"Buying a house is currently not allowed under the policy. If you want to sell, you have to sell to the national housing management bureau. However, the housing management bureau has limited funds and can't collect enough houses, and the prices they offer are also low."

"So as long as things go smoothly on the surface, no one will make things difficult for us."

Su Qingci couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grandpa, are there really so many people selling houses these days?"

Grandpa Ge got excited when he talked about it, "You have no idea how troublesome it was."

"The policies have been changing in recent years. Many houses that were previously taken away have returned to private hands, but most of them have come back with leases. The tenants in the houses are not moving out; they have permanent residency rights, permanent!"

Grandpa Ge was furious when he talked about this. "We only pay two yuan a month for each room. After we collect the money, we have to be responsible for repairing the rooms. Almost all of that money is spent every year."

"So at this time, landlords are basically divided into three categories. One category is those with many family members who are ruthless and use every means to drive away the tenants so they can live there themselves. There have been quite a few cases of people dying because of this."

"The second type is the ones who just lie there, doing whatever they want, not repairing the house and not collecting rent."

"The third type is those who accept the property directly and sell the house to the housing management bureau, so they don't have to pay property tax."

Property tax?

Grandpa Ge looked up, "You don't know?"

"Two cents per room, payable every three months. Anyone who collects rent has to pay, but those who live there themselves don't have to."

"Oh, I understand."

The group chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at the housing bureau. Just as Grandpa Ge had said, there were his grandson's classmates inside. Grandpa Ge said he was too old to deal with the two tenants inside, so he simply gave the property to his nephew's daughter.

The comrade nodded knowingly and quickly completed the formalities.

Su Qingci held the newly issued house and land deeds, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

They immediately took Grandpa Ge to the post office and withdrew over ten thousand yuan from Song Jingzhou's savings account. They gave the remaining payment for the house to Grandpa Ge, and stuffed the rest into a hiking backpack, which they actually placed at the farm.

Grandpa Ge treasured it like a precious gem, took out an old, worn-out folding booklet with frayed edges from his pocket, and immediately deposited the 1800 back into the bank.

After handing the gate key to Su Qingci, he grinned, grabbed his folded book, and hurried home to tidy up before heading off to find his grandson.

The commission for 1800 is 90 yuan for five points, and Su Qingci immediately handed it over to Pingtourou.

“You’re in charge of clearing the people out of here, and I’ll give you an extra 50 yuan.”

Flathead's eyes lit up. "Okay, I'll go back tonight and arrange for the brothers to kick people out. It'll be free for you in two weeks at most."

"Now?"

Su Qingci pouted, "Let's go see the set in Liuhuai Lane now."

Two bicycles sped through the alley, and after more than half an hour, the group arrived at Liuhuai Alley. They recognized the Suqing Porcelain shop; it was the third shop under Uncle Ada's management, and it wasn't far from their home—just a few minutes' walk away.

The door was open, and the group walked inside. A woman came out to greet them upon hearing the noise.

"You're too late. The house was already sold this morning."

Dachang's face immediately turned ugly. "Sold? So fast? It wasn't sold when I came yesterday afternoon. You're not thinking of backing out, are you?"

"No, no, it really was sold. I heard it was bought by some high-ranking official for over eight hundred yuan. He gave me all the money. It was just renamed from the street office. Would I lie to you? Look, I'm packing things up right now," the woman said, pointing to the packages inside the house for Su Qingci and the others to see.

Su Qingci looked inside. There was a kitchen outside, two rooms and a living room inside. There was no toilet, and the yard was only about 30 square meters, much smaller than the room where her grandmother lived. This location could not be compared with the one at the west end of the street. At more than 800 yuan, the price was considered high. No wonder the homeowner was all smiles.

"Auntie, congratulations! Since you've already sold it, that's fine. Sorry for bothering you."

Su Qingci politely thanked the other person. Although it was in the same alley, she didn't recognize him. He must have only moved into the house in recent years.

Flathead Meat was a little embarrassed. "Well, we didn't expect it to sell out so quickly. We've made you come all this way for nothing."

Su Qingci shook her head. "It's alright. Let's look at another one while it's still early."

Seeing that Su Qingci wasn't angry, Pingtourou and Dachang immediately led the two of them enthusiastically towards Maozi Hutong.

Maozi Hutong was near the guesthouse where Su Qingci and Song Jingzhou stayed.

The house is much older than the one at the west end of the street. It would cost at least several hundred yuan to renovate it. The main problem is that the street office's toilet is right behind the house, and it smells terrible. Just for that reason, Su Qingci didn't like it.

Seeing Su Qingci's expression, Song Jingzhou shook his head, "This place won't do."

"Let's go, next one."

"The next one is in Jiaxi Hutong down there. You should be able to find one you like."

"How so?"

"This place has a good location, right on the street, and the house is well-maintained. There's even a small shop in front. Most importantly, this family is tough. They have four sons, and the tenants have long been driven away by them."

Song Jingzhou asked, puzzled, "Then why do they want to sell it?"

Flat-headed Dried Meat chuckled, "Hehe, there are four sons and four wives in this family. They're not only rude to outsiders, but also to their own family. They have a whole bunch of grandchildren, and living together has turned them into enemies. When people are crowded together, there are always problems. It's either one hitting another or the other cursing. The homeowner hardened his heart and discussed it with his sons. While they still had some affection for each other, they sold the house and divided the money, letting each son find their own place to live, so that they wouldn't really become enemies in the future."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!