Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 620 Bodyguard
Ten thousand yuan is indeed an unattainable sum for ordinary people, but for Zhou Yali, it's just a few months' worth of pocket money.

Since she was interested in buying it for her collection, Chen Fan didn't try to dissuade her further.

Anyway, it's not a bad deal to buy this, so let her buy it if she wants to.

When it comes to buying a house, it's best to avoid dealing with multiple people; it's most appropriate to go to Deputy Director Li of the Municipal Housing Administration Bureau.

So the next morning, he drove to the compound of the Municipal Construction Commission, found Deputy Director Li, and explained the situation.

Deputy Director Li was very happy to hear that the person was a returned overseas Chinese who wanted to buy a house.

Since it's Chinese people buying the property, of course they should receive foreign exchange; generating foreign exchange is a merit.

However, this matter cannot be done immediately; an application must be submitted first.

Like Shanghai, Beijing also built overseas Chinese communities in the past, which were sold specifically to Chinese and overseas Chinese. As mentioned before, in August 1962, the first commercial residential building in Beijing, the Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment, was completed. At that time, the opening price was more than 100 yuan. It had a toilet and a kitchen. A house cost about 8 yuan. Only foreign currency was accepted, not local currency.

But there doesn't seem to be a precedent for this in ordinary residential buildings?

Or perhaps Deputy Director Li hadn't heard of it, so naturally, it had to be reported and approved by the leadership.

After listening to the explanation, Chen Fan thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Director Li, Shanghai has set a precedent for this. Just this month, my cousin, on behalf of her father, bought two houses there for a total price of 53 yuan. They are intended as potential accommodations for companies investing in China in the future. There are also quite a few other overseas Chinese who have bought houses there. Perhaps you could contact them and ask about the situation."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Li blinked slightly, already understanding the situation, and immediately said, "I understand. I will report to the leadership later."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "From a policy perspective, we now welcome all friendly overseas Chinese and foreign businesspeople to invest in China. Since they are coming to invest, it is only natural to solve their housing problems."

Besides, given the precedent, I think this shouldn't be a big problem. I'll let you know when I have more information.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan knew that the matter was most likely true, so he smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Li. I'll come again tomorrow morning."

Deputy Director Li nodded slightly, "It should be about the same by tomorrow morning."

He glanced at Zhou Yali sitting not far away, then casually leaned closer to Chen Fan and whispered, "Did you really spend 53 to buy a house?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "One is a large garden villa covering nearly 20 acres, with one main building and two auxiliary buildings, and a total construction area of ​​nearly 3000 square meters. This garden alone cost 50 yuan, while the other ordinary villa cost 3 yuan."

With this in mind, Deputy Director Li began to quietly calculate which courtyard was the largest and most suitable for sale.

If there isn't a suitable place, then see if there's a place where people can be moved.

These large mansions were almost all owned by the government, and they housed employees of various work units, most of whom were ordinary employees.

The cadres all live in apartment buildings; why would they squeeze into those crowded tenement courtyards?

So, if we could free up a house, we could sell it for three to five hundred thousand.

Wow... these days, a three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) only costs around 10000 yuan, and that's for a basically intact building that's habitable. If it's a little dilapidated, the price drops to below 8000 yuan.

Even if someone had three or five hundred thousand yuan, they still couldn't find a house that big!
Thinking of this, Deputy Director Li couldn't help but scratch his head.

It's truly frustrating to have money right in front of you but not be able to earn it back.

Seeing the change in his expression, Chen Fan waited a few seconds and then softly called out, "Director Li?"

Deputy Director Li suddenly snapped out of her daze, looked up at him, and quickly smiled, "Oh, I was wondering if there were any suitable houses."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "My cousin doesn't have high requirements. She doesn't care if the house is big or small, or if it's even habitable. She can always renovate or repair it later. She just has one small request: it would be best if it could be connected to the gas pipeline and the sewage pipe."

Of course, if there really isn't a suitable option, there's nothing that can be done, but there must be room for modification, and the approval process can't be hindered.

Deputy Director Li nodded repeatedly, "Understood. I'll take care of it right away. Come back first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll definitely give you a satisfactory result."

At worst, we can just free up a royal palace.

Prince's mansions also vary in size, with smaller ones housing forty or fifty households and larger ones, such as the Prince Gong's Mansion, housing more than two hundred households.

Prince Gong's Mansion is definitely not suitable. Firstly, it is too large, covering an area of ​​6.112 square meters, which is more than 90 acres. Moreover, it has many buildings, and the mansion area alone accounts for half of it. It is not the same as the Shanghai Grand Garden that Chen Fan mentioned earlier. The price of this mansion is difficult to assess.

Another issue is that there are still eight units living inside, and coordinating the relocation is a major problem.

In addition, Prince Gong's Mansion is too famous, and every year some people engaged in historical and cultural work stubbornly submit reports to higher authorities, demanding that it be vacated, rebuilt, and protected. If it were sold, they would probably cause trouble.

Therefore, it is best to choose a building that is relatively small in size, not very famous, and relatively well-preserved, so that it can be sold for a high price and there will be no subsequent troubles.

This Chinese-American spent 53 yuan on a house in Shanghai. Surely he couldn't have spent less in Beijing than he did in Shanghai!

Chen Fan had no idea that this Deputy Director Li was secretly competing with his Shanghai counterparts. His target price was only around 10000 yuan. He planned to spend another 2,000 yuan to repair the building, which he considered a big toy that Zhou Yali had bought for herself, the kind that would appreciate in value in the future.

Unexpectedly, Deputy Director Li wanted to make a big deal out of it; wasn't that just setting someone up for trouble?
……

After leaving the Urban Construction Commission and Housing Management Bureau, Chen Fan opened the door and got into the car, glancing at the rearview mirror.

After Zhou Yali, Jiang Lili, and Jiang Tiantian got in and closed the car door, he asked, "Where are we going today?"

Yesterday, when we were exploring the hutongs, we needed Liu Juan and Ma Lan, these two "local experts," to guide us. Today, we changed our itinerary, so we didn't bring them along.

Zhou Yali sat next to Jiang Lili, waving her hand and shouting, "Quickly turn on the electric fan!"

Chen Fan's face darkened. "It's only morning, and you can't stand the heat?"

However, I still turned on the small electric fan on the center console, and a cool breeze quickly dissipated the stuffiness inside the car.

This car doesn't have an air conditioner; only sedans have air conditioning. It's not as good as his modified GAZ-69.

That makes sense, though. If this car had air conditioning, it wouldn't be priced at 18,000 yuan. It would increase by at least 3000 yuan, otherwise it wouldn't be worth it.

Once the wind picked up, Zhou Yali finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm afraid of the heat. I'm not trying to be mean, but you built such a big house and there's not even an air conditioner."

Jiang Lili turned to look at her, "Are you hot? I think I'm fine, it's quite cool in the room, we didn't even turn on the fan last night."

Jiang Tiantian, sitting in the back, nodded gently, "I didn't drive either."

Zhou Yali pursed her lips. "That's probably because you're used to not using air conditioning." Chen Fan started the car and slowly drove out of the compound, saying, "Shall we go buy an air conditioner?"

Zhou Yali: "Fine, I'll go."

She paused for a moment, then sighed softly, "But I don't have much pocket money left, so I can only afford to buy five more at most."

Chen Fan glanced at her in the rearview mirror and laughed, "It's okay, I'll deduct it from my royalties later."

Zhou Yali immediately nodded, "That's fine."

Chen Fan said, "We'll go buy an air conditioner later. Liu Juan and the others are at home, so it won't interfere with our shopping. So, where do you want to go next?"

Zhou Yali shrugged and said, "You're the tour guide, so you're in charge."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, silently considering which other attractions were still nearby. Then, his gaze swept upwards and he saw Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian in the rearview mirror. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Lili, Tiantian, have you been to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City?"

The two sisters smiled and said in unison, "We've never been there."

Zhou Yali looked at them in surprise, "None of you have been there?"

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose and explained, "Actually, most ordinary people have never been to Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City. Going there to see it is the wish of all ordinary people. It's just that most families, especially rural families, don't have high incomes, so this wish is hard to fulfill."

Jiang Tiantian nodded and said, "Many people take advantage of business trips to visit the square after arriving in Beijing. Due to time constraints, many people don't even get to go inside the Forbidden City."

Moreover, the Forbidden City entrance fee was 5 cents per ticket, and some people couldn't bear to spend the money, so they didn't go in. But no matter how long the queue was, they would still go to the Memorial Hall to pay their respects, and they would even pay to take photos with Mr. Li's portrait on Tiananmen Square.

Zhou Yali frowned slightly and nodded gently, "I see."

Then he looked at them and said, “I’ve been to the square, the Forbidden City and the Memorial Hall before, so let’s go again today. This time I’ll be your tour guide.”

Chen Fan laughed and stepped on the gas, the car accelerating rapidly. "Let's go to the square then."

However, they first went to the Friendship Store and purchased a batch of household appliances.

With Chen Fan's royalties as a safety net, Zhou Yali dared to buy whatever she wanted. She bought a TV and a refrigerator, which were not available at home, and a few three-in-one radios. She paid for them with a dollar check, without needing any industrial coupons, TV tickets, or refrigerator coupons.

It's okay if I don't have much money left. Anyway, there's still more than a week before I return to the United States. I'll just send a telegram to my dad and ask him to send some more money.

After buying the items and arranging delivery, Chen Fan took them to visit the square.

I shopped around until the afternoon before making another trip to Friendship Store, where I bought a lot of rare and delicious ingredients that are hard to find in the market, and then drove a whole truckload of them to my master's house.

Amidst the clatter of pots and pans, a large meal was laid out on the table just as the working crowd returned home.

Li Shangde and Lin Yuanxiang sat at the head of the table, Zhang Xuansong sat alone on one side, Chen Fan and Zhou Yali sat on the other side, and Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian sat together at the end. The eight-immortal table could seat seven people.

Chen Fan poured wine for his three masters, then filled his own cup, and asked, "Third Master, I have something I'd like to ask you."

Of the three mentors, Zhang Xuansong was the last to leave his post, and he also has children working in key departments, so he is the most well-informed. At the same time, he is also flexible; for example, he used his son's connections when buying a house last time.

He'll help resolve anything that doesn't violate his principles, so you can't go wrong by asking him for help.

It's not that Li Shangde and Lin Yuanxiang lacked the ability or were unwilling. It's just that if there's a convenient option, why make them go through the roundabout way of asking for favors?

Hearing his words, Zhang Xuansong glanced at him and asked, "What is it?"

Chen Fan clinked glasses with him and asked, "It's one thing, but there are actually two questions. One is whether you know any female comrades who are quite skilled."

Upon hearing this, everyone at the table was stunned and looked up at him.

Chen Fan glanced at the three girls, then turned back and said, "Yesterday, when we were strolling around Houhai, we ran into some petty thieves who tried to rob us."

When he said he had been robbed, no one said a word.

Zhou Yali and the other two understood why he asked if there were any skilled female comrades; he wanted to find them bodyguards. Well, bodyguards were the two sisters' idea, while Zhou Yali was thinking of a dedicated bodyguard.

As for the three masters, they all knew Chen Fan's abilities. Besides, they were all sitting here unharmed, so what could they say?
No, that's not right either. After waiting for two seconds, Zhang Xuansong still frowned slightly and asked him, "Are those people alright?"

Chen Fan was speechless. "I was the one who was robbed, and you're asking them if they're alright?"

Zhang Xuansong shook his head, pursed his lips, and said, "So, were you robbed?"

Chen Fan wiped his face, sighed, poured himself a glass of wine, and continued, "With me here, everything will be fine. The main thing is, I heard Juanzi and the others say that the security situation is getting worse every day. I was thinking that the situation in Shanghai is probably similar."

When I return to Jiangnan, Lili and Tiantian will be in Shanghai, all alone. What if something happens to them?

Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili exchanged a glance. Both wanted to speak, but seeing Chen Fan's gaze, they held back.

He glanced at the two sisters, then turned to Zhang Xuansong. "As the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry. It's always better to be prepared than to worry afterward."

Zhang Xuansong nodded slightly, then glanced at the three girls. "Yes, that makes sense."

He took a sip of his drink, squinted his eyes and thought for a moment, then turned to look at Li Shangde and Lin Yuanxiang, who were also deep in thought. "I can't think of anything right now. What about you two?"

Lin Yuanxiang frowned. "I do remember that some of the old men seemed to have daughters, but I don't know if they practiced kung fu or how good their kung fu was."

Li Shangde shook his head, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, and continued, "If we're talking about skilled young men, there are easily twenty or thirty of them, and every year some retire. Bringing them over can solve a few job problems."

But as for girls, I haven't really paid attention to that.

He looked up at Chen Fan and said, "There definitely is, we just need to go find it."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It would be best if we could have it, but at worst it will just take a few more days."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Another issue is, if I find someone and then pay them to do it, is that in accordance with the rules?"

Hearing this question, Zhang Xuansong wiped his face, feeling a little conflicted. "You're not being fair or impartial, unlike Juanzi and her two girls, who can at least be described as hiring temporary workers to help with cleaning."

Hiring someone to protect someone is the same as having private bodyguards in the old society. Whether it's legal or not, I really can't judge.

(End of this chapter)