After the car started, Qiao Shu finally realized that the entire family was in the car. What about He Anning and Jiang Lekang, those two little ones?
“Ningning and Kangkang?”
Seeing that Qiao Shu was concerned about her two grandchildren, He Hong smiled and said.
“Those two were originally making a fuss about coming with us to go out with you. But the car couldn’t fit that many people, and besides, we’re going to look at houses, not out to play…”
“So, I had that stinky brat A Xiao stay home to watch Ningning and Kangkang. If they want to make a fuss, they can make a fuss with their little uncle.”
Hearing Elder Feng say this, Qiao Shu finally realized, oh, she had overlooked Feng Xiao, one of the Feng Family Members, earlier!
So Feng Xiao had been left at home too!
Soon, the car arrived at the post office. Surrounded by a group of elders, Qiao Shu mailed her two letters. One was sent back to her parents in Qiao Village.
The other was her medium-length fairy tale story sent to Happy Children Magazine.
After mailing the letters, Qiao Shu obediently sat between Elder Feng and He Hong again, following them to do the most important thing they had to do today—buy a house.
It had to be said that the Feng Family Members were all people of action. They had only just talked about buying a house yesterday.
Yet last night, they had already contacted a property source, and today they were viewing it!
Such efficiency truly left Qiao Shu in admiration.
“It was quite a coincidence. I had your brother-in-law ask a friend of his who has a courtyard house, and sure enough, someone wanted to sell a courtyard house. And that location—it’s the closest one to the Forbidden City!”
Hearing He Yingzi say this, Qiao Shu grew a bit curious.
After all, it was a courtyard house near the Forbidden City!
In the future, those would sell for sky-high prices!
“Sister, why does the owner want to sell the house?”
Qiao Shu figured that owning a courtyard house so close to the Forbidden City meant the family must have some solid financial backing.
So why sell it???
“Oh, I heard the owner is going abroad, so they’re planning to liquidate some of their domestic properties.”
Hearing that the other party was selling the house to go abroad, Qiao Shu instantly felt a pang of sympathy for them!
After all, no matter how you looked at it, this was a money-losing deal!
But thinking about it, this era was indeed swept up in a craze for going abroad. Many people were pawning everything they owned to head overseas.
Thinking of those in this era who sold houses to go abroad and make money—especially houses in a first-tier city like the Capital— they were truly taking a huge loss!
The money earned abroad might not even buy a single house when converted back…
When the car passed row after row of courtyard houses and stopped in front of a standalone courtyard house.
As soon as she got out of the car, Qiao Shu was stunned by the courtyard house before her eyes.
Because this courtyard house was truly enormous! And not only was it big—the most important thing was that it was so close to the Forbidden City! Just one moat away! From the top of the courtyard, she could even see the Forbidden City’s corner towers in the distance!①
With its blue brick and gray tile Chinese-style exterior, paired with an antique yellow solid wood gate and various intricate carvings throughout the side courtyards, the overall style exuded an ancient elegance with a subtle, luxurious nobility.
Originally, Qiao Shu had no interest in buying a house, but after seeing this courtyard house, she was genuinely moved by its vast size, superior location, grand and undamaged design that had been well-maintained.
This courtyard house was simply too perfect! Especially the design—small bridges over flowing water, pavilions and towers, bizarre peaks and rocks—it hit right on her aesthetic preferences!
No matter what price the owner asked, buying it would never be a loss.
After all, with this setup, in the future, it wouldn’t come cheap without over a dozen billion!
The only thing she needed to worry about was… what if this courtyard house was too expensive…
Although the Feng Family had money, they couldn’t possibly spend it all on this one courtyard house.
And if she had to save up enough herself to buy it, how long would that take…
Just as Qiao Shu began to feel melancholy, thinking that if this courtyard house was too pricey, she’d have no choice but to give it up.
But when she followed behind the Feng Family Members, fully toured this massive courtyard house, and talked price with the owner planning to sell, Qiao Shu was shocked once again!
The reason? This courtyard house’s price… was ridiculously cheap! Way cheaper than she had imagined!!!
“Madam He, you were referred by my friend, so we’re practically friends. Since you’re sincerely interested, I’ll give you the rock-bottom price: eighty thousand yuan! This price really isn’t high. If I sold this courtyard house to someone else, it’d be at least a hundred thousand!”
The courtyard house owner was a young man probably under thirty, dressed very fashionably with a perm, bell-bottom pants, and a pair of aviator glasses on his nose—practically a fashion icon of this era.
However, this trendy look, in the eyes of Elder Feng, Feng Father, and Feng Mother, just came off as the flashy getup of a street punk.
So throughout, He Hong tightly held Qiao Shu’s hand and even pulled her mask up over her nose a bit more, afraid that this ‘little punk’ would get too close to their family’s ‘delicate flower’.
Yes, Qiao Shu had been made to wear a mask by He Hong when they went out today.
Although Qiao Shu didn’t like wearing a mask, finding it stuffy, she understood He Hong meant well, so she didn’t refuse.
It was just… the mask material was really irritating, making breathing a bit uncomfortable and even chafing her cheeks…
Hearing that this courtyard house was only selling for eighty thousand yuan, Qiao Shu’s eyes lit up instantly.
My goodness! Such a big, perfect courtyard house for only eighty thousand! Buy it! We must buy it!
Qiao Shu shouted in her heart, but she quickly calmed down.
Although eighty thousand yuan was indeed a steal for a courtyard house worth billions in the future.
But… for this era, eighty thousand was still a sky-high price…
After all, there weren’t even that many households with ten thousand yuan back then…
“Eighty thousand? Too much. I am sincerely interested, but isn’t this price a bit excessive?”
He Yingzi gave the man a cool glance, unleashing her full aura as she haggled with him.
Truth be told, Qiao Shu truly hadn’t expected He Yingzi, who was always so swift, decisive, and efficient in her work, to… actually haggle! This was way out of left field for her!
But how could she know that He Yingzi had never haggled with anyone before—what price was listed was the price.
However, this courtyard house’s price was really too high and exceeded her mental budget.
But she could see how much Qiao Shu loved it. Those clear, beautiful eyes had been sparkling like a little mouse that had fallen into a vat of rice ever since she got out of the car and saw it—impossible to miss.
So, determined to get this courtyard house for Qiao Shu, He Yingzi naturally had to haggle hard with the owner to secure it.
“Exactly, young man, you’re not being honest. You say we’re friends, but then you rip us off like this? Don’t think we don’t know the current prices for courtyard houses.”
“We’ve asked around. In this area, slightly smaller courtyard houses can be bought for ten thousand yuan. Yours at eighty thousand is way too high.”
“If I spend eighty thousand on your one courtyard house, I might as well buy eight smaller ones for the same price. Wouldn’t that be a better deal…”
Seeing Elder Feng, Feng Father, and Feng Mother join the haggling team, Qiao Shu blinked in surprise. She didn’t know if the seller took their words to heart, but she certainly did.
Ten thousand yuan! A smaller courtyard house for just ten thousand! Heavens! So cheap!
Buy now for ten thousand, and in the future, resell for tens of millions, even billions!!
At this moment, a goal rose in Qiao Shu’s heart: she would work hard to earn money and buy as many houses in the Capital as possible!
After all, she had no head for business. Making money through trade wasn’t her thing.
So she’d save up diligently, buy houses, and wait for them to appreciate!
Qiao Shu quietly set this goal in her heart, but little did she know that even without investing in houses for appreciation, she would still make a fortune and become a little rich lady!
In the end, amid Qiao Shu’s daydreaming, the Feng Family Members successfully negotiated the price down. With both sides compromising, they secured this courtyard house right next to the Forbidden City for sixty thousand yuan.
After paying and completing the transfer, Qiao Shu was still in a daze.
Because she hadn’t expected the Feng Family Members to pull out sixty thousand yuan just like that, without batting an eye!
And… during the transfer, the owner had put only her name on it?!!!
“Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Sister, this isn’t right. You all paid for the house; I didn’t contribute a dime. I can’t take this house!”
Qiao Shu didn’t rejoice at getting a courtyard house worth over ten billion in the future for free. She just felt immense pressure.
After all, the gift the Feng Family Members had given her this time was far too precious!
“Alright, Shushu, haven’t you been clamoring to marry A Xiao? Consider this the wedding house we’re giving you and A Xiao. If you don’t accept it, then your marriage to A Xiao won’t count.”
It had to be said that He Yingzi knew Qiao Shu best. These words pinned the little girl down completely.
Instantly, Qiao Shu shut her mouth and said no more about refusing the house.
Elder Feng, Feng Father, and Feng Mother changed expressions upon hearing He Yingzi’s words. They hadn’t bought this courtyard house for Qiao Shu with Feng Xiao in mind at all!
Whether Qiao Shu married Feng Xiao or not, they were willing to spend money to buy her a house.
After all, in this time together, they had already come to see Qiao Shu as their own child, loving her even more than He Yingzi and Feng Xiao.
After all, who wouldn’t dote on such an obedient, beautiful, and sweetly coquettish little girl? She was far more endearing than their two cold, rigid children~!
So hearing He Yingzi say they were buying this courtyard house as Qiao Shu and Feng Xiao’s wedding house left Elder Feng, Feng Father, and Feng Mother a bit displeased.
After all, given their grandson’s/son’s condition, they couldn’t bear to let Qiao Shu marry him and live an abnormal married life.
However, this was in public, so Elder Feng, Feng Father, and Feng Mother held back from saying anything.
Thus, in just one morning and one afternoon, Qiao Shu became a homeowner in the Capital.
And it was a courtyard house worth sixty thousand now but over ten billion in the future.
On the way home after eating Capital Roast Duck, Qiao Shu still felt her experiences that day were utterly unbelievable!
So, even though she had just mailed a letter that morning, by afternoon back at the Feng Family Residence, Qiao Shu wrote another letter. She told her parents how the Feng Family Members had spent sixty thousand yuan to buy her a house right next to the Forbidden City. She described in detail how big and beautiful the courtyard house was, how good the Feng Family Members were to her, and how during the transfer, only her name was on the deed…
At this moment, Qiao Shu was just too shocked and had no one around to share or vent with, so she wrote to her parents about it.
However, she didn’t expect that this letter would thoroughly stimulate a certain reborn person~!
It stimulated her to the point where she began questioning if her past life’s experiences were all illusions. Why was Qiao Shu’s situation completely different from hers?!!
Why, when both married into the Feng Family and to Feng Xiao, did she get no substantial dowry last life! Why did Qiao Shu get an extra courtyard house worth so much, with only her name on the deed?!
However, this letter that was about to be sent out was not the only item that struck her. The package sent along with the letter next struck her even more thoroughly.
Because—what she had not expected was that the man, who in her impression had been distant and cold toward her, was actually so special to Qiao Shu as well…