Chapter 151
The sudden love talk left Qin Xiang stunned. In such a sacred and ambiguous moment, Qin Xiang should have lowered her head in shyness, but she just chuckled. "Should I be particularly touched now?"
Meeting her gaze, Meng Huaiqing felt like he was about to be swept away. He spoke calmly, as if describing something perfectly ordinary. "I'm telling the truth. Before I met you, I never imagined I'd be sitting with a woman like this, eating homemade noodles and chatting casually."
Qin Xiang finally felt a little shy and pursed her lips, saying, "Yeah, I think I'm pretty good too."
Meng Huaiqing nodded and said gently, "Yes, you are fine."
After saying that, he stood up and took the dishes into the kitchen to wash them. Qin Xiang followed him in. The man had a broad back. Because it was too cold, he didn't take off his thick cotton jacket, but just standing there, he looked different from an ordinary man.
Qin Xiang suddenly said, "If you continue to be so outstanding, I'm worried that I'll fall in love with you."
The man paused and looked back at her, a gentle smile between his brows. "Then I need to work harder."
He washed the dishes, put them in the cupboard, wiped his hands slowly, and reached out to hold Qin Xiang's hand. The cold touch made Qin Xiang shiver.
The next second, the man took her into his arms, and the two of them froze.
Qin Xiang couldn't help laughing.
Both of them are wearing too much, just like penguins, it’s almost impossible to hold them in arms.
Meng Huaiqing also smiled, and suddenly leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, "Sorry, I really couldn't help it."
The kiss was light and fleeting. Qin Xiang felt nothing except a little chill.
Her heart was pounding, she reached out and grabbed his collar to pull him down a little, then raised her legs and kissed him on the lips.
Meng Huaiqing's lips were unlike his own; they were slightly cool. He seemed surprised that Qin Xiang would do such a thing. Because of his surprise, he seemed to have forgotten to react. By the time he realized what he was doing and wanted to take the initiative, Qin Xiang had already let go of him and turned to leave the kitchen.
The living room was quiet, but there were faint sounds of talking in other rooms.
Meng Huaiqing followed Qin Xiang out and touched his lips unconsciously with his fingers, feeling hot.
He said regretfully, "I should go back."
Qin Xiang hummed, and said calmly, like an experienced driver, "Let's go. I'll take you out."
Qin Xiang turned on the light in the corridor and the two went downstairs together. The front room on the first floor was still dark. Before Qin Xiang could turn on the light, she was pulled aside by the man and a passionate kiss followed.
Meng Huaiqing is a very gentle person, but his kiss is passionate and domineering. It seems that the momentary coolness upstairs was just Qin Xiang's illusion.
As he tossed and turned, Qin Xiang almost lost her balance for a moment.
Fortunately, Meng Huaiqing was very sensible. He kissed her for a while and then let her go. His voice was a little strange, "This is a return gift."
Qin Xiang couldn't help laughing. What a great return gift.
Pulling open the shutter door, Qin Xiang said, "Good night, Mr. Meng."
Meng Huaiqing felt a little regretful, "Good night, Miss Qin."
Qin Xiang stood at the door and watched him get into the car. It was pitch dark, and she seemed to see Meng Huaiqing's reluctant look.
"See you later." Qin Xiang waved her hand, turned back and went into the front room to close the shutter door. She leaned against the shutter door and couldn't help laughing.
It’s a wonderful feeling, I have never experienced it in my previous life, nor in this life.
My marriage with Wang Junsheng was all about following the routine. Even the actions between us in bed when we first got married were like a task.
But now she almost lost herself because of a kiss.
This won't do. Love is just a condiment. No matter how good this man is, she doesn't want to step into that grave again.
Go upstairs and have a good night's sleep.
But she didn't know that Meng Huaiqing hadn't slept for half the night because of the accident tonight.
At noon the next day, Mi Hongjun and Miao Xiaofeng each took Zhao Ping and Li Baotian to the textile factory and the railway company respectively, preparing to start the first day of clearance activities.
Qin Xiang and Qin Baotian waited for a while before the truck from Yangcheng arrived. After the goods were unloaded, the warehouse, which had been mostly empty, became full again.
Because the wholesale city opens late, there is no need to rush to ship the goods there. It is not too late to ship them there on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
After sending the truck off, the father and son began to sort the goods. This time, all the clothes were spring styles, and they had to be thinner. She checked and found that the four spring styles she had designed before the New Year were also among them.
Although the storefront was clean after the New Year, it still needed to be cleaned thoroughly and the new clothes hung on the hangers. As for matching, Qin Xiang planned to teach the store clerks, as these were all necessary skills.
In the evening, the people who went out to set up stalls had not returned yet, so Qin Xiang and Qin Baotian bought some mutton to stew. When the people came back, each of them drank a bowl of it to warm themselves up, and then they had time to talk about what happened today.
Mi Hongjun said, "Although it's not very good, I still sold fifty or sixty pieces. I think I can go again tomorrow."
Miao Xiaofeng said, "My business is better. I've sold about 70 or 80 pieces in total. Men's woolen coats are selling well. Most of them are bought by women in the house for their husbands."
Qin Xiang nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, let's not go tomorrow. Let's just take a rest first. It's too cold."
It's really a torture to get a hairdryer for such a small amount of money.
Unexpectedly, Miao Xiaofeng was full of energy and felt that she could go one more day tomorrow. Qin Xiang did not stop her and just said, "Okay, if you go tomorrow, I'll give you one yuan for each piece of clothing you sell."
Miao Xiaofeng suddenly became excited, "Okay."
Mi Hongjun was also a little envious, and Qin Xiang said, "Don't go. Go out with Brother Zhao and continue looking for a house for me."
Mi Hongjun knew Qin Xiang's obsession and no longer insisted, "Okay."
After dinner, when everyone else had gone back to their rooms, Qin Baotian came over and asked, "You already have a house, so why are you buying one? I heard houses here are not cheap."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "I have this house, but it's not spacious enough. Besides, I won't lose money if I buy it. If I go bankrupt one day, it's my property, right? The rent I collect will be enough for me to live on."
"Pah, don't say unlucky things when doing business," Qin Baotian frowned and thought for a moment, "Since you want to buy it, I'll go out with you tomorrow to look for it. I've gotten to know quite a few people in the past few months."
Qin Xiang didn't take it seriously. "Okay, go if you want to. Wear something warm so you don't get cold."
The weather is still really cold after the Chinese New Year. Qin Xiang doesn't want to go out unless it is necessary, but there are only a few days left. If she doesn't look for a job now, she will have no time until school starts.
The next day, all of them split into four groups, some selling clothes and some looking for houses.
They went in three different directions, but Qin Xiang still couldn't find a suitable house. Then, on the third day, Qin Baotian came back and said someone wanted to sell a courtyard house in a residential area not far from the south gate of Tsinghua University. It was said that many university professors lived around here. Qin Xiang immediately became interested and said, "Let's go and take a look."
The father and son went to find someone from the Housing Management Office and went to check out the yard together.
The person from the Housing Management Office was in his forties. Qin Baotian said that he was his friend. Qin Xiang was very surprised. Her father was quite powerful. Even the people from the Housing Management Office knew about him.
When they got to the house, there was a man in his fifties who saw them and waved, saying, "I've been waiting for a long time."
Upon asking, I found out that he was also a friend of Qin Baotian.
Looking at her father again, Qin Xiang felt that her father had grown a lot taller, and she didn't expect that he was also a social elite.
After calling for help, the Housing Management Office unlocked the door. The old man began to explain, "This house used to be a warehouse for the Revolutionary Committee. It's been well-kept and barely damaged. Even the original bad parts have been repaired because of the inventory. The owner of this house was rehabilitated a few days ago. His wife and children are gone, and a bunch of relatives are trying to take over the house. The landlord got mad and decided to sell it and leave the country. He wants to get away so that no one can bother him anymore."
When I pushed the door open and went in, the yard was clean, but weeds had grown in the corners, and it was obvious that no one had lived there for a while.
The old man said, "Now the landlord is looking for a place to stay for himself, because he is afraid that the relatives will come."
Qin Baotian couldn't help but frown when he heard this. "Will we get into trouble if we buy it? What if those people come and make trouble?"
Upon hearing this, the comrade from the Housing Management Office said, "The owner has changed, so what can they do to cause trouble? This is the capital. If they dare to cause trouble, just call the police."
"Then why didn't the landlord report it to the police?" Qin Baotian still had doubts.
The old man, who was more familiar with the landlord, sighed and said, "My friend was so scared during his years of being sent down to the countryside that he didn't dare to report it to the police. Otherwise, things wouldn't have gotten so bad."
In fact, the old man is also helpless. He can't live in a good house himself. Not allowing relatives to live in it is selfish and he doesn't care about the lives of his relatives. Anyone would feel uncomfortable.
Qin Xiang didn't think it was a big deal, "It's not a problem at all."
At worst, she could ask Zhao Ping, Li Baoguo and others to come over with their people. No matter how many relatives she had, she had more than a dozen employees in total.
She wouldn't be afraid if she really ran into someone; she'd seen it all. There was a police station just over the street corner, so she could just call the police. The landlord had concerns, but she had none. Once she bought the house, it was hers, and no one else could take it away.
Seeing her calmness, the old man gave her a thumbs-up and praised her, "You're very magnanimous. That's right. If my friend had your kind of mentality, he wouldn't have gotten into such a mess."
When Qin Xiang was outside, he looked at the width of the courtyard wall, which was about ten meters wide. The main gate was in the east direction, and there was a row of back houses against the south wall. Facing the entrance was a large screen wall. Entering from the hanging flower gate, the main house was visible from the front. There were three main houses and two ear houses, a total of five rooms. There were three side rooms in each of the east and west directions. Near the northeast corner was a moon gate. Passing through the moon gate, there was a row of five back rooms.
The yard was generally clean, and the situation inside the house was similar. There was a set of Huanghuali eight-immortals table and four chairs, but nothing else, not even the bed.
The old man said helplessly, "There was a bed originally, but when he moved out and lived there secretly, he happened to come back and was discovered, so they rushed in and snatched it away."
Qin Baotian blurted out, "Isn't that a robber?"
"Yeah, he's almost like a bandit." The old man sneered, "Otherwise he wouldn't have sold himself out and gone abroad to join his cousin. It's not that easy to go abroad, but he's determined."
Qin Xiang likes this courtyard very much. The surrounding environment is good and the houses are well preserved. More importantly, it is not far from the school and there are some professors around, so it is safe to live here.
"How much is this yard?"
The old man held up five fingers and said, "Five thousand."
Qin Xiang raised his eyebrows and said, "Master, it's not easy to sell it at this price."
The old man said, "It costs a lot to go abroad, so they must want to sell more."
Although five thousand is not a lot, the area of the yard is not that big. Qin Xiang shook his head and said, "Four thousand and five, okay, let's go and handle the procedures today. If not, you can wait a little longer."
She didn't want to go too far and offered a reasonable price.
The old man was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Okay, 4,500 is 4,500. To be honest, I added the 500 myself. My friend thought 4,500 was about right."
Qin Xiang: "..."
"Then go call your friend and we'll go handle the formalities."
The house is right here, but she has to go through the paperwork quickly before it can be considered hers.
When they came out, they saw a few people looking over here. The old man's face turned cold and he said loudly, "These people are shameless. They think about things that don't belong to them every day. They are not afraid of being struck by lightning."
Everyone is afraid of being struck by thunder, but thunder never happens for no reason.
Qin Xiang only took a glance and said, "Let's go."
Several people went to the Housing Management Office. Qin Xiang asked Qin Baotian to go back and call people, including Mi Hongjun and Zhao Ping. With more people, they could see who would be the winner.
The old man followed and took the landlord over. Qin Xiang started chatting with the staff at the Housing Management Office.
Qin Xiang said, "If you have any suitable houses, please tell me. I also want to buy one to use as a warehouse."
The staff laughed and said, "You think courtyard houses are cheap? Nowadays, everyone lives in a cramped space, but few are willing to sell their houses. This family is forced to do so, otherwise they wouldn't think of moving away."
Qin Xiang just asked and let it go if there was no answer.
She suddenly remembered that the courtyard house they rented when they first came to the capital last year was also nearby, and seemed to be in an alley in front. Unfortunately, the landlord was not there, and now, not to mention buying it, he would not even rent it out.
The two chatted for a while, and Qin Xiang left an address and phone number with the staff, hoping that other suitable people would contact her.
Fortunately, the staff member was a nice person and agreed.
After more than half an hour, there was a noisy sound outside, and Zhao Ping, Li Baoguo and others escorted the landlord over.
Surprisingly, there were four men in black coats and sunglasses following behind.
When the people from the Housing Management Office saw what was happening, they all came out to watch the fun. Qin Xiang held his forehead, not expecting that he had even alarmed Meng Huaiqing's bodyguards.
The few people seen around the house followed behind with their families, yelling that they were not giving people a chance to live, and calling the landlord a good-for-nothing and selfish.
The landlord was a man in his fifties, but his hair had turned quite a bit whiter. He followed Zhao Ping with some fear in his eyes.
The bodyguards blocked the landlord's relatives from entering. The landlord saw the staff and said, "Who's the buyer? Let's get the paperwork done quickly."
When Qin Baotian came over, he also brought his wallet. Qin Xiang handed the money over and said, "Please count it."
The staff of the Housing Management Office had already prepared the agreement. Both parties signed and put their fingerprints on it. The landlord couldn't wait to hand over the keys to Qin Xiang, "The house is yours."
Qin Xiang looked at the newly issued property title deed with a delighted mood. In her second year in the capital, she had added another property to her portfolio. Nothing could be more pleasing than this.
The landlord glanced at the relatives who were still making a fuss, then looked at Qin Xiang and said, "Can you please do me a favor?"
Qin Xiang said, "You say."
"Can you take me to the police station? I plan to stay there until I leave. I'm afraid they will rob me."
Qin Xiang was stunned and immediately agreed, "Okay."
So Zhao Ping and the others escorted the landlord to deposit the money and then to the police station. The group left a few elderly, weak, women and children at the door of the Housing Management Office and stared at Qin Xiang, saying, "You stole our house, you will get retribution."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Your house? Take out the property deed and let me see. I've never seen a robber who wants to occupy someone else's house and actually thinks it's his own. He must be crazy about the house."
"It's ours." The old lady's eyes widened and she wanted to tear Qin Xiang apart. "We won't let it go."
Qin Xiang said indifferently, "Whatever, you can see that I have people and money. If you dare to make trouble, I will send you all to the police station. If you don't believe me, you can try it. The police station doesn't care how old you are. If you accidentally bump into something, you will be in trouble."
"You! You're going too far."
Since the old lady couldn't convince the child, she pulled the child and cried, sitting on the ground, slapping her thighs and crying.
The staff member had obviously seen this a lot and whispered, "It's like this every time. The landlord is helpless."
Qin Xiang nodded. "We can't stop them from crying if they want to, but if it interferes with your work, won't you go to the police station?"
The staff was stunned at first, then shouted, "Go find the police! This is a public place, and someone is causing trouble. This is like dancing on the grave of the King of Hell! Go quickly!"
Seeing that the people from the Housing Management Office had actually called the police, the old lady's crying stopped, "You are bullying an old lady and her child."
Qin Xiang was speechless. "We didn't rob anyone's house. We just told the truth."
After that, she and Qin Baotian were ready to leave. They still had to go and take a thorough look at their house. Although it was well preserved, if they were going to live in it in the future, they would need to repair the necessary parts and paint the places with white putty.
I don’t know if the old lady was frightened by Qin Xiang, but she didn’t bring anyone with her.
Qin Baotian frowned and said indignantly, "How can there be such relatives? They are just bullying people because they have no one at home. Losing family is hard enough, and now a bunch of relatives come out and want to take over my life."
This kind of thing actually happens in the countryside, but we all live in the same village, and if the village cadres are in charge, they won't dare to do it after a little intimidation. I never thought such a thing could happen under the feet of the emperor.
Qin Xiang explained, "This kind of thing is like if the people don't report it, the officials won't investigate. If the landlord really reports it to the police station or the neighborhood committee, they can help persuade or resolve the issue, but it's hard to say whether it can be completely resolved. Sometimes it's classified as a family matter, which makes it difficult." Then she laughed, "Of course, if these things didn't happen, we wouldn't be able to take advantage of this loophole."
Qin Baotian felt so heartbroken when he thought about the 4,500 yuan he had for this yard.
Is it expensive?
It is indeed expensive in those days. After the millennium, when the price of courtyard houses goes up, this small courtyard house can be sold at a sky-high price.
The father and son arrived at the courtyard and inspected the house inside and out as if they were inspecting their territory. Qin Baotian was finally happy and said, "Leave this matter to me. I can take care of it by myself."
Qin Xiang nodded when she saw that he was interested. "Okay, you take care of the cleaning and buy some furniture."
She paused, worried that her father would buy some old furniture again, and then said, "Forget it, you measure the dimensions first, and when I have time later, I'll go to the department store and have someone make a set custom-made for me."
Qin Baotian gritted his teeth and said, "It's really expensive."
Qin Xiang smiled, "You have to enjoy yourself when you can. To be honest, I'll buy a suitable apartment next time I see one. It's more comfortable to stay here in the winter than in a courtyard house."
Siheyuan is indeed good. After renovation in later generations, it is equipped with all necessary facilities, including radiators. However, it is really cold to live in a Siheyuan in winter these days.
The father and son looked around and became more and more satisfied with the house. After seeing it, they went to buy a big lock and replaced it, feeling much more relieved.
Now that I think about it, I have quite a few properties, but why do I feel like it’s still not enough?
When the father and son returned to the front room, they saw a man squatting at the door. When they got closer, they found that it was Wang Junsheng.
Qin Xiang's face immediately fell.
Without waiting for Qin Xiang to react, Qin Baotian rushed over and kicked Wang Junsheng to the ground, "Get out."
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