"Forget it, I don't want to be a third wheel. Your partner can tell at a glance that they want to spend time alone with you."
Rong Ruoshi chuckled and gave Ji Xia a push, sending her into Chen Jing's arms. She then waved cheerfully behind her and strode away.
Ji Xia blushed, turned around and chuckled softly, "Actually, it's quite safe for Ruoshi and me to be together. If you have something to do, you don't need to pick me up every noon. You can take care of your own things."
"I have something to discuss with you today."
Chen Jing excitedly whispered to her, "I found a courtyard house in Houhai. It's about 500 or 600 square meters, quite big. I want to take you to see it."
"Really? You found a courtyard house?"
Ji Xia was both surprised and delighted when she heard this, and immediately became interested, pestering Chen Jing to take her to see it.
"Let's go eat first in Houhai, and I'll take you there after class this afternoon."
Chen Jing took her to the private restaurant they had visited that morning, and the two talked about the courtyard house while eating.
Hearing that the courtyard house had suffered considerable damage over the past ten years and had been forcibly demolished, Ji Xia couldn't help but frown.
Siheyuan courtyards are quite valuable for collection, but if they are almost completely destroyed and only the outer shell remains, it's hard to say whether they will be worth anything in the future.
Moreover, she asked hesitantly, "If it can be repaired, how long will it take? We'll only be here for a little over a month."
Chen Jing squeezed her hand: "I'll take you to see it after class this afternoon, and we'll see if you don't like it. If you don't like it, then forget it."
After class in the afternoon, Chen Jing indeed took Ji Xia to an old alley in Houhai to see a courtyard house.
With trembling hands, the old man Du, who was selling the house, unlocked the copper lock of the courtyard house and said coldly, "Only look if you want to buy. Don't come here every day just to play around. My old bones don't have the strength to walk around with you."
Ji Xia glanced at Old Man Du's trembling back, his gray hair, and his bitter and resentful expression, and couldn't help but exchange a look with Chen Jing.
Old Du opened the gate, gave them half an hour to look around as they pleased, and told them to come out and close the gate after half an hour. He then found a chair and sat down to take a nap.
Looking at the aloof and indifferent old man, Ji Xia and Chen Jing sighed helplessly.
The soft glow of the sunset spills into the secluded alley. Pushing open the dark gate, you find a square courtyard with walls etched with wind erosion cracks, simple yet solemn, exuding a rich historical atmosphere.
The two walked into the courtyard and carefully circled it several times.
The front yard is surrounded by a neat row of houses with blue bricks and black tiles. The mottled brick joints and the simple carved beams and painted pillars tell the story of the passage of time.
Following the corridor and second gate in the northwest corner, the backyard came into view.
Compared to the coldness of the front yard, the back yard has more flowers, trees, rockeries and paths, giving it a gentle and graceful feel reminiscent of the gardens of southern China.
Unfortunately, traces of the makeshift shelters and settlements remain in both the front and back yards. After the demolition, a large amount of demolition debris was left uncollected, turning the area into a huge garbage dump that messily ruined the aesthetic appeal.
"It's a pity, it's such a waste that people use a courtyard house like a tenement."
Ji Xia shook her head, and Chen Jing chuckled softly, "Cleaning up this trash is simple, it just takes some manpower and resources. Interested? Interested in haggling with him?"
Ji Xia nodded in satisfaction, "We're definitely interested. We don't know anything about the house's current market value, so we don't want to get ripped off. But since he's selling the house for medical treatment, we shouldn't squeeze him too hard."
"You're too soft-hearted."
Chen Jing shook his head inwardly, but didn't take it seriously. In fact, he had inquired about the market value with Wang Yuan and others, and the price wasn't inflated.
They have small workshops and sales channels, so making money isn't a big problem. Since the homeowner is selling the house to treat his illness, he really shouldn't try to lower the price too much.
It's about 500 to 600 square meters, with more than 20 rooms in the front and back yards combined. There's also an old well and a small fish pond in the backyard.
Regardless of the front or back yard, most of the blue bricks, carved beams, and painted rafters used in the rooms are well preserved, and there are also several wardrobes, tables, tea tables, and other furniture that look antique.
Although the yard is in a bit of a mess, the main building isn't badly damaged. After cleaning up the trash and doing some repairs, it shouldn't be a big problem.
However, after all this repairs, it will probably take at least two months, so we won't be able to live in this courtyard for the time being.
It seems that the guesthouse still has a long way to go in terms of providing single rooms!
Just as Chen Jing was about to go out to negotiate with Old Man Du, Ji Xia suddenly tugged at his sleeve: "When it comes to repairing these old objects, it's best to find someone knowledgeable who has inherited the craft from their ancestors. Otherwise, you might end up with something that looks incongruous and is ruined."
Chen Jing pondered for a moment: "I'll ask this old man later if he has any recommendations?"
Ji Xia looked back at the spacious courtyard again: "I'm thinking, whether it's the front yard or the back yard, we need to build a clean bathroom so we don't have to go out in the middle of the night looking for a toilet."
In her previous life, during the 1980s and 90s, she remembered that flush toilets were already common in big cities.
I never expected that in a courtyard house like this in Beijing, there would be no toilet, and they would use wooden buckets to empty chamber pots, which was really disgusting.
In the countryside, every household used wooden buckets because they had their own plots of land and could produce and sell their own.
But in a big city, you can't just produce and consume everything yourself, can you? Although you can grow flowers and vegetables in the yard, it's disgusting to water the yard with manure.
Ji Xia found it hard to accept having a toilet in the room, and she didn't want to run outside to the toilet in the alley in the middle of the night, so if she wanted to make changes, she wanted to solve it all at once now.
Moreover, while courtyard houses have collectible value, modern amenities like running water, bathrooms, and toilets are still more convenient for residents.
After arriving in the capital, Ji Xia followed the crowd and went to a public bathhouse with Rong Ruoshi, but she still wanted to renovate her own bathroom.
Chen Jing had no complaints about Ji Xia's request and readily agreed.
The two returned to the front yard. Old Du was hunched over, staring indifferently at a tall, straight ginkgo tree in the corner of the wall. Hearing their footsteps, he slowly turned around.
"Finished watching? Do you want it or not? If not, close the door and go home."
Chen Jing chuckled subconsciously and reached for a pack of cigarettes: "Uncle, no rush, let's talk first."
Old Du waved his hand, politely declining the cigarette: "I'm not used to these things. I don't like this kind of thing. Give me a straight answer, whether you want it or not."
"Of course I want it, but Uncle, this house is quite dilapidated. It will take a lot of effort to repair it!"
"Yes, so the market price is 15,000, but I'll give you a 1,000 discount, which is enough to make up for the repair costs."
Chen Jing laughed, looking extremely embarrassed. This old man's temper was truly difficult to deal with.
He put his arm around the old man's shoulder as if they were old friends: "Uncle, money is not a problem, but I'm afraid that ordinary craftsmen can't repair this kind of old house. Do you have any good ideas, Uncle?"
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