Literary Master 1978

In the old days, there was a saying that the east of Yanjing was rich, the west was noble, the north was poor, and the south was humble. There were several versions passed down by the common people, but in summary, it was -

Most wealthy merchants lived in the east city, while dignitaries lived in the west city. The north city was generally where ordinary people lived. The people living in the south city were more complicated. In addition to the poor people, there were also many people who traveled around and performed martial arts.

For many Yanjing people, looking at the structure of the courtyard in the alleys, they could know what the previous owner was like.

For officials, the tiles on the roofs of the courtyards were double-layered, while the tiles on the roofs of ordinary people's houses could only be single-layered;

For officials, there were pillars on the doorframes of the gates, which were not allowed in ordinary people's homes;

For officials, there were stone pillars in front of the gates, the round ones were for military officials, and the square ones were for civil officials;

Some courtyards had lions squatting or lying in front of the gates, indicating that the owner was a royal relative. The bigger the lion, the closer the relationship with the royal family.

The doorframes with four pillars were the homes of officials above the fourth rank, and the homes with two pillars were the homes of officials below the fourth rank.

After entering the alley, Lin Erchun kept showing off to Lin Chaoyang the knowledge he had learned from looking at houses in recent days.

Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but look at him with admiration, "Great! Comrade Lin, you have only been in Yanjing for more than half a month, and you are almost catching up with the old Yanjing!"

Lin Erchun looked proud, but said in a low-key manner: "You will understand it naturally after seeing it a lot."

Arriving at the gate of the courtyard, Lin Chaoyang looked at the gate of this house according to what Lin Erchun told him.

There is no lion in front of the gate, not a royal relative. There is no pillar on the door, not an official. There is a stone pier in front of the door, but the size is about the same as a larger brick.

"Please give me some guidance, what kind of family is this?"

"This family is an official but not an official."

"What do you mean?"

"The house of a eunuch!"

"Eunuch?"

Lin Chaoyang couldn't hold back and almost laughed out loud.

Comrade Lin entered Yanjing, and his cultural level was obviously greatly influenced, and he even knew the word "eunuch".

"What's the matter? Do you look down on eunuchs?" Lin Erchun asked.

"That's not the case."

The father and son chatted and knocked on the gate.

The one who opened the door was a young man with a long face and triangular eyes. He was the owner of the house, Li Quanfu.

After saying hello and entering the courtyard, Li Quanfu took Lin Chaoyang and his son to look around the courtyard.

After entering the courtyard, there was a landscape screen wall, and the pattern on it was blurred. There was a north-facing back house on the south side of the first courtyard, which is now idle.

After passing through the hanging flower gate and entering the main courtyard, there were two pomegranate trees standing on the east and west sides of the courtyard, which were bald in this season.

There were three main rooms and three east and west wing rooms in the courtyard. The layout was clear at a glance.

According to Li Quanfu, his great-grandfather's eldest brother worked in the palace in his early years. Because he was related to the eunuch Li Lianying, he became an internal official. Later, he married a wife and adopted his grandfather.

Later, the Qing Dynasty was gone, and his great-grandfather, a eunuch, died a few years later, and the house was passed on to his grandfather.

Because his grandfather and father had a miserable life during the Republic of China, the house was saved in his generation.

"Why did you want to sell it?" Lin Chaoyang couldn't help asking after listening to Li Quanfu's bitter story of the family history.

"Hey! Isn't it because of the unit's housing allocation? I've been married for several years and have children. Logically, the unit should allocate a house.

But the unit said that some colleagues responded that their mother's family has an ancestral house, so they have to follow those colleagues who don't have a house.

It's my fault that my mother's family has a house! Tell me, where can we go to seek justice?

I discussed it with my wife, okay! Let's just sell this ancestral house. Didn't the unit say that they won't be allocated if they have a house?

Now there is no house, let's see what they will do!"

Li Quanfu said this with some anger, but it sounded magical to Lin Chaoyang.

In order to get the house allocated by the unit, the ancestral house in the Siheyuan in Xicheng District of Yanjing was sold?

At first glance, this seems unreasonable. But if you think about it carefully, it seems reasonable given the social conditions and people's ideas in the 1970s and 1980s.

First of all, nowadays, the house itself does not have financial and investment attributes, but only residential attributes.

Whether it is a mud house in the rural areas of Northeast China or a Siheyuan in Yanjing City, the price and value gap itself is not that big.

These days, as long as there is a formal unit, employees can generally get a house to live in, it's just a matter of size.

If Li Quanfu and his wife are both working, then they have completely given up the opportunity to share a house for the two of them. From the perspective of ordinary people, this issue is indeed quite disadvantageous.

When Lin Chaoyang wanted to buy a house, didn't his relatives and friends persuade them from this perspective?

It's just that Lin Chaoyang's perspective on the problem is different from that of most ordinary people today, so he firmly chose to buy a house.

Li Quanfu said at the end, with a sly look on his face. He winked at Lin Chaoyang and said, "Besides, isn't the money from selling our ancestral home a sum of money? If I put it in the bank, the interest I get in a year is higher than my salary."

Li Quanfu said this with a smug look on his face, leaving Lin Chaoyang speechless for a moment.

Since 1972, the five-year deposit interest rate of domestic banks has been above 7%, and it even soared to 9% in the mid-1980s.

From today's perspective, Li Quanfu's choice is a good move.

Even Lin Erchun, who was standing by, was moved by what he said. He was a calculating person, and he was calculating in his mind. He pulled Lin Chaoyang aside.

"Son, what he said makes sense! It's better to deposit the money for buying a house in the bank for five years. In seven or eight years, the money will double. Isn't it better than buying a house?

This money will be deposited in the bank for ten years, and the money for the house will come out."

In another ten years, you can't buy this house even if you double or triple the price, Lin Chaoyang muttered in his heart.

"It just sounds reasonable."

"What do you mean?"

The father and son were talking in a whisper. Li Quanfu seemed to have noticed something and realized that what he said just now might have backfired and discouraged the buyer from buying the house. He regretted it in his heart.

He thought about it and quickly made up for it.

"But it depends on how you look at it. My parents left a few years ago, so there's no need to worry about her parents. The company gave us a small house, which is enough for us to live in.

I heard from Uncle Lin that your hometown is in the Northeast, and the whole family will live together in the future. This house is just right, with many rooms and a large area, so it's enough for us to do whatever we want."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and nodded, "Indeed."

Lin Erchun touched him obscurely, indicating that he should not agree with Li Quanfu, otherwise it would be difficult to bargain when the price is negotiated.

After chatting with Li Quanfu for a while, Lin Chaoyang and his son looked at the courtyard inside and out.

The overall structure of the courtyard is well maintained, but it is impossible to take a closer look. Apart from other things, it may cost a lot to repair it.

This house is almost a hundred years old. When it was passed down to Li Quanfu's grandfather, the family conditions were not good, and there was no money to repair it, so they just lived in it.

If you want to live more comfortably and renovate it, you will have to spend money.

After looking at the house, several people sat in the main room. Li Quanfu asked, "How is it? What do you think?"

Lin Chaoyang said, "The house is not bad."

Lin Erchun frowned, "It looks good at first glance, but if you look closely, there are too many broken places. If you buy it, it will cost a lot of money just to repair it."

Bargaining is a gene engraved in the bones of Chinese people. Li Quanfu naturally knew the purpose of Lin Erchun's words.

"Uncle Lin, you can't look at the problem like this. This house is more than a hundred years old. It is rare to be able to maintain it like this. In a few years, it may be an antique."

Lin Erchun smiled and said, "Then if you keep it, it will probably be a family heirloom."

Li Quanfu was soft-hearted by him and looked at Lin Chaoyang again.

"Brother Lin, our house is not like those big courtyards outside. Since it was built, only this family has lived here.

Do you see the tiles on the roof? They are double-layered. The beams and columns were made of yellow pine wood, which are all good materials.

With the materials used in this house, you can live in it for another hundred years."

After Li Quanfu finished speaking, he saw Lin Chaoyang pondering and was a little uneasy.

Although the volume of private house transactions is now more than before, it is not easy to meet a buyer who sincerely wants to buy a house without an agent or the Internet.

What's more, Li Quanfu also knows that the price of his house is much more expensive than that of ordinary houses, so it is even more difficult to meet a suitable one.

If it is delayed for another year or two, how much interest can this money earn in the bank? He felt distressed just thinking about it.

"If Brother Li is sincere in selling, why not give us a sincere price." After waiting for a long time, Lin Chaoyang finally spoke.

Li Quanfu listened to his words and felt relieved. It was good to be able to negotiate the price.

But at the same time, he was a little embarrassed. Lin Chaoyang asked him to make an offer first, which was disadvantageous to him.

"Brother, you have also seen my house. There are good things inside and outside..."

Before Li Quanfu finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lin Erchun, "Xiao Li, let's talk about practical things."

"Then how much do you say?"

Lin Chaoyang and Lin Erchun looked at each other, opened their lips slightly, and spit out a number: "Four thousand yuan."

"That won't work!"

When Li Quanfu heard the price, he stood up directly, "You can ask around Yanjing, when has the price of a courtyard house with two entrances been this high?"

Lin Chaoyang looked at Li Quanfu's reaction. Did he not curse? Good news!

He said with a friendly face: "Brother Li. No matter how good the materials used were, that's what happened back then. After a hundred years, if this house is not repaired, how many years can we live in it? If your house is new, let alone 4,000 yuan, I can accept 10,000 yuan. You say, this is the truth, right?"

"It's your business if you come in and spend more money. It's okay for our family to live in this house, right?

Four thousand yuan is definitely not enough. I'm in Xicheng, and the houses I just moved in don't cost that much!"

Lin Chaoyang asked: "Then tell me what you think, how much do you think is appropriate?"

Li Quanfu hesitated for a moment and didn't dare to quote more, "Six thousand and eight."

Lin Chaoyang shook his head, "It's too high."

Li Quanfu was still waiting for him to continue bargaining, but he didn't expect Lin Chaoyang to keep silent after saying these two words.

The atmosphere in the room fell into silence.

After a while, Lin Chaoyang pretended to get up, and Li Quanfu's heart jumped.

Without waiting for Lin Chaoyang to speak, he took the initiative to ask: "Then tell me, how much?"

Lin Chaoyang looked at Li Quanfu and said: "You are sincere in selling, and I am sincere in buying. So, 5,500 yuan. If you think it's okay, we will go to the Housing Management Office tomorrow. If not, you can try again, maybe you can meet a buyer who is willing to pay."

Lin Chaoyang's words were like an ultimatum. Li Quanfu hesitated and looked embarrassed.

His psychological price was actually 6,000 yuan, which was also the general price of two-story houses in Xicheng now.

Lin Chaoyang offered 5,500 yuan, which was just the limit he could afford.

This price seemed to be 500 yuan less than his bottom price, but if he missed Lin Chaoyang as a buyer and waited for another year or two, he would not get the money and would not get the bank interest. It was the same inside and outside, so he might as well sell it first.

When Li Quanfu frowned and thought, Lin Erchun secretly observed his expression. After exchanging glances with Lin Chaoyang, he understood.

"Xiao Li, selling a house is a big deal, and there's no need to rush it.

We've already made our final offer, so go back and discuss it with your family. Don't force yourself, maybe we'll find a buyer who offers a higher price than us later.

That's all for today, we'll leave now."

After Lin Erchun said this, the father and son stood up and prepared to say goodbye.