Training the Heavens

Chapter 61 Old House

"Haven't you always wanted a house? It just so happens that I had dinner with someone who works at a housing exchange today. They know best where to find houses in Shanghai."

"Oh, thank you so much! Have you chosen a place to eat? We have to find a restaurant he likes, right?" Gao Jialin was overjoyed.

"If you mentioned something else, I might not have realized it, but how could I forget this? I've already found out. His family moved here from Ningbo and he likes Ningbo cuisine. I happen to know a Ningbo restaurant, and I've already told him about it. We can just go over and wait!"

Niu Xinliang brought Gao Jialin to the hotel, got some tea and snacks, and told him the origin of the housing exchange while eating. It is estimated that most people have never heard of this unit, but it is now closely related to the lives of ordinary people. People who work here are well-informed and are welcomed wherever they go.

After the Liberation Army, the real estate market stagnated for a time. Houses could not be bought or sold. What could ordinary people do if they wanted to improve their living conditions? Besides waiting for their work units to allocate housing, they could only do so through house transfers, that is, citizens exchanging houses with each other. This is how housing exchanges came into being.

The "house exchange" during this period was different from the concept of "house replacement" in later generations. It referred to the exchange of the right to use the house.

According to the regulations of the Municipal Real Estate Administration Bureau at that time, residents holding permanent residence in the city who needed to exchange housing should apply for registration at the housing management office in their place of residence with their public housing rental certificate and household registration book.

When residents of system housing exchange their homes with residents of public housing, the former must obtain the consent of the property rights unit; if one or both parties in the exchange are residents who rent private houses, they also need the written consent of the private house owner, and then the local housing management office will handle the exchange procedures on their behalf.

The history of Shanghai residents changing houses can be traced back to 1956, when Shanghai established a housing adjustment committee specifically to adjust the work location and housing for employees who had to commute far to work. This was subsequently interrupted for a period of time and gradually resumed after the s.

Nowadays, with the large number of educated youth returning to the city, a large number of people born in the peak of fertility have reached the age of marriage. In addition, with the large-scale concentrated return of educated youth to Shanghai, people who need to change houses have poured in like a tide.

In the beginning, house-exchanging was mainly a private activity, and several large-scale free markets for house-exchanging were spontaneously formed: including Danshui Road in Luwan District, Shanghai Diving Pool in XH District, Kunshan Garden in HK District, the entrance of Cao'an Housing Management Office in PT District, the entrance of Yuyuan Housing Management Office in JA District, and the entrance of Pengpu New Village Housing Management Office in Zhabei District, etc. People looked for suitable houses here, and after negotiation, they went to the housing exchange office to handle the procedures.

Later, Huang Jianmin, who worked at the Huangpu District Housing Exchange Center, discovered that the success rate of the center's assistance in house changes was very low, while the success rate of spontaneous house changes among the public was very high. After analysis, he found the reason: the center could provide too few houses.

So he used his off-get off work time to ride his bicycle around and copy down advertisements for house exchanges. Soon he increased the number of housing listings in the institute from more than 200 to more than 10,000.

With more houses available, changing houses naturally becomes smoother. From the 1970s to the present, Huang Jianmin has successfully helped tens of thousands of families change to their favorite houses. He is also known as the "champion in house changing" and even the city government will ask him for help.

"You're still a student, so you probably don't know much about it. If there's a house exchange fair someday, I'll take you there to see what it's like. Thousands of people will gather in the venue, their eyes glued to the electronic screens. It'll be even more lively than the temple fairs during the Lunar New Year!"

The 1980s was actually equipped with electronic display screens, which shows that the housing exchange.

"Nowadays, many private properties have been returned to private individuals. Some who want to sell their properties will also seek help from housing exchanges. So if you want to buy a house, you'd be right to ask him! But you're only a freshman, why are you in such a hurry to buy a house? If you stay in Shanghai in the future, your company will definitely give you points. If you go somewhere else, won't this house be idle?" Niu Xinliang asked curiously. Gao Jialin looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Teacher Niu, you are an old Shanghainese, you must be aware of how hot the Shanghai real estate market was back then! I'm buying a house now, firstly to find a quiet place for myself to write, and secondly to prepare for the future!"

Niu Xinliang helped him a lot during this period, and through contact, Gao Jialin also found that Niu Xinliang was very tight-lipped. The two of them had been eating and chatting together for such a long time, but he didn't hear anything he shouldn't say from his mouth, so Gao Jialin revealed some information to him.

"No way? The country plans to liberalize housing sales? But now housing is distributed by work units, who would spend money to buy a house?" Niu Xinliang opened his mouth in surprise.

Gao Jialin shook his head. "Definitely not in the short term! Even if it's going to change, we have to do it step by step. Taking big steps will only lead to failure! But by the time everyone realizes that the policy will change, it will be difficult for you to buy a house!"

"That's right." Niu Xinliang frowned. He had heard his parents talk about the prosperous Shanghai real estate market many times, and he had a general understanding of the real estate industry.

"Like you said, I'm still a student and don't have much to spend money on. I'll save some for emergencies and use the rest to buy a house. If I can make money, that would be great. If not, I'll just live on my own. I think my chances of staying in Shanghai are relatively good."

Gao Jialin stopped here. What he said was enough. If he was interested, he would pay attention. If he was not interested, he could only say that he was not destined to have such fortune.

Niu Xinliang didn't ask any further questions and prepared to go back and think about it carefully.

After a while, Xie Chao, who worked at the housing exchange, arrived. Niu Xinliang introduced them to each other and handed the menu to Xie Chao to order. When the dishes came, the three of them started chatting slowly.

People introduced by reliable people are often more reliable. After chatting for a while, Xie Chao and Gao Jialin both felt that the other was good. Seeing this, Niu Xinliang felt relieved and slowly brought the topic to the right track. "Old Xie, Xiao Gao recently earned some royalties and wants to buy a house. If you have a suitable house, please help Xiao Gao find one!"

"That's amazing! You can buy a house at such a young age? What kind of house do you want?" Xie Chao's expression didn't change much.

He works at a housing exchange and deals with houses every day. He has sold quite a few houses, so naturally he wouldn't be as surprised as Niu Xinliang that someone wanted to sell a house. Niu Xinliang had already told him this when he invited him to dinner.

"Look, these are the houses!" Gao Jialin pointed out the window.

Xie Chao turned his head and saw several old houses standing there under the shade of the branches and leaves of the sycamore trees.

"A western-style house? That's not cheap!" This time, Xie Chao finally showed a surprised expression.

　The release date should be changed to the first day. Thanks to Zhongliu Jishui Guofuminqiang for the reward.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)