Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

When Huaihua returned to the courtyard house next to the cannery, she felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and her whole body felt light and refreshed.

"Finally, I'm away from the Jia family... I'm free!"

She slumped on the sofa for a while, wondering to herself, "I wonder if Brother Jun will come over tonight..."

The thought of this made my face flush.

She couldn't just sit there doing nothing. After thinking for a moment, Huaihua decided to go out and buy an English self-study textbook—to learn English!

She had noticed it long ago; Jun Ge was always accompanied by You Fengxia. It was obvious at a glance that Jun Ge was quite satisfied with that woman. Besides her good looks, what impressed Huaihua most about You Fengxia was that she was always studying English.

Since You Fengxia is learning English, then she should learn it too!

"Brother Jun likes women who can speak English, so if I learn it, I can help him when he encounters foreigners. Brother Jun will definitely think more highly of me!"

The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. So Huaihua got on her bicycle, went out the door, turned into a nearby bookstore, and picked out two English self-study textbooks.

This self-study material didn't come with tapes, so you couldn't learn pronunciation just by reading the book. The bookstore clerk, seeing she was a pretty young woman, was very enthusiastic: "Comrade, you want to learn English on your own? I recommend you tune into these two radio stations—they broadcast English teaching programs every morning and evening, the kind that starts from scratch. Just turn on the radio and repeat along."

Huaihua wrote down the radio frequency on a piece of paper, thanked him, and rode her bicycle home.

……

in the hospital.

Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi were waiting eagerly. Upon seeing Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu enter, Jia Zhangshi's face lit up with excitement: "You've finally arrived! How did it go? Did you sell that brat Huaihua to Wang Jun yet?"

Banggeng chicks joined in, eagerly asking, "Dad, Mom, how much did you get for it?"

Qin Huairu didn't know how to bring it up. From last night to today, one thing after another had happened. She hadn't sold the person, but she had gotten the money.

She was feeling down, and said in a muffled voice, "The person wasn't sold, but the money came in, ten thousand in total..."

As he spoke, he took out the money.

When Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng saw the stack of banknotes, their eyes widened, and they wanted to pounce on them.

Banggeng snatched it away, counted it happily, and said smugly, "Ten thousand yuan, a bit less, but it'll do. Our family is finally going to turn our lives around!"

Madam Jia Zhang also looked smug: "See, wasn't my idea pretty good? Without my idea, where would you have gotten so much money! Ten thousand yuan! You couldn't earn that much by collecting dowries and marrying off ten daughters!"

Qin Huairu muttered from the side, "This ten thousand yuan was given by Huaihua. She took the ten thousand yuan and cut ties with us."

Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi didn't care at all. What difference did it make whether they sold them off or severed ties?

Banggeng scoffed, "That brat Huaihua dared to cut ties with us? What a blind fool! Once the Jia family prospers, she won't get a single inch of credit!"

Madam Jia nodded in agreement, "Let's cut it off then. One less mouth to feed in the family, and we can save on food rations."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Banggeng had already pulled out 1,500 from the stack of money and deftly stuffed it into his pocket.

Qin Huairu immediately panicked: "Bang Geng! Your grandma's surgery fees haven't been paid yet, how could you take the money?"

Banggeng waved his hand dismissively, "The doctor said the surgery will only cost five or six thousand. I'll take fifteen hundred, leaving me with eight thousand five hundred, more than enough. Alright, I have something to do, I'll be going now. Dad, Mom, I'm leaving things here with you."

After saying that, he patted his bulging pockets and swaggered out of the ward.

He didn't come to the hospital to take care of Jia Zhangshi at all; he just wanted money. Although Jia Zhangshi treated Banggeng well, letting him eat the best food first, she didn't expect him to clean up after her in the hospital. Dream on. It was filthy and smelly; Banggeng would run away as fast as he could.

After leaving the hospital, Banggeng hopped on his bicycle and headed straight for the small park.

He had a new plan—to pay a thousand yuan to a qigong master, become an advanced apprentice, and then practice qigong.

After practicing for a while, once you reach a certain level of skill, you can become a Qigong master, and then you can become famous and reach the pinnacle of life in no time!

These past few days, Bang Geng has had his eyes opened. He witnessed firsthand how much money the qigong master could make—wealthy people would casually pay twenty or thirty yuan to have him treat their illnesses, and the extravagant ones would even pay over a hundred! On a good day, dozens of people would line up, and he could earn three or four hundred yuan just from treating illnesses!

Besides treating illnesses, there was another way to make money—taking on apprentices. Master Banggeng had over a hundred apprentices, each paying a tuition fee, which added up to a considerable sum of money.

So Banggeng concluded that being a Qigong master was much more promising than doing business!

Oh, and there's another huge advantage—becoming a Qigong master makes finding a girlfriend incredibly easy!

Master Banggeng is said to be over a hundred years old, but he looks to be in his sixties or seventies, yet women line up to throw themselves at him! Most of them are married women, but there are also young women in their twenties or thirties who are still unmarried. According to Banggeng's observation, his master has been involved with at least six or seven women, all of whom are incredibly beautiful.

"I must become a Qigong master!"

"Once I become a Qigong master, I can earn hundreds or even thousands of yuan a day just from treating patients. With a large group of disciples, I can easily make over ten thousand yuan a month—a hundred times better than running a business!"

"And all those women will worship me then, they'll all fawn over me. Why bother with girlfriends? I could change them every day!"

Thinking of this, Banggeng felt a surge of heat throughout his body, so excited that he could barely grip the handlebars.

These past few days, Wang Jun had nothing urgent to do, so he strolled around to browse the antique shops. From the 1970s to the present, there have been six antique shops in Beijing, selling all kinds of cultural relics. The core function of these shops is to collect and manage cultural relics scattered among the people, but another, more practical function is to export them and earn foreign exchange! Indeed, in the 1970s and 80s, a crucial mission of these shops was to earn foreign exchange. It can be said that in that era, the country tried every possible method to promote development, even selling cultural relics left by our ancestors, all to earn more foreign exchange to support economic construction.

In those days, many foreigners visiting China would buy cultural relics to take back as souvenirs. Before June 1981, as long as one had foreign exchange, one could basically buy whatever they wanted. Some wealthy foreigners would buy in bulk, packing them up and airlifting them back to their home countries. It wasn't until after June 1981 that the government introduced relevant policies, establishing the principle of "less foreign exchange outflow, a steady flow of funds."

In other words, large-scale wholesale of cultural relics is no longer permitted; only retail sales are allowed. At the same time, the state has imposed strict restrictions on the sale of cultural relics. Antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jade artifacts, porcelain, etc., that meet the national first- or second-class cultural relic standards are all prohibited from sale; only certain third-class or ordinary cultural relics are permitted for sale. Furthermore, local cultural relic shops are explicitly prohibited from acquiring cultural relics across regions.

Wang Jun strolled slowly through the shop. The interior was divided into rooms by walls, each with a large wooden sign displaying labels for porcelain, jade, calligraphy, paintings, wood carvings, lacquerware, furniture, and more, accompanied by English translations. It was clearly catering to foreigners. After browsing for a while, Wang Jun found the variety of antiques to be astounding. If wholesale were still permitted, he could easily buy a whole batch to collect. Unfortunately, it was 1985, and large-scale purchases were no longer allowed in antique shops. Even if he had the money, it wouldn't have mattered. He could certainly find many good items by himself, but Wang Jun was a complete novice when it came to antiques and artifacts, so he didn't intend to make any rash purchases.

"When buying antiques and cultural relics, you still need to find a professional to appraise them. It seems I need to inquire and find someone knowledgeable to help me acquire them. By the way, besides antiques and cultural relics, Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, especially huanghuali wood, is also extremely valuable for collectors. Right now, these things are ridiculously cheap. If I can stock up on a batch now, they will be priceless in a few decades." Wang Jun's mind flashed to a certain person—the wealthy woman surnamed Chen. In the early 1980s, she collected a large number of golden nanmu, sandalwood, and huanghuali wood furniture at bargain prices, and then resold them to wealthy people in Hong Kong, making a huge profit. Subsequently, she used this money to buy 12 large villas in one go, completing her initial capital accumulation. Decades later, this wealthy woman owned countless properties and became the richest woman in China with a net worth of 53 billion yuan.

"In the 6s, the safest way to make money was to buy courtyard houses, start a business, and collect antiques and cultural relics. Now, I've been hoarding courtyard houses, and my business hasn't suffered either. Naturally, I can't let go of this opportunity to collect antiques and cultural relics. And I have to hurry!" Wang Jun remembers clearly that after June 1986, the state further restricted the sale of cultural relics, the export of cultural relics by foreign trade departments was completely stopped, and all stockpiled cultural relics were transferred to the cultural relics department.

If you want to acquire a large number of cultural relics and antiques, you have to act before then.

After leaving the antique shop, Wang Jun planned to go back and check on Huaihua, wondering how the girl had been doing these past few days. Just as he got into the car, he caught a glimpse of Yan Jiecheng coming out of a small clinic across the street.

"Why is Yan Jiecheng going to that clinic? Is he getting treatment?" Wang Jun looked closely and saw the clinic's sign prominently displaying the words "Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ancestral Miracle Medicine." Judging by its tone, it seemed like a specialist clinic for men's sexual dysfunction. Wang Jun's lips curled into a strange smile. It seemed Yan Jiecheng wasn't giving up and wanted to try again. He wondered if that lousy medicine would even work. Wang Jun had no interest in such trivial matters, got into his car, and drove off.

……

At this moment, Yan Jiecheng clutched several packets of traditional Chinese medicine tightly in his hand, happily preparing to go back and brew it. A few days ago, in order to resolve his hidden ailment, Yan Jiecheng gritted his teeth and went directly to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the most authoritative hospital in Beijing, to register for an appointment with a specialist. After paying several tens of yuan for examinations and going through a lot of trouble, the specialist looked at the report, patted his shoulder with a face full of sympathy: "Young man, your problem is congenital, and it's very difficult to cure in China right now. If you go abroad to see a top expert for surgery, there might be a glimmer of hope, but that would cost a fortune. Conservatively speaking, it would cost at least twenty or thirty thousand US dollars to even have a chance. If you can get that much foreign exchange, go abroad and try; if not, give up as soon as possible and accept reality."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng was instantly furious. He'd gone to all that trouble, spending tens of dollars, only to be told by this "expert" to just wait and die? He refused to believe it! Yan Jiecheng stubbornly insisted that these doctors were simply incompetent and couldn't cure him, which was why he was being told to give up. He then visited several more hospitals and consulted several different specialists, only to receive the same answer each time.

"Young man, your illness is incurable. Give up."

"Young man, forget it. It's all in vain. It's all fate."

"Stop wasting money, accept reality."

But Yan Jiecheng was a stubborn person. Later, he heard that there was a very skilled old Chinese medicine doctor in the area, so he decided to give it a try and spent a dozen yuan to get some medicine.

"These experts and professors are all quacks! They're incompetent, that's why they told me to give up! Give up? No way! My illness can definitely be cured. I'll stand up and be a real man sooner or later! This old Chinese medicine doctor is famous far and wide; his medicine is absolutely effective. Once I'm completely cured, I'm going to marry a beautiful young woman, a lovely seventeen or eighteen! I'll make her give me a litter of big, fat sons!" At this moment, Yan Jiecheng carried his medicine bag, walking with a swagger, his face full of excitement. He even sketched out a scene of revenge in his mind: when he was full of energy again, he would take his young and beautiful new wife and strut back to find Yu Li, making that gold-digging woman regret her actions to death!

Wang Jun first went to the garment factory and picked up a batch of clothes before heading to Haitang Courtyard.

Haitangyuan was the small courtyard where Huaihua lived. The two crabapple trees in the courtyard bloomed beautifully in spring, so he casually named it Haitangyuan.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he heard some babbling coming from inside the house. Huaihua was holding a radio and repeating English along with it, looking quite serious, not like she was playing around. Wang Jun was taken aback. When did this girl start studying foreign languages?

Hearing the commotion, Huaihua ran out, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a smile: "Brother Jun, you're here!"

"Is the matter settled?" Wang Jun asked.

Huaihua pulled an agreement from her pocket and waved it triumphantly: "It's settled! The household registration has been separated, Brother Jun, I'll be following you from now on."

Wang Jun took the document and glanced at it, genuinely surprised. This girl was efficient; she'd handled the tedious task of dividing the household registration in half a day. Although her education level wasn't high, she was quick-witted and willing to learn. With proper guidance, she could be a promising talent.

"Okay, you'll work for me from now on." Wang Jun carefully put away the agreement. "I'll find you a different job in a while, so you can be your own boss."

He knew that Huaihua's greatest hobby was counting money, so opening a shop for her wouldn't be too difficult for him.

Huaihua's eyes lit up instantly. Being a boss, holding a wad of cash in her hands—wasn't that her dream? She even had a plan for how she would show off when she returned to the courtyard house, determined to make Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng green with envy.

Huaihua grabbed Wang Jun's hand, looked up at him, and said, "Brother Jun, why don't you stay here tonight?"

Wang Jun smiled and said, "Okay."

……

The next morning, Wang Jun drove out and headed straight for Qianjin Village.

Today is the groundbreaking day for the feed mill, so as the owner, I should be there to take a look.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Wang Jun was stunned by the scene before him—the entire feed mill site had been transformed into a massive construction site, with over a thousand people busily working away! Some were digging foundations, others were carrying stones, some were mixing cement, and still others were dredging sand from the river; shouts of encouragement rose and fell, and dust filled the air.

This scene will be unseen for decades to come. Back then, building dozens of stories high was all done by mechanized operations, so there was no need for so many people. The sight of one or two thousand people working at the same time was only seen in the 1970s and 80s, and it was truly awe-inspiring.

Wang Jun approached Luo Yong: "Uncle Luo, isn't this guy being a bit too outrageous?"

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