Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 939 This flimsy piece of paper is actually a courtyard house worth over 100 million in later generations?

The next day, Li Long was going to visit the courtyard, while Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiaoyu were going to take Mingming, Haohao, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to visit the university.

Li Long had originally planned to have them go see the courtyard together, but Gu Xiaoxia felt that since she wouldn't be living there anyway, it would just sit there, so they wouldn't bother. She was more interested in seeing what the universities in the capital were like.

Gu Xiaoxia was very envious when her younger sister went to university. Although she couldn't go herself, seeing what university was like was enough to fulfill her wish.

To Li Long's surprise, his older brother Li Jianguo, knowing that Li Long was only looking at houses and there were no safety issues, also wanted to visit the university campus.

Li Long wondered if his older brother was also seeing that Gu Boyuan had gone to university, and that he himself had once dreamed of going to university, even though he couldn't achieve it, he still wanted to go and see it.

Since none of them are going, let's split up and go our separate ways.

After breakfast, Gu Xiaoyu specially ordered a noodle shop to take Gu Xiaoxia and the others along, and they went to Peking University first.

She has classmates there, so she can still go in and visit them while she's there.

Li Long was waiting for Shao Licheng at the inn.

Shao Licheng arrived around 10 a.m., and the staff let him in this time—there was nothing to do during the day.

Knock on the door, Li Long opened it, and Shao Licheng entered the room and apologized:

"Comrade Li, I'm really sorry I'm a little late. The main reason is that the people who bought furniture from my courtyard this morning went over, but the official's hat chair was missing. They were upset, so I had to explain for a while. They were in a hurry to leave, so they simply gave me a two hundred yuan discount..."

Li Long thought to himself, "This chair is actually quite good, but it's only worth two hundred."
But considering that antique shops were openly selling antiques at that time, two hundred yuan for this chair was not a small amount.

"And this chair?"

"If you like it, it's yours," Shao Licheng said generously. "If you're free now, let's go take a look at the yard?"

"Let's go." Li Long naturally wanted to finish reading as soon as possible so that everything would be alright.

"Which one should we visit first?" Shao Licheng asked as they exited the inn. The two courtyards were not located together, about two or three hundred meters apart.

“Let’s look at the second courtyard first,” Li Long said. “I want to see what’s good about the main courtyard.”

The second courtyard was also not on the street, but this alley was slightly wider; Li Long checked and found that it was wide enough for a car to fit through.

Judging from the facade, this courtyard is quite old, with an antique feel, but it's well-maintained.

"The courtyard used to belong to a government unit, but it wasn't for offices; it was used to entertain guests. Now that they've moved out, the guesthouse has been converted into apartment buildings, and the courtyard has been vacated," Shao Licheng explained after inquiring, and then opened the door.

The threshold is quite high, and the hinges of the thick wooden door haven't been oiled for a while, making a creaking sound.

After entering, there is a screen wall. Going around it, you can see two large vats in the courtyard, which are filled with ice. I wonder if they still keep fish in them during the summer.

This courtyard was much larger than Shao Licheng's. Stepping on it, you could see that it was also paved with blue bricks, but because the unit had moved, it was not being maintained at the moment, and there was a thick layer of snow on the ground.

There were two trees in the yard, which Li Long thought looked like jujube trees.

I don't know which unit built this place before, but one advantage is that it has red walls and green tiles, and it looks newer than Shao Licheng's courtyard. The main house, side rooms, and rear building are all larger.

Shao Licheng opened the main room door and saw that there was some basic furniture inside, a bit old, but it could be lived in after a cleaning. Of course, there was only basic furniture, just ordinary wooden tables, chairs, and beds; there were no other decorations.

With all the electrical wires installed, Li Long took a look around and was pleased to find that the side room had a converted toilet with a flush toilet, which made things much more convenient.

The second courtyard is slightly smaller, with flower beds and a small pavilion, which could be used for cooling off in the summer.

This courtyard reminded Li Long of a courtyard that had been advertised in later generations. That courtyard seemed to have two sections and sold for over 100 million.

Li Long is now calculating the distance from here to the Forbidden City. Could it be that one?
No way?
However, even if the price is higher, that will be thirty or forty years from now. Right now, this courtyard house is truly in a low-price period.

After thoroughly inspecting the courtyard, Li Long felt confident and then proceeded to the other courtyard.

This courtyard is right by the roadside, with its main gate facing south, but it's not particularly eye-catching because there are several similar courtyards in a row. This particular courtyard is relatively dilapidated, with peeling paint on the walls.

When Li Long followed Shao Licheng through the gate, he found the courtyard much more dilapidated than the previous one. Weeds grew rampant, and two crooked jujube trees stood in the corners. The paint on the pillars at the corner of the main house was peeling and faded, giving it a desolate, sunset-like appearance.

This courtyard is even smaller than Shao Licheng's, so the rooms on all four sides are very compact.

The layout is not bad, it's just a bit old. There's nothing that can be done in winter, Li Long is thinking of coming back in spring or summer to fix the yard, it should look much better then.

“This courtyard is a bit dilapidated,” Shao Licheng said before Li Long could speak, “Fortunately, the price isn’t too high.”

"How is it not expensive?" Li Long walked up to the main house and looked inside through the window crack. To his surprise, the house was quite clean. Everything had been moved out, and there was no clutter or garbage.

“The total price for these two courtyards is 20,000 yuan,” Shao Licheng said. “These are government-owned properties, so there’s no room for negotiation. Of course, the handling fees for the other side can’t be reduced either; the three courtyards will cost 2,500 US dollars.”

In other words, the total cost of the three courtyards, including the courtyards and the necessary paperwork, is nearly 60,000 yuan.

In Shao Licheng's view, he was being taken advantage of. So in the end, he himself lost confidence.

If it were a local, that much money could buy six courtyards.

Li Long, however, felt it was worthwhile. After all, right now, and even in the future, it won't be easy for non-local residents to buy a house in the local area.

Although I don't plan to register my household here now, it would be really worthwhile to buy the yard and put it in my own name through some means.

Moreover, this money is free, so I don't feel bad about spending it.

“I accept this price. If it works out, I’ll give you an extra five hundred dollars, how about that?” Li Long said.

"Then I'll thank you in advance..." Shao Licheng didn't expect Li Longzhen to refuse to negotiate the price. In fact, he had already planned to lower the price of his courtyard if Li Longzhen tried to lower the price. After all, he, as the agent, would benefit a lot from closing this deal.

In fact, he planned to give Director Zheng a handling fee of two thousand US dollars for the three courtyards, and the remaining five hundred would be his own. Now that Li Long had agreed to five hundred, how could he not be happy?

"Will the money for these two courtyards be paid in RMB, and will the handling fee be paid separately?"

"Of course. We'll pay a $1,000 deposit first, and the rest will be settled in cash upon completion of the paperwork. As for the sale of this courtyard, we'll handle it legally, and we'll hear from you later."

"Of course, the sooner the better," Li Long said. "But I can't give you the deposit for this procedure. I've already given you five hundred, so I haven't received anything. You've let me look at two courtyards, and now you want me to pay another five hundred? My money doesn't grow on trees. I can't expect to get away with just a chair, can I?"

Shao Licheng thought to himself that this guy was the type who wouldn't act until he saw the benefits, and he couldn't fool him.

He could only smile wryly and say, "Alright then, I'll take my five hundred dollars to them first and see if it works. Let me make it clear that if it doesn't work, then there's nothing I can do, and you'll have to make way for me. You have to give me your information. If it really works, they might just get the paperwork done and stamp it right away."

Li Long then revealed his and his elder brother's names, but after thinking about it, he realized it wasn't appropriate. Since he always carried paper and pen with him, he simply wrote them down for Shao Licheng.

He could tell that Shao Licheng was just playing games with him here, trying to make a small profit.

“If you want to get the dollars as soon as possible, you should make this trip and tell them I want these two courtyards,” Li Long said. “The paperwork will be expedited, and I’ll prepare the dollars as soon as possible.”

Shao Licheng immediately locked the door, told Li Long, and hurriedly left. Li Long knew that the power of the US dollar was driving him forward, almost running.

Li Long surveyed his surroundings. The courtyard was situated by a main road, making transportation quite convenient, with a bus stop nearby. It was less than a kilometer from the Forbidden City, which would have been considered within the Third Ring Road in the past. The previous courtyard was even closer to the Second Ring Road, making it practically the city center in the future.

I was able to buy these courtyards by chance, as well as by my own beliefs.

At this time, Yanjing had already begun building high-rises. Although it had not yet reached the point of commercial housing, the saying "upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones" was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and many people still felt that living in an apartment building was better than living in a courtyard house.

Or rather, this concept is consistent throughout the country.

Therefore, these courtyards are not easy to sell—ordinary people can't afford them. Most people think similarly to Gu Xiaoyu: they just want to buy a suite with an inner and outer room. Such a large courtyard is a lot of trouble to maintain.

Wealthy people are all looking to buy apartments. After all, even if the wiring in these old courtyards has been upgraded, you still need to make significant changes to live comfortably.

At that time, the Great Movement had only ended a few years ago, and people were not yet able to appreciate the old architectural aesthetics, preferring skyscrapers and modern facilities.

The large courtyard was not very popular.

Li Long managed to snag a bargain—in a few years, when some people realize what's happening, these courtyards will be much harder to buy. Of course, it will take another ten years or so.

Li Long didn't plan to hoard courtyards; two or three were enough. If he had the chance to come back later, he would find an antique building team to renovate them and upgrade the plumbing, electrical wiring, and other water and heating facilities.

Of course, now that I've bought it, I'll have to come and check on it from time to time. Li Juan is in her final year of junior high this year, and she has three or four years until the college entrance exam. Maybe she really will make it through then.

Li Long wasn't worried at all about whether Li Juan would get into high school. He figured that after this visit to see the universities, Li Juan would be even more motivated to work hard once she got back – that would be far more effective than any motivational pep talk.

As he pondered this, Li Long strolled towards the inn. Actually, he was thinking about whether to visit Liulichang—at this time, Panjiayuan wasn't really a haven for antiques; Liulichang was.

But Li Long thought about it and realized that there were already replicas available. With his limited knowledge, it would be a waste of time to go. He decided to save his energy and go to an antique shop instead.

However, Li Long didn't go over. He was worried that if he went over there too late, he would miss Shao Licheng, which would be troublesome. He decided to do things one at a time.

Back at the hostel, just as he expected, his older brother and the others hadn't returned yet, so Li Long began to sort through the money he had brought. He had already agreed on the price with Shao Licheng, so he took out the two parts of the money. One part was in RMB, 20,000 yuan for the two courtyards. To be honest, this price was really cheap.

The other thing was to give Shao Licheng US dollars, which he would pay after seeing the paperwork.

Li Jianguo and the others hadn't returned by noon, so Li Long went out and ate another bowl of noodles with soybean paste nearby. He wasn't in the mood to find a famous old restaurant to eat at, thinking he'd wait until he finished his business.

After dinner, we returned to the hostel, but instead of my older brother and the others, we were greeted by Shao Licheng.

"Hey, this went smoothly today!" Shao Licheng knocked on Li Long's door with a file folder in his hand. "Come on, let's go pay the money. Once we pay, this matter is considered settled."

He patted the file in his hand and said, "Comrade Li, see? The paperwork is right here. Just stamp it with the big seal, hand over the money, and get the finance department's seal, and the matter is done."

Li Long reached out, and Shao Licheng opened the file folder and took out the documents inside. Inside were not only documents, but also blueprints and a key.

At that time, there was no such thing as a property ownership certificate; it was just a piece of paper with "Property Ownership Certificate" written on it. Li Long found it strange—this thing was issued by the Yanjing Municipal People's Government, stamped with a big red seal, and he wondered if it was a blank certificate with the seal.

(I couldn't find one for Yanjing, so I'm using this as a reference.)
The attached document contains proof of payment, which is what Shao Licheng was referring to.

After watching Li Long finish reading it, Shao Licheng put the document away again, took out two copies of the payment receipt, and handed them to Li Long, saying, "This is for payment. And for mine, please see..."

Li Long just realized that Shao Licheng's courtyard had been registered under Li Jianguo's name, and of course, the certificate had returned to Shao Licheng's hands. Their intention was clear: pay first.

Li Long counted out 1,300 dollars from the dollars he had just taken out and handed it to Shao Licheng, then held out his hand and said:

"The five hundred I gave you earlier is your brokerage fee. This one thousand three hundred is for the house, plus the cost of this official's hat chair."

He only had hundred dollars in his bills, not fifty, and it wouldn't be right to ask Shao Licheng for change, so he just gave it to him directly.

"Hey, you're so generous!" Shao Licheng took the US dollars, looked at them one by one, counted them, and carefully put them into his pocket. He said, "Shall we go over now... to pay?"

"Let's go," Li Long said. "I have something I need to ask you about."

"Go ahead and say it." Shao Licheng perked up immediately. This guy had a lot of money and wasn't stingy when it came to getting things done. As long as he could help get things done, the guy wouldn't be stingy with the money.

Shao Licheng felt like he hadn't been himself these past couple of days. But for the sake of dollars, he wouldn't back down!
"I'd like to get some old stuff, like antiques and cultural relics, but I don't know anything about them. I heard that antique shops don't sell to Chinese people, they only buy. So how can I buy them? Are there any connections?"

“Well… it would be better to go to Liulichang.” Shao Licheng said as he walked, thinking. “There are some old private shops there that sell antiques to ordinary people now, but the prices are a bit higher.”

Li Long didn't speak, and Shao Licheng thought for a moment before saying:
"Also, there are stalls in Liulichang where the items are cheaper, but it's hard to say whether they're genuine or not..." As an old Beijing resident, he couldn't just say that everything there was genuine, since anyone could easily find out, and being pointed out would be embarrassing.

"As for the antique shop, only foreign guests can go in and buy things. After all, it's for earning foreign exchange, and it uses foreign exchange certificates. However, it's not like there's no other way..." Shao Licheng said, "How about this, let's finish up the matter in this courtyard first, and then I'll go and inquire about it?"

Li Long thought to himself that this guy must have a way. They were all preparing to go abroad; it was impossible for them to have no connections overseas.

"Of course, before you find out the details, Comrade Li, you can do the same thing," Shao Licheng said as they walked. "The antique shop buys things. The purchasing department sells things in a numbered system every day. Some people come from far away, but they can't get a number, and they don't want to go back empty-handed, since it's too much trouble."

(Acquisition Department of the Antique Shop)

So some people bought their things at low prices and resold them to antique shops at official prices, making a profit on the difference. If you have some free time these next couple of days, you can go and take a look; perhaps someone will be selling family heirlooms. You could try to buy them for a higher price than the antique shops offer… Oh, but that also has its problems, since you need to be an expert to buy them.”

Li Long thought to himself that this was indeed a good idea. He was an outsider, but those middlemen were experts, right? He could just buy them at a slightly higher price than they would sell to antique shops.
You can try.

The two arrived at the housing management office as they talked. Shao Licheng walked to the finance department with ease, took out a slip of paper, and then looked at Li Long.

Li Long then took out 20,000 yuan and handed it over.

The other party looked at what was written on the receipt and knew what was going on. They didn't say anything, counted the money, and then stamped the receipt with the financial seal twice.

Without saying a word, the two took the certificates and went to a secluded corner. Shao Licheng said to Li Long:
"Comrade Li, that person is in here. I'll take the processing fee in now... You see..."

Li Long smiled, took out the stack of two thousand five hundred US dollars from his backpack, and handed it over.

Shao Licheng carefully counted each file and read them thoroughly before handing the file folder to Li Long.

That settles the score.

Li Long himself felt it was amazing that the matter was actually resolved?

Shao Licheng ignored Li Long's sentiments, packed up the US dollars, said goodbye to Li Long, and hurriedly went inside.

Li Long took out the property ownership certificates from the file again, checked them one by one, and found no problems. Then he put them back in his backpack.

This thing will be worth a lot of money in the future!

Next, shall we go check out the antique shop?

(End of this chapter)