Chapter 411 He will regret it

In the second ring road of the capital, in a courtyard, Li Weidong was showing He An'an around.

Not long ago, the parents of the two families met, had a meal together, and settled their marriage.

If you want to get married, you need a place to live.

In 1994, it was still an era when units were divided. If employees of state-owned enterprises or public institutions got married, they should write an application to the unit, and then wait for the unit to divide the house and divide the house.

At that time, housing was not as tense as it was in the 1980s. Tongzilou had withdrawn from the stage of history, and newly built houses had separate living rooms and bedrooms, which changed the embarrassment of seeing the bed when entering the door.

For the young employees of the unit, even if they can't get a good house, they can still get an old and young one for marriage. Of course, the specifics also depend on the situation of the unit. In some units, the conditions are difficult, so even the old and the young cannot be distinguished.

As for commercial housing, it is only bought by people who have just become wealthy to improve their housing conditions. Young people rarely buy commercial housing as a marriage house. Even if they want to buy it, they cannot afford it.

A local tyrant like Li Weidong, of course, doesn't have to wait for a house to be divided, and Li Weidong doesn't like ordinary commercial housing, so he simply buys a set of courtyards while the courtyards are still cheap.

At this time, the courtyard houses in the capital are really not expensive. Smaller ones can be bought for 500,000 to 600,000 yuan, and some bigger ones are only 40,000 to 500,000 yuan.

Of course, for people at that time, 500,000 to 600,000 was already an astronomical figure.

Today, the set of courtyards that Li Weidong is looking at is a set of large courtyards with an area of ​​more than 1,000 square meters.

This large courtyard house was built in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that the earliest owner was a banner official in the Qing Dynasty. Later, it was handed down several times. During the Republic of China, several famous people lived there. It is a former residence of famous people.

After liberation, this courtyard house first served as a school, a hospital and a kindergarten, and later became a public housing, the so-called large courtyard. At most, a dozen families lived in it.

The current owner, Lao Wu, is one of the former residents.

Old Wu was originally a cook in a middle school, and occasionally he would secretly sell some small things such as ink and manuscript paper to make some money, but the confidant person reported it.

At that time, it was the late 1970s, and the self-employed economy was still not allowed. It was a big taboo for people with formal jobs to work part-time as self-employed to earn extra money, so Lao Wu was detained as a speculator and was locked up for a year and a half. Said he was expelled from school.

because of this,

Lao Wu's daughter-in-law also divorced Lao Wu. After coming out, Old Wu simply carried out his speculation business to the end and became a self-employed person, selling clothes at a stall in the capital. After a few years, he made a lot of money, and in the mid-1980s, it became a household of 10,000 yuan.

Later, with the opening of the economy, there was also a clothing market in the capital. Lao Wu bought a booth in the clothing market and continued to do clothing business. A few years later, Lao Wu is already a small boss with five clothing stalls.

So Old Wu simply bought the courtyard where he lived, living in a small part by himself, and most of them used as warehouses.

At that time, Lao Wu didn't spend too much money on buying a courtyard house. Every family gave 20,000 yuan, and they sent them away. .

Nowadays, this kind of courtyard cannot be bought with this amount of money. When I learned that Li Weidong wanted to buy it, Lao Wu directly asked for 4.5 million yuan.

Li Weidong thinks that this courtyard house is very good, the location is good, the area is large enough, and the maintenance is also very good, and there is no feeling of dilapidation.

After turning around in the courtyard, He Anan couldn't help but said, This is too big!

Big? Li Weidong laughed and said, You haven't lived in a big house before, isn't the sanatorium where your grandfather lived, also a single-family house!

That's not so big! He An'an paused, then continued; It's really scary for the two of us to live in such a big house.

Let's have a baby, it's just three people, and then we have two dogs, that's a family of five. Li Weidong lowered his voice and continued; Of course, the bigger the courtyard in the capital, the better, the bigger the courtyard. , the more scarce resources are, the more money you can’t buy in the future.”

At this time, the owner of the house, Lao Wu, came over and asked with a smile on his face, Boss Li, how are you looking?

This house is very good, but the price, can it be cheaper? Li Weidong asked.

Boss Li, this courtyard is more than 1,000 square meters, and it's really not expensive to sell you 4.5 million. The owner, Lao Wu, said.

Li Weidong smiled slightly and said, Old Wu, the price is 4 million!

No, 4 million is too cheap! The owner, Lao Wu, shook his head.

4 million, you have made a lot of money! Besides, people who can afford this money at once will not be easy to find for a while. The 4 million will be kept in hand for a year, and only the interest will be paid. Even if you buy the 4 million in treasury bonds, you can earn back 500,000 in interest. Li Weidong said with a smile.

After 1994, the interest rate was still very high, Lao Wu hesitated for a while, probably thinking that this was a psychological price he could accept, so he nodded: Well, I will sell it to you for 4 million, if it weren't for me In a hurry to go to the United States, it will definitely not be sold so cheaply!

You're going to the United States? At your age, you're not going to study, are you going to do business? Old Wu, your business is quite big, and you've all gone to the United States. Li Weidong asked with some gossip.

But Lao Wu shook his head: I don't speak English, and even if I set up a street vendor in the United States, I wouldn't be able to sell anything.

If you don't know English, how dare you go to America? Li Weidong asked with a smile.

Let's learn now when we get there! Old Wu paused for a while, and then said, But I'm not completely unprepared. I signed up for an English training class, not far from here, right at Zhushikou.

Li Weidong said, You have a famous Newest English training school in the capital.

Newest English Training School? Why haven't I heard of it. Old Wu was stunned.

He Anan next to him also said, I've never heard of it!

Newest, it's New Oriental! Li Weidong said with a smile.

He Anan understood in an instant, but Old Wu, who didn't understand English, said with a confused expression: The school I applied for is New Oriental. It turns out that this school has another name, Newest, which is much more foreign than New Oriental!

Li Weidong said, When you go back to class, ask Mr. Yu if you still have this name, and he definitely said yes.

You still know Teacher Yu from the school! Lao Wu said.

Referring to Teacher Yu, Li Weidong asked: By the way, Lao Wu, if you want to go to the United States, it is not easy to get a visa. You teacher Yu scored more than 660 points in the TOEFL test, but Lao Mei did not issue him a visa! You said this. Even if you don't speak English, how do you pass the visa officer's checkpoint?

Money can make a ghost run the mill! Lao Wu lowered his voice and continued; There are intermediaries who specialize in helping people apply for visas. They have a relationship with the US embassy and can handle the visa officer, but the intermediary charges are not low. It cost me 300,000!

300,000? It's so expensive! I thought the US visa was only 100,000 yuan! Li Weidong said in surprise.

100,000 yuan is not enough! Old Wu shook his head: U.S. visas are particularly difficult to obtain now, thanks to my experience as a cook before, otherwise 300,000 yuan won't be enough!

Li Weidong then asked: Then you went to the United States, and you are unfamiliar and do not understand English. What are you going to do?

If it's a big deal, I'll be a cook again! Old Wu said with confidence.

I said, Lao Wu, you are wrong. You are a boss with millions of assets in China. You can buy whatever you want, and others will treat you as an uncle. But if you go to the United States, you can be a cook. You have to take someone else as an uncle! Li Weidong said.

But Old Wu said, That's the United States, how good and developed the United States is, and it's better to be a chef in the United States than to be a boss in China!

Old Wu, the moon in the United States is not necessarily rounder than ours in China. I believe that within 20 years, our cities will be as developed as American cities, or even more developed! Li Weidong said.

But Old Wu laughed and said, If there is such a day, then I will come back. Maybe by then, I will have made a lot of money in the United States!

Li Weidong smiled in the same way: That's good, but I won't return this courtyard to you at that time!

Just this courtyard house, when I make money in the United States, I can sell ten sets! Old Wu said confidently.

The two chatted for a while, and then Lao Wu went to prepare the transaction contract for the courtyard.

Looking at the back of Lao Wu's departure, Li Weidong showed a playful smile on his face, and said at the same time, He will regret it.

Did you say Lao Wu? He Anan asked next to him.

Yeah, twenty years later, when he returns from abroad, he will find that with the little money he earns, he can't even buy one-tenth of the courtyard! Li Weidong said.

That's not true, people win dollars in the United States! He Anan said.

Then how long do you think it will take to earn $100 million in the United States? Li Weidong asked with a smile.

100 million US dollars? That is 800 million yuan? He An'an waited with big eyes and asked with an incredible face: You mean this courtyard house can rise to 800 million yuan in 20 years? Stop teasing me!

I didn't tease you. Li Weidong continued; At that time, give me 800 million yuan, and I don't want to sell it!

...

At the end of the 1990s, there was a wave of immigration in China. At that time, many Chinese people generally felt that the moon abroad was rounder than that in the country, and those who had the conditions chose to emigrate.

However, the overall development of those who went out during that period was not very good. Few of them were able to succeed abroad. On the contrary, there were many people who stayed abroad for a few years, returned to China to start a business, and then took the fast lane of China's economic development. Eventually become a well-known entrepreneur.

People who went abroad in the 1990s, even if they had a certain foreign language foundation, their foreign language proficiency was not very good. After all, the environment for learning foreign languages ​​in China was not good at that time, so after going abroad, even skilled people would not be able to find them. Professional counterparts have to engage in low-end service work.

Many people have enviable and decent jobs in China and can be respected by the society, but after going abroad they can only wash dishes in restaurants and do the most unskilled jobs.

Some people are lucky enough to find a white-collar job that suits them and pays well, but after a few years of struggle, they will find that they will encounter a career ceiling.

Your position will not continue to rise, and your salary will not continue to rise. However, your Indian colleagues who came later than you and who are not as capable as you can make rapid progress, take up management positions, and become your bosses.

For Chinese who immigrated to the United States and pursued the so-called American Dream, if you are not from a rich family, then your upper limit is the so-called middle-class family.

Just because you are yellow-skinned and dark-eyed, and you have Chinese blood flowing on your body, you will never get a top management position.

After 20 to 30 years, these Chinese who pursue the American Dream will find that the material life in China is not worse than that in the United States, and China's infrastructure, social security and convenience of life are even better than those of the United States.

At the same time, they will also find that houses in big cities in China are more expensive than those in the United States!

There is a joke on the Internet that a man from Beijing sold his courtyard house in order to realize his dream of going abroad, and left his hometown to go abroad to seek gold. When I found out that I sold the courtyard house that year, the intermediary put up 100 million yuan.

Although this is a joke, it is a true portrayal of people who went abroad at that time.

Because the next 30 years will be China's fastest growing 30 years, and no country in history has achieved such development achievements in just 30 years.

It was an era full of opportunities, and for those who caught the rush, they were not making money, but picking up money!

The same opportunity, I don't know if there is a second time in human history, but those who went abroad missed the biggest dividend period of China's reform and opening up.

...

Li Weidong spent 4 million to buy this set of courtyards with more than 1,000 square meters. After the courtyards were obtained, Li Weidong did not busy with decoration, but hired a construction team and dug out a basement.

Digging the basement of a courtyard house is a routine operation, but it is not normal if it is not dug. In the capital, every inch of land is so precious, and there is an extra floor underground, which is also a lot of money, which can at least increase the value of the courtyard by 30%.

In fact, many large courtyard houses originally had basements. The big mansion used to be inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles. Naturally, a basement had to be dug in the homes of high-ranking officials and nobles to store ice cubes and vegetables.

The courtyard house Li Weidong bought was originally inhabited by officials of the Qing Dynasty. Naturally, it also had a basement, but the basement was not large and could not meet Li Weidong's needs.

So Li Weidong hired a construction team to expand the basement first, and then start the decoration.

Decoration is not very popular at the time. You can lay a tile on the ground and install an aluminum alloy window. Even if it is a luxurious decoration, it was only in the late 1990s that various wooden decorations gradually became popular, such as Bogu racks, wooden wall wrapping, etc. Wait.

Such a large courtyard, even digging the cellar, plus decoration, it is estimated that it will cost one million.

5 million was spent, but Li Weidong did not feel distressed.

Last month, the sales of massage seats hit a new high, and Li Weidong easily picked up tens of millions.