The courtyard of the Li family's old house is very large; Wang Peng estimates it to be about half an acre, or approximately 330 square meters.
The house was pitifully small, consisting of three main rooms with blue bricks and tiles, and two east rooms with red bricks and blue tiles.
"This is an old house built before liberation. It's older than me. It's a bit dilapidated, but it doesn't let in any wind or rain."
“These two east-facing rooms were built the year before last, and they’re perfect for you to use as a kitchen and a bathroom.”
"I'll waive the rent; consider it as finding someone to look after my old house."
Li Longfei felt a little embarrassed and was hesitant to mention the rent.
"Uncle Li, don't say that. The rent should be paid," Wang Peng said. "Name your price. I'll rent it for a year first."
"Give me whatever you think is appropriate, any amount is fine," Li Longfei waved his hand.
For a house like this, Wang Peng would only give a maximum of two hundred yuan.
“Uncle Li, we’re not joking, have you ever considered selling this courtyard?” he asked.
Li Longfei was taken aback and frowned slightly.
He is an only son in his family, with only one daughter, and he doesn't plan to have a son in the future, since his wife is a civil servant.
My family owns a two-story villa, and unless we have a son-in-law who moves in with us, we don't need to rebuild the old house.
Even if he were to marry into the family, he would still buy a house for his daughter and son-in-law in a big city.
Ping'an County is just an ordinary small county.
"You really want to buy this courtyard?" Li Longfei said. "Your aunt wants to sell it."
Wang Peng nodded emphatically, saying that buying a house was a must, and he couldn't afford to be late.
If I had my own home, I wouldn't be being kicked out like this today.
“I’ll go back and discuss it with your aunt,” Li Longfei said. “This is an urban village. If you’re sure you want to buy, I’ll find a way to transfer your household registration here.”
"I'm definitely buying." Wang Peng took out his bankbook directly. "If the price is right, I'll pay the deposit tomorrow."
"Haha, you're just like me, both of us have a decisive and efficient temper. I'll go home and discuss it."
The two chatted for a few more minutes before Li Longfei went home for dinner.
His home is less than 200 meters from here.
“Buying this yard isn’t worth it; we’ll have to build our own house in the future,” Li Guixi said softly.
"It's mainly for buying land." Wang Peng looked at his bankbook; the balance was over 9,400 yuan.
I bought 3,000 jin of cheap rice to start my fried rice business, but now I only have 300 jin left.
“This yard is quite big, let me measure how big it is.” Li Guixi walked around measuring with her hands behind her back.
He walked around the yard and said, "It's about 340 square meters, or half an acre."
"Pengdi, how much are you planning to offer?" Li Fang also became interested.
"I can only contribute a maximum of ten thousand yuan for the house and yard. I don't know what the Li family thinks." Wang Peng put the savings book into his pocket.
"Don't think about that now, let's get the house ready." Li Guixi turned around and started moving things.
The old house had electricity, so Wang Peng turned on the door light, and the three of them tidied up the room together.
The kitchenware and food cart were placed in the east room, while the siblings still lived in the main room.
The three main rooms are connected, with two curtains hanging from the two main beams, dividing the main room into three sections.
Wang Peng slept on the west side, and his cousin slept on the east side.
In the middle of the living room, there is an eight-immortal table where he enshrines Guan Yu, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and the God of Wealth in the main hall.
It took until eight or nine o'clock at night to finally finish cleaning up.
After frying a pot of egg fried rice, the three of them were full, and Li Guixi drove the oxcart home.
Li Fang went to the kitchen to cook rice for tomorrow, while Wang Peng tallied up the furniture to be purchased.
Wooden beds, wardrobes, desks, tables and benches—that's another huge expense.
I turned on the borrowed TV and turned the tuning knob, but I could only receive Ping An TV and Ping An Education Channel.
They couldn't even receive the Central Plains Provincial Television Station.
It should be noted that in 1993, radio and television signals were transmitted via radio waves, and signal transmission was affected by space.
I watched TV for a while, and it was mostly commercials, 90% of which were just ads with subtitles.
Smartphones and the internet are still mythical, and the public lacks film and entertainment resources, so video arcades can be a viable business.
The school does have a computer lab, and Wang Peng couldn't help but laugh out loud when he thought of it.
Each class has two computer classes every month.
When I went to the computer lab to learn how to use computers, the teacher actually told the students to cover their shoes with plastic bags, saying it was to prevent dust and protect the computers.
These low-end computers, which would be electronic waste decades from now, are treasures now.
"What are you laughing at?" asked Li Mengjiao.
Wang Peng turned around and saw Li Mengjiao standing at the door. "Is evening self-study over?"
“My dad wants you to come to my house,” Li Mengjiao said. “He told me you want to buy my grandma’s yard?”
“I have this idea, Uncle Li, do you want to sell it?” Wang Peng turned off the video recorder with the remote control.
"Is the fried rice business profitable?" Li Mengjiao walked into the bedroom. "When I was little, I often slept here."
The two were not on the same wavelength, and Wang Peng suspected that she did not want to sell her childhood memories.
There was a wooden table next to the bed. Li Mengjiao took the drawer down and put it on the floor, then reached into the table and groped around inside.
He pulled out a black and white photograph.
A little girl, about four or five years old, is riding a rocking horse, grinning as she looks ahead.
"Who is this ugly girl?" Wang Peng joked with a smile.
Li Mengjiao glared at him fiercely, put the photo in her pocket, and turned to walk out of the main room.
It was indeed the ugly girl. Wang Peng looked smug and followed her all the way to the Li family.
...
Four people were sitting in the Li family's living room.
Li Longfei and Xu Rong are a married couple, the Party Secretary and the Village Chief of Xiaowangzhuang.
"Xiao Wang, did you bring your household registration booklet? Let the Party Secretary and the village head take a look," Xu Rong said.
"I brought them with me." Wang Peng took out his household registration book and ID card from his waist bag and handed them to the two village officials with both hands.
The two village officials first checked the household registration book, then the ID card, comparing Wang Peng's face with the photo on his ID card.
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