I'm back in 1990

Chapter 164: Glutton = Gourmet

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Huang Xiaochuan was aware of everything that was happening in the stamp market, but he didn't know that the stamp market was going to collapse sooner or later. He just didn't know that Nan Hui was so deeply involved. However, all of this had nothing to do with Huang Xiaochuan, who had already left the stamp market.

In this era, all sorts of things are happening in every place and to every person—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, separation, and reunion—this is the true face of this world.

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Huang Xiaochuan went to Fuxing Road. This was a homeowner introduced to him by Lao Kan. The man was planning to sell his ancestral home. Huang Xiaochuan heard from Lao Kan that the house used to be very famous, but due to various reasons, the house had fallen into disrepair over the years. The homeowner was old and had no source of income, so he wanted to sell the house.

The house is located in the now-famous Hengfu Historical and Cultural District of Shanghai. This area was once the French Concession, where the east side was more expensive than the west side.

In 1920, the price of one mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) of land in the Nanjing East Road area was 80000 silver dollars, while the land price in the Hengfu area was only 3000 to 8000 silver dollars per mu. It was precisely because of the low land prices in the Hengfu area that real estate developers built many Western-style houses and apartments.

What was unexpected was that most of the villas and apartments built along Nanjing East Road were demolished and no longer exist. Instead, the Hengfu area, which was originally remote and cheap, became a high-end and prosperous area in Shanghai.

The Hengfu area is mostly apartments, and villas are relatively rare. This house is a three-story detached old villa with open space on all four sides, making it extremely rare.

Zhou Wei and He Wenfeng followed Huang Xiaochuan all the way. They had been in Shanghai for so long, but the opportunities to go out with Huang Xiaochuan were very few.

They spend most of their time at home exercising, and for that, they went to a sporting goods store and bought a lot of equipment. Now, the living room in Wenyuan's house has become their gym.

When they arrived, Old Kan was already waiting at the entrance of the alley. Upon seeing Huang Xiaochuan, he quickly came to greet him.

"Mr. Huang is as punctual as ever."

Huang Xiaochuan smiled and greeted Lao Kan before glancing into the alley. Though called an alley, it was actually more like a small road, wide enough for two cars to walk side by side, which pleased Huang Xiaochuan.

After looking at it, Huang Xiaochuan asked, "Master Kan, where is the house located?"

Old Kan quickly stepped forward to lead the way: "Mr. Huang, please follow me. The house is in the alley. The black gate in front is the main entrance."

Huang Xiaochuan looked in the direction Old Kan was pointing. From his perspective, he could only see the side of the gate, not the whole gate. Moreover, the trees were lush and the house was completely obscured, so he couldn't see what the house looked like.

After walking for more than 20 meters, Huang Xiaochuan saw the full view of the gate: two black wooden doors, each about five or six meters wide. There was also a small door next to the right doorpost, made of the same material and color as the two doors.

It looks like the main gate is for vehicles to enter, and people usually go in through this small gate. Once inside, I saw that the main gate was indeed bolted shut from the inside. Judging from the rust on the bolt, it hadn't been touched for at least a few years.

Only after entering did I see the appearance of the house. It was a three-story French-style detached house with its main entrance facing north, which was the place where Huang Xiaochuan had just entered.

Huang Xiaochuan was just curious about where the homeowner was.

Old Kan has been leading the way all this time; he seems very familiar with the place.

Huang Xiaochuan asked him, "Master Kan, where is the homeowner?"

Old Kan chuckled, "He's having coffee in the South Garden at this time."

Huang Xiaochuan was taken aback. Coffee? And in the garden? What kind of person is this? Quite sophisticated, huh?

The house was dilapidated. Old Kan led Huang Xiaochuan around from the side garden to the south garden, without going through the house itself.

Upon arriving at the South Garden, Huang Xiaochuan saw the homeowner sitting in a wicker chair with a small table beside him, leisurely drinking coffee.

This person was dressed in a very Western style, wearing a long-sleeved collared t-shirt on top, dark plaid overalls on the bottom, and black and white three-piece leather shoes on his feet.

If the homeowner hadn't gotten up and turned around, Huang Xiaochuan wouldn't have believed that this was a man in his seventies.

Upon seeing Old Kan arrive with his entourage, the homeowner stood up to greet him.

"Sorry! It's an old habit of mine; I need to have a cup of coffee this afternoon. I apologize for neglecting you all."

Old Kan introduced them: "Mr. Yang Shuhan is the owner of this house. Mr. Huang Xiaochuan is here to look at the house."

After shaking hands, Yang Shuhan invited Huang Xiaochuan and Lao Kan to sit down.

"Please sit down, please sit down. Let me pour you a cup of coffee."

After saying that, he went inside to make coffee.

At this point, Huang Xiaochuan asked Old Kan, "This old gentleman looks quite sophisticated, what's his background?"

Old Kan told Huang Xiaochuan about Yang Shuhan's experience.

Yang Shuhan stayed on his own initiative, after all, he needed someone to stay and look after the family property, and also to observe the future situation.

Unexpectedly, the Yang family members who went abroad never returned. Due to historical reasons, Yang Shuhan gradually lost contact with his relatives abroad.

The textile factory was later transformed into a state-owned textile factory after a public-private partnership. During a special period, Yang Shuhan suffered a lot and was evicted from the house. In the early 1980s, when the policy was implemented, the house was returned to him.

Yang Shuhan never married or had children. He grew up in a wealthy merchant family and lived a life of luxury. Even after suffering so much hardship, his love for food remained unchanged. He ate everywhere he went, wherever there was delicious food. He basically ate away all of his family's wealth.

People like him used to be called "gluttons" by ordinary people, but now that the movie "The Gourmet," adapted from Lu Wenfu's novel, has been released, people like him are called "gourmets," or colloquially, gourmets.

However you call him whatever you want to say, it doesn't change the fact that he's living off his savings, otherwise he wouldn't have sold the house.

Huang Xiaochuan was both amused and exasperated. He never expected that someone would actually sell their house just to eat. The house could be rented out easily, and the rent would be enough for Yang Shuhan to eat until he died. Why would he sell the house?

Just then, Yang Shuhan returned with a plate. Despite being over seventy, his hearing was quite sharp; he had heard everything Old Kan said.

As he placed the coffee on the small table, he said, "I'm already this old, how many more years can I live? I might as well sell the house, take the money, and find a place to retire. You can't take a house with you when you die, so it's better to eat and drink comfortably."

Huang Xiaochuan said, "Then you can rent it out!"

Yang Shuhan waved his hand: "I like peace and quiet. I find it noisy and crowded, and it gives me headaches and makes it hard to sleep."

Huang Xiaochuan was speechless. This was just a disease of affluence! How could he not get used to it?

Who cares? I'm here to buy a house. Once the price is agreed upon, I'll buy it. And that old man surnamed Yang will just pack his bags and leave.

The two then started talking about the house; one wanted to sell and the other wanted to buy. With Old Kan acting as a go-between, they quickly agreed on a price.

The house has a property area of ​​630 square meters, a land area of ​​520 square meters, and a garden of about 300 square meters. It is a little smaller than the Li Family Garden, but the house itself is a little larger.

The deal was eventually struck at 950,000 yuan. After verifying the property certificate, Huang Xiaochuan immediately paid a deposit of 50,000 yuan, signed the sales contract, and agreed to complete the transfer of ownership and pay the remaining balance after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Immerse yourself in reading Chapter 164: Foodie = Gourmet, please click.