Chapter 68: Clothing Shop 2.0

Over the next few days, Zhang Ping'an wandered around the neighborhood, but he never found a suitable courtyard. In Zhang Ping'an's view, a two-section courtyard was enough, but there were almost no suitable ones that were along the street, two sections, and nearby.

Zhang Ping'an suddenly thought of He Daqing, whose connections were much broader than his own. That evening, he found He Daqing and spoke about the matter of buying a house.

"It seems there really isn't anything suitable here in our Nanluoguxiang, but there should be some over at Shichahai. It's not far from here; if you're interested, I'll ask around for you."

"Good, good, good. Many thanks, Brother He."

"Hey, why are we brothers using such polite words?"

With He Daqing's help, Zhang Ping'an was spared from being a street loafer; he just had to wait for news.

The following evening, He Daqing brought good news.

"Ping'an, there is a large two-section courtyard that is quite well-preserved. If you are interested, let's go take a look tomorrow morning."

"That's great! Come, come, Brother He, have a smoke."

"You kid..."

Around seven o'clock in the evening, Zhang Ping'an was drawn by the commotion in the Middle Courtyard. When he arrived, he saw that it was because Qin Huairu was about to give birth.

"Ping'an, watch the children for me. I'm going to the Hospital with your San Jie Fu."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Jia Dongxu had already left with the bundled-up Qin Huairu, and Lao Jia and the others were also packing clothes, preparing to set off.

Zhang Ping'an took the baby carriage and discovered that both children were not asleep; their eyes were darting around, and they beamed with joy when they saw Zhang Ping'an.

"Uncle, hold."

"Little ones, wait. I'll hold you when I get back."

Zhang Ping'an pushed the carriage back to his own courtyard, first lit a fire to stew an old hen, and only then came back to play with the two little ones.

"Si Jie, the two little ones are handed over to you." Zhang Ping'an coaxed the two babies to sleep.

"Okay."

Qin Huairu's labor would likely last until midnight. At ten o'clock, Lao Jia came back once.

"San Jie Fu, I stewed a hen. You can take it over in a while."

"Good. Where are the children?"

"Si Jie is looking after them."

"Done."

At ten-thirty, Lao Jia went to the Hospital with the chicken soup that had been stewing for over three hours. There were four large lunch boxes: two contained the soup and chicken, and the rest were Steamed Buns and vegetables.

At seven-thirty in the morning, Lao Jia returned to the courtyard. Although he was somewhat exhausted, he could not hide the excitement in his eyes.

"San Jie Fu, is it a boy?"

"Yes. I named him Jia Geng, nickname Bang Geng. 'Geng' refers to the stem of a plant; plant stems are tough and resilient. How about it?" Lao Jia looked proud.

"Hmm, it is indeed quite good." Zhang Ping'an, however, was caught between laughter and tears; the Jia Family's eldest grandson still hadn't escaped the name Bang Geng.

"I won't talk to you anymore; I have to go to work."

Looking at the exhausted Lao Jia, Zhang Ping'an's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"San Jie Fu, you should rest this morning. The workshop is so dangerous, and you've stayed up all night. It's not worth it for this little bit of money. I'll have Brother Yi ask for leave for you later."

"That'll do."

"San Jie Fu, you get some sleep. I'll have Si Jie go replace San Jie; I'll handle the children."

"Done. Thank you for your hard work, Ping'an." He had basically not slept all night; he had dozed off in the hallway for a while but was woken up by the cold.

"Hey."

"Si Jie, take some food and go see San Jie and the others."

"Okay."

At eight-thirty in the morning, He Daqing and Zhang Ping'an went out, each carrying a baby.

"Ping'an, you don't say, I haven't held a baby in a long time."

"Then Brother He, you'll have to practice well. Your wife should be close too, right?"

"Hmm, about three more months."

Fifteen minutes later, under He Daqing's guidance, they arrived at a Siheyuan facing the street.

"Lao He is here. Is this the little brother who wants to buy a house?"

"Yes, my neighbor and little brother, Zhang Ping'an. Ping'an, this is Brother Lao Guan."

As soon as Zhang Ping'an heard the surname Guan, he knew he must be a remnant of the former dynasty; the family wealth of such people was very substantial these days.

"Brother Lao Guan, nice to meet you." Zhang Ping'an freed one hand to shake hands with the old man Guan.

"Brother Ping'an, nice to meet you. Come, let's go into the courtyard and take a look." Although Lao Guan was puzzled that the two were carrying babies, he didn't ask too many questions.

"Done."

"Brother Ping'an, this courtyard of mine covers nearly nine hundred square meters, with a total of twenty-two rooms. They are all relatively intact, though a few might need some repairs."

"Hmm, it looks quite good. How much money?"

"Since you were brought by Lao He, I won't swindle you: fifteen million or ten Small Yellow Fish."

"Brother Lao Guan, as far as I know, the exchange rate for gold is only thirty thousand or so, right?"

"That's correct, but no one goes to exchange it. Usually, it's sold on the Black Market, which is five-plus."

Zhang Ping'an thought about it and realized it was indeed so. The vacant lot he bought was already four and a half million, and adding the construction, ten million hadn't covered it.

Although this two-section courtyard wasn't as big as the land he bought, it had the advantage of complete buildings. Thinking of it this way, it really wasn't expensive.

"Done, I'll buy it. I'll have my father come over to pay in a couple of days."

"Good."

After the two finished discussing the price, He Daqing finally came over from a distance.

"Have you reached an agreement?"

"Yes, sorry to trouble you, Brother He."

"Don't be so formal; it's better than anything that you could come to an agreement," He Daqing said, not haggling over the price.

The two returned home, and He Daqing went to work; Zhang Ping'an put the two children into the stroller, prepared some Milk Powder for them, and then went to busy himself in the kitchen.

At eleven o'clock, Lao Jia woke up and hurriedly washed his face, preparing to cook and take it to the Hospital, but Zhang Ping'an had not only already finished cooking, he had also packed it up for him.

"Brother-in-law San Jie Fu, you eat first; take it over after you've finished."

"Alright," Lao Jia was becoming more and more satisfied with Zhang Ping'an.

Before one o'clock in the afternoon, Si Jie returned.

"Dongxu's mother-in-law has arrived, so there's no need for me to be there anymore."

It turned out that Jia Dongxu had gone to notify his father-in-law early in the morning, and Qin Huairu's parents had rushed over by noon.

"Si Jie, you watch these two little ones then; I'm going back for a trip, our shop has been settled."

Although the four nephews (and nieces) could help watch them, Zhang Ping'an was afraid they would be clumsy and couldn't rest easy.

"Mm, okay."

This time, Zhang Ping'an planned to go back and bring his mother over to stay for a few days, and then they would all go back together for the New Year; anyway, there wasn't much work in the fields right now.

Zhang Ping'an returned home and found his grandparents were also at home; usually at this time, they were mostly in the village CBD sunning themselves and chatting, but today it was rare for them to be home.

"My good grandson is back."

"Yes, Grandpa and Grandma, I plan to take Mom and Dad to the city to stay for a few days, why don't you come along too?"

"We won't go; the weather is quite cold, and it's a hassle to travel back and forth, plus Da Ni needs to be careful."

"Ping'an, have you found a suitable place?"

"Yes, Dad. Since there isn't much work right now, you and Mom might as well come to my place and stay for a few days; Dongxu's wife also gave birth last night."

"That's fine then, your mother and I will pack up."

"Good."

It was nearly four o'clock by the time the three of them reached the Siheyuan.

"Grandpa and Grandma!"

"Hey!"

"Alright, you all hurry up and study; if you still don't know how to read or do arithmetic after Teacher Yan finishes teaching you during the winter break, then don't blame your uncle for being impolite."

The four of them had no choice but to continue reading and studying with bitter faces; during this time, since they weren't running the stall, Si Jie had already taught them Pinyin, and they had to attend at least two hours of class every day.

Zhang Ping'an would also check their homework, and if it wasn't up to standard, he would punish them by making them copy it until they remembered it.

Yan Bugui had also been hired by Zhang Ping'an; he would give them lessons every day off, and for the winter break, he had even been booked in advance for a tutoring fee of 200,000.

Yang Ruihua was now also sporting a big belly; it was estimated that Yan Jiekuang would be born in March or April of next year.

"Ping'an, Xiaochen and the others..."

"Don't worry about it, Da Ni; Ping'an is doing this for their own good."

"Oh, alright then."