"Yes." Aunt Chen choked up. "Xiao Tian and Xiao Li cried all night. Their wicked stepmother tore up all the photos they took at the zoo that day. They cried under the covers until midnight before they could fall asleep."
“It’s alright, they can come to our house if they want to see the photos. Besides, we still have the negatives, we can get some more developed for them,” Ye Mei instructed Aunt Chen. “I’ll have Xiao Nuan develop them when I get back. You can hide them for the children later, and show them to them when they want to see them.”
"That's wonderful!" Aunt Chen rubbed her hands together with joy. "Xiao Tian and Xiao Li will probably be able to get a good night's sleep tonight after hearing this news."
The children came out, and DouDou and GuoGuo flew over like little birds.
Su Ming and Ye Mei each opened their arms and picked up the children.
Xiao Tian and Xiao Li walked out looking dejected, their eyes a little red and swollen. When they saw Aunt Chen, they showed no enthusiasm whatsoever. They looked at Su Ming and Ye Mei and asked in unison, "Why didn't our godmother come?"
"You two, don't be like this, cheer up! Look how happy DouDou and GuoGuo are!" Aunt Chen knew their worries and squatted down to touch their little faces. "Grandma Ye said she'll have your godmother take the negatives to get the photos developed, so you can have those torn-up photos again."
"Really?" The brother and sister looked at Aunt Chen in surprise.
"Yes." Aunt Chen nodded. "Really."
"Yay, we're going to have more photos!" the two children cheered.
Su Ming and Ye Mei looked over at the same time.
"Hello, Grandma Ye and Grandpa Su," the two children greeted in unison.
After greeting them, they called DouDou and GuoGuo down to walk with them.
Four children walked hand in hand down the street, singing nursery rhymes together.
Three adults followed behind, chatting and laughing.
When Aunt Chen heard that they wanted to buy a house, she immediately became interested. "What kind of house are you looking for? I'm quite familiar with this neighborhood. Would you like me to show you a few? I won't charge you a referral fee."
Back then, there was no such thing as a real estate agent; everything was done through introductions from acquaintances. Once a house was sold, both parties would give the introducer a red envelope (cash gift). There were no rules about the size of the red envelope; you could give whatever you wanted.
“If you can really find us a good house, I’ll definitely give you the referral fee,” Ye Mei said. “In the past few days, we’ve looked at the houses around here and have a pretty good understanding of the market. If we can’t find a suitable house at Yaleju, we’ll buy a house elsewhere.”
"No, it's so convenient to buy in Yaleju." Aunt Chen said anxiously. "Xiaotian and Xiaoli get along well with your family. If you don't live here, the two children will be like they've lost their souls. Tell me about your conditions, and I can take you to see a house right now."
After all, Aunt Chen has lived in this neighborhood for a long time.
Su Ming was about to suggest looking at detached houses when Ye Mei spoke up first. "Let's look at all the different layouts. The more you look, the better you can compare. Buying a house isn't like buying vegetables or radishes; you have to compare them carefully."
“Okay then,” Aunt Chen said with a smile. “I happen to know a very sociable lady who specializes in this. I’ll give her a call and have her show you around. She can show you all kinds of apartments. Once you’ve bought the apartment, you can just give her a small token of appreciation. She has a pension, so she treats this as a side job.”
“Okay.” Ye Mei said, pointing to the roadside. “Then go to the public phone booth to make the call. You don’t need to go home. Come to my house for dinner after you’ve looked at the apartment.”
"Okay." Aunt Chen couldn't be happier. Ye Mei and Su Xiaonuan's cooking was delicious, and not only did the children love it, but she loved it too.
They walked to the entrance of the residential area, where a woman in her sixties was waiting.
Upon seeing Aunt Chen and the others, I immediately greeted them warmly and introduced myself.
Adults and children alike followed Aunt Zhang. While looking at the second apartment, they encountered Li Chunxiang downstairs chatting and laughing with several women.
Li Chunxiang was proudly boasting that the house was a gift from her son-in-law, and she was showing off the property certificate to the other women.
“Look, this property certificate is in my name,” Li Chunxiang said. “They were going to buy me a car, but I’m an old woman and I can’t drive. Otherwise, I would have driven you all around for a spin.”
Hearing this, Ye Mei no longer wanted to look at the building. "Sister Zhang, let's not go look at it."
"Since we're already here, why not take a look?" Aunt Zhang said, fiddling with a bunch of keys. "You might just find one you like. This apartment has a good orientation and three bedrooms, which is more suitable than the two we just looked at."
Hearing the noise, Li Chunxiang turned around and saw the group of people. Her face immediately changed, and she pointed at Aunt Chen, yelling, "You're just a nanny! Why don't you go home and cook right after picking up the child? What are you doing hanging around with these shady characters? I bet you don't want your salary anymore!"
"Who are you calling indecent?" Aunt Zhang frequents this neighborhood and isn't afraid of this unfamiliar woman.
Just as Li Chunxiang was about to erupt, several women around her pulled her back, and they whispered:
"Sister Li, you can't afford to offend her. She's a celebrity in our neighborhood."
"Yes, things that the neighborhood committee aunties can't handle, she can handle with her help. Just bear with it!"
"No matter how rich your family is, you must not offend Sister Zhang here, or you will be isolated."
...
"What does she want to do with these people?" Li Chunxiang glanced at Ye Mei and Su Ming.
"She probably brings people to see the house. In our community, almost all the second-hand house transactions are handled by Sister Zhang."
"Hehe, who among you wants to buy a house?" Li Chunxiang walked up to Aunt Chen and Ye Mei with an air of utter indifference, glancing at them sideways. In her eyes, these poor wretches simply couldn't afford a house.
"It wasn't me," Aunt Chen said softly.
There's no way around it; when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
She needs this salary to survive, but even more so, she needs to take care of Xiaotian and Xiaoli.
Therefore, Aunt Chen dared not openly challenge Li Chunxiang.
"What?" Ye Mei looked at Li Chunxiang with extreme hostility. "Do I have to report to you if I want to buy a house?"
"Hehe, you want to buy a house?" Li Chunxiang circled around Ye Mei with the property certificate in her hand. "Someone like you, can you even afford a house?"
"Whether I can afford it or not is none of your business. You're just meddling in other people's business." Ye Mei looked down on Li Chunxiang from the bottom of her heart.
"It has nothing to do with me, but it has something to do with this Sister Zhang, doesn't it?" Li Chunxiang began to sow discord.
"What do you mean?" Aunt Zhang asked.
"Oh, Sister Zhang!" Li Chunxiang licked Aunt Zhang's hand. "I just heard from the neighbors that you're quite the celebrity in our neighborhood. It's an honor to know you. You probably don't know, but my son-in-law is the richest boss in this neighborhood, Xie Zhi. He's the Xie Zhi who drives a car every day. You should know him, right?"
Aunt Zhang pulled her hand away in disgust and said coldly, "I know, I knew it when you yelled at Xiao Chen just now. You are the biological mother of that wicked stepmother. Like mother, like daughter. I've seen it all today."
Ye Mei calmed down instantly.
It seems that evil people will be punished by evil people.
There's a saying that goes, "Even a mighty dragon can't fight a local snake."
Li Chunxiang was a tyrant in the village, but here, there are people even more tyrant than her.
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