Chapter 63 Buying and Selling a House
Meanwhile, as Jiang Fengnian decided to enter the real estate industry, busy running around for loans, setting up construction teams, and looking for projects, Jiang Suining and Lu Ye were also busy.
That evening after dinner, Lu Ye pushed his bicycle, with Jiang Suining walking beside him, as the two strolled slowly along the seawall. The tide had receded, revealing a large expanse of damp sand, and the air was filled with the salty, fishy smell of seaweed.
"Sui Sui, about buying a house, have you come up with any concrete ideas yet?" Lu Ye pushed the handlebars and asked. After the discussion in the People's Daily that night, he could sense that his wife was taking the matter seriously.
Jiang Suining stopped and looked at the urban area on the opposite bank, its outline blurred in the twilight and its lights gradually coming on. Her eyes were clear and focused: "Lu Ye, what I want to buy is not just a house to settle down in."
She turned to face him, her tone becoming serious: "I'm looking at the next ten, even twenty years. The policy loopholes have been opened, and the direction of the flow will change. Most people haven't realized it yet, which is precisely the time for us to quietly make our moves."
"Layout?" Lu Ye frowned slightly. The word seemed unfamiliar and ahead of its time when used in the context of buying a house.
“Yes, the layout.” Jiang Suining nodded and began to explain her well-thought-out plan. “I value three places: First, the area near the dock, which is the gateway to the island. In the future, the flow of goods and people will become more and more concentrated, making it a commercial core where the land will be the most valuable; second, the old residential area near the management committee. The houses are old, but the location is good. In the future, when the city expands or is renovated, that area will be the first to be affected; and then…” She paused and pointed to a dark, gentle slope overlooking the sea in the distance, “That’s it. It looks desolate now, but the view is unbeatable. In the future, when people have money, they will be willing to pay for the scenery and tranquility.”
Lu Ye looked in the direction she pointed, where there were only a few scattered fishing lights, a stark contrast to the bustling city. He couldn't connect that barren slope with anything valuable, but instead of immediately refuting her, he asked, "None of these three places sound like good places to stay."
“We’re not buying our current living conditions,” Jiang Suining said with a sharp look in her eyes. “We’re buying the location, the future possibilities. That’s called investment.”
“Investment…” Lu Ye pondered the word. He understood his wife’s ambition and also sensed the risks involved. “I understand. If you’re sure, let’s go take a look.”
On the weekend, Lu Ye rode his old-fashioned bicycle with Jiang Suining on the back, and following the address he had inquired about, they found the alley near the dock called "Wanghai Lane".
The alley is narrow, but it is bustling with people, filled with the mixed smells of fish, sweat, and various goods, brimming with the vitality of the marketplace.
The courtyard they were planning to buy was located in the middle of the alley. The blue brick walls were already mottled, and the two wooden doors were ajar, exuding a sense of decay from years of neglect. The homeowners were an elderly couple surnamed Chen. Their son had made a name for himself in the south and was urging them to come and reunite with him.
Lu Ye stepped forward and knocked on the door. A cough and rustling footsteps came from inside. Old Chen opened the door. He was not tall, and his skin was bronze from years of working at sea. His face was covered with deep wrinkles, but his eyes were unusually bright, revealing the shrewdness and prudence unique to old fishermen.
"Are you Comrade Lu and Comrade Jiang? Please come in, please come in." Old Chen stepped aside to let the two into the courtyard, a polite smile plastered on his face, but his eyes quickly swept over Lu Ye and Jiang Suining's clothes, as if assessing their purchasing power and sincerity.
The courtyard was larger than Jiang Suining had expected. The ground was rammed earth, and there were some discarded fishing nets and broken wooden barrels piled up in the corners. The three main rooms were traditional tile-roofed houses, but the roof tiles were incomplete, the lime on the walls had peeled off in large areas, revealing the adobe bricks underneath, and the windows were old-fashioned wooden lattice windows with the window paper already torn and letting in the wind.
“Comrades, don’t be offended,” Old Chen led them inside, beginning to elaborate in his words, “This house was built by my father’s generation, it’s quite old, but the location is unbeatable! You see, the main road is right outside the alley, and it’s only a short walk to the dock. It’s very convenient for doing some small business or for your own residence!” He emphasized the superior location, trying to divert attention from the dilapidated state of the house.
Lu Ye was a pragmatist. He walked to the wall, tapped it, and then looked up to examine the beams and roof carefully. His brows furrowed more and more. He turned to Jiang Suining and said in a low voice, "Suining, the condition of this house is worse than I thought. Look at these beams; they're probably quite old. We need to check them carefully for insect damage. The roof needs to be completely renovated, and the walls need to be repainted and reinforced. It's a lot of work." His words were pragmatic and direct, pointing out the core problem.
Jiang Suining nodded slightly, not responding to Lu Ye immediately. She strolled slowly in the courtyard, touching the rough wall, her fingertips covered in dust. She looked through the broken window into the dimly lit room, where some old household items that she couldn't bear to throw away were piled up.
At this moment, an old woman with gray hair, a kind face but a hint of sorrow, came out of the house and stood behind Old Man Chen. She seemed hesitant to speak and had a slightly uneasy expression.
"Uncle Chen," she said to Old Man Chen in a clear and unquestionable tone, without inquiring about the old woman's identity, "to be honest, we did like this location, but the condition of the house is what it is."
She walked to the base of a wall and pointed to the efflorescence caused by dampness and a tiny crack: "Look here, the foundation has probably sunk a bit, and this roof," she pointed to several places where light was clearly leaking in, "it leaks rain in the summer and lets in drafts in the winter, it's definitely not a place for people to live."
With each problem she pointed out, Old Chen's smile froze a little more; these were real, unavoidable flaws.
“We can’t just move in after a simple renovation,” Jiang Suining said sincerely but with a sense of pressure. “We will have to invest a lot of money and spend a lot of time and energy on renovations. This expense will probably be no less than the cost of buying the house. You see, we have to take all these factors into account when we set a price.”
Old Chen's smile completely vanished. He rubbed his hands, trying to explain, "You can't say that, Comrade Jiang. The location is good; it'll definitely be valuable in the future! As for repairs, a little money will do the job..."
“Uncle Chen,” Jiang Suining interrupted him gently, but her tone carried more weight, “Repairs are no small expense. Labor, materials—everything costs money. And it’s a lot of work and effort. If we buy it at the price of a good house and then invest heavily in repairs, the cost would be too high. It would be better to just buy a better one.” She was implying that if the price wasn’t right, they might give up.
Lu Ye chimed in at the opportune moment, his tone crisp like a soldier's: "Uncle Chen, my wife is right. We sincerely want to buy, but we have to be realistic about our means. The current state of this house is indeed putting us in a difficult position."
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit tense, Jiang Suining changed the subject, giving the other party a way out, and also put forward her own solution: "Uncle Chen, we know you are in a hurry to go to the south to reunite with your children. How about this, let's compromise. The price definitely cannot be based on the market price of a good house. The estimated repair costs must be deducted. Moreover, we want to pay in installments."
She carefully observed the elderly couple's expressions and saw that Granny Chen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, while Old Man Chen's eyes began to waver.
“We can pay a deposit and down payment first so you can head south. The remaining amount can be paid in two installments via bank transfer within six months. This will solve your immediate problem and ease our financial burden. What do you think?”
Old Chen fell silent, exchanging a glance with his wife. He was shrewd and knew that the price was lower than he had expected, and he was also reluctant to accept installment payments. But then he thought again, they had bought the house a long time ago, but no one had shown any interest in it. If they missed this opportunity, they didn't know when they would be able to sell it again. More importantly, the other party seemed to be a respectable family, especially Lu Ye, whose identity the matchmaker said was that of a soldier, which made him feel very reassured.
Finally, Old Man Chen exhaled a long puff of smoke, as if he had made up his mind: "Comrade Jiang is a sensible man, and what he said makes sense. Okay! We'll do it your way! The price will be as you said, and we'll pay in installments! Let's write an agreement, find a guarantor, and settle things!"
***
The two row houses in the old town belonged to a widow surnamed Lin, who had two children. When Jiang Suining and Lu Ye went there, they saw that widow Lin's eyes were filled with the weariness of life and the uncertainty about the future.
She desperately needed money to improve her life, yet she was also afraid of losing her only place to live, creating a very conflicted situation.
Jiang Suining didn't rush to discuss the price. She first gently inquired about the child's studies, then looked at the simple furnishings of the house, her tone filled with genuine concern: "Aunt Lin, it's not easy raising a child alone. Are you really sure you want to sell this house?"
Aunt Lin sighed, her eyes slightly red: "There's nothing we can do. The child needs to go to school, the elderly need medical care, and money is needed everywhere. But if we sell this house, where will the three of us go? Renting a place will be a huge expense..."
“I understand your difficulties.” Jiang Suining nodded, then changed the subject, but her tone remained calm. “However, Mrs. Lin, since we’ve decided to sell, we have to follow the rules of the market. We pay for the house because we want the full ownership and right to use it. If we buy it but can’t use it when we need it, or even don’t know when you can move out, then the transaction will be too risky and uncertain for us.”
This was, after all, just a business transaction, and she didn't want to be morally blackmailed. Aunt Lin's face paled, her lips trembled, and she couldn't speak.
Jiang Suining observed her expression and knew the time was right. She then presented the plan she had prepared beforehand: "How about this, Aunt Lin, we'll buy the house at market price. We can pay in full at once to solve your immediate problem. However, you must cooperate with us to complete all the buying and selling and property transfer procedures. In addition, considering that you do need time to find a place to stay, we can sign a separate lease agreement."
She deliberately slowed down her speech, making each word crystal clear: "As the new homeowners, we will rent this house back to you. The lease term can be six months, and the maximum can not exceed one year. The rent will be calculated according to the lowest standard in this area."
Jiang Suining looked at Lin Sao, whose eyes were filled with struggle, and finally added the decisive factor. She lowered her voice and said sincerely, "Lin Sao, the house price is not a small amount. There are not many buyers like us who are willing to pay cash in one lump sum and sign a formal lease contract to make things convenient. With this money, you can solve your current difficulties. You only need to pay rent, and you won't have to find a suitable new home for a year. Why not?"
Looking at the composed Jiang Suining before her, and then at the bewildered child beside her, Aunt Lin thought of the mounting debts and the endless hardships ahead. Indeed, this was the best way to resolve their immediate difficulties. Finally, the urgency of reality overcame her fear of the future, and she nodded forcefully, her voice trembling with a desperate resolve: "Okay! We'll do it your way! I'll sell this house!"
Jiang Suining turned her head to the side and smiled at Lu Ye behind her.
***
Unlike the first two properties located in the bustling city, this third destination required walking for nearly twenty minutes along a rugged dirt road mostly overgrown with weeds. At the end of the road, the sea breeze suddenly became fierce, the waves roared like thunder, and a breathtaking sea cliff appeared before one's eyes.
Atop the cliff stands a solitary, rugged stone house. The walls are haphazardly constructed from gray-black sea stones of varying sizes, with mud and seashells filling the gaps. The roof is covered with a thick layer of blackened seaweed, appearing dilapidated and primitive under the constant erosion of the salty sea breeze.
There is a small patch of leveled dirt ground in front of the house, which serves as the yard. Beyond that, there are steep cliffs and the boundless sea.
The man who led them there was an old fisherman named Wang, who lived on a nearby slope. Everyone called him Wang Laojiao. His skin was dark and shiny, like a reef soaked by the sea. His face was deeply lined, and his eyes were cloudy but held the scrutiny that fishermen have when looking at strangers. He was wearing a patched undershirt and baggy shorts, and he was barefoot. He walked with slightly bowed legs, which were marks from years of walking on the rocking boat deck.
Looking at the scene before him, Lu Ye felt a sinking feeling, even though he was mentally prepared. It was even more desolate than he had imagined.
He walked to the door of the stone house and looked inside. It was dimly lit and filled with the smell of mildew and the sea. The floor was a muddy, uneven surface. Against the wall was a dusty earthen bed and a stone stove that was already cold. Apart from that, there was nothing. The sea breeze poured in unimpeded through the cracks in the walls and the empty door and window openings, making a howling sound.
“Uncle Wang,” Lu Ye turned around, his brows furrowed, “this place is indeed very remote, the roads are difficult to travel, and the house is just a shell to shelter from the wind and rain, it’s not worth much money.”
Wang Laojiao chuckled, revealing a set of teeth yellowed from smoking: "It's worthless! We moved out of this dilapidated house years ago. If it weren't for the fact that it was left by our ancestors, we would have let it collapse long ago! If you really want it, just give us some money. Consider it as helping me get rid of a burden!"
When he said this, there was no pretense in his eyes; he genuinely felt that the stone house was worthless, and he even felt that anyone who wanted it was getting a good deal.
Jiang Suining ignored their conversation. From the moment she entered this sea cliff, her entire demeanor changed. She bypassed Wang Laojiao and Lu Ye, walked alone to the edge of the cliff, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. The salty and crisp air felt incredibly liberating to her. She opened her arms, letting the strong sea breeze blow through her hair and clothes, as if she wanted to embrace the entire magnificent bay.
"Lu Ye, listen!" She opened her eyes, turned around, and her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness. There was no disgust for the dilapidated state in them, only an almost obsessive appreciation. "The sound of the waves is so pure! Look at this view, 180 degrees unobstructed, the whole bay is like a living painting! Sunrise, sunset, high tide, ebb tide... This place has the most luxurious scenery on the island!"
Looking at his wife's almost poetic state, and then at the bare stone house filled with the sounds of wind and rustling insects, Lu Ye simply couldn't reconcile the two.
He walked over, lowered his voice, and said with confusion and worry, "Sui Sui, I admit the scenery is beautiful, but can this be called a house? Let alone living here, even if we just want to come and visit occasionally, the road is difficult to walk on. Why did we buy it? Isn't this money a huge waste?"
He even felt that Wang Laojiao looked at them as if they were two naive fools.
Jiang Suining understood his confusion. She walked to his side, her gaze still fixed on the blue sky, but her voice was calm and firm: "Lu Ye, believe me, what we bought is not these four walls and this roof, but this location, this unique landscape resource."
Wang Laojiao listened with his mouth agape, as if he were hearing a fairy tale. He scratched his messy hair and muttered, "What, what value could this be? Who would be so bored as to spend money to suffer like this..." He increasingly felt that the young couple, especially the beautiful woman, had some unrealistic ideas.
Jiang Suining didn't take it seriously. She looked at Wang Laojiao and said decisively, "Uncle Wang, name your price. We'll buy this stone house, along with the land in front of it."
Wang Laojiao was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting them to be serious. He hesitated for a moment, then held up three rough fingers and tentatively said, "Thirty...thirty yuan?" He was a little embarrassed after he finished speaking, afraid that asking for too much would scare away these two rare buyers.
Lu Ye breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing the price, at least the losses were manageable.
Jiang Suining shook her head.
Wang Laojiao's heart skipped a beat, thinking she thought it was too expensive.
But Jiang Suining said clearly, "Thirty is too low. Here's what we'll do: we'll give you fifty yuan. However, we need to sign a formal transfer agreement that clearly defines the boundaries between the stone house and this land. From now on, this place will belong to us, and you will have nothing to do with it anymore. Is that alright?"
She proactively raised the price to ensure the absolute legality and clarity of the transaction, avoiding any possible future property disputes. In her opinion, it was well worth the twenty yuan to buy peace of mind and complete ownership.
Wang Laojiao was completely dumbfounded. In all his life, this was the first time he had ever encountered someone who would voluntarily raise the price when buying something! Afraid that Jiang Suining would change her mind, he nodded vigorously, "Okay! Okay! Fifty it is! I'll put my fingerprint on it right away! This dilapidated house is yours!" His face beamed with joy, and the way he looked at Jiang Suining was no longer that of a sucker, but rather like that of a living bodhisattva who had saved him from suffering.
The transaction was completed in an extremely strange yet harmonious atmosphere. Wang Laojiao, holding five brand-new ten-yuan bills, happily and lightly descended the mountain, as if he had shed a huge burden.
Lu Ye looked at the agreement in his hand, then at the stone house that looked even more weathered in the afterglow of the setting sun. His feelings were complicated. He finally couldn't help but ask, "Sui Sui, I still don't understand. What's the point of spending fifty yuan to buy this?"
Jiang Suining walked to the door of the stone house, gazing at the sea dyed golden red by the setting sun, a mysterious yet confident smile playing on her lips.
“Lu Ye, imagine it as a jar of fine wine that we buried. It looks ordinary now, but if you give it time and leave it here, it will become incredibly mellow and priceless when you open it again in ten or twenty years.”
She turned around, her eyes gleaming with a vision of the future: "This is not consumption, this is sowing seeds; we are sowing the seeds of the future."
**
As night deepened, the sea breeze brought a touch of coolness through the window screen.
Lu Ye carried a cup of cold tea into the study and saw Jiang Suining still bent over her desk, with three freshly printed property contracts and a pile of clothing design sketches spread out in front of her.
The orange lamplight enveloped her, casting a soft shadow on her focused profile.
"Still looking at them?" Lu Ye gently placed the teacup beside her. "You've really gone to great lengths to analyze these three pieces of paper."
Jiang Suining looked up, rubbed her slightly sore eyes, took the teacup, and a smile that was a mixture of fatigue and accomplishment spread across her lips: "I feel at ease, but also more uneasy." Her words sounded contradictory, but Lu Ye understood instantly.
“We’ve finally built up our wealth again, and we did so when no one was looking, seizing the initiative.” Lu Ye pulled up a chair and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the three contracts, each documenting their nearly two months of running around and negotiating. “But the money’s been flowing out like water, so the pressure is even greater, right?”
"Hmm." Jiang Suining knew Lu Ye understood her. She took a sip of her herbal tea, which relieved her physical fatigue but made her mind even more focused. "This is just the beginning. There will be even greater investments in the future. I'm thinking that it might be time to expand the clothing business, after all, it's the cornerstone of our cash flow." She pointed to the design sketches with her finger, lost in thought.
Looking at the determination in her eyes, Lu Ye felt a pang of tenderness and admiration. He reached out and gently smoothed her slightly furrowed brow with his fingertips: "Don't push yourself too hard. The foundation has been laid, and the house will eventually be built."
“We can’t afford to be slow,” Jiang Suining said, holding his hand with bright, burning eyes. “The times are moving too fast. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up, and I’m even more afraid of missing a good opportunity.”
She paused, her tone carrying a sense of foresight and gravity: "I have a feeling that our days of quietly accumulating and silently planning may be coming to an end. Reform and opening up have allowed Haifeng's name to spread throughout the country through clothing, but I still want this name to attract attention from afar."
Lu Ye remained silent for a moment. He didn't quite understand his wife's words, but he trusted her intuition, and her keen insight had been proven time and time again.
He gripped her hand tightly, his voice steady as a rock: "No matter what winds or waves come, home is here, I am here. If you want to brave the winds and waves, I will help you stabilize the ship; if you want to dock and rest, this is your harbor."
His simple words were more powerful than any vow. Jiang Suining leaned on his strong shoulder, and the anxiety and tension of the past few days seemed to find a place to rest.
She looked at the property deeds and design plans side by side on the table. "I know," she whispered, closing her eyes, "with you, I'm not afraid of anything."
A few days later, Xiao Zhao rushed into her office in a panic, forgetting to even knock: "Yes, someone is looking for you. It's a foreigner."
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