Chapter 76 Buy a big house! The last time Li Long came in, he really didn't look closely, he was just busy selling fish. This time, as soon as he came in, he could tell that this was at least a standard courtyard layout, but he couldn't tell how many entrances there were. This architectural style is somewhat different from that in Northwest Xinjiang. To the north is the house where the old man lives. The foundation alone is more than half a meter higher than the ground in the yard. Going up the stairs, there is a wide eaves and a foundation paved with bluestone slabs, similar to the ancient buildings that Li Long had seen in some tourist attractions in later generations. The ground in the yard was paved with blue bricks, but due to the heavy snow, only a small path was cleared from the main house to the gate. He could see that there should have been a screen wall as soon as he entered the main gate, but it was later demolished. There is a small garden of several acres on each side of the path, which is now empty and filled with snow. The side rooms on both sides of the courtyard were also tall buildings, and the pillars were all made of thick solid wood. Because they were painted, Li Long couldn't tell what kind of wood it was, so he asked the old man: "Old man, what kind of wood is that pillar made of?" "It's pine wood. The whole yard is made of good pine wood, painted to prevent moths. It's not like the stuff that people use nowadays and they break down in two years. This wood is well treated. I've lived in the yard for decades and it's still in good condition." "You didn't take care of those rooms?" Li Long pointed to the side rooms. "How can I have the time? I am lucky enough to be able to clean the place where I live by myself." The old man pointed to the back houses on both sides of the gate and said, "Don't mention the wing rooms. I have never taken care of these back houses. There are a lot of old things piled up in them. If you want to buy them, they will all be yours."
Li Long smiled and said nothing. "I'm telling you, five hundred bucks is really a steal." The old man seemed to have confirmed Li Long. "My yard is a quadrangle courtyard, with two and a half entrances. Although it's not very big, to be honest, you can tell from the materials used that they are all very particular. It's not something that can be said casually by a wealthy family." Following the direction the old man pointed, Li Long looked at the auspicious beasts carved from wood on the corners of the main eaves, as well as the mortise and tenon structures on the tops of the columns. He really didn't expect to see such formal features of ancient Chinese architecture in this northwestern border area. "The backyard is a stable. We used to be a wealthy family. We raised horses and had horsemen and carriages. But later on..." The old man didn't continue speaking, but Li Long could hear the emotion in his words. "It's a bad day, son. Your family will be reunited when you go there. Isn't that a happy thing?" Li Long said with a smile, "You should be happy." "That's right. I've lived in this house for so long that I have developed feelings for it." The old man took Li Long to the backyard, pointed to the empty big house and said, "Look, that's the horse house. Later, before my son went to Shanghai, he built a greenhouse and even covered it with glass. It's a pity that after he left, no one took care of it anymore." Li Long took a look and it was true! There is a row of large houses, whose original roofs were blown off and replaced with glass frames, but now most of them are buried under the snow. "If I hadn't been reluctant to part with this house, I would have left long ago." The old man continued, "It's actually not a big deal to hand it over to the street, but you must know the situation of the street. Once I sell it to the street, they will definitely split this house into many parts, and then this yard will be incomplete. I can't bear to part with it!" Li Long also understood what he heard. The subdistrict would be responsible for more and more matters in the future, so naturally more offices would be needed. It was impossible for such a large yard to be handed over to one unit. Just like in Yanjing today, the old courtyard houses are where several families live in one courtyard. "Come, come, let me show you my main house. It's full of good materials. If you buy this house, the furniture inside will also belong to you. I can't take it away anyway..." Just based on this one sentence, Li Long felt that it was worth even one thousand, let alone five hundred. Because there is a set of old-fashioned official hat chairs in the main room. Even if this thing was copied from more than ten or twenty years ago, it is not simple. Besides, looking at the furniture here, it should be a complete set, but it is a little old, some of the paint is peeling, and some parts are missing. After the old man showed it to Li Long, he said: "Young man, I see that you are honest and quite to my liking. If you want it, five hundred yuan, we can go to the street office to complete the formalities." Li Long smiled bitterly: "Master, now that you've brought me here, I really want this house. But I don't have that much money right now, so I have to go back and get it today." "Okay, I'll wait for you." The old man said cheerfully, and then looked around with emotion, "If you really want to buy it, I'm a little reluctant."
Li Long also laughed. It's human nature. To be honest, five hundred dollars is a big bargain. But when they got here, the old man was anxious to sell, and some people wanted to buy at a lower price, but these days there were not many people who could pay 500 yuan. I was lucky enough to get there. He thought about it and decided to buy it. It happened that he had to transit in the county every one or two days, either going to the mountains or to Shicheng. It would be more convenient to have a house in the county. I just don't know if it's safe or not... "Safe?" The old man smiled and pointed to the southwest outside: "Did you not notice what unit was across from you?" "What unit?" Li Long really didn't pay attention. "Police station, who dares to act wildly here?" Li Long smiled, this place is really nice! Although the decision was a bit hasty, I decided to buy it, as it is cheap enough. "Grandpa, if you want to sell it, I will bring the money tomorrow." Li Long confirmed again. "Sell it, sell it, sell it. Why not sell it? I'm leaving anyway, so I might as well cut off my retreat." The old man gritted his teeth and said, "It's safer to hand it over to you than to the street. Those people are counting on me to lower the price. Five hundred yuan - young man, you're getting a great bargain!" "Okay, I'll come over tomorrow to get the money and go through the formalities." Li Long said to the old man and left. He vaguely remembered that this place was transformed into a park in later generations, but he was not sure whether the buildings inside were demolished. Leading the carriage back, Li Long was still thinking about whether it was worth buying this house. When he was almost at the team, Li Long smiled. Is it worth it? It's too worth it. I'm afraid I won't be able to buy it even if I pay for it. Maybe I'll regret it tomorrow. Let’s talk about tomorrow’s matters tomorrow! The people in the production team were already used to Li Long going out from time to time and coming back with his carriage full of stuff. The ones they were most used to were the kids playing on the road. A group of children followed the carriage all the way to Li's house before dispersing. Li Jianguo heard the noise and came out, and smiled when he saw Li Long. "You're back now? What are you pulling?" "My friend hunted some roe deer for us to eat." "Roe deer? This thing is rare!" Li Jianguo laughed when he heard it was roe deer. "They say in the Northeast, people beat roe deer with a stick and scoop fish with a ladle. We are not much different here." "It was almost there. The roe deer here are very smart." Li Long said as he carried the roe deer downstairs. "I encountered one when I was hunting wild boars. It was scared away before I even raised my gun." Li Jianguo and Li Long unloaded the roe deer, which weighed more than 30 kilograms, and said: "How do you eat this?" "It's the same species as deer." Li Long heard this from Chen Hongjun, "It can be braised or anything." "Well, wait till it melts, then we'll peel it. By the way, are you going out tomorrow?" "Go out. I'll be busy tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
(End of this chapter)
