Zhang Guoqing looked straight at Zhou Xiaozheng's house, waiting for him to ask for the price and make the final decision. He really liked this house; it exceeded his expectations. It looked like any other small courtyard, but the separate living and dining areas pleased him. Most importantly, many of the hidden details were meticulously crafted. For example, the precious wood beneath the paint on the furniture, the ancient books in the bookcases, the hidden door in the basement, the back wall fire, the water pump from the well. If his father-in-law hadn't pointed it out to him, he wouldn't have noticed anything unusual.
I think Jiaojiao would like this yard. It's quite a distance from her elder sister's house, so this distance is just right. It's also far enough from the neighboring yards that it won't easily disturb either side.
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at Zhang Guoqing and saw that he was staring at him closely, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
The old man who brought Aunt Wang out saw that they had finished looking at it and said with a smile, "How is it? Not bad, right? I put a lot of thought into building this yard. I designed the blueprints myself and supervised the construction myself."
Zhou Xiaozheng said straight to the point, "Grandpa, are you really going to sell it? My child likes your house very much. Especially the cursive calligraphy on the wall of the study, it suits his taste. If you really want to sell it, you can name your price."
The old man understood what he heard and knew that the other party was praising the study in disguise. He looked at Zhang Guoqing for a while and nodded. "This child is not bad. He likes reading. Excuse me for asking. If it's inconvenient, you don't have to tell me. What are the young couple doing now?"
Zhou Xiaozheng waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "The two children are still young. My son-in-law plans to go to work first. My daughter will take care of the children and wants to see if they can continue to go to school. My husband and I are both soldiers and are away from home all year round. We bought the yard mainly for them to live in. I like the layout of your yard. My daughter likes to read, so would you mind giving us a price?"
The old man was very happy and excitedly asked Zhang Guoqing a few questions. He then began to seriously ask him what books he had read, what insights he had gained, and what kind of books he liked reading the most. He also recommended a few books to him.
Zhang Guoqing was nearly breathless from the questions. But he truly loved this courtyard, and the old man's eloquence and understanding made many of his explanations enlighten him. Gradually, he became captivated and answered earnestly. The old man and the young man chatted with great delight.
The old lady on the side listened carefully to their conversation and asked a question from time to time, focusing on the daily living habits of the young couple, especially the personality and hobbies of the woman whom she had never met.
It seemed the two old men had a real affection for this little courtyard. The old man was truly worried about leaving it in the wrong hands. After these repeated attempts and exchanges, the two old men smiled at each other.
Seeing his wife nod slightly, the old man said directly to Zhou Xiaozheng: "Are you planning to buy a yard or also buy furniture?"
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at the other person for a moment, and saw the old man nodded. "Grandpa, are you willing to sell it? Think about it carefully. If you want to sell the furniture too, then I must have all of it."
The old man realized he'd met an expert, and he was even more delighted. He glanced at Aunt Wang beside him and said, "For sale. My two sons already have what they need. I see your son-in-law really likes it. If you want it, my husband and I will take our personal belongings to our eldest son's house. 800 yuan for the whole yard, no bargaining. If you like it, we can do it. We can transfer ownership this afternoon. But I'll take some of the books."
Zhou Xiaozheng agreed decisively. He said to Auntie Wang next to him, "Auntie, thank you so much for today. Please show us the house buying process and be a middleman."
After saying this, he pulled out a large wad of cash from his clothes and counted out 800 yuan to the old man. He could already tell that the old man had become quite shrewd. Seeing how he held Aunt Wang back, and that smile just now, he probably designed this courtyard himself. As for why he was selling it, or what kind of person he was, it had nothing to do with him.
Aunt Wang had never seen such a straightforward decision. But thinking about the military style, she felt relieved. She couldn't understand why this yard was worth eight hundred? A yard twice as big as this one would not cost more than a thousand yuan. Looking around, this yard only had a large kitchen in the east wing, and the outer room was converted into a living room. According to her, it was really expensive, and she could still bargain. Looking at the smiles on the faces of Zhou Xiaozheng, the father-in-law and son-in-law, she swallowed back the words she wanted to persuade them. She sighed secretly, thinking that it would take a woman's approval before this family could buy a yard.
"Uncle, please count the money. We'll wait for Aunt Wang to take us to transfer the ownership. As for the house, it's okay for you to stay for a few more days. We're not in a hurry to move in."
The old man shook his head, counted the money, and said that the yard had finally found the right owner. He told his wife to pack up his books and paintings, their personal belongings, and the remaining food supplies and put them on a cart in the yard. Once the transfer was complete, someone would come and take them away.
The old man took the deed, took everyone away, and hurried to transfer the ownership. He was even more anxious than Zhou Xiaozheng and his son-in-law. It made Aunt Wang sure that the house was not worth the price, regardless of the other party's eagerness to sell it.
With Aunt Wang, a familiar face, around, the transfer was handled very quickly, in less than an hour. Zhang Guoqing simply filled in Zhou Jiao's name on the house.
After completing the procedures, I returned to the yard. On the cart were already several boxes, three new quilts, a bag of rations, and about ten books.
Zhang Guoqing repeatedly asked the old man to see if there was anything he hadn't taken. He hadn't expected the old couple to be so careless and leave with so little. He hadn't really intended to leave everything behind, including their old quilts and pots.
The old man laughed heartily at this and said frankly that he already had some at home and didn't need the rest. They just threw them away because they had no use for them.
The old man handed Zhang Guoqing two sets of keys and repeatedly reminded him to keep the books dry and other important things to keep in mind. He also explained the people and taboos of the two neighboring courtyards.
Finally, he left his address, so that if Zhou Xiaozheng and his son-in-law had any questions, they could go directly to his house to find him. He smiled and said that they would definitely like this courtyard, and there were many surprises waiting for them to discover on their own.
Aunt Wang was stunned watching from the sidelines. Was there really such a way to buy and sell houses? She now felt that the two families were just playing around. In less than two hours, a house was sold.
After seeing the old man and his wife off, he followed Aunt Wang to the neighborhood committee. After paying the fees, Zhang Guoqing went to the supply and marketing cooperative outside and bought a pound of milk candy for the women in the neighborhood committee. He knew the power of these women.
Everything was arranged. Zhang Guoqing excitedly dragged his father-in-law away, "Dad, let's go take another look. I haven't looked closely yet. We've really found a treasure. This yard is really nice, low-key on the outside, but everything is perfect inside. Jiaojiao will definitely like it, especially the study. Let's go back early and tell her so that she can be happy."
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at him with a smile. Seeing his anxious look, he knew that the couple would like it. Didn't he see that he was a little surprised just now? He didn't expect that there were good things in this place in the county.
"Well. Let's change the lock first. We need to take a good look at it. We also need to tidy up the inside. Your mom and I happened to buy some things to put inside these days."
"Dad, buy us a house. I'm not being polite to you, so don't buy anything else. Last time, Mom bought a whole car full of things, in addition to the things she brought over. I hid them all because I was afraid others would get jealous and it would be too eye-catching. Don't buy anything else this time. We've already got enough. If you need anything, we'll slowly add it after we move in."
"It's okay. There's a basement in the kitchen. Let's go see if there's anything wrong." Zhou Xiao was preparing to pack up early and let Jiaojiao move in. Living with his parents-in-law and their entire family couldn't compare to the freedom of just the three of them. Besides, he was worried about getting a long vacation after work. While he was here, he decided to prepare some things and make arrangements for Jiaojiao first.
The father-in-law and son-in-law bought a new lock and returned to the courtyard. This time, the feeling was completely different. This courtyard was their own. They began by observing the main bedroom and worked their way down.
The master bedroom is now empty except for the mattress.
The bookcase in the study was locked. The calligraphy and paintings on the wall had been taken down and placed in the bookcase. Zhou Xiaozheng must have mentioned that Zhang Guoqing liked the cursive calligraphy, so she kept it. Now, all that remained in the study were the books in the bookcase. Aside from the custom-made table on the kang, the Go board, the four treasures of the study, and the calligraphy and paintings were all gone.
A set of tea sets on the table in the living room was also taken away.
The remaining two rooms on the right remain intact.
I found that the old lady had already cleaned up the conspicuous places and packed up the conspicuous things and took them away.
Zhou Xiaozheng and Zhang Guoqing looked at each other and burst into laughter. This old lady is really wonderful!
The father-in-law and son-in-law went to the kitchen in the east wing, closed the coal stove, and changed the locks on the front door and bedroom. They checked to see if there was anything left to clean, closed the windows, locked the door, and prepared to leave.
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