Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 158 Teasing with Sweet Words

On the way to the housing management department, the homeowners made sure that Cui Daoyi walked in front, fearing that they wouldn't be able to react if he attacked from behind. Fortunately, nothing fell out of Cui Daoyi's arms.

There is no property ownership certificate now, but that doesn't mean it can't be traded at all.

The housing management department staff had recently seen quite a few cases of buying and selling courtyard houses, so they weren't surprised and began to process the property registration changes according to regulations. Property ownership confirmation and the issuance of property certificates only began after the 1988 housing reforms.

After sizing up Liu Yimin, the housing management staff said, "You need to be careful. A house transaction is no small matter. You'd better bring your parents!"

Parents? Liu Yimin couldn't help but laugh; he hadn't heard that word in a long time.

"Comrade, I can make the decision; I'll buy this house!"

The staff member from the housing management department glanced at the name, then turned to his colleagues and muttered, "Liu Yimin, the same name as the writer Liu Yimin!"

The other colleagues also came over to take a look. The original homeowner smiled and said, "This is the writer Liu Yimin. If it were someone else, they might not be able to afford it."

Upon hearing this, the housing management department immediately became lively, with everyone grabbing Liu Yimin's hand to shake his, and some even bringing copies of his book for autographs. What was supposed to be a transaction turned into a reader meet-and-greet.

“You should write about our revolution sometime!” An old staff member lifted his shirt to reveal his scars.

Cui Daoyi chuckled to himself, while the original homeowner and his children stood awkwardly to the side, the youngest son especially eager to get the money.

Forget about being a writer, I need to get married!

When they got married, the "three turns and one sound" (refrigerator, sewing machine, watch, and radio) weren't enough; they also needed a refrigerator and a washing machine, which cost a lot.

By today's standards, this is considered an exorbitantly priced wedding.

After leaving the housing management office and signing the contract for payment in two installments, Liu Yimin handed the homeowner five thousand yuan from his pocket. The five thousand yuan consisted of ten-yuan bills, five hundred of them, forming a thick stack. His children's eyes lit up as they prepared to grab the money, but Cui Daoyi quickly stopped them.

"You can divide it after you've finished counting it; once we leave, we're not responsible for anything else!"

Cui Daoyi unconsciously reached into his coat, his eyes filled with intimidation, and none of the other children dared to move.

After the investigation was completed and everything was verified, the homeowner grasped Liu Yimin's hand and said, "Comrade Liu Yimin, thank you!"

Then, with a bitter smile, he distributed the money directly to his children: "Eldest, second, and third sons, one thousand each; fourth son is getting married, two thousand."

Seeing that the children were dissatisfied, the homeowner angrily said, "That's settled then!"

The fourth son shouted, "What about the remaining two thousand five?" The landlord, enduring the fist in his hand, gritted his teeth and said, "The remaining money is my and your mother's retirement money!"

“Your eldest brother, second sister, and third brother will take care of your retirement. You and Mom don’t need that much money!” the fourth brother shouted.

The other children criticized the fourth child, saying that the eldest, second, and third brothers were responsible for supporting him in his old age, implying that the fourth child didn't need to be supported at all.

The homeowner looked at Liu Yimin awkwardly: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh!"

Liu Yimin said in a low voice, "I'll feel more at ease if I keep my retirement money myself. I'll send it to you separately when the time comes!"

"Thank you!" the homeowner said, as if he had used up all his strength.

Liu Yimin and Cui Daoyi returned to the courtyard house and went to change the lock. Cui Daoyi patted the pillar and said, "It is indeed good material, but I still feel it's a waste to buy this for seven or eight thousand. Nowadays, it's not popular to live in a courtyard house. I've heard that the Overseas Chinese Apartments are also good."

"Senior, isn't this place close to People's Literature and Art Magazine? It'll be easy to submit articles then!"

Cui Daoyi grinned and said happily, "You're right. You should submit your work to our People's Literature and Art magazine. It'll be more convenient for you to come and visit later."

The house needs to be thoroughly cleaned inside and out. I won't be living there for the time being, but I can manage it sooner or later.

"Senior brother, when are we going to buy some shelves for this room? We can put the readers' letters on them. What do you think?" Cui Daoyi looked it over and said, "If we wait too long, I doubt we'll have enough space!"

The two men started to lift the things inside when a hammer fell out of Liu Yimin's arms with a clatter. Cui Daoyi burst into laughter when he saw it.

"Senior, my roommate is a carpenter. Is it okay if I bring a hammer?"

Cui Daoyi generously took out his wrench from his pocket and proudly showed it off: "My wrench is the best when something happens!"

The worst thing about courtyard houses is that they don't have toilets. Of course, there used to be a special room for chamber pots, but now they've been converted into bedrooms or other uses.

Installing a toilet now is impractical. You can dig in your own home, but can you really dig a sewer on the street? The pipe network hasn't been upgraded. If you actually dump it down there, the whole street will smell like poop after it rains.

The two tidied themselves up a bit and walked out of the courtyard. They found the original owner standing at the door. Liu Yimin asked, "What brings you here?"

"Comrade Liu Yimin, may I go in and dig up some soil and cut off a ginkgo branch? After all, I grew up here. The children may not have any attachment to this place, but I do. I really can't bear to part with it. Maybe this branch can even grow into a ginkgo tree, so when I'm old, I'll have something to remember it by!"

Liu Yimin shifted his position, letting the homeowner go inside. He filled a ceramic jar with some soil from the tree roots and a piece of ginkgo branch, then left satisfied.

Watching his retreating figure, Cui Daoyi sighed: "Last year on this day, I left through this gate, my face and the peach blossoms reflected each other's redness."

Liu Yimin glanced at him and said, "Senior brother, don't be so sad."

"Haha, it's a happy occasion that you're moving to a new house. I'll give you a gift later."

The news that Liu Yimin had bought the courtyard house wasn't explicitly announced, but some people learned about it from Cui Daoyi. People like Zou Huofan and Wang Zengqi sent small gifts, mostly paintings or the Four Treasures of the Study.

"Teacher, how about framing this calligraphy and hanging it in my study?" Liu Yimin picked up the calligraphy that Cao Yu had written for him last time: "All that is past is past; let us look to the present for truly great figures."

Cao Yu said happily, "You can decorate your study however you like. If you need anything, I'll have your teacher's wife prepare it for you!"

“We lack nothing!” Liu Yimin said.

"That won't do. Everyone else is giving gifts, so a teacher can't not. I'll give you a tape recorder instead. Young people like to listen to these these days."

Cao Yu thought for a while and finally came up with a gift.

"It's so good to have a teacher. I'll go to your house tonight to thank you, teacher's wife!" Liu Yimin said.

"You just want to eat, don't you!" Cao Yu saw through Liu Yimin's little scheme and added, "You're so young, yet you've bought such a big house. It cost over eight thousand yuan. Do you need the rest? I can give you some, but you have to pay it back!"

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "The house may be big, but it's still a far cry from your ministerial building. Don't worry about the money; it'll be paid at the end of the year, no more than two thousand five hundred yuan."

"Only two thousand five hundred? What a boastful tone!" Cao Yu laughed: "Luckily it was you. If someone else said it, people would laugh their heads off."

As Zhu Lin walked out of Cao Yu's office, he stood at the corner of the stairs, pretending to be deep in thought. When he saw Liu Yimin, he greeted him with a smile: "What a coincidence, Comrade Liu Yimin!"

"It was quite a coincidence. I just happened to be passing by on the stairs, and you just happened to be at the corner of the stairs. You just happened to glance at me, and I just happened to glance at you. We just happened to look at each other, not a second earlier, not a second later!"

Zhu Lin blushed and said, "What a coincidence!"

"Everything is just right!"

After hearing this, Zhu Lin's face turned even redder, and she stammered, not knowing what to say.

Liu Yimin thought to himself, these words, both poetic and cheesy, are incredibly effective at winning over young women these days.

(End of this chapter)