Chapter 135: Finding a Bargain in a Future School District
Upon hearing this, Fang Jianmin felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He asked earnestly and humbly, "Chef Song, are you unhappy working at the fresh braising shop? If you have any problems, just tell me directly. I will make sure you are happy and satisfied with your work. If you have any salary requirements, we can discuss them. I cherish talent and really can't bear to see you leave the braising shop. It would be a huge loss for us."
Song Xinran was silent for two seconds, wanting to ask Fang Jianmin if he didn't know that she owned a restaurant.
Fang Jianmin couldn't possibly be unaware of this. Firstly, he's deeply involved in the catering industry and should be familiar with such matters. Secondly, Wei Dong knew about it, so how could that lackey not report it to the big boss?
However, Fang Jianmin pretended to be naive, and she deliberately sighed, "To be honest, Mr. Fang, I've been having some financial problems lately."
Fang Jianmin immediately asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
But in my mind, I was thinking that I hadn't heard of Song Ji having any business crisis recently. Moreover, Song Ji's business had always been very good, and the prices of its dishes were high. How could such a store have financial problems?
Then Song Xinran said, "If Boss Fang can raise my salary, I can sign another year's contract."
Fang Jianmin immediately said, "The salary issue is negotiable. Chef Song, come directly to my office and we'll talk face-to-face."
Song Xinran: "Let me state a price first, and if Mr. Fang can accept it, I will come back to you."
At that moment, Fang Jianmin had a bad feeling.
Song Xinran said casually, "One hundred thousand a month."
Fang Jianmin was shocked and almost dropped the phone. He wanted to ask Song Xinran what kind of joke she was making.
One hundred thousand! What does one hundred thousand mean?!
However, as a boss, Fang Jianmin did not lose his composure and forced a smile, saying, "Chef Song must be joking. Song's Restaurant is not having any problems right now."
Song Xinran laughed as well: "Wasn't it Boss Fang who was joking with me first? Boss Fang also knows that I opened Song Ji and am quite busy with work. It's really impossible for me to renew the contract with the braised food shop."
Fang Jianmin immediately fell silent. Of course he knew, but if it were an ordinary person, they would have terminated the contract with the braised food workshop when Song Ji first opened and started doing well. Song Xinran had never mentioned this matter, so as the beneficiary, he naturally wouldn't bring it up on his own initiative. Now he wanted to pretend that he didn't know anything and get Song Xinran to sign another year's contract.
But now, after hearing Song Xinran's words, he clearly understood her stance. After thinking for a few seconds, he decisively chose to separate peacefully.
Now that Songji is so famous in the city's catering industry, and he's also in this business, there might be future collaborations.
He immediately laughed and said, "Since that's the case, there's really nothing we can do. Thank you, Chef Song, for everything you've done for the braised food shop this year. Chef Song has made a great contribution to the shop's success today. I wish Song's shop continued prosperity!"
This matter has come to a close for Song Xinran. She will go to the braised food workshop a few more times to collect her last month's wages, and then it will be over.
Song Xinran never expected that Fang Jianmin would throw her a farewell party on her last visit to the fresh braised food workshop.
The staff members all had red eyes and looked very reluctant to part. Fan Qiu said, "Chef Song, will we ever see each other again?"
Song Xinran was slightly embarrassed: "Yes, I can."
She just doesn't work here anymore, she's not dead.
Shi Hui quickly replied, "Of course! If you miss Chef Song, just go to Chef Song's."
Then he turned to Song Xinran and confessed, "Chef Song, last time I came back from Song's restaurant, I dreamed about eating there all night. The food was so delicious! Chef Song, you are simply a reincarnation of a culinary god!"
Song Xinran said modestly, "Thank you."
Although she had heard many diners say the same thing—that she dreamed about eating at night—Song Xinran was still very happy to receive everyone's approval and appreciation.
Wei Dong took out a tissue to wipe his eyes, his face full of emotion and reluctance: "Chef Song worked diligently and made great contributions to our braising workshop for a year. The smoke and fire on the stove still carry Chef Song's warmth. Today, the dark clouds outside are also saddened by our parting."
Song Xinran: ...
No kidding, she got goosebumps.
But Fang Jianmin seemed to fall for this trick, and even chimed in, "Even dark clouds have feelings; even the heavens know how everyone feels."
He even recited a poem on the spot: "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near!"
Song Xinran couldn't stand it anymore. It was like these two were putting on a show right next to her. If she weren't the main character, she would love watching the show, but now that she was the main character, she didn't love it anymore.
Fortunately, the awkward farewell party didn't last long. In the end, Fang Jianmin even presented her with a trophy that read "Song Xinran, Special Invited Chef of Fresh Braised Food Workshop".
When Song Xinran got home, she locked the trophy in the cabinet. Every time she saw it, it would remind her of the embarrassing scene. If it were someone with deep feelings and loyalty, she could understand the meaning of the farewell party. The problem was that she didn't have a deep relationship with the people at Xianlufang. At least she was able to talk and chat with the two young employees in the store later.
However, Song Yu really liked the trophy. In a child's heart, a trophy is a badge of supreme honor. She would often open the cabinet door to look at it and was very proud of her.
After thinking for a moment, Song Xinran also made a custom trophy for Song Yu, which read "Little Song Yu is seven years old this year!"
I planned to give it to Song Yu on his birthday, but there's still a month until then.
Before that, when summer vacation arrived, Song Xinran temporarily closed her business for two days and took Song Yu to the capital.
The night before they were to leave for Beijing, Song Yu was so excited that she tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Finally, she knocked on Song Xinran's door, hugged her own pillow, and asked with bright eyes that couldn't hide her excitement, "Mom, are we really going to Beijing tomorrow?"
Song Xinran smiled: "Of course."
Song Yu: "Can you see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City?"
These are all things I learned in the book, along with exquisite illustrations. Song Yu never imagined he would see them in real life when he was learning them.
Song Xinran nodded: "Yes."
Song Yu then asked, "Mom, are we going to take an airplane?"
Song Xinran: "Yes."
He was as excited as a country bumpkin who had never seen the world before, but Song Xinran found him adorable. She lifted her summer blanket and said, "Xiao Yu, do you want to sleep with Mommy tonight? Mommy can tell you anything you want to ask."
Song Yu immediately ran over and plopped down on the bed: "Mom, I took a bath, and I smell nice all over."
Song Xinran nodded, and said seriously, "It smells good."
Song Yu chuckled twice, lay on the bed blinking, and asked again, "Mom, have you ever been to Beijing?"
Song Xinran: "No, it's my mom's first time going too."
Song Yu kept asking questions, his young voice full of anticipation.
He must have fallen asleep very late. Song Xinran was worried that he would oversleep the next day, but he was more energetic than anyone else. He was even humming an off-key nursery rhyme as he got into the car and headed to the airport.
This was Song Yu's first time on a plane, but she didn't seem uncomfortable at all. After getting off the plane, she first found a hotel and then went to the tourist attractions. Song Yu didn't need to rest at all.
For the first time, Song Xinran experienced the terrifying energy of a child, even though Song Yu was already a very easy child to take care of.
After visiting the first attraction, Song Yu took some photos. This was a camera that Song Xinran had specially prepared for the trip. During a break from sightseeing, Song Xinran took Song Yu to look at houses.
She had lived in Beijing right after graduating from university in her previous life. Although time had turned back twenty years, she could still vaguely see the shadow of the future.
The first place she went to was a house in the core education area. Song Xinran randomly found a real estate agent, but the quality of the decorations she saw was not satisfactory.
The agent said, "Ms. Song, the number of second-hand properties that meet your requirements in my system is limited. If you can give me more time, I will find a house that you will be satisfied with."
Song Xinran said, "I'm here today with peace of mind to buy a house."
The real estate agent had never encountered a client like this before. She was like a nouveau riche with money to burn. Determined to close the deal, the agent racked her brains and introduced several more apartments to Song Xinran. Suddenly, a familiar name of a neighborhood came up in the agent's mouth.
Song Xinran paused, then immediately interrupted, asking, "Are you saying there are secondhand apartments in Huahuiyuan residential area?"
The agent nodded, realizing he had been too nervous and eager earlier, and explained, "Madam, the renovation and layout of the second-hand apartments in Huahuiyuan Community are not very good, and they are on the top floor, so they may not meet your requirements."
Suppressing her excitement, Song Xinran made a decisive statement: "Let's go see this first!"
Huahuiyuan was a neighborhood name she had heard of in her past life. It appeared in the short video, telling the story of a family who spent millions to buy a 40-50 square meter school district house just so their child could attend a good primary school. The school district house was dilapidated, and the family lived a very poor life. In the end, it made the audience think about whether it was necessary to make a family's life like this just for a school district house.
Song Xinran casually searched for information about this neighborhood, and the housing prices were shockingly high, reaching 140,000 to 150,000 yuan per square meter.
Song Xinran decided to go with the real estate agent to check out the location of the community. If it really is the future Huahui Garden, then she will definitely buy it, even if it means selling everything she owns!
Based on her memories from her previous life, she actually asked the real estate agent about some neighborhood names that she knew would see soaring property prices. However, the agent said that none of these neighborhoods existed, and even if there were neighborhoods with the same name, they were not located in the same area.
Song Xinran had no choice but to give up on remembering and start looking around aimlessly. As it turned out, it was like finding something she had been searching for without any effort at all. She was full of energy on the way there.
Seeing Song Xinran's radiant and expectant look, the real estate agent felt a little apprehensive. She had accompanied Song Xinran to see several houses and knew that Song Xinran had high standards for the quality of the houses. She hadn't even liked the previous houses, let alone this one. She guessed that Song Xinran was just there to make up the numbers.
But Song Xinran became more and more excited as she looked. There was no mistake, this was the location!
When Song Xinran saw the elementary school that had appeared in the video, she almost laughed out loud with excitement. It was definitely the one!
Song Yu gave her a strange look. Compared to looking at houses, the child preferred going to tourist attractions. He gently squeezed his mother's hand and comforted her not to be nervous.
Song Yu thought her mother was a little nervous about coming to a new place.
Song Xinran followed the real estate agent into the community. Currently, Huahuiyuan is only a residential area配套 with the street, with some of the buildings being resettlement housing and bank staff housing. The educational resources are not particularly prominent.
This residential complex, built in 1999, doesn't look as new as some newer ones, but Song Xinran finds everything about it particularly pleasing because of its future value. She even finds the trash on the ground endearing, and the smile in her eyes is impossible to hide.
The real estate agent carefully sized her up a few times, and found Song Xinran's reaction somewhat strange: "Ms. Song, the apartment is on the top floor, and it's 68 square meters in total."
Song Xinran nodded: "Okay."
After walking down the stairs and opening the door, you see a very simply decorated living room, or rather, no decoration at all, or a battlefield-style decoration. The two rooms are cramped, and the only advantage is that the rooftop has decent natural light.
The real estate agent gave a professional smile: "Ms. Song, this apartment doesn't quite meet your requirements..."
"How much is this house?" Song Xinran asked.
The real estate agent was slightly taken aback: "Eight thousand per square meter, that's the lowest price ever paid for a secondhand apartment in this neighborhood."
Song Xinran smiled slightly: "Okay, I'll take it."
It's 8,500 now, and it could increase ten or twenty times in the future. Moreover, when she learned about the Huahuiyuan school district housing, it wasn't even at the peak of housing prices, so she couldn't imagine how much she could earn.
The real estate agent didn't even react when he heard that: "Ms. Song?"
Aren't you very picky?
Which of the other sets we just looked at wasn't better than this one?
How did you suddenly become certain?
The real estate agent was starting to wonder if she was dreaming; the house had probably been unoccupied for so long that the dust had overwhelmed her...
Song Xinran continued to smile: "If there are any other second-hand properties in this community, please contact me. I feel a special connection with this community. I felt good as soon as I entered. You know, we business people pay attention to feng shui. I like this community."
The agent suddenly snapped out of his daze: "Okay!"
Feng shui, that's something to be particular about. Real estate agents have sold countless properties and know that business people are very particular about feng shui. If the feng shui is good, nothing else matters.
The agent was visibly excited; he'd met a big client today!
Song Xinran is a straightforward person. She entrusts some matters to real estate agents and only needs to pay for them herself. Compared to the huge sums of money involved in future housing prices, these small amounts are nothing.
After finishing all that, it was already afternoon. Song Xinran took Song Yu out for dinner, and then strolled around the brightly lit commercial street at night. By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already 8:30 p.m.
Although it wasn't late for bedtime, Song Xinran was already exhausted and collapsed. Looking at Song Yu, she saw him sitting on a small stool, checking the things he had bought that day one by one. The child had chubby cheeks, long eyelashes, and fair skin, and looked very cute.
"Mom, I'm giving this bookmark to Uncle Lin." Song Yu had a set of rules in his heart; whoever gave him something or was kind to him, he would reciprocate with a gift and be kind to that person in return.
Song Xinran nodded: "Okay."
"I gave the pink doll to Fufu and the red doll to Yuanyuan." I couldn't forget my good friends.
Song Xinran nodded again.
She thought Song Yu was in really good spirits. She had walked with her all day and was so tired that she collapsed, but Song Yu didn't seem to notice at all.
Song Yu straightened her things, seemed to notice her fatigue, and hurried over to massage her shoulders: "Mom, you've worked hard."
I also had to fetch water for her to wash her face.
Song Xinran refused with shame, struggling to get out of bed. Tomorrow would still be a day for sightseeing.
...
This two-day trip to Beijing not only resulted in buying a house but also visiting three of the city's most famous attractions. In Song Xinran's opinion, this was already a special forces trip. However, Beijing's tourism resources were so abundant that she hadn't even seen two or three tenths of them. She had only mentioned that the business would be closed for two days, and Song Xinran felt embarrassed to extend her break.
She told Song Yu that they would come to Beijing again during the Chinese New Year this year, and Song Yu was overjoyed.
Two days of extreme travel were nothing to Song Yu, but Song Xinran found it much more tiring than cooking at work.
The day after returning home, when Song Xinran was about to go to the store, her whole body ached so much that she could hardly get up. Actually, she was already very healthy, but she still couldn't handle walking tens of thousands of steps a day.
After finishing her homework at school in the afternoon, Song Yu came to the shop with Fu Fu. Fu Fu had a bright smile on her face the whole time, holding a pink ceramic doll in her hand. When she met someone she knew, she would say, "Isn't my doll pretty? Song Yu gave it to me. He brought it back from Beijing for me!"
She told everyone she met about it, which made Song Yu, who was standing next to her, blush a little.
The store's employees all knew that Song Xinran had taken Song Yu to Beijing for a trip these past two days. At first, everyone was quite puzzled. Taking the child on a trip and closing the store for two days seemed so extravagant.
But Song Xinran said that some experiences and memories cannot be measured in money.
When Pang Ru heard Song Xinran say this, she was extremely envious. She envied Song Xinran for having such courage, and she also envied Song Yu for having such a mother.
As soon as she saw Song Yu and Fufu appear, she teased the child, "Little Yu, you still remember to bring back gifts for your good friends when you go out to play?"
Song Yu nodded.
"Do our shop's older brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts get gifts?"
Song Yu hesitated, but quickly said, "This trip was too short. Mom will take me to Beijing again during the New Year, and I'll bring my sister a gift then!"
His words were naive but earnest; he wasn't lying at all, because there really wasn't enough time this time.
Pang Ru laughed heartily: "Just kidding. The best gift is that Xiao Yu comes to the store to play every day. I'm happy whenever I see Xiao Yu."
Song Yu felt a little embarrassed and gently pursed her lips.
As Lin Jingyuan walked into the store after the door was pushed open, he overheard Pang Ru's words and asked, "Did Xiao Yu have a good time going out?"
Song Yu nodded: "Happy."
Lin Jingyuan walked towards him. Song Yu sat at the same table with him, ready to eat. He looked around and found that everyone was busy with their own things. He opened his schoolbag and took out a wooden box: "This is for Uncle Lin."
Lin Jingyuan was somewhat surprised: "I have one too?"
Song Yu nodded shyly.
Lin Jingyuan opened the box, and inside lay a bookmark.
Song Yu said, "Uncle Lin can use it to read books in the future."
Because Lin Jingyuan often gave him books, Song Yu thought that Lin Jingyuan must also love reading.
Lin Jingyuan smiled and gently closed the box: "Thank you, Xiao Yu. I will read more books."
"Oh, Xiao Yu actually brought back a gift for Uncle Lin when he went to Beijing?" Pang Ru had just brought over the dishes and put them on the table. She teased the child, "I thought Xiao Yu only brought gifts for his friends who are the same age, but it turns out he brought gifts for adults too."
She feigned sadness: "I missed Xiao Yu the whole two days she was gone, and I liked her too. Turns out, Xiao Yu didn't like me..."
"well……"
Song Yu's eyes widened slightly, and he panicked a little. He had looked around when he took the gift, trying not to be seen, but he was still seen anyway.
"Sister Pang, I'll bring you gifts when I visit during the New Year. I've already decided what to buy," he comforted her.
Pang Ru was genuinely curious: "What is Xiao Yu planning to buy?"
"Buy roast duck for Sister Pang, hair ties for Sister Chen..." He said a lot, and none of it was just his imagination. He thought of these things when he saw them while playing in Beijing. However, he didn't have enough money, so he didn't buy them right away. And since they only had two days to play, Song Yu couldn't buy so many gifts.
Pang Ru's eyes widened in disbelief as she listened to him. The gifts Song Yu gave were all appropriate for them; she liked to eat, and Shen Hui always had her hair tied up…
Pang Ru felt an indescribable warmth in her heart when she learned that Song Yu was so young and had discovered their hobbies. She hugged Song Yu tightly and said, "Little Yu is so well-behaved. I love Little Yu so much."
Song Yu was held tightly, and her face flushed slightly.
With so many people in the store, being liked by so many people is a sweet trouble.
But Song Yu liked this kind of trouble.
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