Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Mr. Lu looked his youngest daughter up and down but found no trace of anything unusual.

"What made you think of this?" he asked.

Of course, it was because of the gold her eldest brother had obtained, which made her think of the old houses where treasures might be found, and then she thought of these matters! But she couldn't say that, she thought to herself.

Lu Mingzhu recalled that when she had mentioned her dreams to him, she hadn't brought up the issue of the later rental housing reforms, so she smiled and said, "Would you mind stepping into the study so we can talk more privately?"

"I’m all ears," Mr. Lu said, standing up and walking into the study first.

Lu Mingzhu followed him in after her and closed the door behind her.

Some things were best kept between the two of them.

Mr. Lu sat down, tilting his chin slightly, "Go ahead, but you’d better have a good reason."

"What are your plans for the vacant properties we have in the mainland?" Lu Mingzhu asked, she continued. With the housing shortage spreading nationwide, holding onto them was impossible, especially in the three major cities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, where the population was large and housing was scarce, and regulations were the strictest.

Once this matter was resolved, she thought, there would be no more worries in the future.

In times of disaster, she’d follow her eldest brother’s lead, pitching in money or effort as needed.

She’d rather just contribute money than put in effort.

Mr. Lu raised an eyebrow, "What's the reason?"

Lu Mingzhu detailed the origin of the rental housing reforms, she explained. "I recall that soon, to address the housing issues of urban workers and their families, privately rented homes will fall under the reform. In Shanghai, rental houses exceeding 150 square meters will be handed over to the government for unified management and rent collection, and then 20% to 40% of the rent will be paid to the owners," she added.

In the capital, the limit seems to be more than 15 rooms, or 225 square meters.

A decade later, at some point, the rent payments would stop, and the property rights would no longer belong to the original owners.

Even in the 21st century, people were still battling over these rental houses in court! Some got them back, some didn't. It was a mess.

Only patriotic overseas Chinese received special treatment; those with land deeds and property deeds could apply to get them back, she noted.

That’s why Lu Mingzhu had initially planned to reclaim the Lu family garden thirty years later as her retirement spot.

Given the current situation, it’s unlikely to be needed in the future.

The likelihood of them spending their final years in Hong Kong is very high.

Lu Mingzhu didn't go into detail about future events, she said, only mentioning the cessation of payments and the confiscation of property deeds, then raising her small hand, her wide eyes blinking, "I’m not as generous as you. If you’re fine with letting them be reformed, just forget I mentioned it."

The final decision lies with Mr. Lu, she thought.

It’s a shame about the possible treasures hidden inside.

Once others move in, retrieving the items inside will be nearly impossible.

Wouldn’t it be great to get them back?

After satisfying her treasure-hunting hobby, she could give it to her elder brother or Pingan as capital for business, to grow their wealth, and then use it for whatever she wanted in the future, which would be more meaningful than burying it underground.

If her father is willing to keep working hard, she could give it all to him!

If the two batches of gold were not part of the dowry and betrothal gifts, Lu Mingzhu would have considered converting them into money to invest in her father, brother, nephew, or her fiancé and his brother's companies, just like how her father used his 10 pieces of gold to exchange for shares in He Yun's company, which he then distributed to her and Lu Pingan, since he believed the potential for gold appreciation was too small.

Before she reunited with her father, Lu Mingzhu sold gold and diamonds to buy property for the same reason.

Because the jewelry items she currently owns were all gifts from others, representing their heartfelt intentions, she never considered doing the same with them.

After hearing Lu Mingzhu's words, her father stroked his beard, "Is there such a thing?"

He believed the property could be preserved, so when he donated most of the properties in Shanghai, he kept three: one was the Lu family garden transferred to his youngest daughter's name for her current residence, and the other two were medium-sized, older garden villas.

He originally intended to give the Lu family garden to his youngest daughter, and the other two would be left for Lu Pingan and his sister in the future.

Given Lu Zhuri's circumstances at the time, he couldn't afford a large house.

When leaving Shanghai, her father thought he would still have the chance to return, but who could foresee life's unpredictability.

Her father sighed deeply.

"What do you think?" Lu Mingzhu asked him.

Instead of answering, her father asked, "What kind of buyer do you plan to sell to?"

Without hesitation, Lu Mingzhu replied, "Heartless scoundrels! I wouldn't feel bad about tricking them. Or families with many members who genuinely need a large house to accommodate everyone, but those who can afford it must have money, and they are likely to face misfortune in the future, and living in a large house would also easily invite gossip."

She felt somewhat reluctant.

Lu Mingzhu sighed, feeling somewhat troubled.

Better to go treasure hunting!

Treasures are definitely more worth having than houses.

"Our houses are all vacant, not rented," her father reminded her.

Lu Mingzhu understood his meaning and chuckled lightly, "With such a shortage of housing, do you think you'll be able to keep them vacant? Don't forget our class status, it's not good!"

Moreover, unclaimed vacant houses would be nationalized for redistribution.

"However!" Lu Mingzhu paused for a few seconds, "We are now somewhat considered patriotic individuals, I wonder if we can keep these properties, as some patriotic overseas Chinese have had their houses preserved."

But such cases are extremely rare, otherwise there wouldn't be a regulation in the 1980s allowing patriotic overseas Chinese to reclaim their houses.

Specifically, Lu Mingzhu hadn't experienced it, so it's really hard to clarify the intricacies.

Her father pondered for a moment.

Seeing him take so long to make a decision, Lu Mingzhu didn't rush him, but instead focused on playing with a brush washer on the desk.

He had given her a Ru kiln brush washer previously, and this one was also a Ru kiln.

Celadon, elegant and fresh.

Speaking of which, her father's aesthetic sense has always been spot on.

Suddenly, Lu father said, "If it weren't for Zhang Shuo's existence, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to go around and see if you can find anything."

Lu Mingzhu gasped in surprise.

That’s so direct?

It took her by surprise.

Lu father looked at her, a faint smile appearing in his eyes. "Isn’t your knack for finding things unmatched? If you can find what I buried in the Lu family garden, you can definitely find things in other houses."

Lu Mingzhu cautiously asked, "Are you sure?"

Lu father laughed heartily, seemingly amused by Lu Mingzhu's expression. "As soon as you spoke, I knew what you were after! Listen, only the old residences in the capital and Yangzhou might have things hidden by your grandfather and ancestors, but I'm not sure if there's anything or how much, because I haven't stayed there often and never hid anything myself. As for other places, don’t even bother, there’s nothing there. The place in the northwest is completely empty, with hardly any furniture."

Lu Mingzhu didn't deny it; instead, she showed a curious expression. "Are you so sure there's nothing in the other houses?"

After laughing, Lu father lowered his voice and said, "It’s well-known that in troubled times, gold and silver shouldn’t be stored together. Except for the northwest, there is indeed some gold and silver buried in the other houses, but your elder brother needed it. The gold from Tianjin and Huacheng was dug up long ago to pay for the final payment for goods shipped to the docks, and the gold from other places was used to buy supplies locally."

The 12,000 taels of gold buried in the Zhuangyuanhong for Lu Changsheng was also taken out to buy rice and sent to him.

It was spent on him, not on others.

Even if Lu Changsheng asks about it in the future, Lu father feels he has a reason to explain.

Before leaving, everything that needed to be dealt with was handled.

Preparing to settle abroad, they couldn’t leave important assets in the country.

Lu Mingzhu gave a thumbs-up. "I’m in awe, honestly. There's just a small question, I wonder if you'd be willing to enlighten your dear daughter."

"What is it?" Lu father's face showed a curiosity very similar to Lu Mingzhu's.

"Did you build the houses yourself, or did you buy them from someone else?" If you built them yourself, then if you say there's nothing, there really might be nothing. But if they were bought from others, there might be a chance of finding treasures.

Lu Mingzhu still firmly believes that old houses have treasures.

She once accompanied Grandma Zhang on a treasure hunt and succeeded.

In an old house, they found several jars of silver dollars and dozens of gold bars of different sizes. However, since the state had regulations from the 1980s onwards that all unearthed items belong to the state, and anything found in houses that couldn't be proven to be family heirlooms had to be handed over, Grandma Zhang didn’t care about that bit of gold and silver—it wasn't antiques or paintings worth collecting—so she had Auntie Zhang hand them over.

Grandma Zhang told her that most wealthy families would leave some backup for themselves, and the methods of hiding things were all the same.

Hearing this, Lu father laughed. "You're quite clever."

"Tell me!" Lu Mingzhu pleaded. "I really want to know!"

She emphasized her tone.

Lu father thought for a moment and told her, "Except for the West Lake Garden and the Suzhou Garden, all the other houses we haven't lived in are old. The Western-style house in Huacheng was bought from foreigners, so the possibility of hidden things is very low. As for the others, I'm not sure."

They only took away the gold and silver they had hidden themselves.

Lu Mingzhu said enthusiastically, "So there’s a chance of hidden treasures! We might have a chance to explore."

"Not now," Lu father said.

Lu Mingzhu remembered his earlier warning not to go back to the mainland and sighed. "I'll listen to you."

Your life is what matters most.

So much for that excitement.

Lu's father decided to give her some tasks to keep her from lazing around and daydreaming about risky adventures. "Have you finished the script for 'The Blade Master'? Write two more movie scripts for the film company. It's your company, and you and Ming Hui will split the profits equally."

"Not yet," Lu Mingzhu admitted honestly.

Turning a full-length novel into two or three movies takes careful thought—deciding what to keep and what to cut, while still getting the main idea across.

Honestly, it's a bit harder than writing a novel.

Writing a novel feels smooth, almost effortless.

"It's almost New Year's, so just stay home and don't go out. As for those properties..." Lu's father paused, then said, "Let's hold off for now; we'll talk about it later."

He planned to talk it over with Lu Changsheng.

Lu Mingzhu raised her hand to say she had something else to add.

"What do you want to say?" Lu's father asked.

"I want to start a grain and oil business with my brother. When he needs money or when we register the business, I can't just stay home!" Lu Mingzhu was very serious about this.

It was more important than any other money-making venture.

Money matters, but life is priceless.

Lu's father was momentarily taken aback but not surprised, since she had lived through it in her dreams and felt it more deeply.

"Other than that, stay put," Lu's father said.

Lu Mingzhu sighed in relief, "No problem."

Staying home? She could handle that.

1953 was the golden age for martial arts novels, unmatched for fifty years, and she had to seize the moment.

Just then, Xu the Butler knocked and came in.

"Master, the old lady is on the phone," he said, reminding Lu's father to take the call in the living room.

Lu's father asked casually, "Is she out of the hospital?"

Xu the Butler smiled, "No, she called from the doctor's office, saying she needs to talk to you."

Lu's father frowned, sensing something bad.

Ever since the old lady had the doctor call him and he sent Lu Changsheng back, he hadn't visited the hospital because he could guess her intentions, which is why he had Lu Changsheng handle it.

He thought Lu Changsheng had resolved it, but now the old lady's call had come through.

He couldn't ignore it.

Lu's father walked to the living room and picked up the receiver. As soon as he said "Hello," he heard the old lady's strong voice, "Lu Yanzhi, I'm being discharged, come and settle the bill for me!"

When they met, she would also make him pay for her living expenses and her retirement.