The old man had a palm-length beard and his hair and beard were all white. He wore a long gown and had a topknot. Fortunately, he hadn't kept a queue.
Chen Yang was quite curious how he had survived the past few years with his attire.
The old man pulled Chen Yang into the alley and glanced around to ensure no one else was present before stopping.
"Sir, there's no need to be so secretive. If you have a house, just say so. I'll go with you to take a look. If it's suitable, we can discuss the price. If not, you won't lose anything."
Seeing the old man's cautious expression, Chen Yang quickly spoke up. He had finally met someone who might have what he was looking for, so how could he not be anxious?
"Kid, caution is the mother of safety. I've eaten more salt in my life than you've eaten rice."
"It's not even certain that property can be bought and sold yet. I've managed to hide away for so many years, do you know how hard it was? I still haven't lived enough."
The old man stroked his beard and sized up Chen Yang, as well as Shen Xue, who was hesitantly leading the two little ones behind Chen Yang.
"If you hadn't brought your wife and children, you'd surely be trying to pull a fast one. I wouldn't fall for it."
Hearing the old man's words, Chen Yang inwardly rejoiced. He had underestimated the respect people held for the system in those times. If he hadn't brought Shen Xue and the two children, this old man might not have dared to stop him today.
"Sir, let's not beat around the bush. How many houses do you have? Let's take a look first."
"I'm looking for a place to live right now. I'm not used to living in dormitory-style buildings. If the price is right, I'll buy it. If not, I can rent."
Although property transactions weren't yet permitted by policy and couldn't be registered at the real estate bureau, he could still get the land deed and property certificate, and sign a contract.
When property sales were allowed, he could then go through the official transfer.
It wasn't as strict back then as it would be later. With a land deed and property certificate, a transfer could be completed. After all, those years had seen too much upheaval, and many private property owners had disappeared. Where would you find them to transfer ownership?
Chen Yang even added a supplementary contract. Even if the landlord later reneged, he would still have evidence in his possession.
"Not many, just one. It belongs to a distant relative of mine who went to Nanyang many years ago. This ancestral property has been entrusted to my care."
"The policies have loosened up a bit this year, and letters can be sent in from outside. He sent a message back saying that life in Nanyang is also difficult, and asked me to find an opportunity to sell the house and send whatever I could to help him out."
As the old man explained, he took out a set of old-fashioned brass keys from his person and inserted them into the rusty brass lock of the large gate in front of Chen Yang.
"Creak."
The brass lock opened, and the old man pushed open the long-closed wooden door, revealing a stone screen.
The ground was paved with bluestone slabs, which were already covered in moss. A circle of bamboo was planted around the courtyard wall. Passing through the screen, there was a lotus pond over two meters wide.
The lotus flowers inside were in full bloom. Outside the courtyard grew large plane trees, typical of Jinling's scenery. It was the moisture from this pond and the shade from the plane trees outside that made the courtyard feel cool even in the heat of summer, with moss growing on the ground.
The courtyard was large. Chen Yang swept his gaze across it, estimating it to be fifty to sixty square meters. In the eastern corner, there was likely a grape trellis, but it seemed to have been neglected for many years, leaving only a rotten wooden frame, with no grapevines.
"This courtyard is very quiet. There's a grape trellis on the east side. My uncle used to love lying on the ground under the trellis and drinking tea. It was cool and pleasant in July and August."
"And this lotus pond. It used to have golden carp, but unfortunately, they've all been taken by wild cats. Only the lotus flowers in the pond remain."
"On the west side, leaning against the plane trees, there's a row of Luo Han bamboo. Literati value plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. My uncle was fond of bamboo."
The old man introduced the place as he led Chen Yang through the courtyard. It was a three-courtyard mansion, but different from the familiar Beijing siheyuan.
After all, this was Jinling, and the courtyards also had a touch of Suzhou garden style.
In the front courtyard, there were no side rooms or corridors on the left and right. The central house in the first courtyard was the main hall, where guests were received, and the side rooms on the left and right were empty.
The central row had only two rooms, which served as bedrooms. The back row contained the storage rooms and the kitchen, with an outhouse built at the base of the back wall.
The corners of the three rows of houses were all reserved for planting flowers and plants, indicating that the owner was a person of some taste. However, as it had been neglected for too long, many of the previously planted flowers and plants had withered, leaving only small empty patches of land.
Chen Yang felt that if he were to arrange it, the eastern side room of the first row would be the most suitable for a kitchen. The dining room could be in the second room on the west side, or in the main hall.
In the past, large households kept their kitchens in the back because the stove was considered dirty, and ancient people felt it shouldn't be placed next to the main hall.
From a modern perspective, putting it at the back would be inconvenient during rainy days. Would one have to hold an umbrella to carry the cooked dishes to the front? That would be quite troublesome.
And in cold weather, when the wind blew, the dishes would be half cold by the time they were carried from the back to the front.
The second courtyard had two rooms, which would be perfect for bedrooms. The two rooms were close to each other, making it convenient for the elderly to help with childcare.
The storage room in the back could be used to store things, or if the family grew larger in the future, it could be renovated into a room.
Chen Yang really liked this courtyard. For no other reason than its size.
In his eyes, this plot of land would be worth its weight in gold in the future. Every extra square meter was money!
In Chen Yang's view, the bluestone slabs paving the ground of the front and back courtyards were not bluestone slabs at all, but gold bricks laid on the ground!
"Daddy, this house is so big. It's so much bigger than our home."
The little one looked around, gesturing with her small hands, drawing large circles in the air as if trying to express the immensity in her mind.
"Yes, it's bigger than ours."
Looking at the child's adorable and innocent expression, Chen Yang couldn't help but pat his daughter's little head.
"Daddy, are we going to live here from now on? Can I plant a grape tree here? Raisins are delicious."
Chen Hao pointed to the empty space where a tree was supposed to be in the courtyard, his face serious.
"The trellis built at the corner of the front courtyard was for planting grapes. Grapes are vine plants; you can't grow a tree from them."
"And grapes are fresh fruit, not raisins. It takes many steps to dry them into raisins. I'll teach you when there's a chance."
"What do you think?"
After answering his son's question, Chen Yang glanced at Shen Xue. The two children seemed to quite like the courtyard, and he himself thought it was alright. Now it was Shen Xue's opinion that mattered.
"It's fine, except it's a bit too big. And this courtyard, it's too large. It's a waste to pave it with stone slabs. Let's tear them up, till the soil, and plant vegetables. We'll have more than enough to eat all year round."
Shen Xue clearly had a good impression of the house; she was already thinking about planting vegetables.
Chen Yang almost burst out laughing. Such a large courtyard would be worth tens of millions in the future, and she thought of planting vegetables! How could she even conceive of such a thing?
Well, she was his wife, so he'd let her do as she pleased.