RBCT Chapter 38 Buying a Courtyard
Chapter 38 Buying a Courtyard
He Yuzhu chatted with the young clerk for a few minutes on the way and learned that the clerk's surname was Sun.
The other party noticed that Director Wang was particularly polite to He Yuzhu, and didn't act arrogantly. He even chatted with He Yuzhu in a very warm manner.
After learning that He Yuzhu was the director of the guesthouse of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill and also a double-level three chef, the other party was also interested in getting to know He Yuzhu.
He felt more and more that befriending He Yuzhu was a worthwhile investment, since these days, weddings and funerals inevitably require hiring a chef.
He Yuzhu is a double level three chef. If I ever need anything from him in the future, he certainly won't make me lose face.
Both people were interested in getting to know each other, so they naturally became familiar with each other quickly, which is a normal phenomenon in the workplace. No one can go it alone; only by making friends everywhere can one go further.
Especially since we value personal relationships, there are many inconveniences if you simply operate according to the market.
Clerk Sun has only been working at the subdistrict office for a few months, and her work usually revolves around trivial matters.
The passion and dedication that Sun, the clerk, originally had was almost worn down by the daily grind.
That is to say, nowadays everyone is full of enthusiasm no matter what they do, otherwise some people would really complain about the people and things that are all about family matters every day.
He has always wanted to be a useful person to the country, and he always feels that what he is doing now seems to be very useful, but also seems to be not very useful.
It was only after talking with an elder in his family that Officer Sun realized that what he needed to do now was to learn and accumulate experience.
Building connections and accumulating work experience, even though the job involves dealing with trivial matters, actually involves a lot of learning that you need to experience for yourself.
At the same time, being able to get to know a chef like He Yuzhu is also a great connection for him.
It seems that Secretary Sun understood what his elders had said and began to look for things that would benefit him in his work.
With Officer Sun leading the way, He Yuzhu and his companion quickly arrived at their destination by bicycle.
Fuxiang Hutong.
He Yuzhu also saw the nearby courtyards along the way. Most of the houses here are now used by government agencies.
Many of these are now well-known organizations, but they are currently crammed into these dilapidated courtyards.
Some organizations may only have two or three rooms, but the decisions made there every day affect thousands of households.
It's really nice to be able to buy a courtyard house here; you don't have to worry about others coming here to cause trouble.
Once that period passes and those businesses gradually move out, the housing prices here will definitely not be cheap.
After all, the roads here are wider than ordinary roads, which limits the rise in the price of courtyard houses, mainly because parking is not allowed in the alleys.
Sometimes one car can block the road, while two cars can pass through Fuxiang Hutong.
People won't understand what it means now, but they will discover the benefits of having a courtyard in Fuxiang Hutong in the future.
"Look, Comrade He, this is the west wing. It used to be a villa of the Prince's Mansion. The courtyard is actually quite large, with the west wing alone covering 300 square meters. The four rooms in the courtyard are now in a semi-collapsed state. If you want to buy it, you will definitely need to rebuild the house."
Looking at the four collapsed rooms in the courtyard, Officer Sun could only praise the size of the courtyard; he couldn't very well say that the place was bad.
Although the conversation with He Yuzhu went well, the work assigned by the leader is the most important.
"Officer Sun, the neighborhood committee doesn't have any objections to building houses now, right?"
He Yuzhu didn't nitpick about the house; he hadn't even considered how good it would be. He just wanted a new house built, which would perfectly complement his plan of rebuilding a courtyard.
"If it's a rental property, you're not allowed to make any alterations without permission. But this is a private sale, so as long as you don't extend into the neighboring yard, you can build a house."
"I've looked into it. We'll need to tear down the gate here and build a wall to completely separate it from the main courtyard."
"Yes, you can open a new door here. The door leads directly to Fuxiang Hutong. You can enter and exit through this hutong."
"Alright, I've looked at most of the houses. Shall we go back?"
It was just a dilapidated courtyard; a quick look was enough. Since it was going to be demolished and rebuilt anyway, He Yuzhu simply took a quick stroll around and called it a day.
Sun, the clerk, couldn't tell whether He Yuzhu wanted it or not. Anyway, he had come as instructed by his superiors. As for the specifics, he would wait for his superiors to discuss them with him.
He Yuzhu and Officer Sun rode their bikes back to the subdistrict office, and Officer Sun went off to do his own work.
He Yuzhu went into Director Wang's office again by himself.
Seeing He Yuzhu return, Director Wang was also curious whether he would buy the house. At this time, it wasn't that no one wanted to buy a house; in fact, many people wanted to.
They all want the houses to be intact, but many are unwilling to pay for their own construction.
In key countries, housing is allocated, and everyone only needs to pay ten to twenty thousand yuan a year for housing. Anyone can do the math, so not many people actually decide to buy a dilapidated house.
"So, Comrade He, after you've seen the yard, are you still willing to buy it?"
"Director Wang, I think the location is good, but I don't know how much the courtyard costs?"
Director Wang looked at He Yuzhu with surprise, thinking that he would regret it after seeing it.
It's still quite rare to buy a dilapidated courtyard house these days.
According to data, approximately one thousand houses in Beijing have collapsed naturally each year for the past two years.
The government needs money everywhere right now and can't afford to renovate these houses. So in recent years, they've been encouraging people to buy out their homes, which would free up funds to renovate those houses and rent them out to more people.
He Yuzhu acted decisively because he knew the current situation. If this time had passed, it would probably have been decades before houses could be sold again.
Seeing that He Yuzhu was genuinely interested in buying, Director Wang immediately became enthusiastic. This would also be a good achievement for her, and she hoped that more people would buy, so that the neighborhood office could have more money to renovate other houses.
"Master He, although this courtyard is severely collapsed, it is quite large. So if you want to buy it, I can sell it to you for ten million."
"Okay, I'll buy it. Also, Director Wang, I'll be renovating the house soon, and I'll need you to issue me a certificate for that."
"That's no problem. After all, you'll definitely need to renovate the house after buying the yard. Just be careful not to build the house outside the yard."
"That's definitely not going to happen. I only plan to build a few houses in the yard."
He Yuzhu decisively took out a wad of cash from his bag. Director Wang was surprised that the other party was carrying such a large sum of money.
Fortunately, Director Wang had already learned about He Yuzhu beforehand and knew that he earned a million yuan a month.
After the salary was adjusted from one million to eight hundred thousand, He Yuzhu's salary was not made public.
Those who know He Yuzhu know that he earns a million a month.
In addition, He Yuzhu often went out to host banquets, so Director Wang did not suspect anything about He Yuzhu's wealth.
She herself had just invited the other party to prepare the banquet for her son's wedding, and had inquired in advance that the fee was 50,000 yuan per table.
Six tables of food cost 300,000 yuan. Even if it's not every day, it doesn't seem that difficult for He Yuzhu to pull out 10 million yuan at any time.
Director Wang kept this resource in mind and asked her niece if she could help bring the two of them together; her niece would be grateful.
He Yuzhu followed Director Wang and quickly completed the house sale contract at the subdistrict office, and also obtained a house construction certificate.
"Director Wang, I'll be going now. I need to find someone to go over and check on how to renovate the house. By the way, please try not to let people know about my house purchase; I don't want people to resent the rich."
"I understand, don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what happened today."
Director Wang knew He Yuzhu's concerns. Even if the other party's money was legitimate, it could still be troublesome if someone with ulterior motives tried to help.
He Yuzhu carefully put away the property deed. As long as he didn't say anything, no one would know that he owned a house.
He Yuzhu left the street office and went to Yangshi Lei's place again.
He Yuzhu was quite satisfied with Lao Lei.
They had the other party dig a small cellar in their house, and since the house was renovated, there has been no news about it, which shows that the other party is very tight-lipped.
When Yangshi Lei saw He Yuzhu, he thought it was because he hadn't done his job well and someone had come to his door.
Upon hearing that He Yuzhu wanted to renovate the house again, Yangshi Lei naturally wouldn't refuse.
The recent public-private partnership has also affected these artisans, making it difficult for them to go to work in public institutions. Yangshi Lei is somewhat unwilling to do so.
After all, they are used to being in charge of their own lives and having flexible hours. Suddenly becoming employees is definitely not something they'll be happy about.
Yangshi Lei composed himself and hurriedly greeted He Yuzhu.
"Old Lei, we're all acquaintances, so let's not stand on ceremony. Look, let's take advantage of the daylight and go check out the house. Once you've finished the sketches and we've finalized them, we can start as soon as possible."
Seeing He Yuzhu's urgency, Yangshi Lei didn't waste any more words.
Yangshi Lei, carrying a drawing board and ruler, followed He Yuzhu to Fuxiang Hutong.
"Old Lei, look, tear down the main gate here and seal it off with a brick wall. Build three main rooms on the north side of the courtyard, two side rooms on the east and west sides, and a kitchen and a bathroom on the south side. Also, dig a cellar in the southeast corner of the courtyard, built to be two meters high and four meters by five meters. Open a small door in the southwest corner that leads directly to Fuxiang Hutong, that's all."
While listening to He Yuzhu's planning proposal, Yangshi Lei sketched on the drawing board.
The west courtyard is 300 square meters. The main house has three rooms, each 60 square meters. The east and west wing rooms are each 40 square meters. In addition, there is a kitchen and a bathroom, each 20 square meters. The courtyard only has 120 square meters of open space.
It's a bit small, but it's a stand-alone house, small yet complete. A family living in such a small courtyard would be quite comfortable.
He Yuzhu waited until Yangshi Lei finished drawing the sketch, and after reviewing it, he expressed his satisfaction.
"Like I said before, including the furniture in the house, it's all on a package deal, materials and labor included. Can you calculate how much that will cost?"
"Boss, this project is quite large. We'll keep using the good bricks and tiles. I'll give you a fair price; the total cost will be thirteen million."