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Later, according to Uncle Fang, the leaders held several meetings just to discuss Tang Zhi's intention to buy this small courtyard. Some leaders believed that giving a personal house to someone meant it was theirs, and spending money to buy it was unnecessary. Others felt that since Tang Zhi was willing to spend his own money, there was no reason to stop him. In the end, a vote was taken, and the majority ruled that the house could be sold to Tang Zhi.
Subsequently, another meeting was convened regarding the price. This time, the manager of the Transportation Department made the final decision, stating that Tang Zhi should enjoy the benefit of a free house. He felt wronged during the lottery for the house, which led to his lack of confidence in the department, prompting him to insist on buying a house himself. The department also needed to acknowledge his grievances, so they decided that if Tang Zhi paid one hundred yuan, the house would belong to him.
The reason the manager of the Transportation Department agreed to sell the property at such a low price wasn't due to the lofty reasons he provided. Instead, it was because Tang Zhi had given him a red envelope in advance as a gift. Regardless of how things unfolded, the outcome was that Ye Fangfei held the property deed with her name on it and kissed Tang Zhi in excitement.
"This house is really ours? That's amazing!" Ye Fangfei exclaimed joyfully as she spun around in delight.
"Are you this happy?" Tang Zhi was somewhat surprised by her enthusiasm.
"Of course! You have no idea how valuable this house will be in Beijing. If you did, you'd be even more excited than I am," she thought to herself.
With the house secured, the next step was renovation. Although soft and hard furnishings weren't particularly trendy at the moment, a simple tidy-up was still necessary.
The next day happened to be Sunday, and since Ye Jianguo and his family were off work, they all decided to visit their new home together. The new house was located west of Ye Jianguo's place, about twenty minutes by bicycle or half an hour on foot.
Tang Zhi rode his bicycle with Ye Fangfei while Ye Jianguo rode with Hao Chunying. The four of them set off early in the morning towards Yushu Hutong, where their new home was situated.
Upon arriving at Yushu Hutong, they found their new house according to its address. The entrance wasn’t large—much smaller than that of the neighboring courtyard just a wall away. From the outside, this small courtyard looked like it had been carved out from within a larger courtyard.
Viewed from above, it resembled a square yard with a small section missing from the southeast corner. In fact, this small courtyard had indeed been separated from a larger compound.
This courtyard is a large siheyuan with three sections, and it must have once belonged to someone either wealthy or of high status. However, it has now been nationalized and given to ordinary citizens, turning it into a mixed-use courtyard.
The small yard that Ye Fangfei and her companions arrived at is part of this mixed-use area. It is adjacent to the back room of the main courtyard, which used to be a resting place for the gatekeeper.
Tang Zhi took out a key and unlocked the main door, allowing Ye Fangfei and the others to enter the yard.
This yard is indeed very small, measuring only about four or five square meters. The surrounding walls are quite high, but the wall on the west side is noticeably different from the one on the east; it was built later. Judging by the condition of the bricks, it seems to have been constructed not long ago—perhaps around three or four years ago.
Ye Fangfei speculated that this wall might have been built by the previous owner of the house. Now, it has become a bargain for them.
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