Chapter 52
After Jian Feng got the news from Kong Guorong, he did not feel resentful towards Zhao Xiaopeng for plotting against him. Perhaps it was because Jian Li had instilled too many bad things about Zhao Xiaopeng in him. When Jian Feng learned that his childhood friend was planning to plot against him, his first reaction was "my daughter guessed it right." It seemed as if he had expected it.
Kong Guorong said that Zhao Xiaopeng's intention was probably to act as a middleman. The person who bought the house just needed to get the house from Jian Feng's family, and then he would wait until the factory bought the house and then sell it. This way, he could make at least 10,000 or 20,000 yuan, and Zhao Xiaopeng would definitely benefit from it.
Kong Guorong's face was filled with sympathy, and he patted Jian Feng on the shoulder: "Brother, what kind of brother are you? Why do you have the freedom to betray me?"
Jian Feng smiled bitterly. He also wanted to ask himself how he had let down Liu Xiangdong and Zhao Xiaopeng, as these two people were actually trying to trick him.
Kong Guorong asked Jian Feng what his plan was, whether to sell the house or not.
Jian Feng didn't know either. Just like Kong Guorong said, he didn't know what the future would be like. Was it a good thing or a bad thing to keep the house?
Kong Guorong said carelessly: "Brother, if you want to make a decision, you should hurry up. It is highly likely that your factory will not be able to take over the house smoothly. The conditions for the first batch must be the most favorable."
Jian Feng still didn't understand why Kong Guorong said that. Kong Guorong asked mysteriously, "Are you stupid? The people who handle this kind of thing must have a house at home. They will definitely raise the price and wait to sell it."
Jian Feng was silent. Yes, Kong Guorong was right. Judging from the character of the people in the factory, the leaders who own houses would definitely rush to take over the matter and would offer a high price.
By the time there is resistance in the factory, these people will have already sold their products and lowered the price, leaving only those who are still hesitating.
The Jian family held a meeting, and as soon as Jian Feng brought up this matter, Wang Mengmei was about to explode.
"He still wants to trick us! No, I can't swallow this, I have to go find him!"
How could there be such a person? Haven't I been good enough to him over the years? Since the marriage, Zhao Xiaopeng has never asked for big money, but she has been borrowing small amounts all the time. She has never asked for a few dollars. Whenever there is something going on in Zhao Xiaopeng's family, she is the one who comes forward. Whenever Jian Feng has something good to do, she thinks of him. What did she get in return?
Zhao Xiaopeng actually planned to cheat them!
Wang Mengmei wondered if she had not asked around, she would have handed over all her savings of the past year to Zhao Xiaopeng and allowed Zhao Xiaopeng to collude with others to cheat her out of a fortune.
Jian Feng quickly advised: "We haven't agreed yet, don't be angry, at worst we can just stop communicating in the future."
Wang Mengmei had a vent for her anger, and she started to curse Jian Feng: "I haven't said anything about you! What kind of brother are you? You are worse than any outsider! Don't say you don't want to associate with me. From now on, even if you see him on the street, you are not allowed to pay attention to him!"
Jian Feng was speechless and could only smile apologetically: "I will definitely not talk to him. Let's discuss what to do with this house now, should we sell it or not?"
Kong Guorong had analyzed it for him, and if he sold it now, he would have the money in his pocket. The tens of thousands of yuan, plus their savings, would be enough to buy a small three-bedroom apartment. The house would not be very good, most likely a second-hand one, but there would be a wide range of options to choose from.
If he doesn't sell it, he might have the opportunity to renovate the first floor in the future. This is a rare advantage for Wang Mengmei.
The rent of the storefront she is currently renting has increased twice. When she took over from the breakfast shop owner, it was 150 yuan a month, and then it became 300 yuan a month after the Chinese New Year. Wang Mengmei said that the landlord seemed to want to increase the rent again.
If the price keeps rising like this, I don’t know when it will cease to operate.
But if you have your own store, everything will be different.
Wang Mengmei was in a deep dilemma. She wanted to have her own house, but also wanted a stable business.
"Or... I won't sell it..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Jian Li.
Jian Li was so excited that she grabbed her father and said, "Sell! We'll be the first to sell!"
Wang Mengmei: "Jian Li! Don't interrupt!" She was upset and needed to think about it carefully.
No matter how her mother glared at her, Jian Li climbed onto the table with her eyes shining: "Sell it! You must sell it!"
She didn't have time to investigate whether the same thing happened in her previous life, or whether her parents chose not to sell it.
But she knew clearly that in the following twenty years, the cotton spinning factory building had never been demolished!
Twenty years later, when the real estate market went into a downturn, the cotton mill's residential compound remained here. People gradually moved out, and the first floor was finally turned into a storefront, with a monthly rent of three thousand yuan.
No one knows why Taocheng's development bypassed the cotton spinning mill, but the fact is that those who believed that the old houses must be demolished were ultimately left with nothing.
Ironically, the first floor of the cotton mill was later rented out to mostly food vendors, and the old, dilapidated building was actually considered by the younger generation to have retained its original style and features, with an endless stream of people coming to check in. Before Jian Li's sudden death, this place finally took on a new glow and became one of Taocheng's more famous food streets.
But that was more than 20 years later.
Compared to the rent of several thousand yuan per month in more than 20 years, Jian Li feels that the tens of thousands of yuan in her hands now are more worthwhile.
She kept shouting to sell it, and Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei were annoyed.
Jian Li suppressed her inner excitement and tried to persuade her parents: "Mom, money has become less and less valuable in recent years. Do you still remember how much a house cost two years ago?"
Wang Mengmei recalled that two years ago, a house only cost a few thousand yuan. She regretted many things in her life, but the biggest regret was that she did not change her house a few years ago.
At that time, she had a little savings, so she only needed to sell her current small house and add some money. If it was not enough, she could borrow some money, and she could completely solve the housing problem.
But she didn't seize the opportunity, always thinking about saving more, waiting and waiting, and now the house has exceeded 100,000. If her business hadn't been going well, she wouldn't dare to think about when she could realize her wish.
Wang Mengmei hesitated, but Jian Feng was inclined to sell the house.
He was not as determined as Jian Li, but he just noticed something different.
Since he started working as a driver for Kong Guorong, he has seen too many small businesses, those inconspicuous small businesses, all of which are very aggressive in making money. Some stores are so small that they can use up hundreds of kilograms of dried vegetables, grains and oil in three days.
As soon as Jian Feng calculated the bill, he felt that the world outside the factory was too big and there were too many rich people.
In the long run, the value of the house may rise again. Now is a good opportunity to buy it while the factory is taking over the house.
"Sell it."
Jian Feng made the final decision. Wang Mengmei murmured a few words, but finally agreed.
Anyway, we won't suffer any loss if we move to a new house, and we have finally accomplished a great thing for our family. As for the storefront, we will just work hard and think about it in a few years.
The family of three reached a consensus and waited for the factory to issue the news.
Before the news came out, Jian Feng went to see Zhao Xiaopeng.
Zhao Xiaopeng was still trying to trick Jian Feng into selling the house, but Jian Feng said nothing and started asking for the bill.
Not to mention the small amount of money Zhao Xiaopeng had borrowed before, he once borrowed 100 yuan for his child's schooling last year. Jian Feng was hiding the money from Wang Mengmei.
Now Jian Feng comes to ask for money.
Zhao Xiaopeng didn't know why Jian Feng suddenly changed his attitude and treated Liu Xiangdong the same way.
"Brother Feng?"
Jian Feng said indifferently: "Don't call me Brother Feng anymore."
As a "brother", he is just a sucker.
Zhao Xiaopeng looked unhappy: "What do you mean?"
Jian Feng looked at him as if he were a stranger.
"You knew in advance that the factory was going to reclaim the houses."
Not a question, just a statement.
Zhao Xiaopeng's eyes widened and his heart was confused. Jian Feng knew?
Damn it! Doesn't he work outside every day? How did he know this news?
Just as Zhao Xiaopeng was about to deny it, Jian Feng interrupted him. They were brothers and he really didn't want to listen to Zhao Xiaopeng's lies.
"Is that family your second uncle or your cousin? How much of the money from the sale of the house will you get?"
Jian Feng only now remembered that Zhao Xiaopeng's second uncle was also an old worker in the cotton spinning factory. The children of his second uncle had taken over the factory's job. Although they retired later, they should have a house here.
I think that's it.
The two-bedroom, one-living room apartment on the third floor was only sold for just over 20,000 yuan, which was certainly not as much as the money the factory paid for the room. Moreover, the other party was asking for a room change, and they had to pay 8,000 yuan.
Jian Feng didn't say anything unpleasant, but Zhao Xiaopeng couldn't stand it first.
He stared at Jian Feng intently, his tightly pursed lips trembling slightly.
Jian Feng sighed: "I really don't understand why everyone has changed now."
We were able to eat and drink together a few years ago, we ran around and had fun together when we were kids, and...
Zhao Xiaopeng said in a sharp voice: "Mr. Jian, you don't have to pretend to be a good person here. You are the only good person in the world, right?"
Even though they had a falling out, Zhao Xiaopeng remained tough.
"You are just an idiot, as stupid as Xu Jianguo. Why are you so lucky?"
Jian Feng felt that this world was desolate. Zhao Xiaopeng had both parents and had never suffered any hardship since he was a child. Comparing the two of them, anyone would know that Zhao Xiaopeng was the lucky one.
He spent the first half of his life in poverty and grievances. Things gradually improved after he got married. His life basically started when he had a wife and children. But even so, the family situation was still not good. It was only this year that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Xiaopeng looked at him with resentment: "How can a fool like you have a wife who can make money? How can you make thousands of dollars a month now?"
"You are all looking for rural wives. Why is your wife better than mine? I will just find a stupid country girl!"
"How am I worse than you? You were like this when you were in the factory before, pretending to be a good person and having good intentions. You were the one who was promoted to team leader in the factory, and you were also the one who received the praise."
"Huh? You can actually make money now! What do you rely on? Just because you pretend to be a good person?"
…
Zhao Xiaopeng had given up hope and even Jian Feng's occasional financial support became evidence of his "looking down on others".
Jian Feng went from being angry at first to being numb and then gradually calming down.
"Are you done?"
Zhao Xiaopeng spat fiercely.
Jian Feng rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular forearms.
Without hesitation, he threw a punch. This punch was not very powerful, but it still made Zhao Xiaopeng see stars.
Zhao Xiaopeng fell to the ground on his side. He did not fight back because he knew he could not win.
Jian Feng was the tallest among them since he was a child. Whenever he fought with other children from other courtyards, he would always rush to the front. Later, Jian Feng returned to his family courtyard and stopped going to school. However, the others were still in junior high school. After being bullied, none of them dared to tell their families.
Jian Feng was the one who went to fight, and he protected them with his fists.
At that time, they were still complacent. After all, Jian Feng had no parents and the school had no way to control him.
Jian Feng continued to be their "Brother Feng" until they got married and had children.
Jian Feng, who used to beg for food everywhere, became an excellent worker in the factory, married a capable and skillful wife, and had a smart daughter.
The secret feeling of superiority that Zhao Xiaopeng had over Jian Feng disappeared, and was replaced by a strong sense of unwillingness.
He didn't understand how Jian Feng became what he is now.
On the one hand, he thought Jian Feng was a fool and didn't deserve such a good life. On the other hand, he thought this man must be pretending, which made Zhao Xiaopeng secretly gnashing his teeth.
Eventually, jealousy turned into hatred, and ultimately burned out the friendship they had built over the years.
Jian Feng said quietly to Zhao Xiaopeng lying on the ground: "I don't want that hundred dollars anymore."
Jian Feng turned around to face the setting sun. Zhao Xiaopeng didn't even look at his back. He cursed as he got up: "Fuck you, who cares!"
However, on the dusty ground, there was a round water stain, and the broken dust was blinding.
Zhao Xiaopeng cursed again: "Who cares!"
****
The news of taking over the houses in the factory came out earlier than expected. Within a week, the news was flying all over the compound.
The leaders in charge of house collection acted quickly, and the first version of the house collection plan was posted soon.
Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei stood in the crowd and saw the plan that read, "It is planned to purchase the storefront at 800 yuan per square meter. This area is only the indoor area and does not include the outdoor area."
This news was certainly good, but the residents living on the first floor started discussing it.
"Why don't you count outside the house?"
"That won't do. There are eight people in my family. If the factory wants to buy our house, they have to at least give me a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment!"
"Auntie, isn't your house only 30 square meters?"
"I don't care, I want three bedrooms and one living room!"
…
Those who own houses are thinking happily, while those who don’t have houses have sullen faces.
The factory said that the money from selling the storefront would be used to improve everyone's life, but compared to those little improvements in life, they wanted money more!
Why do those living on the first floor have money, but those who live upstairs have no money?
It would be better to divide the money among everyone. They don’t want a bathhouse open all day, nor do they want an improved canteen. They just want money!
Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei looked at each other and realized that the conflict had begun to emerge, and it would not be too late to sign the contract sooner rather than later.
The house is about 32 square meters, and at the price of 800 yuan per square meter, that's 25,600 yuan.
Jian Feng was very satisfied with this figure. His family still had more than 10,000 yuan in savings. Thirty-five or sixty thousand yuan was enough to buy a decent house.
Just as they were about to go home to prepare the materials, they heard their neighbors on the first floor calling them to a meeting.
"Feng, we have to unite and have a good discussion. We'll meet at my house after dinner tonight, you have to come."
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