Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 134 Buying a House on Changxing Island

What could Jingyan say? Even if she was worried, she couldn't show it too much. She thought that if necessary, she could use the excuse that she had old customers here and was more familiar with the braised meat business to postpone the relocation. If that didn't work, she could buy two adjacent houses and live across from each other.

He Zhijun wasn't as conflicted as Jing Yan had imagined. After returning to his unit, he first went to the logistics department to inquire about applying for the family housing. The logistics staff tactfully told him that his level of accommodation for that building was far below their requirements.

He Zhijun understood what she meant, so he said as Jing Yan suggested: he could pay the difference in price to exchange his two-bedroom apartment for a family apartment, but he needed this quota. The logistics staff had never encountered such a situation before and did not know how to handle it, so they could only tell him to go back and wait for news.

When his request was reported to the shipyard's senior management by the logistics department, the senior staff also had a headache. That family area was classified as a secret area, and only those with high rank could live there. They were senior engineers with extensive experience in the military factory, and only those whose family members within three generations had passed the political review.

He Zhijun wasn't affiliated with the military factory, nor did he meet the required rank, but his family had served in the military for three generations, which made sense. The shipyard initially wanted to reject his request outright, but a staff officer transferred from the military was familiar with He Zhijun's family background.

Given that his grandfather was a veteran revolutionary and his grandmother was a descendant of a "red capitalist," after careful consideration, they submitted his request to the military factory to inquire about their opinion.

There are a total of thirty-five small buildings in the family quarters. Only two families from the military factory area are eligible to live there; the rest are currently vacant.

He Zhijun had a clean background; he was a college graduate and a former soldier. After comprehensive consideration, the higher-ups agreed to let him choose a small building on the outskirts.

After all, the real academic bigwigs live in the back of this area, where there is a layer of high-level security. The key point is that He Zhijun was willing to pay for it.

After half a month of negotiations, the senior management of the military factory and shipyard informed He Zhijun of the final decision: he could only choose from a few buildings on the edge of the residential area after entering the gate. The building area of ​​the houses was the same; the main difference was the location.

Each house is sold as a 360-square-meter unit. The basement is included as a gift and is not counted in the purchase price. The small gardens in front of and behind the houses are also included, and they are already fenced off with iron gates.

After deducting the 66 square meters of housing that He Zhijun should have been allocated, he needs to pay the difference in housing price for 294 square meters. Based on the current market price of 70 yuan per square meter, plus the procedures for obtaining land use certificates and property ownership certificates, he will have to pay a total of 21,000 yuan.

Judging from the pained expressions on the faces of the logistics staff when they told He Zhijun about the price, you can tell that these days, more than 20,000 yuan is an astronomical figure for most families.

He Zhijun was well aware that the logistics staff had kindly advised him, "Engineer He, you don't actually need to buy this house. The two-bedroom apartment you were allocated isn't very big, but it's enough for a family of four. This is too much money."

He Zhijun nodded: "I know, but my grandma also lives in my house. My parents and brother's family come over during holidays. The small house really can't fit so many people. My wife also likes a spacious house with a yard. Since we have suitable conditions here, I'll do my best to make do even if it means selling everything I own."

"Where did you get so much money? Sorry, I think I overstepped my bounds." The logistics officer asked casually, then realized he had asked too much.

He Zhijun quickly explained: "My grandmother was the daughter of a red capitalist before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Although her family donated all their assets to the country after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government still left her two properties. They are not only in good locations, but also quite large. In addition, there was a compensation payment at the time. With my salary over the past few years, I managed to scrape together enough money for the houses."

He desperately wanted all his colleagues to know that his money came from his grandmother's connections. Secretly, he didn't want everyone to know about Jingyan's business dealings; after all, his grandmother's identity was easy to verify, so he could take advantage of it.

Besides, if the things Grandma left to his wife were sold, they could easily fetch at least 100,000 yuan, let alone 20,000. But for now, it's better to keep those things as collectibles, since his wife is so capable.

After hearing his explanation, the logistics staff felt it was only natural and said with envy, "You have a good background and you are capable too. But why is your grandmother so good to you? This is the first time I've heard of a grandmother living with her grandson."

He Zhijun smiled and said, "Grandma used to live in a nursing home. It was only after my wife and I came here that Grandma was persuaded to move in because she liked my wife. As the old lady gets older, it's a way for the younger generation to show their filial piety by enjoying more family life."

The logistics staff nodded repeatedly: "Engineer He is a filial son. When are you planning to choose a house? After you make your choice, you will need to pay the money. Our unit will handle all the subsequent property procedures, so you don't need to worry about it."

He Zhijun was eager to tell his family the news. The National Day holiday of 1981 was just around the corner. He Zhijun had arranged a time with the logistics department to come and see the house, and he even called Cui Hongru specifically to tell her about it.

No matter the era, buying a house is a major event for the whole family. Therefore, on October 1st, except for Zhou Jie, who works at a state-run restaurant and couldn't come, everyone else rode in He Jiaoxu's jeep to Haishi.

The whole family, young and old, arrived at Changxing Island by bus and then by boat. The logistics staff were shocked when they saw the ten people of all ages. At that moment, she finally understood why Engineer He had said that a two-bedroom apartment was not enough. With this kind of entourage, the small house really couldn't accommodate them all.

She kindly led the group to the family housing area. He Jiaoxu looked at the security guard at the entrance and asked He Zhijun thoughtfully, "Xiaojun, given the nature of your work, isn't this level of security a bit too high?"

He Zhijun explained the jurisdiction of this area with some embarrassment, and He Jiaoxu said helplessly: "What you did was a bit overstepping the bounds, but did you ask the leaders why they made an exception for you?"

“They said it’s because three generations of my family have held military positions, so we have a clean record, and because of the contributions my grandparents made back then, that they made an exception for me. But I have to make up the difference in price for this house. I really didn’t steal any government property,” He Zhijun quickly explained.

He Jiaoxu was just asking, not wanting his children to do anything wrong. Once he knew the reason, he didn't ask any more questions. Knowing that they could only choose from the outermost few buildings, everyone felt it was only natural. After all, these buildings would be for people under key national protection in the future. He Zhijun had already benefited, so why should he have so many other options?

In the end, everyone agreed that the house closest to the outer wall was the best. It was on the very edge, with no obstructions, and it was a detached house with a larger yard than the houses in other locations. With a larger yard, they could grow more vegetables and raise chickens without causing inconvenience to the neighbors. It seemed good no matter how you looked at it.

So they settled on this building. The logistics staff wrote the house number on the payment voucher and handed it to He Zhijun: "Engineer He, after the holiday, please bring the house payment and this voucher to the logistics office to pay. Once the land use certificate and property certificate are issued, you can find someone to help you move."

He Zhijun accepted the voucher and thanked her, but Jing Yan frowned and said, "Comrade, I see that this house is completely empty. Would it be convenient if we wanted to find someone to do the interior decoration?"

The logistics staff nodded: "Currently, no one else has been assigned to live in this family compound except for yours. You should have about six months to do any renovations."

As far as I know, the two qualified chief engineers here should be moving in in the second half of next year. As for the other houses, they are currently vacant, and your construction will not affect anyone else in the short term.

However, the construction workers you brought can only move around in this outer area. You need to tell them not to wander off, otherwise they'll be arrested as spies, and then no one can save them.

He Zhijun readily agreed and promised to keep his people in check. After seeing off the logistics staff, He Jiaoxu took the voucher from He Zhijun and was stunned when he saw the amount of 21,000 yuan that needed to be paid.

He pointed at the amount of money: "Over twenty thousand? Where did you two get so much money? Aren't you two incredibly audacious? Where did you get such a large sum of money?"

"Is there still enough time to raise the money in just a few days? Xiaoru, let's give all the money we have to Xiaojun and his wife to help with the mortgage payment."

Cui Hongru nodded: "Our family can come up with about 10,000 yuan. Eldest brother, how much savings do you have?"

He Zhicheng thought for a moment and said, "It should be around two or three thousand. I need to go back and ask Xiaojie for the exact amount. She manages all the money in our family."

Before Jingyan could react, her family had already started pooling money. She quickly interrupted, "Mom and Dad, older brother, we have the money to buy a house. I checked beforehand. We've been making braised meat for the past few years, and there's also Zhijun's salary."

Adding to the savings Zhijun gave us when we got married, we have a total of 24,000 yuan. After deducting the house payment, we'll have 3,000 yuan left, which should be enough for the interior decoration. Don't worry about it, we know what we're doing.

Cui Hongru took her hand and said, "Most of this money is what you earned, right? If you move here later, you'll need to make a living. You can't empty your savings. Here's what I'll do: I'll give your little family three thousand yuan as a token of our appreciation as parents."

Jingyan wanted to refuse, but her grandmother stopped her: "Alright, if your mother-in-law is willing to give it to you, then take it. Her money will be divided between Zhicheng and Zhijun sooner or later anyway."

Now that you've taken three thousand yuan, when your mother-in-law divides it among the two boys, you'll just take three thousand less. You're going through a tough time buying a house, so don't be polite with her.

Jingyan looked at them, her eyes slightly moist, and nodded in agreement, deeply moved.

More than 20,000 yuan is a large sum of money. He Jiaoxu suggested that He Zhijun ask the logistics department for a bank account and transfer the money directly to the company's account. It would be safer to bring the receipts to complete the formalities.

He Zhijun also thought this was a good idea; otherwise, more than 20,000 yuan would be a huge amount, and it wouldn't be safe for him to bring it all the way from downtown Shanghai to here.

The house has been settled, and the whole family went home together. He Jiaoxu asked, "So what are you going to do with this house? It was so hard to renovate it, and we've only lived here for four years. Are you going to sell it or rent it out?"

He Zhijun looked at Jing Yan: "What do you think?"

Jingyan replied, "There are many families in the area with tight housing conditions right now. I was thinking of renting the house out, ideally to a family, but it seems unlikely that anyone can afford such a large house. So, we'll rent it out by the room."

There are four bedrooms in total, which can be rented to four families. Each bedroom costs five yuan a month, so we'll have twenty yuan in rent each month. But I'm worried they'll make our house dirty and messy.

He Jiaoxu's eyes lit up: "Jingyan's idea is good! That villa in Xuhui District has been vacant since it was taken back. Why don't we rent it out like Jingyan did?"

Grandma also felt that leaving the house there was a waste. Although she agreed with the idea, she still insisted that the tenants be clean, tidy, and wouldn't damage the house's appearance. Otherwise, she would rather leave the villa in Xuhui District vacant.

As for the house they live in now, they can ask a few of the neighbors they know, and they know them well, so they feel more at ease. However, the house on Changxing Island will take some time to be renovated, so there's no rush for the house here.

Jingyan was also an impatient person. She dragged He Zhijun along to the Yuan family to discuss the renovation with Yuan Xiaoling and her husband. After sleeping on the heated kang for several years, they really couldn't bear to give up this comfort. Liu Qiang and the others were very important.

Liu Qiang and Yuan Xiaoling have been out of school for a year. Of the jobs assigned to them by the university, only Yuan Xiaoling's job as an accountant in a factory is considered decent. The jobs of the others are less than satisfactory. They didn't want to do them, so they didn't obey the assignments. Now, they are being led by Liu Qiang to find odd jobs to do. They won't starve, but they can't expect to earn much money.

So when He Zhijun and Jing Yan came to their door, their excitement was beyond words. When they heard it was a four-story house on Changxing Island, and knew it was a big job, they hit it off immediately. They agreed with He Zhijun to go there in mid-October to see the site and then decide how to proceed and what to do with the materials.

The couple told He Jiaoxu and his family about their estimated progress. That same evening, He Jiaoxu took his wife and son back to Yangzhou, promising to wire 3,000 yuan as soon as they got back. Late at night, the grandmother knocked on He Zhijun and Jing Yan's door.

Jingyan welcomed her grandmother in, puzzled, "Grandma, it's so late, why aren't you resting yet?"

After Grandma went inside and closed the door, she took out two bankbooks from her pocket and handed them to her: "Take a look first."