The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 132 Siheyuan

"Sun Xin?"

Yang Tao exclaimed in surprise.

Sun Xin, who was about to have a good argument with Wang Niulang, turned around and looked at him, his expression changing from surprise to joy.

"Yang Tao, what are you doing here?"

The two women stepped forward, held hands, and looked each other up and down.

"It's only been a year since I last saw you, and you've changed so much. You've gone from a good girl on campus to a sophisticated city woman. Those long legs are still so enviable."

"Yang Tao joked."

Sun Xin replied with a smile, "You haven't changed much. The beauty of the college is still the beauty of the college. I bet there are more people chasing after you now than in the whole school."

After some mutual flattery, Sun Xin pulled her younger sister aside and introduced Yang Tao to her:
“This is my younger sister, Sun Xiang. She’s a senior in high school this year, and I’m just taking her to school.”

"Hello, sister."

Sun Xiang called out obediently.

Sun Xin then introduced Yang Tao to her sister: "This is my college roommate. We are in the same college, but our majors are different. She is in tourism management, and I am in marketing."

Then he explained to Yang Tao, "My sister is also planning to apply to our school. Her favorite major right now is tourism management."

Yang Tao immediately encouraged Sun Xiang: "Keep it up, I'm looking forward to you becoming my junior schoolmate!"

Sun nodded vigorously.

Sun Xin sighed, "Our school has been making quite a stir online lately. First it was He Yueyue, then 'The Lone Warrior,' and now even the braised pork trotters at Maple Tree Cafeteria have gone viral. How come it wasn't this exciting and lively when we were in school?"

Yang Tao glanced at Yang Muye beside her subconsciously, thinking to herself, "You've asked the wrong person."

The culprit is right here!
Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, Wang Niulang finally chimed in.

"Manager Yang, so you and Sun Xin were classmates?"

"Manager?" Sun Xin looked at Yang Tao with curiosity, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes.

"I'm the assistant manager of the lobby; I was just promoted recently," Yang Tao said modestly.

"That's still amazing," Sun Xin exclaimed sincerely.

“You must be just as good, how are you doing at your current company?” Yang Tao asked.

"It's alright. I might have an opportunity to become a project director in a while." Since things weren't finalized yet, Sun Xin didn't give a definitive answer.

Even so, Yang Tao still praised Sun Xin a lot.

Wang Niulang glanced at his watch and said, "Gentlemen, if you continue chatting, Sun Xiang's sister will be late for evening self-study."

Sun Xin quickly checked her watch; it was indeed getting late.

"Yang Tao, I'll contact you by phone or QQ later. I have to go see my sister off first."

Yang Tao called out to Sun Xin, "Are you going to take a taxi?"

Sun Xin nodded and said, "Yes, otherwise it would be too late."

Yang Tao turned to look at Yang Muye, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry and discussion.

Yang Muyi spoke first: "I'm going to visit Brother Wang for a bit. I'll take a taxi back myself later, so you don't need to worry about me."

Yang Tao looked grateful and took Sun Xin's hand, saying, "Don't take a taxi, I'll take you there."

Sun Xin hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

Yang Tao waved goodbye to Yang Muyi and called Lan Weiwei, Sun Xin and Sun Xiang, the sisters, to walk towards the alley entrance together.

On the way, Sun Xin asked curiously:
"Yang Tao, what are you doing here?"

"Let's eat at a hot pot restaurant recommended by Wang Niulang."

"That place in the alley? Their food is really good, and the mutton is fresh, but there aren't many people eating there now because it's hot. It will be bustling when it gets cold."

"The taste is indeed quite good, but the location is a bit hard to find."

"Yes, the alleys here are too narrow; even a car can't drive in."

At this point, Sun Xin suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Yang Tao, where did you park your car—?"

"It's not far from the entrance of the alley; Wang Niulang helped us find this place."

"That's good. He knows this area very well. There's no one in the whole alley who doesn't know him."

As they spoke, the four of them had already reached the entrance of the alley.

Sun Xin looked up and gazed at the parking area near the alley entrance, only to see a white Mercedes SUV.

Just by looking at that Mercedes-Benz logo, which is bigger than a rice bowl, you know this car is expensive.

Just as Sun Xin was about to ask Yang Tao where the car was parked, Yang Tao took out a car key from the bag on her right shoulder and pressed the unlock button on the white Mercedes SUV.

The car lights flashed once.

Sun Xin was completely stunned.

Is this Mercedes Yang Tao's car?

"My car was hit yesterday morning and is still in the repair shop. A friend lent me this car."

Yang Tao explained.

Sun Xin snapped out of her daze and jokingly asked, "What kind of friend of yours is so wealthy that he can just throw around a Mercedes-Benz? That car must be pretty expensive, right?"

Yang Tao intended to gloss over the topic of the car's price, but Lan Weiwei spoke up first: "That's right, lending a car worth over three million just like that. I've never driven such an expensive car in my life. Tao, you're taking your classmate's younger sister to school, so I'll drive for the rest of the way."

Sun Xin's smile froze on the spot.

This car costs over three million?
Yang Tao shoved the car keys into Lan Weiwei's hand, saying, "You talk too much."

Lan Weiwei playfully stuck out her tongue. "I'm just helping you out, aren't I?"
Lan Weiwei had already figured it out: although Sun Xin and Yang Tao had a good relationship, the two beauties inevitably compared themselves to each other in private.

Lan Weiwei herself has often compared herself to Yang Tao.

They're comparing now too, but not as obviously as Sun Xin.

After getting into the car, Sun Xin became noticeably quieter.

The younger sister, Sun Xiang, looked left and right, her eyes filled with envy, but she wasn't as psychologically unbalanced as her older sister.

To lighten the mood, Yang Tao, who was sitting in the passenger seat, took the initiative to chat with Sun Xiang about some things from high school.

Lan Weiwei, who was driving, chimed in, praising Sun Xiang for being beautiful and saying that many boys in high school would definitely want to pursue her.

Sun Xiang was shy and couldn't stand being teased. She blushed and denied it, while also using a trick to shift the topic to her sister, Sun Xin.

"There were so many boys pursuing my sister in high school; every day someone would secretly slip love letters into her desk."

"Sun Xiang, don't talk nonsense." Sun Xin glared at her sister, embarrassed and angry.

Sun Xiang was very dissatisfied.

That's what it is.

Chu Xiaoyu had secretly told her all of this. However, due to the suppression of her sister's bloodline, Sun Xiang dared not reveal any more information.

On a whim, I shifted the topic to star fruit.

"Sister Yang, you must have had a lot of boys chasing after you in high school, right?"

Lan Weiwei spoke first: "There are indeed many, I can testify to that."

Yang Tao retorted angrily, "Focus on driving!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Sun Xin joined the fray:

"She had even more suitors in college, half from our college and half from other colleges, but our college beauty was too picky and didn't like any of them."

Yang Tao retorted irritably, "It's not like you have fewer suitors. Take Cheng Liang from your class, for example. He sends bouquets of roses to our dorm one after another. It's like our dorm could practically have a flower shop now."

The two bantered back and forth, and the slight misunderstanding caused by the price of the G-Class vanished without a trace.

Sun Xiang was no longer as reserved as when he first got in the car and started chatting with Lan Weiwei, who was driving.

"Sister, you have such a great figure!"

Lan Weiwei was delighted to hear this and was about to mention that she had opened a yoga studio and that Sun Xiang and Sun Xin could come and visit whenever they had time.

Yang Tao suddenly interjected:

"You don't know, she was insecure about her figure for a long time in high school because she was too big. She always wore the loosest kind of school uniform because she was afraid that others would laugh at her for being big."

Lan Weiwei panicked.

"Peach, don't talk nonsense."

Yang Tao quickly reminded Lan Weiwei to watch out for the car in front so they wouldn't crash into it.

To avoid distracting Lan Weiwei, Yang Tao stopped teasing her about her figure.

However, Yang Tao was not lying.

Lan Weiwei was really disgusted with her figure back in high school, and it wasn't until college that she "suddenly realized" it.

Pure and pretty are worthless in the face of sexiness.

The ugly duckling transformed into a beautiful swan.

Things are different now than they were back then; high school students are much more open-minded now.

Sun glanced at his own "flat-chested" body and secretly envied Lan Weiwei's figure.

On the other side, Wang Niulang led Yang Muyi slowly into the alley.

The family in Wang Niulang's courtyard really couldn't entertain guests; they could only give Yang Muye a tour of the entire alley.

“Our alley is divided into east and west sections. The section we just came in from is the west entrance. On both sides are large courtyards like my house, where seven or eight families live in one courtyard, which is considered a small number.”

"Most of the houses in the alley to the east are small, detached houses. Many of them were public housing allocated to employees in the past. Some were converted to private ownership during the public-private housing reform, but some are still public housing now. The Sun Xin and Sun Xiang sisters' house is an example of this."

“The house was a public housing unit allocated by Grandma Sun’s work unit. Although it is a detached house with its own courtyard, the actual area inside is not very big. There are only three rooms, and three generations have lived there. Moreover, they only have the right to live there. The house belongs to the government. If it is demolished, they will not receive much compensation at all.”

At this point, Yang Muyi suddenly asked, "Since it was a house allocated by the work unit, didn't their family buy the house from the government when it was converted from public to private ownership?"

Wang Niulang sighed: "Sun Xin has had heart disease since he was a child. The family's savings were all spent on his treatment when he was young, so we couldn't buy him anything."

If this area hadn't been demolished, Sun Xin's family's living conditions would actually have been acceptable.

On the surface, they live in a courtyard house worth tens of millions of yuan.

But if the property is demolished, the compensation for the public housing might not even be enough to buy a house in the suburbs.

As we were talking, we heard the sound of a motorcycle "putt-putt-putt" ahead.

A young man in his early twenties rode a Changjiang 750 sidecar motorcycle towards us.

The car itself isn't expensive, but the most eye-catching thing is the Beijing license plate (京A).

"Brother Wang, taking your friends for a stroll through the hutongs?" The young man on the motorcycle stopped, but didn't turn off the engine.

"Chu Xiaoyu, are you going out for a ride on your precious bike again?"

"You really guessed wrong this time. Sun Xingang just went to take Sun Xiang to school, didn't he? I was worried they wouldn't be able to get a taxi, so I went to see them off."

Wang Niulang couldn't help but laugh:

"You're really hopelessly in love, aren't you?"

Chu Xiaoyu smiled and rode his motorcycle to continue on his way.

Wang Niulang stopped them, saying, "Don't go. Sun Xin and Sun Xiang ran into an acquaintance at the alley entrance. He happened to be driving by and gave the two sisters a ride."

Chu Xiaoyu looked disappointed after hearing this, but she was still not giving up and decided to try her luck at the entrance of Sunxiang High School.

Sun Xin hitched a ride with a friend to take her sister to school; it's impossible for her to hitch a ride back, right?
My friend isn't Sun Xin's driver.

After riding a few meters, Chu Xiaoyu realized she had forgotten to ask Wang Niulang whether Sun Xin's friend was male or female.

Wang Niulang deliberately joked with Chu Xiaoyu:

"I'm going to sue you for being a man, are you still going or not?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiaoyu immediately guessed that Sun Xin's friend was a woman, and in high spirits said:

"If it's a man, then I have to assert my dominance even more. No matter what kind of car he drives, we men from Yanjing can't back down."

Wang Niulang waved his hand: "Alright, hurry up and go, or Sun Xin might have already taken a taxi back by herself."

Chu Xiaoyu twisted the throttle and rode off on his motorcycle with a "putt-putt-putt" sound.

Wang Niulang turned back and mentioned to Yang Muye, "This kid and Sun Xin are childhood sweethearts. They grew up together, went to school together, and even carved their names on the old locust tree in front of their house. But he didn't do well in the college entrance exam and only got into a junior college. Now he works as a real estate agent, but he hasn't made any money and is still thinking about winning Sun Xin over all the time."

Yang Muye asked with a smile, "What, you think there's no chance between the two of them?"

"There's definitely a foundation of affection between them. The main issue is that Sun Xin's mother looks down on Chu Xiaoyu. Plus, Sun Xin is now a graduate of a prestigious university and works for a good company. Look at how she dresses now; she's nothing like the girls in our alley. Girls these days are very realistic. They'd rather cry in a BMW than sit in that beat-up car and stand in the wind and rain with you."

Wang Niulang's greatest strength is his clear-headedness in life, or you could say he's resigned to his fate.

Instead of pushing yourself, it’s better to give yourself a break.

It was for this reason that Sun Xin always looked down on Wang Niulang.

Even Chu Xiaoyu's close relationship with Wang Niulang was seen by Sun Xin as a lack of ambition.

As they talked, they unknowingly walked to the eastern section of the alley.

Wang Niulang pointed to a large locust tree in front of him: "That's Chu Xiaoyu's house. It's a small, detached house. It was allocated to Chu Xiaoyu's grandfather by his work unit, and later he bought it with his own money after the public funds were converted."

Yang Muye casually asked, "Are all these surrounding courtyards privately owned?"

"Yes, the best one is the one next to Chu Xiaoyu's house. It's over 100 square meters. A few years ago, the family went abroad with their son and sold the house to a businessman from out of town. They spent a lot of money renovating it, installing doors, a bathroom and shower room, and building a balcony. I heard recently that they lost money in business and urgently need cash flow, so they're trying to sell the house. There's still a 'For Sale' advertisement on the front door."

Since the start of the Olympics, courtyard houses in Yanjing have suddenly become highly sought after, and their prices have skyrocketed.

However, when buying a courtyard house, you also need to consider the location and surrounding amenities.

Not only is the location of Wang Niulang's alleyway notoriously bad, but there have also been constant rumors of demolition. Houses that haven't been renovated or decorated are fine, but they might even make a fortune from the demolition compensation.

Courtyards that have undergone expensive renovations like these tend to be quite expensive, and it's actually quite difficult to sell them.

(End of this chapter)