Time flew by, and a few days passed.
The Kang family was finally ready to renovate their house.
To protect the original appearance of the Xiguan mansion, they planned to do some repairs but not a major renovation.
Besides repairs, they planned to expand the attic a little.
The extra money could be used to buy some furniture.
“Big brother.” Kang Er Zheng entered the Kang family.
“Ah Zheng, you’re here. Come, sit down.” Kang Bo greeted him to take a seat.
“What’s the matter with calling me here today?” Kang Er Zheng asked with a puzzled expression.
He had been extremely busy these past few days.
He needed to sign a lot of documents.
By the way, Kang Er Zheng had bought the Xiguan mansion next door. It was also undergoing renovation.
To the right of the Kang family's Xiguan mansion was Xi Zi Ming’s Xiguan mansion.
Across the street was Zhu Shi Nai's.
To the left, there was another Xiguan mansion, but they didn't know who owned it.
Although this Xiguan mansion was next door, a wall separated their passages.
If you wanted to go there, you would have to take the long way around, going through the front entrance.
Xiguan mansions are all close together, so the entire row is composed of Xiguan mansions.
However, many of the Xiguan mansions have already been demolished.
Maybe because they were too dilapidated to live in, they were demolished and replaced with self-built houses.
Or maybe because they had made money, they didn’t want to live in a flat Xiguan mansion anymore, so they built a small villa.
This is why there are so many multi-story self-built houses on Changsheng Street.
Xiguan mansions are becoming less common.
The row of Xiguan mansions that once stood in a line has become scattered.
Besides Zhu Shi Nai’s, Xi Zi Ming’s, and the Kang family's, and a few other remaining ones, there are not many Xiguan mansions left in the surrounding area.
Most have been replaced by multi-story self-built houses.
After all, Xiguan mansions are nice, but they are too narrow. They can't hold many people.
Most Xiguan mansions have two floors.
The second floor is smaller than the first floor.
In the future, the Kang family will definitely not have enough space.
It would be better to demolish it and build a self-built house. Build several floors, enough for themselves and for rent, a win-win situation.
Kang Qi Zheng bought the Xiguan mansion on the left, right next to the Kang family.
Then he could simply knock down the wall separating the two houses.
They could turn the wall into a circular archway, which would be both beautiful and convenient.
This Xiguan mansion is slightly larger than the Kang family's.
It also has a second floor.
Half of the second floor is rooms, and the other half is an open-air balcony.
Kang Er Zheng loved this Xiguan mansion.
He immediately decided to buy it.
He spent a total of 1.47 million yuan.
It has two floors, totaling 220 square meters.
The original owner didn’t want to sell it. The whole family was living there happily. Kang Er Zheng went over and directly offered a high price.
The land price around Xiguan is 5,600 yuan per square meter.
It will become more expensive in a few years. It’s only been a few years since the millennium began. The price is rising slowly.
He directly offered 1 million yuan, but the owner refused.
He added another 100,000 yuan, but the owner still refused, but they were wavering.
In the end, he raised the price to 1.4 million yuan, and in their hearts, they had already agreed, but they wanted to push the price up.
They said they wanted 1.6 million yuan.
Although Kang Er Zheng liked it, he wasn’t stupid. He lowered the price to 1.47 million yuan.
He told them that if they didn't agree, he would go buy the one next door.
They were afraid that Kang Er Zheng would change his mind, so they immediately agreed.
For a 220-square-meter house, the market price is 1 million yuan.
Plus, it's close to the commercial area, which makes it more expensive. Shangxiajiu, a famous street, is not far away.
1.47 million yuan is a lot more expensive.
Both parties felt like they had gotten a good deal.
The old couple’s children and grandchildren were all very happy.
Only the two old people were reluctant to leave.
They signed the contract that day and went to the real estate office to transfer ownership.
In a few days, the documents would be ready, and the house would officially be his.
That afternoon, the original family went to look at their new house.
They reportedly bought two adjacent commercial apartments for less than 600,000 yuan.
One was for themselves and the other for rent.
Kang Er Zheng secretly thought that they had a good eye. If the house price goes up in the future, they will make a lot of money.
Compared to the demolition of a Xiguan mansion, they won't make much money.
Demolition would come with a large sum of demolition compensation, and they would also receive a new building in return.
On the third day, they happily moved out.
Kang Er Zheng hired a renovation team.
This Xiguan mansion had no major problems, only some aging.
It was very safe, no need to worry about it collapsing.
Kang Er Zheng asked for a designer who could design it without destroying the overall aesthetics and exterior of the Xiguan mansion.
He wanted a combination of old and new, comfort, and beauty.
The designer was helpless after hearing Kang Er Zheng's requirements.
But with Kang Er Zheng’s "money talks" method, the designer patted his chest and promised to design something he would be satisfied with.
The design plan was completed in less than a week.
Kang Er Zheng was also very satisfied with the design plan.
It was almost exactly what he had in mind.
A combination of old and new.
Most of the house remained unchanged, undergoing renovations.
Some of the structures were changed to conform to modern aesthetics.
The close door, low corner door, Manchu window, and other iconic features of the Xiguan mansion remained unchanged.
To facilitate the use of modern furniture, some minor modifications were made inside.
Kang Er Zheng hoped to transform the second floor into a single room.
He needed to knock down the walls of the two rooms on the second floor.
He would knock down the walls into an arched moon gate. He would then carve precious woods such as acid wood branches onto the archway’s edge. A large bed would be placed in the inside room, while a sofa and a TV would be placed in the room next to the balcony.
The entrance to the open-air balcony would be transformed into a glass door. A table, rocking chairs, and a shelter would be placed on the balcony. He could sit there and have tea while admiring the scenery.
The second floor didn't need a separate washroom, but a private bathroom was still needed. He would take out a small part of the space to make a toilet.
The room next to the toilet on the first floor would be turned into a washroom, used for a bathtub, sink, and shower.
Then, of the remaining three rooms, the largest one would be turned into a study with a single bed.
The second largest would be turned into a collection room.
The remaining smallest room would be used as a guest room for Coco or his mother when they came to visit.
The living room and dining room didn't need major changes and would basically remain the same.
There was also a kitchen, a courtyard, and a small storage room.
The storage room was only about 8 square meters.
It could only be used as a storage room.
Kang Er Zheng decided to turn it into a wardrobe.
The kitchen and courtyard remained untouched.
Sometimes they might need to cook.
Buying the house, renovating it, and buying furniture would cost him almost 2 million yuan.
All of the furniture in this Xiguan mansion was removed.
Of course, Kang Er Zheng didn't want it.
In the future, most of the furniture on the first floor would be made of precious wood.
The coffee table, chairs, dining table, armchairs, screens, wardrobes, bookshelves, etc. would all be made of precious wood.
He would use modern imported furniture on the second floor.