The house itself is no problem. Shu Yan is very satisfied with the layout, size, and location. The only issue now is the price. If the price is reasonable, she will buy the house.
"So you've decided?" Most people look at houses several times, but this one only needs to go around once.
"That's about it, I can't see anything else to recommend it. Ask him how much the lowest price is, and I'll buy it if it's reasonable." To be honest, old houses like this are okay to live in occasionally, but after a while, apartments are more comfortable. Besides, the apartment Shuyan lives in now is designed for 20 or 30 years from now, and it's very comfortable in every way. Buying this apartment is an investment.
To put it bluntly, it's about waiting for demolition and relocation. When that happens, they'll either change their storefront or move to an office building, and then rent it out for a large sum of money.
When it comes to negotiating prices, Lao Hu is the expert. Shu Yan avoided them and went to the backyard. A rose bush in the corner was blooming beautifully. She went over and gently smelled it. It had a faint fragrance. The backyard was full of flowers. On summer nights, you could enjoy the breeze and watch the stars in the backyard. It was quite pleasant.
Turning around, I saw an old woman carrying a small wooden bucket, watering the plants.
When the old lady saw Shu Yan, she smiled and nodded, then continued watering the plants. She had completely forgotten that she had ever seen Shu Yan before. Or perhaps Shu Yan had changed so much that the old lady didn't recognize her.
Shu Yan smiled and nodded, without saying anything else. She then walked around the yard for a while and saw Old Hu come out.
Old Hu lowered his voice, "At least 400,000 yuan, including all your belongings."
"Four hundred thousand? That's too high." Shu Yan frowned.
In the 1990s, Chinese people preferred apartment buildings to residential houses, and apartment buildings were more expensive than residential houses.
This area will be a prime location in the future, but the problem is that it's 1993 now. For true Nancheng residents, this area is considered the suburbs and countryside. Some older Nancheng residents, even if they live in cramped conditions, wouldn't bother buying a house here, feeling it would be beneath them.
Four hundred thousand is a really high price.
“You should know that I didn’t buy this courtyard house to live in myself. I’m living comfortably in my own apartment building. You’ve been to my house before. Why would I move here instead of living in my apartment building? I bought this courtyard house because I happened to have some spare money on hand. The price isn’t worth it.”
Shu Yan's meaning was clear: she wasn't buying the house for her own residence, but purely for investment, so she wasn't in a hurry to buy it and wouldn't buy it if the price was too high.
"That's what I told him too, but he wouldn't budge on the price," Lao Hu said helplessly.
Shu Yan shook her head. "You should talk to him again. A house here is worth at most 300,000 yuan. It's not even in the city center. If there were a house this big in the city, I would buy it for 400,000, 500,000, or even 600,000 yuan."
“Okay, I’ll talk to him again.” Old Hu nodded.
In business, you set a high price on the spot and then try to negotiate it back on the spot.
This village is relatively remote. It was only after the South City Capital was built that a bus stop was erected nearby. It's impossible to sell at the same high prices as in the city.
Shu Yan entrusted this matter to Lao Hu. Her target price was 350,000 yuan. It wouldn't be worthwhile if it went above that price. In any case, prices in the southern part of the city wouldn't rise too much in the next few years, so she could take her time to find a suitable house.
I don't know how Lao Hu negotiated, but the next day he called Shu Yan and said that the landlord was willing to lower the price to a minimum of 330,000 yuan, but it had to be paid in full at once.
No problem. Shu Yan got more than 90,000 yuan from the previous landlord, and made more than 30,000 yuan in the last few days of the clearance sale. She kept this money for herself. In addition, she got 40,000 yuan from Lao Zhang, which brought her to more than 160,000 yuan. In addition, she held the position of chairman of the company, with a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan, which would amount to 120,000 yuan in six months. With this money, she would have 280,000 yuan. With a little more, she could buy the house.
When buying a house, the village party secretary must be present and he must sign and put his fingerprint on it; otherwise, Shu Yan wouldn't dare to buy the house.
"Are you really going to sell this house?" The village secretary was related to the homeowner and, upon hearing that they were going to sell the house to buy one abroad, he thought it was unlikely.
"There's no other way. My daughter has to work and take care of the child, it's too hard for her. How can we parents bear to see her like this? We have nothing to do at home, so we might as well go and help our daughter take care of her grandson." The homeowner smiled and said that as long as he was with his daughter, he was fine with anywhere.
"I disagree, I disagree with selling the house."
Just as the papers were signed, the old lady, having somehow gotten wind of it, rushed over, followed by a couple. The man bore a resemblance to the homeowner and was likely the old lady's youngest son.
The homeowner clearly sold the house without telling the old lady. Maybe he went to invite the village secretary today, and someone on the way saw him and asked a few questions. That's how the old lady found out. In any village, there are bound to be a few people who love to gossip and watch others have a good time.
"I don't agree to sell this house. You two are the foundation of your family. You can't sell the house, no matter what. If you sell the house, where will you live when you get old?" The old lady said with exasperation. "What kind of daughter has her parents come to take care of her after she gets married? And her parents have to sell the house to subsidize her? Doesn't she fear being struck by lightning?"
“We’re the ones who are planning to immigrate abroad, and I’m happy to spend money on our daughter. It’s not like I’m spending your money,” the eldest daughter-in-law said directly.
“That’s my son’s money. You’ve gone abroad and you’re not going to support me in my old age? If you’re not going to support me in my old age, then leave this house to me so I can take care of myself in my old age. Otherwise, I’ll sue you to the government.”
In short, the old lady just wanted this house.
"Fine! Go ahead and sue. If you don't, you're a coward." The eldest daughter-in-law's eyes were filled with disgust as she looked at the old lady. "When we divided the family property, you didn't give us anything. Old Xia and I left with nothing. We agreed that the house and savings would all go to your youngest son, and we wouldn't be responsible for your retirement. What? You've forgotten after all these years? It's fine if you've forgotten, it's all written in black and white. The old Party Secretary and the factory leaders are still around, you can't deny it. I've never heard of dividing the family property and giving it to only one son, then having both sons split the cost of retirement, and then giving you the house you worked so hard to buy your whole life? How can you be so shameless?"
Clearly, the eldest daughter-in-law had a lot of grievances against the old lady and showed no mercy, saying whatever she wanted.
Hearing these words, the old lady's momentum clearly weakened.
"Even though we didn't give you anything, wasn't Uncle born of our mother? Or was Uncle born knowing how to eat and walk?" the old lady's youngest daughter-in-law chimed in from behind.
"Shut up." The eldest daughter-in-law glared at her sister-in-law. "It's written in black and white. Do you want to go back on your word? Fine, we can take care of you in your old age. We'll redistribute the family property. We'll give you half of what we gave you. We'll take care of you in the same way you take care of us. At worst, I won't go abroad. I'll stay home and take good care of the old lady."
These words left the younger daughter-in-law speechless. Both her parents-in-law were employed; her father-in-law was an 8th-grade worker with a really good salary and benefits. The house they were allocated was also excellent—a large 70-square-meter house. There was no concept of shared area in factory-allocated housing; if it was 70 square meters, it was 70 square meters. It had three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Many people envied it, and it was all given to them when the family property was divided. In addition, there was the old couple's life savings, which were still in the old lady's hands, but they would definitely be given to them in the future. How could all these things be given to the eldest son's family?
“If you can’t do it, then shut up. This house was bought by my husband and me through our own hard work and by borrowing a large sum of money from my family. It has nothing to do with you.” The eldest daughter-in-law pointed at the old lady. “How can you still have the nerve to say that today? You’re getting old, and your skin has gotten thicker. You’ll say anything without thinking.”
"I don't want to live anymore! What kind of daughter-in-law talks to her mother-in-law like that?" The old lady suddenly sat down on the ground and cried her heart out.
This isn't the first time the old lady has made a scene like this; you can tell by how unfazed the people around her seem.
However, this eldest daughter-in-law is quite something; it's rare to see her talk to her mother-in-law like that.
Old Xia, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up when he saw the old lady's reaction. "I've already sold the house, the papers are all signed, and this place belongs to someone else from now on, so don't even think about it. I have my own daughter, and of course, my things will stay with her. When we die, just have my daughter cremate us and bury us here, or abroad, or even just take us to the sea and scatter the ashes—it doesn't matter. I really don't need my second brother's children to come and pay their respects. What's the point of incense offerings? After death, we're all just a pile of ashes."
"How can you say such a thing to your father? If he knew what you were thinking from the afterlife, he'd break your legs!" The old lady would get furious every time she heard her son say this.
“Dad is a veteran Party member, and his ideological awareness is even higher than mine.” Upon hearing this, the old lady fell silent. The old man truly had no preference for sons over daughters. When he was alive, he treated his granddaughter and grandson equally. Unfortunately, he died young, and as soon as he passed away, the old lady started making a fuss about dividing the family property.
“My sister-in-law was right just now. You did give birth to me and raise me, so I will continue to take care of you in your old age. I will send 30 yuan back every month as a token of my filial piety.”
"Get out, get out now! Don't ever come back. I'll pretend I never had a son like you." This time, the old lady didn't wail, but tears really fell. Of course, she loved her eldest son, but she was angry that he wouldn't give her another grandson.
"Are you sure everything's alright? Don't come back to bother me. I have a bad temper, and I might really call the police." Shu Yan said this in front of Old Xia and the old lady.
"Don't worry, now that you've bought the house, it's yours." It was the village secretary who said this, and Shu Yan felt even more at ease.
Thirty-three hundred thousand yuan was transferred to Lao Xia's account in one go. The next step is to reissue the property certificate, which Lao Hu needs to do. It will cost about six thousand yuan. Let alone six thousand, even if it costs sixty thousand, Shu Yan will still get the property certificate. Otherwise, she won't feel at ease.
The house was sold, and Lao Xia and his wife moved out reluctantly. They gave all the appliances to Shu Yan, but Shu Yan didn't want the pots and pans, so they gave them away. After they moved out, Shu Yan hired two more people to clean the yard. The yard was really nice, and she didn't plan to rent it out. It was a great place to escape the summer heat.
"I heard you bought this house?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Shu Yan turned her head and said, "Hmm, this place is not bad. It's a good investment."
Fang Zeyu nodded and smiled, "Then we'll still be neighbors from now on."
Shu Yan had been so focused on buying a house these past few days that she had completely forgotten about this. "Not necessarily, I won't be staying here." Occasionally staying doesn't count.
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