Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 541 Packing Books
The gate of No. 95 Courtyard was wide open, and the doors to the front yard were locked, so there were not many people there. After passing through the Lotus Gate, I heard a lot of noise coming from He Daqing's room.

Yan Jiekuang lifted the curtain and pushed the door open. There was a large round table in the middle. Everyone at the table looked towards the door at the same time. Yan Jiekuang heard He Yuzhu's voice, "Hey, the third brother is here. I just asked Uncle Yan where you were."

Yan Jiekuang looked at the people at the table and said with a smile, "It's really lively today. I heard that Uncle Xu was treating us, so I came over right away."

Xu Wood said, "Haha, yes, yes, it's my treat. Hurry up and get to the table. Zhuzi, go get another set of bowls and chopsticks."

He Yuzhu was on the windowsill at the door. He took the key and walked out of the room and went straight to the front yard. Yan Jiekuang sat next to He Yuzhu.

Yi Zhonghai said, "It was said that your uncle Xu was treating us, so the wine and dishes were all contributed by everyone."

Xu Wood said, "Don't worry about it. We are old friends. It doesn't matter who invites you. Why are you talking so much? Come on, have a drink."

Liu Haizhong said, "That won't do. Lao Yi and I took the lion's share. The wine was taken by me, the meat and fish were taken by Lao Yi, the dishes were cooked by Lao He's son, and the vegetables were taken by Lao Yan. You only took some peanuts. How can you say you treated us?"

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, he burst into laughter and said, "Uncle Xu, with all the dishes on the table, just take a plate of peanuts."

Xu Wood glared and said, "Who said that? I still have the reputation of apologizing. Can this loss be measured by money?"

He Daqing curled his lips and said, "That's all you are good for. You have no money, no things, and you want to drink for free."

At this time, He Yuzhu came back from outside, put the bowl and chopsticks in front of Yan Jiekuang, and said, "Third brother, come and have a drink with your brother. It's been a long time since I drank with you. When I asked you what you were busy with, your father didn't tell me."

Yan Jiekuang looked up at Xu Wude and said, "Why am I busy? I was cheated by Xu Damao again. I have been busy settling accounts with him these past two days."

Xu Wood was a little embarrassed and said, "Da Mao is Damao, and I am me. He cheated you, but your Uncle Xu didn't. Come on, Third Brother, have a drink."

Yan Jiekuang didn't act pretentiously. He gave him face, clinked glasses with him, took a sip, and then quickly ate some dishes.

He Yuzhu kept nagging beside him, asking Yan Jiekuang to tell him how Xu Damao had cheated him. Yan Jiekuang looked up at his father, and Yan Bugui said, "I didn't tell them. Your Uncle Xu wouldn't let me, saying it was shameful."

Yan Jiekuang sighed and told the story about his house. He knew why his father didn't tell him. It was because he didn't want too many people to know that he had so many yards.

He Yuzhu was shocked after hearing this and asked, "No, Lao San, why did you buy so many yards?"

Yan Jiekuang looked at He Yuzhu as if he were a fool. He Daqing slapped He Yuzhu and said, "Are you stupid? Didn't you buy so many courtyards just to wait for appreciation? Do you know how much a courtyard costs now? A two-yard house costs hundreds of thousands, and you still can't find a house. Why do you seem to be living in the past?"

He Yuzhu was stunned and asked, "Really? Then my yard has appreciated by more than ten times?"

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "This courtyard where these gentlemen live can be bought for at least one million yuan. I estimate that its value will increase in the future."

He Yuzhu was silent, took a sip from the wine glass, and said slowly: "If I had known earlier, I would have bought a few more yards and waited for the appreciation to become a millionaire."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "It's not too late for you to buy now. To tell you the truth, look at our city, there are buildings everywhere, high-rise buildings, big shopping malls, and big department stores. What does this mean?"

He Yuzhu asked, "What does it mean?" The old men stopped drinking and stared at Yan Jiekuang.

Yan Jiekuang took a sip of the tea he brought and said, "This means that these courtyard houses are becoming less and less. When there are not many left, you won't be able to buy one if you want to. You've heard of the saying 'rare goods are worth hoarding', right? As housing prices slowly rise in the future, these courtyard houses will be priced sky-high. After all, they are typical buildings of the old city and ancient buildings." He Yuzhu's eyes lit up after hearing this. The old men didn't say anything, but thought silently.

After a while, He Yuzhu turned around and asked, "Dad, do you think I should invest in a few more houses?"

He Daqing nodded and said, "This is a sure-win business, you can do it."

Then the old brothers started talking about the Siheyuan, enumerating the advantages of the Siheyuan. As they talked, everyone agreed with Yan Jiekuang's words that this business was indeed a good deal.

After finishing the drink, Yan Bugui and his son walked towards the west wing. On the way, Yan Bugui said, "Old Third, why are you telling them this? We can just do this good business ourselves, why tell them?"

Yan Jiekuang chuckled and said, "Don't we have enough houses? Besides, even if I told them, they would be lucky if they could buy one or two courtyards. There are very few courtyards now. Didn't you see the notice board outside Xu Damao? Most of them are nearby buildings. There are fewer and fewer information about courtyard houses for rent."

Yan Bugui asked: "Why is this? I also discovered it."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Why else? Your son is not the only one who understands this. There are many people who make this kind of investment."

Yan Bugui then understood that there were very few siheyuan houses left. Unless there was a major accident, they would probably be completely gone from the market in two years.

After returning to the yard, Yan Jiekuang did not delay any longer. After taking care of his daughter who had already woken up, he took the three children home. He had to go to bed early today as he had to move books tomorrow.

The next day, after breakfast, Yan Jiekuang took Xiaohai, Xixi, Liangzi, Fangfang and Nannan out. He went to his mother's place first and left Nannan and Xiaojin with her. He originally didn't want Fangfang to go, but Fangfang insisted on going.

The group headed for the coffee shop in Houhai. Yan Jiekuang bought thirty boxes, several bundles of nylon ropes and scissors at a scrap collection station. Then they arrived at the coffee shop. It was the first time for the children there, so they started shopping as soon as they came in.

Xixi asked: "Dad, why didn't I know that we have a coffee shop?"

Yan Jiekuang turned on the light and said, "I wanted to do it earlier, but later let someone else do it. But the books upstairs and downstairs are all ours, especially the books upstairs, which are all worth collecting. I asked you to come here to sort and pack them. I don't feel comfortable letting others pack them."

After hearing what Yan Jiekuang said, Xiaohai ran upstairs, and Xixi followed him upstairs.

Yan Jiekuang didn't pay any attention to them and started cleaning up from the first floor. Fangfang went to look at the fish. Yan Jiekuang knew that this girl came here just to play.

Following Yan Jiekuang and helping to load the boxes, Xiaohai and Xixi came running down and asked, "Dad, where do we start?"

Yan Jiekuang pointed to the other side and said, "You guys should start from that side. You can classify them into categories. You should start from history. I will start from world classics here. If you want to see world classics over there, please send them to me."

The two children agreed and started to work on the other side.

Yan Jiekuang was busy all day with four children, or to be more precise, three children. Fangfang did nothing but play with fish and make trouble. Later, Yan Jiekuang had no choice but to ask her to water the flowers at the door. Fangfang jumped up and down to do it, as she liked doing this job.

At noon, Yan Jiekuang went outside and bought a few packets of instant noodles and sausages, which he regarded as his lunch. He just ate a bite and of course bought some drinks as well.

It was almost evening when all the books were packed. Yan Jiekuang carefully wrote the types of books in each box with a pen. Then he took the children home and waited to hire someone to move the books home the next day.

(End of this chapter)