Chapter 118: The Courtyard in Hand

Eldest Uncle couldn’t sleep a wink all night, his mind consumed by that formula for the fast-acting heart relief pill.

Early in the morning, Luo Dapeng brought his friend over.

“Yimin, this is Dafei,” Luo Dapeng introduced.

“Brother Zhou, you’re Dapeng’s friend, so I’ll get straight to the point,” Dafei said.

Zhou Yimin nodded. “Mm. I like straightforward people.”

“You can’t just trade houses freely, but inheritance or gifting is allowed. Nine hundred and fifty yuan, and we’ll head to the subdistrict office to sort out the paperwork. Of course, we can take a look at the house first.”

Zhou Yimin pulled out a thick stack of ten-yuan notes.

“Go ahead, count it.”

Dafei was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected Zhou Yimin to be so direct, handing over the money without a second thought.

The truth was, if Luo Dapeng was recommending someone, that already meant the person was solid—at the very least, worth the money, and likely more than worth it. So there was no need to waste time looking at other options.

Besides, he wasn’t buying the courtyard for himself to live in. It was mainly to store things and provide a place for villagers to stay when they came to the city.

As long as the house was livable, it would be good enough.

And, of course, there was also Luo Dapeng’s face to consider.

Since you’re Dapeng’s friend, it’s better to be decisive. Hemming and hawing would just be disrespectful to Dapeng.

Dapeng grinned. “Well? Didn’t I say my bro’s a straight shooter?”

Dafei gave a thumbs-up. “Brother Zhou, you’ve got guts. Alright! Let’s head to the subdistrict office right now. I can move everything out before noon—you can move in anytime after.”

He counted the money right in front of them.

After all, it was nearly a thousand yuan—no room for carelessness.

Zhou Yimin didn’t mind at all. That was only reasonable.

If it were someone else, Dafei might’ve counted it two or three times, but since this was Dapeng’s buddy—and such a generous one at that—once was enough.

Zhou Yimin went with him to the subdistrict office to meet Director Li.

Dafei hadn’t expected Zhou Yimin to have connections at the subdistrict office too. Even better—less hassle, no endless questions.

Sure enough, Director Li didn’t ask many questions. The paperwork was processed quickly and properly, leaving no room for future disputes.

“Auntie Li, I’ll be letting folks from my village stay there—shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Zhou Yimin asked.

Director Li shook her head. “It’s your house. You can let anyone stay. It’s better to have someone living there—you know why.”

Zhou Yimin nodded. He understood. An unoccupied house easily drew attention.

“Got it.”

Director Li smiled again. “The instant noodle factory’s already decided to expand production and recruitment. You really pulled it off—came up with instant noodles!”

“Auntie Li, that was just a stroke of luck.”

Director Li smiled, saying nothing more.

A stroke of luck?

How many such ‘coincidences’ could one person have?

Truthfully, it was because Zhou Yimin had read a lot of ancient texts. Clearly, the knowledge passed down by our ancestors still had plenty of value. The hand pump well? He saw that in old books. The instant noodles? Same thing.

Rumor had it, some people had even found the corresponding records in ancient texts to confirm Zhou Yimin’s claims.

Nowadays, the folks working to preserve traditional Chinese culture were practically on a crusade.

In recent years, traditional culture had been so badly maligned. Now that something genuinely valuable had been unearthed, of course they were going to promote it with everything they had.

And at the same time, they were taking note of Zhou Yimin, who had repeatedly discovered treasures in traditional culture.

After the paperwork was done, Dafei took Zhou Yimin to see the house.

It was obvious they were in a hurry to move out.

According to Dafei, his uncle worked in Daqing and had already arranged a position for him. All he had to do was go there, and he could start right away—with decent pay and benefits, too.

So why wait?

What good was it to stay in the capital, clinging to the ancestral home?

Besides, his uncle said Daqing was undergoing major development and would soon be a bustling city. Getting in early meant securing a good spot.

Zhou Yimin nodded after hearing that. He knew very well that in the next thirty to forty years, Daqing would rise rapidly and become a major city centered around oil production.

But resource-based cities rise fast and fall just as fast. Once the resources are depleted, the city declines—unless it can pivot in time.

Zhou Yimin checked out the courtyard. It was indeed in a slightly remote location.

But that suited him perfectly. If there was too much foot traffic, it would only get in the way.

“Brother Zhou, here’s the key. Of course, if you’re worried, you can change all the locks,” Dafei said, handing over the key.

His family had already packed up almost everything.

Luo Dapeng had come by the night before, so they’d started packing some of their things even then.

“Mm. Alright.”

“Brother Zhou, what about these larger items? Do you want them? If not, I can get someone to haul them away,” Dafei said, pointing at the furniture.

They were relocating all the way to the Northeast—Daqing, no less. They obviously couldn’t bring these bulky items. If Zhou Yimin didn’t want them, he’d just call the neighbors over.

These days, people would even take broken furniture—they could at least burn it for firewood.

Someone would definitely want it.

“I’ll take them. Thanks,” Zhou Yimin replied without hesitation.

He wasn’t the one living there, so it didn’t matter if the furniture was old. He was sure the folks from the village wouldn’t be picky either.

Zhou Yimin had already looked over the furniture. Nothing fancy, no antiques—just regular old furniture. Not even redwood.

He also checked out the basement.

According to Dafei, it used to be just a root cellar for storing cabbage in winter. Later, during wartime, the family expanded it. If any soldiers came around, they could hide down there.

The basement had two exits—one inside the house, and one outside.

That setup was meant to provide an escape route during emergencies.

And it just so happened to be exactly what Zhou Yimin wanted. The more he saw, the more he liked.

“Dafei, you’re leaving right now?” Zhou Yimin asked, seeing them start to carry things out.

“Yeah, Brother Zhou. It’s a small world—we’ll meet again someday.”

Though in truth, it was more of a self-comforting phrase.

It was such a long way, and with the whole family moving, chances were they wouldn’t be back again.

“We will. Next time you’re back, I’ll treat you to a meal and drinks. Oh right—wait a moment.” Zhou Yimin turned and walked off, circling around the neighborhood before returning.

He came back carrying five vacuum-packed bags of pork jerky, each weighing exactly one jin.

“Dafei, take this for the road,” Zhou Yimin said, shoving the meat over.

Dafei looked at it, surprised and delighted. “Brother Zhou, this…”

“Alright, stop fussing! Just take it as a parting gift from Dapeng. Come back when you can,” Zhou Yimin said, in an especially generous mood thanks to how satisfied he was with the courtyard.

Besides, it looked like Dafei wasn’t planning to say goodbye to Dapeng.

So he gave him a little something on Dapeng’s behalf.

The pork jerky was one of today’s one-yuan promotional items.

(End of Chapter)