Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 120 Signing a Contract
It's approaching noon.

The backyard of No. 7 Courtyard, the east room of the north house.

Grandma Ji was getting restless. She thought to herself, "I put an ad in the newspaper yesterday, so why haven't any customers come today? Is the newspaper's influence really that bad? Or are there just not many people who want to buy my house?" The old lady began to doubt herself, feeling uneasy and unable to sit still.

Suddenly, she faintly heard voices coming from the back door.

Tan Jingya opened the door and saw an old man standing outside, wearing a wool coat and a gray scarf, with his hands behind his back, exuding a calm and composed demeanor.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Sir, who are you looking for?"

The old man asked, "Is this No. 7 Courtyard in Suzhou Hutong?"

"Yes, is there anything I can help you with?"

The old man took out a newspaper and pointed to the advertisement: "I saw the real estate information in the newspaper, so I'm here to look at houses. What's the price of your houses now?"

"Sir, I'm so sorry, we're not selling our house," Tan Jingya replied decisively.

The old man with the wool glared at her and raised his voice: "Not selling anymore? Then why even put it in the newspaper? You're just playing with people!"

Tan Jingya bowed slightly: "I'm sorry, sir, we didn't discuss this beforehand, so you made a wasted trip."

"Sigh, how interesting. There are all kinds of people these days. If you're not selling, I don't even want to look. Humph!" The old man flicked his arm, turned around, and left.

Tan Jingya breathed a sigh of relief and closed the door.

She turned around and was startled to see an old woman glaring at her from behind: "Mom, why did you come out?"

"Are you taking me for a blind or deaf person?"

"Mom, please listen to me..."

"Don't call me Mom! I can't take it. Humph!" Old Mrs. Ji turned around and went back into the house, slamming the door shut with a 'bang'!
Tan Jingya was startled; her already fair face turned completely pale.

"What's wrong? What's all the commotion?" Ji Hongbin came out of the house upon hearing the noise and saw his wife standing blankly in the yard: "What happened?"

Tan Jingya said helplessly, "Someone knocked on the door just now wanting to see the apartment, but I turned him away. The old lady saw him."

Ji Hongbin glared at her: "How could you be so careless? Alright, go back to your room, I'll go talk to the old lady."

Tan Jingya took a deep breath and mustered her courage to say, "Ji Hongbin, this house cannot be sold!"

"I understand, I'll persuade the old lady to stop." Ji Hongbin said, then went into the north room. He knocked on the old lady's door and said, "It's really not worth getting upset over such a small matter!"

Grandma Ji glared at her son: "So, you know what your wife did! You two are ganging up on me to death!"

"Mom, let's discuss selling the house again."

"What's there to discuss? Didn't you agree before? Did your wife sweet-talk you and then you changed your mind? I'm not dead yet, and this family isn't her place to make the decisions!"

"Mom, what are you saying? You're the one who makes the decisions in this family. I'm just discussing it with you."

"There's nothing to discuss. This house is mine, and I'm selling it! Go get me a stool and put it by the back door!"

"It's so cold there, what are you doing there? What if you get frostbite?"

"Why would I go there? I went to the newspaper office the day before yesterday to see the house for sale ad. I was hoping to get a few clients today. Well! I've been waiting all morning, and not a single client has come. I'm starting to wonder, is this newspaper no good?"
"Well, so it wasn't the newspaper's fault, it was the people's fault!" The old woman grew angrier as she spoke, and walked to the door, shouting, "The old saying is so true: you can guard against anything day and night, but it's hard to guard against a thief within your own household! It's absolutely true!"

Tan Jingya was also angry and retorted, "Grandma, please explain yourself clearly. Who is the thief in the family?"

"Whoever I'm talking about knows it in their heart!"

"You call me a thief in the family, but have you ever treated me like family? You didn't even mention selling the house to me once. Is this how you treat your family?"

Grandma Ji retorted, "This is my house, I don't need to consult with others!"

"So you don't need anyone to serve you when you eat, drink, or do your laundry? People who don't know me would think I'm your maid!"

Grandma Ji pointed at Tan Jingya, then turned to her son and said, "Did you see that? She dares to talk to me like that even with you here. If you, as her son, don't take me seriously, then no one else will!"

"Stop arguing, all of you! Stop making things difficult for me, okay?" Ji Hongbin plopped down on the steps in front of the door. On one side was his wife, and on the other was his mother.

On the one hand, he felt his wife's words made sense, and he didn't want to sell the house. But on the other hand, he couldn't make decisions for his mother.

“Hongbin, Mom wants to sell this house so we can go abroad together and live a better life! Why don’t you understand?”

"I understand, I understand everything," Ji Hongbin sighed.

"Since you understand, let me ask you one more question: do you agree to sell this house?" Old Mrs. Ji looked at Tan Jingya again: "Don't say I didn't discuss it with you. Now that it's in front of you, if Hongbin agrees to sell, do you agree?"

Tan Jingya knew very well that she had no say in the family, and the house wasn't hers. The only thing she could do was indirectly influence Ji Hongbin. If Ji Hongbin agreed, nothing she said would matter: "I'll listen to Hongbin."

"Hongbin, you're the man of this house. Tell me, do you agree or disagree?" Seeing that Ji Hongbin hesitated to speak, she continued, "Don't drag this out any longer. This isn't the first time we've discussed this. Let's make a decision today. If you agree, we'll sell. If you don't, don't try to fool this old lady!" Seeing both of them looking at him, Ji Hongbin felt a lot of pressure, and his hands were sweating profusely. "Mom, what if I disagree?"

The old lady sighed, "Then I'll go abroad by myself, and our bond as mother and daughter will end here in this lifetime!"

"Mom, aren't you forcing me?"

The old lady shook her head: "Mom didn't force you! Mom is just stating the facts. Even though we're separated by oceans, do we still have a chance to meet?"

Ji Hongbin knew his mother was telling the truth. He grabbed his hair with both hands, his voice full of helplessness: "Sell! Sell this house."

Tan Jingya didn't say anything more, and left the courtyard wiping away her tears.

"Jingya! Wife..." Ji Hongbin quickly got up and chased after her.

……

Wang Jianjun tiptoed back to the front yard.

Li Weidong suddenly turned around and saw him, startled: "Jun'er, what are you doing?"

"Come inside and let's talk," Wang Jianjun called out, entering the living room. He drank a cup of hot tea that Li Zhe handed him.

"What kind of tea is this? It's bitter and reddish-brown."

"Black tea. It's warming in winter. What's going on in the backyard? There's such a commotion." Li Zhe poured him another cup.

"Don't even mention it, they got into a fight. Sister-in-law Tan doesn't agree to sell the house and turned away all the potential buyers. The old lady didn't know at first, but then she realized things were going wrong and started arguing with her daughter-in-law. Ji Hongbin came out to mediate, but it only got worse. It seems she still wants to sell the house. Sister-in-law Tan got so angry she left." Wang Jianjun, having been outside for a while, had a runny nose from the cold. He wiped his nose with a tissue: "Zhezi, if you want to buy a house, now's the perfect opportunity!"

Li Weidong also learned about his younger brother's plan to buy a house. He was initially shocked and still finds it unbelievable. He tried to calm himself down and said, "Second brother, the whole family is angry right now. Do you think we can reach an agreement? Besides, even if we do manage to reach an agreement, wouldn't it feel like taking advantage of their distress?"

“Brother Weidong, it’s not like we’re not paying. How can you say we’re taking advantage of someone’s misfortune? Besides, if we don’t buy it, someone else will.”

"I've inquired around. While there are many courtyard houses in Beijing, those allocated houses back then often turned into crowded, tenement courtyards. Even if the houses were returned, having residents already living there created problems. Courtyard houses with clear property rights like these are very rare." Wang Jianjun, who's been busy with business lately and has become quite shrewd, continued:
"This stuff is just like our vegetables; as Zhezi would say, it's in high demand and short supply. This morning alone, two groups of customers came to the front yard, and two groups came to the back yard. If we don't keep a close eye on it, someone else will definitely buy it first!"

Li Zhe had made up his mind and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll go check." Li Weidong stood up and walked out, but he was stunned when he opened the door: "Oh! Grandma Ji, what brings you here?"

Grandma Ji glanced at him and said, "I'm looking for Boss Li."

"Please come in." Li Weidong stepped aside and called out, "Second brother, Old Madam Ji is here!"

Li Zhe stood up to greet her and ushered Grandma Ji into the house: "Grandma, why did you come over on such a cold day? Please sit down and let's talk."

Old Mrs. Ji gave a forced smile: "Mr. Li, how many groups of guests have come to your place this morning?"

Li Zhe looked puzzled: "Grandma, someone did come to see the house this morning. I even directed you to the backyard, but you didn't see them?"

"Whether I saw him or not doesn't matter anymore. Mr. Li, name your price! I'm exhausted from all this, so I'll sell it to you if it's close enough. If you try to use a friend as a cover again, I'll leave without a second thought." The old lady added:
"Also, don't even think about deliberately lowering the price. Forget about 2 yuan! That's not even enough for my trip abroad, and I have no reason to sell it!"

Li Zhe didn't answer immediately, staring at the teapot for a while. Actually, whether it's 3 or 4, buying this house is worthwhile.

The elderly woman had just had an argument with her son and daughter-in-law, and she's currently in a bit of a emotional state. The advantage is that she might decide to sell the house immediately. The disadvantage is that if the price is negotiated too aggressively, she might actually turn around and sell the house to someone else.

Li Zhe didn't intend to push the price too hard and offered what he considered a reasonable price: "26000. I can sign the contract and pay the deposit now. Once the transfer of ownership is completed, I can pay the balance directly."

The old lady hesitated for a moment: "Mr. Li, let's write up the contract!"

"Grandma, although I've been renting this place for quite a while, I've never actually been inside the backyard. Shouldn't we take a look at the house first?" Li Zhe had made many mistakes in his past life, which taught him a lesson: the more urgent the matter, the less you should rush, because rushing will only lead to mistakes.

Grandma Ji stood up: "Let's go, I'll show you around."

In later times, setting a price before viewing a property would certainly be unreasonable. However, the problem is that this era was inherently chaotic, and a stable market order had not yet been established. Moreover, even if one viewed a property, it would be difficult to find comparable properties for reference.

First, the properties differ in location, size, and cultural significance. Some courtyard houses are labeled as cultural relics and cannot be bought or sold. Courtyard houses from this era are mostly unique, unlike the hundreds of properties in the same neighborhood in later generations.

Furthermore, even within the same residential complex, different apartment layouts and floors can have significantly different prices in later generations.

After going around to the back door, Grandma Ji took out a brass key, unlocked the door, and led Li Zhe, Wang Jianjun, and Li Weidong into the backyard.

The hipped roof of the north-facing house immediately catches the eye, with a tabby cat perched on one of the roof tiles. There are three rooms each in the east and west wings, connected by a covered walkway. In the center of the courtyard, paved with blue bricks, stands a crabapple tree. A rattan chair sits on the north side of the courtyard, bathed in the midday sun…

"After the house was returned to us a few years ago, we renovated it. If we hadn't gone abroad, we wouldn't have been willing to sell it." After saying this, the old lady led Li Zhe into the house for a tour.

The house has few pieces of furniture, but it is decorated in a unique way, retaining a certain antique style while also offering modern comfort.

Li Zhe inspected the house and the deed, found no problems, and signed the contract without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)