After finishing their meal, the group left the state-run restaurant and headed to the People's Hotel, not far from the Party School. This time, Chen Lan, having learned from her previous experience at the Station Front Hotel, promptly produced a marriage certificate from the 1970s that she had someone in the system help her create. She handed it directly to the attendant, who examined it carefully before opening four rooms for them without any further questions, just as Chen Lan had requested.
That night, they were fortunate not to encounter the neighborhood watch conducting their routine checks at the hotel, and everyone enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep.
The next morning, Chen Lan and her group of seven rose early, preparing to head to the state-run Gengxin Restaurant for breakfast. The previous day, while dining there, the children had overheard other patrons praising the restaurant's brain tofu and sesame cakes as signature dishes, so they decided to try them today and see how they compared to Grandma Sun's homemade version from the valley.
Chen Lan found the sesame cakes to be indeed quite good, with a crispy exterior and soft interior. However, she felt the brain tofu at this restaurant was truly remarkable. It was exceptionally thick and smooth, with a subtly wonderful texture that made Chen Lan feel she was tasting authentic brain tofu. She acknowledged that the brain tofu she made in the valley was also delicious, with the primary difference likely being the secret sauce.
After a quick breakfast, they quickly finished their meal. They also bought four donkey meat burgers for Old Zhang, wrapping them in oil paper before leaving the restaurant. Their plan was to meet Old Zhang at the entrance of the Party School. Before they even reached the school, they spotted Old Zhang waiting for them from a distance. Chen Lan had Jia Hui hand the donkey meat burgers to him.
Old Zhang thanked them profusely and accepted the gift gratefully. He took a large bite of half a burger and then stopped, rewrapping the remaining half along with the other three. He explained that he wanted to save some for his wife to try and the remaining three for his six grandchildren to share.
Hearing his words, Chen Lan felt an even greater appreciation for Old Zhang's character. She found him to be genuinely warm, insightful, and unpretentious. He was not only a loving husband but also a good father and grandfather, and he did not discriminate based on gender. Chen Lan felt confident that if she needed Old Zhang's help in the future, there would be no issues.
Since school had not yet reopened, Xu Mingxuan did not go to school that day. Instead, he, along with Chen Lan and Er Zhuang, led a group of older children to the housing management office with Old Zhang.
As Old Zhang had mentioned, the housing management office was indeed not far. After walking for a little over fifteen minutes, Chen Lan and her group arrived. Upon reaching the entrance, they noticed that the office building looked like an ordinary residential dwelling in Harbin, with no distinguishing features. Old Zhang asked Xu Mingxuan and Chen Lan to wait outside while he went in to find a familiar face.
Chen Lan checked her system time; it was just past eight in the morning, and she guessed that the staff at the housing management office were just starting their day. Not long after, Old Zhang emerged and led them into the office.
The person who came out to receive Chen Lan and her group was a female comrade named Sister Zhao. After Old Zhang introduced them to each other, Chen Lan explained the purpose of their visit.
However, upon hearing that Chen Lan and her group were from out of town, Sister Zhao hesitated. But when Chen Lan mentioned that Xu Mingxuan had been transferred to work in Harbin and was studying at the Party School, she didn't say anything further.
After listening to Chen Lan's request, she took out the property registration book and showed them several well-preserved houses that had been acquired by the state a couple of years prior.
Chen Lan took a liking to two of the houses. The prices were not exorbitant: one was a detached courtyard house with two entrances, priced at two thousand three hundred yuan, and the other was a larger two-entrance courtyard house, priced at three thousand two hundred yuan.
Sister Zhao explained that the prices for registered properties were fixed by the authorities and were non-negotiable. Chen Lan felt that the sizes of the houses were acceptable, but both locations were a bit too far from the Party School. Since she didn't intend to buy property in Harbin as an investment for future demolition or appreciation, she still wanted to see the dilapidated house Old Zhang had mentioned, which was closer to the Party School.
Therefore, she expressed her desire to see the dilapidated house to Sister Zhao. After a moment's hesitation, Sister Zhao looked up at Old Zhang. Seeing him nod, she said, "To be honest, that house is rather dilapidated. Let's be upfront: if you buy it, it cannot be returned, so you must be prepared. However, the price for that house hasn't been set yet. I'll go and speak to the director first to see if there can be any discounts in terms of price or other aspects."
Chen Lan thanked her profusely. As Sister Zhao left, Er Zhuang took the children outside to wait, to avoid them feeling too constrained inside. Shortly thereafter, Sister Zhao returned and said, "Let's go! It's all settled. We can go and take a look now."
Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and their group followed Sister Zhao from the housing management office and Old Zhang to a three-story old house surrounded by trees. They noticed that the plaster on the walls was starting to peel. For some reason, the gate to the courtyard was not locked but was ajar.
Seeing Chen Lan's puzzled expression, Sister Zhao explained, "It's deliberately left unlocked because whenever it's locked, they pry it open. They all think there's something valuable inside, and instead, they've made the interior even more damaged. Leaving it unlocked prevents people from being overly curious."
With that, Sister Zhao reached out and pushed open the heavy, dark red wooden door.
Chen Lan observed that the wooden door was quite tall, likely around two point four or two point five meters high, and also very thick, perhaps six to seven centimeters. The grain on the door was somewhat blurred due to its age and exposure to the elements, leaving the surface rough and prickly to the touch.
Stepping over the high threshold, they entered a courtyard that was neither too large nor too small. A bluestone path, about one point two meters wide, was laid out across the yard. On either side of the path, overgrown weeds grew to waist height.
The group fell silent as they surveyed the dilapidated state of the courtyard. Following the bluestone path, they arrived at the living room on the first floor. Everyone gasped when they looked up. Even though Chen Lan had been mentally prepared, she was still startled. Good heavens! The living room on the first floor was too severely damaged!
The floorboards had been pried up, which Chen Lan suspected was an attempt to find hidden money. The doors, windows, and glass were all smashed to smithereens. It was evident that anything that could be moved had been taken, and anything that couldn't be moved had been broken. A foul, rotten odor permeated the room.