Rebirth in 1980: The Farm Wife Makes a Comeback
Chapter 291: The Alleyway

Chapter 291: Chapter 291: The Alleyway

When she finished school in the afternoon, Qin Xiangnuan did not go home, but instead went to a small alley not far from her house. The alley was filled with old houses built in the past, with clothes drying outside and the sound of people everywhere. Some families were crowded into a single room, and there were also many outsiders who rented here because it was very cheap.

The houses here were all quite old, belonging to another era; many of them dated from before the founding of the People’s Republic.

Coincidentally, she saw a woman come out of a house and quickly approached her, asking.

"Big sister, is there anyone selling a house around here?"

Buying a house, not renting? The woman looked Qin Xiangnuan up and down for a while, failing to reconcile how a girl who appeared so bright could have something wrong with her head.

"Young lady, who would buy a house here?" the woman curled her lip, "Who would like to live here, it’s so noisy it’s deafening, those doing business have ruined our local atmosphere, it’s dark and cramped, everyone wants to take extra advantage, building houses out over the road, you build, I build, now you can only fit one person through, even tricycles can’t get through, and there are more and more tenants, the more people, the worse the environment, and some people irresponsibly don’t dispose of their garbage at the designated areas, just dumping it at the front door, imitating each other, the atmosphere has completely deteriorated."

"Who would buy such a rundown place?"

"Big sister, I’m also looking at houses for someone else," Qin Xiangnuan smiled, a gleam of light shining in her eyes, "I don’t have much spare cash, and it’s closer to the school, renting is never truly yours, so I thought of buying, although the conditions are poor, it’s cheap at least."

"That’s right," as soon as the word ’cheap’ was mentioned, the woman opened up, "Our houses here aren’t great, but they are all about being cheap, are you really looking to buy?"

The woman’s thoughts were already racing.

"Yes," Qin Xiangnuan nodded, without a trace of hesitation or uncertainty.

"Well then..."

After pondering for a moment, the woman said, "I’ll sell you my house, I’m sick of living here, you give a bit, and we’ll add some money to buy a slightly better house."

"Really?" Qin Xiangnuan looked pleasantly surprised, which the woman found quite gratifying.

"Of course, it’s true," the woman sighed, "Actually, I’ve wanted to sell for a long time, but just couldn’t find a buyer. The location of our place isn’t good, even with tenants, it’s useless, earns only about ten to twenty dollars a month, barely enough to cover the annoyances."

While speaking, the woman led Qin Xiangming toward her home.

Qin Xiangnuan had simply come to try her luck today, and had not expected her luck to be this good, that by randomly asking someone, she would actually find what she was looking for.

The woman’s surname was Zhu, and she lived in an old house left by her parents. However, all of her brothers had moved out, and since Sister Zhu had been young when the house was divided, it had ultimately become hers. The house was quite large, indeed it was remote and hadn’t been expanded or modified, there weren’t any tenants, probably also deterred by the noise. Indeed, not much money could be made in a month, and the surrounding area emitted an unpleasant smell.

"Sister, how much do you think my house is worth?"

Sister Zhu asked cautiously.

The house, truly, was unwanted by anyone.

Qin Xiangnuan didn’t really know how to price it, but naturally, she had her own bottom line in mind.

"Sister, you tell me."

She smiled, waiting to hear the other party’s opinion and then to bargain.

Sister Zhu, perhaps worried that Qin Xiangnuan would be put off by the price, clenched her teeth and offered what was for her the lowest acceptable price, "A fixed price of fifteen thousand yuan. Can’t go any lower."

"What do you think?"

What did she think? Qin Xiangnuan didn’t really know what to think; in truth, that price wasn’t great. During the 90s, houses essentially had no price — not priceless, but rather, without a price. You either lived in company housing, or on rural homestead lands, or had houses like these passed down from ancestors, divided based on seniority, without any need to buy, at most paying some rent. Before the housing reform of the 90s, a few thousand yuan could exchange for a property deed, so this price was average.

"Too much?" The woman was anxious and somewhat felt she was asking for too much. With just a few thousand yuan, they could actually swap for a bigger house outside, but this was their ancestral home which was quite spacious.

"A bit," Qin Xiangnuan spoke frankly, "Sister, I don’t have much money either, let’s make it ten thousand yuan, please consider it." Qin Xiangnuan currently had twenty thousand and two yuan in hand, and planned to buy two houses here, that was enough; she couldn’t afford more.

Despite her rebirth, she didn’t have the golden touch described in novels, winning lotteries and the like. She never considered things like stock trading, nor did she know how. Thus, she had to start from scratch, selling scallion pancakes, to save up enough for a few houses was already quite an achievement, and right now she couldn’t sell the shops she owned to free up cash. Having worked so hard for those three shops, it would be foolish to sell them cheaply.

Those shops would be a significant asset in the future, but they only amounted to a few tens of thousands of yuan for now.

Her funds were truly limited.

The woman mulled over what Qin Xiangnuan had said, ten thousand versus fifteen thousand was quite a difference, if she were to really steel her heart, indeed, it would be a case of biting the bullet and letting blood.

Qin Xiangnuan waited for her to make up her mind, unrushed. She still had more than a year to deal with this matter; eventually, someone would sell, and she definitely wouldn’t buy for fifteen thousand. She needed to buy two units with her twenty thousand yuan, not just one.

Seeing Qin Xiangnuan’s indifferent composure, seemingly uninterested in further negotiation, the woman grew anxious. In the end, she felt as if she had swallowed something filthy, and found it extremely hard to bear.

"Alright, I’ll sell."

"When should we go to handle the paperwork?" The woman stood up, pacing back and forth. "Sister, I’m not kidding with you, I really need the money right now. If you’re interested, then we should finalize this in the next few days, so I can go find another house. I’ll leave everything in the house as is, if that’s alright with you?"

"That’s fine," Qin Xiangnuan nodded, indeed she ought to thank her experience from two lifetimes, which enabled her to remain so calm and not reveal her feelings outwardly.

In the following days, Qin Xiangnuan busied herself with this matter, secretly, without telling anyone.