Zheng, you seem to have forgotten that there are also Peng Yimin's family in the front yard, Wang Dawei's family in the middle yard, and Li Wenxi's family in the back yard. These three families also live in one room. Have you ever asked them if they need to buy a house?"

"Xiao Zhao, you have lived in this courtyard for so many years, don't you know what kind of people these families are?

Peng Yimin, as Old Yan's neighbor, has the same temper as the third uncle. He is definitely more active than anyone else when he can take advantage. Wang Dawei is Yi Zhonghai's lackey. He bites whoever Yi Zhonghai tells him to bite. As for Li Wenxi, although he also works in the steel mill, do you think his family has any contact with the people in the yard? They treat everyone they see as a stranger. I guess they will have to move away sooner or later.

If I tell them that I want to sell the house, they will probably sell me out, and I might end up losing my job and going to jail instead of getting money.”

Zhao Shanhe couldn't help but rub his teeth when he heard this. What Zheng Heping said was absolutely right. There were no good people in this yard. Even he was only thinking about himself.

But he thought of another question and couldn't help but ask it.

"Uncle Zheng, it seems that private property sales are not allowed now, right? Even if I want to buy your house, I need the approval of the street office, right?"

Zheng Heping should have guessed that Zhao Shanhe would ask this question, so he took out two pieces of paper from his pocket and handed them over.

"The two west wing rooms I live in were bought when I first moved here. It was still the military control period at that time, and houses could be bought and sold freely. These two documents, one is the house deed and the other is the land deed. You can take a look. Both have the official seal of the Military Control Commission.

If you really want to buy these two houses, we can find a way. Although house sales are not allowed now, mortgages are not prohibited. I can write a note saying that I owe you money and I can use the houses to pay off the debt. In this way, the two houses will be in your name, and no one can complain. "

Zhao Shanhe understood what he said, and thought that Uncle Zheng was really well prepared to come up with such a reason. However, he was still a little hesitant. Even if the house was in his name, Jia Zhang and Yi Zhonghai were not easy to deal with, and he was afraid that there would be more trouble afterwards.

Zheng Heping saw that although Zhao Shanhe was somewhat interested, he was still very hesitant. He also understood that everyone in the courtyard was afraid that the Jia family and the eldest master would be unreasonable, so he added fuel to the fire.

"Xiao Zhao, if you want to buy my two houses, I can charge you only 350 yuan. If you don't know how much cheaper this price is than other places, you can go out and ask. To be honest, if this yard is not too far from where I work, I really don't want to move."