Chapter 76

The last time Li Long came in, he hadn't looked closely, being too busy selling fish. This time, as soon as he entered, he realized it was at least a Sihe Academy layout, though he couldn't tell how many courtyards deep it was.

The architectural style was quite different from those in the Northwest Xinjiang region.

The main northern building was where the old man lived; its foundation alone was over half a meter higher than the courtyard ground. Up the steps lay a wide eave, with a foundation paved in bluestone slabs, similar to the ancient structures Li Long had seen at tourist spots in later times.

The courtyard ground was paved with bluestone bricks, but with so much snow, only a narrow path from the main house to the gate had been swept clear.

He could tell that a spirit screen should have stood just inside the main gate, but it had been demolished later.

On either side of the path were small gardens, each covering a few mu, now empty and piled with snow.

The wing rooms on both sides of the courtyard were equally tall structures, their pillars made of thick solid wood. Since 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 are those pillars?"

"Pine. The entire courtyard uses fine pine, painted to prevent insect damage. It's not like those half-baked jobs nowadays that rot in a couple of years. This wood was treated well; the courtyard has been lived in for decades and is still in good shape."

"You haven't tidied up those rooms?" Li Long pointed to the wing rooms on both sides.

"Where would I find the time? Just keeping the rooms I occupy clean is enough." The old man pointed again to the reverse-facing rooms on either side of the gate and said, "Forget the wing rooms; I haven't even managed these reverse rooms. They're piled with old stuff. If you buy this place, it's all yours."

Li Long smiled but said nothing.

"Let me tell you, five hundred yuan is like finding free money." The old man seemed convinced Li Long was the one. "This courtyard follows the Sihe Academy style, two and a half courtyards deep. It's not huge, but honestly, you can see the quality of the materials; everything is exquisite. 'High gate, great household' isn't said lightly."

Following the old man's pointing, Li Long looked at the wooden carved auspicious beasts on the eaves of the main roof and the mortise-and-tenon structures atop the pillars. He truly hadn't expected to see such authentic traditional Chinese architectural features in this remote northwest borderland.

"The backyard is the stable. We used to be a wealthy family, kept horses, had grooms and carriages, but later..."

The old man didn't continue, but Li Long could hear the sigh in his voice.

"Good times are coming now. Your son, your family reunited in the past, isn't that a happy thing?" Li Long smiled and offered comfort. "You should be happy."

"That's true, it's just that I've lived here so long and have grown attached." The old man led Li Long to the backyard and pointed to the vast empty building, saying, "See, that's the stable. Later, before my son went to Shanghai, he tried setting up a greenhouse here, even put glass on top. Unfortunately, once he left, no one tended to it."

Li Long took a look and indeed it was!

A row of large buildings; the original roofs had been torn off and replaced with glass frames, though now most were crushed by the snow.

"If I weren't reluctant to leave this house, I would have gone long ago," the old man continued. "Handing it over to the sub-district office wouldn't be a big deal, but you surely know the situation there. Once I sell it to them, they will definitely split this house into many parts, and the courtyard won't remain intact. I can't bear that!"

Li Long understood. The sub-district office would handle more and more affairs in the future, naturally needing more office space; such a large courtyard couldn't be handed over to a single unit.

Just like in Beijing nowadays, many families live in one old Sihe Academy.

"Come, come, let me show you my main house. Inside are all fine materials. If you buy this house, the furniture inside is yours too; I can't take it with me anyway..."

With just that one sentence, Li Long felt that not only five hundred, but even a thousand yuan would be worth it.

Inside the main house was a set of old-style official hat chairs. Even if they were replicas made ten or twenty years ago, they were still no small thing.

Moreover, judging by the furniture inside, it should have been a complete set, just a bit old, with some paint peeling off and some parts missing.

After showing Li Long around, the old man said:

"Young man, I see you are honest and quite to my liking. If you want it, for five hundred yuan, let's go to the sub-district office and handle the paperwork."

Li Long gave a bitter smile:

"Old man, with your tour, I really do want this house now. But I don't have that much cash on hand right now; I'll have to go back today to get it."

"Alright, I'll wait for you," the old man said cheerfully, then looked around with a sigh. "If you really buy it, I'll find it hard to let go."

Li Long smiled too.

It was only human nature. To be honest, five hundred yuan was like finding a huge bargain.

But since he was already here, the old man was eager to sell, others were thinking of pressing for a lower price, and in these times, not many people could pull out five hundred yuan at once.

He had caught a lucky break.

He thought about it; buying it was fine. He basically had to transit through the county every day or two, either going into the mountains or to Shicheng. Having a house in the county would actually be more convenient.

He just didn't know if it was safe...

"Safe?" The old man smiled and pointed outside to the southwest:

"Didn't you notice what unit is diagonally opposite?"

"What unit?" Li Long really hadn't noticed.

"The police station! Who would dare cause trouble here?"

Li Long laughed; this place was indeed not bad!

Although the decision was somewhat hasty, he should buy it; the price was already cheap enough.

"Old man, if you're selling, I'll bring the money tomorrow," Li Long confirmed again.

!.

"Sell, sell, sell! Why not sell? Since I'm leaving anyway, I might as well cut off my retreat." The old man gritted his teeth and said, "Handing it to you is more reassuring than handing it to the sub-district office. Those people were still hoping I'd lower the price. Five hundred yuan—Young man, you've found a huge bargain!"

"Alright then, I'll come tomorrow to bring the money and handle the paperwork." Li Long said one more thing to the old man and then left.

He vaguely remembered that in later times this place had been transformed into a park, but whether the buildings inside were demolished was unclear.

Leading the carriage back, Li Long was still wondering if buying this house was worth it.

When they were nearly back at the production team, Li Long smiled.

What's there to question about worth? It's too worth it. I'm afraid even if I paid, I might not get it; maybe the old man will regret it tomorrow.

Tomorrow's business, tomorrow!

Regarding Li Long going out occasionally and returning with the carriage full of goods, the people in the production team were already used to it. The most used to it were the children playing on the road.

A group of children followed the carriage all the way to the Li family before dispersing. Li Jianguo heard the noise and came out; seeing Li Long, he smiled.

"You're back? What did you bring?"

"A roe deer, shot by my friend. For us to eat."

"A roe deer? That's rare!" Hearing it was a roe deer, Li Jianguo smiled. "They say in the great Northeast it's 'beat the roe deer with a stick, scoop fish with a ladle'; our side isn't much worse."

"Still a bit worse; the roe deer here are cunning." Li Long said while unloading the roe deer. "I encountered one while hunting wild boar; it ran away before I even raised my rifle."

Li Jianguo and Li Long together unloaded the thirty-plus-kilogram roe deer and said:

"How do you eat this thing?"

"It's the same breed as the deer," Li Long said, having heard it from Chen Hongjun. "Braised or any other way works."

"Good. Once it thaws, we'll skin it. By the way, are you going out tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll be busy the day after tomorrow as well."

(End of chapter)