Buying a House
Only two sisters could talk like that. She knew her older sister wouldn’t want to part with it. In her past life, her nephew had grown up and settled down in another city, and her older sister and brother-in-law had gone with him. She heard they were washing dishes at a restaurant or something like that.
They were provided with room and board there. After just a few years, her eldest sister had transformed from a malnourished, skinny rural woman into an overweight, well-fed aunt—and she’d even heard she was trying to lose weight.
Her eldest sister was still the same person struggling financially. Li Lanlan understood her reluctance to spend, but she certainly couldn’t go without eating just because of it.
The reason she insisted on eating meat at every meal in her previous life was a habit she’d picked up while staying with her second sister. Back then, her second sister was already self-employed, earning a good income, so their lifestyle was quite carefree.
She and Wang Dashan lived there for a while, eating meat every day, and she felt full of energy. But after returning home and cutting back on meat, she felt just like she used to.
That’s when she realized the difference. Later, the couple made a point of eating meat regularly, and they’ve remained in excellent health—they haven’t even developed osteoporosis, which is common among the elderly.
Besides, they didn’t feast on rich foods every day; it was just a normal diet.
In the mornings, Li Lanlan would get up to memorize English vocabulary; in the evenings, she’d return home to teach the eldest and second child, reviewing their recitations and correcting their pronunciation with audio tapes. In less than two weeks, her progress was quite remarkable.
After Li Yanqing evaluated her, he had her give a trial lesson. The results were excellent. Overjoyed, Li Yanqing couldn’t stop smiling and went around telling everyone how he’d recognized a gem.
Li Lanlan was naturally bold yet meticulous, and now that she had proven she truly possessed the ability, she no longer felt insecure.
She was subsequently assigned to teach at an elementary level. Given her current vocabulary and the standards for English instruction in this era, Li Lanlan was fully capable of handling the role.
As someone who had been reborn, her patience was far beyond what today’s young people could match. Moreover, children in this era were generally well-behaved; even if there were a few troublemakers, their parents were open to communication.
Respect for teachers and education was still strong in this era, so Li Lanlan’s teaching career proceeded relatively smoothly.
Her career had finally gotten back on track!
Still, there were some whispers—not exactly slanderous rumors, but given that both she and Li Yanqing were rather plain-looking, with Li Yanqing even more so than her.
For people with ordinary appearances like them, rumors usually focused on disparaging their abilities. Yet, whether it was lesson fees or student preference, their group was far ahead of the rest.
Especially since Li Lanlan joined, Li Yanqing has gradually managed to recruit a few more capable young men who judge people by their abilities rather than their background.
Their team suddenly became quite prosperous. With more teachers, they could attract more students. Their line of work is actually quite similar to sales—teachers must not only handle teaching duties but also ensure high student retention rates.
Of course, there are commissions involved. Some don’t like this approach and can choose not to do it, but Li Lanlan didn’t give up because the pay was truly substantial. She made 20,000 yuan in her first month—and she felt like she hadn’t even done much.
Half the month spent learning and preparing lessons, the other half teaching—and just like that, she earned so much. It really felt like she was riding a wave; even a pig’s head could fly in such a wind.
The company had started depositing salaries directly into bank cards instead of paying cash. Li Lanlan had earned a decent amount in the previous few months; though she was excited, her income was still relatively stable.
But Wang Dashan was a different story. It was the first time he’d ever seen that much money. The three of them, who’d been struggling, made over 30,000 yuan in a single month, and in the following months, their earnings doubled—and that was just the profit left after deducting all costs.
Wang Dashan couldn’t hide the grin on his face. Especially when the couple went to the bank to deposit the money, he stuffed the cash into his pocket and walked out, glancing left and right as if afraid someone might have their eye on his money.
Li Lanlan quickly pinched him. Acting like that was practically shouting to everyone, “I’ve got money in my pocket—come rob me!”
There were still plenty of thieves in those days—unlike later times, when surveillance cameras were everywhere. People knew that stealing or robbing would make them easy targets, so public morality had improved significantly.
But back then, it was dangerous—you couldn’t be so flashy!
Customer service representative Xiao Li was thrilled to see them walk in. “Sister! Big Brother! You’re here! Come on in and have a seat.”
Xiao Li led the couple into the VIP lounge. This was a small branch, and a private individual depositing tens of thousands a month was considered a top-tier client.
Even so, Xiao Li didn’t let her guard down. She had a teller carefully count the money twice, deposited it, and issued them a receipt. Since it was almost the Lunar New Year, the bank also gave them plenty of rice, flour, cooking oil, and other essentials.
It was now January 1999, and the passbook showed a balance of nearly 500,000 yuan. Li Lanlan was thrilled as she looked at the numbers. Making money had been so easy—it felt unreal, as if it had simply blown in on the wind.
With just over ten days left until the New Year, the training school had closed for the holidays, and business at the office building had slowed to a crawl. This was before the days when the New Year holiday was limited to just seven days.
Many people had already started preparing their New Year’s supplies to go home for the holiday. Her older sister and brother-in-law had long since happily returned to their hometown with their New Year’s provisions.
At this time, real estate in Beijing was still relatively affordable. Anyone with even a little money in their pocket didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Although prices would drop significantly thirty years later, for the next decade or so, real estate on this land was undoubtedly the best investment.
Li Lanlan was no exception. Taking advantage of the generous discounts during the New Year period, she bought a four-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with an elevator nearby for just over 300,000 yuan. It was a new development with a ten-story building; they chose the seventh floor, and the unit was already fully constructed.
The apartment faced south and was square and spacious—exactly the kind Li Lanlan liked. When they were buying it, Wang Dashan had been strongly opposed; he kept thinking about going back to their hometown to build a new house.
Wang Dashan didn’t understand why they needed to buy a home; he felt they were living quite comfortably where they were.
But Li Lanlan knew that the next decade or so would be a period of rapid urbanization. The gap between urban and rural areas was widening, causing more and more people to flock to the cities while rural areas became increasingly depopulated.
A house in the village could be built anytime, but if they missed out on this one, it would truly be a missed opportunity.
Li Lanlan had always been the decision-maker in the family, so Wang Dashan’s objections were futile. Yet when the family went to check on the renovation progress at their new home, Wang Dashan was visibly excited.
At that time, many people were still waiting for their work units to allocate housing; the idea of buying a home hadn’t even crossed their minds yet. It would be many years before housing prices began to rise rapidly.
But in reality, housing prices were creeping upward year by year.
Although they eventually bought the house, Wang Dashan still felt a bit uneasy about it.
“Lalan, do we really have to buy this house? We’re doing just fine living here now. The rent is only 500 yuan a month, and it’s safe here.”
“Dashan, this is a rental. It belongs to the company. Once Sister Zhang’s family is transferred, the housing office will take the place back.
Then we’ll have to find another place. Besides, we’re doing so well here now—do you really want to go back to our hometown?”
Deep down, Wang Dashan actually did want to return to his hometown. As the son of a farmer, his family had earned in less than six months what would have taken several lifetimes to accumulate by today’s standards. To be honest, he felt uneasy.
He didn’t know how others felt about making so much money, but he just couldn’t shake the unease.
He sighed. “Lalan, I just don’t feel at ease!”
“At first, when we started making so much, I was really excited and happy. But the more we earn, the more anxious I get—I’m always afraid we won’t be able to hold onto it!”
Wang Dashan knew this feeling was off. His family had been poor for generations. While there were wealthy relatives in the extended clan, his branch had never managed to prosper. Sometimes, people even whispered behind their backs that they’d brought shame upon their ancestors.
Generation after generation of poverty—it wasn’t until liberation, when every household was allocated some farmland, that they finally managed to make ends meet.
To put it bluntly, their ancestors had never lived a good life for generations. So when they suddenly came into so much money, that sense of unworthiness immediately surfaced.
Li Lanlan understood Wang Dashan’s feelings all too well. “Dashan, stop worrying about what you can or can’t hold onto. You just overthink things—you’re looking too far into the future. Let’s just focus on living well right now. Spend when you need to, buy what you need to buy, and worry about the future later!”
Li Lanlan couldn’t offer much more in the way of comfort. This sense of unworthiness wasn’t unique to Wang Dashan; it was shared by everyone of his generation. How could spines that had been bent under the weight of centuries of oppression be straightened so easily?
Those who felt they couldn’t hold their heads high in front of foreigners because their country was poor and backward—weren’t they, in a way, just another version of Wang Dashan?
Perhaps Li Lanlan’s words had an effect; Wang Dashan felt less anxious and began discussing next year’s business plans again.
“So, are we going to keep renting this house next year?”
“Of course we’re renting it. Why wouldn’t we? If we don’t rent it, they’ll rent it to someone else. This courtyard is so nice, it’s convenient for the kids to go to school, and it’s convenient for setting up a stall.”
“But won’t the new place be empty then?”
“Why the rush? Once the new place is renovated, our whole family will move over there. We’ll live here during the week, and on weekends I’ll take the kids to the new place. We need to start looking for a shop to take over next year!”
“Things are fine the way they are now. Renting a shop space—the rent, water, and electricity aren’t cheap!”
Wang Dashan thought things were fine as they were, but Li Lanlan knew opening a shop was inevitable. After all, they weren’t just selling snacks—they were serving meals, and those were definitely better eaten in a proper shop!
Besides, the urban management officials had recently started cracking down on street vendors. Who knew when they’d ban street stalls altogether? They’d need a shop of their own.
“Have you forgotten all those times the city management chased us away?”
Wang Dashan hadn’t forgotten, but he didn’t really care—it wasn’t just him they were chasing away. In his mind, opening a shop was something that seemed a long way off.