The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 256 Moving
As soon as Sha Zhu said this, the people playing chess pricked up their ears. Many of the people playing and watching chess here wanted to rent a house because their homes were not big enough, but houses were a scarce resource.

Liu Hua has many houses. Once he moves, three rooms will be vacant. Although the decoration is a bit old, the area is not small. Considering the neighbors, he should be able to charge a lower rent.

Liu Hua whispered in Sha Zhu's ear: "I don't want to rent it to those people in our yard. It's too troublesome. You talk to him about money, and he talks to you about feelings."

Sha Zhu nodded: "That's right, then I might not be able to get the rent, and I'll get into trouble instead."

Liu Hua waved a big palm leaf fan and said, "Come back. I bought some good pork belly today. Let's go together. You can fry some meat paste, and we can have noodles with soybean paste tonight."

Sha Zhu nodded: "Okay, but why don't you make fried sauce? When it comes to cooking home-cooked dishes, I'm really not as good as you. My skills are all in Tan's cuisine and Sichuan cuisine."

"You are such a thief. I have already offered my meat, but you still won't do anything?"

"You are the cunning one. You just don't want to be in the kitchen with smoke and fire."

The two were staggering towards home when two young men came over from the other side of the road, carrying large bags.

"Cui, why don't you reconsider this?" One of them said, "You have to pay a lot to rent a house. Is the salary you earn from playing the trumpet enough for you to live on?"

"People should look forward." The young man surnamed Cui said with a smile: "The dormitory is too noisy, which affects my thinking. I came out to find a quiet place to concentrate on writing songs. When I release an album, will I care about the rent?"

"Cui, we've asked around in four or five alleys, but none of them have any extra houses. Housing is very tight right now, and the people in our group who are waiting in line for housing have to wait five or six years. It's going to be very difficult for you to rent a house."

The young man surnamed Cui shook his head and said, "Nothing is difficult in this world if one sets his mind to it. I have this mouth, and besides singing, it can do many things."

As the two men crossed paths with Liu Hua, the man surnamed Cui asked, "Two brothers, please excuse me. I would like to ask if there is any house for rent in your alley. The rent is negotiable."

As we all know, Sha Zhu is a man who can't control his mouth. When he heard someone asking about renting a house, he immediately blurted out: "You asked the right question. My brother is moving soon, and we need three more rooms in this yard."

The young man immediately smiled and asked, "Brother, do you want to rent it out? The price is negotiable."

Seeing the young man's vigorous and polite appearance, Liu Hua nodded and said, "I can rent it to you. Are you renting it alone? I have three rooms, two for living and one for the kitchen. If you rent it alone, the price is a bit high."

"Brother, don't worry about that." The young man smiled and said, "I have two friends who also want to rent a house. If you are willing to rent, I can call them over to share the rent with me."

"What do you do?"

"I play the trumpet in a dance band, and my friend is also a musician."

"Work is fine." Liu Hua nodded: "You have so many bags, you must be eager to move, but I can't move for another two days."

"It's okay. I can wait for two days. Is there a guest house nearby? I'll stay there for two days and wait for you."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Okay, come in and take a look at the room."

Liu Hua took the young man to look around, and the young man was very satisfied. There was an independent kitchen and a separate bathroom in the house. "It's really nice." The young man exclaimed: "Brother, you must have had a good job back then, otherwise the decoration wouldn't be so good."

Sha Zhu said proudly: "That's right, my buddy is a scientist."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Young man, this is a great chef. If you are willing to buy some food every now and then and treat this chef to a drink, I guarantee that your meals will be good."

"That would be great." The young man said with a smile, "I have a lot of friends, and every now and then some of them will come over to have a drink or something. When the time comes, I'll ask you to help us make something and we can drink together."

"No problem." Sha Zhu said with a smile: "I like to drink with young people."

Liu Hua discussed the rent with the young men, but coincidentally, neither of them knew the market price, so it was Sha Zhu who finally made the negotiation. He hung out on the streets every day and knew all these things very well.

Liu Hua also took the initiative to reduce some of the rent. They are all young people and their lives are not easy. If they ask for less rent, they will have more living expenses.

"Well, I'll move in on Sunday morning, and you can move in in the afternoon. If you're quick, you can start cooking in the evening."

The young man smiled and said, "Then I'll help."

"No need." Liu Hua said with a smile: "I have plenty of manpower, just equip yourself with the necessary daily necessities. Oh, I don't know your name yet?"

"My name is Cui Jian." The young man smiled and said, "I wonder what your name is, big brother?"

"My name is Liu Hua."

Liu Hua looked at the young man in front of him and had an impression of him. Isn't this the rock singer? Liu Hua had heard his songs before and thought they were quite nice, but they did not resonate with him. Maybe it was because he was not from that era.

After Cui Jian left, everyone in the courtyard knew that Liu Hua had rented out the house and they could move in on Sunday.

Everyone was outraged at this. Liu Hua was letting outsiders take advantage of the family, especially the Jia family. However, Jia Zhang did not dare to make trouble with Liu Hua, so she prepared to give the new residents a warning.

Before leaving get off work on Saturday, Liu Hua found the monitor of his class and said, "Tomorrow you find a few strong boys to go to my house and help me move. It will only take half a day. I will provide lunch at noon. You can have big pieces of meat and white steamed buns."

In this era, it is quite common for teachers to support students in helping with housework. Some teachers who live in the dormitory do not have time to wash their own clothes, so they ask students to help wash them. This is very normal. If this happened 20 or 30 years ago, it would have been simply impossible.

The next morning, the group of kids arrived. Liu Hua asked them to go to Sha Zhu's wonton stall first and eat two bowls each. They were all strong young men, and two bowls of wontons were just a way to fill their stomachs.

Seven or eight strong young men carried any heavy objects on their shoulders and emptied Liu Hua's house with their swift hands and feet.

There were only two large wardrobes, two beds and a set of tables, chairs and benches left in the house. There were new furniture in the new house, so these old ones would be left to Cui Jian.

At noon, Liu Hua prepared large pieces of braised pork, stewed sea fish, and small cold dishes such as smashed cucumber, as well as large pieces of steamed buns. He also prepared iced soda and beer, allowing these boys to eat as much as they wanted and not leave until they were full.

(End of this chapter)