"Brother Xiao, how much are you planning to sell this house for?" Sheng Xiping had looked at the house and liked it, so he asked about the price.

"Comrade Sheng, to be honest with you, if someone else came to buy this house, I would definitely ask for 1,500 yuan."

"Look at this brick house, it's quite new, and the yard is big too. There's plenty of space at both the east and west ends of the house," Xiao Qingyun said with a smile, pointing outside.

"Of course, now that you're here, you can't possibly ask for so much."

"1200. If you think it's suitable, we'll settle on it. If you think it's too expensive, then you can go and look at other places, okay?"

Three brick houses, if this were in a forest farm, would only cost five hundred yuan.

But this is in Songjianghe, which is considered a relatively prosperous area near No. 1 Middle School. It's a brick and tile house, and the place is spacious.

Sheng Xiping just checked it out. The east-west span of this courtyard is enough to build seven or eight houses, and the front yard is also quite spacious.

The only downside is that it doesn't have a vegetable garden.

That's normal. Songjianghe was originally a residential area for forestry bureau employees. It was densely populated, and most of the houses were public housing. Unless it was one of the more remote, peripheral areas, there was no way there would be a vegetable garden.

That's considered good; the place is big and you have your own toilet. In some densely populated public housing areas, the place is small and there isn't even a toilet; you have to go to a public toilet.

"Okay, I think Brother Xiao is a straightforward person, so 1200 it is."

I don't have enough money with me, so I'll pay a deposit of 500 yuan first, and we'll write a written agreement.

I'll bring the rest of the money later, then we'll get the neighbors to sign the sales deed, and then we'll register it at the housing management department. Is that alright with you?"

Since the other party was straightforward, Sheng Xiping didn't hesitate either. 1,200 was a reasonable price. Since he had his eye on it, he decided to buy it. The sooner he bought it, the more at ease he would feel.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingyun was overjoyed. "Great! Comrade Sheng is so straightforward."

"Okay then, I'll get some paper and pen. Honey, go find Old Li next door and have him be our witness."

He's also in a hurry to buy a house, since a job transfer can't wait.

So, Xiao Qingyun's wife went to find the neighbors, and in front of them, Xiao Qingyun personally wrote a receipt for the house purchase deposit, pressed his fingerprint on it, and handed it to Sheng Xiping.

Sheng Xiping took the receipt, then took out a wad of cash from his bag, counted out five hundred, and handed it to Xiao Qingyun.

"Brother Xiao, you should pack your things in the next couple of days."

"I'll come back on the 9th, which is the day after tomorrow, so we can sign the deed and I'll give you the rest of the money."

Sheng Xiping came down this time with the intention of buying a house, so he brought a lot of money with him. However, he couldn't carry so much cash with him when he went out.

The two days were given so that Xiao Qingyun could quickly tidy up and vacate the house. He would come back in two days to formally write the contract and complete the formalities, and then the house would belong to the Sheng family.

"Okay, okay, I've almost finished packing. I'll get someone to put things away tomorrow, and it should be free by the day after tomorrow." Xiao Qingyun readily agreed.

Sheng Xiping checked the time and figured his two younger sisters should be done checking the exam venue by now, so he put the receipt away, got up, and took his leave.

When he returned to No. 1 Middle School, he saw the Sheng sisters, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei, standing outside the school gate, looking around for someone.

"Fourth brother, fifth brother, over here." Sheng Xiping called out, and the two girls saw him and hurriedly ran over.

"Brother, where have you been? We've been waiting for you for ages since we finished checking the exam venue," Sheng Yunfang asked curiously.

"Oh, I went to take care of something. You've finished checking out the exam venue? Let's go home then. The exam is tomorrow, so get a good rest tonight."

Both girls are science students, so at this point, doing practice problems won't be very useful. It's better to get some rest so you can be full of energy for the exam tomorrow.

During the three days of exams (July, August, and September), Sheng Xiping couldn't offer much help but do his best to provide logistical support so that his two younger sisters could focus entirely on their exams.

On the morning of the 9th, just as the two younger sisters entered the examination hall, Sheng Xiping took the money and went to the Xiao family's house.

With the neighbors as witnesses, the middleman wrote a house sale contract, and both parties put their fingerprints on it. Sheng Xiping gave the other party the remaining seven hundred yuan.

These days, there's no such thing as a property certificate. You just need to take the purchase contract to the relevant department in the bureau to register it, and that's considered completing the transfer of ownership.

When registering the house, the staff recognized Sheng Xiping and asked in surprise, "Comrade Sheng, what brings you to the bureau to buy a house?"

Sheng Xiping immediately realized that he couldn't hide the fact that he bought a house from his father-in-law, and that his father-in-law would find out at any time.

Oh well, let him know if he wants to know. Anyway, we've already bought the house. Even if my father-in-law is unhappy, we can't return the house.

After completing the formalities, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei also came out after finishing their exams.

The three siblings didn't go back to their residence, but instead found a restaurant outside. Sheng Xiping ordered several dishes to treat his two younger sisters.

After finishing their meal, the three of them went back to pack their things, tidied up the house, returned the keys, and hurriedly headed to Sen Tie.

The forest farm's shuttle bus was already waiting. The teacher leading the group counted the number of people one by one, and only after confirming that everyone had arrived did the shuttle bus depart and head back.

On the way, the teachers and students were discussing the exam questions and comparing answers. The teacher even asked Sheng Yunfang and her sister how they did on the exam.

Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei were both in good form during the exam and felt they performed reasonably well. Of course, they couldn't say that in front of so many people, so they just said their answers were average.

Time passed amidst the chatter of the people in the car, and soon the car arrived at the forest farm.

The exams were finally over, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After getting off the bus, they rushed home like birds released from their cages. This time, they were truly free.

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