Su Xiaotian looked at the old man and communicated with the surrounding trees.
According to the information provided by the trees, this courtyard was only inhabited by this old man surnamed Han. He was quite simple, and no one came to cause trouble.
Su Xiaotian was much more satisfied with the house.
As Old Man Han said, the house was only two hundred yuan, which was indeed a good deal.
Su Xiaotian had quietly researched the matter of the house and had not told Li Zhuzi.
Li Zhuzi himself carefully inspected the courtyard.
He thought it was acceptable; such a small courtyard was enough for a family to live in.
Although he found the house suitable, Li Zhuzi was a shrewd person and did not agree immediately.
"Grandpa, I am very satisfied with this courtyard, but I need to go back to get the money. Could you wait for a moment?"
The old man glanced at Li Zhuzi and said, "Alright, but if someone is willing to take this house when you leave, I won't wait for you anymore!"
This was a reasonable statement. After all, Li Zhuzi only said he was leaving to get money and hadn't even paid a deposit. It was not wrong for the old man to sell it to someone else.
"You are right, old sir!" Li Zhuzi replied with a smile and then left.
After leaving, the group took another look around but found no more suitable houses.
Since there were no more suitable houses, they focused on inquiring about that particular house.
This was suggested by Su Shouwen. In his years in the capital, he had seen many people arguing over houses.
If this old man's house had any disputes, buying it might not be profitable, as dealing with endless disputes would be enough.
The results of their inquiries were similar to the information Su Xiaotian had obtained through the big tree.
The owner, Old Man Han, was the owner of the house.
He had worked in the county town before and purchased this house.
Now that he was retired and planning to return to his hometown, he wanted to sell this small courtyard.
After finding out that the property had no disputes, Li Zhuzi was much relieved.
"I was only thinking about buying a house and didn't consider that houses could also have disputes!" Li Zhuzi said with a simple smile. "It's also thanks to Shouwen's reminder; I'll know this in the future if I buy another house."
Li Zhuzi's wife glared at him reproachfully and said, "It's not easy to get even this one house, and you're already thinking about buying another one?"
Li Zhuzi just smiled without speaking. Su Xiaotian, however, chimed in, "Auntie, in the future, we will definitely need a bigger courtyard. Perhaps when the two children grow up, they won't fit anymore."
"I haven't thought that far ahead. Whatever abilities they have in the future, they will live their own lives. It's enough for me as a mother not to be a burden to them."
They turned back again, and Old Man Han was not surprised to see them.
"Young people, my house is fine."
Li Zhuzi said with a smile, "Old sir, your house is good, but you haven't moved out yet. I was thinking, could I give you half the money to transfer the property deed, and the rest can be settled after you've packed your things?"
"The old man will only take two suitcases; the rest is for you."
Old Man Han was a straightforward person and spoke directly.
"If it can be settled now, there's a train this afternoon, and I can leave immediately."
Unexpectedly, Old Man Han, the seller, was more eager than they, the buyers.
Since that was the case, Li Zhuzi, being a decisive person, directly took out two hundred yuan and gave it to Old Man Han.
After confirming the money was correct, Old Man Han took Li Zhuzi to change the property deed.
Li Zhuzi, being a businessman, always carried cigarettes with him. After giving a pack of cigarettes to the staff, the matter was smoothly completed.
In total, it didn't even take ten minutes to change the name on the property deed.
The moment the steel seal was stamped, Li Zhuzi was actually quite excited. He never expected that he, Li Zhuzi, would have a day to buy a house in the city.
Upon returning, Old Man Han, in front of everyone, directly picked up two suitcases from the house and was about to head to the train station.
Su Xiaotian checked the time. It wasn't long before their train was scheduled to depart, and it was about time for them to head to the train station as well.
"Grandpa Han, we're also going to the train station. Let us help you carry your luggage!"
Old Man Han did not refuse and handed one suitcase to Su Shouwen and the other to Su Lao Er.
As he turned to leave, Old Man Han looked back at the courtyard again. His gaze was filled with reluctance and memories.
"The old man lived here for half his life, and now he has to leave, he is indeed quite reluctant. But people are like leaves on a tree; in the end, they must return to their roots!"
Old Man Han took one last look at the small courtyard, suppressed his reluctance, and said.
Li Zhuzi smiled and said, "Old sir, if you're willing to come back and visit in the future, please do."
Old Man Han shook his head resolutely and said, "Once I leave, I probably won't be able to come back!"
Even if he returned, it wouldn't feel the same. Since that was the case, why come back?
"Fourth Uncle, do you want to come with us to Rongcheng?"
Su Shouwen, knowing Li Zhuzi's intention to visit Rongcheng, thought about their current shortage of manpower and considered bringing Li Zhuzi along.
Li Zhuzi wanted to go, but the house had just been bought, and nothing was ready.
If he left, his family would likely be in trouble!
Moreover, his wife bought the house to open a shop, and he had to help with that first.
"I won't go this time. I'll help your Fourth Aunt settle things at home first. I heard you might be going to Rongcheng again, and I'll go with you then."
Su Shouwen could understand Li Zhuzi's thoughts and nodded with a smile.
After bidding farewell, the group headed straight for the train station.
The train station was not far from Old Man Han's courtyard, and the group soon arrived.
After checking the train schedule, they discovered that the old man's train and Su Xiaotian's train were only forty minutes apart.
Su Xiaotian and the others had to leave first. There were only twenty minutes left until their train arrived, so it was time to go to the waiting room.
"Thank you all very much today. My home is in Huaicheng. If there's a chance, perhaps we'll meet again!" Old Man Han said to the people who were waving goodbye.
"Grandpa Han, if we ever go to Huaicheng, we'll come to find you!" Su Shouwen said with a faint smile.
Su Xiaotian quite liked the old man and knew that Old Man Han had lived here his entire life. His feelings at this moment must be very complex.
She took off the bag from her shoulder and took out a glass bottle of homemade meat sauce for Old Man Han.
"Grandpa Han, take this jar of meat sauce with you. It's good for eating with flatbread on the road."
Consider it a small gesture of comfort for the old man who had lived here his whole life.
The old man looked at Su Xiaotian in surprise and said, "Little girl, this is meat sauce, and it's worth quite a bit. You're giving it to me just like that?"
"You've lived here for decades, old sir, and you've contributed a lot to the county's development. I'm giving you a jar of meat sauce to see you off!" Su Xiaotian smiled sincerely.
Old Man Han's eyes became moist.
However, before Old Man Han could get emotional and shed tears, Su Xiaotian had already entered the station with the rest of her family.