Chapter 32: Rent issues, a bunch of trivial matters
Zhang Wanwan and her mother stayed at home to rest. Too many things happened today, and once they relaxed they found themselves physically and mentally exhausted.
The mother and daughter sat side by side on the chairs with empty eyes. Zhang's mother suddenly asked, "What do you think of the house we went to see this afternoon?"
"It's OK." Zhang Wanwan said somewhat weakly. To be honest, that house is really better than theirs, and it's in the city center, so there's no need to worry about security. People come and go, and there's generally no danger as long as they don't go out late at night.
Zhang's mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Then we'll settle there. It's 1,200 yuan a month, which is more than 14,000 yuan a year. To be honest, I really couldn't bear to spend the money before, but now I can't rest assured if I don't move for your sake!"
Zhang Wanwan's mind turned, and she stood up and looked at her mother. "Mom, I think 1,200 yuan a month is still a bit expensive. Today I went to the agency and saw the price list on the wall. The big house there is only 1,000 yuan a month. When the agency calls you, tell them that my dad thinks 1,200 yuan a month is too expensive and ask him if he can negotiate with the landlord to get a lower price. If possible, we can rent it for a year and pay it in one lump sum."
"Is this okay?"
"What's wrong with it? We didn't agree on 1,200 a month with the agent. We just asked him to contact the landlord to discuss it. I thought about it. That building is obviously similar to Wanjia Xinyuan, and the conditions are not different, but the price is so different. Do you know why?" Zhang Wanwan asked knowingly.
Zhang's mother had never thought about it. "How do you say it?"
Zhang Wanwan took a piece of paper and drew a picture for her mother to see. "This is Century Plaza, the city center. A little further away is Wanjia Xinyuan. Across the street is Rongyu Community, the resettlement housing closest to Wanjia Xinyuan. Further away are the four high-rise buildings. The reason why Wanjia Xinyuan is expensive is that it focuses on mid- to high-end suites. The facilities and security of the community are also the best, so the rent is naturally not cheap.
Rongyu Community is different. When people hear about Rongyu Community, the first thing they think of is that it is a resettlement housing community. We didn’t know about these four high-rise buildings until we went there. You also saw the rental prices of the resettlement housing. It is impossible to rent out the four buildings at a high price, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many houses to rent. You can bargain with the agent to see if 1,000 yuan a month is okay. If not, it can’t exceed 1,100 yuan a month.”
Zhang's mother was confused at first, but after Zhang Wanwan's instigation, she felt that the price was too high and secretly decided to bargain with the agent.
After the two of them made the decision, Zhang Wanwan went to take a shower. Zhang Baiyan went out early to deliver food, but ended up waiting until almost ten o'clock before he came back with Zhang's father.
Seeing the father and son sweating profusely, Zhang's mother hurried over to help and urged Zhang Baiyan to take a shower. After Zhang's father sat down and drank some cold water, Zhang's mother told Zhang's father about the house-hunting. "The three of us have seen it. The community is not bad. It's mainly an elevator apartment. Every household lives in peace and quiet. It's a new community, and the sound insulation is much better than here. In addition, the high-rise building has strong winds, good lighting, and is quiet. I am very satisfied with it. Moreover, the furniture and other things are ready. You can move in with your luggage. It's just 1,200 yuan a month. Your girl said it was too expensive and asked me to bargain again. If it's okay, we can sign the contract. What do you think?"
Father Zhang smiled bitterly, "As long as you all think it's good, I don't have any objections. You see, I'm almost never at home when I'm setting up the stall now, so I can't help you in time if anything happens. If you think it's good to move, then we'll move! By the way, did you say how much you have to deposit and how much you have to pay?"
Zhang's mother shook her head. "I haven't talked to the other party yet. I'll talk about it after the agent makes an appointment with the landlord. Wanwan means that if possible, we can just rent it for a year, and then negotiate the price. The contract should be signed carefully, so that we don't have to move out again after living there for a short time."
Zhang's father had no objection to this. He took out the change he made today and counted it. "There are more than 3,000 here. The 5,000 that the family saved was used to rent the warehouse. 3,000 was spent. The rest is used to buy ingredients for fried chicken. I can't move. I will go to the bank to withdraw some money tomorrow. If we really move, we will have to buy some things, including a freezer. There are still many miscellaneous things."
Thinking of the situation at the warehouse, Zhang's mother reminded him, "The warehouse still needs to install water and electricity, and you need to come and fix the pipes and stuff. See if you want to let Wanwan go to set up the stall tomorrow while you go to the bank to withdraw money and fix the water and electricity at the warehouse. If we have time, we can buy a freezer as well. There's no rush to rent a house, so we can make an appointment for the day after tomorrow."
Father Zhang nodded. "That's the only way we can do it. If we can get the warehouse ready sooner, we can set up the fried chicken stand sooner. Have you told them about your resignation?"
"Let's talk about it tomorrow!" Zhang's mother lowered her eyes and said. The light shone on her face, and the scars on her face looked a little shocking.
Father Zhang frowned, sighed softly, and said nothing more.
The next morning, Zhang Wanwan got up early and prepared the food for the stall. Seeing that there was still time, she fried the chicken wings and legs that she had marinated last night.
Early in the morning, the aroma wafting from Zhang's kitchen spread throughout the community. People passing by downstairs couldn't help but look up to see which family was so dishonest as to "poison" the place.
Zhang Baiyan tasted a piece of each chicken wing, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he gave a thumbs up, praising: "It smells so good! This will definitely sell well! It's perfect for a carnivore like me!"
As he spoke, Zhang Baiyan ate another chicken leg in a few bites. Zhang Wanwan had marinated four chicken legs and four chicken wings in total, and Zhang Baiyan ate most of them. However, she was extremely happy. Zhang Baiyan's affirmation gave her more confidence. Thinking that Zhang Baiyan had nothing to do today, she said, "Brother, I'll write you a list of seasonings. If you have nothing to do today, go to the wholesale market to purchase a batch for the warehouse. Dad has to go there to fix the water and electricity today. He's there when you go. You can go with Dad to check out the freezer. With the freezer, you can go directly to the farmer's market to wholesale some slaughtered and cleaned chickens and chicken wings and legs, which are the ones I bought yesterday. There are large stores that specialize in wholesale. Compare prices before making a decision."
Zhang Baiyan is not stupid. After Zhang Wanwan’s advice, he knows what to do.
The brother and sister went their separate ways once they left the house.
Zhang Boyan first went to the wholesale market to buy a lot of seasonings according to Zhang Wanwan's request. There were so many things that they couldn't fit on his bicycle. The store owner saw that he bought so much and readily offered to deliver the goods for him. Zhang Boyan was immediately relieved and bought the remaining things without any scruples. Then he paid, left an address for the store owner, called Zhang's father, and rode away on his bicycle.
Since things went more smoothly than expected, Zhang Baiyan simply went to the home appliance market to look at freezers. The price difference between different brands of home appliances is quite big, and there are also second-hand resale stores here. After a round of wandering, Zhang Baiyan found that the price of new ones was more than 5,000 yuan, ordinary ones were more than 2,000 yuan, and there were cheaper ones less than 2,000 yuan. Second-hand ones were relatively much cheaper. A branded one that was 80% new was only more than 1,000 yuan, and an ordinary second-hand one was only eight or nine hundred yuan.
(End of this chapter)
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