"This house is such a shame, completely turned into a garbage dump. If I bought it, it would take a lot of time just to find people to help clean it up, let alone finding materials like lumber and bricks for repairs."
Hearing Chen Lan's tone, Sister Zhao felt there was still a sliver of hope and immediately plastered a smile on her face. "Comrade Xiao Chen, Comrade Xiao Xu, as long as you're willing to buy this old dump, the matter of lumber, bricks, and cleaning up this mess can be sorted out."
Seeing the couple's skeptical expressions, Sister Zhao quickly explained, "You might not believe it, but for old houses like this with wooden doors and windows, the Revolutionary Committee has several large warehouses at the scrap metal station. One of them is specifically for the old furniture, doors, and windows they confiscated. They're no use anyway; even burning them would just produce smoke. So, we just need to ask our director to have a word with her son."
Chen Lan asked in surprise, "Sister Zhao, is your director's son a leader in the Revolutionary Committee? Someone who can make decisions?"
Sister Zhao nodded at the Chen Lan couple and then lowered her voice, explaining, "Comrade Xiao Chen, Comrade Xiao Xu, to be honest, if you can buy this house, you'll be doing our director a big favor." Suduan Novel Network
Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan were stunned. They exchanged bewildered glances. Xu Mingxuan looked at Chen Lan, who shook her head. They hadn't even met their director, so how could they help her?
Chen Lan's style was to clarify anything she didn't understand. She immediately asked, "Sister Zhao, what do you mean? My husband and I haven't even met your director, let alone helped her. Does this house have something to do with your director?"
Sister Zhao nodded again and then gave Chen Lan a thumbs-up, whispering mysteriously, "The reason this house is in such a state is directly related to her son in the Revolutionary Committee. Rumor has it that all the good things from this house are now in their possession! That's why she's so eager to sell this dilapidated place quickly. Once it's occupied, no one will bring it up again, and neither will the matter of the 'good things' inside."
Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan suddenly understood. "So that's why," Chen Lan said knowingly and asked, "Sister Zhao, be honest, did your director say how much they plan to sell this old house for?"
Sister Zhao hesitantly raised a large palm. "Comrade Xiao Chen, our director said it can't be less than this amount. Don't let its dilapidated state fool you; the price isn't low. She said people from higher up have indicated that this house shouldn't be sold cheaply, which is why it's been on the market for so long with no buyers, becoming more and more derelict. Anything of value has long been taken."
After seeing her gesture and hearing her words, Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan had a good idea of the situation and didn't react much.
However, Old Man Zhang was shocked. He asked urgently, "Hongmei, are you sure? Five hundred yuan? For this dump, I think a hundred is already too much. Your director is really ripping people off! Xiao Chen, Xiao Xu, let's go. We won't buy this broken house. Let's go look at others. Aren't they clearly bullying you for being outsiders?"
Sister Zhao quickly explained, "Cousin-in-law, can you hear me out before getting angry?"
Xu Mingxuan and Chen Lan stepped forward to help persuade him. Old Man Zhang finally calmed down and asked, "Hongmei, tell us, what else did your director say?"
Sister Zhao quickly replied, "Our director said she can arrange for people to help clear away all these weeds and garbage, and for any materials needed for repairs, you can freely go to the Revolutionary Committee's lumber warehouse and the scrap metal station. You just need to hire workers to do the repairs."
Chen Lan asked in surprise, "Uh, Sister Zhao, isn't private trading not allowed by the state now? Can people in Harbin still hire workers privately?"
Sister Zhao smiled and explained, "Private individuals certainly can't do this, but our housing management office can. You can just say the workers you hire are from the housing management office. Our director has agreed to this. She just wants to resolve this matter quickly to avoid involving her son and drawing attention from higher-ups. Don't worry! For her son's sake, she'll definitely make things convenient for you."
Chen Lan asked with some uncertainty, "Sister Zhao, does your director really have that much authority? Can we really find things to use in the Revolutionary Committee's warehouse and the scrap metal station? I hope it doesn't cause any trouble that might implicate you. That wouldn't be good."
To her surprise, Sister Zhao smiled nonchalantly and said, "How could it? Comrades Xiao Chen and Xiao Xu, you don't actually think they'd keep the good stuff in the scrap metal station's warehouse, do you? Honestly, it's just a pile of junk. But since it was confiscated, there's no reason to return it. I'm telling you, the good things were already privately divided up. They're probably hidden in their homes now, or given to people in high places to build connections. Our director has connections; her husband is in charge of this."
With that, Sister Zhao gave another thumbs-up.
Hearing Sister Zhao's words, Chen Lan began to scheme. The warehouses collecting confiscated materials and the scrap metal stations were always the path for fictional heroines to get rich. This was truly a golden opportunity! This reminded her that she must plan carefully with Brother Mingxuan on how to snatch up all the good things. She also needed to find opportunities to visit the homes of those Revolutionary Committee members and see what treasures they had accumulated over the years. Since it was all ill-gotten gains, she would find a way to keep it all safe. It seemed she couldn't help but get rich on this trip to Harbin!