Chapter 154 Another Courtyard
"Mr. Song, I have inquired about it. The newspaper company belongs to the Second Light Industry Bureau. The company agrees to sell the yard, but there are two requirements."
The Second Light Industry Bureau, whose full name is the Second Light Industry Bureau, is a government department with a very long history and was once quite glorious.
The superior department of the Second Light Industry Bureau is the Ministry of Second Light Industry. However, in 1970, the Ministry of Second Light Industry was merged into the Ministry of Light Industry. However, due to management considerations, the Second Light Industry Bureaus under it in various places basically remain the same, except that the bosses above them have changed.
In later generations, the local Second Light Industry Bureau was gradually merged into the Light Industry Bureau. By the late 1990s, the Second Light Industry Bureau had basically disappeared. Many young people in later generations may never have heard of the name of the Second Light Industry Bureau, but in that era, the Second Light Industry Bureau was still a serious department.
"What do you want?"
"First, the cooperative has offered a price of 15,000 yuan before they are willing to sell it." Yue Laoer said, holding up a finger.
"15,000?" Song Yuanchao was really shocked when he heard the price. You know, he only spent 8,200 to buy this two-courtyard house , which also included the antique furniture in the house.
Moreover, Song Yuanchao had personally visited the half-constructed courtyard house owned by the newspaper. In terms of overall area, it was only slightly larger than his own courtyard. Although the overall layout had not changed after so many years of use as an office, many places had been modified or houses had been built. In addition, the original courtyard, such as the rockery, had long been unrecognizable. After buying it, Song Yuanchao had to spend a lot of effort to restore it to its original state.
Now the price offered by the other party is almost twice that of his own courtyard house, and its appearance is far inferior to his own. For a moment, Song Yuanchao couldn't help but hesitate.
If Song Yuanchao spent 15,000 to buy half of the yard, plus the other half, it would cost him a lot. And Song Yuanchao didn't have that much money right now. Although Luo Yang's fake collars sold well and Song Yuanchao made a lot of money, most of the money was still with Li Daqi. For the sake of convenience, Song Yuanchao didn't ask Li Daqi to remit the money to him. Anyway, Li Daqi would be relieved to take the money, and it wouldn't matter if he gave it to him after returning to Shanghai in a few days.
After calculating the available funds, Song Yuanchao frowned slightly: "This is not a small amount, Master Yue, you know how much I spent on buying this courtyard, but the price offered by the newspaper is simply too high, it's really outrageous."
Yue Lao Er nodded and agreed, "Mr. Song, you are right. The price is indeed a bit high, but there is nothing we can do about it. That courtyard is different from this one. It is a public one, not a private one. To put it bluntly, it is up to you to buy it or not. It is not easy for them to name a price."
I have to say that what Yue Laoer said is not wrong. Public and private are two different things. For the public, it is entirely up to them whether the yard is sold or not. As for the selling price, it is what they say. It is indeed very good that it can be sold.
"But Master Yue, don't forget the backyard. The front yard is 15,000. Does that mean the backyard is also sold for 15,000? The total price won't be 30,000. Even if the houses in Yanjing City are expensive, they are not this expensive. My money didn't come from the wind. Not to mention that I can't afford so much, even if I can, it will be a lot. Am I going to starve to death in the future?"
"Master Song, please don't be anxious. Let me explain slowly." Seeing Song Yuanchao's unhappy face, Yue Lao Er said hurriedly: "Of course the backyard can't be this number. If it is this number, why would I come to you to talk about this? This is obviously impossible."
Song Yuanchao didn't say anything. He smoked a cigarette and listened quietly to Yue Laoer continuing to talk.
"I have already negotiated for you about the backyard. This number is enough." Yue Lao Er stretched out his hand, raised his thumb and little finger, and curled the other three fingers towards his palm and waved them in front of Song Yuanchao. Seeing this gesture, Song Yuanchao's expression relaxed.
"6,000, they'll sell it at this price!" Yue Lao Er said proudly, "This number is pretty good. Just think about it, the backyard alone is almost as big as your yard, and the location is good too. This price is definitely not high."
6,000 is not a lot. If it was just the backyard, Song Yuanchao would have agreed immediately. But what he wanted most was the whole yard, not half of it. Why would Song Yuanchao take this half?
"This price..." Song Yuanchao said leisurely, glancing at Yue Laoer who was looking at him, "It's OK, but Master Yue, have you ever thought that I spent 15,000 on the front yard, and only 6,000 on the backyard? If this gets out, the three families in the backyard will make a fuss. By then, I'll have wasted so much money and ended up in trouble. It's not worth it!"
"That brings me to the second thing." As if he had known that Song Yuanchao would have this reaction, Yue Lao Er immediately lowered his voice and said, "In fact, I have discussed this matter with the newspaper, and they have the same idea. If this price gets out, it will be difficult for you, and I will have no way to explain it to you. You can't give that much money to the backyard , right? This is impossible!"
Yue Lao Er continued, "So this matter must not be done this way. I talked to the newspaper and they agreed to make the price public at 6,000, but the actual payment must be 15,000. This way, there will be no trouble. What do you think?"
Song Yuanchao frowned. Isn't this a yin-yang deal? 6,000 in public and 15,000 in private. What's the matter with the extra 9,000?
"Master Yue, it seems that there is no problem with this operation, but you know I don't want to cause any trouble. If this is the transaction, it will not be a trivial matter once it is exposed." Song Yuanchao said with a stern expression.
This kind of yin-yang transaction is not uncommon in later generations, especially in enterprises. In layman's terms, it is called "taking kickbacks", which was also called "floating and losing" in ancient times.
Although Song Yuanchao had taken a fancy to the yard and wanted to take it, there would be endless troubles if he did such a thing. Especially since the front yard belonged to the newspaper company, which was a subordinate unit of the Second Light Industry Bureau, even if the other party made a guarantee, could he trust such a guarantee?
In his previous life, Song Yuanchao had worked in state-owned enterprises for so many years, working his way up from the grassroots level to the middle level of the group. There were countless leaders who were removed from their posts because of money issues. There is no wall that is impenetrable in this world, and none of these leaders who took the money were stupid. Naturally, they covered up when they took the money, but the problem is that if you don't touch your hand, it's fine. Once you do, you will be left with a handle, and when the old accounts are dug up later, there will be no way to escape.
Song Yuanchao didn't want to get into any trouble because of this matter. Even though Yue Laoer patted his chest and promised him, Song Yuanchao still shook his head.
"Mr. Song, I don't know what you're worried about. I'll tell you the truth. This money is not going into anyone's pocket. The newspaper office just wants to keep some of it to give everyone some benefits or bonuses. Think about it, once the actual number is reported, the money will definitely be handed over to the bureau in the end. In this case, what is the newspaper office busying about? No one will benefit at all, don't you think?"
"According to you, the extra 9,000 should go into their own treasury?" Song Yuanchao asked.
"Yes! That's what I mean. If it's really against the law, I wouldn't dare to do it even if you give me ten guts! What's more, it will cause trouble for you. Don't you know what kind of person I am, Yue Lao Er? How could he do such a thing as giving birth to a child without an anus? You can rest assured, there will be no problem with this. If something really goes wrong, I will twist my head off and use it as a urinal for you, okay?"
Yue Lao Er was so excited that he stuttered when he spoke, and even stretched his head directly to Song Yuanchao, raising his hands to slap the back of his neck.
"What are you talking about? Why do I need your eight and a half catties?" Song Yuanchao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although he really didn't want to cause trouble, the courtyard was really good. If he took it down and made good use of it, it would definitely be one of the best in Yanjing City. Such a courtyard is not common. In the future, even if you have money, you can't buy it. It would be a pity if you miss the opportunity.
But then again, Song Yuanchao didn't want to take any risks. If he did, there would be too many uncertainties. He was a little conflicted and started thinking about it while smoking a cigarette. After thinking for a while, he came up with an idea.
"Master Yue, do you think this will work?" Song Yuanchao put out the cigarette in his hand and handed another cigarette to Yue Laoer. "This is not a small matter. Even if you want to buy the front and back yards, you will have to pay more than 20,000 yuan. In addition, the New Year is coming soon, and money is not easy to come by. I have to go back to Shanghai first. Can this matter be discussed after the New Year? At that time, I would like to arrange a meeting with the person in charge of the newspaper, and we can have a meal and drink something, and then we can finalize this matter, okay?"
"This..." Yue Lao Er hesitated. He originally planned to finalize this matter before the Chinese New Year . After all, the Chinese New Year is coming, and who doesn't want to have a good year? The newspaper also had the same idea. They wanted to get some money before the Chinese New Year to distribute some supplies to everyone so that they could have a good year.
After Yue Lao Er told the truth, Song Yuanchao thought about it and asked Yue Lao Er to sit down first. Then he got up and went to the main house, and returned to the west wing after a while.
"Here is 1,000 yuan. I don't have much money on hand right now. You can take 200 yuan first, and I can send the remaining 800 yuan to the newspaper office so that they can give us some New Year gifts. It's the New Year, so we have to make sure everyone has a good year, right?"
"Mr. Song, aren't you insulting me? I..." When Yue Laoer saw Song Yuanchao put a stack of money in front of him, his face suddenly turned red.
Yue Lao Er was determined to ask Song Yuanchao to take the money back, but Song Yuanchao raised his hand to stop him and said with a smile: "Look at what you said, what do you mean by humiliating? I have never thought about it that way. It's not easy for everyone these days, don't you think? Besides, I have seen you running around for me these days, I can't let you work for nothing, right?"
Patting the back of Yue Lao Er's hand, Song Yuanchao said sincerely: "Even if that's the case, this money is not given for nothing. You can just treat it as a deposit, what do you think?"
Song Yuanchao's words made Yue Laoer at a loss for words for a moment. He was so moved that he gave Song Yuanchao a thumbs up and said that Song Yuanchao was particular.
Yue Laoer directly wrote a note to Song Yuanchao, stating that he had received a deposit of 1,000 yuan from Song Yuanchao, and he also took out an ink pad and pressed his fingerprint on it.
When Yue Laoer did this, Song Yuanchao watched with a smile and did not stop him. After the note was handed to him, Song Yuanchao took a look at it and put it away. Then he chatted with Yue Laoer about everything under the sun for another ten minutes before sending Yue Laoer out.
