In early November, Liu Chen, who was lying on the living room sofa wrapped in a blanket after acting spoiled, wiggled her slightly cold toes. She suddenly missed the hot spring villa she stayed in during the National Day holiday, not for its size, but mainly for the underfloor heating it had.
As she was thinking, Liu Chen suddenly remembered that her small apartment in Beijing also had underfloor heating.
With that thought, she opened the chat interface with Guo Da. Looking at Guo Da's detailed records of every dividend in the chat history, she calculated that her total dividends amounted to over twenty thousand yuan.
Did Guo Da earn over two hundred thousand yuan selling houses on QQ Zone in these four months? Earlier, after she turned eighteen, she had gone to the Construction Bank to get a card and activated online banking. Now, she had accumulated just over a million yuan.
The idea of buying a house surged in Liu Chen's mind again. She stealthily glanced at Liu Fang, who was lying on the chaise lounge watching TV.
Currently, she was paying a monthly mortgage of ten thousand yuan. Bringing up the matter of buying a house again, even if she wore her tongue down, would be futile.
But… what if she just kept the money and invested in Moutai stock? Moutai stock could be bought anytime, but if policies in Beijing changed in a couple of years, buying a house might not be so easy.
Actually, it was her past experience of her house being taken away to pay off debts and living in rented accommodation ever since that gave Liu Chen an obsession with houses. Now that she had money, this obsession was strongly overriding her reason.
This led her to impulsively send a message to Guo Da.
"Brother Guo Da, can you help me look for a two-bedroom apartment in Haidian District? Preferably with an elevator and facing south, with a budget of just over a million yuan. I can fly over to sign the contract after this semester ends."
The message was sent, and she hadn't received a reply yet, but Liu Chen wasn't in a hurry. She still had over two months until winter break.
Just as Liu Chen turned off her phone, Liu Fang's phone rang. Liu Fang turned down the TV volume a bit with the remote control in her hand and pressed the speakerphone button.
"Hello, may I speak to Ms. Liu Fang?"
"Ah, yes."
"Hello, Sister Liu, it's Xiao Zuo from the Phoenix City sales office. Do you remember the two apartments you purchased from us? Your apartments will be ready for handover at the end of this month. I thought you could find a renovation company to take measurements and design something, so that once you receive the apartments at the end of the month, you can start renovation immediately. This way, the renovation will be done earlier, the house will have more time to ventilate, and you can move in next summer."
Listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, Liu Fang's expression changed from confusion to surprise, and finally to joy. In less than a minute, she put on a performance for Liu Chen called "face-changing."
"Okay, okay, okay. Should I call you the day before I arrange for the renovation company to come?"
"Yes! Okay, Sister, then I won't bother you any longer, goodbye."
After saying goodbye, the other end didn't hang up and was waiting for Liu Fang to hang up. Liu Fang waited for a moment before realizing that she was now Xiao Hong's client, and then she pressed the hang-up button.
This was the first time Liu Fang was buying a house that was going to be handed over. The current apartment she lived in was bought during her marriage to Hu Xingfa. However, before she could even finish decorating it and move in, she discovered that that scumbag Hu Xingfa had cheated on her, and had been doing so for so many years.
Therefore, many parts of this apartment were done hastily. When using it, she had always thought about renovating the house when she had money, for when Chenchen found a boyfriend and was preparing to get married, so that it would look good when she got married.
Who would have thought that things would happen so quickly, and she would buy a house herself, and not just one, but two! When she bought them, she felt a lot of pressure. Now, after a few months of payments, she actually found it manageable?
Liu Chen, who had been listening to the entire conversation from the side, blinked her eyes. Renovation?
Liu Chen, who had rented countless apartments in her previous life, had never thought about this issue. After being reborn, she was already satisfied to live in a house that belonged to her.
The mother and daughter fell into a brief silence due to this phone call.
It was Liu Fang who snapped out of it first, opening her contacts and saying:
"Your aunt also said that her house renovation wasn't good. The floorboards have only been there for a few years, and they creak a bit when you walk on them. Last time I went to your godmother's house, their renovation was quite good. The kitchen countertop has been used for so many years, and it hasn't stained."
Liu Chen thought about her godmother's huge detached villa, and then about their own top-tier four-bedroom and south-facing three-bedroom apartments…
Perhaps combined, they weren't as large as one floor of her godmother's house. It was uncertain whether the renovation company that renovated her godmother's house would even be willing to take their project.
Liu Fang searched for a long time but couldn't find any friends in the renovation industry. Just then, an advertisement for a renovation company started playing on the local TV channel.
"Only thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine! Ninety square meters, full package renovation! Move in within three months! Don't hesitate, the address is..."
Seeing the captivated expression on Liu Fang's face, Liu Chen quickly stopped her mother from pulling out her phone to call for consultation and said quickly:
"Mom, let's not rush. Let's ask around more. Mi Zhuzhu's family also bought a house in our complex. Her dad seems to be a contractor. I'll ask tomorrow. Wouldn't that be more professional than us?"
Of course, Liu Chen had her own thoughts. In her previous life, Mi Zhuzhu also complained about her family's situation when she returned to China, such as if her dad hadn't saved some money a few years ago, he probably wouldn't even be able to afford food in the current market.
And her dad, working as a small contractor, was cheated by a friend. After completing the project, he didn't get paid, and had to personally cover over a million yuan in wages. Even after five or six years, he hadn't gotten the money back.
Liu Chen thought that a renovation company was a good industry, and it didn't require upfront payment; they used the client's advance payments to buy materials. And Uncle Mi was slightly familiar with this industry, so this was a good opportunity to encourage Uncle Mi to try this industry.
Liu Fang hesitated for a moment and also thought that having someone they knew to ask would be better. "Mi Zhuzhu's father? Then you ask him when you go to school tomorrow. Renovation matters require someone to supervise. If Mr. Mi wants to start renovation together, having a man to check on it from time to time can save us some trouble."
***
Century Garden Complex,
Mi Zhuzhu was eating a large bowl of wonton noodles when she saw the message from Liu Chen on QQ. She immediately put down her wontons, walked to the door of her father's study, and pushed the door open.
Mi Gong, who was dozing in his boss's chair, was startled awake by the sound of the door opening. Seeing his Zhuzhu holding her phone and asking him excitedly:
"Dad, Dad, the house in Phoenix City that I asked you to buy is almost ready for handover. Chenchen is asking if our family is going to renovate?"
"Hmm? Phoenix City? Oh, oh, yes, of course, we have to renovate it. Once it's renovated, we'll move in, and then when I pick you up, I can bring Liu Chen along, wouldn't that be great!"
"Oh, Dad says we definitely have to renovate, and once it's renovated, we can go to school together..." Mi Zhuzhu mumbled as she typed on her phone.
Mi Gong, who had become slightly more awake, realized. Liu Chen asking him if he was going to renovate after buying a house... did that mean...?
Ah!
"Zhuzhu, send it like this. Your dad says he's about to renovate his own house and doesn't mind renovating together, so that he can get a better price."
Mi Zhuzhu blinked her eyes. Although she didn't understand why her dad suddenly said this, she lowered her head and typed this into QQ and sent it to Liu Chen.
Upon receiving this message, Liu Chen's lips curved upwards. Such a concise message without emojis or wavy lines must have been sent by Uncle Mi through Zhuzhu.