Aunt Ye Rong nodded in agreement, "Isn't it true? The pancakes Xiaofeng made this morning were even better than mine."
Xu Manman's breakfast was also made by her son. Chen Meiyu naturally had a common language with her two sisters-in-law, and the three women at the table were chatting animatedly.
The three middle-aged men over there were not willing to be outdone, but their focus was not on this.
Uncle Xu Wen looked at Xu Gang and said, "Second brother, Jianbing brought the title deed and property certificate for our ancestral home this time. According to the original contract, the leases for our several houses are almost up. Does eldest brother want to take back the houses first?"
Xu Gang said, "Well, last time when we were working on the blueprints for the Jingshi courtyard, my eldest brother mentioned that the land outside is much looser now than before, so it shouldn't be a big deal to take the house back. Besides, the children are growing up and will start their own families in two years. By then, the small house won't be big enough for them. So, when the lease expires, we should take it back first."
"Okay, I've gone to see which houses have been modified before. Now that they've been remodeled...if I want to live there myself, I still have to clean them up." Thinking of this, Xu Wen felt a little upset. The original agreement was very loose, and more than ten households could be put into one house. After some expansions here and modifications there, it had already changed beyond recognition.
Xu Wen continued, "The Wang family used to live across from us. Last time I ran into them, they were relocated to a farm. Now they have their house back. Their house isn't smaller than mine, but the tenants there are difficult to get along with. Not only do they refuse to move out, they don't even pay rent. So now the whole family is renting somewhere else."
My uncle Chen Zhibin said nearby, "This tenant is indeed a problem. Not to mention your place, even in my little courtyard, there's a family there that's difficult to deal with."
Although the Chen family was not as wealthy as the Xu family, they also had a small bungalow and courtyard. In order to be closer to work, the couple rented out the old courtyard at the time when family members were being allocated housing. However, their situation was different from that of the Xu family, so it was not so difficult for them to take it back.
Xu Gang pondered for a moment, "I have an idea about all this. I'll find time to go to the Housing Authority to ask Lao Wu about the current regulations. It would be best if we can take it back sooner. You don't have to worry about the tenants. We are different from the Wang family." When he said the last sentence, Xu Gang glanced at his younger brother.
Xu Wen received the signal. They were all smart people, and there was no need to say some things clearly.
The children listened attentively, not interrupting the adults. Seeing that the topic had come to an end, Xu Manman asked her father, "Dad, didn't you say last time that you wanted Comrade Jin Zichu to help look at the house over here? The yard over in Jing City should be finished now, so can we ask him to help draw up the blueprints for the house over here?"
Ye Rong heard Jin Zichu's name and slapped her forehead, "Look at me, how could I have forgotten about this." She quickly stood up and went home to get an envelope.
"This was sent from Beijing two days before you came back. It was addressed to Xiao Ming. The sender's surname is Jin. It should be Comrade Xiao Jin, right?" Ye Rong sent the envelope to her eldest son.
Chen Ming took it and looked at the address on the envelope, "It's Zichu." He opened the envelope and poured out a stack of photos.
Xu Jianan, who was sitting next to him, picked up a photo and said, "This is... a photo of a house."
Xu Manman already knew what Xiao Jin had sent, but because she hadn't logged into the space for a while, she didn't see the specific content. She didn't hear Chen Ming mention it this morning, so she thought it hadn't been sent.
At this time, he pretended to be surprised and said, "House? Could it be that Comrade Jin Zichu took pictures of Jingshi's yard?"
After hearing what Xu Manman said, everyone at the table became interested and divided up the stack of photos one by one.
Lu Meihua held up a photo and said, "Oh, I said the blueprint looked good when it first came out. I didn't expect it would look so good after taking so many photos. It makes me want to move in right away." She was holding up an aerial view of the yard.
After Xu Gang exchanged photos with the people beside him, he couldn't help but nod, "Comrade Xiao Jin is really capable. Even those architecture students in college might not be able to achieve such a result."
Xu Wen looked at the photo in his hand and said, "This suite is well-made. It's not much worse than the luxury suite at the Harmony Hotel."
Xu Wen had been working in commercial sectors such as supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores. When he saw the materials and hardware used in the house, he knew that Comrade Xiao Jin not only had outstanding abilities but also had extraordinary connections.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
