Chapter 18 House Deed
Wang Deming laughed to cover it up: "Isn't there a geometry course in middle school?"

"If you learn this course well, you will know how to cut clothes, because there are all kinds of shapes."

"As for the sewing machine, it's even simpler. It requires the coordination of hands and feet at the same time. Push the thread while feeding it, and calculate the direction when inserting the needle, and you can't go wrong."

"Look, I can't sew it by hand. The hem and buttons are all done by you two."

Listening to Wang Kui's flattery, Wang Deming treated it as a joke. Wouldn't it be asking for trouble to open a store at this time?
Yan Baozhen had already gotten off the kang and put on her shoes. She stopped Wang Kui and said, "Grandma Jiba, please stop going back and forth. Deming and I will go and welcome Youguang."

"You are not a stranger. You should rest early. You have been watching the children all day and you must be exhausted."

Wang Kui didn't pretend to be polite and nodded with a smile.

When Wang Deming and his sister came out of the east wing, his brother-in-law Chang Youguang had already walked to the door of the north wing and was about to push the door open. "Youguang." "Brother-in-law!"

Chang Youguang was obviously a little drunk. His face flushed as he turned around. Then he turned around and said, "Oh, you two sisters are still awake?"

If you didn't know that this was in the 1950s, at first glance at Chang Youguang, you would probably think he was at least from the 1980s or 1990s.

He was dressed very stylishly, with a lake-colored silk casual suit on the upper body, a pocket watch in the pocket, and ironed straight trousers and pointed leather shoes on the lower body. He was holding a Panama straw hat in his hand, which was not inferior to those in later generations.

Yan Baozhen complained, "How can we sleep if you don't come back? We have to lock the door!"

"Why are you back so late today?"

Chang Youguang handed the hat in his hand to Yan Baozhen and replied with a smile: "It's because of my father's godson Zhou Bingkui. He insisted on taking me out for a drink after the theater was over."

"It can't be that late. How tense is the situation in the city right now? Be careful not to get caught by the patrolling police!"

Chang Youguang laughed and ignored his wife's complaints. Instead, he said to Wang Deming, "Deming, Zhou Bingkui asked me to ask you when you are free to go to the knitting factory to help him. The knitting machine you helped him improve last time is very popular. He wants you to go over and improve all the knitting machines."

Before Wang Deming could answer, Yan Baozhen accused her husband even more dissatisfiedly: "Youguang, next time when you ask Zhou Bingkui to come and see Dad in person, tell Deming directly that this is not enough to take advantage of him?"

"When I asked Deming to help repair the machine, I agreed to pay him 20 yuan a month. This was done because of our relationship. Deming also helped to make improvements. What happened later? Deming taught him how to repair the machine without reservation, so I paid him for two months. Later, he either had to restock the goods or lost money."

"Deming, I'm telling you, you're not allowed to go, even if your brother-in-law says otherwise!"

Wang Deming glanced at Chang Youguang, who looked a little embarrassed, and replied cheerfully: "Yes, sister, I will listen to you!"

Although Wang Deming has always been kind to others because of his own personality and the golden finger, he comes from an era of knowledge explosion and does not attach much importance to the knowledge he possesses.

But this does not mean that Wang Deming should swallow his anger when being bullied. Some people will not be grateful if you don't let them know how many eyes the Horse King has.

Besides, I don’t have to make money from Zhou Bingkui’s factory.

Chang Youguang looked at his smiling brother-in-law, then glanced sideways at his wife Yan Baozhen, feeling a little disappointed: "Well, just pretend I didn't say anything!"

As he turned around and walked into the house, he said to Yan Baozhen, "Baozhen, you go to sleep first. I'll take a few sips to relieve my fatigue!"

"You?" Yan Baozhen watched her husband go into the house, then looked back at Wang Deming. Noticing that her brother's face didn't change, she heaved a sigh of relief and followed him into the house. "It's already this late, and you're still smoking opium?"

"Don't you know that the new government is completely abstaining from smoking?"

"The government now keeps its word, unlike before liberation, when they said they would quit but sold drugs aggressively in private. You should quit as soon as possible!" "My grandma and my aunt are the same. If the government finds out, it will be a disaster."

"We can just smoke secretly at home, how could the government know?"

Wang Deming listened to the whispered quarrel between his sister and brother-in-law in the room and smiled bitterly again. It will be over soon.
Oh, if I don't quit quickly, I will definitely be forced to do it.
Wang Deming had reminded his brother-in-law and his family to quit smoking before. On the contrary, after he found out about it, he reminded them immediately, and not just once. After it didn't work, he also told his sister privately many times.
After all, he was just a brother-in-law who was studying at his brother-in-law's house. Although he was recognized by his brother-in-law's family, he was of a low generation and his words had no weight, especially when it came to this aspect.
Well, everyone has their own destiny.
As far as Wang Deming knows, there are too many bannermen in the capital who smoke opium. It seems to be a fashion among bannermen. As long as the family can afford it, everyone smokes it.
From the day the new China was founded, brothels and opium dens were forcibly closed down, and a vigorous and comprehensive crackdown on drugs was launched, which led to increasingly high prices for opium. Sometimes, even one ounce of gold could not buy one ounce of opium. It can be said that the money and cloth obtained from the three small courtyards and antiques in the home sold by my brother-in-law Chang Youguang's family were all spent on this.

Not only that, Wang Deming had seen bannermen families with similar conditions to his brother-in-law's family, who were once very wealthy, eventually become impoverished.
Although Wang Deming is subsidizing them, at this rate of smoking and spending, these two courtyards will not last long.
But if Wang Deming were to report it, he couldn't save his face, and his sister also begged him privately, so he couldn't bear to do it. In fact, the real reason was that the person Wang Deming cared about most at this time was his godmother Wang Shuqin, followed by his godsister Yan Baozhen and his nephews.
Alas, every family has its own problems.
The next morning, Wang Deming, his sister Yan Baozhen, Wang Kui and the children had breakfast and went out to Nanluoguxiang to find the original owner to go to the Beijing Land Administration Bureau to go through the change procedures.

The two children were picked up by Mr. Li, who drove a tricycle specifically for picking up children to school, and taken to school, namely Tingsi Hutong Primary School and kindergarten.

As for the family of three of Mr. Chang and his brother-in-law Chang Youguang in Yard 82, they usually don’t get up before 10 o’clock.
In Nanluoguxiang, Wang Deming ran into the original owner of the house, Uncle Bai, at the gate of the courtyard. They chatted all the way and then strolled to the Land Administration Bureau.

In Beijing City, the Land Administration Bureau (the predecessor of the Real Estate Bureau) is located in Nanwanzi Hutong in Dongcheng District. Come out of Nanluoguxiang and go all the way south to East Street, cross Beichizi, and arrive at Nanchizi. It is not on Dongsanzuomen Street, but just enter an alley on the east side and it is there.

The house transfer procedure was very simple. After paying the balance in front of the staff of the Land Administration Bureau, Wang Deming soon got the first house deed in his life, a piece of paper.

At the top of the deed it is written: Land and Property Ownership Certificate; on the far right is the issuing unit: Beijing Land and Property Bureau has a certificate, XX, No. 157.

Then next to the issuing unit, from right to left, from top to bottom, it reads: No. 81, Gulou South Street, District , Beijing, Resident: Wang Deming;

Determined in accordance with the provisions of the Outline of the Land Law of China: No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, the Fifth District of Beijing (at this time, the city is still divided by districts or inner districts), the east wing of the front yard, covers an area of ​​40 square meters (including the corridor), and has 2 houses. This certificate is issued as private property and no one may infringe upon it.

Wang Deming looked at the thin piece of paper in his hand and said with a tut, "Isn't this really any different from later times?" Well, the little money he had saved in his pocket for two years was all put in, and he was now completely clean!
At No. 81 Gulou East Street, sister Yan Baozhen looked at the house deed handed over by her brother, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings. Tears started to flow down her cheeks: "Deming, people in the countryside say that you benefited from your sister's help."

"But only I know that if it weren't for you, my family would have long since fallen to the point of renting a house at the foot of the city (a term used in old Beijing to refer to the poor)."

"If you save all your money in the past two years, you might be able to buy a few more houses. If you save a few more years, you can buy a house with its own yard."

"Sister, what are you talking about? We are a family, why do we have to divide things so clearly? You know, the royalties for my last book were tens of thousands of yuan, it's easy for me to make money if I want."

"Although money is important, we should not take money too seriously in our life. The relationship between us family members is the most important."

Wang Kui also advised: "Baozhen, Deming is right, we are all family, so don't make such clear distinctions."

"According to what you said, an old lady like me would be shameless enough to stay in your house."

"Oh, step-grandma, we are all family"

My brother-in-law Chang Youguang also got up, wearing a pure silk pajamas, pajamas and cloth shoes. He came out of the room with sleepy eyes and yawned: "Baozhen, Deming is right, we can't take money too seriously."

"Okay! From now on, all the food and other things at home will be left to you!"

"Ahem, ahem, Deming, come with me to Rongbaozhai in Wangfujing later."

Yan Baozhen returned the deed to Wang Deming and asked in surprise, "Youguang, you have no money in your pocket again? Didn't Baofu Ge come here a few days ago?"

Often, he would say something else: "It's almost the end of the season, shouldn't we buy some clothes for the children?"

"Call the owner of the silk shop over this afternoon to have everyone in the family measure their bodies."

(End of this chapter)