Chapter 52: A Complete Mess
"Thank you, Vice President Xiao Mei!"
"Vice President Xiao Mei is so generous!"
Wu Renqing and Wu Xiulan’s thanks were sincere.
Mei Bin waved his hand and smiled. "Brother Cheng, I have some other business to attend to, so I’ll be going now."
"Take care." Cheng Yuan nodded slightly.
As soon as Mei Bin left, the Wu Family’s side of things immediately burst into a commotion.
Lian Shishi had always looked down on her cousin, Cheng Yuan, and usually didn’t even bother speaking to him. But today, Cheng Yuan had given her one shock after another!
First, it was Secretary Wu, and now Vice President Xiao Mei.
Her eldest uncle and her mother had talked until they were blue in the face, but the other party wouldn’t budge from a 10% discount. Yet, the moment her cousin stepped in—or rather, without him even having to—Vice President Xiao Mei directly offered a 40% discount.
What an incredible amount of face!
"Cousin, how do you know Vice President Xiao Mei? Are you good friends with him? Can you introduce me to him?"
Cheng Yuan didn’t want to lead his cousin on, so he started spinning a tale. "I’ve only known Vice President Xiao Mei for less than three days. I happened to help him with a small matter, and this 40% discount has pretty much repaid the favor."
Disappointment washed over Lian Shishi’s face. Liu Qian and Wu Feifei also sighed. They had thought they could use their cousin to get a connection to Vice President Xiao Mei, but it seemed like it was a lost cause.
Liu Qian had always been on good terms with Cheng Yuan, so her expression didn’t change. But the enthusiasm on Lian Shishi and Wu Feifei’s faces vanished in an instant, and they couldn’t be bothered to pay Cheng Yuan any more attention.
Wu Renqing and Wu Xiulan, at least, still had some conscience, thanking Cheng Yuan profusely.
"Xiaoyuan, look at us, using up your favor just to buy a house. We really feel bad. If there’s anything you need help with, just say the word."
"Xiaoyuan, your auntie’s clothing factory is doing okay. If your company’s registration doesn’t go through right away, you can come work at the factory. Your auntie can make you a workshop supervisor."
Cheng Yuan smiled and waved his hand. "I’m doing fine. I don’t need any help, and I don’t need a job."
Wu Renqing and Wu Xiulan were just being polite, so they didn’t press him further.
The two of them began to calculate. Originally, they only had enough money for the smallest apartment. But now, they were determined to buy more, even if it meant selling everything they owned!
After all, with a 40% discount, the more they bought, the more they would "earn."
"Big Brother, I’m thinking of buying a 200-square-meter place. What about you?"
"I don’t have that much cash on hand. I’ll get a 160-square-meter one."
square meters?
square meters?
Hearing this, Cheng Yuan’s gaze turned cold. ’So, my uncle and aunt have this much spare cash.’ When his mother had tried to borrow money from them back then... heh...
Wu Xiuli and Wu Xiuhua’s expressions also cooled, but they didn’t say anything.
Wu Xiulan was very perceptive. Noticing that her two older sisters’ moods had soured, she quickly tried to explain.
"Eldest Sister, Second Sister, I had to use all of the clothing factory’s liquid capital to buy this house. After I get the property, I’ll have to mortgage it to replenish the factory’s cash flow, or else the factory will go under."
Wu Xiuli and Wu Xiuhua’s expressions softened slightly.
Wu Renqing also hurried to explain. "I just sold a property a few days ago, that’s why I have the money to get a retirement home for our dad."
Wu Xiuli and Wu Xiuhua’s expressions returned to normal.
"Eldest Sister, Second Brother, Second Sister, a 40% discount is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You have to seize it!"
Wu Renguang didn’t speak, busy calculating whether he should buy or not.
Wu Xiuli and Wu Xiuhua gave a wry smile.
"What’s the use of a good opportunity? Even with a 40% discount, the cheapest large flat is still two million, and the minimum down payment is 600,000. My family can scrape together 400,000 at most, which isn’t even enough for the down payment."
Wu Xiulan smiled. "Eldest Sister, I can lend you 200,000. This is such a great opportunity, you should hurry and buy the house."
"Xiulan, are you serious?" Wu Xiuli’s eyes lit up. ’If my little sister is willing to lend me the money, I really have to seize this chance.’
"Of course I’m serious. Xiaoyuan helped us save so much money, it’s only right that we show our appreciation, isn’t it, Big Brother?"
Wu Renqing nodded. "That’s right. I’ll chip in another 100,000 for renovation costs! You can’t just buy a house and leave it empty."
Wu Renguang, who was standing to the side, grew a little anxious. "Big Brother, Xiulan, how about lending me some too? I have exactly 600,000 on hand, and I was planning to buy a bigger place."
Wu Xiulan rolled her eyes in annoyance and couldn’t be bothered to respond to her second brother.
Wu Renqing was even more blunt. "Get lost! Xiaoyuan got us the 40% discount. What did you do? If you can get a 50% discount, I’ll lend you 200,000 on the spot!"
"Well..."
Wu Xiuhua glanced at Wu Xiuli with envy. ’From today on, Eldest Sister will also escape poverty. I’m the only one who still has to live in a resettlement housing project. It’s all Old Liu’s fault for being so useless!’
Wu Xiuhua shot her husband, Liu Zhengyun, a fierce glare.
Liu Zhengyun lowered his head in shame. ’It’s all my fault my business failed,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, how could we be in a position where we can’t even afford a down payment?’
Wu Xiuli didn’t notice Wu Xiuhua’s dejection. She was completely caught up in a state of euphoria, turning excitedly to Cheng Hongbing. "Old Cheng, are we buying this house or not?"
Before meeting Lin Ruoxi, Cheng Hongbing might have hesitated. But now that Xiaoyuan had found such a beautiful and outstanding girlfriend, they absolutely had to buy this house!
’How can he get married without a proper wedding house?’
"We’re buying! If it comes to it, I’ll work overtime until midnight every day! We’ll find a way to pay it back!"
"Yes, and I’ll get a second job!"
The two came to an instant agreement, but they had completely forgotten to ask for Cheng Yuan’s opinion.
How could Cheng Yuan bear to let his parents work overtime?
Besides, Mei Xing’an had already given him the Long Lake No. 1 Villa.
"Mom, Dad, why didn’t you ask for my opinion? We can’t buy this house."
Wu Xiuli shot Cheng Yuan an annoyed look. "What does a little kid like you know? Ruoxi is so outstanding. How can you not have a wedding house?"
Cheng Yuan smiled. "The wedding house is already taken care of. I’ll take you to see it in a little while."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
Seeing Cheng Yuan’s confidence, Wu Xiuli and Cheng Hongbing looked at each other with wry smiles.
’Ruoxi must have paid for the wedding house,’ they thought. ’From now on, we must treat her like our own daughter and make sure she never feels the slightest bit wronged in our family.’
’Since that’s the case, we should help Xiuhua.’
Wu Xiuli turned to Wu Xiuhua. "Xiuhua, Xiaoyuan has already prepared a wedding house, so we won’t be buying the large flat. My family can come up with 400,000 right now. I’ll lend it all to you so you can buy a house."
Wu Xiuhua looked at Wu Xiuli with gratitude. "Eldest Sister, I appreciate the thought, but Old Liu has racked up a mountain of debt. Our family can’t even come up with ten thousand yuan!"
Hearing this, Cheng Yuan was touched. His second aunt’s family was in an extremely difficult situation, with debt collectors showing up at their door every day. Even so, back then, his aunt had gritted her teeth and lent his family five thousand yuan!
What a profound bond of kinship!
’I have to help my second aunt!’
Wu Xiuli turned to look at Wu Xiulan and Wu Renqing.
"Big Brother, Xiulan, you just said you’d lend me 300,000. Why don’t you lend the money to Xiuhua now, so she can buy a house too?"
Wu Renqing and Wu Xiulan looked at each other, at a loss for words.
’Lending money to Wu Xiuli, we could expect to get it back. After all, her family isn’t in debt,’ they thought. ’But Wu Xiuhua’s family is a complete mess. Lending to her would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—it would be gone for good!’
"Xiuli, we offered to lend you money out of respect for Xiaoyuan. We didn’t even lend any to Renguang when he asked just now. As for Xiuhua..."
"Eldest Sister, don’t put us in a difficult position. If we lend money to Second Sister, it will be hard to justify it to Second Brother!"