OBS Chapter 230 News from the 4th Courtyard
Chapter 230 News from the 4th Courtyard
Han Zhuxin knew that after she brought it up, Shen Xiaoxia would definitely want to join in.
She looked at Shen Xiaoxia with a smile on her face, "That's what I was thinking too. Let's find a place with two or three rooms and a yard. We can each live in one, and the remaining rooms can be turned into workshops."
After hearing Han Zhuxin's arrangement, Jiang Yan quickly interrupted, "If you arrange it this way, two or three rooms might not be enough. Besides, it's too dangerous for two girls to live there. Add me in, and I'll be your bodyguard."
Han Zhuxin smiled and glanced at Shen Xiaoxia, "Okay, as long as Xia Xia agrees, I have no objection!"
Jiang Yan turned his head to look at Shen Xiaoxia and gave her a flattering smile, "Do you think it's okay?"
Shen Xiaoxia wasn't the old-fashioned type. It was just one room per person, so what was wrong with that? She readily agreed, "Why not? I think it's great. I can have more people to work with. Why not?"
He Tingyuan wanted to object at first, but when he saw that Jiang Yan and Shen Xiaoxia wanted to come together, he didn't object anymore. Instead, he said, "Since that's the case, let me join you too. I don't ask for much, just leave a room for me."
Xie Yunheng watched the show from the side with a smile, "Hey, forget it. There's neither my partner nor my secret crush in the yard, so I won't join in the fun."
Shen Xiaoxia teased him, "But your brother is in there?"
Xie Yunheng rolled his eyes and said, "What's the use of brothers? They just follow their partners one by one."
His words made everyone laugh uncontrollably.
After the classes officially start, everyone will make plans to visit major tourist attractions in Beijing in their spare time.
In their spare time, they would go out and look for a suitable house, but the rental market did not exist at that time. They were unfamiliar with the place and it was very difficult to rent a house.
However, this is not something that can be rushed, and everyone's mentality is relatively stable.
The days passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, it was early spring of 1979.
Shen Xiaoxia could feel that the atmosphere in the market had become noticeably more relaxed, and so did Han Zhuxin. As a result, the matter of finding a house became urgent.
In the end, it was He Tingyuan who helped him find a connection and rented a courtyard house 2 kilometers away from the back door of the school.
It's a personal favor.
The main house of the courtyard consists of two large rooms and a main hall, two east wing rooms, two west wing rooms, two east and west side rooms, and two back rooms next to the main gate.
Shen Xiaoxia and Han Zhuxin were both very satisfied after seeing it.
Shen Xiaoxia chose the room to the east of the main house, and Jiang Yan followed Shen Xiaoxia and chose to live in the room in the east wing closer to the main house.
Han Zhuxin lived in the room west of the main house, leaving one of the west wing rooms for He Tingyuan, and the remaining room was used by Han Zhuxin as a workshop.
I haven’t moved out of the school dormitory. Sometimes when I don’t want to go out, I just stay in the school.
All the things in the courtyard are new. Jiang Yan even went out to buy a bicycle so that it would be more convenient for them to go to and from school.
A week after Jiang Yan bought the bicycle, Han Zhuxin bought a sewing machine.
Shen Xiaoxia walked around the sewing machine twice and gave Han Zhuxin a thumbs up, "Sister, you can do it!"
Han Zhuxin smiled and said, "I wanted to buy one when I was in the Youth Hostel, but I never got a ticket for sewing.
After arriving here, I did get the sewing plane ticket, but before I rented a house, I had no place to put it even though I bought it.
As soon as I rented a house, I bought this thing. Manual work is too slow. With this, I will be much more efficient in the future!"
This place is different from the small county town. There is no shortage of rich people or people with vision in Beijing.
In addition to the previous styles, Han Zhuxin also plans to go the route of high-end private customization in the future.
Shen Xiaoxia became Han Zhuxin's personal model. When a new product came out, either she or Han Zhuxin herself would wear it out for a walk. They didn't need to specifically sell anything, as those who were interested would come up to them and ask about it.
However, the market has not been liberalized yet, and the two were not stupid enough to say that they designed and made it themselves. They just said that they asked someone to make it specially for them through their relatives in Shanghai.
Even so, many people ask them to help them use their connections, saying that it doesn't matter if the price is a little higher.
What could the two of them do but agree with a smile.
Han Zhuxin will give Shen Xiaoxia a certain commission for the customers introduced by her.
The styles and designs of clothes nowadays are far less than those in later generations. Han Zhuxin combines the perspective of later generations with the market conditions of the time, and the clothes he designs are particularly popular.
The high-end private customization gradually attracted some customers, and Han Zhuxin was obviously busier than at the beginning.
Therefore, Shen Xiaoxia was drafted into the army to help Han Zhuxin, and Shen Xiaoxia would also receive labor fees for the clothes she made.
Apart from the two of them, Jiang Yan would spend the rest of his time after finishing his studies either accompanying Shen Xiaoxia to visit scenic spots in Beijing or working on his "side business" of reselling. He was smart and had many ideas, and sometimes he was so busy that Shen Xiaoxia couldn't see him.
In addition to attending classes and helping Han Zhuxin, Shen Xiaoxia also travels around Beijing.
She wanted to find out if there was any information about the sale of courtyard houses. She started to inquire about this a month or two after arriving in Beijing.
After all, it’s better to pick up bargains as early as possible!
However, she also knew that it was impossible to get such news on the street, so "Aunt Shufen" returned to the underworld and secretly went to the black market many times.
It would probably be difficult for her to find out any information by herself, but no matter what era, there is always a lack of well-informed people. It just depends on whether you can pay the corresponding price.
After more than half a year, Shen Xiaoxia sold 5 bicycles, 3 sewing machines, and 20 Shanghai brand watches to the black market, she finally got some results.
The person she traded with every time was the same person, who was selected by Shen Xiaoxia after several observations. Everyone called him Junzi.
Junzi was wary of Shen Xiaoxia at first, but after her continuous bombardment, he almost hugged her thighs and acknowledged her as his aunt.
As far as Shen Xiaoxia knew, he was actually a miserable man. If he had no other choice, he would not have gone to the black market to do those dangerous businesses.
It seemed that the only people left in his family were an elderly grandmother and a younger sister who was about eleven or twelve years old.
He himself was only seventeen years old, and it was not his turn to get a proper job.
Fortunately, he is smart and has been active in the black market for these years. Although he has not made a lot of money, he can at least make ends meet for his family.
Although the price Shen Xiaoxia quoted him was much higher than the price of regular transactions, it was still low compared to the price on the black market.
After he changed hands, he could make a lot of money. What he earned in the past six months was more than what he earned in the previous few years. He was really grateful to Shen Xiaoxia.
Of course, the person he was actually grateful to was "Aunt Shufen."
Shen Xiaoxia had mentioned it to him before, saying that she had a friend who wanted to see if there were any resources for a siheyuan, and asked him to help find out. If there were, that would be the best, but if not, that would be fine too.
He couldn't help Shen Xiaoxia in other aspects, but getting information was his strong point, so Junzi kept an eye on it.
I just heard the news and told her.
Shen Xiaoxia plans to find time to go and see it as soon as possible.