It was still dark when they woke up. Tiananmen Square was quite far away, and they had left too early for the bus. It was now dark and deserted. Lin Xiuyao walked into a small alley and took his bicycle out of the space, while Su Qingmeng kept watch.
"Just take out the bicycle and use it," Su Qingmeng said, it is convenient to have a bicycle.
Lin Xiuyao said, "Okay, my friend has already brought the car here."
Su Qingmeng found it funny, ‘making friends out of nothing’?
Lin Xiuyao rode with Su Qingmeng, who was holding a flashlight. After riding for over half an hour, they arrived at Tiananmen Square. There were already quite a few people there, both locals and outsiders.
Although it was a cold winter, everyone waited quietly. At dawn, the soldiers began to raise the national flag. When the five-star red flag reached the top of the flagpole, Su Qingmeng was excited. Her motherland would soar in the next few decades, and she would witness history.
The two of them found a place to eat breakfast and then went to look for an apartment. Haidian District is still mostly villages and towns, with few buildings, and is considered a suburb of Beijing.
They went to the housing management office near Peking University to inquire about housing. There were only six or seven staff members inside. Lin Xiuyao walked in and gave each of them two candies before explaining his desire to buy a house and showing them his admission letter. A man in his thirties came out and offered to show them around.
On the way, Lin Xiuyao approached the staff. The eldest brother's surname was Zhou. He handed over a pack of cigarettes and said, "Brother Zhou, thank you for your help."
Brother Zhou smiled. "You've come at the right time. Recently, many people who have been rehabilitated and returned to the city have returned their properties. The housing management office has houses. Previously, few people sold their houses, but now there are three for sale. I'll show you all."
The two thanked him and soon arrived at the first house, a 40-square-meter tube-shaped building. The room was too small, and it looked out onto the crowded corridor, and from time to time, you could hear the noises of other people's houses. Su Qingmeng was not satisfied. Lin Xiuyao received his wife's gaze and said, "Brother Zhou, let's go look somewhere else first."
The second option was two rooms in a large courtyard. People in the courtyard saw them coming in and peeking in. They didn't like the lack of privacy in these rooms. Brother Zhou saw them both shaking their heads and said, "The price for this last room is too high." However, the young couple didn't seem to be short of money; they were just quite picky.
The third one has its own door and yard. Brother Zhou opened the door with his key and said, "This one is the best."
The courtyard contained three and a half bungalows, two main rooms with a small kitchen in the middle. There was also a wing to the west, but one corner had collapsed. There was a toilet next to the wing. There was also a tree in the yard. The courtyard wall was three meters high, and there was running water in the yard, with a pool at the corner of the east wall.
Su Qingmeng was generally satisfied. She exchanged glances with Lin Xiuyao. Lin Xiuyao began to ask for the price, and Brother Zhou said the landlord wanted one thousand.
"How about you call the landlord over, Brother Zhou, and we can talk face to face."
Ten minutes later, an old man came in with white hair and a frosted face.
Lin Xiuyao bargained with him, "Uncle, this house needs to be repaired. Look, it's collapsed. Can you give it a discount?"
The old man said, "It only needs a simple repair. I've been too busy to take care of it. If I hadn't gone south to live with my daughter, I wouldn't have wanted to sell this house."
Lin Xiuyao bargained for a while and said he didn't want the furniture. The old man was also anxious to sell the house, so he finally bargained down to nine hundred.
They went to the Housing Authority to transfer ownership, and the house was now in Su Qingmeng's name, as agreed upon earlier. They handed the money to the old man, who counted it twice to make sure it was correct, then had someone take the things away and gave them the key.
The two looked at the empty room and were delighted. "We have a house in the capital now." With a house, they could settle down.
Although this is a suburb and not in the city, Su Qingmeng knows that the future Zhongguancun and University Town are nearby and will definitely appreciate in value. She is quite satisfied with the location and will live here temporarily during her university years.
The two of them cleaned up briefly and went to the guesthouse, buying some furniture and then moving in.
The next day, I came to clean up. The room had a cement floor and blue brick walls. After cleaning, it was much tidier than a house in the countryside.
The doors and windows of the two main rooms were in good condition, so Lin Xiuyao simply reinforced them. Only the kang in the east room had a problem, so he cleared the kang passage.
While I was busy, a smiling lady came in. "Are you two new here? I'm from the neighborhood office. You can call me Aunt Wu. If you have any problems, you can come to me."
She came to inquire about her new neighbors. When she heard that they were all college students, she enthusiastically introduced the neighborhood to them.
Su Qingmeng took out a few candies and handed them to Aunt Wu: "Our house needs repairs. Does Aunt Wu know anyone?"
Aunt Wu said enthusiastically, "Old Li from the alley across the street is a veteran. I'll take you there."
Lin Xiuyao said, "I'll go," and went with Aunt Wu to look for someone. After a while, he brought back an uncle. They agreed on a price, and Uncle Li could buy the materials for them. The uncle and his son got busy together.
Su Qingmeng and Lin Xiuyao temporarily handed the keys to him and asked where to buy furniture. The uncle said that the department store sold it and there was also a second-hand flea market nearby.
They first went to the flea market. The furniture was a little worn, but not in any way missing. They bought two chairs, a table, and two large cabinets. They would simply arrange the space. There was still furniture in the space, so they could use it later.
Su Qingmeng didn't want to sleep in a bed that had been slept in by someone else, so they went to the department store and bought a double bed. There was a tricycle nearby, and they paid fifty cents for it to deliver it to their door.
When I came back, Master Li and his son were busy at work. The walls had been built and they were repairing the roof.
Soon the furniture arrived, and they moved it in. They put the bed in the west room, so they could sleep in the east room for warmth in the winter and cool in the summer. They put the cabinets and table in the east room first. As they finished tidying, it was getting dark.
Master Li and the others had already left. Su Qingmeng pulled the light cord and finally lived a life with electricity. The light was not very bright. She looked up and said, "This light bulb must have been used for a long time. Let's get a new one tomorrow."
Lin Xiuyao nodded and said, "Life in the city is good. We have electricity and running water." The capital is different. His previous houses in the commune and the county town were not so convenient. He had to draw water from the well and use kerosene lamps.
Lin Xiuyao: "Let's go back to the guesthouse. We'll move in tomorrow."
Su Qingmeng locked the door to the house and the yard, and replaced the locks with the new ones they brought. For a woman like her who has lived alone in modern times, the first thing she does when moving into a new home is to change the locks. She is used to it.
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