186 Chapter 186: House-viewing
Wang Xiaomei took the initiative to follow Madam Liu to receive them.
After Madam Liu explained the situation, Wang Xiaomei finally spoke to Big Girl Li and the others.
She suggested that if the Liu family bought a courtyard house, she hoped to rent a room for Wang Dashan from the Liu family.
Even if they did not buy a courtyard house, she still hoped to rent one together with the Liu family.
!!
Big Girl Li and Liu Daniu looked at each other.
In the end, Liu Daniu agreed to the suggestion.
“No problem! It’s more cost-effective to have more people to share the rent.”
“Besides, we’re all fellow villagers, so we won’t feel like strangers if we live together.”
Only then did Wang Xiaomei break into a smile. She sent Madam Liu, Big Girl Li, and the rest off.
Madam Liu quickly led them to the Huang family’s place.
Grandma Huang had been waiting for them.
She was very enthusiastic when she saw Madam Liu and the others.
After exchanging a few warm greetings, Grandma Huang got her eldest grandson to lead Liu Daniu and the others to the place near the market on West Street to have a look at the courtyard house.
The weather was hot, so Madam Liu did not go.
Big Girl Li was pregnant and shouldn’t have gone, but she couldn’t contain her desire to buy a courtyard house, so she followed them.
Under Huang Dalang’s lead, the group set off under the scorching sun.
The road to the market on West Street was easy to walk on, but after passing the market on West Street and entering the illegal construction area, the situation changed.
Not only were the alleys much narrower but the surroundings had also become dirty and messy. This was a common sight in illegal construction areas.
Seeing that both Big Girl Li and Liu Xiaomei were frowning, Huang Dalang explained, “This is the situation of illegal construction areas. The environment is naturally not comparable to that of Yong An Lane.”
“But this area is close to the market on West Street, and the price of the courtyard house is a lot cheaper than those in Yong An Lane.”
“It’s actually a better choice for you guys to buy the courtyard house here if you need temporary lodging.”
As he said that, Huang Dalang smiled.
“When my family first came to town, this was our consideration.”
“I’ve lived in this area for more than ten years, so I’m used to it. I think it’s still pretty acceptable…”
When everyone heard this, they all agreed.
Even Big Girl Li and Xiaomei Liu didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore.
It was fine if the environment was not that good. It was still better than Brook Falls Village, wasn’t it?
After walking for a while, Huang Dalang suddenly said, “It’s just up ahead.”
Then, he led the group to the gate of the courtyard house.
“There’s another family living inside. Please wait a moment,” he said to everyone.
Huang Dalang went up and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock…
“Who is it?” Soon, a woman’s loud and impatient voice rang out from inside.
Huang Dalang furrowed his brows.
Immediately, he responded loudly. “Mrs. Zhao, it’s me!”
The door was opened quickly.
“Oh, it’s Master Huang! Please come in!” When the woman saw Huang Dalang, she became very warm and attentive.
However, when she saw a group of people behind Huang Dalang, her face immediately clouded over.
“These…” she asked.
“Oh, these are my friends. They are here to take a look at the courtyard house,” Huang Dalang replied casually to pacify her.
He entered the courtyard straightaway.
At the same time, he ignored the woman and invited Liu Daniu and the others into the house.
Liu Daniu and the others did not stand on ceremony and entered the courtyard under Huang Dalang’s guidance.
“This is the courtyard house. You guys can look around. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly.”
“After you’re done with the courtyard, I’ll show you the individual rooms,” Huang Dalang said.
The woman’s face darkened when she heard this.
“What is this supposed to mean, Master Huang?”
“Didn’t my husband say he wanted to buy this courtyard house from you? Why did you bring people here?” The woman quickly confronted Huang Dalang.
As soon as she said that, Liu Daniu and the others all looked at Huang Dalang.
Huang Dalang quickly smiled apologetically.
“It’s fine. You guys can continue to look around. My family doesn’t intend to sell this courtyard house to them,” he said to Liu Daniu and the others.
Seeing that the woman was about to speak again, Huang Dalang looked at the woman again. Before she could speak, he said, “Your husband wants to buy this courtyard house, but he doesn’t seem sincere!”
“It’s only because your family has rented this courtyard house for almost two years that my family is willing to give you a low price. But your husband had some nerve. He said he would only pay 40 taels of silver. Is that how your family show your intention to buy it?” Huang Dalang growled in a low voice.
“Now, your house’s rental lease is almost up. From now on, my family won’t be renting out this courtyard house anymore. You guys should find a new place to live as soon as possible.”
...
The Zhao family was a troublesome family.
Ever since their Huang family had rented a few rooms to them, the other rooms had never been rented out.
It was also because of this situation that his family decided to take back the courtyard house and sell it off.
“Who says we have no intention to buy it? Our family has been living here for more than a year, and we’ve developed feelings for this place!”
“But this courtyard house of yours doesn’t have a property deed, and the courtyard has even been expanded outward.”
“The actual land area it occupied does not tally with what is stated on the land deed at all!”
“My husband is offering 40 taels according to the area stated in the land deed. How is that causing you a loss?” The woman shouted.
She deliberately wanted Liu Daniu and the others to hear that the area stated in the land deed of the courtyard house did not match the actual land area occupied.
Seeing that Liu Daniu had indeed turned around, the woman continued, “My husband has already checked.”
“The government office doesn’t recognize this kind of illegally built courtyard house. In the future, if there are any demolition or similar situations, they can directly flatten this house.”
“Even if there’s compensation, it’s only calculated according to the cultivated land area on the land deed. How much money can that be?”
...
As she said this, the woman intentionally looked in the direction of Liu Daniu and the others, hoping to scare them away.
Yes, she had used this method to scare off several groups of people who came to see the courtyard house in the past.
Hmph! The Zhao family already had their eyes on this courtyard house.
Even if they couldn’t seal the deal at the price of 40 taels, she couldn’t let the Huang family sell this courtyard house off.
When Huang Dalang heard this, he felt a headache coming on.
“Most of the courtyard houses in the illegal construction area are like this. Besides, the government office won’t rashly demolish the houses here.”
The woman immediately rolled her eyes at Huang Dalang.
“Who can say for sure?” She had a look of disbelief.
“If we’re unlucky, you can simply take the money and run off, but the dozens of taels of silver we spent to buy the courtyard house would be wasted, wouldn’t it?”
Huang Dalang became more and more annoyed when he heard that.
“That’s why I won’t sell this courtyard house to you! You guys don’t have to worry about losses then. Happy?” he said angrily.
“Hey, Master Huang, I don’t like what you’re saying. What do you mean by not selling us? When we rented the courtyard, we had an agreement.”
“You agreed that our family has priority in buying this courtyard house.”
Huang Dalang felt as if his ears had been blown up by this woman.
“You only have priority to buy it under the same conditions. My courtyard house is priced at 90 taels. If you can give me 90 taels, I’ll sell it to you. If you can’t, then stop talking nonsense!”
As he said that, Huang Dalang walked around the woman.
Seeing that the woman was about to catch up, Huang Dalang quickly added, “Your lease is up the day after tomorrow. I’ll come over personally to take back the courtyard house!”
The woman’s expression changed.
“When the lease period is over, we can still renew the lease! Master Huang, what are you saying!” Her tone suddenly softened substantially.