Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Going to the city to buy a house.
When Liu Suqin recalled the truly hard days, Lin Nanjiang's thoughts had already moved away from this matter.
He is not a man who thinks too much. Ever since Liu Suqin was reborn, he has been concentrating on following his wife's instructions and working hard to make money. At the same time, under her subtle influence, he has gradually evolved into a good family man who takes care of his wife and children.
As for the things that Liu Suqin didn't instruct him to do, he really didn't think much about it. It was just that people around him often talked about this in front of him. Over time, he felt that he had really wronged his wife and children.
But after Liu Suqin's analysis, Lin Nanjiang has discovered that although he has not yet let them live the good life he really longs for, he has definitely not let them suffer any grievances.
In this family, he puts his own needs last, and provides his wife and daughter with the best food, clothing and other necessities within his ability. The living quarters are indeed a bit small, but they have everything they need for daily life, including furniture and appliances. The basic decoration is not bad either. Compared with the days when he lived in a crowded factory dormitory, it is a world of difference.
The key is that his wife also likes her current life, so what else is he dissatisfied with?
Anyway, as long as his wife is satisfied, he is happy.
Lin Nanjiang's mood suddenly turned from cloudy to sunny, and the last trace of haze in his heart disappeared. He looked down at Liu Suqin with a smile on his face.
At this time, everything is quiet. Little Fangfang, who has a strong presence during the day, is in a completely different state when she falls asleep. She lies slightly on her side, her chubby little face buried in the soft pillowcase. Her sleeping face is peaceful and relaxed, and her breathing is light. You need to get very close to her to hear her rhythmic snoring.
So when Lin Nanjiang and Liu Suqin didn't speak, the room was so quiet that it seemed as if there were only the two of them.
Lin Nanjiang suddenly realized that they had not been together so quietly for a long time.
No one made a sound, and far from being awkward, the scene felt rather comfortable—at least that was how Lin Nanjiang felt. He thoroughly enjoyed his time alone with his wife, free from interruptions, allowing him to fully delineate his wife's every detail with his eyes.
It has been a long time since I looked at her so carefully and attentively. The young woman who had just experienced pregnancy and childbirth still had beautiful facial features. The light shone on her round and fair face, making her look like a pearl. She exuded a lustrous luster all over her body. She was not particularly dazzling, but for some reason, people could not take their eyes off her.
Liu Suqin looked completely different from the pretty girl she was when they first met a few years ago. However, Lin Nanjiang couldn't help himself the more he looked at her. His heart began to beat irregularly, and the hand that was stroking her long hair moved down involuntarily to her shoulders. Through the thin fabric of her pajamas, he gently stroked her delicate and round shoulder blades, then exerted a little force on his hands and took her into his arms.
Liu Suqin came back to her senses and found herself falling into a hot embrace. In her ears was his suggestive voice, "Wife, aren't you going to the city tomorrow? Go to bed early..."
After saying this, he didn't even give her a chance to respond, blocking her reply with his lips.
Liu Suqin: ...
Didn’t you agree to go to bed early?
But she didn't have time to protest, and was kissed unconsciously.
Less than six months after their marriage, they found out they were pregnant. As new parents with no elders around to look after them, they were extremely cautious and didn't dare to be intimate with each other during the entire pregnancy. Once Liu Suqin was fully pregnant, Lin Nanjiang threw himself back into his stall, having not experienced the pleasure of having a wife for a year.
He didn't have much experience to begin with, and after holding back for a year, he was like a young boy, with no skills and only knew how to rush around recklessly.
It was this undisguised eagerness and passion that, like a fire, ignited Liu Suqin's entire body. Her rationality was burned out, and she completely gave up thinking, allowing him to kiss and caress her all over her body unscrupulously and set her on fire at will.
It wasn't until she felt dizzy and was pushed heavily onto the bed that reason took over a little and she pushed him away breathlessly.
The man, ready to strike, had a chest like a solid wall. Even with her soft push, he remained motionless. However, he paused as he was about to press down and seal her lips again. Liu Suqin finally found the opportunity to speak, "I told you to go to the hospital and buy that thing. Did you buy it?"
"What?" Lin Nanjiang looked bewildered. He was about to lower his head and cover her up, but suddenly stopped mid-move because he noticed his wife rolling her eyes. He was startled and suddenly his mind clicked. Before she could start scolding him, he said loudly, "I bought it, I bought it. I remember putting it in the drawer of the bedside table."
Before he could finish his words, he got out of bed, quickly opened the drawer and took out the unopened box of umbrellas.
Liu Suqin lay quietly on the bed, watching him tearing the box clumsily. It took him a long time to open it and take out one, then he turned it over and over to study it for a while. She was so bored that she almost yawned, and then he was finally ready, and his young and strong chest pressed down again.
Since he was already wearing a small umbrella and had nothing to worry about, Liu Suqin did not refuse. She stretched out her white and soft arms and hooked them around his neck, thinking that young men were just full of energy. It was still a little cold at night, and he had been working shirtless for a long time, but his body was still so warm, even burning to the touch, which made her unable to help but touch him twice more.
Liu Suqin sighed in her heart, and chuckled in his ear as she reminded him, "Be quiet. If you wake Fangfang up, you can comfort her yourself."
Her response was a muffled "OK".
However, if men's words in bed were credible, even sows could climb trees.
Lin Nanjiang remembered the reminder at first and was always careful not to make any large movements, but when he suppressed it too deeply, there would be a time when it would explode. By the time he lifted one leg and half-sat up with his eyes red, he could no longer think of anything else but one thought: faster, faster.
His movements became more and more vigorous, and the whole bed swayed with them. Liu Suqin was swept up in the passion, like a fish in a small boat, tossing and turning, letting him do whatever he wanted.
That night, the bed creaked and shook until midnight, but the little girl who was surrounded by a quilt and settled in the corner was quite like a general. No matter how the unscrupulous parents next to her tossed and turned, she was always snoring, turning over when she needed to, smacking her lips when she needed to, and when it was time for her to be fed, she just had to close her eyes and hum a few times. No matter whether her father was fighting hard or had already called it a day and gone to bed, she had to roll out of bed to make milk powder for her.
After eating and drinking her fill, the little one changed into a new diaper and fell asleep comfortably, unaffected by anything. She slept until dawn, and it was time for her to eat again. The little one did not close her eyes to wait for her to be fed. She chose to eat for herself, rolling over and crawling into the soft embrace. Then she dug in the familiar place, opening her pink little mouth and trying to find a source of food.
Liu Suqin, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by this.
Before her eyelids opened, her hands had already skillfully lifted the little girl's chubby buttocks, lifted her pajamas, half-raised herself and sat on the pillow, adjusting to a position that was comfortable for both mother and daughter, before slowly opening her eyes and looking to the side.
Most of the bed was empty, replaced by the faint sound of running water coming from the bathroom.
Soon, the bathroom door opened, and Lin Nanjiang emerged, steaming wet. His freshly washed hair, still unwashed, was dripping with water. Fortunately, he'd draped a towel around his neck, so the water soaked into the towel and didn't soak his freshly changed clothes.
But Liu Suqin still frowned and reminded, "There is a hair dryer in the drawer, blow dry your hair."
Lin Nanjiang smiled and said, "Okay."
He was worried that the hair dryer was too loud and would wake up his sleeping wife and children. Now that they were all awake, he no longer had any concerns and skillfully found the hair dryer and plugged it in.
Lin Nanjiang was busy making money before the end of the Lunar New Year and had no time for a haircut. His hair had grown long enough for a slicked-back style, but it was still short. He blew it with hot air for two minutes and it was half dry. At this time, his plump daughter, who was crying for milk, had also eaten her fill. With a tilt of her head, she left the sweet and soft food storehouse. Seeing this, Lin Nanjiang quickly turned off the hair dryer, turned around and hugged his daughter. "I'm taking Fangfang to poop and change her diaper. You should get up and clean up too. We'll try to go and come back early today."
Looking at houses is not an easy task, and Liu Suqin didn't want to waste time. She endured the soreness in her waist and stubbornly got up to wash and change clothes.
His wife was very meticulous in raising children. Even though Lin Nanjiang didn't understand, he gradually got used to the routine. He would first take his well-fed daughter to take care of her menstrual needs. After she finished pooping, he would gently wipe her face and hands with a soft towel, change the fresh-faced baby into a soft pink going-out outfit, and finally open the baby cream on the bedside, scoop a big dollop and smear it on the baby's face and hands. Only then was the job done. He would hold the sweet and soft baby and go to the next room to wait for dinner.
Today the whole family will have breakfast at home. The hardworking Aunt Zhang bought the freshest ingredients from the vegetable market at around six o'clock. She was busy as the table in the next room was gradually filled with various local morning teas.
Lin Nanjiang held the child and sat at the dining table with Lin Quansheng, but they just looked at the table full of delicious food. Neither of them started eating, but instead they were chatting to each other.
Before Liu Suqin even stepped into the room, she heard Lin Quansheng's voice filled with emotion, "When we were seventeen, we followed our fellow villagers to Shenzhen to work. Back then, we never dreamed that in just five or six years, you would not only be married and have lovely children, but you would also buy a house and settle down in a big city. It's wonderful."
Lin Nanjiang, equally excited, patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't just envy me. You should also work hard to make money and buy a house and settle down as soon as possible. We came from this place together, and we should take root in Shenzhen together and be good brothers for life."
Lin Quansheng shook his head. "Forget it. I'm already very satisfied with just having a meal. I don't dare to dream of such a good thing."
"Why not?" Liu Suqin sat down next to Lin Nanjiang and said casually, "Brother Quansheng doesn't want a salary, but I've saved it all for you. Counting this month, you'll have 5,000. If you keep working hard, you can at least buy a small house in two years, so you'll have a place to stay."
"So many?" Lin Quansheng couldn't help but exclaimed.
Liu Suqin smiled and said, "We agreed long ago to give you a salary of 1,000. Although you've only been here for a little over four months, you helped me a lot during the Chinese New Year and during my confinement after Fangfang's birth. I'm afraid I'm being unfair to you if I calculate it as five months."
Lin Quansheng waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, I took advantage of you. I didn't even know you saved so much money for me."
Less than 5,000 yuan in half a year? No, that's not right. Adding the two big red envelopes he received, it's already over 6,000 yuan. He couldn't even save that much in a year working at the factory before! Lin Quansheng suddenly stopped envying his good brother. He found that his life was quite promising.
Lin Nanjiang also patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "So, as long as we work hard while we are young, it won't be difficult to settle down in Shenzhen."
"Yeah, I'll listen to you." Lin Quansheng rubbed his hands together, looking at Liu Suqin with burning eyes, "Sister-in-law, you said before that if I save like this for two years, I can buy a small house. Is that true?"
He was a little bit unbelievable. How could there be such cheap houses in a big city?
Liu Suqin didn't need to answer this question. Lin Nanjiang, who had worked at a real estate agency before, said, "Of course there are. Not to mention you're alone, even the small studio we're renting now would be enough to live in. Even if you want a two- or three-bedroom apartment, you can buy one for 40,000 or 50,000 yuan. It's just that it's a bit out of the way and old, and you might have to spend a lot of money to renovate it before you can live in it."
"It's okay. I'm content as long as I have a house." Lin Quansheng's eyes sparkled, as if he saw a future where he could establish himself in a big city. He became even more determined to follow the couple. "Look carefully at the houses today and try to pick the best one. If I'm lucky enough in the future, I'll definitely learn from you."
"Okay." Lin Nanjiang agreed readily, "When you buy a house in the future, we will definitely help you with the consultation."
Liu Suqin also nodded. Just because Lin Quansheng had helped them at the most critical moment, she was willing to return the favor when he bought a house in the future, and she would contribute money and effort without any problem.
Lin Nanjiang and Liu Suqin were already in high spirits, and Lin Quansheng also saw some hope, so he joined the discussion more actively and enthusiastically. The three of them talked about the house incessantly, and no one concentrated on enjoying the food.
Aunt Zhang, who came over to join them in eating after finishing her work, occasionally added a few words and shared some house-hunting tips with them as a landlady. By the time everyone had filled their stomachs, the topic was still not over.
But they couldn't continue the discussion endlessly. After Lin Nanjiang had eaten and drunk his fill, he decisively tucked his daughter, who had been listening to their conversation with her eyes open, into Lin Quansheng's arms. "We've made an appointment with the agency, so we have to leave as soon as possible. Fangfang needs you and Aunt Zhang to take care of her. The weather is nice today, so you can take her out for walks more often. She doesn't sleep as much during the day as before, so she likes to go out and about more, so she can sleep better at night."
Suddenly, there was a chubby baby in his arms. Lin Quansheng didn't panic. He held the baby high in his arms, making the little one grin with laughter. He nodded to the couple and said, "Leave Fangfang to me and Aunt Zhang. You can rest assured. I'm good at playing with her, changing her diapers, and making milk powder. I'm already familiar with these things."
Liu Suqin smiled with relief and said, "It's because of you that Nanjiang and I can leave the child at home and go out on our own."
Lin Nanjiang continued to nag, "Then don't forget, remember to prepare milk powder for Fangfang before 11 o'clock in the morning, and feed her again after she wakes up from her nap, and then at 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Oh, and if she can't sleep without us, cover her with her mother's clothes and put her little tiger stuffed animal on her pillow..."
Even though Lin Quansheng had a good temper, he was annoyed by the nagging and rolled his eyes. "Even if you don't believe me, don't you believe Aunt Zhang? Okay, okay, hurry up and get out of here."
Liu Suqin was even more straightforward and pushed him out the door. "That's right, isn't Aunt Zhang better at taking care of children than you? Hurry back and get the car keys, and my handbag, wallet, passbook, and border pass are all in the bag."
"Oh, Xiaolin is such a good father. I've never seen anyone love a child more than him." Aunt Zhang joked, then pulled Liu Suqin aside and reminded her, "We'll both take care of Fangfang together, so you can just rest assured. She's used to drinking the milk powder, so she won't be hungry or sleepy. But remember to bring a breast pump. If you don't have one, go to town and buy one. Express your milk as soon as it swells, otherwise you'll be uncomfortable and prone to illness."
Liu Suqin, who had given birth to two children, understood these things very well, but she also appreciated Aunt Zhang's kindness. "Okay, I understand. Fangfang, I'll trouble you. We will finish our work as soon as possible and come back."
Although she trusted them, it was her first time leaving the child behind and going out. Almost as soon as their car left the yard, Liu Suqin began to regret it. She kept looking back at the direction they came from. It was not until the tricycle turned onto the main road and the familiar yard was no longer in sight that Liu Suqin reluctantly withdrew her gaze and looked slowly ahead. "I don't know if everything will go well today."
"Don't worry, I've already made an appointment with the real estate agent. He'll be waiting for us at the store. After we meet up, we can go look at the houses together. Having them screen them in advance will save us a lot of time and effort." Lin Nanjiang comforted him, "But buying a house is a big deal. You have to shop around. If you can't find the right one today, then tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. Don't worry, you'll find it eventually."
Liu Suqin thought the same thing. "If I don't see anything I like today, I'll go to the city a few more times later. When I find something suitable, I'll come back to confirm it with you. How about that? It won't delay our business, right?"
"Ah?" Lin Nanjiang couldn't help but look back. "I'm out setting up the stall, and you're going into town. What about Fangfang?"
"She's too young to follow me around outside. I'd better let Aunt Zhang take care of her at home. I can give her a raise."
Lin Nanjiang flatly rejected it, "No, I must leave someone of my own at home, otherwise I won't feel at ease."
Liu Suqin wanted to say that Aunt Zhang's home was right here, so she wouldn't do anything bad. Besides, she'd seen through her personality after just a few months together, so she should be trustworthy. But Lin Nanjiang was so decisive that she felt like she was a stepmother if she said that. So she asked, "Then what do you say? Finding a house now is not a big deal. Buying a storefront later, and hiring people to renovate both the house and the store, cleaning them, and then moving, are all big projects. You're reluctant to give up your street stall business, and can you really split yourself in two?"
Lin Nanjiang spoke freely, "I've considered this issue as well. I'm really too busy to handle it, so I have no choice but to close the breakfast stall. Then I can go into town during the day to supervise the workers doing the renovations and come back early in the afternoon so as not to interfere with the late-night snack business."
"So what am I going to do?"
"You can come with me to the city to see our new house. If you don't want to bother, you can stay home and take care of the kids. Quansheng and I will go with you, and we can also help the renovation workers. That way, we can finish the work earlier and move into our new home sooner."
Liu Suqin, who kindly wanted to help ease some of the burden: ...
"Okay, as long as you don't mind being tired." This was what she said at last. Lin Nanjiang's voice was filled with smug joy. "I'm so happy about this kind of thing. I won't get tired of it even if I do it a few more times."
Liu Suqin couldn't help but curl her lips, "Remember what you said, if we buy a house again in the future, you will be responsible for all the trivial matters such as taking over the house and decorating it. Don't complain to me about being tired."
"Okay, leave it to me." Lin Nanjiang followed her words and imagined the scene of them buying one house after another in the future and him carrying a bunch of keys to decorate them. He hummed a song happily, and he drove the tricycle with the momentum of a sports car.
Perhaps men are gifted in their sense of direction. Lin Nanjiang had only looked for an agent once during the first month of the lunar year, so this time he was already familiar with the route. He drove smoothly to the door of the agency, parked the car, and locked it.
The agency's storefront was not big, and soon someone heard the noise and came out to greet them. It was the person who had greeted them before.
"Boss Lin, this is the boss lady, right? Good morning, have you eaten?" The tall and burly agent spoke familiarly. Lin Nanjiang also exchanged a few pleasantries, then pulled Liu Suqin over and introduced her, "Wife, this is Brother Li I told you about. He's very friendly."
Then he politely said to the intermediary, Brother Li, who looked to be around 30 years old, "We are just ordinary people who make a living. It's not that important. Just call us by our names."
Brother Li has been in this business for a long time and is very good at building relationships. He immediately followed suit, calling everyone "brother" and "sister-in-law". He also expressed his concern and greetings to his sister-in-law who had just come out of confinement and his eldest niece whom he had never met. As he led them the few steps into the store while greeting them, they looked like a close family.
Although the agency store is small, in order to better serve customers, it has also arranged a small meeting room, about half the size of a bathroom, with only a table and a few chairs, but it looks decent.
Brother Li welcomed the two into the reception room, poured some hot water, and then smoothly got to the point. "This is the room listing brochure compiled by the store. Take a look first. Brother Lin also brought one back last time, right?"
"Yes, we marked all the houses we liked with a pen and brought the booklet with us." Lin Nanjiang said, not forgetting to take out the booklet from Liu Suqin's bag.
Brother Li took it and took a look. "In the past two years, more and more people have been buying houses in the city. A slightly better house that is not expensive can basically be sold in our store after being listed for a month or so. For example, more than half of the houses you circled have been sold."
He didn't say that all the deals were done because one or two of the houses had only entered the bargaining stage and there was no need to intervene. It wasn't just these two houses.
Of course, if the customer insists, he will take them to see the house as usual. He will give them a heads-up in advance, and the customer will probably know what it will cost to grab the house later.
The client himself didn't think too much about it. Lin Nanjiang even exclaimed in disbelief, "So soon?"
Although he didn't say it, his face was full of tension and worry.
Brother Li didn't immediately try to calm him down. Instead, his gaze fell on Liu Suqin, who was sitting on the fishing platform beside him, and he complimented her with a smile, "So you and your sister-in-law have good taste. All the properties you like are the popular ones we have."
It has been seen that the person who really makes the decision is Liu Suqin.
The reason why Brother Li can thrive in this industry is inseparable from his emotional intelligence and good judgment. Moreover, Lin Nanjiang has never thought about hiding anything. The last time he communicated with him about his needs, this guy implied that he wanted to go back and ask his wife, as if he had no brains when his wife was not around.
This situation is not uncommon.
It is said that men are the backbone of a family, working to earn money and support the family, but if you work in the real estate industry for a long time, you will find that it is often women who play a decisive role in this matter.
Men live a rough life. As long as they eat well, drink well and live freely, they don’t care what they wear or live in, and they don’t consider others. But women care about the living environment and quality. More importantly, they want to provide the best for their families, especially their children. So as long as they have the conditions, they will want to buy a house and settle down in the city.
Brother Li thought that Lin Nanjiang's wife was similar to the wives of the clients he had received before, smart and strong, and the backbone of the family.
But as soon as they met, he felt a little shaken. Is it possible that his client is simply in love?
Because the client's wife was different from the ones he had met before. She had a sweet smile, was quiet, and seemed very gentle and kind, not like someone who always wanted to dominate her husband. On the other hand, she was young, beautiful, and had a good temperament. She had just given birth to a child. It was not surprising that her husband, Lin Nanjiang, liked her and thought about her in everything.
If this is the case, the person who needs the most attention is Lin Nanjiang. For such a big matter as buying a house, the final decision may depend on him.
When Brother Li was secretly observing, he saw Liu Suqin's performance as steady as a rock, and the balance in his heart instantly tilted towards her. He thought that this Ms. Liu was not like an ordinary housewife. She just looked calm, but actually controlled the overall situation. If you listen to her, there will be no escape.
Liu Suqin didn't realize that she was being imagined as a big shot who was not easily affected by fame or criticism.
The reason why she is as calm as an old dog is simple. After living half her life, she has already deeply understood the saying that there is no problem in the world that cannot be solved by money.
This is especially true when choosing a house. As long as you have enough money, it is impossible not to buy the house you like.
Now that the second-hand houses with high cost-effectiveness are gone, they can look at those with lower cost-effectiveness. In this world, you get what you pay for, and they won’t be taken advantage of.
If this doesn’t work, you can also choose a new property.
When they decided to buy a house, there was only a mere 200,000 yuan in their savings account. It was not that they could not afford a new house at the time, but they were worried that they would have trouble making ends meet after opening a store. Moreover, Lin Nanjiang and Lin Quansheng had been busy for more than a month after the beginning of the year, leaving Liu Suqin with tens of thousands more in her hands. As long as they gritted their teeth, they could move directly into a villa with an elevator.
With food in hand, there's no need to panic. Liu Suqin wasn't worried about the popular properties the agent mentioned being booked early, so she asked directly, "Do you have any other properties? To be honest, the two we like the most are already booked. Even if we go to the site, the chances of finding the rest are slim."
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The author has something to say: Tomorrow's update will be restored to 9 am, thank you for your cooperation~
good evening
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