Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 358 Rent a House

Gufeng County, on the banks of the Yangtze River.

A dilapidated courtyard right next to the inner slope of the Yangtze River embankment.

A courtyard is enclosed by a red brick wall, inside which are two single-story houses with red bricks and blue tiles, one in front of the other, and a threshing ground in front of each house.

However, the two houses looked a bit dilapidated, as if no one had cleaned them for a long time.

A middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a gray shirt, blue trousers, and leather shoes, led the group of security guards around, pointing and saying, "This area is only a little over a hundred square meters. Don't be fooled by its small size; it's a cement floor paved with pebbles. It's just that it hasn't been maintained for a long time, so some moss has grown in certain places, and there are some cracks from too many vehicles. But once it's cleaned up and repaired a bit, it'll look brand new. It's much better than a dirt floor."

Anquan, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, glanced at him sideways and asked, "You're providing the cement?"

The man couldn't help but roll his eyes. "If you weren't my brother, I would have slapped you to death."

When he turned around and saw Ye Shubao's stiff expression, he immediately laughed and said, "Uncle Ye, I'm going to beat him up, why are you so nervous?"

Ye Shubao chuckled twice, but didn't say anything.

This man is named Du Weilin. He was a Shanghai educated youth who went to Nanhu Commune with Anquan. However, he went to Hongxing Brigade, while Anquan went to Lujiawan.

Later, Anquan had the opportunity to work at the county's materials bureau, but because he was still thinking about returning to Shanghai, he gave the opportunity to him.

Du Weilin always kept this favor in mind, and later treated safety matters as his own, even more so than his own.

It's a pity that he didn't handle logistics in his unit, and his position wasn't very high, so he didn't have much influence. Otherwise, the Materials Bureau could have become a major client of Lujiawan.

However, he still helped to make connections, and relying on his familiarity with the person, he spoke on their behalf to the head of the logistics department. Among the units that signed the purchase agreement, one of them was the Materials Bureau.

Originally, after signing the agreement, we should have rushed back to prepare the goods and deliver them, but Chen Fan said that he wanted to build the cooked food workshop in the county town, so that it would be more convenient to deliver goods to various units in the county or to expand the market of the prefectural committee in the future.

Poor Ye Shubao hadn't even had time to warm up the money before Chen Fan set his sights on him. But thinking that what Chen Fan said made sense, he could only call the team and, after getting the consent of Secretary Yang and the others over the phone, ask them to prepare the goods and send them over. Then he followed Chen Fan all over the county looking for a suitable house.

When Du Weilin learned that they were going to build a cooked food workshop in the county, he brought people here.

He continued to introduce the house to everyone, "This house is divided into three large rooms, each of which is more than 40 square meters. The house behind is exactly the same as this one, with a similar size and layout, but the backyard is a bit smaller, only about 80 square meters, barely enough to turn around."

After leading everyone on a tour, they returned to the front yard. Du Weilin said with a smile...

"This used to be a warehouse of the Materials Bureau, mainly storing some metal materials. Since it's not far from the dock, it's convenient for people to come and go. The metal materials have no odor or chemical residue, so they won't affect your cooking."

Later, we built a larger, multi-purpose warehouse at the dock, so this place became vacant. There are three other small warehouses like this, all near the Yangtze River, and they're all empty now. Except for one unsuitable for storing chemical materials, the other two are fine. If you need them, you can talk to Chief Li in logistics; we can rent them all.”

Ye Shubao and the others looked at Chen Fan, waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Du."

He then shook his head and said, "We're not a big company, this place is fine, this is enough for now."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shubao, who was standing next to him, immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that if he expanded the business too much at once, it would be difficult to recover if things didn't go smoothly.

At this moment, Chen Fan asked again, "Brother Du, how much is the rent here?"

Without hesitation, Du Weilin said, "I don't care about that, and I can't decide it. You'll have to talk to Section Chief Li yourselves."

Anquan flicked his cigarette ash and said, "Well, at least you know a rough estimate, so we can have some idea of ​​what's going on."

Du Weilin glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said, "I reckon it should be around ten or twenty yuan."

Upon hearing this, Anquan immediately exclaimed, "Ten or twenty yuan? Why don't you just rob someone?! In Shanghai, a Class A apartment only costs 3 cents per square meter, and that's Class A apartments, high-rise buildings! A regular house with three rooms only costs a little over two yuan a month. You dare to say ten or twenty yuan for this place, this house?"

Seeing An Quan's agitation, Du Weilin remained calm, saying, "What are you yelling about? Do you think I don't know what you're talking about?"

He paused for a moment, then took out a cigarette, lit it, and continued, “You’re talking about residential housing. My family’s house is 25 square meters, and it costs 2.54 yuan a month. My aunt’s house is an apartment building right on Huaihai Road. It’s 50 square meters, two bedrooms and two living rooms, and it only costs a little over 8 yuan. I know this better than you do.”

He then exhaled a puff of smoke and said seriously, "In Gufeng County, if you want to find a dormitory room, it's simple. It costs two or three yuan a month, and I can find you a spacious suite."

Then her tone changed, and she sighed softly, "But this isn't a residential house, and you don't use it to live in it, but rather to do some side business, so it can't be priced like a residential house."

Chen Fan's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Then, what if half of it is used for living?"

Du Weilin looked at Chen Fan with a smile on his face and patiently explained, "Then it can only be calculated as commercial premises, because almost all the rented houses have people living in them, so it cannot be calculated separately."

Chen Fan chuckled dryly twice and then fell silent.

Du Weilin glanced at everyone, pointed in the direction of the dock not far away, and said, "Just now when we came over, there was a blacksmith shop at the bottom of the dock slope, did you see it?"

Chen Fan immediately realized, "Is it the repair shop in Guojia Village?"

Du Weilin nodded and smiled at him, "You can remember the signboard at a glance, you're really something else."

He then explained, "The blacksmith in that repair shop is from Guojia Village, which is next to the county town. He got a sideline business certificate from the production team and rented a shop from a water transport company near the dock, mainly to make horseshoes for pack animals."

His shop costs 8 yuan a month in rent, and he has to pay a year's rent upfront. How big is that shop? After setting up a furnace and a forging table, there's barely any space left. He can only sleep on two benches with a wooden plank on top, and then he has to put it away when he wakes up. And look at this place, two rows of large rooms, each over 100 square meters, and two such large open spaces…”

Before he could finish speaking, Anquan muttered, "You were just saying the field was small, and now it's gotten this big. It's changed pretty quickly."

Du Weilin stared at him speechlessly, without saying a word.

Anquan coughed lightly, "But those shops are right by the road, and this place isn't even near a main road."

Du Weilin said helplessly, "If this place were right next to the road, would you even have the chance to rent it? It would have been rented out long ago."

Chen Fan suppressed a laugh, thinking, "Goodness, he's even blurting out Shanghainese in his haste."

He looked up at Du Weilin and asked with a smile, "So, Brother Du, do you have any shops for rent near the road? Preferably near a commercial or residential area, or somewhere with high foot traffic."

Du Weilin turned to look at him, his expression quite surprised. "You want to rent a shop?"

Ye Shubao, Zhang Juemin, and Zhang Wenliang exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness.

That's right, the deal with the vegetable market company ultimately fell through.

When we mentioned selling live poultry, they said, "Sorry, we are a legitimate organization. All our goods are centrally purchased and distributed. We do not accept outside organizations selling here."

Supply? No, that won't work either. All our products have fixed partners, and they've all been approved by the Commerce Bureau. We generally don't accept other companies cutting in line.

Unless specially approved by higher-ups!

Okay, let's differentiate ourselves. We'll sell you cooked food, and you can set up your own cooked food stall to sell it. That should work, right?
But then they said, "Sorry, the market only sells fresh produce. If you want to buy or sell cooked food, you've come to the wrong place. You should go to the county food company and see if they'll accept your cooked food!"
To be honest, Chen Fan felt quite helpless at that moment.

For the past few months, he had been staying in Lujiawan, mostly wandering around the town of Nanhu Commune. While he wouldn't say he was always successful, things were going smoothly for him, and he received excellent cooperation in everything he did. But as soon as he stepped out of Lujiawan, still within the local county town, he ran into a lot of trouble.

At first, he was very confident that major clients would reject him one by one. Later, he finally managed to secure a few major clients by relying on his connections in the health system and a novel that was "gifted" to him. The subtle rejections from other units caught him completely off guard.

Then, the person who was most confident went to open a stall in the vegetable market, but was rejected without hesitation by the vegetable market company. Neither Teacher Chen's influence nor the official letter written by Secretary Qian of the commune could help.

This time, Chen Fan was somewhat convinced that those companies that rejected him weren't necessarily just trying to spite him.

They strictly adhere to the "rules and regulations," remaining vigilant at all times to never cross the line or do anything beyond the rules and conventions.

Even starting a small business under the guise of a collective is this difficult. I really don't know how the first batch of entrepreneurs a few years later managed to carve out their own path!
Chen Fan put aside his thoughts and feelings and said to Du Weilin, "Yes, we originally wanted to open a stall in the vegetable market, but the vegetable market company disagreed. Later, we went to the county commerce bureau and asked if we could open a few cooked food shops in the county under the name of the production team."

They then said it complied with the production team's regulations for developing sideline businesses, allowing us to rent a shop and open a store, but we would have to accept supervision from the food company and the health clinic. Therefore, the shop we found had to be clean and tidy; if that wasn't possible, we could renovate it ourselves. The key was that the location had to be good.”

Du Weilin put one hand on his hip and held a cigarette butt in the other. He took a few puffs of his cigarette and then looked up after a moment. He said seriously, "There are many houses along the street, but most of them are private houses. People live in them, and very few are willing to rent them out, mainly because they are afraid of causing trouble."

Besides private houses, there are also houses managed by the subdistrict office or work units. There's no accurate information for these; you'd need to ask the subdistrict office or the logistics department of each work unit to find out if there are any houses for rent.

He threw his cigarette butt on the ground and smiled at Chen Fan, "Leave this to me. You guys take a look and see if you want to rent this place. If you think it's suitable, go back to our unit and talk to Section Chief Li about the rent. Then you guys tidy this place up properly. I should have news from you in two or three days."

Chen Fan immediately shook hands and thanked him, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Du."

Du Weilin waved his hand with a smile, "It's no trouble at all. You're doing this for the public good, and you're also Lao An's friends. It's only right that you help out."

Anquan chuckled from the side, "After all that talk, you've finally said something sensible."

As a result, Du Weilin rolled his eyes in anger.

……

After a brief discussion, Chen Fan, Ye Shubao, and the others decided to rent the courtyard.

Although it's not close to the main road, it's not far from it either, only a little over a hundred meters away. There's also a wide gravel road in front of the entrance, which was specially built by the former Bureau of Materials to facilitate the transportation of cars and horse-drawn carriages.

Moreover, there are open spaces on both sides and behind, and the Yangtze River embankment is opposite. There are no other houses around, so there is no need to worry about the smell from slaughtering live poultry and cooking being too strong and affecting the neighbors.

Furthermore, the two houses inside also suited their needs perfectly. The front one could be used as a cooked food workshop, while the back one could be used as a dormitory and warehouse, which was very convenient.

In short, they were quite satisfied with the courtyard in all aspects.

Now it all depends on whether the price is right. Ten or twenty yuan is just Du Weilin's estimate; what if Section Chief Li asks for an exorbitant price?

The group came out of the courtyard and soon arrived at the dock.

This is a comprehensive wharf. On the outer embankment of the Yangtze River, there is a three-story building with a layer of fine gravel on the exterior wall, forming a wall that looks smooth from a distance but is uneven up close. Coupled with tall glass windows, it looks quite stylish.

This type of gravel wall was popular until the 80s, and it could still be frequently seen on buildings in county towns in the 90s, until it was later replaced by mosaic walls.

On the roof of the building, three large characters, each over a meter tall, stand: “Waiting Room”.

This is the passenger terminal of Gufeng County. You can buy a ticket on the first floor of this waiting room and go up to Chongqing or down to Shanghai. It stops at almost every major terminal on both sides of the Yangtze River, so you can go almost anywhere.

However, a lot of time was wasted on stops. If it were a direct route, it would save at least a day.

A little upstream from the passenger terminal are three spacious cargo terminals, each with a long ramp leading directly to the riverbank, serving as a transport route for cars, horse-drawn carriages, and dump trucks.

Ships were moored at the dock below the long slope, waiting in line to load and unload cargo. Further up the slope, another row of empty ships awaited their voyages.

As for the water transport company, it was built not far from the waiting room, in a large, independent courtyard. The dormitory area behind it will definitely be a "treasured riverside mansion" decades later.

Chen Fan came here the day before yesterday, but unfortunately he was turned away.

There was a long slope in front of the waiting room. Coming down from the embankment, you could enter the county town by following this road. Chen Fan and his group walked on the road below the long slope. To their side and above them, trucks, horse-drawn carriages, and dump trucks of all sizes rumbled slowly past, while crowds of people streamed along the roadside.

When they reached the end of the long slope, Chen Fan and his group also got onto the main road. At this point, they could see a blacksmith shop across the street. Inside, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties was shirtless, with only a towel around his neck. He was covered in sweat, holding a red-hot iron block with pliers in one hand and vigorously swinging a hammer in the other, producing sparks.

As Zhang Wenliang walked, he realized that no one was around. He quickly turned around, breathed a sigh of relief, and shouted, "What are you looking at?"

The others stopped and turned to look at Chen Fan when they heard the sound.

Chen Fan realized what was happening, took a few quick steps forward, and pointed to a shop about four rooms away from the blacksmith's shop, saying, "Brother Du, there's still a sign above that shop's door. Was it a shop before?"

Du Weilin looked in the direction he was pointing, thought for a moment and said, "Probably, otherwise they wouldn't have put up a sign."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I remember this row of houses all belong to the shipping company. I'll go ask about it later."

He turned to look at Chen Fan. "What, you've taken a fancy to this shop?"

Chen Fan was wondering to himself, what a coincidence, he had run into a shipping company again?

Upon hearing Du Weilin's words, he smiled and said, "I see there's a lot of foot traffic here, and many of them are tourists. If we opened a cooked food shop here, the business should be quite good."

Du Weilin nodded in deep agreement. He looked at the endless stream of people on the road and said, "You're right. In terms of passenger flow, the waiting room at the dock is more crowded than the county bus station. The county bus station only has a few buses running back and forth every day, and it's often not even full."

This place is different. At least a dozen passenger ships dock here every day, staying for anywhere from ten to half an hour each time. Many people who don't usually come here take the opportunity to disembark and stretch their legs. If you opened a shop here, you'd definitely have plenty of customers.

Ye Shubao was still thinking about Manager Zhao's warm hospitality that day. After Du Weilin finished speaking, he immediately smiled and said, "If it's a shop of the water transport company, then it's easy. We are quite familiar with Manager Zhao of the water transport company. He is a very good person. If we go to him to rent a place, he will most likely agree."

Hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

However, he still held onto a sliver of hope.

That's already settled, so Manager Zhao shouldn't continue to make things difficult for me. After all, there's still some goodwill between us because Zhang Wenliang and his team came to demonstrate their services.

Even if we don't consider personal relationships, we can still handle things officially.

With some ulterior motives, Chen Fan followed Du Weilin back to the Materials Bureau, and then went to discuss renting a courtyard with Section Chief Li of Logistics.

Section Chief Li was quite easy to talk to and directly set a rent of 15 yuan per month, payable quarterly. Ye Shubao immediately signed a rental agreement with the Materials Bureau on behalf of the Lujiawan Production Team, and then went to the street office to register it. The right to use this courtyard temporarily belonged to Lujiawan.

After renting the house, the group went to the shipping company again to ask Manager Zhao about the shop.

If Du Weilin remembered correctly, that row of houses did indeed belong to the water transport company.

This time, Manager Zhao didn't deliberately make things difficult for them. He generously rented the shop to them, and the rent was the same as the blacksmith shop—8 yuan a month, without any discount. It was a fair and proper arrangement.

(End of this chapter)