Bei Nan immediately recognized who it was. This was the same person who had infiltrated Brother Long's inner circle and betrayed him, causing Mao Tou and the others to leave their homes. It just so happened that Bei Nan was able to travel with them on their long voyage.
"Does anyone know where he is?" Bei Nan asked hurriedly.
The woman nodded and said, "It seems he was arrested a few years ago, probably punished by being forced to eat peanuts."
The North and South remained silent; this was tantamount to saying nothing at all, and it was more like, or perhaps, something like that.
Southwest pulled North South and said, "Why don't we go to the police station and ask if we can get it back?"
Bei Nan nodded, realizing that this was the only way to do it. Just as they were about to leave, the three of them were stopped by these people: "You can't take our house back. We paid for it. Where will we live if you take it back?"
"Yes, yes, when we bought it, they said we could live here permanently. Now another owner has appeared. This is too much."
“We’re not moving anyway. We’ve already transferred our household registration here. I spent all my savings on this registration. What are we supposed to do if you kick us out?”
The various objections were giving Bei Nan a headache. The main problem was that he didn't have the land deed for Mao Tou's house at all. He had only heard from Mao Tou that the land deed was in his brother's hands.
Brother Long has long been fed to the fish. Where can you find the land deed? Without the land deed, what right do you have to take the house?
Bei Nan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, just stay here. Even if you have to move, I'll find you a replacement. You won't suffer any losses."
Upon hearing this, the men became excited: "Young man, you want to buy a house here? Find me a house near the school, even if it's small, I'll trade it for it."
"Yes, give me a house near the market, or I'd be willing to exchange it for a less desirable one."
Bei Nan practically fled in panic; these aunties were just too enthusiastic.
The three finally escaped the entanglement of the group of middle-aged women and arrived at the police station to inquire why the house could be sold without a land deed.
The police officers pulled out a thick stack of documents and began their investigation. To everyone's astonishment, the registration column listed the property owner as Ah Long, along with the land deed number.
In other words, this house was never sold at all, and the people living there now are just registered as temporary residents.
If the house is to be demolished or requisitioned for any other reason, all the people living there must move out unconditionally.
Now we need to find the person who has the property deed. Ah Long is out of the question; he's already been fed to the fish in international waters. Finding this person will be quite difficult.
The three of them went to the housing management bureau again. When the people at the housing management bureau saw that they had come to inquire about the house, they were all wary and kept asking Bei Nan and his companion for information.
Under Bei Nan's insistence, they also produced the house registration book and found Mao Tou's yard. Sure enough, the registered owner was still A Long, and there was no trace of him at all.
Bei Nan was very good at reading people's expressions. He noticed that one of the people was a little nervous, so he asked for his name, thinking of using benefits to lure him.
He first went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two bottles of wine and a carton of cigarettes. Then he spent 50 cents to have a child deliver these items to the gatekeeper of the housing management bureau, saying they were for this person.
The old gatekeeper wanted to accept the gift, but the child refused. The man insisted that the recipient must be brought to him.
The old gatekeeper had no choice but to run into the office, since it was full of old men.
When the man heard someone outside looking for him, carrying a bag, he was overjoyed and immediately ran outside, wondering if someone needed his help. He ran incredibly fast.
Following the old gatekeeper's directions, I indeed saw a boy standing on the street corner, waving at me, with a bag in his other hand.
"Who is it, being so cautious?" The housing bureau official became interested and quickly walked over. The little boy smiled and handed him the bag in his hand, then turned around, took the fifty cents a man gave him, and left.
Upon seeing that he was from the north or south, the housing bureau staff knew what he was there for. They were somewhat embarrassed, as he dared not reveal who had bought the house, or he would be in trouble.
But looking at the cigarettes and alcohol in the bag, the man became greedy. These things weren't cheap, and they would definitely make a good impression as gifts.
His eyes darted around, and he said softly, "It seems there was an internal conflict in the black market back then. It was active for a while afterward, but nobody knows where it is now."
Bei Nan nodded slightly, and the people from the housing management bureau turned and ran away. He had said everything, but he hadn't said anything at all.
Bei Nan understood. All that talk about being arrested and being punished was just empty boasting. In reality, this guy had taken all of Ah Long's things for himself and was now hiding somewhere.
"Very good, very good," a murderous glint flashed in Bei Nan's eyes. He wanted to find this person, and then, well, think about it, which ancient form of torture was the most painful? Slicing people, the kind invented by Empress Dowager Cixi that required 3,600 cuts.
Southwest and Ma Mingchun took a step back in unison. The aura emanating from North South was too fierce, and on such a cold day, it lowered the temperature by several degrees.
After a long while, Bei Nan finally regained her composure, smiled apologetically at the two of them, and Ma Mingchun breathed a sigh of relief when the alarm was lifted.
"Comrade, do you know where in town I can buy a house? Near the middle school?" Ma Mingchun asked, grabbing a man in work clothes as he walked by.
The man shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and pointed in the direction of the former black market, saying, "There seems to be a house exchange market over there. People there exchange houses for houses; there are relatively few people buying new houses."
Southwest happily shook the comrade's hand: "Thank you very much, I'll go ask right now."
The three of them went to the black market from back then. Southwest and Ma Mingchun were very curious about what the black market was like back then, and whether it was still as clandestine as Bei Nan had said.
But as soon as they went in, they were startled to find groups of people everywhere, all engaged in heated discussions. Southwest quickly ran over, randomly picked a group, and stood to the side to listen.
“My house is relatively small, but it's in a good location, near the vegetable market. I'd like to spend a little extra money to upgrade to a bigger one.”
“My house is quite big, but it’s near the school, so it’s inconvenient to buy groceries. I’d like to move to a place near the market.”
“My family also lives near the school, and our place is big. Why don’t you switch with me?”
"Okay, okay, how big is your house? Is it in front of or behind the school?"
"My house is 15 square meters and it's behind the school. It takes about 20 minutes to walk from my house to the school."
"You, your house is only fifteen square meters, and you call that a big place? Twenty minutes? Two minutes is more like it."
"That's right, fifteen square meters is just the size of my kitchen. Brother, why don't you take a look at mine?"
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