I Became the Richest Man in the Capital by Renting Out Courtyard Houses

In the twelfth lunar month of 1978, Su Muye transmigrates to Nanluoguxiang in Beijing, becoming the poorest unemployed young man in the whole courtyard complex.

His parents are gone, he has no job, and there are only three yuan and twenty cents in his pocket. His unemployment permit expires in seven days, and his only possession is a dilapidated, drafty one-and-a-half-room house in the rear courtyard.

That's when he gets bound to the Landlord System.

[First home renovation grant: 18 yuan.]

[First successful rental: Earn a bonus three times the rent collected in the first month.]

[Earn points from real rental income to gradually unlock property valuations, renovation subsidies, and business opportunities.]

While others collect just one rent payment each month, he gets extra System bonuses. He knows how to turn the old, run-down houses everyone else despises into gold mines.

Su Muye fixes up the main house and rents it to an out-of-town official visiting Beijing, while squeezing himself into half a side room. After collecting his first rent, he starts out by helping people repair their houses, meeting tradesmen and building up a clientele. He opens a shop, starts a business, and uses his earnings to buy more houses.

The Yan family in the front courtyard laughs at him for not doing an honest job, while the Jia family in the middle courtyard is green with envy. Only when they see Su Muye eating meat, riding a bicycle, and marrying a wife do they realize that the poor kid who once couldn't afford to eat has long since stopped relying on a wage.

In 1985, the same name appears on the deeds to all twenty-seven courtyard residences on Nanluoguxiang.

The neighborhood committee director reads the list three times before finally looking up.

"Su Muye, just how many houses do you own?"

Su Muye thinks for a moment. "I'm still counting."