Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Looking at the two-story north room, He Yuzhu really liked it. It seemed like it was prepared for him to open a restaurant in the future. The second floor could be divided into several rooms to make private rooms, and the first floor was spacious enough. The kitchen could be placed in the west room. He could also rebuild the kitchen in the yard, which was spacious enough.

But he also knew that this house, with so many rooms, couldn't be sold cheaply. His family had money, but most of it was earned by his wife, so he didn't know exactly how much money he had, so whether he bought it or not depended on his wife's opinion.

Unexpectedly, there was a small door on the side of the south room. Mr. Ji opened the door and the three of them walked in. What they saw was an abandoned garden.

The garden is about half an acre in size and is overgrown with weeds.

Several houses on the east side have collapsed, with their roofs gone and only the walls around them remaining. There is a rockery in the middle of the garden, and a pavilion on the west side of the rockery, which has also fallen into disrepair over the years. Several trees are planted around it.

Xu Huizhen looked at them and found that all the trees were planted with particular care. There was a crabapple tree. People in Beijing liked to plant crabapples in their yards. "Hai" means big or many, and "Tang" is homophonic with "Tang", which means a house full of wealth and having many children and grandchildren. Therefore, the crabapple tree is also called the tree of wealth and honor.

A magnolia tree and a crabapple tree planted in the same yard are a metaphor for abundance of wealth and wealth.

There is also a persimmon tree. The orange-red color of the persimmon symbolizes prosperity, and the word "persimmon" means everything goes well and generations of good fortune.

It can be seen that the Ji family must have been a family with a profound background in the past, and they were very particular about the species of these trees.

Mr. Ji said: "This garden is also mine, but the situation has changed in recent years. I was afraid of causing trouble, so I didn't take care of it and it became abandoned."

What he said was very obscure, but Xu Hui really understood that Mr. Ji was a smart man who knew how to keep a low profile. Housing in the capital is so tight now, if you still live in a spacious house with a garden, wouldn't that attract hatred?

In a few years, he might be classified as one of the five black categories, driven out of the capital, and sent to build the frontier. So it was a wise move for Mr. Ji to sell his house and move to another place.

In fact, the geographical location of this house is quite good. Xu Huizhen was not from Beijing in her previous life, but she had visited Beijing more than once. This area, until decades later, has not been demolished to build high-rise buildings, but has preserved the original old Beijing courtyards. It is a tourist check-in spot in later generations, and is crowded with tourists every day.

Unless some houses facing the street need to be demolished in the future as the city's population increases and the streets are widened, these houses will be preserved for several years. After 2010, the housing prices will rise to astronomical figures.

Thinking of this, Xu Huizhen's heart was burning. She thought that if the Ji family was eager to sell it and the price was cheap, she would buy it. Although there were certain unstable factors involved, there were always more solutions than problems.

After returning to the south room and sitting down, Xu Huizhen asked, "Mr. Ji, where are the other people in the family? Are you the only one living in such a big house?"

Mr. Ji said, "My family has moved out of town, and I wanted to stay and look after the family. But plans can't keep up with changes. So, do you want this house?"

Xu Huizhen: "The house is quite nice, but we didn't expect it to be so big. I don't know if the money we have is enough. What price do you plan to sell it for?"

Mr. Ji: “How many jobs do you have?”

Xu Huizhen: "Two regular workers and two temporary workers."

Mr. Ji said: "Two regular workers and two temporary workers need an additional 4000 yuan. My house has 19 rooms, and all the wood is top quality. This price is really cheap."

Xu Huizhen: "In theory, the price is not expensive, but these few years are difficult times. People can't even fill their stomachs. Who can afford so much money to buy a house? I guess you won't be able to find a buyer for a while."

Mr. Ji smiled bitterly. It had been a while since he had announced that he was going to sell his house, but he hadn't found anyone who could afford the price, so he thought of exchanging it for a job. After getting the job, he could sell it for money, right?

Mr. Ji: "My ancestors spent more than 3000 dollars to buy this house. I didn't expect it to be worth so little now."

In fact, Xu Huizhen could accept this price, but in business, it's a back-and-forth process, and you have to push the price down. Otherwise, if you agree to it readily, the other party may think it's too cheap and make other demands.

She said: "This price is a bit beyond our budget, let's go home and discuss it."

Having said that, Xu Huizhen stood up and prepared to leave. Mr. Ji looked at the couple eagerly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xu Huizhen seemed to have suddenly thought of something and asked, "Mr. Ji, I heard that the shop your family used to run was called Yuluxuan. Have you sold out all the stock in the shop?"

Mr. Ji: "Are you interested in those things? After the public-private partnership, we private owners were not allowed to continue operating, so I gradually disposed of the inventory. Now there are only some jadeite raw stones left, piled in the cellar."

Xu Huizhen's eyes lit up, but she said slowly, "Can we go and take a look?"

Mr. Ji said, "It's OK. Anyway, if you don't buy this house, it will be sold to someone else soon. I'm not afraid of you knowing the existence of this secret room."

After that, he led the two people to the east room and opened the door, which looked like a utility room. Mr. Ji pressed something on the wall that looked like a lamp, and the wall creaked and slowly opened a secret door.

There is a mezzanine built on the wall, and going down the ladder is a basement.

Mr. Ji lit up a few candles on the wall. Xu Huizhen looked around and found that the basement was really big, about the size of three rooms. The floor and walls were paved with bluestone slabs, which could prevent moisture and rats.

Touching the smooth bluestone slabs and the meticulous workmanship, Xu Huizhen sighed that the owner must have spent a huge amount of money on building it.

Mr. Ji pointed to a pile of stones in the corner and said, "These are the rough stones my father left behind a few years ago. Maybe one of them can be mined into a top-quality jade. These things are really heavy. I definitely can't take them away. No one wants them even if I sell them now. If you buy my house, I'll give them to you for free."

The basement is pitch dark and you can't see anything, but since Mr. Ji put them in such a hidden place, they must have some value.

He Yuzhu saw that there were still many wooden boxes in the cellar, and there were also some wood piled next to them. The wood was of different lengths and shapes. He was curious, why did they put the wood in the cellar with so much effort? He didn't understand, so he asked: "Mr. Ji, what's the matter with these woods?"

Mr. Ji said: "These are the furniture used in my family. After my family left, I put them here. Some of them were too big, so I took them apart and put them here. They are all mortise and tenon structures. When they are needed, they can be reassembled. They are all made of huanghuali wood. I spent a lot of money on them."

Back on the ground, Mr. Ji stared at Xu Huizhen's face eagerly, hoping to read her thoughts from her face. It seemed that she was really anxious to sell the house so that she could reunite with her family.

Xu Huizhen still wanted to go home and discuss things with He Yuzhu, so she said she would write back tomorrow and left.

After returning home, Xu Huizhen asked: "Zhu Zi, what do you think of this house? Do you want to buy it or not?"

He Yuzhu: "The house is great. I'm interested in the second floor in the north room. If the policy allows in the future, we can open a restaurant. My father and I are both ready-made chefs."

It will take nearly 20 years to allow individuals to open restaurants.

He Yuzhu stared at his wife and asked, "How do you know it will take another twenty years?"

Xu Huizhen was shocked. She had just let something slip by accident. If you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. Is she going to be exposed?

She quickly explained, "I'm just guessing. Think about it. When the public-private partnership was just implemented and private businesses were banned, this policy would have to be implemented for at least 20 years, right? The government can't just change overnight, right?"