HCB Chapter 65 I'll Buy Uncle Zhong's House
Chapter 65 I'll Buy Uncle Zhong's House
After a thorough painting, the entire courtyard was transformed. The once slightly dilapidated houses were given a new lease on life, making them a sight to behold.
At this moment, the family stood happily in the clean and beautiful courtyard, their faces beaming with joy.
Zhao Yuan and Lin Fangfang held hands and carefully examined the newly renovated house again. They discussed the items they needed to buy next and made a list.
They entrusted Zhao Nana to the care of Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi, then drove their tractor to the market to shop. The couple were in high spirits, laughing and chatting all the way. Upon arriving at the market, they quickly bought everything they needed, loaded it all onto the tractor, and carried it home.
Back home, Zhaoyuan and Lin Fangfang immediately began setting up the bed. After laying out the palm mattress and bedding, the entire room quickly became exceptionally warm and inviting. Looking at their newly decorated home, the couple felt incredibly satisfied and proud.
Lin Fangfang and the children continued tidying up in the yard.
Zhao Yuan then drove his tractor to Fan Bo's house.
"Brother Bo, has the housing issue been settled yet?"
Zhao Yuan saw Fan Bo and asked him.
“Brother Zhao, you’ve arrived. I’ve shown you two courtyards, one a little bigger and one a little smaller. Which one do you want to look at first?”
Fan Bo said.
"Look at the bigger ones."
Zhao Yuan said.
"The larger ones are a bit special, let's go take a look first and then decide."
He then got on the tractor.
The first house is about 200 meters away from the new house. The house is large and a couple lives there. Their only son had an accident while swimming in the river two summers ago when he went to the countryside. The old lady couldn't handle the shock and has some mental problems. She is a bit noisy at night. Now, in order to pay for his wife's medical treatment, the old man is preparing to sell the house.
Fan Bo spoke to Zhao Yuan in the car.
Fan Bo instructed Zhao Yuan to park the tractor in the yard of the new house and walk there.
In front of a traditional courtyard house, Fan Bo gently knocked on the gate. After a while, the sound of a key unlocking the door came from inside. The gate opened, revealing an old man with a hunched back and a haggard face. On a recliner in the courtyard, a woman lay quietly, seemingly lost in sleep.
Fan Bo nodded slightly to the old man and politely greeted him, "Uncle Zhong, we've come to see the house."
Seeing this, Zhao Yuan followed suit and also called out "Uncle Zhong".
At this moment, Uncle Zhong raised his hand, making a gesture to signal them to speak softly, and then led Zhao Yuan and Fan Bo on a stroll around the entire courtyard.
The courtyard house was laid out like a traditional siheyuan (courtyard house), with an old roof covered in tiles that, despite their age, still appeared quite sturdy. However, due to years of neglect, the items inside were dilapidated and scattered everywhere; the tables and chairs were almost all broken, with either broken armrests or missing legs. But the courtyard itself was quite large, almost twice the size of Zhaoyuan's new home, which pleased him greatly.
After viewing the house, Uncle Zhong escorted Fan Bo and Zhao Yuan to the gate of the courtyard.
Uncle Zhong briefly explained Aunt Zhong's situation to Zhaoyuan. The courtyard was priced at 2500 yuan, but there was a condition: a room had to be reserved for the two elderly people. After they passed away, the house would belong to the new owner. Their house could have a different entrance than the new owner's, with the door opening directly into the courtyard.
Zhao Yuan and Fan Bo thanked Uncle Zhong and left.
On the way, Zhaoyuan asked Uncle Zhong and Aunt Zhong about their details.
Fan Bo told Zhao Yuan that Uncle Zhong was originally from Beijing. He and Aunt Zhong were college classmates. Aunt Zhong was an only child, so Uncle Zhong followed her to Jinyang County. They used to work at the Jinyang County People's Hospital and were both well-known doctors. They had a son who went to the countryside as part of the "educated youth" movement. The summer before last, he had an accident while swimming in the river. His maternal grandparents couldn't accept it and passed away that same month. Aunt Zhong couldn't bear the successive blows and developed mental health issues. When she saw her son at the hospital, she wouldn't let go. Initially, the hospital only suspended Aunt Zhong's work. Uncle Zhong hired people to take care of Aunt Zhong, but several people refused to look after her. Uncle Zhong didn't want to send Aunt Zhong to a mental hospital, so he took early retirement to stay home and take care of her.
"What kind of people are Brother Bo, Uncle Zhong, and Aunt Zhong?"
Zhao Yuan asked.
"Of course, Aunt Zhong's family has been practicing medicine for generations and has a very good reputation. Before the accident, Aunt Zhong was an obstetrician and gynecologist. She delivered both of my children. Uncle Zhong was a surgeon and he was very good at surgery. It's such a pity. Life is so unpredictable."
Fan Bo sighed as he spoke.
"Zhaoyuan, go and take a look at the other courtyard."
Fan Bo said.
"No, I'll buy Uncle Zhong's house instead."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Then let's talk to Uncle Zhong about the price again."
Fan Bo said.
"No, just 2500 yuan. I'll go and complete the formalities on Monday."
Zhao Yuan said.
The two returned to Uncle Zhong's courtyard.
"Uncle Zhong, I've bought your courtyard. You can continue living here from now on."
Zhao Yuan said.
“Did Fan Bo tell you about my wife’s situation? She wants to hold any child she sees, and holding a child makes her happy and calm. But everyone says she’s mentally ill, and no one would let her hold any child. I wanted to adopt a child, but I’m too old now and can’t keep up, so I had to give up.”
Uncle Zhong said calmly.
"Fan Bo told me all this, and I'll come over on Monday to complete the formalities."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Okay, thank you, Bo Yazi."
Uncle Zhong said.
Zhao Yuan thanked Fan Bo and returned home. The family then drove to Zhaojia Village.
As Lu the butcher passed by the entrance of the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, he heard the sound of garbage being dragged. He ran out and saw that it was Zhao Yuan, so he immediately stopped Zhao Yuan's car.
"Zhaoyuan, you're finally back. Director Liu has been waiting for you all day. He went to your house and found out you drove your tractor to the county town. He waited for you here all afternoon but you didn't come back. He asked me to tell you that Director Ma of Xinhua Bookstore wants you to go to Xinhua Bookstore tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you, Brother Lu."
Zhao Yuan offered a cigarette to Butcher Lu and prepared to drive away.
"Zhaoyuan, everyone says you've struck it rich lately. We still have offal and pig's head meat today, want to buy some?"
Butcher Lu leaned against the tractor and smoked with Zhao Yuan.
"They probably won't sell at this point, right? I'll buy them all, and you can give me a discount."
Zhao Yuan said, half-jokingly.
"Easy to say, easy to say."
The two then walked into the supply and marketing cooperative.
"Zhaoyuan, look, there are still some bones left. Shall we buy them together? I'll give you a discount. Look, there's quite a bit of meat on these bones."
Butcher Lu turned the bones on the cutting board to show Zhao Yuan.
"Alright, if Brother Lu says so, then not buying it would be disrespectful. Chop off another two pounds of meat. From now on, just leave all the offal and pig's head meat to me, at a lower price, since you'll have a hard time selling them anyway."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Okay, it'll be 7 yuan together."
Butcher Lu chopped up all the bones and cut the pig's head meat into pieces, then handed them over to Zhao Yuan.
After paying the money and thanking Butcher Lu, Zhao Yuan led his family towards Zhao Family Village.