Chapter 88 Buy Half, Get Half Free

Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment.

No money, no supplies? What do you want?

Old Mrs. Luo didn't keep the secret and said directly, "I'm going to Beijing soon. If this house is vacant for a few years, it will probably be destroyed. But I don't want people to sublet it and make a mess. If you want it, I have a few requirements. First, the house cannot be destroyed and the land used to rebuild something else. Second, it cannot be sublet to others and turn it into a slum. Third, you can't just find a buyer and make a profit by selling the house! If you really want to sell it, you have to choose a buyer who can protect the house. If you can't do these three things, then just pretend I didn't say anything about what happened today."

Xia Juanjuan thought about it and felt that this courtyard might have a history of one or two hundred years, and it definitely could not be destroyed in her hands.

As for subletting, she bought the house originally to use the space for privacy and convenience when traveling to the county town, so it is impossible for her to rent it out.

Should she screen the next buyer if she sells it again? It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. The old lady has lived in the house all her life and has feelings for it, so I can understand. If she really wants to sell it again in the future, she will naturally choose a buyer who shares the same ideals and likes to take good care of the old house.

Therefore, Xia Juanjuan nodded solemnly and said, "Old lady, I can agree to all three of these points. Just tell me, you don't want money or materials, what do you want me to do in order to sell the house to me?"

Old Mrs. Luo looked at Xia Juanjuan for a while, then said, "You don't need anything. If you are willing to protect this house, I will give it to you."

Xia Juanjuan was stunned. This courtyard was in a county town near Beijing. The courtyards in Beijing were definitely incomparable, but they were much more expensive than the houses in the village!

In fact, she had already prepared herself mentally for the fact that the thousand dollars she had saved would be almost all spent.

This... a courtyard worth one thousand yuan is given away just like that? Isn't this old lady too generous?

But it was obvious that Old Mrs. Luo was not lying. She went into the inner room, took out the deed to the yard and handed it to Xia Juanjuan.

Mrs. Luo added, "I have one more request that I forgot to mention. You cannot claim that the house is yours. Just say that you are my distant niece who is renting the house. The house is still the Luo family. My family has no descendants. This is just an excuse. When I die in a few years, you can say whatever you want."

Xia Juanjuan guessed that the old woman must be afraid that if she were still alive she would sell the ancestral house and be sorry for her ancestors.

But it's not too much to ask.

"Old lady, I agree. But we are strangers, and I feel bad for not paying a penny. How about we both compromise? You give half and I pay 500 yuan, or we can buy half of the same amount of goods. Is that okay?"

Old Mrs. Luo frowned and looked at Xia Juanjuan, thinking that this girl must be crazy. Why didn't she want it when it was given to her for free? Why did she have to spend money to buy it?

But maybe this also proves that she did not choose the wrong person?

Old Mrs. Luo didn't bother about it. She didn't need the 500 yuan, but if she had to take it, she would just take it. So she nodded and said, "Okay. As long as you agree to those requirements."

Without further ado, he gave the house deed to Xia Juanjuan, took the five hundred yuan from her and put it on the table.

Then, he took her to look around the courtyard and the main house and the side rooms. Then, looking at the doors that originally led to the front and back courtyards, which were now sealed with red bricks, he could not help but be stunned for a moment and muttered to himself: "Alas... I don't know if I can get those two courtyards back..."

The three-story courtyard is the real Luo residence...

Xia Juanjuan didn't quite understand the situation, so she asked with a smile, "Old lady, are these things in the front and back also yours? Don't worry, I will definitely buy them all back for you when I have the chance in the future."

Old Lady Luo glanced at Xia Juanjuan. Although she didn't quite believe what she said, the young girl in front of her had 500 yuan in her hand. She must be someone who was ignorant and incompetent. Maybe there will really be such a day...

"I will probably be able to move out before the New Year. Come back in a few days and I will give you the key. You can go back today," said Mrs. Luo.

Xia Juanjuan was ruthlessly "driven" out by the old lady.

She stood in the quiet and narrow alley outside the house, still a little confused. How could she really encounter such a bizarre encounter?

If it weren't for the house deed in her hand, she would have suspected that she was dreaming.

Soon it was the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, commonly known as the Little New Year in the lunar calendar, the day to send off the stove god.

Xia Juanjuan simply cleaned the stove, took out the white flour from the space, kneaded the dough to ferment, mixed it with green onions and sesame oil, pressed it into a thin cake, sprinkled sesame seeds on it, and baked it in the stove. Soon it was baked with a roasted aroma. This is the traditional fire-baked bun to be eaten on the 23rd.

The steamed buns just out of the oven were hot, fluffy and fragrant, and the three kids ate them with gusto.

In addition to the fire-baked steamed buns, there is also steaming mutton soup, large chunks of mutton, green coriander and green onions, and some sweet potato noodles. Xia Juanjuan also added a spoonful of red chili oil.

They set off firecrackers before dinner. Xia Juanjuan was hit by firecrackers when she was a child, and she had a trauma in her heart. She planned to find Li Jie and ask him to help her set off firecrackers. However, Li Wen was so brave that he took the fire starter in his hand, lit it and ran away. Immediately, there was a burst of crackling sounds in the yard.

The sound of firecrackers rang out in the village, and the atmosphere of the New Year was indeed more festive than it had been decades ago.

There are only seven days left until the Chinese New Year. After that, we will clean the house, make tofu, and cut meat according to the routine...

On the 26th of February, Xia Juanjuan made some meat-filled dumplings, steamed them in an enamel pot, and followed Director Zheng to the county town again.

This is the day to get the key.