Chapter 118

Li Ye carried Wen Leyu to the train station, found a tricycle rider, loaded his two large tote bags, and found the hotel he had agreed upon with Jin Peng along the way.

Jin Peng happened to be out, but Wang Jianqiang stayed at the hotel, waiting for Li Ye to come over.

Li Ye handed the things to Wang Jianqiang and asked him about the situation.

Wang Jianqiang said shamefully: "Brother, it really is the worst situation you predicted. We went out to look around these past few days, but when people heard we were buying a house, they drove us away..."

"Drove you away? What about the Housing Management Bureau? Have you asked?"

Li Ye understood as soon as he thought about it. Many courtyard houses at this time didn't just house the owners, but also many tenants.

These tenants were even more arrogant than the owners, because the houses were allowed to be lived in by the state, and the monthly rent was mostly paid to the Housing Management Bureau, and then paid to the landlord by the Housing Management Bureau.

The rent standard set by the Housing Management Bureau was simply a Bodhisattva price, and if the house leaked wind or water, the landlord had to be busy with repairs.

So most tenants righteously scolded the landlord as a "capitalist," feeling that they were the "masters" of this state-owned asset.

When Wang Jianqiang and the others went to the residential area to ask who was selling a house, they were likely to be despised by the working class.

So Li Ye told them to run to the Housing Management Bureau at that time, because many landlords who wanted to sell their houses entrusted the Housing Management Bureau to sell them on their behalf.

And this agency sale even required queuing, because for a long period of time, there were not many individual buyers. People either had no money, or were waiting for the state to distribute houses, and even renting a house was cost-effective; it was just that much rent a month, and it didn't hurt to cut the meat.

So finally, most of them were taken over by the state, and there was no such capital, so they had to queue up. Whoever had connections would buy first.

Li Ye even once heard a rumor that a youth returning to the city finally sold his house and got more than a thousand yuan. He was so happy that he treated his friends to a drink, and after the drink, he shouted: "No need to serve that group of masters anymore."

So Li Ye had predicted all kinds of situations, but it shouldn't be difficult to just go to the Housing Management Bureau to ask, right? Jin Peng's ability to handle things was still okay.

"No, brother," Wang Jianqiang said: "We went to the Housing Management Bureau, and they said we didn't have a capital household registration... they also drove us away..."

Although Li Ye had predicted it, he was still a bit unhappy.

This is to hinder me from becoming the biggest landlord in the capital!

Li Ye only remembered in his previous life that the capital restricted non-local people from buying houses after 2010. It didn't seem to restrict much before.

But now he underestimated the problem of household registration.

When commercial housing in the capital started to sell well, it didn't require a local household registration, so he thought that buying a house in '82 didn't require a household registration, and it wasn't carded so strictly.

But now it seemed that the difficulty was not small.

"Then wait a few days to see! If it really doesn't work, just rent a few sets to use first."

Li Ye's household registration would be transferred to Capital University in a few days, but that was a collective household registration. It was said that each person had a piece of paper, and the household registrations of dozens of students were packed together. If he wanted to use it, it would definitely be troublesome.

However, just as he was going out, Wang Jianqiang followed and said: "Brother Peng is also thinking of a way! Today he went to Suzhou Street to find a person named 'Qiu Ye', who is said to be very capable and might be able to help us buy a house."

Li Ye said while walking: "No rush, tell him when Brother Peng comes back. Houses that are unclear cannot be bought. Wait until I discuss it with him before deciding."

Wang Jianqiang said shamefully: "I know, brother. I just feel useless and can't help. If Hao Jian were here, it would be great..."

Li Ye said with a smile: "Nonsense, everyone has their own use. What Hao Jian has, you don't; what you have, Hao Jian might not have."

Wang Jianqiang lowered his head and felt even more ashamed: "I know, brother, only you think I'm useful, others..."

"Alright, don't think too much..."

Li Ye was just about to comfort Wang Jianqiang a few words when Wen Leyu, who was waiting for him outside, suddenly asked softly: "Are you going to buy a house in the capital?"

Li Ye said: "Hmm, a house is the foundation of standing. Having a house in the capital makes me feel at ease."

Wen Leyu's heart moved, and she said with a smile: "Then why didn't you say so earlier? If you want to buy a house, you should find my brother!"

"."

Li Ye considered for a few seconds and said: "A small matter, isn't it bad to trouble your brother?"

But Wen Leyu said: "With my brother's temper, if you don't trouble him now, he won't be happy when he finds out later! Find a phone in front, and I'll call and ask for you."

Fine, the virtuous helper has already arranged it. What else can we do? Open your mouth and wait for the food!

Jin Peng squatted at the entrance of a hutong north of Suzhou Street, boredly watching a few old men playing chess.

He had been in the capital for a week, but none of the things Li Ye explained had been done.

He thought that after the experience in Guangzhou, he, Boss Jin Peng, could be considered a person with status. His money wasn't counted by the piece, but by the stack.

As a result, when he arrived in the capital, he discovered that the effectiveness of money here was far less than in the south.

In Yangcheng, everyone paid attention to interests, but in the capital, everyone paid attention to "face" and "rules."

If you are an outsider who rushes in, no one will give you face, and all kinds of rules can kill you.

However, Jin Peng had the experience in Yangcheng. After bumping into walls for a few days, he began to settle down to find people to ask, looking for people who could help him break the situation.

He discovered that old Beijingers were not all xenophobic, because there were far fewer outsiders in the capital in this era than locals, and they were quite "rare."

Many old men with nothing to do were also willing to take a cigarette from you and chat with you for a few words.

For example, Uncle Ding at the entrance of this hutong was quite compatible with Jin Peng. After coming and going, he provided him with an important piece of information.

In the second to last house at the end of the hutong, there was an old gunner surnamed Qiu, who was familiar with people in this area and had connections, and might be able to help Jin Peng.

"Old gunner" is the name of Beijingers. In this era, it still had a slightly derogatory meaning, because everyone thought that working in a unit was the right way, and messing around all day without a formal job was not decent.

But for this kind of person, Jin Peng contacted him several times in a row, but the other party didn't give him face, and his shelf was ridiculously big, at most just giving a sentence: "You wait. If there's news, I'll tell you."

Jin Peng could only wait. Anyway, Li Ye hadn't come yet, and he had no other way, right?

And this "Qiu Ye's" style, wasn't it the same as himself in Qingshui County before? When an outsider arrived in Qingshui County, he, Jin Peng, also had to take it, right?

Actually, in a few months, Hao Jian from the south would be able to handle the procedures for the affiliated unit, and it would be much more convenient to buy a house in the capital in the name of the unit.

But Guo Donglun had told Hao Jian and Jin Peng a sentence in advance—"If someone picks the peach later, you are responsible for the consequences."

Affiliated units will definitely have the trouble of unclear property rights. It's okay if there is not much profit, but if the profit pierces the sky, it's hard to say!

This made Jin Peng very annoyed.

Dare to say that when making money, you take away a large piece of profit, and when someone comes to pick the peach later, you don't care about anything?

This was Li Ye giving him a vaccination in advance; otherwise, Jin Peng wouldn't do this kind of aggrieved business.

"Tut, tut, tut, tut~"

The sound of a motorcycle sounded abruptly from the far end of the street, approaching at high speed without any scruples.

The rider on the car wore big sunglasses and didn't let go of the throttle.

A few old men playing chess looked and scolded: "Xing San is showing off! Showing off with a whole motorcycle..."

"Not just a motorcycle, a few days ago when his brother got married, color TVs and refrigerators were all brought out. I really don't know how much money he made."

"Pah, is money so easy to earn? Maybe one day you'll eat a melon."

Amidst the muttering of a group of old men, the motorcycle turned into the hutong and rode all the way to the door of Qiu's house at the end.

After a while, that "Qiu Ye" came out hurriedly, got on Xing San's motorcycle, and rushed out with a rumble.

A few old men playing chess hurriedly dodged, and one of them even scolded something like "rushing to a funeral."

As a result, the motorcycle didn't run far before it turned back.

The old man who scolded was embarrassed. Although they were neighbors, if the old gunner got mixed up, he wouldn't recognize his own relatives.

The motorcycle stopped directly in front of Jin Peng, and "Qiu Ye" in the back seat asked: "Hey, are you from East Mountain?"

Jin Peng stood up and said: "Yes, we made an appointment a few days ago."

Qiu Ye waved his hand and said: "You live in the Kemei Hotel at Jianguomen, right?"

Jin Peng nodded, a bit confused. The attitude of this Qiu Ye today was different from before; his nose was no longer facing the sky.

Qiu Ye jumped off the motorcycle directly and asked: "Brother surnamed Jin? Which Jin?"

Jin Peng said: "The Jin of leather and jin."

Qiu Ye shook his head, sighed, and said: "Brother, you have connections above, why did you still find my door?"

Xing San, who was riding the bike, also got off, took off his sunglasses, and looked at Jin Peng with a smile.

Jin Peng was a smart man. Although he hadn't fully figured it out, he pointed to the sky mysteriously and said: "Fellow villagers, I don't want to ask for help for small things."

Qiu Ye said amusingly: "Fine, this time I, Old Qiu, neglected you, brother. Shall we have a big meal first? Or shall we go see the house first?"

Jin Peng also smiled and said: "How can I let people help me on an empty stomach? I'll treat the two of you to Fengzeyuan."

Xing San was happy and said: "This brother is decent, let's go!"

A motorcycle carrying three big men drove away with a rumble.

A few old men set up the chess stall again, talking about the decline of public morals and the rampant behavior of those who are greedy and mean.

Li Ye finally achieved the "three standard configurations of love" today and watched the romance movie *Herdsman* with Wen Leyu.

This movie, which became popular again decades later just because of the sentence "Old Xu, do you want a wife?", also attracted countless people to watch it when it was first released in '82.

It's just that when Li Ye was watching the movie, he heard bursts of sighs, feeling that what attracted the audience wasn't the loyal feelings between Zhu Shimao and Cong Shan, but the "billionaire" who arrived and then flew away.

The times have changed. The craze for studying abroad had already emerged in '82. That wonderful and colorful world outside was not known to be how many times better than that Li Xiuzhi wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket.

After coming out of the cinema, Wen Leyu took Li Ye to eat fried tripe.

Just when Li Ye was tasting the crispness of the fried tripe, Wen Leyu suddenly asked: "If you were that Xu Lingjun, would you choose Li Xiuzhi, or the billionaire father?"

Li Ye didn't hesitate at all and said: "Of course I wouldn't choose the billionaire father, because I can become a billionaire myself."

"."

Wen Leyu looked at Li Ye without speaking, her palm-sized face full of solemnity.

Li Ye had to say: "Of course I would choose Li Xiuzhi. A loyal wife is much more precious than billions of family wealth."

Li Ye was telling the truth. There have been too many cases in later generations proving how important it is for a big boss to have a smart and virtuous wife.

But Wen Leyu said: "I'm not talking about this. I want to tell you that bragging is not a good habit..."

"Also, you chose to apply for the Department of Economics; you wouldn't be thinking of becoming some billionaire, right?"

Li Ye: "."

The little episode during the meal didn't affect the couple's interest in playing that day.

Wen Leyu took Li Ye to visit the attractions around the Forbidden City. Her two little legs seemed tireless, and she didn't want to go home until it was almost dark.

"I'll just send you to the courtyard gate today, how about I come to pick you up tomorrow morning?"

Wen Leyu, sitting on the back seat of the bicycle, said concisely: "Eight o'clock tomorrow morning, go eat fried dough rings."

"Okay, eight o'clock, eat fried dough rings."

Li Ye sent Wen Leyu to the gate of the Zhongliang courtyard before dark.

Anyway, they couldn't go any further at night, so it was better to send the girl home early and earn the false name of a gentleman.

However, when the two were about to reach the gate of the Zhongliang courtyard, Li Ye saw a group of young people on the street playing around.

Just looking at the few motorcycles parked on the side of the street, he knew they weren't children from ordinary families.

And when someone saw Li Ye, everyone suddenly looked at him and Wen Leyu.

Li Ye asked softly: "Xiao Yu, do you know those people in front?"

Wen Leyu glanced at them and said with disgust: "Don't pay attention to them."

But Li Ye felt that he couldn't ignore them even if he wanted to.

Sure enough, after the bicycle reached the front, two young girls blocked them and waved at them.

"Wen Leyu, Xiao Yu..."

The small street outside the Zhongliang courtyard was only so wide, so Li Ye had to stop the bicycle.

Wen Leyu jumped off the back seat and said to Li Ye: "You go back first! Remember to come pick me up tomorrow morning."

Li Ye nodded, turned the handlebars, and left.

But a boy behind shouted with a smile: "Hey, brother, don't run! How can you pick up girls if you're so timid?"

"."

How can this be answered?

Although it was authentic Beijing-style chatting, should he just pretend not to hear it and sneak away?

Wen Leyu was angry and walked straight to the boy, asking coldly: "Is Xiao Yu what you can call?"

"."

The boy was obviously scared and explained with a sheepish smile: "No, I just shouted it casually..."

The two girls also hurriedly came over and persuaded Wen Leyu: "Xiao Yu, Bao Er didn't mean it, everyone was just curious..."

But Wen Leyu interrupted directly: "You waited here with so many people, are you blocking me?"

"."

A group of young people were actually stumped by Wen Leyu, a little girl.

Finally, a bespectacled man standing in the back stood out and explained with a smile: "Don't be angry, everyone heard you made a friend, so they came over out of curiosity, it's just playing around..."

Wen Leyu looked at the bespectacled man and said coldly: "Bo Mingyan, are you with them?"

The boy named Bo Mingyan said: "No, I was waiting for Xiao Qin, and happened to run into them."

Then, Bo Mingyan also said to Li Ye: "Sorry, brother, everyone was just joking."

Li Ye also nodded with a smile: "It's okay, I didn't take it seriously."

Actually, Li Ye also knew very clearly that people like Bo Mingyan were standard children of big families, just like Wen Guohua.

They were all rational and wouldn't be as unstable as the kids messing around.

As for the rest, one could feel it from Wen Leyu's attitude; they couldn't be on the stage.

However, just when Li Ye was about to leave, Wen Guohua rode his bicycle out of the No. 1 courtyard.

He was going to night university and had to attend class at night.

"Yo, what's going on? Are you guys fighting with my sister?"

A sentence that looked like a joke shocked everyone.

Although he was only a few years older, he wasn't a child playing around anymore.

He was the authentic next-generation person in charge cultivated by the Wen family. In terms of weight, one could beat this whole group.

Bo Mingyan said sheepishly: "No, I was waiting for Xiao Qin, and happened to run into Bao Er and the others. I originally wanted to invite your sister out to play, but a misunderstanding arose."

"Invite out to play? That's good! Count me in."

Wen Guohua turned his bike sideways and didn't leave.

Wen Leyu looked at Li Ye, her eyes that could speak seemed to be asking Li Ye: "Are you going?"

At this moment, in her watery eyes, there seemed to be obscure meanings being transmitted.

A bit worried, and a bit expectant?

Li Ye read Wen Leyu's meaning.

Sometimes, boys shouldn't be cowardly.

But Wen Leyu was also afraid that Li Ye would be annoyed and feel that she was a troublemaker.

Li Ye wasn't afraid of trouble at all!

As long as it's not fighting with fathers, bah!

Soft or hard, you just come.

Thanks to book friend "Dan Zhi Se Qiao Ke Li" for the tip, thanks to book friend "koko jian xun" for the 500-coin tip. Thank you all thanks(w).

(End of chapter)