"Brother Li, don't rush off, let's discuss this some more."

"That's right, Brother Li, the price is negotiable."

Li Chu's sudden departure completely threw Guo Xiangyang and his wife into a panic.

"It's not that I don't want to discuss it with you. I know you're in a hurry for money, but we can't ask for an outrageous price, right? Everything has a price."

"Three hundred dollars for this yard, that's US dollars! If you exchange it on the black market, it's worth three to three thousand six hundred RMB. To put it bluntly, Xiangyang, how long will it take you and your wife to earn that much money?"

"Brother Li, including these, it's a total of six hundred. This is my final offer. If it's lower than this, I won't sell." Guo Xiangyang said this through gritted teeth, showing that this was basically his bottom line.

But Li Chu patted Chen He on the shoulder, turned around and walked out of the house.

As soon as the two stepped across the threshold, Guo Xiangyang, who was inside the house, said in a hoarse voice, "Five hundred, minimum five hundred. If you still don't agree, then it's goodbye."

lingdian.

Li Chu, with his back to them, curled the corners of his mouth slightly.

He was now quite certain that the couple did not recognize any of the items on the ground.

Although Chen He only glanced at the plate he picked up earlier, he was about 80% sure it was an authentic product.

A very rare plain sancai (three-color) porcelain plate.

The reason he was so sure was because his master had taken him to the Forbidden City years ago, and his master had used his connections to give him a thorough explanation.

The one on the ground, although its period is unknown, should at the very least be from the Kangxi era.

Of course, all of this was told to him by his master. This item was no longer fired in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty. As for whether it was imitated during the Republic of China period, his master said he had never seen or heard of it.

Calling this a national treasure is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is extremely rare in later generations.

Thinking of this, Li Chu turned around and asked, "Five hundred? Are you sure?"

"Confirmed, five hundred."

"Deal made. Let's go transfer the ownership now."

Decisive and efficient, without any hesitation or delay.

An hour later, two more certificates appeared in Li Chu's shoulder bag.

I casually bought a few locks from a shop next to the neighborhood office and, after separating from Guo Xiangyang and his wife, I changed all the locks on the houses in the Shichahai area.

Then Chen He rode his bicycle with him, and they arrived at Qianmen Street, panting and struggling.

"Brother Li, when Guo Xiangyang quoted 600 just now, you were actually prepared to take it, weren't you?"

"That's right, we're definitely going to go. We're just trying to see if there's any room to descend further."

"Aren't you worried he won't sell it?"

"Why should I worry? They're the ones who need the money urgently, not me who's in a hurry to buy a house. If he hadn't kept making offers, I would have just left."

You're absolutely right!

Chen He, who was riding a bicycle in front, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

What are you going to do with the houses in Shichahai?

"Just leave it there! There are only a few of us in our family, we can't all live separately, can we?"

...

So you know your family is small? Then why did you buy so many houses? Chen He kept quiet and just kept pedaling his bicycle.

I didn't stay long at the shops on Qianmen Street. I just wandered around and looked around. Because they had been in use for a while, they looked a bit dirty, but they could be used after some cleaning. They weren't the kind of shops that were completely broken down.

The worst thing about this house is that it's left uninhabited and empty. Without people around, the house will deteriorate very quickly.

After changing the lock on the gate, Li Chu didn't let Chen He see him off anymore, and the two of them went back to their respective workplaces from there.

In Ding Qiunan's office, she watched her husband enter, covered in sweat, and gulp down water from her teacup. She stood up, walked to the washbasin stand by the door, wet her towel with cool water from the basin, and wiped the sweat from his head.

"Oh my goodness, this morning has exhausted me."

After finishing a large bowl of cooled boiled water, Li Chu let out a satisfied burp and sat down in a chair.

"It's just a property transfer, what's so tiring about it?"

"Hehe!" Li Chu chuckled mysteriously, ignoring his wife's words, and took out a few sheets of cardboard from his bag and placed them on his desk.

"Are these the land certificate and the property certificate? Why are there so many?" Ding Qiunan asked, somewhat puzzled as she took them in her hands.

"Didn't you say it was the shop on Qianmen Street? How come you also have a courtyard in Shichahai?"

"That's why we're so tired." Li Chu pointed to the certificate in his wife's hand: "The courtyard in Shichahai also belongs to this person. The money from selling that shop wasn't enough, so they sold this courtyard to us as well."

How much does this courtyard cost?

"five hundred!"

"What? So expensive?" Ding Qiunan's voice rose considerably as she looked at her husband's outstretched right hand.

Five hundred, of course, is US dollars, which is about five to six thousand RMB.

The house they live in now is actually a three-courtyard house, though it's said to have two courtyards. It only cost a few dollars when they bought it.

“It’s not just this courtyard.” He gestured with his outstretched right hand.

"What else?"

"There are also antiques scattered all over the place."

"Tch, that thing is worth very little. Give me the money, and I'll find a cart to take it to the trust store for you."

Look at what you're saying.

"Oh dear, honey, this thing doesn't look very valuable now, but it's like gold in troubled times and antiques in prosperous times. It will become more and more valuable over time."

"Even if it's valuable, how much is it worth? And as you said, we have to wait slowly. What I've spent so much money is real money."

"That extra money we spent could have fed our family of five, including our seven dogs, for how long?"

This whole family are carnivores; they can't live without meat at every meal, including the dogs.

Fortunately, their house is a detached house with its own courtyard. If they had lived in a large courtyard, they would have been the subject of much gossip and rumors.

"Don't worry, honey. In just a few years, you'll see exactly how antiques have increased in price."

"Hmph~ I think you don't know the value of firewood and rice because you're not in charge of the household. How can you cause so much trouble like this?"

You told me before that you wouldn't buy any more houses, but now look what you've done! Not only have you bought another house, but you've also started buying all that junk. Are you planning to collect junk from now on?

"No, no, it was just a casual purchase this time. When have you ever seen me buy that kind of thing in all this time? I promise I won't buy it again."

Rolling her eyes at her husband, Ding Qiunan held out her hand and said, "Do you have any money left? Hand it all over. You can't have any money on you, or you'll be burning it out."