Chapter 104 Renovation Fee Received
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun hanging high in the sky gradually set, and the alley gradually became lively.
Aunties gathered in groups of three or five to talk, uncles played chess and cards in groups, there were children playing around, and adults returning home from get off work one after another, all together creating a noisy scene in the alley.
Shi Yue looked up at his watch and felt that Gong Fa should be here soon, so he walked out of the house. Coincidentally, he saw Gong Fa as soon as he reached the door.
He stretched out his arm, waved it, and shouted, "Boss Gong!"
"Hey! Shi Yue!"
Seeing Shi Yue's figure, Gong Fa also waved, and then he strode over.
He came up to Shi Yue and said, "Hey, I was afraid you hadn't finished get off work yet, so I left early. I didn't expect you to get off work quite early today, huh?"
Shi Yue: "Well, I didn't go to work this afternoon."
Gong Fa: "Not working? Isn't today Thursday? Why aren't you working? Did you take a day off just for me?"
He jokingly said, "I didn't expect I would have this honor?"
Shi Yue: "Oh, no, it's because my daughter had a fight with some other kids in class today, and their teacher called me, their parent, over... Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Come on, follow me inside, and let's sit down inside and talk."
Gong Fa: "Hey, let's go inside."
Shi Yue led Gong Fa into his home and warmly invited him to sit down: "Boss Gong, please sit wherever you want. I'll go to the kitchen to get you a glass of water. Would you like some boiled water or tea?"
Gong Fa: "Boiled water will do. It's too hot to drink tea this weather."
Shi Yue: "Okay, then wait a moment."
Shi Yue went into the kitchen to pour water, while Shi Qiu Shui stayed behind to entertain the guest Gong Fa.
Because she had learned from Shi Yue the day before that Gong Fa was here to give her family some money, Shi Qiushui was particularly enthusiastic when she met Gong Fa. She smiled sweetly at him while holding her treasured snacks and said, "Uncle Gong, have some snacks."
Gong Fa was not interested in the snacks the children were eating. He waved his hand and said, "Uncle Gong doesn't want to eat them. Xiao Qiu, you can eat them yourself."
Shi Qiu Shui said "Oh", but did not open the bag of snacks. Instead, she put it aside and continued chatting with Gong Fa.
"Uncle Gong, are you hot? Do you want me to turn up the fan a little?"
Gong Fa: "No, no."
Shi Qiushui: "Uncle Gong, are you cold? Do you want me to turn down the fan?"
Gong Fa pressed Shi Qiushui's shoulders in a funny way, asked her to sit on the sofa, and said, "Uncle Gong, I'm neither cold nor hot, neither thirsty nor hungry. You don't need to do anything. Just sit down and chat with me, Uncle Gong."
"Okay." Shi Qiushui sat on the sofa, looked at Gong Fa, and asked, "Uncle Gong, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Gong Fa, Gong Fa doesn’t know either.
He said he wanted Shi Qiushui to chat with him, but in fact he just didn't want Shi Qiushui to be around him asking about his well-being. He thought about it and finally thought of a topic to talk to Shi Qiushui about. He asked Shi Qiushui: "Hey, Xiaoqiu, I just heard your dad say that you had a fight with other kids today?"
Shi Qiushui nodded openly: "Yeah, yes, I had a fight with someone today."
"Yo huh?"
Gong Fa looked at Shi Qiushui in surprise. Are kids these days like this? They're so confident in fighting with others? You know, when he was a kid, he didn't dare let adults know about his fights with other kids.
Gong Fa became interested and asked curiously, "Why are you fighting with others?"
Shi Qiushui: "Because he deserves a beating! He cursed!"
Although an afternoon had passed, Shi Qiu Shui was still very angry with Xiong Jie. She angrily told Gong Fa about how Xiong Jie had scolded her and Zhao Ran.
Gong Fa looked at Shi Qiushui in surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to fight just to stand up for another kid."
He touched Shi Qiushui's head and said, "Great, little heroine."
At this time, Shi Yue just came out of the kitchen with water. Hearing what Gong Fa said, he said, "Come on, Boss Gong, please stop praising her. She already thinks she's doing nothing wrong. If you keep praising her, she might even think fighting is something glorious!"
"Haha." Gong Fa said with a smile, "Xiao Qiu really did nothing wrong this time. Shi Yue, don't be too strict with the child."
Shi Yue handed the water cup to Gong Fa: "Come, Boss Gong, have some water."
"Okay." Gong Fa took the cup and got down to business.
"Shi Yue, you told me on the phone yesterday that you had a snuff bottle to sell. Where's the thing? Where's the snuff bottle? I'm here now, so you have to let me see it, right?"
Shi Yue: "Hey, Boss Gong, don't be anxious. Didn't I tell you yesterday that it wasn't me who sold the item this time, it was my neighbor. The item is still with my neighbor. Wait, I'll ask my daughter to call her over."
He turned around and said to Shi Qiushui, "Girl, go to the backyard and call your Grandma Yao over."
"good!"
Shi Qiushui agreed promptly and swiftly left the house. She trotted all the way to Yao Dazui's door in the backyard. Yao Dazui was sitting at his doorstep picking vegetables. She immediately called out, "Grandma Yao, my dad is calling you to our house."
"Going to your house? Why would I go to your house? I'm just here..." Yao Dazui suddenly realized what was happening. She slapped her forehead and said, "Oh, right! I remember now! Is someone coming?!"
She almost forgot that Shi Yue said yesterday that a buyer would come today.
Shi Qiushui nodded: "Yes, someone is coming."
Yao Dazui put the dish he was holding on the ground and immediately stood up. While wiping his hands with the hem of his clothes, he said, "Oh, I see. Come on, I'll go with you."
Shi Qiushui quickly brought Yao Dazui back to the Shi family. She called out, "Dad, Grandma Yao is here."
Shi Yue stood up and welcomed Yao Dazui in, then said to Gong Fa, "Boss Gong, let me introduce you to today's seller, Aunt Yao."
Similarly, he also introduced Gong Fa's identity to Yao Dazui: "Auntie Yao, this is the buyer who is interested in your snuff bottle, Mr. Gong."
Gong Fa took two familiar steps forward and said to Yao Dazui with a smile, "Hey, hello, Aunt Yao, my name is Gong Fa, you can just call me Xiao Gong."
Compared to him, Aunt Yao felt a little embarrassed. She nodded and said, "Well, hello, Xiao Gong."
After the two of them finished greeting each other, Shi Yue said, "Well, since you two already know each other, let's stop standing and sit down and chat."
He forced Yao Dazui to sit on the sofa and poured him a glass of water. Yao Dazui held the glass of water and hadn't drunk it yet when he heard Gong Fa speak.
"Aunt Yao, I heard from Shi Yue that you have a Hetian jade snuff bottle that you'd like to sell. I'm quite interested in what you described, but I'm wondering if you could let me see what it looks like?"
Yao Dazui nodded: "It's convenient, it's not inconvenient at all. I have my snuff bottle with me. If you want to see it, I can get it for you."
She hurriedly put down the cup of water in her hand, and then took out the small cloth bag containing the snuff bottle from the inner pocket of her clothes.
Shi Yue had seen this cloth bag yesterday and knew that there were layers of packages inside Yao Dazui's cloth bag, but Gong Fa didn't know. He looked at Yao Dazui with anticipation as he took out the cloth bag, thinking that there was a snuff bottle inside the cloth bag. As a result, when Yao Dazui opened the cloth bag, there was a thick layer of toilet paper inside.
He just looked at Yao Dazui expectantly as he unwrapped one layer of toilet paper, then another...
Yao Dazui was very generous with the toilet paper and wrapped it in three layers inside and three layers outside. Gong Fa waited for a long time. Just when his patience was about to run out, Yao Dazui finally unwrapped all the toilet paper, and Gong Fa was able to see the snuff bottle in its true form.
It was a pure white, gourd-shaped snuff bottle. There was no pattern on the front of the snuff bottle, but the back was engraved with a full pattern of fortune, wealth and longevity.
Gong Fa's eyes lit up. Even though he didn't know much about antiques, he still knew some basic knowledge. The shape of the gourd and the pattern of Fu Lu Shou both symbolized good fortune, health and longevity, which was a very good omen.
After the first glance, he was very satisfied with the appearance of this thing. Next, he wanted to see what the texture of this thing was like.
He cautiously said to Yao Dazui, "Auntie, can I touch this thing?"
Yao Dazui generously stretched out his hand: "You can touch it."
Gong Fa carefully picked up the snuff bottle. His first feeling was the smoothness, the oily and delicate feel of jade. Then, his skin gave him a cool sensation. Even in the scorching summer heat, kept close to Yao Dazui, the snuff bottle still felt cool to the touch. He rubbed it again and again, and it felt so good that he couldn't bear to let it go.
Shi Yue noticed the satisfaction on his face and said, "Boss Gong, how is it? Does it feel good? This is the feel of authentic Hetian jade. This Hetian jade is most suitable for playing with in the summer. It feels cool to the touch and is very comfortable. Are you satisfied with it?"
Gong Faxian didn't say whether he was satisfied or not. Instead, he smiled and joked, "It feels comfortable to touch in the summer, but it's not suitable in the winter, right?"
Shi Yue rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Then why don't you buy a new thing to play with in the winter?"
Gong Fa: "Hahaha, okay."
He smiled heartily and said, "I'm quite satisfied with this thing. Shi Yue, just tell me, how much does it cost?"
Shi Yue's smile widened a little, and he said, "This thing is not expensive, only 22,000."
When Yao Dazui heard this number, he suddenly looked up at Shi Yue.
Was Shi Yue's price too high? Yesterday, Shi Yue said this thing could only be sold for 10,000 or 20,000 yuan, so why is it 22,000 yuan today? What if the other party thinks it's too high? What if she asks for a lower price?
Yao Dazui's expectation was around 14,000 yuan. She would be very satisfied if this snuff bottle could be sold for 14,000 yuan. Now seeing that Shi Yue asked for 22,000 yuan right away, she was naturally a little panicked.
Just as she hesitated and was about to speak, Gong spoke and nodded decisively.
"Okay, twenty-two thousand is twenty-two thousand! I happened to have some cash with me today, I'll give it to you now!"
Shi Yue was surprised.
Of course, he was not surprised by Gong Fa's decisiveness, but he was surprised that Gong Fa actually came with money.
As he stared blankly, Gong Fa took out three neatly arranged bundles of hundred-yuan bills from his briefcase.
He said, "I know you have good stuff here, so I brought 30,000 yuan in cash. When I came here, I thought if this amount wasn't enough, I'd go to the bank to withdraw more, but I didn't expect to bring more this time."
Shi Yue smiled and said, "You are very well prepared."
Gong Fa: "Well, isn't it because you're worried that the preparations aren't sufficient that you're unwilling to sell the things to me?"
Shi Yue smiled and said, "You are such a joker."
Gong Fa placed the two stacks of banknotes on the coffee table, then took out twenty bills from the remaining stack and placed them on the table, saying, "Here, exactly twenty-two thousand. Shi Yue, count them."
Shi Yue smiled and said, "Then I'll count?"
He then explained, "Boss Gong, don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't trust you. I'm not the seller, I'm the middleman. Money matters are prone to misunderstandings. Let's sort it out face to face. It can avoid a lot of trouble."
Gong Fa nodded: "Well, you are right, it's okay, you can order it."
Shi Yue picked up a stack of banknotes from the table and counted them: "One hundred, two hundred, three hundred... nine thousand eight, nine thousand nine, ten thousand, well, this is ten thousand yuan."
Then he picked up another stack of bills and counted them: "One hundred, two hundred... ten thousand. The previous stack was ten thousand, and this one is also ten thousand. That makes exactly twenty thousand. Add to that the two thousand you just counted out, Boss Gong, and it makes exactly twenty-two thousand. No problem."
He was watching when Gong Fa counted the two thousand yuan just now, so there was no need for him to count it again.
Gong Fa: "That's all right, right? Then I'll take the snuff bottle."
Shi Yue counted the 20,000 yuan, and Yao Dazui realized that her snuff bottle was sold for 22,000 yuan.
Her face flushed with excitement, and she stammered, "Here, you take it. The snuff bottle is yours. And here, this toilet paper, and this cloth bag are also for you, so you don't have to pack them."
In order to take care of this big customer, Yao Dazui also pushed the things she used to wrap snuff bottles to Gong Fa.
Gong Fa: ...
Looking at these things in front of him, he just wanted to refuse.
Shi Yue looked at Gong Fa's embarrassed expression and quickly came over to smooth things over. He poked Yao Dazui's arm and said, "Auntie Yao, look at you, what are you doing? Boss Gong is such a generous person, he shouldn't ask for gifts when he buys things. You should take these things home yourself."
Yao Dazui actually realized that what he said was inappropriate the moment he said it, but the words had already been said and there was no way to take them back.
Now that Shi Yue had found a way for her to back down, she immediately took advantage of the situation and gathered the things towards herself, saying, "Okay, then I'll take these things back myself."
Shi Yue just brushed aside a somewhat embarrassing incident.
Gong Fa smiled and said to Shi Yue, "Hey, Shi Yue, I really like what you have this time. If you have something good to release next time, you have to think of me like you did this time."
Shi Yue promised: "Of course, if I have something good, I will definitely let you know as soon as possible!"
Gong Fa: "Hahaha, that's great!"
He said with a smile: "Shi Yue, you are a kind person, I can't treat you unfairly, so, tonight I will host you, your daughter, and Aunt Yao. Yes, Aunt Yao, you can come too, let's go to the barbecue Wan for a meal."
Aunt Yao: "This..."
She paused and said, "You guys go, I won't go. My old man is still waiting for me to cook for him."
"Oh!" Gong Fa looked at Shi Yue and said, "There's an old man in our aunt's family, right?"
Shi Yue nodded, and Gong Fa slapped his thigh: "Then ask me to come along! It's just a matter of more people and more pairs of chopsticks! When it comes to barbecue, the more people there are, the better it tastes!"
He said to Yao Dazui, "Auntie, go now and call my uncle, and then we can go to the barbecue restaurant to eat barbecue together!"
Seeing that his warm invitation didn't seem fake, Yao Dazui stopped being polite. She was a straightforward person. Before, because she was not familiar with Gong Fa and didn't know his temperament, and because Gong Fa was the buyer, she was afraid that the things would not sell, so she had been restraining her personality. Now that the things were sold, she had a general understanding of Gong Fa's personality, so she nodded directly and said, "Okay, then I'll go call my old man now."
She stood up and was about to go out, but Shi Yue quickly grabbed her.
"Hey, Aunt Yao, your money is still here! Why don't you take it all away?"
Yao Dazui then remembered that she still had money from selling things. She looked at the money on the coffee table, then glanced at Gong Fa, and put all the money into her pocket.
The buyer, Gong Fa, is still here, so it is not convenient for her to give Shi Yue a share of the money. She will take the money home first, and then give Shi Yue a share after she comes back from dinner.
Shi Yue watched her pack up the money and take it away without saying a word.
He knew Yao Dazui's character well and knew that Yao Dazui would never take his share.
Yao Dazui hurried away with the money, and soon came back with her old man.
When everyone was gathered, they went out to eat barbecue. Because it was dinner time, the barbecue place was crowded as usual. Shi Yue and his group waited at the door for a while before there was a vacant seat inside and they successfully had the barbecue.
To be honest, the taste of the barbecue was worth their wait. It tasted absolutely amazing.
Shi Qiu Shui, a six-year-old child, ate more than half a pound of meat, not to mention the adults at the table. At the end of the meal, both the host and the guests were very happy.
After coming out of the barbecue area, Gong Fa happily took a taxi and left with his snuff bottle in his hand. Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui and Yao Dazui and his wife back to the compound.
On the way back, Yao Dazui smacked his lips and sighed, "It's worthy of being called BBQ Wan, it's just delicious."
Her husband nodded and said in agreement, "Yes, it's delicious. The pickled meat tastes really different from the meat we pickle. Next time we want to eat it, we should eat it out."
Yao Dazui glanced at him and said, "You're still eating out? How much money do you have in your pocket? You're still eating out. Do you know how much our meal cost today?"
Her husband: "I don't know. How much did it cost?"
He didn't go to pay the bill, so how would he know how much he spent?
Yao Dazui: "This meal cost us over fifty yuan! Over fifty yuan!"
Although she was not the one who paid the bill, she couldn't help but feel a pang of pain when she saw the number.
She said with great pain: "Fifty yuan is enough for the two of us to eat for half a month!"
Yao Dazui's wife was also surprised when she heard the number. Fifty yuan was indeed a lot of money.
He sighed with genuine emotion: "No wonder so many people want to go into business. It seems that business is profitable! Really profitable!"
The old couple felt very distressed when they had to spend fifty yuan on a meal, but Boss Gong bought a snuff bottle worth more than twenty thousand yuan without blinking an eye. That's the difference!
Yao Dazui nodded. "That's right. Business is all about making money. Hey, you said Zhiqiang is also in business, and he has a store that's doing pretty well, but we don't see any difference between what Zhiqiang eats and what we drink."
Her husband: "Hey, you talk like you know what other people eat and drink."
Yao Dazui: "How could I not know this? Old Yang..."
Her husband: "Please stop talking. Just from the fact that Old Yang was injured and hired a nurse, I can see that Yang Zhiqiang's family is still quite well-off. Don't forget, our combined salary is not as high as the nurse's salary!"
“That’s true…”
Yao Dazui nodded thoughtfully and stopped talking.
She was silent for a while, then went closer to Shi Yue and started talking to him.
She took out two thousand two hundred yuan from her pocket and said to Shi Yue, "Shi Yue, here, this is the ten percent we agreed on."
Shi Yue was stunned for a moment and said, "Wow, Aunt Yao, you still have the money on you?"
Yao Dazui smiled and said, "That's because I want to give you the money sooner."
Shi Yue: "Well, it doesn't matter if it's earlier or later."
Having said that, he still honestly took the money handed over by Yao Dazui.
Shi Yue: "I won't be polite with you anymore, I'll take the money."
Yao Dazui, who had felt bad about spending fifty yuan on dinner before, did not feel any pain at all when faced with the more than two thousand yuan he gave out now.
She was not stupid and knew how to calculate. Although she paid out 2,200 yuan, she still had nearly 20,000 yuan left. Boss Gong was willing to spend such a large sum of money to buy her things because of Shi Yue. If Shi Yue was not there, her things would definitely not be sold at such a high price, and the money she would get would definitely not be as much as it is now.
So she gave money to Shi Yue willingly.
Shi Yue happily put the more than two thousand yuan into her pocket.
More than two thousand yuan was just enough for him to renovate his house.
The house is in hand and the money for decoration is also in hand. Now all that’s left is to decorate the house.
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