Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 505 Changing Houses
February 20, the 14th day of the first lunar month.

Luwan District was originally established as Lujiawan District in Shanghai in 1945, and renamed Luwan District in 1947.

It's a good thing they changed the name, otherwise it would have the same name as Lujiawan.

However, Luwan now shares the same name as the production team in Chen Fan's novel?

Chen Fan felt he had discovered the key point.

Lujiawan has the resources of Luwan!

Ahem, let's dream a bit.

Going back to reality.

The area around Chengdu South Road in Luwan District has many old buildings from the Republican era, the most famous of which are the "Shikumen" (stone gate houses).

The courtyard houses in the capital are well-known, and the "Four-Point Gold" courtyard houses in Chaoshan are also known to some; both are courtyards enclosed by a square wall.

However, few people know about Shanghai's Shikumen, which is actually a type of "courtyard house".

Upon entering, there is a courtyard, which, when placed within a traditional courtyard house, forms the first courtyard... the open space in the middle. Passing through the courtyard is the main hall, or living room. From the main hall, there is another, even smaller inner courtyard, and at the very back is the kitchen.

It's actually just a kitchen.

On the left side of the courtyard, there are usually four side rooms, two courtyards in total, one in front and one in back, and two floors in the upper and lower sections.

If the Shikumen courtyard is even larger, an additional wing building will be added on the right side.

Larger ones are arranged in a pattern of side rooms, courtyards, side rooms, courtyards, and so on.

The outer walls of the house and the courtyard walls together form a square courtyard. Many such courtyards are closely connected, forming the Shikumen "row villas" pioneered by Ningbo merchants a century ago.

"Hey, you're a native Shanghainese too. You were brought here by Officer Wang, and your parents work in the Huangpu district's subdistrict office. I would never lie to you."

A man in his fifties, dressed in a Zhongshan suit with a cotton overcoat, said to An Quan, “It is undeniable that my house is small. It can be said to be the smallest in terms of layout among all the Shikumen houses in Shanghai. But even though it is small, it has all the necessary parts.”

As he spoke, he walked inside. "Look," he said, "there's a courtyard right inside the door. Closing the door creates your own little world, and it doesn't affect the lighting. Isn't that great!"

Anquan followed behind him, looked up at the sky, and suddenly felt like a "frog in a well".

This courtyard really is a well!
The courtyard wall is no more than 4 meters wide, and the door to the living room is only two meters inside. The courtyard area is about 8 square meters.
Forgive his ignorance, but he had never seen such a small courtyard before.

The uncle continued walking inside, saying, "Look at this living room. Don't let its narrowness fool you; it's quite deep, over five meters long..."

He recounted the past as he went, with Chen Fan following behind.

I must say, it really is small but complete.

Deep inside the living room is a small corner staircase. Passing through the staircase, you enter an inner courtyard that is even smaller than the front courtyard, and then you enter the kitchen.

The kitchen isn't just a small room.

The use of space in Shikumen houses can be described as very efficient.

Even if it's just a small kitchen, there's a "pavilion room" built on top, and then an orderly drying platform. The pavilion room and the drying platform can be crossed by an 80-centimeter-wide "sky bridge" between the second-floor stairwell and the third-floor attic.

Go up to the second floor, there are two small side rooms in front, each less than 10 square meters. Further back is the pavilion room above the kitchen, which is only 7 or 8 square meters in size. It can be used as a study, or as a bedroom if you don't mind the small size.

Above that is the attic, with a dormer window on the roof. It is the same size as the living room on the first floor and the two side rooms on the second floor, but it is very low. Except for the ridge, which is more than three meters high, the lowest point at the edge is less than one meter high, making it unsuitable for use as a normal room.

You can reach the drying platform above the pavilion by using the "sky bridge" in the attic or the ladder in the stairwell. This is where you hang your clothes to dry.

After walking around the upstairs and downstairs, Chen Fan already had a suitable renovation plan in mind.

This kind of renovation is very simple. Anyone who has watched "Dream Home Makeover" can easily draw a few renovation plans for this kind of old and dilapidated house.

However, he's not the one buying the house; ultimately, it depends on his own perspective on security.

(Complete diagram of a small Shikumen structure. The long roof ridge in the back of the diagram is the side room. There are four large rooms in total. Cutting off the side room will result in a basic Shikumen.)

Back in the front courtyard, the uncle enthusiastically promoted his house, "Although there are no proper side rooms, the total price is low, and it's a proper 'detached house.' Once you're home and the front door is closed, you're not connected to anyone else, unlike those houses where you have to share a room with others and have to share the kitchen, which is inconvenient for everything."

Houses like this are hard to find. You can ask Officer Wang if you don't believe me. They either only offer one floor, or even just one room, or a whole courtyard—they're ridiculously expensive. A house like mine is absolutely one of a kind!

Officer Wang stood to the side, hands behind his back, watching with a smile but saying nothing.

He is a "housing exchange officer" in the housing management office of the subdistrict office in Luwan District, mainly responsible for this area. The so-called housing exchange officer is just a title given to them by the people, and there is no such position in the unit.

For a long time, many people have had the need to "change houses". Whether they want to trade in a larger house for a smaller one or spend some money to trade in a smaller house for a larger one, people go to the housing management office to inquire about the information almost every day.

Over time, "room-changing agents" came into being.

On the one hand, it's to solve the problem, and on the other hand, it's to reduce the trouble for the leaders.

Well, if their needs aren't met, they'll naturally go to their superiors. Even if it's only a very small number, the sheer volume of such demands can be enough to give a leader a headache.

Therefore, the unit specially assigned a person to help people solve their housing difficulties.

Essentially, it involves compiling information on people who need to move, noting detailed information such as who wants to move, how many people are in their family, the size and layout of their current house, whether they want a larger house or a different location, and if they want a smaller house, what their reasons are...

It was more detailed than real estate agents in later generations, at least later agents didn't have "background checks".

All this information is in the hands of the room-changing agents. Over time, these room-changing agents become more and more professional, and their part-time jobs turn into full-time jobs.

A few years later, when the rental and sale of houses were deregulated, some people started a real estate agency business. Many of them had to spend a lot of money to hire these house-changing agents, not only paying them high salaries but also giving them shares.

Back then, quite a few room exchange agents actually went into business, some partnering with others, and some simply going it alone.

However, some people adhered to the belief of "serving the people" and continued to provide free services to the people in the neighborhood office until their retirement.

Officer Wang is one of these grassroots housing exchange workers. Anquan was introduced to him by a friend who works in Huangpu District. This kind of thing is very common among housing exchange workers; otherwise, why would there be cross-district housing exchanges?

However, since an acquaintance had spoken to them and they had heard that Anquan's parents were also employees of the local street office, they put in a little more effort.

In the past two days, he has taken his safety precautions to view more than a dozen houses; he has lost count of how many times he has viewed houses here.

So at this point, he was too lazy to say anything and just waited for Anquan to make a decision.

Well, it's not just him who has trouble making a decision about safety; almost every person looking to change homes feels the same way, so there's no need to rush.

As for getting angry, that's even more impossible. People without patience can't do this job; they would have changed positions long ago.

On the other side, upon hearing the uncle's boasting, Chen Fan couldn't help but twitch his lips and glance at the security guard.

Just then, Anquan returned the glance, then lowered his eyes.

Chen Fan could tell at a glance that he had his eye on him, so the next step was to negotiate the price.

If we can't agree on a price, we'll have to miss out on the same regrettable option as with the previous apartment with a kitchen and bathroom.

Speaking of that apartment, wow, a 50-square-meter two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, and they're asking for 6800 yuan a month, with no room for negotiation!

Based on the current highest price of 100 yuan per square meter, the maximum would be 5000 yuan.

Moreover, Chen Fan thought the price was too high. 5000 yuan could buy a large two-courtyard or small three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) in the capital, with the house and land all owned by him. Unlike that house, which could only be replaced with two or three new houses after demolition in a few decades, it was simply incomparable.

So from that year onwards, Shanghai's housing prices became more expensive than those in the capital?

Furthermore, Chen Fan, like An Quan, did not support the practice of artificially inflating housing prices, so he decisively turned around and left.

This is the second house that I can accept as a safe option.

Chen Fan took out the lowest-grade Peony cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to the uncle, and then handed one to Anquan and Officer Wang. He then took out the dry tobacco pipe tucked into his waistband, which made Anquan's eyes twitch.

Pretending to be poor doesn't have to be done like this, does it?

However, since Chen Fan was helping him, he naturally didn't say anything.

Chen Fan coughed lightly, turned his head and asked, "Uncle, how much are you planning to sell this house for?"

The uncle immediately raised his head, "My house is detached with its own courtyard, and has three rooms. The living room downstairs is also quite large..."

He thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and made a gesture, "It has to be at least 6000 yuan."

Chen Fan blinked and silently calculated. The living room was about 22 square meters, the two small rooms upstairs were about the same size, the kitchen in the back was 8 square meters, the attic room was 8 square meters, and the loft was a bit larger, about 27 square meters. The total usable area was about 87 square meters, which averaged less than 70 yuan per square meter. Considering the land and the location, 6000 yuan did seem reasonable.

However, the price can't be calculated that way. First, the attic area should be halved. If the attic weren't so large, it's not uncommon for them not to charge for it. Second, this house is over 50 years old and has been in use all this time. Many parts are indeed dilapidated, and it has never been renovated, making it even more unsightly.

Lastly, these days it's not like 20 or 30 years from now, when everyone's dreaming of living in a villa or detached house. Apartment buildings are the new luxury!
In this way, the price becomes negotiable.

Besides, he also had "insider information"!
Chen Fan filled the tobacco tin with tobacco, took out a match, lit it, flicked it out, and threw it on the ground. Speaking in increasingly fluent Shanghainese, he looked up and started picking a fight, "Uncle, how many years has it been since anyone lived in this house?"

Upon hearing this, the uncle flew into a rage. "What do you mean, 'no one has lived here for many years'? My whole family has always lived here. If my son hadn't brought his family back and there wasn't enough room in the house, I wouldn't have wanted to move."

Chen Fan was immediately surprised. "People have been living here all along? Then why have all the wooden beams been eaten by termites?"

He stomped his foot again. "Good heavens, the floor is cracked. Is it suspended in mid-air? Has anyone fallen down there?"

The man's face immediately turned red. "No, no, that's not true. There's no such thing."

Chen Fan glanced at him, then looked at the several wooden planks under his feet that were clearly different colors, indicating that he would just look and not say anything.

The uncle seemed to be an intellectual, and he was concerned about his reputation, so he could only stammer, "It's just that a few boards were broken. I accidentally stepped on them while moving heavy things, so they definitely won't fall down."

Wang, the clerk next to him, grinned and chuckled.

As housing exchange agents, finding housing for ordinary people is their duty, but they will not get involved in negotiating prices. Otherwise, no matter how well or poorly the negotiation goes, there will be people talking behind their backs.

This is valuable experience passed down from our predecessors.

So even though he knew that Anquan definitely had his eye on this small, dilapidated half-finished Shikumen house, he remained silent and let them negotiate on their own.

It's quite interesting to watch this young man bargain; he gets to the point in his negotiations.

Finally, the one who finds fault is the real buyer! Maybe this time it will work out.

Chen Fan smoked his pipe, not bothering to show the uncle around again. After all, the house originally belonged to the man, and he knew better than the man what was good and bad about it.

After thoroughly damaging the house, he then turned his attention to the exterior. "Yesterday we also looked at a two-bedroom apartment in a workers' new village on Huaihai East Road. It had a kitchen and a toilet; that's what you call having all the essentials."

Even if your house is detached and has its own yard, it's still not as good as those apartment buildings. Those apartment buildings aren't touching the sky or the ground; once the front door is closed, you can truly retreat into your own little world. If we had more money, we would have bought that two-bedroom apartment.”

Chen Fan turned his head and looked around again, then sighed softly, "This house must be fifty or sixty years old. Luckily it's winter now. If it were summer, there would definitely be a lot of rats and cockroaches. If we had bought it, we would definitely have to do a major overhaul, which would probably cost at least a thousand yuan."

He turned to look at Anquan, "Old An, how about we reconsider?"

The safety officer looked hesitant, glancing at the uncle every now and then. Even though the uncle tried to remain calm, he was also flustered at this moment.

Buying a house is difficult, but is selling a house easy?
Many people have come to see his house, but those who can afford it complain that it's too small and dilapidated, while those who like it can't afford it... He doesn't even know if those who can afford it are really rich or just pretending to be rich and finding fault.

He has now moved into his newly purchased house and promised to settle the remaining payment within this month, otherwise he will have to use the house to settle the debt.

Using it to pay off a debt would be a huge loss. I only owe them three thousand yuan, and even if this house is dilapidated, it's worth more than three thousand!

So even though he knew that the one who spoke first would lose, the uncle couldn't help but say, "If you really like it, we can talk about the price again."

Chen Fan gave An Quan a look, then turned his head and clicked his tongue, saying, "Uncle, we really want to buy, otherwise we wouldn't have bothered Manager Wang these past two days to look at more than a dozen houses, but our budget is limited."

Furthermore, you can't just rip us off because we're in a hurry to buy a house. Tell me yourself, is this house even worth 6000 yuan?

He paused for a moment, then sighed, "Besides, if we really had that much money, we would have bought that two-bedroom apartment long ago."

The middle-aged man chuckled awkwardly, his earlier bravado long gone. "The price is negotiable. How about 5500?"

...half an hour later.

The middle-aged man turned pale, took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat repeatedly, and finally sighed heavily, "Fine, it's a flat price of 4567 yuan, not a penny less!"

Just now, Chen Fan presented the facts and reasoned with him, breaking down the shortcomings of the house in detail to negotiate the price. Originally, the usable area was 87 square meters, but he managed to cut 17 square meters of the attic space and then negotiated a price for a 70-square-meter house. In the end, the deal was settled at a price slightly higher than the local minimum of 60 yuan.

4567 yuan, a very "auspicious" number. Wishing everyone continued success and advancement!

Under the witness of Officer Wang, Anquan first signed a loan agreement with the uncle that had been in place for a month... As for the fact that Anquan hadn't returned yet at that time, that's not important.

The agreement states that the uncle will be safely lent 4567 yuan at a fair rate with no interest, purely out of friendship.

The loan is for one month, and if it cannot be repaid within one month, this old Shikumen house with private property rights will be used to settle the debt.

Today marks the end of the one-month period, and since the uncle was unable to pay, he agreed to transfer the property to Anquan. The formalities were completed on the spot, and he will follow Officer Wang back to the housing management office later to obtain the property certificate.

(The 74 property transfer deed is equivalent to a property ownership certificate.)

Subdistrict Housing Management Office.

Anquan held the property deed, grinning from ear to ear.

Chen Fan sat to the side and laughed, "Hey, I've already designed it for you. There's a high-ceilinged mezzanine under that living room. I dropped a small stone to measure it, and it should be about half a meter deep. When we pry up the floor, adding it to the original height of the house, it should be about 4.8 meters in total. We can build a mezzanine there, and if we make it nice, it will definitely look great."

The first floor of a Shikumen building is usually higher than that of a normal house, so there is no problem in building a duplex.

"The kitchen is already there. When you were doing the paperwork, I asked someone and they said there are sewage pipes and domestic water pipes at the back of the house, which means you can connect a toilet to them, so you'll have a toilet too."

Later, we'll install a toilet in both the kitchen and the pavilion room, and connect the water pipes to each floor, all the way up to the drying rack on the third floor. This will make washing and drying much more convenient in the future.

And the attic! Don't be fooled by its steep slope and think it's impractical. With proper design, it can be a wonderful study or children's room. ..."

Chen Fan explained everything to him, from the yard to every room, and even how to design and renovate the kitchen and toilet.

Safety is a constant source of joy, a smile that never fades.

After Chen Fan finished speaking, he let out a long breath, held the property deed and looked at it again and again, and said with emotion, "It wasn't easy. My own 1600 yuan, you guys gave me 1800 yuan, plus the 2,000 yuan that my parents and brother and sister-in-law prepared, totaled less than 5500 yuan, and it all went down the drain. I paid 4567 yuan for the house, and I don't know if the rest will be enough for the renovation."

When he bought a house and moved out, it was practically the same as dividing the family property. He didn't get a share of the two rooms in his parents' house, so his family naturally had to prepare some money for him to settle down. They gave it to him when he bought the house.

Chen Fan patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "A thousand yuan should be enough. Look, even though I damaged the house so badly, it's mostly minor damage. There are termite marks on the beams, but it's not a big deal; we just need to replace two beams."

The first-floor floor was going to be removed anyway. Although some boards are damaged, a large portion of the edges is still usable, perfect for replacing the badly worn stair treads… In short, you definitely have enough money. Maybe after you've furnished the place, you can even treat me to a nice meal at the Jinjiang Hotel.”

Anquan grinned and laughed heartily, "Sure, it's just the Jinjiang Hotel, no big deal."

Then, changing the subject, he said, "But you'd better prepare the money for the housewarming gift. It can't be less than what Old Zhang gives, otherwise he'll definitely scold you for being stingy. I'm doing this for your own good."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly, and he gave a perfunctory hum, "We'll talk about it later."

At this moment, Officer Wang came out of the office and saw the two still smoking and chatting in the corridor. He couldn't help but say, "The formalities are all done, why haven't you left yet?"

Anquan quickly got up to greet him, and whispered with a smile, "Brother Wang, we've been waiting for you."

Wang, the clerk, gave him a meaningful look and smiled, "What are you waiting for me for? What, are you looking to move again?"

He glanced around and whispered, "Brother Wang, you've worked hard these past two days. I'd like to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude."

As a house-changing agent, I must know the people in my jurisdiction who want to change houses very well. I wouldn't say I know them by heart, but at least I have a general understanding of their situations.

The uncle who wanted to sell his house was struggling because his youngest son and his family of five had returned, making it too much of a burden for his family of ten. He had to ask someone to pull strings and buy a bigger house in a more distant place, but he was unable to pay the remaining balance.

He couldn't possibly be unaware of such a "major event".

The person was introduced by a good friend, who is also the son of a deputy section chief in the local street office. By "inadvertently" revealing some information, a good connection can be formed. Why not do it?

Of course, he only revealed this information and did nothing else. If the seller refused to lower the price, there was nothing anyone could do.

Another one, I wonder if this friend's friend can grasp the intricacies of it all.

It seems to be working well; at least this safety measure isn't about abandoning those who have helped you.

Officer Wang smiled and said, "Everyone's having a tough time right now. That house needs some cleaning up, and it'll cost a lot more money. I'll put this meal on the tab for now. I'll come over and congratulate you when you move."

He had barely finished speaking when Anquan insisted on continuing the invitation.

At this moment, Chen Fan suddenly said from the side, "Officer Wang, I'd like to ask you about something, is it convenient?"

Officer Wang looked at him in surprise, paused for two seconds, and then said, "What is it?"

Chen Fan rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "It's like this, when you showed us the 'property register' yesterday, I saw a house that I liked and was thinking of changing to it, but I don't know much about it, so I wanted to ask you for advice."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You see, it's almost lunchtime. If you don't mind, how about we eat and chat?"

Officer Wang gave him a deep look, and finally nodded, "Okay."

(End of this chapter)