Chapter 31: A Golden House Hides Ingenuity!

Cheng, where are we meeting?

Xu Yuexin asked.

It's at the small restaurant opposite our school, the one where You Peiling's father works as manager.

I heard that You Peiling's family has become better off these past two years. Everyone's wallets are getting fatter, more people are dining out, and her father can earn a good amount of Reward each year.

Wang Youle said enviously, "It seems that now Sole Proprietorships are allowed to open restaurants; maybe someday I'll open one myself."

"No problem at all. As long as you do proper research beforehand and gauge the market direction, you can definitely make money."

Xu Yuexin understood and supported his childhood friend's idea.

Since the conference ended last year, Sole Proprietorship operations have loosened. Those bold enough to open a shop and do business can even earn more than a university professor.

If Wang Youle truly dares to open a restaurant, then he would be a pioneer of this era.

After finishing the restaurant talk, the two chatted about amusing experiences from when Educated Youth went to the countryside, and it wasn't until near noon that Wang Youle finally said goodbye and went home.

Xu Yuexin couldn't keep Wang Youle for a meal; his uncle was coming to see him at noon.

After seeing off his childhood friend, Xu Yuexin returned to his bedroom to open the letters.

Two of the three large burlap bags of reader letters were shoved under the bed, and the remaining bag was placed against the wall because it was hard to fit.

The bedroom, which had originally been fairly spacious, now felt cramped after this arrangement.

"From now on I need to buy a house; otherwise there'll be nowhere to store the reader letters.

Xu Yuexin picked up the People's Literature letter and muttered while sitting at his desk.

When he visited Wang Meng's home last time, he thought how nice it would be to have a big house.

The desire to buy a house slowly took root and sprouted in his heart.

He opened the People's Literature envelope, and a remittance slip fell out, with several lines of text on the letter paper.

"Comrade Chunyu, congratulations. Your work The Horse Herder has been accepted by my publication and will be published later."

"We are now paying you a Manuscript Payment of 130 yuan 9 jiao 8 fen; please bring the remittance slip to the post office to collect it."

"People's Literature."

The signature bears a bright red seal.

Finally he received the Manuscript Payment for his second novel.

Xu Yuexin took the remittance slip to the post office to retrieve the money, and after returning home he neatly stacked the 130 yuan 9 jiao 8 fen Manuscript Payment on the desk.

After sorting the money, Xu Yuexin opened a drawer and took out the earlier Manuscript Payment and royalties from High Mountain, the Manuscript Payment for writing a song for Chen Yixue, and the money his mother gave, and laid them out together for counting.

He had spent some of the High Mountain Manuscript Payment and royalties earlier; now 702 yuan 8 jiao remain. Chen Yixue's payment is 80 yuan, his mother gave 300 yuan, and with today's payment the total comes to 1,213 yuan 7 jiao 8 fen.

This is Xu Yuexin's writing earnings in less than a month, equivalent to two years' salary for an ordinary worker in Jingcheng.

Writing can really bring wealth! Looking at the stack of Great Unity on the table, Xu Yuexin felt a bit excited and began to envision his house‑buying venture.

He briefly reviewed Jingcheng's real‑estate development history; in his memory, the first commercial housing project after the reform and opening was the Unity Lake Phase One and Phase Two, with units of 400 yuan per square meter regardless of floor or layout, no shared areas, and an average price of about 30,000 yuan per unit.

Those houses later sold poorly; all 160 units took a full half‑year to sell. The reason was simple: compared with the average worker's salary these days, the prices were simply too high.

So buying commercial housing nowadays is far from a rational choice.

Besides commercial housing, Jingcheng currently has two other types of housing: public housing and private housing.

Public housing, as the name suggests, has ownership by the state; residents only need to pay a symbolic monthly rent. Before the 1990s housing reforms, such housing could not be bought or sold.

Private housing is owned by individuals and can be traded privately. When later housing policies were relaxed, the government retroactively recognized all private house transactions that occurred earlier and issued uniform property deeds.

Private houses are cheaper than commercial ones because private transactions allow free pricing.

Writing to buy a house, a golden house hides ingenuity! When Xu Yuexin imagines someday owning his own home, and being able to be as happy as he wishes with Chen Qiaoqiao inside, his whole being instantly fills with writing motivation.

Bedroom, bathroom... hmm, the kitchen isn't bad either!

With anticipation for life after getting a house, Xu Yuexin carefully stored the savings and the People's Literature remittance letter, closed the drawer, and opened You Peiling's envelope.

You Peiling's letter was an invitation to a class reunion, and it also included several postcards of scenery from various places.

Xu Yuexin already knew the time and place of the class gathering, gave it a quick glance and slipped it into the drawer.

On the afternoon two days later, Xu Yuexin wore a Shanghai Sea brand watch, a newly bought short‑sleeve white shirt, a fashionable Hongdu brand long trousers, and shoes with three‑piece soles bought by Chen Qiaoqiao, and went downstairs to look for Wang Youle.

Wang Youle had been waiting for Xu Yuexin since early morning, and upon seeing his outfit, clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Old Xu, be honest—are you thinking of some girl from our class, that's why you dressed like that?"

After the teasing, Wang Youle, with a mysterious smile, asked.

"Stop guessing; I already have someone."

Xu Yuexin immediately clarified, "What about you? Aren't you also dressed quite presentably?"

"Hey, to be frank, we haven't seen each other for years, and none of us want others to think we're not doing well."

"A tree lives by its bark, a person lives by their face."

Wang Youle, hand on the leather belt of his trousers, spoke candidly.

Friendship aside, some classmates inevitably harbor comparative thoughts.

Like Xu Yuexin, Wang Youle also dons fine clothes to avoid being looked down upon.

Xu Yuexin and Wang Youle chatted as they walked toward the high school, and at that moment, a private room in the restaurant opposite the school already had a few early‑arriving male classmates seated.

"Old Gao, what has Xu Yuexin, who used to be the tallest in our class, become now?"

Inside the smoky private room, a male classmate asked.

"My dad says he quit his job at Kuangshang, probably staying at home unemployed."

In the private room, the classmate nicknamed Old Gao, upon mentioning Xu Yuexin, immediately held a cigarette, feigned regret and said, "It's a pity—he had the best high‑school grades, and today he's fallen to this level."

(End of chapter)