Time flies, and a week has passed in the blink of an eye. Sun Zhengdong has now adapted to life in the steel rolling mill and is working hard to learn electrical engineering skills in order to become a full-time employee as soon as possible.
Sun Zhengguo has been very busy lately. Apart from trading with Tiger again yesterday, he has devoted all his time to studying.
During the third period in the morning, the homeroom teacher was giving a lesson when an untimely voice interrupted her explanation.
"Teacher Zhao, excuse me, someone is looking for Sun Zhengguo from your class."
When Teacher Zhao saw that the person who came was the old man guarding the gate, he suppressed his resentment and spoke to Sun Zhengguo.
"Sun Zhengguo, go to the main gate. Someone is looking for you."
When Sun Zhengguo heard that someone was looking for him, he had a vague idea in his mind. He stood up, greeted the teacher, and walked towards the school gate.
Arriving outside the school gate, seeing that familiar attire, who else could it be but Ding Qizhen?
When Ding Qizhen saw Sun Zhengguo come out, he quickly went up to him and said respectfully.
"Sir, did I disturb you?"
"No, no, Uncle Ding, did you come here today because the homeowner has returned?"
Sun Zhengguo had to go to class, so he got straight to the point.
"Yes, yes, you were right. I just got back yesterday afternoon. As soon as I heard the news, I rushed over here."
"Here's what we'll do, Uncle Ding. I have to go to class now. You go and test the waters first, and I'll go over at noon. If it works out in the end, don't worry, you'll definitely be treated well."
Sun Zhengguo understood the principle that you have to feed a horse more grass if you want it to run fast, so he was implying to Ding Qizhen that he should work hard and that there would be a reward for doing a good job.
Sure enough, Ding Qizhen liked this approach and hurriedly nodded and bowed as he spoke.
"Don't worry, sir, leave this matter to me, Old Ding. There will definitely be results when you come at noon."
After Ding Qizhen finished speaking, he hurriedly rode away on his bicycle. There wasn't much time left before noon, and he needed to hurry up and finalize the house purchase.
Seeing that Ding Qizhen had left, Sun Zhengguo hurried back to his class, otherwise he wouldn't be able to withstand his teacher's anger.
Back in the classroom, the homeroom teacher simply said calmly, "Be more careful next time, and try to handle things at home as much as possible." Then she continued with the lesson.
At noon, Sun Zhengguo quickly finished his lunch, got on his bike, and headed to Ding Qizhen's house.
When they arrived at the Ding family home, they found that Ding Qizhen had just returned and hadn't eaten yet. He was playing with his youngest son.
Sun Zhengguo could only wait. Soon, Ding Qizhen's wife brought in the food and, seeing Sun Zhengguo, even made him a cup of tea.
Ding Qizhen was probably hungry, so he didn't stand on ceremony and grabbed a steamed bun to eat, eating very quickly.
Ten minutes later, Ding Qizhen finished his meal, and his wife cleared the table and took their son out. Only then did Ding Qizhen speak.
"Sir, I'm sorry you had to see this. The house deal is almost finalized. The entire courtyard house is priced at 1500 yuan, and the furniture and antiques inside are priced at 3000 yuan. The homeowner insists on not selling them separately. What do you think of this...?"
"Uncle Ding, are those pieces of furniture and antiques really worth 3,000 yuan?"
Sun Zhengguo asked in confusion.
"To be honest, I've been in this business for so many years, I know a little about these antique furniture pieces. In my opinion, they're at least as good as they seem. Of course, you can also find a professional to take a look."
After considering it for a moment, Sun Zhengguo decided to go and take a look first. If he really couldn't figure it out, he would ask Brother Liu from the trust shop to help.
The two immediately got to work, got on their bikes, and headed towards the courtyard house in Ju'er Hutong.
When the two arrived at the location, they were greeted by an elderly couple.
After the introduction, the homeowner's surname is Zhang. He was a university professor during the Republic of China era. Now that he is getting old, his son is worried about him and wants to take them to Hong Kong, so he is thinking of selling the house.
Next, Professor Zhang led Sun Zhengguo on a tour of the room. Looking at the furniture, Sun Zhengguo felt that there was no need to look at anything else; the furniture alone was worth the price.
There are dozens of pieces of furniture of various sizes, all made of precious wood. Various porcelains, incense burners, and carvings are also placed on the furniture. There are also many calligraphy and paintings on the walls, but Sun Zhengguo did not know whether they were painted by famous people.
After viewing all the rooms, Sun Zhengguo had already made up his mind: he wanted the house. At this price, buying it would be a steal. With that thought in mind, Sun Zhengguo said.
"Professor Zhang, I've also seen this house. It's very nice, but isn't the price too high?"
"I'm sorry, the price will not be lowered any further. Mr. Ding left in a hurry today, and I forgot to mention something: I do not accept current currency transactions. Foreign exchange is preferred, and if that's not possible, gold is acceptable. Otherwise, this money will be useless once we get to Hong Kong."
Professor Zhang's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Ding Qizhen, chilling him to the bone. He thought to himself, "It's over, this deal is going to fall through."
Sun Zhengguo, however, didn't care. He had foreign exchange and gold, so he said...
“Professor Zhang, I can accept any of the transaction methods you mentioned. You can choose between US dollars, British pounds, or Hong Kong dollars.”
After listening to Sun Zhengguo's words, Ding Qizhen's heart warmed up again, like riding a roller coaster, rising from the bottom to the top, and seeing hope again.
Professor Zhang, being a worldly man, remained unfazed and spoke directly.
"Alright, in that case, just give me $1,800! This yard and everything inside is yours, I won't touch a single blade of grass."
"Professor Zhang, you're referring to the official exchange rate. In reality, 4500 yuan won't even get you 1800 US dollars. Why don't you lower the rate a bit?"
Sun Zhengguo argued his case logically.
To be honest, Professor Zhang also knew that this exchange rate was unrealistic. After thinking for a while, he finally said...
"Okay! I'll compromise. You can offer $1,600. If that's still not acceptable, I'd rather leave it here. This yard and everything inside represent my life's work. I really can't bear to sell it!"
Sun Zhengguo estimated that this was probably the bottom line, so he stopped stalling and happily agreed, "Deal!"
The rest was simple. Ding Qizhen finally came in handy, busy drafting the contract. Once both parties paid the money and the property was transferred, the deal would be done.
After the contract was drafted, both parties reviewed it and signed their names. Sun Zhengguo also paid a deposit of 100 yuan and agreed to transfer the property at noon the next day.
On the way back, Ding Qizhen repeatedly assured that he had someone in the housing management department of the subdistrict office, and that as long as Sun Zhengguo took a holiday, he could complete the transfer procedures.
In high spirits, Sun Zhengguo even joked that Ding Qizhen was an old ox eating young grass, with such a young child, truly showing his vigor despite his age.
Ding Qizhen's answer was quite surprising. It turns out that Ding Qizhen is only 41 years old this year, but he looks about the same age as his grandfather.
After saying goodbye to Ding Qizhen, Sun Zhengguo drove towards the school...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com