I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 184. Buying a House
"It's past nine o'clock, hurry up and get up, we'll go see a house together later!" On the first day of the new year, Yao Jinping came to disturb his sweet dreams early in the morning.

The knocking on the door, the drawing of the curtains, and the constant buzzing of the vacuum cleaner kept Xu Qingfan awake.

He was forced to peek out from under the covers. The bright sunlight outside the window stung his eyes, and he estimated that it was indeed nine o'clock. "It wasn't a lie after all," Xu Qingfan muttered as he got up and changed his clothes.

After coming out of the room, Xia Xiaoxiao, Lin Jing, and Wu Lingyu sat in the living room. "Good morning, Auntie. Xiaoyu, weren't you going home today?"

"Good morning, Brother Fan. There will be no rides available until the afternoon." The subway line out of Gangcheng is not yet under construction, so Wu Lingyu usually either takes a ride with Xu Aiguo or rides with Haowei Group to get home.

"Oh, I see." Xu Qingfan waved his hand and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Xia Xiaoxiao's expressionless face suddenly turned angry, and she bared her neat, white teeth at his departing back.

[You're not going to say hello, are you? Don't expect me to forgive you!]
Recalling the dream she had that morning, her face began to flush again.

[Luckily, no one was home when I woke up; it was so embarrassing.]
In the physiology and hygiene class, she was only taught how girls should deal with their periods, and nothing was mentioned about erotic dreams.

A young girl's spring dreams are usually romantic, subtle, and long, like a movie under Wong Kar-wai's lens. She dreamed that she was being held by Xu Qingfan as she was when she was a child, in a warm embrace, with rough, warm hands reaching into her clothes to gently stroke her lower abdomen.

It feels numb and itchy, like being naked in a hot spring in the dead of winter, and then you suddenly feel the urge to urinate.
When she opened her eyes again, she found that she had wet her pants.

[Hmph~ It's all Xu Qingfan's fault! You big stinky dog!!] The girl puffed out her cheeks and thought to herself.

"Little one, what's wrong with you? Sometimes you frown and sometimes you pout?"

Lin Jing's sudden words interrupted her reverie. Startled, Xia Xiaoxiao shuddered before replying calmly, "Nothing, Mom. After we buy the new house, do we have to sell the old one?"

As the home where she had lived for thirteen years, Xia Xiaoxiao had poured too much emotion into the old house, since every item here could remind her of a past event involving him and her.

“If Xiaoxiao can’t bear to part with it, then we won’t sell it. Anyway, we have enough money at home, and she can come back to stay here when she has time.” Seeing her daughter leaning her head on her shoulder, Lin Jing smiled indulgently.

In 2008 and 2009, the housing price in Licheng was just over 3,000 yuan per square meter. For an old community like Lianhua Courtyard, it would be considered very good if it could be sold for 2,500 yuan per square meter.

"Mom, then we won't sell it!" Xia Xiaoxiao replied without hesitation.

"Okay~" Lin Jing nodded and smiled, then remembered something and continued, "Your grandparents called me yesterday and said they missed you and asked if you were going home for the New Year. Do you want to go back and visit them for the New Year?"

"I'm not going!" Xia Xiaoxiao was very resistant to this.

“I haven’t seen them for five years. The old folks aren’t in good health, and every time we see them, it’s the last time we’ll see them.” Lin Jing was worried that her daughter would have regrets because of her stubbornness, since the two old people had been very good to her when she was a child.

“Xu Qingfan hasn’t gone back for five years either. He’s been gone for a year longer than me, so it’s been six years!”

"Why do you always call Xiao Fan by his full name? It's rude!" Lin Jing lightly tapped her daughter on the head. "Wouldn't it be better if she called him Brother Fan like Yu'er does?"

"No way." Xia Xiaoxiao remembered what happened to Xu Qingfan last night, turned her head to the side and whispered.

Lin Jing was clearly at a loss with her precious daughter, so she could only smile helplessly and say, "Then you should call your grandparents when you have time. She's a big girl now, so don't expect your mother to do everything for her."

"Got it~"

Wu Lingyu was just watching the drama unfold and couldn't get a word in edgewise when Yao Jinping's voice came from the kitchen: "It seems like the Construction Bank sent a new calendar last time. Find it and put it on after you brush your teeth."

"Got it~" Xu Qingfan shouted loudly from the toilet.

Wu Lingyu got up, opened the cabinet under the TV, took out the 09 calendar, and removed the old one from the nails to replace it.

If we're talking about where Xu Qingfan's belongings are located, she's probably the one who knows best, besides Yao Jinping.

After brushing his teeth, Xu Qingfan came out of the bathroom and went straight to the kitchen to find breakfast, clearly having forgotten what his mother had just told him.

Fortunately, Wu Lingyu was in the family, which saved him from being scolded a lot.

Yao Jinping had clearly forgotten what she had just told Xu Qingfan, and pointed to the rice cooker, saying to him, "There are still eggs and steamed buns inside. Call your dad and tell him to wait downstairs."

"Okay." Xu Qingfan took the breakfast from the rice cooker and went out, calling Xu Aiguo while eating.

Not long after Yao Jinping finished cleaning the kitchen, he finished the last steamed bun and the whole family went downstairs to take a car to Donghui City to look at apartments.

"Dad, let's get a new car since it's almost Chinese New Year. This car is too crowded for six people!" Xu Qingfan said, breathing through his mouth as he was squeezed between Lin Jing and Wu Lingyu.

Xu Aiguo subconsciously glanced at his wife. He had actually been thinking about getting a new car for a while, as the Hyundai's chassis was too low and it was inconvenient to drive it fishing.

"Look at me! Watch where you're going!" Yao Jinping said irritably. "Then let's get a different one. Business at the convenience store has been pretty good this year."

Since connecting to the online platform, their convenience store business has doubled. Before, if they only did offline business, their monthly turnover would be good if they could reach 50,000 yuan. After deducting labor and other expenses, they could earn about 10,000 yuan a month, but note that this was under the premise of not having to pay rent.

Since starting her online business, Yao Jinping, on Xu Qingfan's advice, changed the remaining SKUs in her store to sell hardware and daily necessities. Her turnover more than doubled, and her profit margin also increased significantly.

Xu Qingfan originally wanted to recommend Yao Jinping to sell some adult products, but he was really afraid of dying.

Therefore, even without Xu Qingfan's injection of more than three million yuan into the family, the couple could easily afford an entry-level BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) car with the money they had earned over the years.

"Mom, you should get a driver's license too. Electric scooters aren't safe, and you bring the batteries home to charge every day. I'm worried they'll catch fire!"

"How old am I?" Yao Jinping instinctively wanted to refuse.

“Auntie, why don’t you and my mom go to learn together? I’ll pay for your lessons!” Xu Qingfan ignored his mother and turned to Lin Jing to say.

"Haha~ Then Auntie won't be polite!" As Yao Jinping's best friend, Lin Jing knew almost everything that happened in Xu Qingfan's family, including the fact that he earned millions by drawing comics.

Yao Jinping smiled from the bottom of her heart. It's so good to have a filial and sensible son!

She thought of her in-laws' attitude towards her, [and thought, "It wouldn't be bad to drive back home in two luxury cars during the New Year and show off a bit."]
"Jingjing, why are you following this brat's nonsense? You haven't touched a textbook in years!"

Xu Qingfan knew his mother's nature well; saying this was tantamount to agreeing. So he immediately gave her a way out, saying, "The driver's license theory test is very simple; you can take it online. Mom and Auntie, I'll help you with it when I get back!"

"I really can't do anything with you. Go back and take a look."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!" Xu Qingfan sometimes really suspected that Xia Xiaoxiao was his mother's biological daughter, as the two of them shared the same arrogant personality.

"Hahaha"

The car purchase was pretty much settled. The two elders had plenty of money, so he didn't bother interfering with what car the other wanted. The car soon stopped at Licheng Square, just across the street from Donghui City, which was also only about 200 meters from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. Buying a house nearby would be excellent in terms of both livability and appreciation potential.

"Why do you always have such a sour face? I don't owe you any money." Seeing that Xia Xiaoxiao kept her distance from him when she got in the car and still kept her distance after getting out, Xu Qingfan grabbed her wrist in annoyance.

"Let me go!" Xia Xiaoxiao struggled to break free like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"I won't let go!" Xu Qingfan, shameless as ever, grabbed it again.

Xia Xiaoxiao tried to shake him off a few more times, but seeing that she couldn't break free, she had no choice but to let him hold her, though she still didn't give him a friendly look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yesterday. Why did you grab my hand?" Xu Qingfan whispered in her ear as he stood on tiptoe.

"You still dare to talk back!" The girl angrily slapped him.

"I won't say anymore," Xu Qingfan waved his hand and begged for mercy, "At most, if you feel you've been taken advantage of, I'll let you touch me back."

"Get lost!" Xia Xiaoxiao looked like she wanted to kill him, her chest heaving.

"Okay." Xu Qingfan grinned and let go of her hand, then jogged forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Wu Lingyu.

Xia Xiaoxiao: ? ? ?

No, you actually left when I told you to?

[Don't even think about me talking to you for the rest of your life!]
Xia Xiaoxiao chased after him again, squeezed between the two, and pulled Wu Lingyu away from him.

Donghui City has only been under construction for six months, with the foundation just completed and the tallest building not even two stories high, but pre-sales have already begun.

The sales office has already been completed with a 3D model. Apart from the landscaping being a bit misleading, it is not much different from what he remembered from his previous life.

"Why buy off-plan properties? First, the price is low; second, there's a wide range of choices; and most importantly, the appreciation potential is huge!" The salesperson distributed brochures to everyone and served tea and snacks.

"3888 is a bit expensive, isn't it? The house prices on Xicheng Road are only a little over 2800 now." Yao Jinping was very tempted by the pictures in the brochure, but the price dampened her enthusiasm.

"Madam, this price is not expensive at all. The materials we use in construction all meet EU standards, and the cost per square meter is several hundred yuan more expensive than those in other communities. Moreover, our location is just a stone's throw from the hospital, park, and shopping mall. After the subway opens in the future, you might not be able to buy such a good house even if the price doubles, not to mention that we have the most advanced design and the most reasonable supporting facilities."

The male salesman launched into another long-winded explanation, which gave Yao Jinping a headache. She waved her hand and said, "If I want to order two apartments and a few shops, what's the lowest price you can offer?"

The salesperson's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Madam, how many shops are you planning to order?"

"It depends on whether the price is right or not, but it won't be less than three rooms!" This was the first time Yao Jinping had ever bought a house like buying cabbage, and it felt really good. After all, everyone has the need to show off.

"Please wait a moment, I'll make a call to my superiors and try to get you the best possible terms!"

After the salesperson left, Lin Jing looked at her best friend with amusement, "Did we really need to buy so many shops?"

“Jingjing, let me tell you, buying a shop is really better than putting money in the bank,” she whispered in Lin Jing’s ear. “My convenience store has made about 200,000 yuan this year.”

"So many?" Lin Jing's pupils dilated, and realizing she had overreacted, she quickly covered her mouth.

“Yes, buying a shop and opening a franchise like Haowei Duck Neck or Haowei Milk Tea would be great. You just need to manage the accounts at the end of the month and hire staff to watch the store during the rest of the year.” The idea of ​​making money with convenience stores has clearly broadened Yao Jinping’s horizons. She now feels like she lost a lot of money when she thinks about how she put hundreds of thousands of yuan in a fixed-term bank account. If she had bought all that money into merchandise back then, it would be worth several times more now!

"Then I'll take a look too." Lin Jing glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao. As a mother, she still hoped to give her daughter a generous dowry.

The salesman returned shortly after, excitedly saying, "Dear Madam, our manager said the current price for the shops is 5888 per square meter. If you book three units, we can give you a 20% discount on the apartments and a 10% discount on the shops."

The three of them didn't go over to join the fun; instead, they looked at the house model in the sand pile.

"If we throw the little guy in there, it'll become the giant cat from Superman," Xu Qingfan said with a laugh.

Xia Xiaoxiao glared at him: "Why don't you jump in yourself?"

Why are you acting like you've swallowed a powder keg every day?

"I wish I could blow you up!"

"Then I'll drag you down with me!"

I'll kick you away!

"Then I'll hold onto your stinky feet and never let go!"

"."

Wu Lingyu glanced at Xu Qingfan, then at Xia Xiaoxiao. Although the girl could solve the most difficult math problems, her clever mind couldn't understand why the two of them always seemed to bicker at the drop of a hat, like a pair of bickering lovers in a movie, with a touch of sweetness.
"Little Yu'er, come here!" Yao Jinping and Lin Jing waved to the three of them at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Xu Qingfan asked after leading the two back to the sofa.

"Which of these two apartment layouts do you think is better?"

He took the two floor plans that Yao Jinping handed him, one for apartment 701 and the other for apartment 801.

Both units are large single-level apartments of 180 square meters. Unit 701 has three bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen and one bathroom, but the living room is huge, with an area of ​​nearly 100 square meters. Unit 801 has five bedrooms and one living room, but the living room area is only over 40 square meters.

"Are 701 and 801 connected vertically? Can we buy both units and combine them into a duplex?" Xu Qingfan suggested after reviewing the documents.

"A duplex? That seems like a good idea!" The adults thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Making a duplex is no problem at all. The customer is king. As long as you pay the deposit, the company will immediately arrange for someone to revise the blueprints. You can take possession of the house by the end of 2010 at the latest!" The salesperson was practically beaming. If this deal could be closed, it would be equivalent to half a year of work.

Yao Jinping and Xu Aiguo, a married couple, exchanged a glance and both felt that buying a duplex was a good idea.

This was their third time looking at properties here, and they had already visited several other developments before coming here. After comparing them all, they decided that this was the best option.

“We haven’t chosen a shop yet, but we’ve tentatively booked apartments 701, 801, and 702. Where should we pay the deposit?” Yao Jinping said.

"Please come with me."

(End of this chapter)