Chapter 12 Blocking the Door
"Hey, Brother Chang, do you know everything about the new government?"

"Well, it's the house at No. 24, Shuncheng Street, Chaoyangmen South. It's the one that Liu Guiting bought from a Korean in 45. The Korean sold it to multiple buyers, and they can't figure it out, so they've come to me for help."

"Before liberation, wasn't there a lawsuit with a skinhead named Zeng Yinhuai? The verdict has come down, but the court requires a 1000 yuan payment. Liu Guiting didn't have the money, so he gave me the house. I paid the money."

"Well, wasn't that a chaotic time? No one gave me a new house license. After liberation, the government awarded it directly to the skinheads and confiscated it."

"It was better for Deming to go directly to the Land Administration Bureau and the Public Property Management Bureau and ask them why they were still leaning towards that side. The previous court rulings were all there. The government returned it to me."

"We are at war in North Korea, aren't we? I'll just sell the house and use the money to fight the damn Koreans!"

"Haha! Second Brother Chang, it has to be you."

As soon as Wang Deming and his two companions entered the front yard, a short, thin, bespectacled, middle-aged man in his 40s came up to them and asked carefully, "I'm the manager of the front yard. My last name is Yan. Who are you?"

As soon as Wang Deming saw the man's appearance and style, and heard him introduce himself as Yan, he was certain that this courtyard was indeed the one in the TV series. It was really interesting.

When Old Man Chang heard the self-introduction of the other party, he burst into laughter and turned to Wang Deming and said, "Hey, Deming boy, there is another relative of yours here? It is not easy to meet such a relative in the capital."

Fourth Master Rong nodded slightly to Steward Yan and said, "Isn't the house in the east wing of this courtyard for sale?"

"Let's take a look. We are from No. 81 Gulou East Street and No. 10 Mahua Hutong. This person's surname is Chang, and mine is Wang."

Mr. Rong Si also explained the origins of several people to avoid trouble. At this time, the manager of each residential area and the director of the neighborhood committee were responsible for the task of joint defense.
Yan Bugui looked at the clothes of the people, heard the place name and surname, and saw that the two older people were dressed in old-fashioned clothes. He was delighted and knew that these two were definitely old-fashioned people!
If they could become relatives, any money that this wealthy Bannerman gives away would be enough for their own family to live on!
Yan Bugui smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed: "Oh, that's a coincidence!"

"All of us in Beijing with the surname Yan are descendants of the same family! If we become neighbors, we are even closer! May I ask what is your name, little brother? Who are your ancestors?"

When Wang Deming saw Yan Bugui's eagerness to get married, he recalled his character in the TV series who loved to take advantage of others. He had an idea in mind and smiled slightly: "Hello, Master Yan, my last name is Wang."

"Uh~~" Yan Bugui was stunned. Didn't he just say that he was from the same family? Was he teasing him? Just as he was about to say something sarcastic, Wang Deming continued to explain: "My sister's surname is Yan."

"Oh, so that's how it is? Then we are one family too!" Yan Bugui's family used to run a grain store and had contacts with bannermen. He instantly thought of two things: either they were bannermen (Manchu), so they used their names as their surnames, her sister was from the Wanyan clan and changed her name to Yan, and he changed his name to Wang; or he might have been adopted by a relative, so he changed his surname to Wang.

But it doesn’t matter. As long as your surname is Yan, you can always make connections with your relatives with your own abilities.

"Come, I'll take you to knock on the door," Yan Bugui said as he led the way and praised the house, "I've lived in this courtyard for a few years. The houses here are solid and neat. With a little renovation, they will be quite nice."

"Bang bang, Lao Bai, I'm here to bring people to check out your house."

The door creaked open, and a simple, honest middle-aged man came in. "Uncle, oh, please come in."

Old Man Chang and Fourth Master Rong stepped over the threshold and went inside to take a look. "Tsk tsk, it's quite standard. If we buy it, we'll have to take good care of it. How much do you want?"

The other party held up three fingers, and Old Man Chang shook his head: "It's too expensive. Your house is not worth that much. It has been in disrepair for a long time. It will take a lot of effort to clean it up if you want to move in. If you really want to give it up, think about it again. We'll make the deal today."

The other party thought about it and retracted his index finger halfway.

Old Man Chang looked at Wang Deming.

Wang Deming did not answer directly. He looked around the dilapidated old house and thought to himself that there were pros and cons to buying this house. The pros were that there were many residents in this courtyard and it was the front yard. With Yan Bugui's family watching over it, it would definitely be safe.

The downside is that it seems like everyone in this courtyard has bad character? This is basically the view of most people who have read novels about Siheyuan in later generations.

If Qin Huairu marries me and then moves to the city to serve me and live with me, why the hell do I suddenly feel such anticipation?
Well, forget it. I'll just bring my godmother and Qin Huairu to the city in the winter, then I can exchange the dollars for some money and find an excuse to buy another piece of land, right?

This place can be used as a transition point for now, as it is one of the three burrows of a cunning rabbit.

Qin Huairu's unintentional words a few days ago also reminded me that the local tyrants have been beaten and the land has been divided in the countryside, so why is there no movement in the city?

The little savings that you have saved should be transferred out quickly.

So Wang Deming nodded to Old Man Chang.

"Okay, that's settled!"

Now that the deal had been settled, Fourth Master Rong took out pen and ink from his pocket and began to write the documents, while Wang Deming was responsible for paying the money.

Old Man Chang felt bored staying in his room, so he went out for a stroll in the front yard. He saw the three main rooms in the middle yard through the entrance hall. When Fourth Master Rong and Wang Deming came out, he pointed and said, "This yard is nice, quite bright."

"But the best house is still the three main rooms in the third courtyard. Come on, Yaxuan (Mr. Rong), let's go ask the other party if they want to sell it. Or we can pay more for the east wing!"

"De Ming has been giving a lot to our family in the past two years. This kid is buying a property for the first time, so we have to buy him something good. If we are short of money, we can sell some things."

Fourth Master Rong also saw what Old Man Chang pointed at: "That's fine. According to the arrangement of this courtyard, the third courtyard is the master bedroom, and it should be the best house in this courtyard. Second Brother Chang, let's go and ask?" Wang Deming wanted to stop him. According to the TV series, the person living in the main house in the middle courtyard is Sha Zhu, a young man with a dullard, who probably can't say anything. Besides, Sha Zhu has a bad mouth and may say bad things, which will be bad if he provokes Old Man Chang. After all, the old man is old and it will be bad if he is angry.

"Master Chang, no need. I'm alone now. The two east wing rooms here are just right for me. Besides, I'm mainly staying at your house now. If you add the three main rooms in the middle courtyard, I can't live alone."

"How can we not live here? We can just rent it out. It's our own house. Why would we buy a worse one when we can buy a better one? Besides, it's not a big deal if we just ask. They may not be willing to change."

He immediately led the way through the hanging flower gate. After taking a quick look at the main house from outside, Old Man Chang began to knock on the door: "Is the owner home?"

A 16 or 7-year-old boy with greasy clothes and messy hair opened the door, his eyes still red: "Who are you looking for?"

Old Man Chang frowned slightly, and was so intoxicated by the smell in the other person's house and the smell on his body that he retreated directly to the yard, leaving enough distance before he smiled and said his intention: "Is your adult at home?"

"We want to talk to your parents. Do you want to sell your house? Or you can exchange it. We can use the east wing in the front yard and pay for it."

Sha Zhu yelled, "Get lost!"

"Hey, how come you don't have any rules? What did your parents teach you?"

Well, when Old Man Chang said this, Sha Zhu's already red eyes became even more bloodshot, and he rushed over like a mad bull to hit Old Man Chang: "You old bastard, what the hell is your business?"

When Sha Zhu started to curse and was about to fight, Old Man Chang also got angry and his face darkened immediately: "You are really a kid who was born by a mother but not raised by a father!"

"Ah!" Sha Zhu became even crazier.

Seeing this, Wang Deming took a step forward and wanted to stand in front of Old Man Chang. He couldn't let Sha Zhu hurt the old man. As a result, Old Man Chang raised his arm to stop him: "I have been practicing since I was a child. It's been so many years. Who dares to fight me?"

Just as Sha Zhu rushed in front of Old Man Chang, Old Man Chang was tall and had long arms. He dodged sideways, grabbed Sha Zhu's shoulder and pulled him, and at the same time, he used his foot to trip Sha Zhu and threw him to the ground.

"stop!"

At this time, the door of the east wing opened, and a middle-aged man with a round face and a crew cut appeared at the door with a righteous tone: "Who are you? Why do you come to our yard and beat people up?"

Yan Bugui quickly explained from behind: "Uncle, I really don't blame this uncle. He bought the east wing of the front yard, and saw that the three rooms in the middle yard were good, so he just wanted to ask if this room was for sale? Or if he wanted to pay more money to exchange it?"

Pointing at Sha Zhu who was lying on the ground, he said: "As a result, this bastard Sha Zhu started to curse and hit people without any explanation."

"The old man threw me down from behind."

An old man: "Then you can't hit anyone!"

Wang Deming looked at Yi Zhonghai with amusement and slowly retorted: "Master, are you the father of this little boy? You didn't even ask who started it first? You just arbitrarily accuse him without any reason?"

"Isn't this unreasonable of you?"

"If you're not convinced, we can either go to the street office or the police?"

"This is the new China. There must be a place for reason, right?"

The noise in the courtyard also alarmed the west wing of the central courtyard, and the people who were chatting in the room also looked into the courtyard through the window curiously.

Jia Zhang stretched her neck to look outside for a few seconds, then curled her lips at the guests across the table: "This bastard in the middle courtyard is called Shazhu. His father just ran away with a widow, leaving him and his sister behind. His sister is only 7 years old. I heard that he took his sister to Baoding a few days ago, but he was nowhere to be seen."

"Even though he has three rooms now, he is a teenager working as an apprentice in a restaurant and has no normal job. It's not certain whether he can keep the rooms."

"It's so good now. Someone came up to me and asked if I wanted to sell it. Even if I move it to the front yard, I can still save some money. It won't be a problem to live on it for a year or two."

"Now it's good, maybe they won't change it. This idiot Zhu is really too shabby!"

"But the people who bought this house look rich!"

Listening to Jia Zhang's envy and reluctance, Qin Huairu, who had been looking down at her toes, took the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief. She turned her head and looked out the window curiously, and was immediately shocked!
She looked through the window on the door and saw Wang Deming at first sight.

I'd recognize him even if he turned into ashes!
Wang Deming had his hair combed meticulously, and he wore a straight and handsome Zhongshan suit without any wrinkles. It was obviously made of good woolen material, and he looked very heroic, totally different from the one in the village.

After listening to Wang Deming's words again, Qin Huairu was more certain that this was the Wang Deming who always wore patched coarse cloth clothes and pretended to be low-key in the village!

It seems that Wang Deming has already bought the two east wing rooms in the front yard, and is now eyeing the three north wing rooms in the middle yard.

How rich is this?
Suddenly Wang Deming looked towards the west wing. Qin Huairu was so scared that she quickly turned around and lowered her head. She pulled her brother over with all her strength. Her heartbeat was pounding and her face was pale. She couldn't let Wang Deming see her here, otherwise she would not be able to explain herself later.
Why is it so short? It was neither too early nor too late. As soon as I entered the room, I was blocked by Wang Deming.
It's all this matchmaker's fault! She forced my dad to buy food on credit in the village and then ship it to the capital to sell.
It's strange. These old couple are so confused that they force me to come to the city to see her.
(End of this chapter)