Zhang Song pulled out a contract from his briefcase. "Look, that's a full 1,200 yuan off. You only need to pay 20,800 yuan, and you can immediately move into this three-story Western-style house with a courtyard on Ruijin Road."
Huang Wanzhen was indeed quite satisfied with the villa at No. 37 Ruijin Road. When bargaining, she thought that every penny she could get was a penny better. After the price was 20,000 yuan, she felt that being able to get a penny better was already very good. She did not expect that although Zhang Song had a low position, he could apply for such a large discount.
Huang Wanzhen immediately signed the contract and paid the deposit.
The two agreed to pay the balance the next day and then go to the Municipal Council to go through the name change procedures.
Zhang Song said politely, "Miss Huang, please wait a moment. I'll go get the key and take you back to Hengxiang Hotel. If you're willing to move, I can drive the company car to help you move."
Huang Wanzhen thought about how uncomfortable Mrs. Huang was living in Hengxiang, so she nodded directly and said, "Thank you for troubling Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Song laughed, "No trouble, please wait a moment."
When they moved in that day, Huang Dongshi directed Xiuzhu and others to clean up until after eleven o'clock in the evening. After being told several times by Huang Wanzhen, they put down the brooms, rags and other things and went back to the bedroom to sleep. The next day, they were woken up at five o'clock to continue cleaning.
Huang Wanzhen, with two big dark circles under her eyes, carried her schoolbag and found a breakfast restaurant. She studied while leisurely eating breakfast. At nine o'clock, she returned to No. 37 Ruijin Road with her schoolbag.
After fixing her makeup and changing into a light purple dress, at about ten o'clock, Zhang Song drove to pick up Huang Wanzhen and Chen Hanfeng.
"Who is this? Why did he leave without even saying hello? Shanghai people are just not as good as us Beijingers. They don't know any etiquette." Mrs. Huang held a rag in her hand and wiped here and there. Xiuzhu, Zhao Dahahua and others didn't dare to look up. They just kept wiping with their heads down.
Zhang Song returned to the office with two large checks. He took a deep breath and saw that there was no one in the office. He slumped in the chair without any image, took out a contract from his briefcase, took a look at it, tore it into pieces in a few seconds, and threw it into the trash can next to the desk.
Huang Wanzhen finished her business and returned to No. 37 Ruijin Road. Just as she was about to go upstairs, she was grabbed by someone. Huang Wanzhen didn't need to look back to know who it was. "Mom, what's the matter?"
"Who was the man who drove to pick you up?"
Huang Wanzhen turned around and looked at her helplessly, "Rent collector, landlord's manager, do you feel comfortable with this house?"
"It's okay." Huang Dong thought, although there is only one yard, it is quite big. Although it is not as comfortable as her hometown, it is not cramped either.
"One hundred dollars a month for rent!"
“So expensive?!”
Huang Wanzhen pulled away the hand that Huang Dongshi was holding on her clothes and said, "This is the French Concession, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money. I have to go back and make a good plan on how to make money in the future. Otherwise, your pension money won't be enough to support you until you're old."
"Right, right, right, hurry up and find a shop. And Chairman Song, you should make time to visit him. You can't go empty-handed or people will say you don't know etiquette!"
"I understand." Huang Wanzhen responded and quickly went upstairs. She reached the third floor in one breath and then breathed a sigh of relief.
The next day, Chen Hanfeng went to the telephone office to pay the phone bill and returned to the western-style building. Huang Wanzhen immediately called the number left by Song Wenyin.
"Hello? Hello, this is Cao Mansion." A middle-aged man's voice with a hint of Shanghainese dialect came from the receiver. Huang Wanzhen cleared her throat and said in a clear voice, "I'm Song Wenyin's classmate. I have something to ask her. Could you please call her for me?"
"I'm sorry, my cousin is out. Could you please leave your name and phone number? I'll tell her when she comes back."
After leaving her name and phone number, Huang Wanzhen returned to the studio on the third floor to prevent Huang Dongshi from nagging her.
This studio is very simple, with only a table and a chair. Huang Wanzhen thought that when she has time, she will go to the second-hand market here and buy some old wooden items.
She couldn't save money on the reception room. She planned to spend a lot of money to buy a leather sofa and a glass coffee table from a foreign company. She wanted to decorate it luxuriously so that when she invited people back to discuss business in the future, they wouldn't look down on her!
At night, Huang Wanzhen had already fallen asleep when Song Wenyin called. Huang Wanzhen yawned as she held the phone, "Why are you so late?"
Song Wenyin's smiling voice reached Huang Wanzhen's ears, "She went to a charity ball, hosted by several famous Shanghai socialites. If there's a chance, I'll take you to see it."
"Hey! What took you so long to call me? I was so worried."
Huang Wanzhen held up the phone and rolled her eyes. "Oh! When did you get worried? While shopping in the department store or dancing at the party?"
Song Wenyin laughed so hard she fell over. "Haha... You can't blame me for not calling me! Shanghai is so big, where would I go to find you?"
Cao Shigen, who was sitting on the sofa and looking at her, was afraid that she would laugh herself to death.
Huang Wanzhen knew that she couldn't blame Song Wenyin, so she changed the subject and talked about the visit. The two of them agreed on a time, exchanged a few meaningless words, said goodbye to each other, and hung up the phone.
Huang Wanzhen followed the old Beijing custom, carrying two dried and two fresh foods, and rang the doorbell of No. 22 Nanhui Road in the International Settlement.
Aunt Song Wenyin's house was decorated entirely in a Western style; even the servants wore suits and dresses. Before Huang Wanzhen could react, a figure ran over and hugged her. "Wanzhen, you're here? Come sit down! I asked the servants to prepare some cakes and orange soda for you. Don't you love those?"
Huang Wanzhen handed the things in her hand to Cao Shigen behind Song Wenyin, nodded and said, "Hello, fourth cousin."
Cao Shigen quickly took it and said, "Hello, you're so polite. You even brought something."
"It's my duty." Huang Wanzhen smiled politely, then followed Song Wenyin's lead and sat down on the sofa.
"Wanzhen, where do you live now?" Song Wenyin opened a bottle of orange soda, considerately inserted a straw into it, and put it in Huang Wanzhen's hand.
Huang Wanzhen took a long puff without hesitation. "I rented a Western-style house on Ruijin Road. There are many roses in the yard. Come over and visit when you have time."
Cao Shigen nodded. "It's fun for you sisters to meet each other. I have something else to do, so I won't accompany you. Wenyin will ask Wanzhen to have a simple meal at noon. Just ask the kitchen to make whatever you want."
Song Wenyin smiled and nodded, "Okay, I got it. Fourth cousin, go ahead and do your work. You've been working hard to accompany me these past few days. I'll bring you a gift when we go to the department store!"
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