Chapter 151 - 125: Tell Me, Who Is She Still Waiting For?
Hearing this, the owner looked up at Zhou Yan. His gaze lingered for a moment on the new watch on Zhou Yan’s wrist before he nodded with a smile. "That’s right. Just a couple of days ago, she spoke to us two tenants about it. Said that if we can afford the price, we’ll get the first right to buy it. That’d save us from having someone else buy it and kick us out."
"So, are you going to buy it?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.
"Who could possibly afford it!" The owner pursed his lips and held up one finger. "It’s at least this much, and the final price isn’t even set yet."
"Ten thousand?!" Zhou Yan’s voice rose in pitch.
"Ten thousand might not even be enough. From what I gathered from Mrs. Qiu’s granddaughter, you’d have to add at least another thousand or two." The owner shook his head, a hint of disdain in his voice. "Those Xiangjiang people... they just don’t treat money like it’s real money."
"Xiangjiang people? How did they get involved?" Zhou Yan asked, confused.
"Mrs. Qiu’s children fled to Xiangjiang in the early years. Only she and her husband, Mr. Duan, remained. They were sent to the countryside, forced into manual labor... Mr. Duan didn’t survive it."
"A couple of years ago, when her family was politically rehabilitated, the Qiu Family’s Old Mansion was returned to her. So she moved back here to retire. She rents out two storefronts for twenty or thirty yuan a month. Every day she plays a bit of mahjong, listens to Sichuan opera... she’s been living quite comfortably."
"But then, a while ago, the son she hadn’t heard from in decades showed up with his daughter. He said he wanted to take her to Xiangjiang to live out her golden years in comfort, and then he immediately started making arrangements to sell the house."
"But it’s not a done deal. Mrs. Qiu refuses to go to Xiangjiang. She says she’s waiting for someone, and that she’ll die in Jiazhou before she leaves."
"Mrs. Qiu’s son stayed for a month before heading back, leaving his daughter here to keep the old lady company and handle the sale of the house." The owner paused in his work, looked up at Zhou Yan, and said, "Tell me, she’s an old lady, over seventy years old... who could she possibly still be waiting for? Going to Xiangjiang would be the life of luxury! When her son was here, he was being driven around in a private car. I heard the watch he wears is a Rolex—one of those is worth what a whole ’ten-thousand-yuan household’ has!"
Zhou Yan was a bit stunned to hear this. ’In this day and age, wearing a ten-thousand-yuan Rolex... His financial status was undeniable. He had to be a Hong Kong Businessman.’
Zhou Yan asked, puzzled, "If the house is worth less than his watch, why even bother selling it? Why not just take the old lady with him?"
"It’s not that they care about the money. They just want to sever the old lady’s attachment to this place so she’ll agree to go to Xiangjiang." The owner said while bagging some pig ears. "Whoever can resolve whatever is weighing on her heart and get her to agree, I bet her granddaughter would happily knock a few thousand off the price. Otherwise, if the old lady doesn’t give her approval, you can’t buy this place no matter how much money you offer."
Zhou Yan accepted the oil-paper bag, lost in thought. ’So this is what the shaomai shop owner meant when he said it was ridiculously expensive and a huge hassle.’
’The house is supposedly for sale, but there’s no set price. There isn’t even a firm answer on whether it’s *really* for sale.’
"Don’t tell me you’re thinking of buying this house?" the owner asked, handing Zhou Yan his change and staring at him.
"A friend of mine is interested, so I’m just asking around for him. I couldn’t possibly afford it," Zhou Yan said with a smile and a shake of his head. Inwardly, though, he was starting to get a clear picture.
"If you’re really interested, you should just knock on the door and ask. Our two shops are completely separate from the main house; the old lady only comes over when it’s time to collect rent." The owner’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he looked at Zhou Yan. "If your friend does end up buying the place, do me a favor and put in a good word for me, will you? Ask him to keep renting this storefront to me. I’ll pay whatever the going rate for rent is, no problem."
"Will do. I’ll be sure to pass that along for you." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. Seeing another customer come in, he thanked the owner and left with his purchase of pig ears.
After leaving the deli, Zhou Yan looked back at the stately, traditional old house, his brow deeply furrowed.
’If it were just a matter of ten thousand yuan, at least the goal would be clear. He could work hard for two months and maybe save up enough.’
’But getting a seventy-five-year-old woman to agree to something her own son and granddaughter couldn’t convince her of... how could an outsider like him possibly manage that?’
’A property this good... who knows how many business owners in Jiazhou have their eyes on it.’
’A ’ten-thousand-yuan household’ might be rare these days, but he couldn’t underestimate wealthy local bigwigs like Huang He, who had deep pockets.’
’Someone who could casually drop over two thousand yuan on a motorcycle for his son... Zhou Yan would be shocked if he didn’t have tens of thousands in cash on hand.’
’Zhou Yan’s own restaurant could clear tens of thousands in profit a year. As one of the four major restaurants in Jiazhou, Feiyan Restaurant surely couldn’t be making any less than him, right?’
He had the information he needed. Now he would just have to keep an eye on the situation.
The top priority for now was still making money!
’Without at least ten thousand yuan in hand, he wouldn’t even have a seat at the table.’
’Once he had the money, even if this house fell through, he could always buy another one.’
Just then, a tour boat must have docked, as a flood of tourists streamed out from the port entrance.
"Hey, look, there’s a deli over there! Let’s go buy a couple of duck heads and try them!"
"Get one for me, will you? I’m going next door for some MSG noodles!"
A number of tourists made a beeline for the two shops.
Zhou Yan felt a pang of envy. ’See? That’s the power of a prime location.’
’If he bought this house, he’d tear it down and rebuild immediately.’
’He’d turn the entire first floor into commercial space, with high, three-and-a-half-meter ceilings. Even fifty years from now, it wouldn’t look shabby compared to the neighboring shops.’
’The second floor would become two large, single-floor apartments—one for his parents and one for him. On the third floor, he’d give Zhou Momo a huge master suite and build a terrace with a view of the river, looking out over the Jiazhou Giant Buddha on the opposite bank.’
’Just the thought of it was pure bliss.’
’This deli would have to go, of course. He sold the same kind of food himself—he couldn’t have a competitor right on his own doorstep.’
’Sorry about that, boss!’
Zhou Yan and Comrade Zhou pushed their cart to the riverbank and watched the view for a while.