Aunt Qiao pointed ahead and said, "Do you see that big yard in front? That's the house they're selling. An elderly couple lived there. Before liberation, their parents were capitalists who went abroad and left the property rights of the house to them. After liberation, they were sent to a farm for labor reform because of this incident. Not long ago, when they returned from the farm, the government returned this big yard to them."
"Now that the two of them are in poor health, they want to sell their house and move to Hai City to live with their son's family. However, her house is a quadrangle courtyard, and the asking price is too high. Many people come to see the house, but no one dares to buy it."
After hearing her story, Wang Xiaolan felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. She secretly thought that she would definitely buy a few more courtyard houses in the future.
In the 21st century, it was said that many famous celebrities had spared no expense to purchase quaint and unique courtyard houses like this one! Now, this rare and excellent opportunity had arrived before her. How could she let it go? Wouldn't that be a waste of talent? So, no matter what, she was determined to seize this opportunity and not let it slip away.
Mrs. Qiao kept talking, and when she saw Wang Xiaolan remained silent, she thought she didn't want to buy the house. Naturally, she gave Wang Xiaolan a way out and said, "Girl, I see you are so young, and I don't think your parents are well off. Just like us, we have worked for so long but still can't save enough money to buy a house. Let's not go and look at it!"
Wang Xiaolan quickly lied, "Grandma Qiao, please don't. I'm telling you the truth! My parents don't have much money, but my grandparents are in a similar situation as you described. They told me not to buy it, so money shouldn't be a problem."
When Aunt Qiao heard her say this, she felt relieved, because the last few times she took people to see the house, she had no news after that, which made her embarrassed to go see Old Mrs. Qian.
Wang Xiaolan took out a handful of White Rabbit candies from her pocket and put them into Old Lady Qiao's hand, saying, "Auntie Qiao, you've been with me for so long. Thank you for your hard work. Keep these for yourself! I'll give you some money when this is done."
When Mrs. Qiao saw so many candies in her hand, she felt embarrassed and said, "Miss, how can you give me so many candies? I only want one." Then she returned the candies in her hand.
Wang Xiaolan refused, "Grandma Qiao, this is my gift to you. How can I take it back? If you can't eat it, you can give it to your grandchildren!"
Aunt Qiao said embarrassedly, "You are such a sensible girl, I will accept it." Then, she took Wang Xiaolan's hand and said, "Let's go quickly. Granny should still be home at this time. If it's any later, she might go to the hospital to see her old man."
"Okay, Aunt Qiao."
Before long, the two of them arrived at their destination—an antique courtyard house. This courtyard house looked quite old, as if it carried the vicissitudes of time and the weight of history.
From the outside, it's clear that many sections of the courtyard wall have become damaged due to a long period of lack of repair and maintenance. In these broken areas, bricks are exposed, and some are even crumbling, giving the impression of precariousness. The once exquisite carvings on the wall have also become blurred by wind and rain, losing their former splendor.
The inscription on the plaque above the gate was still legible, but the color had long since faded, appearing somewhat dull. The stone lions on either side of the gate still stood majestically, though their bodies were now covered in mottled marks, as if telling of its former glory and present desolation.
Aunt Qiao said, "Look at this. It's so magnificent. Ordinary people can't afford it."
Wang Xiaolan took a look and agreed, "Auntie, you're right. It's quite impressive, but it'll cost a lot of money to repair."
Aunt Qiao said, "Buy it first. It won't be too late to repair it later when you have money."
Wang Xiaolan said, "Auntie, you are right."
Old Mrs. Qiao stood in front of the vermilion door. She raised her hand and gently knocked on the heavy copper ring on the door.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
The crisp and rhythmic knocks on the door echoed in the silent air. However, as time passed, there was still no response from inside the house.
Mrs. Qiao couldn't help but frown, wondering to herself: Is no one home? Just as she was about to knock on the door again, a slight noise suddenly came from inside. Then, with a creak, the door, which had been closed for a long time, slowly opened a narrow gap.
Through the gap, Aunt Qiao finally saw the person behind the door—a woman in her seventies standing there. She was wearing a dark blue gown embroidered with delicate patterns. Her hair was gray but neatly combed. Her face was covered with wrinkles, especially around her eyes and forehead, which were as deep as ravines.
However, when the old man saw Aunt Qiao standing outside the door, his originally serious face instantly blossomed into a faint smile. This smile was like the spring sunshine, warm and gentle, and immediately dispelled some of Aunt Qiao's anxiety.
Aunt Qiao, although unhappy, had a smile on her face and said, "Sister-in-law, I've been knocking on the door for so long, and you're just opening it yourself?"
Old Mrs. Qian looked a little embarrassed, and she stammered, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I just went to the backyard to do some work, and my leg problem came back and it hurt so much that I couldn't come over to open the door for you in time. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting here!"
As she spoke, Old Mrs. Qian quickly reached out and pulled the slightly old door hard.
With a creaking sound, all the doors opened.
She continued apologetically, "Sister, thank you for your hard work, bringing people to view this house again and again. I'm so sorry to have to trouble you to run back and forth every time."
Mrs. Qiao smiled and waved her hand, saying kindly, "Oh, look at what you said. It's not that troublesome. I like to take charge of things. Not only can I help you, but I can also help others. This is a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!"
"I just wasted a little time talking, and I didn't lose anything. Don't take it to heart. We've known each other for many years. When my family was in financial difficulty, you often helped me. I remember your kindness!"
As she spoke, she pulled Wang Xiaolan over and introduced her, "Old Qian, this girl came to Kyoto from another place and wants to buy a house here."
Granny Qian looked Wang Xiaolan up and down with a slightly suspicious look, thinking to herself, "This girl is so young, how could she possibly have enough money to buy such an expensive house?"
Thinking of this, Granny Qian couldn't help but shake her head. She really didn't have much hope for the success of this deal. But she didn't want to offend Aunt Qiao.
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