Having acquired half of the courtyard, Wei Aiguo went to find the owner of the other half.
The neighborhood committee knew exactly how much the houses were sold for; everyone knew that half of the public property in this courtyard was sold for 3,500 yuan. That price was indeed very cheap!
The owner of the other half of the courtyard found it difficult to insist on selling for 4,500 yuan, since he only had one main house. The final price was 4,000 yuan.
Song Yan thought the price was perfect, so he let Wei Aiguo buy it.
In the end, they bought half of the courtyard, but everyone knows that half of the courtyard only sold for 2,400 yuan.
Many people sighed this time, saying it was so cheap! But even though it was cheap, they didn't have that much money.
This was agreed upon between Wei Aiguo and the landlord; the rest of the money would be given discreetly, and only 2,400 yuan was officially paid.
As long as the homeowner gets the money, he doesn't care whether it's done openly or covertly.
Song Yan understood Wei Aiguo's caution. After all, he didn't know how things would develop.
He was unsure of future developments and worried that if the amount of money was too large, it would be difficult to explain where the money came from.
After the house was transferred to Song Yan's name, Wei Aiguo secretly delivered four pieces of wood ear fungus and two catties of mushrooms to Aunt Ji.
Aunt Ji genuinely wanted to do something for the families of soldiers and refused to accept the gifts. Wei Aiguo repeatedly explained that they were all gathered from the mountains and mailed from their hometown. Only then did the old woman accept them.
When it was time for a day off, Song Yan first gave Shen Ruomei five hundred yuan and asked her to give it to Shen Changchuan.
Shen Ruomei initially refused to accept the money no matter what she said.
Song Yan: "I won't take this money. If you won't help, I can deliver it myself."
Shen Ruomei: "But it's only right that you spend this money."
After Shen Ruomei saw Wei Aiguo in the cafeteria that day, she never mentioned anything related to Wei Aiguo's background again. This was the first time she had subtly brought it up.
Song Yan could tell that Shen Ruomei was being rather cautious in her care. Song Yan also didn't want to bring it up.
She vaguely suspected that Shen Changchuan's divorce might be related to him finding his son.
Will Shen Ruomei harbor resentment because of this?
Half-siblings, it's all so confusing...
If these factors weren't involved, they would be classmates and get along much more comfortably.
Song Yan: "We will always be classmates, no matter what. We don't need to mix anything else in, and we can have a lifelong friendship."
"If we mix too much stuff, we'll actually get more tired, don't you think?"
Shen Ruomei thought for a moment, then nodded and silently accepted the money. She knew these were her brother and sister-in-law anyway. What happened next was entirely up to her father.
…
When Song Yan left the school gate, Wei Aiguo was waiting for him.
Song Yan was quite happy to find someone waiting for him when he left the school gate.
Song Yan's nose has become extremely sensitive. When he smells a strange odor, although it doesn't make him vomit, it's still quite bothersome.
So I avoid taking the bus if I can avoid it.
Wei Aiguo accompanied Song Yan as they strolled towards their rented apartment. They would take the bus if they got tired, and walk if they weren't.
Song Yan is willing to take walks; moderate exercise is beneficial for pregnant women.
Song Yan would glance at anyone holding a child, but aside from asking about Yueyue's condition on the first day he met Wei Aiguo, he never asked again.
Wei Aiguo knew that Song Yan missed Yueyue.
Wei Aiguo: "I ran into Aunt Ji, and she asked me if I was planning to renovate the house. She said she knew some old craftsmen who were very meticulous in their work. If I wanted to repair the house, she could introduce me to someone."
I agreed.
Song Yan also felt the house should be repaired before moving in. "Okay, you decide!"
There aren't even any beds, let alone tables, chairs, or benches.
Wei Aiguo: "Okay! I'll take care of these things when I have time. Once the house is ready, I can bring Yueyue and the others over."
Song Yan: "Do you have time?"
"Yes! Yesterday, Officer Han came to me and brought me a notice. I will be attending the Army Commander Special Training Course starting in September."
During the months without classes, I was assigned to special forces training, specifically under General Shen's unit.
"Once you're in the army, it's not like school where you have holidays. So you won't have any time?" Song Yan said, then remembered something else. Even if Song Yan didn't understand military organization, he knew that Wei Aiguo was from the Zhejiang Provincial Military Region; he shouldn't be in General Shen's unit! "How did you end up in General Shen's unit?"
"There are many things I can't explain clearly, let's just take it one step at a time." Wei Aiguo knew it was definitely Shen Changchuan's arrangement. However, he didn't object, as the troops in Kyoto would be closer to Song Yan.
This also suggests that Shen Changchuan is probably quite certain that he is his son.
So what if he's his son? He hasn't raised me all these years.
Wei Aiguo didn't hold any resentment about this, but at the same time, there was no kinship between them.
The fact that Song Yan was assigned the mission was a thorn in his side.
Song Yan got into university, but Wei Aiguo had to stay in the deep mountains. Wei Aiguo thought he would lose Song Yan.
When Song Yan mentioned divorce, Wei Aiguo felt as if his heart was being torn apart. At that moment, he couldn't think straight and didn't realize she was just saying it in anger.
He thought that day was the last time he would ever have her in this lifetime…
Making the decision was painful, but he knew that Song Yan would be living a good life in a place where he couldn't see him.
This mission, however, required Song Yan to risk his life.
Wei Aiguo was furious. If it weren't for Han's statement that Song Yan was safe and sound, Wei Aiguo would have known rationally that he wouldn't dare to lie.
Otherwise, Wei Aiguo wouldn't even know what he was going to do.
Wei Aiguo doesn't want to see Secretary Fang and Shen Changchuan anymore.
"Leave the house repairs to me!" Song Yan said. If Wei Aiguo were to start training, would he be able to just leave whenever he wanted?
"It's alright, I'm not going to the army until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll go see Master Ji and his two sons, whom Aunt Ji introduced to me."
They also mentioned Aunt Ji's cousins.
The eldest son took over his father's job at the stone carving factory. The third son was among the first batch of educated youth sent to the countryside, but he returned due to illness and had no proper livelihood.
So the father and his two sons wanted to do some work to earn some money to supplement their family income.
Aunt Ji said that they had all learned their skills since childhood, and their prices wouldn't be expensive. She assured Wei Aiguo that he wouldn't be taken advantage of.
His family has a long history of building houses for the palace; they are quite skilled.
The old man and his uncle did the house repairs. The third son loved carpentry since he was a child, so his father found him a master carpenter. I heard he's quite good at it and his carpentry skills are decent.
I'm thinking of having him make some furniture for us.
To be honest, Song Yan hadn't intended to collect those old furniture pieces. But now the opportunity was perfect. "Actually, furniture doesn't matter whether it's new or old, as long as it's practical."
"Could we go to a scrap yard and see if we can buy something suitable? It'd be cheaper than buying a new one!"
Wei Aiguo nodded, but he felt that what Song Yan had just said wasn't the real reason at all. Her eyes were sparkling, and coupled with her expression, she clearly looked like she had gotten a good deal.
Actually, it doesn't matter whether it's true or not, as long as my wife likes it.
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