Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 211 He Ci'en Buys a House

Sister Huo glared at him: "I was just giving an example. In principle, these things should be prepared before the wedding. But her family prepared them more than half a year in advance. They really trust our family."

After saying that, he picked up the three pieces of gold jewelry, weighed them one by one, and couldn't help but click his tongue: "They really went all out to marry my sister. This bracelet is really generous, and the ring and earrings are also very elegant. These gold ornaments alone must cost more than ten thousand yuan."

Brother-in-law Huo pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, my wife. When you married me, my family didn't give much of a dowry. Before, I thought it was enough that we were happy with our own lives, but now, compared to my sister, I really feel I've let you down."

"Things are better for us now. The day after tomorrow—yes, Saturday—we have the day off. I'll take you to the jewelry store to get the three gold pieces we need. Even if we can't buy anything as heavy as yours, we still need to get something. We may not have as much as others, but we can't be without anything."

Sister Huo… “If you take me to buy the three gold pieces now, isn’t the money still my money? Now that I’m in charge of the household, I’m calculating how the money should be spent. If you really want to make up for it, then you should save up your allowance and buy it for me when you’ve saved enough. That would be a real gift from you.”

After being scolded by Sister Huo, the brother-in-law immediately wilted. He only had a few dollars of pocket money a month. If he were to save up enough for the three gold pieces, his hair would probably be white by then. He glanced at Huo Benqin's betrothal gifts again, gritted his teeth, and said, "Then I will treat you even better in the future. I will take care of all the housework from now on."

Sister Huo was delighted and didn't stand on ceremony at all. She pointed to the broom standing in the corner and said, "Okay, then you sweep the floor first. I'll put away Xiaoqin's betrothal gifts first. They're too valuable, and I'll feel guilty if I don't put them away properly."

Huo's brother-in-law went off to work happily. Huo's sister put the gift money savings book, the gold jewelry, and Huo Benqin's own salary savings book into an iron box, sealed it tightly, and hid it at the very back of the wardrobe. This way, it would be troublesome to hide it and difficult to take it out, so she could feel more at ease.

While Jingxian was busy with the chicken farm, Jingyan started preparing for the National Day wedding banquet. Huo Benqin had no elders, so Sister Huo was still of the same generation. Jingyan took on the task of preparing eight quilts and a pair of camphor wood chests, which should have been prepared by the bride's parents.

Since the house was rented, it already had all the necessary furniture, so the step of preparing furniture and appliances was skipped. The wedding dress that Rong Gang was supposed to wear for his wedding was just a Zhongshan suit at this time. This was what the bride's family prepared, and Jingyan didn't interfere.

It's understandable that Jingyan prepared Huo Benqin's wedding dress on behalf of Jingxian. Wedding dresses and dragon and phoenix robes weren't the mainstream colors at the time. A simple bright red dress, sky blue trousers, and black leather shoes would have been a perfectly presentable outfit.

Jing Yan was distracted by other things and almost forgot about He Ci'en. He Ci'en was actually alright; he grew up in the Northwest and wasn't a picky eater. The food at the research institute was a bit bland, but it was still quite tasty, and he was able to eat his fill.

However, this was tough on his colleagues who preferred strong flavors. Mainly, He Ci'en had stockpiled too much food before the New Year, spoiling their palates. After the New Year, apart from the food he brought back when he first returned to the research institute, no one brought him any more.

Many people, even if they were craving something, were hesitant to ask. Then, during the May Day holiday, the research institute had a one-day break, which coincided with the weekend at the end of April, resulting in a three-day holiday. Before the holiday, He Ci'en's superior somewhat awkwardly called him aside.

He took two hundred yuan out of his pocket and gave it to him: "You should be going home for the holiday this time, right? The braised beef and stewed meat you brought last time were delicious."

I know your aunt's family owns a restaurant. Give me two hundred yuan when you come back, anything is fine. You've always treated everyone to meals before, and as your leader, it's my turn to show my appreciation.

He Ci'en did some mental calculations: "For braised beef, 100 yuan can buy about 4 jin (2 catties), and for stewed meat, 100 yuan can buy about 7 jin (3.5 catties). Should we buy according to this standard?"

The leader thought for a moment, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then took out another hundred yuan: "Just the braised beef, pack it separately. I'm saving this for my family."

He Ci'en smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll remember that. I'll bring it when I get back from home." After saying that, he put the money in his pocket. What a joke, it's only right to pay for food if you want to eat. After these few months of working together, he has already established himself in the research institute and no longer needs to use food to build relationships.

Besides, the food his aunt gave him was out of kinship, and had nothing to do with the other people in the courtyard. He was actually quite distressed about having to share the food with everyone before the New Year, but there are gains and losses, and it was an inevitable process.

Now, if I want to eat something, I can buy it from him. He's already being very kind by not charging me a service fee. As for discounts or cheaper prices? That's out of the question.

Back at his seat, someone asked him what his boss wanted to see him about. He casually replied, "Oh, the boss thought the braised beef and stewed meat my aunt sent over before were delicious, and he wanted me to bring some back for his family to try. That's why he gave me the money."

Originally, I hadn't expected this colleague to suddenly have such a brilliant idea, and he immediately offered to help mentor these researchers as well. These researchers weren't short of money; their monthly salary of one or two thousand yuan was two or three times higher than that of ordinary workers, and they couldn't possibly spend it all on normal expenses.

There was nowhere in the research institute where they needed to spend money. They would spend two or three hundred yuan to improve their meals without batting an eye. In particular, these young men who had no family or job were quite wealthy. Since they didn't have wives or children to help them spend money, they naturally saved quite a lot.

He Ci'en happily took out paper and pen and recorded the names, types of meat, and amounts of money in a form. In a short while, he had more than three thousand yuan. Look, these are all people who are not short of money.

After get off work, He Ci'en left the research institute as the bell rang, money in her pocket, eager to go home immediately to surprise her aunt. If possible...

In the future, this kind of meat can be sold at the research institute from time to time. Wouldn't that be a way to get rich? Fortunately, he has his help inside. Whenever my aunt and the others come, he can have his colleagues come out to buy it. How great is that?

Rongqiang would come back during these holidays, and the house would suddenly become lively. He Ci'en handed the research institute's purchase list to Jingyan: "Auntie, this is the meat that my colleague ordered from me. I've noted down the types, the amounts, and who bought it. Can you help me prepare it?"

Jingyan smiled broadly as she took the meat, saying, "Oh my, my Ci'en is so amazing! She can even help her aunt open a business in the yard. There's quite a lot of meat here. I'll send it to the restaurant right away and ask Chef Zhou to prepare it for the next two days. Don't worry, get it ready before you leave."

After discussing business matters, He Ci'en brought up another matter: the research institute was planning to build a residential building for its employees as a benefit. Currently, the market price for public housing is 900 yuan per square meter.

The research institute will cover half of the purchase price, and employees only need to pay the other half to get the house. Influenced by Jingyan, he also wanted to buy a house for himself, but he hadn't decided how big to buy.

Upon hearing that it was about buying a house, Jingyan's interest immediately piqued: "Is the house still under construction or already completed? Can we see the actual house and choose one?"

He Ci'en nodded: "I've inquired. They're ready-built apartments. The smaller ones are around 60 square meters, the larger ones are 130 or 140 square meters, and there are also some in the middle range of 80 or 90 square meters. I'm thinking that I'll be living here by myself, and even if I get married, it will be at most a family of three, so 80 or 90 square meters should be enough..."

"Do you have enough money? After you get the house, will you need to renovate it? Have you prepared that money?" Jingyan asked him.

He Ci'en smiled and said, "My salary has been quite good these past few years, and I haven't spent much. In addition, I have scholarships from school, so I have some savings for living expenses. I currently have about 60,000 yuan in my hands."

Even if you buy a 130-square-meter apartment, you'll still have over a thousand yuan left over. For a smaller one, you'll have at least ten thousand yuan left over, so renovations shouldn't be a problem.

He Zhijun glanced at Jing Yan and smiled, "How about your aunt and I go with you to take a look tomorrow? If it's suitable, we can buy a set. It'll be useful when you get married."

He Ci'en readily agreed. Even though he was quite old, he still wanted to ask his family for their opinions on such an important matter, especially regarding the choice of house type. He really didn't know anything about it, and his uncle and aunt were definitely better at it than he was. He would feel more at ease with their help.

No sooner said than done, the three of them headed straight to the dock the next morning, eager to look at the houses. The welfare housing was not far from the research institute. Sure enough, there were quite a few houses in this area. Considering the current staff of the research institute, even if each person bought one, they might not be able to share them all. No wonder they encouraged everyone to buy houses.

The three of them found the person in charge and looked at each apartment type. The two-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom, and one-kitchen apartments were all small but complete. They were fine for living alone, but would be very cramped if there were more people. Jingyan didn't like this type of apartment.

It's a 130-140 square meter apartment with four bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It's spacious and has plenty of rooms, but unfortunately, if a lot of people move in, they might fight over the bathroom. If there are only a few people... it's not necessary at all.

Jingyan had her eye on a 90-100 square meter apartment, with two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The kitchen and bathroom were quite spacious, with the kitchen being about 15-16 square meters and the bathroom about 10 square meters. Jingyan felt there was enough space for both cooking and showering.

Jingyan was most satisfied with the large kitchen window. Now that gas pipes are common and gas stoves and range hoods are common in most homes, such a large window provides excellent lighting for cooking.

The living room is nearly 30 square meters, and there's also a balcony, which is about 10 square meters. This is extra space. The master bedroom and the second bedroom are about 10 square meters and 10 square meters respectively, so the space looks large.

Jingyan is very satisfied with this apartment layout. It has good natural light, and clothes dry easily on the balcony in winter.

After choosing the room type, we then considered the location and floor. With seven floors, everyone agreed that the third or fourth floor was best – not too high, not too low, and less prone to dampness.

In the end, Jingyan chose a centrally located, 98-square-meter apartment on the third floor. With the included balcony, the actual area was at least 100 square meters, which she felt was a great deal.

He Ci'en followed the staff to the office area to sign the purchase agreement and paid half of the purchase price, 44,000 yuan. Looking at the remaining 10,000 yuan in her savings account, He Ci'en clicked her tongue: "Buying a house is really expensive. If the hospital hadn't paid half of it, I really wouldn't have enough money on my own."

Jingyan laughed at him: "Buying a house has always been a big deal. For families with some heritage, it takes several generations of hard work to accumulate an ancestral home. We are already doing very well now, so don't be ungrateful."

He Zhijun nodded in agreement: "If you can buy a house without relying on your parents, you will definitely be more sought after in the marriage market. Maybe it won't be long before you meet the right person."

He Ci'en's joy at buying a house suddenly turned sour.

He Zhijun looked at Jing Yan and said, "This house still needs to be renovated. Let's take him to Sister Yuan's renovation company. We can take advantage of the early hour today to measure the actual area and see how much it will cost to renovate. At least we'll have a general idea of ​​what it will cost."

What could He Ci'en say but nod in agreement?

The three of them turned and went to Tai'an Decoration Company. It was no longer the cramped storefront it was a decade or so ago; now it not only had decoration capabilities, but also a wide variety of building materials needed for renovations.

Many customers prefer the hassle-free option of outsourcing everything. They can choose and order tile patterns and flooring styles on-site. Therefore, the location has changed; the entire three-story building belongs to the Tai'an company.

Moreover, as the first decoration company opened in Haishi after its opening, it has a very good reputation locally, and many people come here specifically because of its reputation.

After the three entered, they saw that the lobby was very spacious. In addition to the reception desk facing the entrance, there were sofas and coffee tables on both sides. Further inside, there were partitioned private rooms with transparent glass, which felt grand and clean.

He Zhijun walked to the front desk and said, "Hello, could you help me find Mr. Liu Qiang?"

The receptionist looked at him with surprise: "Hello, do you have an appointment?"

He Zhijun shook his head, looking bewildered: "Is he very busy? Does he need an appointment?"

The young woman looked at him again: "Mr. Liu is very busy. If you don't have an appointment, I can only try calling his office, but I may not be able to see him."

Jingyan also stepped forward, "Then please make a call and say that He Zhijun is visiting."

The young woman nodded, picked up the phone on the table, dialed the internal line, said a few words, and after hanging up, said in a very respectful tone, "Mr. He, Mr. Liu requests that you go directly to his office. I will take you there."

After saying that, she went upstairs, followed by the three men. They went up to the third floor and entered the innermost office. The young woman knocked three times, and a voice came from inside: "Come in!"

After pushing open the door, the receptionist said goodbye and left. The three of them entered and were greeted by Liu Qiang's smiling face: "What brings you here today? It's been over ten years, and you've only been here twice. This seems to be your first time at this new address."

Jing Yan smiled and said, "I'm just a penny-pincher, why would I come here if I didn't have something to do? I came today to ask you for help."

"It's rare for you to come to me with something. So, what is it?" Liu Qiang said with a smile.