On the first day of school, Zhang Xue brought plenty of delicious food for herself, Li Zhiwei, and Feng Pangzi. Preserved tofu and dried sausages were all made by Zhang Xue's mother.
"Lishu, you mentioned buying a house. Li Weimin mentioned it to me yesterday, and his family also agreed to him buying a house in the provincial capital."
Buying a house was a major event for a family. Especially now, with house prices in the provincial capital around sixty to seventy yuan per square meter, and the average salary only forty to fifty, it would take several years of not eating or drinking to afford a thirty to forty square meter apartment.
Chen Lishu smiled, "Coincidentally, I've also been thinking about buying a house these past few days. I'll ask some friends to help me keep an eye out. It would be even better if we could live closer to each other."
Zhang Xue added, "Li Zhiwei and Pangzi's families are from the city. I'll ask them to help inquire with their families later."
At this time, there were no real estate agents, and communication was inconvenient. To buy a house, one had to rely on introductions from relatives and friends. Most housing was allocated by work units, with only usage rights and no trading rights. To buy a desired house, one had to rely on luck.
Not long after, Li Zhiwei and Feng Pangzi came in from outside. Zhang Xue told them about looking for houses.
Hearing that they wanted to buy a house, Li Zhiwei was surprised, "You want to buy a house? Aren't you still students? My mom said the province is currently researching plans to build commodity housing. If you're not in a hurry, you could wait for news."
Since Shenzhen was designated as a special economic zone last year and developed the country's first foreign-related commodity housing complex, Donghu Liyuan, construction began in August last year, and pre-sales in Hong Kong dollars started in the same year. At 1000 yuan per square meter, the price per unit was around 40,000 to 50,000 yuan, which was an absolute astronomical sum at the time.
Zhang Xue couldn't help but ask curiously, "You heard it from your mom? What does your mom do?"
"Huh, haven't I told you? My mom is the deputy director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau."
This time, not only Zhang Xue but also Chen Lishu was somewhat shocked.
Although she had always known that Li Zhiwei's family had good conditions, she didn't expect it to be so impressive.
"His dad is also on the provincial leadership team," Feng Pangzi patted Li Zhiwei's shoulder, "Is it hard to imagine that their family could produce such a monstrous talent?"
Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue nodded in unison, "Indeed, you can't judge a person by their appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a peck."
"Go away." Li Zhiwei shrugged off Feng Pangzi's hand and continued, "If you want, I can help you keep an eye out for future developments. We should get news before graduation. And since we have the connections, it will definitely be at an internal price."
Chen Lishu shook her head, "I need to move in urgently. You should still help me look for other houses."
By the time there was definite news, she would have already had the child.
As they were discussing houses, Li Yuanchao, with a briefcase under his arm, was also waiting to buy a house, but his mood was even more anxious at the moment.
Before the Spring Festival, he had wanted to buy a house in Donghu Liyuan after hearing it was for sale, but most of his money was tied up in goods. He wanted to, but he didn't have the money.
Unlike later times when down payments could be made with loans, one had to pay in full to buy a house.
As a businessman, he understood the importance of connections the most. Who lived in this place? Only the rich and powerful.
At least those who could afford forty to fifty thousand yuan for a house were not short of money. Being neighbors with such people would be beneficial for his business in the future.
Therefore, Li Yuanchao decided to buy it, even if he had to sell everything he owned.
As soon as he had saved enough money, he immediately took the bus over.
"There are only a few units left, but the locations are a bit remote." Since the building had not yet been completed, nor were there any architectural models or sample rooms later on, the staff pointed out the locations on the floor plan for him.
At that time, there were no discounts for less desirable floors or locations. The price was the price.
Upon hearing the staff's words, Li Yuanchao's heart finally settled. As long as there were units, he didn't care about the location. He was buying connections with his money.
...
Gu Xingye's side was also progressing smoothly. Foreman Li made the connection for him, and it was for the teaching building of a factory-run primary school. It was not tall, only three stories.
Ding Chen accompanied Gu Xingye. With professional technical personnel present, the other party felt much more at ease. After communication, the two parties quickly signed a contract.
After reporting to Chen Lishu, Foreman Li's benefits could naturally not be lacking.
Engineering requires connections. Everyone benefits each other, and it's not good to burn bridges after crossing the river.
Foreman Li himself worked in a state-owned enterprise and earned a fixed salary. He couldn't get the benefits from above, nor could he profit from material supplies. The main source of income could only be from the workers below, but their own wages were limited, and the little he got was less than a fly's leg.
What was left was mainly connections. Therefore, cooperating with Gu Xingye was mutually beneficial.
A few days later, news came from Li Zhiwei and Feng Pangzi. They had inquired about a total of four houses, one of which was a factory building.
"I say, Pangzi, people are buying it to live in. How can you live in a factory building?"
Feng Pangzi said aggrievedly, "Didn't Chen Lishu say she wanted something spacious? This is the most spacious one I could inquire about. There are over ten rooms in total."
Chen Lishu said, "Please arrange for us to meet the owners. We'll all go and see them."
Feng Pangzi added, "Chen Lishu, are you still looking at the factory building? It's near my house. It's really spacious, and you can go see it anytime."
Chen Lishu thought about it and nodded, "Then I'll go take a look this afternoon."
If, as Feng Deshuai said, there were over ten rooms, it would indeed not be small. The construction company didn't even have a proper office address. If they rented it, everyone would have a place to settle, and it would also be a place to store equipment in the future.
Land could not be bought or sold for another two years. Large factory areas were all owned by the state or collective. It was not easy to encounter such an opportunity.
Zhang Xue and Li Zhiwei knew that she was decisive. If she wanted to go, she naturally had her own plans. Since there were no classes in the afternoon, after lunch, the four of them went to the lumber mill that Feng Pangzi mentioned.
Upon arriving at the location, Chen Lishu suddenly remembered that this was the place where Lu Chengming worked.
However, his downfall due to offending Jin Kun was his own doing.
The lumber mill occupied a large area. However, in the past two years, state-owned enterprises had been generally performing poorly due to the impact of the market economy. Especially after the reform of taxation and the implementation of "profit for tax," state-owned enterprises faced even greater difficulties.
Many poorly performing enterprises had already begun to dismantle their walls and rent out excess factory buildings, or organized idle vehicles to form "transport teams" to undertake transportation.
There were a total of eleven factory buildings. They were about ten to twenty meters away from the area where the walls were dismantled. If they rented them, they could build a new courtyard wall.