Chapter 238

Only Zhang Ping'an winked at Lao Jia; he had not expected Lao Jia to act so quickly, nor had he expected the Street Office to pull off such a big move directly.

Zhang Ping'an followed San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, to his home; Lao Jia only spoke after closing the door.

"Ping'an, I only mentioned it in passing, how did this place become a pilot project for the Street Office?"

"This is a good thing. Since the Street Office wants to run a pilot, the first person to eat the crab will definitely reap the greatest benefits. Plus, there are discounts for people in our courtyard. San Jie Fu, you should go first thing tomorrow morning."

"Right, Lao Jia, we should be like Ping'an and get a one-entry courtyard; that way, Dong Zidonglai can each have their own room."

"That's right, Dad, let's try to exchange for a larger area. Our four rooms now have over seventy square meters; double that is one hundred forty. We can get even more in our courtyard, and if we are the first, we can definitely get more."

"That's settled, I'll go first thing tomorrow morning."

Meanwhile, at Yi Zhonghai's home, Yi Zhonghai was also considering whether to exchange his house. Although his home was sufficient for now, Jiabao was already fourteen years old this year; in six years he would be getting married, and when there were children later, the house would definitely not be enough.

However, he was also hesitant; after all, exchanging a perfectly good house for a piece of ruins made him feel reluctant.

"Lao Yi, what do you think?"

"Let's wait and see."

"That's fine." Tan Cuicui was also reluctant to part with this house where she had lived for half her life.

Middle Courtyard, He family.

"Dad, are we going to exchange?"

"Exchange my foot. Our house is a main room, and besides, it's not like we don't have enough space. Even if Yuliang gets married, we'll still fit."

"Your two sons won't be getting married for another fifteen or sixteen years, what's the rush? By then, maybe houses will be easy to buy."

That's right, Shazhu had two sons: He Xiao, born in '56, and He Weiguo, born in '59.

Back Courtyard, Liu family.

"Lao Liu, should we..."

"Should what? If the eldest hadn't been allocated a house, I would have exchanged without hesitation, but our family has enough space now."

Back Courtyard, Lao Wu.

"Dad, let's exchange."

At this time, all three of the Wu family's sons were married and had children of their own; the five back-row rooms were indeed crowded now.

"Let's wait and see. Anyway, with such a large plot of land, there are only a few families in our courtyard capable of exchanging; it won't all be taken."

Back Courtyard, Xu family.

"Head of the house, we..."

"No exchange. We don't have many family members, it's perfectly enough to live in. If you exchange and build a one-entry courtyard, you'll have more rooms, and who knows what policies might come later? It's enough to live in. Damao, daughter-in-law, what do you think?"

"Dad, what you say makes sense. I have one son and one daughter now; even if they get married, that's a matter for over a decade from now. No rush."

Back Courtyard, Nan Yi family.

"It's a pity this isn't our own house, otherwise I'd exchange for one no matter what."

"Indeed." Liang Ladi also looked regretful.

Deaf Old Lady's two back-courtyard main rooms were not small, measuring a full sixty square meters, and had been converted into four rooms by Nan Yi.

Front Courtyard, Yan family.

Yan Bugui was very tempted at this moment; he still had two sons who needed to get married, especially Jiefang, who would be of age soon, and the house would definitely not be enough to go around.

But he estimated that the money on hand was not enough to build a courtyard, so he had to discuss it with the eldest.

"Ahem, Jiecheng."

"Dad, I agree to the exchange. Liu Lan and I have saved up quite a bit of money over the years; just tell me if you need it."

"Done."

With Yan Jiecheng's support, Yan Bugui felt more confident, though he also wanted to wait and see, as he didn't like to stand out.

The next morning, Lao Jia took his land deed to the Street Office; Director Wang was not surprised to see Lao Jia arrive.

"Comrade Youcai, the total area of your four rooms is seventy-five square meters. In your courtyard, we'll count it as two point five times. Since you are the first, I'll round it up for you—three times."

"Yes, yes, yes, thank you, Director Wang."

Lao Jia did a quick calculation in his mind: two hundred twenty-five square meters was more than enough for a large family to live in.

Three main rooms, two ear rooms, three wing rooms on each side, each with an ear room, and four south rooms (reserved)—it was more than enough, more than enough to live in.

"Mm, this is the contract, take a look."

"Good."

Lao Jia read it carefully; the content was very simple, and everything was clearly marked. Construction would begin after the thaw after the New Year, moving would be completed within three months, and once signed, there would be no backing out, or there would be severe punishment.

After signing the contract, Lao Jia returned to the Siheyuan, and immediately many women gathered around.

They were not surprised that the Lao Jia family was exchanging their house; after all, there were many people in the family, and they were four employees, so there was no pressure to exchange. What they were curious about was how much space they could get.

"Lao Jia, how much area did your family get?"

"Hehe, three times." Lao Jia didn't hide it.

"What? Doesn't that mean over two hundred square meters?"

"Lao Jia, wasn't it said there was only double compensation?"

"This West Cross Courtyard belongs to our courtyard, so it's two point five times. And since I was the first to support the Street Office's policy, there was naturally a reward."

Yang Ruihua and Lao Wu's wife were so frustrated they could have slapped their own thighs blue. Yang Ruihua didn't even care about chatting anymore and ran toward Yan Bugui's school like a gust of wind.

"What? Oh my, wait for me, I'm going to ask for leave!" Yan Bugui rushed to ask for leave, hoping to secure second place; even one more square meter would be good.

Yan Bugui didn't even go home and went straight to the Street Office.

"Director Wang, I want to exchange too, what do you think?" Yan Bugui asked, looking on eagerly.

"Teacher Yan, you are the second in your courtyard, so we'll count it as two point seven times. Here is the contract."

"Done." Yan Bugui also read it carefully and then signed without hesitation.

Finally, there was the Wu family, who only got 2.5 times; they were even angrier now, as for the same area, it was equivalent to losing a room for nothing.

The West Cross Courtyard is rectangular, sixteen meters wide from east to west and sixty-six meters long from north to south; it extends westward with the Middle Courtyard as its central axis, while Zhang Ping'an's East Courtyard is the opposite and has a larger area.

In the end, only these three families in the Siheyuan made the exchange; no one was surprised about the Wu and Jia families, but no one expected Yan Bugui to have such boldness.

At the same time, several households in the courtyard with tight living conditions had their eyes on the houses that would be vacated by the three families, and they ran to the Street Office from time to time.

"San Jie Fu, have you set a time with Master Lei?"

"Everything is settled with the Street Office; construction can start once the spring thaw begins." The construction team of the Style Lei is now registered under the Street Office and is considered officially commissioned.

At this moment, at the Street Office, Director Wang is discussing construction arrangements for after the New Year with Style Lei.

"Lao Lei, for these three families starting work after the New Year, the north-south error for Jia Youcai's house can be controlled to within one meter, and for the other two families, we can also increase it slightly."

Lao Lei was stunned after hearing this, but as an old fox, he reacted instantly; he feared the Jia Family had connections, and the other two families were just tagging along to benefit, and since everyone was getting a good deal, no one would be foolish enough to speak of it.

"Very well, Director Wang, I understand."

"Mm, I trust you with this; make sure no one can find any fault with it."

"Done, consider it handled."

For a veteran builder, this sort of thing was easy; shifting a brick here, leaving a gap there, and it was settled in a few moves.

Time flew by to the Northern Little New Year, and Zhang Ping'an began his rounds of gift-giving again, still the same package as in previous years.

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the family brought gifts to his father-in-law's house; after the meal, his father-in-law hesitated to speak several times, clearly struggling, but he did not yet know that Zhang Ping'an already knew everything.

"Ping'an..."