Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 136 - 133 Buy a house, one more -

Chapter 136: 133 Buy a house, one more Chapter

Next, we went straight to the place Old Mr. Li mentioned, Old Xun’s home. It’s interesting that this old man actually lives alone in a siheyuan, a two-entry courtyard. As soon as Grandpa Li saw it, he actually broke down crying, wailing loudly, leaving Li Xianglu beside him totally tongue-tied. What a bunch of quirky old guys grandpas are.

Old Xun was skinny and after wiping his tears, he looked Li Xianglu up and down shrewdly. Li Xianglu smiled and said, "Hello Grandpa Xun."

The thin old man laughed and nodded, "Not bad, much better than that kid from the Pang Family."

Mr. Li couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. He gave his old friend a playful punch on the shoulder and then said, "What are you saying? My granddaughter scored 380 points, a real talent, and now she’s here to go to university."

Mr. Xun Xianjin’s eldest son works in the education sector, and his eldest granddaughter also studied for the college entrance exams. A score of 380 is considered high even in the capital, so he couldn’t help looking up at this girl again, "Which university?"

Li Xianglu smiled and said, "Grandpa Xun, it’s Capital University."

Capital University, that’s a century-old prestigious institution, the best in the capital. Many people may go on about Huaqing University, but in their eyes, none are as good as Capital University.

It was still cold in early spring in March, so after a brief exchange at the entrance, everyone went inside.

Li Xianglu curiously looked around. The courtyard was about 200 square meters, a standard two-entry siheyuan with a total of six rooms front and back. The architectural style from the late Qing era was relatively well-preserved, and the furniture inside was also quite interesting.

There was pearwood furniture and redwood furniture, an eclectic mix. Inside, the house beams had been altered, making it more spacious and bright, and the windows had been widened too.

Li Xianglu looked around and then sat down.

Grandpa Li, watching his granddaughter inspecting the house, couldn’t help but ask with a smile, "What do you think? How’s your Grandpa Xun’s taste?"

Li Xianglu frankly replied, "Pretty good, the courtyard has been well-preserved, it’s just better not to modify it anymore, or you wouldn’t be able to tell its age."

Mr. Li didn’t expect his granddaughter to be so direct and burst out laughing.

Mr. Xun, who was carrying a kettle of hot water, also heard Li Xianglu’s comment and couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "Hey, this girl’s quite something. Tell me, where did I make changes to the house?"

Li Xianglu glanced at her grandpa, and when she saw him nodding with a smile, she stood up and looked around, "Let’s talk about the layout inside first."

Mr. Xun Xianjin found her desire to evaluate quite amusing, swiftly brewed the tea and sat down eagerly.

Li Xianglu continued, "Outside we have flying eaves and stone lions; during the Ming Dynasty this would have been ’exceeding regulations’, incorporating many Western elements, the fusion of West and East, characteristic of late Qing and early Republican siheyuan architecture, which frankly is not according to the rules."

Then she pointed out the window corners, "Your windows were expanded later on, for better lighting, and that’s fine, to not expand further or else it would become a mishmash with no particular style."

Old Xun listened with his mouth slightly open, then suddenly burst into laughter, and after a while he pointed at Li Huai Ren saying, "Oh boy, Old Li, your granddaughter is quite something! She’s right, I found the windows let in too little light, so I changed them, using the old bricks from the front, and the window grilles are from the old ones too. She noticed that in one glance!"

Li Huai Ren took a sip of tea, looking pleased with himself, "What’s the fuss about that? Do you need a historian to dig into it? It’s clear as day."

Mr. Xun Xianjin, upon hearing Old Li discredit his house, got instantly annoyed, "With eyes that keep buying fakes, you’re still critiquing my house, huh!"

Li Huai Ren saw his old buddy getting petulant and just laughed, "Alright, we’ve had our tea, let’s hurry and go check out that courtyard."

Mr. Xun nodded and said, "It’s just ahead, let me put on a cotton-padded jacket and we’ll go."

Li Huai Ren, hearing it was nearby, nodded and said, "Not bad, the environment around here is nice and quiet, it’s just a bit far from the school."

Li Xianglu also felt a bit regretful; she really didn’t want to stay on campus and preferred to commute, but if it was that far and she didn’t stay in the dorms, she would have to leave at five or six in the morning. However, she was somewhat worried about leaving her grandfather alone.

Mr. Xun came out in his thick clothes and led them to the third courtyard in the front, then said to Li Huai Ren, "It’s this courtyard, an old couple, their son works out of province, they want to sell it to move and live with their son. Bigger than my courtyard, but not cheap, they’re asking twelve thousand. The house has seen better days too, needs some serious fixing up before it can be inhabited."

Li Xianglu closely examined the layout of the house. It was not bad, but as Mr. Xun had said, it was somewhat old and the price was a bit steep, even though in another ten or so years, the capital would go through massive redevelopment, but even nowadays, eight thousand yuan had significant purchasing power.

The owners, an elderly couple, excited to have someone look at the house, enthusiastically showed them around.

Li Xianglu smiled as she examined the structure inside the house which was fairly solid. But if one were to actually move in, it would need a complete renovation, and to preserve the old house without losing its original style, one would need old city bricks.

After finishing the tour, as the three of them stood by the door, Mr. Xun asked, "So, how about it? Give me a reply, so I can let them know."

Mr. Li looked at his granddaughter, "Xiangxiang, what do you think, how’s the house?"

Li Xianglu pondered for a moment and then said, "The house is alright, but for living in it requires extensive renovations, and considering the size of the courtyard, the asking price is a bit high; eight thousand would be more reasonable, we could treat it as an investment."

Mr. Li nodded and turned to the dumbstruck Mr. Xun Xianjin, "Old Xun, go and negotiate as my granddaughter suggests."

Mr. Xun shook his head and returned to the courtyard, only to hear the old lady’s shrill voice, clearly a refusal.

Seeing no hint of disappointment on his granddaughter’s face, Mr. Li then said, "Shall we look at something else?"

Mr. Xun came back afterward and pointed at Old Mr. Li, "You guys, really, did you hear that old lady shouting? It sounded like you were trying to rob them."

Li Xianglu, supporting her grandpa, smiled and walked towards Mr. Xun’s courtyard, when they arrived they saw a man standing at the entrance shouting something inside.

Mr. Xun evidently saw him too and quickly called out, "Xiao Wang, you’ve come?"

The man, around thirty years old, dressed in a blue work jacket, greeted Mr. Xun with respect. "Mr. Xun, you asked me to keep an eye on the house, and now there’s a potential. Just came to ask when it’s convenient to take a look."

Mr. Xun let out an "Aiyo," and said, "It’s perfect timing, let’s go right now."

Old Mr. Li turned to his granddaughter with a smile, "Today’s visit really turned out to be quite fortuitous!"