This is a detached house, and a spacious one at that. With the upstairs and downstairs combined, it covers over two hundred square meters, and with the small courtyard, the total area is even larger.
After the child is born, the family will grow to five people, and with Zhao Qiuyue, that makes six. They will need at least four rooms. Current housing is small, and three-bedroom apartments are rare, let alone four-bedroom ones. The only way to get more rooms is to buy a detached house with its own courtyard, but such properties are never located as favorably as this one.
It’s adjacent to the provincial government and only slightly less prosperous than the commercial streets. However, its convenient transportation makes it prime real estate. A detached house like this would be worth at least a million later on.
If it weren't for the need to develop in the provincial capital, Chen Lishu would have preferred to buy property in Beijing. Although housing prices there are different, the appreciation potential is definitely higher than in the provincial capital. In her previous life, owning a traditional courtyard house in Beijing would have been worth tens of millions, even hundreds of millions.
Chen Lishu glanced up at Yu Jiaye. Although he appeared simple and honest on the outside, even projecting an image of being easily bullied from the moment they met, it was hard to say what he was truly like on the inside.
The house was listed at around 12,000 yuan, yet he put on an act of being anxious and reluctant to sell. Could he be trying to take advantage of them because they were young and seemed easy to bully?
Chen Lishu’s guess was not wrong. Yu Jiaye was not foolish; on the contrary, he was quite cunning.
From the moment the house was returned to him by the state, he had been unable to move in!
Furthermore, due to his background, he dared not argue with the current residents.
As soon as he saw that they were all young people in their twenties, he increased the price by a thousand yuan from the original price. He figured that these naive young people would think it a great deal to hear the price had dropped by a thousand yuan.
He had also heard from a relative that Li Zhiwei came from a good family, a cadre’s son, likely a pampered young master.
But he was destined to be mistaken.
Li Zhiwei was not foolish at all. He usually only teased Zhang Xue and Chen Lishu because they were good friends.
For people like them, matters like Yu Jiaye's house were trivial. These people were merely relying on Yu Jiaye's background to act with impunity. Since there was a policy to return the property, it had to be handled according to regulations.
“What do you think?” Li Zhiwei turned his head to look at Chen Lishu.
If she truly liked it, she wouldn't have to worry about it. Within a week, it would be cleared up without a trace.
“This house is too expensive, and buying it would be a hassle. Let’s keep looking for something else.”
Without explicitly saying he disliked it, Li Zhiwei didn’t foolishly reveal his plans in front of Yu Jiaye. Buying a house was a big deal, and they couldn’t just pay whatever the seller asked. It was good to let it simmer for a while.
Li Zhiwei turned back and smiled at Yu Jiaye, “Alright, Brother Yu, thank you for your trouble today.”
Yu Jiaye immediately put on a smile that looked more like a grimace than a cry. “If you like it, we can discuss the price further. It’s really rare to find a detached house like mine.”
“Okay, Brother Yu, we’ll discuss it when we get back.”
The four of them quickly turned and left.
…
Sun Ling had an appointment at the train station today. She looked in the mirror for a long time, and only after ensuring everything was in order did she grab her keys and head downstairs.
As she walked out of the building entrance, she bumped directly into four familiar faces. Especially when she saw Li Zhiwei, her guilty conscience made her instinctively want to turn back. When she realized they were looking at her too, she immediately straightened her chest to cover up.
“What a coincidence, running into you here.” Sun Ling’s gaze fell on Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue, and she spoke with an unfriendly expression.
Chen Lishu also hadn’t expected to meet Sun Ling here, but she could only sigh that the world was indeed small.
After nearly a year apart, Sun Ling had changed quite a bit. Previously, there was a hint of arrogance and defiance in her eyes and eyebrows, but now it had faded considerably. She was wearing a bright red short woolen coat over black bell-bottom pants. She wasn't unattractive to begin with, and this attire amplified her good features, making her look mature and beautiful.
Chen Lishu smiled indifferently, “The feeling is mutual.”
“I say, Sun Ling, why is your makeup on your face like a monkey’s backside?” Zhang Xue, who was never one to hold back, seized the opportunity to taunt her.
Sun Ling glanced at her, then at Li Zhiwei. Chen Lishu was already married, so it was unlikely Li Zhiwei would choose her even if he were interested. Could he and Zhang Xue be dating?
They had been close in school before.
Upon thinking of this possibility, Sun Ling felt as if her heart had been immersed in sour water, and her expression turned unpleasant.
“Li Zhiwei, your taste is getting worse and worse. This person, neither male nor female, is nowhere near as good as Jiang Yuwei.”
“Who are you calling neither male nor female? Believe it or not, I’ll beat you up!”
Zhang Xue immediately became indignant and lunged towards her. Fortunately, Chen Lishu and Li Zhiwei restrained her.
“Forget it. Talking to someone like her lowers your standards and just makes you unhappy. Let’s go,” Chen Lishu advised.
For someone like Sun Ling, who had ill intentions, she would eventually get the punishment she deserved. Life would teach her to face reality.
“Beep beep—”
All of them had their backs turned. Suddenly, two abrupt honks came from behind them, startling them.
Sun Ling’s face lit up with a smile as she saw the car approaching. “Chengyi, you’re here?”
Chen Lishu looked back and saw a black car parked by the roadside. A middle-aged man in his thirties then got out of the car.
He had an average appearance but a good temperament.
Jiang Chengyi walked over to Sun Ling. When his gaze fell on Chen Lishu, his eyebrow subtly twitched. He had wanted to buy her blue and white porcelain at the antique market before but was refused. He didn’t expect to meet her here by such a coincidence.
When his gaze landed on Li Zhiwei beside her, his face immediately broke into a smile.
“Zhiwei, what are you doing here?”
Li Zhiwei: “Just out with friends on some business.”
Jiang Chengyi glanced at Sun Ling, then at Li Zhiwei, and said insightfully, “Oh, you’re classmates with Yuwei, and Lingling was also your classmate before.”
Hearing the word “classmate,” Sun Ling’s expression stiffened.
“By the way, she’s now an employee at my company. It’s quite a coincidence, really.”
Jiang Chengyi said to himself, then checked the watch on his wrist. “I have something urgent today, Zhiwei, so I’ll be going now. Come visit us at home another day. Grandma was saying the other day you haven’t been around for a while.”
Li Zhiwei smiled, “I was out of town during the holiday. Drive safely, Brother Chengyi.” His father was at a crucial juncture before the Lunar New Year, so their family had been keeping a low profile and not receiving visitors.
Soon, Jiang Chengyi and Sun Ling got into the car together.
“Who was that person just now?” Zhang Xue asked curiously after the car had driven away. She had heard him call Lingling and mention Jiang Yuwei. Could he be Sun Ling’s boyfriend?