A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"Why is it still Nanluoguxiang?"

Jiang Xia's lips twitched as he looked at the street sign at the intersection.

"Deputy Factory Director Li, don't tell me about the original courtyard house with some kind of side courtyard or something. The one you found for me is the east side courtyard?"

"Call him Uncle Li!"

"Do not"

"Then tell me, are those little gadgets that the lumber mill made the ones you wanted attached to your pot? The pot you mentioned to the commander at the department store?"

Jiang Xia thought about it for a moment and then readily admitted it, since this was something that couldn't be hidden and didn't need to be.

Li Huaide nodded, said nothing, and parked the car at the entrance of the alley.

“Let’s go. That courtyard was originally a five-courtyard compound. We had a meeting yesterday, and when we came to take a look, we didn’t know which unit had taken over the first four courtyards.”

At this point, Li Huaide gritted his teeth.

Damn it, they've occupied the yard and haven't even been notified yet. I'm going to go to the neighborhood office later and give them a piece of my mind.

Following Li Huaide, we turned left and right through the alley, and the original dirt road was transformed into a bluestone slab road.

Following the stone path, we arrived at a small, inconspicuous door.

"That's it!"

Instead of using a key, Li Huaide took a thin, long pick and inserted it into the crack in the door, gently turning and feeling around until he actually opened it.

Jiang Xia felt a chill run down his spine, constantly regretting not having pulled Wang Kui along.

Judging from how skilled Deputy Factory Director Li is, he's probably done this kind of thing many times before.

He reached into his bag with his left hand and touched the large compass that Ma Zhendong had given him, only then did he feel at ease.

An inch longer, an inch stronger; a compass half a meter long, are you scared yet?

Li Huaide waved to Jiang Xia, who took two steps back.

"Uncle Li, this isn't the main entrance, is it? I know what Baishun Alley up ahead is all about!"

Li Huaide blushed and said, "What are you yelling about? Wasn't the front area occupied? We can only enter from here. Let's take a look at the house first, and if you're satisfied, then we can go and settle accounts with the neighborhood committee!"

"What? Got scared?"

Li Huaide scoffed, pointing at Jiang Xia's watch: "Only someone with a screw loose would destroy your body if they had that thing."

Jiang Xia shrugged and agreed: If something really happens to him, Wang Kui would probably chase him to the ends of the earth.

Forget about how cowardly I was just now. No, why be cowardly? This is called "a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall!"

Pushing open the small door, you enter a screen wall with a painting of crabapple blossoms on it.

Passing through the screen wall, you'll find the main courtyard behind it.

The ground in the courtyard was paved with thick, heavy-looking blue stone bricks, unlike the original courtyard houses. These bricks were square, laid out very evenly, like a chessboard.

There is a jujube tree on one side of the courtyard, and the ground under the tree is covered with fallen jujubes.

There was a small stone table under the tree, and next to the stone table was a weathered recliner.

Not far from the tree, there is a well.

Jiang Xia took one look and fell in love with it immediately. Should we plant another jujube tree?

A main room faces the screen wall, with two rooms on each side of the main room, east and west.

Li Huaide pointed to the small room next to the west wing: "That's the kitchen, a separate one!"

He then pointed to an area extending from the east wing: "That's the toilet, and it's separate! There's a path that connects to the public toilet, so you don't have to worry about emptying the latrines."

After saying that, Li Huaide waved his hand somewhat listlessly, "Go look at the houses yourself."

He plopped down on the recliner, picked up two dates, and threw them into his mouth without washing them.

Jiang Xia curiously entered the east wing. The room was sparsely furnished and rather plain.

Wooden bed, wooden cabinet, simple four-cornered table and chairs.

It's a pretty big place, a full 40 square meters.

The main room was similar, except that there were two armchairs against the wall and a large round table in the middle. Several large cabinets were scattered on both sides.

Watching Jiang Xia excitedly darting around, Li Huaide narrowed his eyes smugly.

He called out to Jiang Xia, who had returned to the courtyard, "Alright, that's enough. With just these two items, no courtyard house in the entire capital can compare!"

He pointed to the separate kitchen and toilet.

Jiang Xia stopped and thought about it for a moment, and it seemed that this really made sense.

I just saw that toilet. Although it's a dry toilet, it's still quite rare.

Didn't you see in the 90s that the diva who lived in a courtyard house, didn't the first thing she did every morning was empty the chamber pot?

But~~

Jiang Xia looked at the cement wall built behind the east wing. The gray cement wall was as tall as two people and was covered with barbed wire.

"Uncle Li~~"

Jiang Xia called him Uncle Li very smoothly. It seems that once something happens the first time, it becomes natural to do it many times afterward.

"What's going on behind this? Could it be a detention center?"

Looking at the high wall, Li Huaide's face darkened.

"I don't know, I haven't been here in a while. How come there's a wall? Oh well, I'll go ask the neighborhood office later."

"Hey, did you like it or not? If not, let's not bother with it!"

Jiang Xia pondered for a moment, wondering if his teacher's wife had mentioned building a detention center in Nanluoguxiang.

Since it's not a detention center, other functional buildings seem acceptable.

He nodded immediately: "I like it! How much should I compensate you?"

"Money?" Li Huaide scoffed. "How much money could a little brat like you have? Besides, is this the era where money can buy anything? Do you think this is the old dynasty?"

Li Huaide pulled a piece of paper from his bag and placed it on the small stone table: "Sign it!"

Jiang Xia picked it up and looked at it: "Loan agreement?"

What the hell? That damn Deputy Factory Director Li is going to lend money at exorbitant interest rates?

Continue reading: "Hereinafter, borrower Li Huaide borrows RMB 1000 from debtor Jiang Xia. The term is one month, and the property is a side courtyard at No. 66 Nanluoguxiang."

"If the loan is not repaid on time, the side courtyard at No. 66 Nanluoguxiang will belong to the debtor."

Li Huaide has already signed his name below, and the date is two months ago.

What the hell is this?

Seeing Jiang Xia's puzzled expression, Li Huaide leisurely swayed back and forth on the recliner.

"Little brat, you don't understand, do you? You still have a lot to learn about this society!"

"Sign it, and then hurry to the neighborhood office. You have something to do when you get back. That blockhead Yang Youning is probably banging on the table right now!"

Jiang Xia hesitated, fearing that this was another trap set by Li Huaide, and considered going back to consult his master's wife before making a decision.

Seeing Jiang Xia's hesitant look, Li Huaide simply took out a box of inkpad from his pocket, grabbed Jiang Xia's hand, and pressed it onto the inkpad.

"Hey young man, what are you hesitating for? With what you have, who would dare to fool you!"

Jiangxia still tried to struggle, but the die was cast, and he could only shake off the situation in frustration.

"You still say you're not being cunning? Who in their right mind carries around a box of inkpads all the time?"

Li Huaide disdainfully showed the lid of the box to Jiang Xia: Yu Tang Chun!

"The exclusive rouge from Xiaochunhua of Shihua Pavilion is hard to find now. Back then, a martial arts school owner wanted to taste this rouge, and he paid for a whole courtyard."

After saying that, he put the small wooden box into his chest and walked out unsteadily.

"I'm gone, the property has been transferred, and all thoughts of it are gone."

An air of dejection emanated from him. The two left in silence.

"Jiang Xia!"

"Eh?"

"Do you have a lock on you?"

"...Why don't you get some iron and I'll file one for you right now? What? You can open it, but you can't lock it up!"

"Once a decent person unlocks it, who would bother to lock it again!"

……

That makes sense.