Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 86: A House That Needs Demolishing and Rebuilding
The current residence of the Qin family was an ancestral property previously owned by the Xia family. It was located in the most prosperous area of Hu City, both bustling and peaceful, making it an excellent location.
The new property that Qin Kaize’s friend had found was not far from their current residence, and it took less than twenty minutes to walk there. The friend had been waiting for them at the entrance of the alley. When he saw Qin Kaize, he was initially excited, but his eyes soon welled up with tears.
"Boss, how are you? Are you okay now?" He immediately crouched down, making eye contact with Qin Kaize and showing deep concern.
Qin Kaize blinked a few times.
"He says he’s doing well," Su Yijia translated.
"Hello, Sister-in-law," the man realized his emotional display and quickly greeted Su Yijia.
"Hello," Su Yijia smiled and took out a notebook from her bag. She crouched down and placed the notebook in front of Qin Kaize.
"Don’t worry, no need to cry. Let’s go look at the house," Qin Kaize cooperated and said a few more words. He didn’t need to say those words, but he didn’t want to worry his former subordinate too much, so he added some unnecessary chatter.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the man’s eyes welled up with even more tears. His tears clung to his eyelashes, threatening to fall.
Su Yijia glanced at him discreetly, and he hurriedly wiped away his tears with his hand.
"Boss, Sister-in-law, one of the households has already arrived. Let me take you over to see it first," Zhu Zirui led them into the alley.
The house was located right in the middle of the alley and was not particularly large. It was about two-thirds the size of Qin Kaize’s current home. Clearly, it had not been built with much wealth in the past. The two-story building looked run-down, and it gave off the feeling that it might collapse in a strong wind. Moreover, the small building had been built relatively small, which made the courtyard appear large and empty.
Su Yijia took one look and knew that it would need to be demolished and rebuilt.
"What do you mean by demolishing and rebuilding? Why should it be demolished and rebuilt? My house is perfectly fine. Don’t mess around with it."
"Your house is too run-down, and just looking at it gives people a sense of oppression. If you want people to live comfortably and freely, you’ll definitely have to demolish and rebuild it," Su Yijia explained, even though she found the woman quite noisy.
However, the woman was not convinced. "Stop talking nonsense! My family has been living here for so long without any problems. Why should it be a problem now? I can tell you for sure that my courtyard is worth 2,500, not a penny less."
"Haha!" Su Yijia couldn’t help but chuckle. She raised her eyebrows, looking somewhat helpless and amusing as she stared at the woman. "With your dilapidated courtyard, you still want 2,500? Are you trying to get money, have you gone mad?"
The woman’s voice became sharper. "How can you talk like that?" The young man beside her quickly restrained her. "Mom, calm down. What she said is not wrong. Our courtyard is a bit more run-down than the others, and when it comes to selling things, prices can always be negotiated."
After the young man finished speaking, he glanced at Su Yijia secretly, and his gaze was a bit strange, like he was trying to convey something.
Su Yijia felt a chill run down her spine and quickly extinguished such thoughts. She wasn’t an ordinary protagonist, and not every man who showed interest in her was a potential love interest.
"You brat, you’re asking for it! I’m selling this house for your sake, you little rascal!" The woman reached out and pinched her son.
Her son had graduated from high school for two years and still hadn’t found a job. She had heard about a job as a fourth-level worker that was available for 850 yuan. She had begged and pleaded, and the other party had agreed to give her three days to gather the money.
Selling this house for 2,500 yuan, deducting the 850 yuan, they would have 1,650 yuan left. She and her man could sell their current jobs, each contribute 200 yuan, and upgrade from a second-level worker to a third-level worker. With the remaining 1,250 yuan, after spending some on her son’s wedding, they could even afford to put up a new signboard for their small business. That would leave them with just a few hundred yuan.
If there weren’t so many expenses, she wouldn’t have insisted on squeezing the price down to 2,500 yuan.
"Mom, even if I buy a job, I won’t spend so much money. And in the future, I’ll be earning 40 yuan a month, so we won’t be short of money," the young man argued. His words were defensive, but there was a hint of pride in his tone.
Su Yijia didn’t pay much attention to their arguments or bragging. She continued to look at Zhu Zirui with an inquiring look.
"A two-story small brick building will cost about 1,500 yuan, plus the expansion of water pipes, courtyard maintenance, and wall repairs, it will total around 1,800 yuan," Zhu Zirui calculated in his mind before giving an accurate amount. He mentioned a price that would be reasonable for ordinary people hiring professionals. If he were to do it himself, it would probably cost around 1,300 to 1,400 yuan. However, since they were negotiating, he had to quote a higher price. Not to mention that Su Yijia would feel the pinch, even the young man who had been bragging a moment ago froze in place.
"What are you trying to do? Are you trying to get the price down to a few hundred yuan? Are you dreaming here?" The woman was so angry that she was on the verge of stomping her feet. If she hadn’t been in a hurry to sell the house, she would have driven them away with a broom by now.
Su Yijia also knew that she couldn’t completely shift the renovation costs onto the seller. They would have to share the expenses.
"1,800 yuan, this is the highest price I can offer," Su Yijia said flatly. In fact, as long as the price was within her budget, a slightly higher price wouldn’t be an issue.
Hearing this, the woman wanted to scoff, but the young man restrained her.
"Mom, calm down! It’s not that much less..." he whispered in an attempt to calm her down.
Hearing her son’s words, the woman just wanted to smack the spendthrift next to her. If she had known that he would be like this, she wouldn’t have brought him along in the first place.
"Seven hundred less is not much less? It’s enough for you to get married and still have money for the traditional betrothal gifts," the woman argued. The more she thought about it, the less willing she was to compromise.
"I will have a job and can earn money and save money... I can pay for my own wedding," the young man said, implying something with a meaningful look at Su Yijia. His gesture was so obvious that not only Su Yijia but everyone else could see it too.
The woman was momentarily stunned, then she suddenly realized what was happening and grabbed the young man’s ear.
"You little brat! I brought you here to sell the house, and you’ve been ensnared by a little fox spirit," she scolded him angrily.
