Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 99 Buying a Siheyuan
Lu Kuan has been very busy these two days.

I went to the police station to make a statement and explained the case. Lu Changchun attempted murder in public, but failed. There was no possibility of this happening again.

The Ministry of Public Security has acted in accordance with the law and has established a special task force, which is determined to make this incident with a serious impact a solid case!
At the same time, his arrest has accelerated the police's investigation into Zhang Tianshuo. Once the chain of evidence is complete, the prosecution will bring charges against him for suspected organized crime.

When the news spread in the entertainment circle, especially in the old Peking circle, everyone sighed at Zhang Ye's fall from power, but at the same time, they couldn't help but turn their attention to Lu Kuan, the young director who emerged out of nowhere.

Those in the know all recalled the verdict on Zhang Tianshuo that he made through Fan Bingbing's mouth.

Zhang Tianshuo was born in the month of Mao, with the year branch being Chen, and he sits on Yin wood. This year's luck and year are in conflict, which will stir up the prosperous earth. If he goes against its prosperity, there will be disaster!
Some things are just weird and you have to believe them!
"Director Lu, where are you going?"

As soon as I walked out of the police station, Liu Xiaoli and her daughter also came out. They were in another interrogation room and had just finished taking statements.

"Hello, Aunt Liu."

Lu Kuan returned to his relaxed young self, but Liu Xiaoli never took it lightly again.

This guy is a donkey. He can turn hostile at any time and no one can stop him.

If it weren't for Sissi sacrificing herself to save him that day, maybe the scene would have been cut now and everything that happened before would have been wasted.

Lu Kuan looked at the gauze on the little girl's arm and said, "I've made an appointment with the agent to go and see the house."

"Xiaolu, are you going to buy a house?"

It seemed that after the assassination that night, Concubine Liu Yi had unlocked her intimacy with Lu Kuan, and she dared to call him "Xiao Lu" openly when they were not working.

Being a savior does have some psychological advantages.

As the old saying goes, a great favor can be like a great vengeance. And there's a little girl calling you Xiaolu every day, which is really annoying.

Lu Kuan glared at her with a stern face, but the little girl just raised her eyebrows smugly, not taking it seriously.

She also understood Lu Kuan's temperament.

As long as he doesn't slack off on tasks like filming and doing morning exercises, he is generally content with what he does.

"Mom, we have nothing to do today, let's go take a look with Xiaolu!"

Liu Yifei's scenes in "Gold Powder" have been completed long ago, and the filming of "Whiplash" has also ended.

Now I am just waiting for school to start in September and Zhang Jizhong’s arrangements for “Tian Long”.

There is also an EP prepared for her by Lu Kuan. Mei Yanfang is arranging people to modify and produce it. During this period, Liu Yifei also needs to receive professional vocal training.

EP is a small album, usually half an hour or forty minutes long or with 5 to 6 songs. It is a more suitable debut method for new singers besides singles.

Liu Xiaoli reluctantly tucked her daughter's hair behind her ears and politely asked Lu Kuan for his opinion: "Director, is this convenient?"

The road was wide, so there was nothing wrong with it. He didn't have a car, so he could just use Liu Yifei's driver.

"Let's go. I don't have much experience, so please ask Aunt Liu to help me with my opinion."

He and Xu Kai, a designer from an ancient building company that Zhang Jian introduced to him, met near Nanluoguxiang.

It is said that the siheyuan is a miniature version of Peking, and Peking is an enlarged siheyuan.

The real boom in Siheyuan buying and selling did not begin until 2004 when the Municipal Land and Housing Administration Bureau announced a new policy encouraging individuals and businesses to purchase Siheyuan in the old city's cultural heritage protection area.

After this, outsiders and foreigners can buy and sell freely, and individual buyers can enjoy a 50% reduction in deed tax.

This is all for the protection of the ancient city’s cultural relics and to attract social funds to participate in the repair and maintenance of the old city.

"Hello, guide!"

Xu Kaitong had been waiting at the entrance of the alley, yawning and looking rather listless. Glancing at the two women and one man getting off the car, he keenly sensed who today's big client was.

"Hello, go and take a look."

Lu Kuan and others walked while listening to the introduction given by the ancient building designer who graduated from the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

"Director Lu, are you buying this courtyard house for your own use or to convert it into a restaurant or other purpose?"

"For my own use."

"That's fine. If you're renovating, there will be more rules and regulations. If you live there yourself, there are more yards to choose from."

Concubine Liu Yi asked in confusion, "Are there so many restrictions on how I decorate my Siheyuan after buying it?"

Xu Kaitong patiently explained: "The Housing Authority has relevant regulations."

"Modern architectural methods can be used for renovation, but the original appearance must be preserved, and the restoration should use carvings, partitions, bricks and tiles removed from the original house. Broken brick walls, hanging beams, wax stick melon pillars, etc. are not allowed."

Liu Xiaoli was secretly shocked when she heard this. It was not because she thought it was too expensive, but because she thought it was too troublesome.

"Xiaolu, actually it's nice to buy a villa to live in. Why do you want to buy a courtyard house?"

Xu Kaitong glanced at her without saying anything, and for a moment he couldn't figure out the identities of these three people.

He grew up in the imperial city. After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts, he studied under Ma Xuchu, the last generation heir of an ancient construction family. He has profound attainments in the restoration and design of ancient buildings.

But interest cannot be used to make a living. The transaction volume of Siheyuan is very small, so he can only undertake design work and work part-time as an agent.

It is not easy to be an agent for siheyuan courtyards, as the property rights of some famous courtyards are very complicated.

Moreover, the co-owners in a yard are divided into different categories. If you want to obtain the property rights of the entire yard, you have to work with them one by one.

Usually, the transaction fails at this step. The whole family is scheming against each other and raising the price, making it difficult for the buyer to coordinate.

This is also the reason why he has no ambition. There are many people looking at the house, but it is too difficult to reach a deal.

After walking around several courtyards, all of them were ordinary. They entered Courtyard 102. Lu Kuan looked at the screen wall and the hanging flower gate, and smiled when he heard this:

"Aunt Liu, have you forgotten my job? Taoism emphasizes the unity of man and nature. I prefer to live somewhere down to earth, with my feet planted on the ground. It makes me feel at ease."

Xu Kaitong's eyes lit up. This down-to-earth statement really touched his heart.

"Does the Siheyuan have anything to do with your thing?"

After returning to China, Liu Yifei lived in a villa in Changping. She was very curious to come into contact with these solidified art treasures.

"That's natural."

Lu Kuan guessed that Xu Kaitong had something big in his hand and was trying to be mysterious in front of him.

"Xiao Liu, Aunt Liu, look here."

"The Book of Changes says that Qian represents the sky, is round, and is the ruler and father; Kun represents the earth, is the mother and is square."

"This corresponds to the morphological characteristics of the siheyuan. In terms of the five elements, earth is in the center, and the center of the siheyuan is also land."

"For example, in Courtyard No. 102, the main house, wing rooms, and back house are the four main directions, and the four corner rooms and gate are the four side directions, forming the eight trigrams, with Xun being the auspicious direction."

"So, the main gate is usually located in the southeast corner. This way, the orientation creates a negative yin and positive yang pattern. The inner courtyard is a place where wind and energy are stored and gathered."

Boss Lu glanced at the top student from the Academy of Fine Arts calmly and said, "Designer Xu, what I said still makes sense, doesn't it?"

(End of this chapter)