Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Decoration Trivia.
Lin Nanjiang followed the principle of letting his wife decide on major matters while he would handle minor matters himself. When he asked a locksmith to come and change the lock, he borrowed a ruler from there and measured every corner of the first floor.
Liu Suqin has not yet adapted to life without a smartphone, so she has developed a new habit of carrying a pen and paper in her bag as a backup. She just happens to write down various data nearby.
Lin Nanjiang finished measuring and leaned over to take a look. His brows immediately lit up. "Wow, the actual area of the first floor is 108 square feet. That's great."
Liu Suqin also smiled, "Have you decided how to decorate the store?"
"There's no rush for that; we can think about it slowly. It's our own home that needs to be prepared in advance," Lin Nanjiang pondered. "Although Brother Li is a bit of a talker, I think he's actually quite down-to-earth. Plus, he knows a lot of people in this industry. Why don't we ask him for a recommendation for a reliable renovation company? He mentioned before that there are comprehensive companies these days. They have designers to help with planning and design, and then they arrange their own construction teams to do the renovations. They'll be responsible for communicating with the workers, directing them, and purchasing the materials. All we have to do is pay. Of course, we still have to supervise the construction site every day. We can't let them mess around, especially with the materials. You also said that for our daughter's health, the furniture in our new home should be made of solid wood, and the paint should be imported and less polluting. Since we've spent a lot of money, we definitely want to personally verify the authenticity of the goods and not just accept what others say... But even so, it can save a lot of trouble. I can come to the city during the day to supervise, so I can go back and set up my stall at night. What do you think, wife?"
Liu Suqin certainly had no objection. She had already thought it through: Lin Nanjiang would continue to make money, and she would be responsible for the renovation work.
Although she actually had no experience, she was mainly responsible for logistics when building a house in her hometown in her previous life. Later, the house she bought in the county was also built by Lin Nanjiang himself after he rested at home for a few months. She followed them to help, carrying cement, sand, etc., and was at best a small worker.
But everything has a first time. Liu Suqin felt that if Lin Nanjiang could do it, she could certainly do it too. Even if she couldn't avoid making mistakes in the process, it would just cost her a little more money. If it could be solved with money, it wouldn't be a problem.
Just thinking about the family's savings and income, Liu Suqin would have the courage to face any difficulties.
But she was ready to shoulder the heavy responsibility, but suddenly she had no place to use her skills. The child's father was fooled by her. He took care of everything at home and outside. He wished he had three heads and six arms, but he refused to let her go out to run around. So... of course she accepted his feelings.
Moreover, the way Lin Nanjiang spoke so eloquently showed that he was not just showing off. He had his own ideas and arrangements. Liu Suqin became more relaxed and became the boss. She once again gave him a series of warm and sincere flattery, which made Lin Nanjiang even more confused.
However, when they got their own property certificate from the Housing Authority, they had no time to worry about the decoration for a while.
Holding the freshly-made little green book, Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang's minds went blank at the same time. They stood face to face in the hall and smiled at each other for a long time. When they came to their senses, Uncle Zhang had already taken back his certificate and left. The agent was not surprised at all. He congratulated the two and invited them to the company to sit down and talk slowly.
Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang knew what to talk about. The other person's work was completed and it was their turn to pay.
Compared with the house price of more than 100,000 yuan, the agency fee is just a fraction. Returning to the familiar small compartment of the agency, Liu Suqin calmly, or numbly, took out the cash she had prepared in advance from her bag. Brother Li also counted, signed, and issued receipts very professionally. He finished the work quickly and started to communicate about the child's household registration, made an appointment with the landlord of the company's house on Sunday morning to negotiate, and made subsequent arrangements such as hiring a decoration company.
After receiving the money, Brother Li not only did not turn his face away from them, but his attitude became even more warm and thoughtful, and his words also had a more sincere and cheerful tone, as if they were acquaintances. As he saw the two of them out, he patted his chest and promised, "Brother Lin and sister-in-law, I know you are busy, don't worry, I will take care of these things. Our niece's household registration should be completed next week. As for the decoration, I will call the designer the day after tomorrow and ask him to bring his previous design cases. If you like it, you can bring the designer with you to the landlord's house. You can discuss the business while he measures the house and conducts the on-site inspection. That way, by the day of delivery, the design drawings will be almost ready. As long as you are satisfied, the decoration team can start work immediately. It will save time, and Brother Lin will have to make fewer trips, so he won't have to delay too much business..."
This arrangement was so thoughtful that Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang no longer felt so bad about the several thousand yuan agency fee they had just paid. Lin Nanjiang chatted with the agent for a while and then took his wife home with peace of mind.
It was just after five when I got home. The fiery red sunset filled the entire courtyard. Lin Quansheng, who was waiting outside ready to set up his stall at any time, immediately came over to greet me. "How's it going? Is everything done? Did you get that certificate?"
Lin Nanjiang could still hold himself together outside, but when he saw his good friend from afar, he immediately grinned, his mouth almost reaching behind his ears. Lin Quansheng knew what was going on at a glance.
But he still followed her into the room, then took the small green booklet that Liu Suqin took out of her bag, holding it in his hands and studying it over and over again. "So this is what a property certificate looks like. It's such a small book, but it's worth a lot of money..."
After reading for a long time, until he opened the inner page and began to read aloud word by word, Lin Quansheng realized that something was wrong. "Hey, why is this my brother-in-law's name?"
Lin Nanjiang proudly puffed out his chest and began to explain, "The property certificate can be in my name, or in both of our names, but I specifically requested that only Suqin's name be used to fulfill her long-cherished dream."
Liu Suqin nodded with a smile, gave him an encouraging look, and gave the space to the two brothers. She quickly washed her hands and face so that she could feed her daughter.
Aunt Zhang knew her habits. She stood guard at the bathroom door holding the chubby little one, her eyes full of envy. "That's great! The house is in your name. Fangfang's father is a good man. Xiaoliu, you didn't marry the wrong person."
Liu Suqin was in a good mood and didn't rub salt into Aunt Zhang's wounds. Instead, she comforted her, "Aunt Zhang, you've finally made it through. Your son is capable and filial, and since he can't be around to take care of you, he's letting you spend the rent money on your own. This is something many elderly people wouldn't envy. When he gets married in two years and gives you a pair of grandchildren, your life will be truly complete."
When Aunt Zhang heard this, she also felt that her life was full of hope. She smiled and handed Fangfang to her mother, "Then I'll go heat up the food. Xiaolin and the others still have to go back to work after they finish eating."
"Go ahead, I'll take care of Fangfang."
The two Xiao Lins mentioned had not yet remembered the business, and Lin Quansheng was looking at his good friend with a proud face in a daze.
If it were him, he would have worked hard to buy the house, and he would not give up his position as the head of the family, even if he wanted to add his wife's name to it. He would never be like this guy who sold it out and happily counted the money for others.
But Lin Quansheng has one advantage, which is that he does not impose his ideas on others.
In his opinion, it wasn't a big deal for a good buddy to listen to his wife in everything, as long as she wasn't the kind of sarcastic, greedy woman. Liu Suqin was certainly not that kind of person. Quite the opposite. After her rebirth, she had orchestrated a perfect strategy of flattery against Lin Nanjiang, which had even bewitched Lin Quansheng, a bystander. He felt that this sister-in-law was truly gentle and virtuous, always considering his good buddy's best interests. As a result, his good buddy's heart and eyes were completely focused on his wife, and it was just a matter of willingness.
So when Lin Quansheng saw that only Liu Suqin's name was on the property deed, he felt mixed emotions for a moment, but he quickly accepted it and gave Lin Nanjiang a thumbs-up. "Great, that's a great move. Your sister-in-law has been married to you for less than two years, and not only has she given birth to your children, but she's also been with you through thick and thin. It's only natural that her name be on the house."
Lin Nanjiang became even more excited after receiving the affirmation. "Yes, it's not easy for my wife to marry me. Since she likes houses, I'll put her name on the house we live in tomorrow."
Lin Quansheng: "Um...as long as you are happy."
Forget it, it only says that men become bad when they have money, not that women become bad when they have money. The houses are all under the name of his brother's wife, at least no one will seduce him for this. If it was under his brother's name, it might not be the case. As long as a man has some money in his pocket, he will face countless temptations.
Hearing the conversation between the two people in the room, Liu Suqin curled the corners of her mouth, patted her daughter's back and hummed a gentle tune.
= =
The successful acquisition of the first house gave Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang a lot of confidence. When they went into the city again on Sunday and saw the landlord who had a leadership aura, they would have been a little uneasy in the past, but this time, neither Liu Suqin nor Lin Nanjiang showed any fear. Liu Suqin even bargained at the other party's bottom line and successfully reached a deal at a price of 78,000.
The landlord, just as his niece Qiaojie had said, really didn't like trouble and was even more eager to hand over the property than they were. "I've already finished moving everything, and the few personal belongings I have left are ready to go. If you have no problem, come over tomorrow to take over."
The efficiency caught Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang off guard. The couple looked at each other and did not reply to the landlord immediately. Instead, they communicated with the designer Xiao Qin who was traveling with them.
After Xiao Qin confirmed that their decoration requirements were just simple, elegant and bright, he confidently said that he could produce the drawings in two days, so they set the delivery time on Wednesday.
The landlord was a little disappointed with this answer, but thinking about the couple's promise to pay the full amount, signed the contract and paid the deposit, he nodded reluctantly, "Wednesday is Wednesday, don't put it off any further."
Lin Nanjiang assured, "Don't worry, we also want to move into our new home as soon as possible, so we won't waste time."
Seeing that they had signed the house purchase agreement, Xiao Qin suggested taking a look around the rooms so that he could record their ideas and needs one by one, and then make the most appropriate design based on their needs.
Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang went to ask for the landlord's consent again, and everyone went upstairs together.
Not only was the landlord not objecting to this request, he also followed behind with great interest. Watching Xiao Qin writing and drawing on the notebook, he sighed and said that when his son moved to a new house in the capital, he would also find a designer to take a look. It would be both professional and worry-free.
Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang then realized that the landlord was in a hurry to hand over the house, not only because he wanted to finish all the trivial matters before retirement so that he could reunite with his wife and children as soon as possible, but also because he wanted to raise money for his son to buy a bigger house in the capital.
Exchanging houses in Shenzhen for houses in the capital is a huge profit.
Of course, they themselves are not at a disadvantage. From having nothing to owning two houses in Shenzhen in less than a year, they have acquired the fruits of many people's lifelong struggle. There is no need to envy the lives of others anymore.
Thinking of this, Lin Nanjiang felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart, and couldn't help but secretly hold his wife's hand.
Liu Suqin also turned around and smiled at him, saying everything without words.
The designer introduced by Brother Li was so serious and responsible, putting the needs of the customers first. Lin Nanjiang felt more at ease. After leaving the community, they went to the decoration company to communicate the follow-up details, added many requirements, paid a deposit, and went home satisfied with his wife, and then devoted himself to the stall business.
Lin Nanjiang finally discovered that money is indeed a good thing and can solve many troubles in life. If there are still some troubles that cannot be solved, it is because there is not enough money.
So he wants to make more money so that his whole family can live a carefree and worry-free life in the future.
People who are engaged in business always have unlimited energy. During the more than two months of busy buying a house and subsequent renovations, Lin Nanjiang went to the city every few days in the beginning, and later he and Lin Quansheng went to the new house and store to supervise the work every day. Their night snack stall was always running smoothly. The only two times they were absent were because of typhoon weather. The entire night market street was closed, and they could only go along with it.
Liu Suqin understood that they were working hard, and in addition to repeatedly increasing Lin Quansheng's salary and bonuses, she also offered to take the night shift. She could be responsible for collecting money and packing, while Lin Nanjiang and Lin Quansheng could take turns resting at home and taking care of little Fangfang.
As a result, not only did Lin Nanjiang reject her proposal without hesitation, but even Lin Quansheng, looking at his ever-increasing savings and the two houses in her name, became very motivated and wished that he and his childhood friend would live together forever.
Liu Suqin, who had no place to use her skills, had to take care of the children and chat with them at home. She wanted to help them prepare the side dishes for the stall, but Aunt Zhang rushed to do it. She had no choice but to give Aunt Zhang a raise for her active overtime work. This made Aunt Zhang love this job more and more and she didn't want to go home at night.
Of course, Liu Suqin also communicated with Aunt Zhang.
The other party is a softie in the family who makes people feel disappointed with her, but she is very competent as a nanny. She is kind and weak, never conflicts with them, and she really likes Fangfang. She is quick at work and cooks delicious food. There is really nothing wrong with her.
Moreover, after a few months of getting along, they have become as harmonious as a family. Liu Suqin really doesn't want to change another aunt.
She tried to ask Aunt Zhang if she would be willing to go to the city with them. She offered her a raise, free food and accommodation, and three days off a month, which would allow her to return to the village to handle personal matters while still maintaining her job and collecting rent. After all, the journey from their new home to town, aside from the hassles of customs clearance, was only about an hour's drive. It was incredibly convenient. Twenty years later, many migrant workers in Shenzhen would still have to commute farther.
But Liu Suqin felt it was useless. She was afraid that Aunt Zhang had lived in the village all her life and was unwilling to move, so she had to respect her wishes.
Fortunately, as soon as she mentioned it, Aunt Zhang's eyes lit up. It seemed that she had been worried for a long time about their going into the city.
It's just that Aunt Zhang is used to being arranged by her husband all her life. In the first half of her life, her husband made all the decisions in the family, and she only had to work. Later, a scandal broke out, and she began to move into her son's house to live alone. It was not a divorce, but worse than a divorce. Unconsciously, she listened to her son's orders. In the past few months, she worked at Liu Suqin's house, and Aunt Zhang listened to her arrangements in everything. The focus of her life revolved around their family. Liu Suqin was not only willing to take her to the city, but also to give her a raise. Aunt Zhang was naturally surprised and happy, but when asked what she would do with the house and the vegetable plot under her name after moving to the city, she was at a loss.
Seeing this, Liu Suqin had no choice but to ask her to go back and discuss it with her close relatives, and it would be better to ask her son's opinion. She was not in a hurry because the house had not been renovated yet.
Although Aunt Zhang was indecisive, she was quick in doing things. After only two days, she came to tell Liu Suqin happily that her relatives, friends and son all supported her in going to work in the city, and that the vegetable garden could be handed over to an old lady in the village with whom she had a good relationship. As for taking people to see houses and collecting rent, there were people in their village who specialized in this. She could just leave the keys to the other party and give her a five or ten yuan reward after the transaction was completed.
Of course, considering that there is a shameless old man named Lao Deng in the village, it is very necessary for her to return to the village regularly every month to collect rent and check the houses.
These are all small things. As long as Aunt Zhang can continue to work, Liu Suqin will be satisfied.
Aunt Zhang was also very excited. She had thought that Fangfang's parents would move to the city and she would be unemployed, but she didn't expect that they were willing to take her with them. She could do this job for a long time. She was extremely overjoyed and wanted to live in their house immediately. She would rush to do any job she wanted, regardless of whether it was her job or not.
Liu Suqin herself was a factory girl, and now people call her "boss lady" when she goes out, but she has not become a real black-hearted boss. She is still very sympathetic to the workers. All the preliminary preparations for Lin Nanjiang and the others to set up the stall were taken care of by Aunt Zhang. Although they were working overtime voluntarily, she could not accept it for granted. She simply did not wait until they went to the city to give Aunt Zhang a raise, and raised Aunt Zhang's base salary to 350 yuan from this month.
In this way, the two men were fully responsible for the business and the house, and all the housework was taken care of by Aunt Zhang, who had just been given a boost of energy. They were all busy as hell, and Liu Suqin became a completely wealthy and idle person. Apart from feeding the child every day, she had nothing to do.
Although her own cub was very cute, Liu Suqin found it very interesting and not boring at all even if she stayed at home every day to watch her sleep and play, but she couldn't just sit there doing nothing.
I have promised that I will not be a housewife in this life. Even if I can't do anything before my daughter is weaned and can only stay at home to take care of this hungry little one, I should think carefully about what I want to do in the future.
Times have changed. When Liu Suqin first went out to set up a stall with Lin Nanjiang, she only wanted to make a living in this city. Later, she thought it would be best to open a restaurant. The couple ran their own small shop well. Even if they didn't seek to become rich, they would not have to worry about food and clothing.
But she still underestimated the catering market at that time and Lin Nanjiang's growth rate. With his current ability, it should be more than enough for him to manage one or two restaurants. If she insisted on joining in, it would be a bit of a waste of resources.
So Liu Suqin decided to let Lin Nanjiang take Lin Quansheng to run their restaurant, while she started her own business.
It is said that it is better to do business with someone you are familiar with than to do business with someone you are already familiar with. Opening a restaurant would be the safest approach for her. Even if she does not run a noodle shop, she still has braised food and cooked food to choose from. She does not have to worry about stealing her own business, and she can have someone to look after her by opening a restaurant nearby.
But when she touched her face which was becoming more and more delicate after being well maintained, Liu Suqin really didn't want to do this job anymore. After all, her husband could also make money, so she had more choices and could try to balance her interests and income.
So the question is, what are her interests?
Putting aside food, Liu Suqin thought for a long time before she thought of another thing - love of beauty.
If asked how to make money beautifully, her first reaction was to open a women's clothing store. She could make money and have endless beautiful clothes to wear. However, Liu Suqin couldn't help but look at the cosmetics on the table.
That was after they bought their second house and went to the mall to pick out gifts as usual. When they passed by the cosmetics counter, they heard that there was a new lipstick, which was a big imported brand from abroad. She went in to take a look out of curiosity, and then she couldn't stop and picked up one lipstick, one foundation, one pressed powder, and one eye shadow.
Liu Suqin could hardly believe her eyes. Nowadays, cosmetics are so rich and colorful. The texture, color and packaging are not much different from those decades later. She used all her strength to restrain herself from choosing only one of each.
The main thing is that you only regret not having enough money when you need it. A lipstick costs two hundred yuan, which is more expensive than gold.
Lin Nanjiang, who always boasted about being generous and telling his wife to just buy whatever she liked, didn't dare to speak once he entered the store. He kept gasping in Liu Suqin's ear. After paying and leaving, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed with emotion, "I thought few people would buy such an expensive little thing, but I heard they said there's not much stock left. There really are a lot of rich people in Shenzhen."
Liu Suqin agreed deeply with his last sentence.
But you get what you pay for. This set of cosmetics is still very useful. Since buying the second house, Liu Suqin has rarely had the opportunity to go to the city. It is not convenient to dress too much when living in the village. She only puts on some lipstick when she feels like it, and applies a light layer of powder on her face. Her already well-maintained complexion immediately looks radiant. With Aunt Zhang next to her constantly praising her beauty, Liu Suqin is so beautiful that she doesn't want to put down the mirror.
Liu Suqin has been very interested in makeup recently. Whenever she has free time, she would go to the newsstand in the town center to buy fashion magazines to study. Even when considering her future development direction, she wanted to have something to do with this.
She still remembered that in her previous life, her daughter attended a good friend's wedding and brought up the fact that the bride had hired a makeup artist from the city, who cost her a full five thousand yuan, while their local salary was only three to five thousand yuan. Liu Suqin was shocked for a long time after hearing this, and now she couldn't help but consider the feasibility of learning makeup in the future.
This is also a skill. After learning it, you can open a shop, do makeup for people and sell some cosmetics at the same time. You can also open a photo studio and hire one or two photographers. She will be responsible for makeup and styling. Later, when there are more customers, her photo studio can develop in the direction of bridal makeup and wedding photography. The latter requires a large investment, but it should also make a lot of money.
But Liu Suqin only had a vague idea, and it would take a long time to implement it. As long as her fat daughter continued to breastfeed, she would not be able to go out.
Plans often fail to keep up with changes, so she was not in a hurry to inform Lin Nanjiang. Instead, she took advantage of her recent idleness to start practicing makeup techniques on her face.
They say practice makes perfect. Even if you still need to go to a professional makeup school for training later, it is always a good idea to practice in advance.
Then Lin Nanjiang suddenly realized that he had been running around outside all day recently and was so dark that he could pass as an African, but his wife was actually as beautiful as a flower at home.
Her already delicate and attractive facial features, after applying just the right amount of rouge, looked like a completely different person. Even though she was still wearing the same loose clothes she wore during pregnancy to facilitate breastfeeding, and even though she was dressed casually, she was still so beautiful that people couldn't take their eyes off her.
Lin Nanjiang was of course very happy and proud of his wife's beauty, the husband's glory, and he wished his wife would always be so young and beautiful. But when he glanced at his tanned self in the mirror, he suddenly stopped laughing.
His wife is young and beautiful, but he is getting darker and darker. If he continues like this, I am afraid that when he accompanies his wife shopping in the future, people will mistake him for a father taking his daughter.
Lin Nanjiang shuddered at the thought of a future in which his wife might make him a father. That night, after taking a shower, he deliberately lingered in bed and wandered around the small table. Finally, when Liu Suqin bent down to cover her daughter's belly, he quickly picked up a jar of facial cream that he had picked out in advance, unscrewed it, scooped out a little, then put the cover back in its original shape and went to the bathroom to wipe his face carefully.
Lin Nanjiang thought his little trick was flawless, but he didn't know that his sneaky behavior made Liu Suqin want to laugh.
After laughing, the next day, someone returned home from the vegetable market after moving goods and was about to go into the city to check on the progress of the renovations. Liu Suqin thoughtfully handed him a piece of paper and said, "If you pass by the mall in the next two days, please pick up two facial masks for me. The specific names are written on the paper. I recently saw an introduction in a fashion magazine that said they have a great whitening effect. This Pian Zai Huang Pearl Cream also has whitening effects. If you have any, please buy them for me."
Lin Nanjiang's eyes lit up, but he still put the note into his pocket as if he didn't care. "Yeah, I'll go to the mall if I have time."
What he was thinking was that since it had a whitening effect, he must buy a few more boxes. He also had to work hard quietly to become as white as lightning.
Getting tanned and ugly is at most a sweet trouble, but the reward is even greater. Even in the busiest months of April and May, their income has never been less than 20,000.
By June, the decoration of the store was completed, and all kinds of kitchen equipment, tables, chairs and cupboards were purchased one after another, and the store could open at any time. At this time, the decoration work of their new home was also coming to an end, waiting for the formal acceptance. They only needed to slowly move the furniture and appliances in, and then ventilate the house to remove the odor.
The burden on Lin Nanjiang and Lin Quansheng's shoulders was much lighter, but they did not sit idle. Instead, they took up the breakfast stall business before moving and made money every minute.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the two, when their stall-selling career came to an end, Liu Suqin's savings, which had previously been depleted due to house purchases, returned to six figures.
Yes, considering the health of the children and everyone, even though safe and expensive materials were used during the renovation, and someone was asked to clean it thoroughly with water after the renovation to wash away as much formaldehyde residue as possible, and due to the high temperature, Liu Suqin still required ventilation for more than two months. Only one day in late August did they ask someone to calculate an auspicious day and move into the new home in a lively manner.
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