Chapter 47

Starting from the first day of the Chinese New Year, the tradition of visiting relatives and exchanging New Year’s greetings began. Song Haowen’s family was no exception.

They went from house to house, exchanging greetings and enjoying meals. They also received visits from other families, returning the courtesy and hosting guests.

This continued until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, marking the end of the festival. With lunches, dinners, and drinks throughout, even the finest delicacies started to lose their appeal.

According to the original plan, Song Haowen was supposed to return to Beijing on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. However, his family insisted that he shouldn’t leave so soon.

In addition, reporters from the local newspapers and radio stations came for interviews, causing delays. As a result, he didn’t start his journey back to Beijing until the tenth day of the Lunar New Year.

Before leaving, he left 5,000 yuan for his family to prepare for buying a tractor. He also gave 500 yuan to his second sister privately, encouraging her to focus on studying. Then, with a bag full of local specialties, he set off on his own.

When Song Haowen arrived in Beijing, it was already the twelfth day of the first lunar month, and the school semester was about to begin in a few days.

He took a taxi back to the store, where Zhu Hongyu, Wang Li, and Qian Youlai were all present. After exchanging greetings and well-wishes, Zhu Hongyu asked, “Weren’t you supposed to come back on the eighth day? Why did you stay for an extra four days?”

Song Haowen chuckled and said, “What can I do? My identity was exposed, and reporters from the radio and newspapers wanted interviews.”

“Being famous suits you.” Zhu Hongyu sighed. “Fortunately, I had Wang Li accompanying me during this New Year. Otherwise, I would have been really depressed.”

Wang Li smiled and said, “Actually, I’m quite happy to accompany Sister Hongyu. Sister Hongyu is knowledgeable, and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from her. I somewhat regret not being more serious about my studies back then; otherwise, going to college would have been great.”

“Thinking about going to college, there are plenty of opportunities. It depends on whether you want to go or not. If you want to review and prepare for the exams, both Sister Hongyu and I can help you.” Song Haowen said generously, taking responsibility.

“My foundation is too weak; I’m afraid I won’t do well.” Wang Li blushed. In front of these two academic experts, she felt like a poor student.

Qian Youlai said, “Wang Li, don’t be too modest. Your grades in the class are above average, unlike me, who is almost at the bottom. I don’t want to go to school in my entire life; I’m afraid of studying. As long as the master teaches me a few martial arts moves, I can gain face in the neighborhood.”

“I don’t want to be a master. However, since you’re so eager to learn, I’ll teach you a set of boxing techniques one day.” Song Haowen felt that if the other person wanted to learn so badly, why not teach him a thing or two?

“That’s great! Thank you so much, Master!” Qian Youlai was excited and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

“To the two beautiful sisters, if you want to learn martial arts, I can also teach you a set of graceful and elegant moves.”

“Thanks, but I’m afraid of hardship; I don’t want to learn.” Zhu Hongyu immediately declined.

“I don’t really want to learn either. Girls shouldn’t have muscular bodies; it doesn’t look good.” Wang Li also declined.

Song Haowen sighed and said, “Your aesthetic concept is still stuck in the era of Lin Daiyu. Nowadays, the trend is for a healthy beauty.”

Zhu Hongyu mocked, “Still talking about healthy beauty? It seems like you’ve done a lot of research on girls.”

“Let’s not discuss this topic.” Song Haowen blushed and said, “I haven’t had lunch yet. If you haven’t either, how about we go out to eat together?”

All three of them mentioned that it was already 2 p.m., and they had already had lunch.

Song Haowen, with a hint of regret, said, “Well, then, I’ll go out for a quick bowl of dumplings, and we can eat together during dinner.” He placed the package in his room and then walked to a nearby snack shop, ordering a serving of dumplings to enjoy.

After finishing the dumplings and returning to the store, he checked the business for the ten days he was absent. Although it was somewhat slow, with only constant orders each day except for New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhu Hongyu managed to handle everything. Song Haowen thought, “It’s not bad considering the circumstances.”

Seeing that there was no business in the afternoon, Song Haowen asked Qian Youlai and Wang Li if there were any interesting places like temple fairs or flea markets in Beijing.

Wang Li mentioned places like Beihai Park and Ditan Park, where there were usually a lot of tourists, making it lively.

Suddenly, Song Haowen remembered the largest Panjiayuan Flea Market in Beijing from his previous life, which didn’t start until 1992. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find it now. Otherwise, he really wanted to go treasure hunting and bargain hunting.

“A few days ago, the Tian sisters came by, asking if you had returned. If you had, they invited you to visit Yuxi’s house.” Wang Li suddenly remembered this matter.

“Okay, I’ll go to Yuxi’s house now. She’s currently studying hard for the TOEFL, and I want to see how she’s doing.” Song Haowen immediately made up his mind. He took out a dried chicken, a box of Maofeng tea leaves, a box of native eggs, and a box of salted duck eggs that he brought from his hometown as New Year gifts. To save time, he didn’t take public transportation but hailed a taxi.

When he arrived at Tian Yuxi’s house, she was reciting English words in the yard. Seeing Song Haowen enter, she immediately rushed over like a little swallow, holding onto his arm and bombarding him with questions, “When did you come back? Is everything fine at home? Have you met Nana?”

Song Haowen smiled and answered each question one by one. He thought, “Is it just me, or did her English practice make her speak faster?” After entering the house, he greeted Yuxi’s parents, and he gave New Year’s greetings and gifts to the elderly.

Seeing him, both elderly people were very happy, their eyes filled with warmth and affection.

Tian Yuxi’s father, Tian Pengfei, was a deputy director at the municipal government office, and her mother, Lin Min, held a position as a grade-level clerk at a state-owned enterprise.

After chatting with Yuxi’s family about hometown affairs for a while, Lin Min somewhat regretfully said to him, “We didn’t plan to go back to our hometown for the New Year this year. We should have asked for your help to bring some New Year gifts to Yuxi’s grandmother and uncle’s family.

Tian Pengfei expressed his disagreement, saying, “Taking things on a long-distance travel with bus is quite troublesome.”

Song Haowen quickly responded, “It’s just a small matter. Next time I go back to my hometown, I’ll let you know in advance. If there’s anything you need me to bring, just give it to me, and I’ll make sure to handle it.”

Tian Yuxi handed a tangerine to Song Haowen, saying, “The winter break is too tight for me; I don’t want to trouble you. But during the summer break, I might let you help.”

Lin Min inquired with concern, “Xiao Song, you’re a big star now. I heard from Xixi that you’re not very willing to go out for performances. Why is that?”

“Singing is just my hobby. I participate occasionally; it’s just for fun.”

“You have this talent, it’s a waste not to use it. Honestly, not only the younger generation but even I and your uncle enjoy listening to your songs.”

“Mom, Haowen’s biggest wish is to get rich,” Tian Yuxi suddenly fired a shot.

“Child, you’re so young; don’t fall into the money trap so early. There will be plenty of opportunities to make money in the future. In fact, being a singer can be quite lucrative. Nana said she’s earned close to a million in just a few months, unbelievable.”

“Auntie, actually, our store is also quite profitable. While it may not be as much as what singers earn, it’s still considerable. By the way, Auntie, Uncle, I want to buy a few sets of Courtyards. Do you know anyone selling?”

“How many sets? Little one, do you know how much a Courtyard costs?” Lin Min exclaimed.

“How much could it be? I heard that for those in a less desirable location, a single-entry courtyard is only three to four thousand yuan, and for those with a good location and good decoration, it’s only around ten thousand yuan.”

“Several thousand yuan is still not enough? Do you know the average monthly salary now? It’s only thirty to forty yuan. Your uncle and I, as government officials, earn only sixty to seventy yuan per per month. With frugal living, we can hardly save a few dozen yuan in a month. How many years do you think we’d need to save for several thousand yuan, even in my family?”

“Auntie, you can’t calculate it like that. Future salaries will increase to several thousand or even tens of thousands.”

“Is money still money then? I’m afraid it will turn into waste paper,” Tian Pengfei expressed doubt.

Tian Yuxi looked at Song Haowen. “Little brother, are you really planning to buy?”

“Of course, it’s true. Although I don’t have as much money as your sister, I still have three to five hundred thousand. Buying thirty to fifty Courtyard shouldn’t be a problem.”

Tian Yuxi’s family didn’t react for a while after hearing Song Haowen’s words. It was truly unbelievable that a seventeen-year-old, not yet an adult, could earn so much money in half a year.

Lin Min regained her senses after a few minutes and said, “If you really want to buy a house, we happen to know a few sellers. We’ll arrange for you to meet them tomorrow, and we can discuss it further.”

Tian Pengfei added, “The owners of these houses want to sell because their units were assigned new ones. The new neighborhoods have excellent environments and convenient transportation, so they want to sell their old houses.”

Song Haowen thought to himself that there were courtyards everywhere in Beijing now – two-entry, three-entry, even four-entry or five-entry courtyards with connecting yards were not uncommon.

In his previous life, courtyards within the Second Ring Road had significant potential. With a bit of renovation, the property prices could reach two or three hundred thousand yuan per square meter.

Some large courtyard could even be sold for astronomical prices of over ten billion. However, outside the Second Ring Road, especially on the outskirts of the city, most courtyard disappeared overnight during city renovations.

Song Haowen stayed at Tian Yuxi’s house for dinner. Originally, he intended to go back, but Tian Yuxi’s mother said, “Since Xixi and you are like siblings, you’re also our child. Anyway, we have extra rooms here. We’ll arrange a guest room for you. You can stay here tonight, and tomorrow I’ll take you to see the houses.”

Tian Yuxi and her father were also eager to keep him, and after hesitating for a moment, Song Haowen agreed to stay.

After dinner, Tian Yuxi took Song Haowen for a walk in the hutong. Song Haowen asked her about her progress in learning English, and she confidently said that she should pass the TOEFL exam.

She planned to register for the exam in April, and if she didn’t do well the first time, she would take it again, with enough time to spare.

Song Haowen asked Tian Yuxi which American universities she was sent to on this exchange program and which one she wanted to attend the most.

She mentioned that she wanted to study at Harvard or Yale, and coincidentally, these two universities were on the list.

They spent more than half an hour strolling before returning. The reason was that it was too cold outside, unlike Tian Yuxi’s house, which was comfortably heated.

They arranged for him in the east wing room instead of the normal guest room, and the interior was clean, elegant, and pleasantly fragrant, making Song Haowen feel very warm.