187: Chapter 183 Tenant 187: Chapter 183 Tenant In the Treasure House, I was delayed for over half an hour.
By the time Chen Hai returned to where he’d alighted from the car, Ye Qingqing was already waiting.
“Chen Hai, how did it go?”
“Not bad, it went fairly smoothly.
And you, Qingqing?
What did you have outside?
Are you full?”
“I just had some snacks, I don’t eat much and get full easily, unlike certain people who need a pot to feel half full!”
Ye Qingqing pulled a face at Chen Hai and teased him in passing.
“Yo, our Qingqing has grown quite capable…” Chen Hai chuckled.
While the two bantered, the car slowly started moving, headed in the direction of West Mountain Villa.
Originally planning to drop Chen Hai off and then return to her own place, Ye Qingqing ultimately stayed at West Mountain Villa.
As for what she did there and with Chen Hai, it’s not something to be discussed by others.
In the days that followed, all was calm.
Chen Hai’s Cultivation continued every day without a break, and from time to time, Ye Qingqing would spend the night at the villa, deepening their exchange.
Certain matters did slightly affect his Cultivation, but as long as it wasn’t too frequent, it was still within Chen Hai’s acceptable range.
Truly speaking, what made Chen Hai suffer the most was his time in school!
For scholarly students, they could find endless joy in textbooks, but for someone like Chen Hai, who struggled academically, every class was nearly a torture.
Aside from the first couple of days when he attended every class, over the next few days, his poor academic performance led him to start skipping classes!
On the fifth day, having been unseen for several days, Wang Huachun finally sent a pager message.
After returning his call, Chen Hai rode his bicycle for over ten minutes and eventually reached the front of the Yanhe Street Office.
“Chen Hai, over here!” Wang Huachun and a woman in her thirties, wearing sports shorts and with makeup on her face, had been waiting at the entrance for a while.
Seeing Chen Hai, he quickly waved at him to catch his attention.
“This is Wang Meili, Aunt Wang!”
“This is my classmate, Chen Hai!”
As soon as Chen Hai stopped his bike and walked up to them, Wang Huachun quickly introduced Chen Hai to Aunt Wang.
“Chen, you’ve also been to see my house.
The few rooms inside the yard are a bit run-down, but the advantage is the ample space!”
“Such a large courtyard selling for only three hundred thousand, you’re picking up a real bargain.”
“Originally, I thought, with my plan, you’d have to pay the three hundred thousand in full, in one go!”
“Huachun persuaded me for a long time.
Out of regard for him, although I agreed that the payment can be split, I must say it upfront.”
“Half of the payment, that’s one hundred and fifty thousand, you’ll have to pay in full when signing the contract.
The remaining amount, I can give you half a year to settle.”
“If you can’t pay it off within six months, I’ll have to take back the house, the contract will be void, and the payment you’ve already made will not be refunded.”
“These terms must be included in the contract.
If you think you can accept them, we can go to the street office now and have them witness us signing the contract…”
After sizing up Chen Hai from head to toe, Wang Meili smirked and admonished him.
As a local of the Capital City, she clearly had a sense of superiority in front of Chen Hai, an outsider.
As she spoke, a hint of disdain flashed across Wang Meili’s face.
“Aunt Wang, if I can’t settle the house payment within six months, you can take the house back.
I have no objections to that,” Chen Hai replied after a moment’s thought.
To the average person, earning one hundred and fifty thousand in half a year would be almost impossible.
But for Chen Hai, it was hardly a challenge!
With his ability, he felt that if he couldn’t earn that much money in six months, he might as well bash his head with a block of tofu!
“No objections?
Good,” Wang Meili nodded.
“Let’s go, we’ll sign the contract inside the street office.
I’m someone who earns several hundred yuan a day; I don’t have time to drag this out with you…”
She waved at Chen Hai and Wang Huachun, then turned and strutted towards the street office.
The woman with high cheekbones seemed a bit sharp and harsh.
Her way of doing things suggested she was not someone easy to deal with.
“Huachun, is Aunt Wang really a close friend of your mother?” Doubtful, Chen Hai asked.
“This…
She’s the neighbor of a neighbor of one of my relatives…
I approached her myself to help sell the house after hearing from my relative that Aunt Wang wanted to sell,” Wang Huachun explained hesitantly with his head down.
“Craving the first bite of crab and becoming a successful real estate agent, this guy would knock on doors the moment he knew someone was willing to sell a house.”
The Aunt Wang Meili standing before him was a client he had found using this very method.
All that stuff about his mother’s good friend was just a ruse, a trick to gain trust!
“You’re even trying to hoodwink me, huh?”
“Never mind, since you’ve really put in a lot of effort and as long as there are no issues with the house and the payment, I can’t be bothered to argue over the rest!”
Feeling somewhat speechless, Chen Hai gave Wang Huachun an eye-roll.
Seeing Wang Meili almost inside the Yanhe Street Office, he patted Wang Huachun on the shoulder, and the two hurriedly followed.
In those days, the concept of commercial housing had just emerged,
and the transfer of house property rights could be handled by the local street office.
After looking over the contract drafted and printed by Wang Meili several times, Chen Hai signed his name and pressed his fingerprint without any objections.
In front of the street office staff, he handed over 150,000 yuan directly to Wang Meili.
By the time Chen Hai and Wang Huachun left the street office, more than an hour had passed.
After giving Wang Meili 150,000 yuan and paying various other fees, Chen Hai, who had come with a backpack full of money, was left with only one or two hundred yuan.
He even owed Wang Huachun’s intermediary fee, without the cash to pay.
Wang Huachun, for his part, didn’t show any dissatisfaction!
After all, a late payment is still a payment, as long as Chen Hai acknowledged the debt.
At 6 o’clock in the evening, in the courtyard of Liuhua Alley that Chen Hai had just bought,
“Wang Huachun walked into the courtyard and started shouting loudly, ‘All tenants present, please come out, we have something to notify you of!'”
Chen Hai, on the other hand, followed unhurriedly.
“Yo, it’s you two?
What are you hollering for at this hour?” said the laundry aunt who had met Chen Hai and Wang Huachun a few days ago.
“Aunt Liu, right?
Just to let you know, no more renting here, please find a place to move out as soon as possible,” said Chen Hai, approaching her with a hint of a smile.
“What?
I and my family have lived here for over ten years.
You say no renting and just like that, it’s over?
Who do you think you are?”
Upon hearing Chen Hai’s words, Aunt Liu’s face instantly darkened, and she pointed at Chen Hai, scolding him fiercely.
“Kid, you can’t talk nonsense.
Did Wang Meili send you guys here?”
“I, Butcher Zhang, have lived here for nearly ten years, and I’ve always treated this house as my own.”
“I’ve never shortchanged Wang Meili the fifty yuan a month for rent.
Last time she mentioned eviction, I shot her down on the spot!”
“Just a couple of months ago, she brought over a bunch of relatives and friends trying to force us out, but as soon as I picked up my pig-slaughtering knife, not one of those cowards dared to make a move!”
“So?
You two young lads were egged on by Wang Meili to come here and get us to move?
You want to try if my pig-slaughtering knife still cuts deep?”
Butcher Zhang’s intimidating laughter had barely ceased when another man emerged from inside the courtyard, walking out of another room.
This burly man, who called himself Butcher Zhang, merely grinned.
Wang Huachun, who had been calling out since entering the courtyard, immediately fell silent out of fear and took a few steps back, hiding behind Chen Hai.
“Young men, do you realize that you’ve been used as pawns by Wang Meili?”
“We’re willing to pay the rent if she wants it, but if she wants us to move, let me tell you, no chance!”
“Considering you two didn’t know, we’ll spare you youngsters any trouble.”
“When you go back, tell Wang Meili, if she wants us to move out, stop with the shady tricks unsupported by the law.
If she has the guts, let her come over and try talking to us in person!”
Another old man in his sixties or seventies emerged from one of the rooms within the courtyard.
While puffing on a dry pipe, he chuckled oddly.
Three out of the four tenants in the courtyard showed their faces and made their voices heard.
The last room was pitch dark; its occupant apparently hadn’t returned yet.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this courtyard has been sold to me by Wang Meili!”
“From this day forward, the owner of this place is no longer the Wang Meili you speak of but me, Chen!”
“Since I’ve bought the house, I certainly won’t continue renting it out.”
“I came here not to ask for your opinions but to inform you!”
“Whoever is willing to move out by the end of the month, when we meet again, we’ll still be friends, and furthermore, I’m willing to compensate one month’s rent.”
“But if anyone wants to play tough, thinking they can do whatever they want with a pig-slaughtering knife in hand, they can go ahead and try!”
Chen Hai, who initially hoped for an amicable parting with the tenants, now also looked somewhat displeased.
After casting a cold glance at the people in the courtyard and dropping a few more words, he signaled to Wang Huachun, and they walked towards the exit of the courtyard.