Zhang Xuemei and Xu Minghan exchanged a glance. They couldn't hide it any longer, so they said, "Speak!"
"Well, there's a reason I didn't tell you before. It's because the money for buying the house was borrowed, so..."
Xu Mingjiang waved his hand, "We didn't mean anything by it, we were just curious. Third brother and sister-in-law, you go take care of your business first. I want to ask you some questions when you come back."
“Yes, Third Sister-in-law, you should go ahead. We can take care of things at home,” Xu Mingwan urged.
Zhang Xuemei and her companion didn't say anything more. They took their documents and flagged down a red car to go to the Housing Management Bureau.
"I didn't expect my third brother and sister-in-law to be so bold, borrowing money to buy a house. They actually dared to do that." Xu Mingwan was still a little surprised. Only my third brother and sister-in-law would do something like borrowing money to buy a house.
Xu Mingjiang looked at Xu Mingwan thoughtfully, "Xiaowan, how much money have you saved over the years?"
"Why are you asking this?" Xu Mingwan subconsciously clutched his pocket tighter, even though there was only a ten-yuan note inside.
Xu Mingjiang rolled his eyes and said irritably, "What are you doing? What kind of move is that? Do you think I'd be after your money?"
Xu Mingwan also realized what was happening and chuckled twice. "This was just my subconscious reaction. Who told you to always trick me into giving you candy when we were kids?"
When she got to the last sentence, she became self-righteous again. Yes, that's right, the young man had been eyeing the snacks in his pocket since he was a child, which is why she reacted that way.
"You heartless wretch! When have I ever had something delicious that I didn't think of you?" Xu Mingjiang reached out and tapped his sister's forehead, refusing to acknowledge his wicked behavior as a child.
"Alright, alright, why are you asking me how much money I have? Of course I have to think about such a sensitive topic." After saying that, Xu Mingwan looked at Xu Mingjiang curiously, wondering why he suddenly started asking about money.
"It's nothing, it's just that I saw my third brother bought a house, and I started to have some ideas too."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mingwan glanced at him and said, "Brother, your idea is a bit too ambitious. A house costs at least tens of thousands! You should forget about it."
"How can you talk like that? You don't even let people think about it? When Third Brother comes back, I'll have a good talk with him. I'm used to living in the big city, and I don't want to go back to this little village."
Besides, I think houses in Tianshui City are quite valuable; I'd like to buy one if I had the chance.
Xu Mingjiang made no attempt to hide his thoughts. He wasn't asking his third brother for money; he was just inquiring. Anyway, he was going to set up a stall at the food street near the university town soon, and making money was only a matter of time.
"This..." Xu Mingwan hesitated for a moment, then continued, "So you want to borrow it from Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law?"
"Of course not, I don't have that kind of face. I need to ask first to know what I'm doing and to have a goal!"
...
Because they had to set up their stall at noon, Xu Minghan and his companion returned early after finishing their business.
Of course, Xu Mingjiang could distinguish between what was important and what was urgent, so he didn't rush to ask anything. It wasn't until he returned from setting up his stall at noon that he showed some signs of urgency.
"Third brother, third brother, tell me about the house!"
Xu Minghan glanced at him. "What's the rush, kid? It's just that your sister-in-law and I bought this house. But it's fine if you guys know, but you should keep it from your family, understand?"
"I know that, I just wanted to ask you how much you bought this house for?" Xu Mingjiang handed the freshly poured warm water to his third brother, then looked at him expectantly.
Zhang Xuemei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright, stop teasing him. Look how anxious he is. It's already quite impressive that he's been able to hold back all morning."
Then he looked at Xu Mingjiang and explained, "We bought this house for 33,000 yuan per square meter, which was considered a low price at the time. We probably can't afford it now."
"Thirty-three thousand is considered low?" Xu Mingwan interjected. Forgive her for her ignorance, but a unit of ten thousand is not considered cheap.
Seeing her sister-in-law's surprised expression, Zhang Xuemei chuckled softly before continuing, "Big cities are definitely not something our small villages and towns can compare to."
Considering that housing prices in later generations often reach millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, she felt that 33,000 was already very cheap. Of course, money is also very valuable now.
Xu Minghan saw through his younger brother's thoughts. "What? You have something to say? But you can't buy it at this price now. It should cost more than 40,000, almost 50,000."
"I do have that idea, but I can't afford it right now! I should make money first!" Xu Mingjiang was self-aware enough to know that with his meager savings, he probably couldn't even afford a toilet.
Xu Minghan became interested. "Tell me how much money you've saved. I'll calculate the shortfall for you."
"If you weren't my own brother, I would definitely think you were mocking me for overestimating myself." Xu Mingjiang looked at Xu Minghan with resentment. This wasn't just a matter of a small hole; his entire jar was leaking.
Zhang Xuemei patted her husband on the shoulder. He hadn't thought things through. Xiao Wu had only been working for a few years. Even if he saved all his salary, it would only be two or three thousand. This wasn't just a shortfall; it was a serious shortage.
"Alright, Xiao Jiang, that's not what your third brother meant. There aren't any houses for sale in this neighborhood right now, so don't worry. Aren't you going to set up a stall at the food street soon? Work hard to save money, it'll be quick."
Zhang Xuemei genuinely felt it was fast, after all, they had saved over 100,000 yuan in just six months last year! And that was after paying off their debts, otherwise it could have been even more! Of course, it was also very tiring.
"Yes, that's what I mean. Third Brother, when should we go to the food street? What if we go too late and they don't give us a stall?" Xu Mingjiang now sees the food street stalls as his golden goose, and he can't afford to make any mistakes.
Zhang Xuemei glanced at the time, then at the anxious Xu Mingjiang, and said with a smile, "Minghan, you take Xiaojiang to pay the rent so he won't worry about it. I'll take care of the braised food tonight, so you can go without worry!"
"Oh, thank you, Third Sister-in-law. You've worked so hard. But I'll pay the rent. Third Brother, let's go quickly!" Xu Mingjiang immediately stood up and urged Xu Minghan to leave.
Xu Minghan glanced at him and said, "It doesn't matter who pays, these costs will still be deducted anyway."
"Oh yeah, how come I didn't think of that?" Xu Mingjiang slapped his forehead; he was going to share it with his third sister-in-law.
"Alright, aren't you in a hurry? Then hurry up and go."
"Okay, coming right away."
Xu Mingjiang put on a coat and immediately followed.
"Look how happy the young man is." Xu Mingwan shook her head. She had never seen him so enthusiastic about work before!
Zhang Xuemei actually admired Xu Mingjiang's attitude; what's the point if you're not even proactive in making money?
Then he looked at Xu Mingwan and had an idea. "Xiaowan, do you want to earn some extra money?"
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