Yang Fen opened the car door and looked at the two people walking towards her with a somewhat unfriendly gaze, as if she was blaming her for arriving too early!
Miyano opened the car door for the female comrade and took the initiative to sit in the passenger seat.
As the vehicles slowly entered Mingren Road, old villas lined the romantic plane trees, quietly recounting the glorious past.
Yang Fen honked the horn a few times, and a wooden door on the right, still retaining its original appearance, was pulled open from the inside, allowing the car to drive in smoothly.
Yang Fen parked the car, casually dismissed the staff who came to inquire, and introduced the three people who got out of the car.
"This used to be the Tang Mansion, the former residence of a Chief of the General Staff. It is currently used as an office."
The three-story building had a distinct French Concession style. Ruan Xianxian shielded her eyes from her forehead and looked up, her gaze drawn to a small, romantically protruding balcony on the second floor.
"Shall we go in and take a look?" Yang Fen asked, pointing to the main building.
The three had no objections.
Pushing open the door, you'll find yourself on a classic, straight wooden staircase leading upwards. The staircase is cluttered with miscellaneous items, and at the end is the back door leading to the garden.
Aside from a lot of clutter, it's very well preserved.
There are three rooms on the second floor. Pushing open a half-closed door, you can see four young and beautiful women sitting in four Western-style chairs facing each other. They all turn their heads when they hear the sound.
The woman closest to the door stood up, her pretty face full of pride: "Is there something you need?"
Yang Fen glanced at the four people with his hands behind his back, "You guys go ahead with your work, I'll take some people to look around."
The four didn't recognize Yang Fen, and they didn't pay much attention to what he said. Anyone who could get into this place couldn't be someone insignificant.
They focused their wary, scrutinizing, and defensive gazes primarily on Ruan Xianxian and Mu Xia, one of them grinning as she said:
"Aren't these new colleagues sent from headquarters? What roles are they going to play?"
Yang Fen ignored them and only explained to the three of them:
"Feel free to look around. This place is currently used as the office of the Film Performance Arts Association. It's well-preserved. If you don't like it, we can go and look at other places."
Ruan Xianxian gave Yang Fen a deep look.
This means that if someone likes another person, they can ask them to vacate their office space for her.
This old scoundrel is just setting a trap. Back in the 1970s, you couldn't get into a house to get electricity without some connections.
It's not that someone is exceptionally talented or that they come from a wealthy and influential family.
Using her name to kick people out—regardless of what the power company thinks, these proud and arrogant girls will definitely have a problem with it, a very big problem.
Sure enough, as soon as the words were spoken, someone let out a high-pitched "Yo!"—the words were spoken quickly and urgently.
"Tsk, where did this little brat come from, so arrogant? Who gave you the right to comment on whether you like it or not? You're not welcome here, get out, get out."
Yang Fen looked embarrassed, but Ruan Xianxian ignored him and began to tour the room, which had the feel of old Shanghai.
The room has a four-meter high ceiling and retains the original appearance of the old villa. The fireplace is finely crafted, and the balcony has two floor-to-ceiling wooden cabinets, with a round dining table on the other side.
Looking out through the old doors and windows, one sees sycamore trees providing shade, a completely different feeling from the courtyard houses in Beijing.
"How's it going?" Yang Fen asked. "Shall we go check out other places?"
“Okay!” Ruan Xianxian drawled out the last syllable and walked out of the room first.
After the door closed again, the four girls looked at each other, bewildered. "Who are they? What do they mean?"
She remained silent throughout, as if the female leader had paused briefly to consider the matter.
"My grandfather told me that the Ministry of the Interior is considering taking back this mansion. It seems that the higher-ups are taking action!"
"No!" another person exclaimed.
"We're doing our jobs perfectly well, why should they take them back? Move out? This place is not only close to our homes, but we were here first, why should we give it to others?"
"When I got home that night, I told my mom, absolutely not. Otherwise, what do you take us for? Easy pawns? Someone you can just squeeze whenever you want!"
The girls were chattering away.
Just like when a school suddenly announces a change of campus, students who are used to it and don't know which remote corner they will be moved to will naturally make a fuss and have opinions.
After touring the three floors of the main building, Yang Fen recounted the history of the mansion as if telling a story, while observing Ruan Xianxian's expression.
"Comrade Ruan doesn't seem to like it much? Actually, the layout of the Western-style buildings on this street is pretty much the same; the only difference is how well they are preserved."
To prove his point, he took people to visit two more places.
People were working there, and not to mention the rooms, even the walls of the corridors and hallways were covered in patches of paint, with unidentified black objects scattered across the walls.
The century-old wooden staircase is cracked all around, and there are several holes on the side closest to the wall.
If you want to live in it after you get it, you'll have to replace everything. If you want to keep it in its original state, it's a considerable restoration project.
Yang Fen asked her if she liked it, and Ruan Xianxian neither said yes nor no, only asking, "Are there any other old Western-style buildings in other areas?"
Yang Fen's eyes flickered as he was about to speak when Ruan Xianxian added, "My grandma said that the old Western-style buildings in Jing'an have a better environment."
The Western-style buildings in the French Concession are nice, and they will become tourist areas in the future.
Who would be so bored as to make their home in a tourist attraction and be watched by people every day, with their comings and goings under the noses of tourists?
She thought this to herself, but she absolutely had to own one of the Western-style buildings on Mingren Road!
Even if the family fortune is squandered by unfilial descendants, the villa on Mingren Road, not to mention selling it, the rent alone would be enough to support several generations.
Wealth rarely lasts beyond three generations; a rational person should plan ahead from the very beginning.
Ruan Xianxian smiled, knowing she wouldn't tell Yang Fen about these plans, but she watched as Yang Fen's expression changed after she said something.
There is indeed a Western-style house in Jing'an; it was the foundation of his confidence that he had set his sights on it for his grandchildren.
Currently, whether in Beijing or Shanghai, the future value of housing has not been fully understood.
The reason they wanted to keep those two properties for themselves was because the old villa area of Jing'an was the true upper-class circle of this city.
He frequents places where powerful figures reside. Even an elderly woman he casually helps cross the street might be the mother of some influential person he can't afford to offend.
That's why we attach so much importance to it!
Those hidden and unseen benefits are simply incomparable to the Western-style buildings on Celebrity Street that only have historical significance but have long been rented out to organizations as office spaces.
His smile was forced, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Really? I was born and raised in Haishi, and I have no idea where there are any better Western-style buildings than on this street!"
Ruan Xianxian looked at him and smiled, "Maybe it's because people have different pursuits. Of course, you should choose a place with a better environment to live in, rather than living with your 9-to-5 workplace day and night."
"Is that so, Director Yang?"
Having said all that, Yang Fen realized that the brat was already prepared and that he couldn't fool her with a few words. He could only reluctantly get back into the car.
As they drove past the Western-style building marked with number 319, Yang Fen, still unwilling to give up, asked with a smile, "Comrade Ruan, shouldn't you ask Comrade Gong for his opinion?"
Miyano was wearing a military uniform today, with long boots covering his strong and powerful calves. He turned his head to the side, his wispy hair covering his eyelids and obscuring the dark and unfathomable light in his eyes.
He toyed with his pen, then gently raised his gaze: "What do you want? I want them all."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
