With things settled here, Xue Fu also made a written promise not to bother Xue Chenxi again, and wished the Fanfan sisters a happy time buying a house.
Seeing the place, I felt that 10,000 was well worth it. Although the house was not large, it was a two-story building. The yard was clean and tidy, with marble tiles on the ground and a patch of roses that were growing very vigorously, showing that they had been carefully maintained. These roses were quite valuable.
Not to mention the house itself, it was all in a Western style, exquisite in every detail. The chandeliers were all crystal, the sofas were all genuine leather, and the set of glasses on the table was still there. There was even a TV in the living room. After seeing only the living room, Zhu Fanfan felt that this house was a must-buy.
But she was very curious about where to find golden nanmu wood. Her sister said that this family had golden nanmu wood and even offered to give it to her.
So he asked, "Will you keep all of these things?"
The landlord was a refined man with gold-rimmed glasses. He smiled gently and said, "Since we're all acquaintances, I won't beat around the bush. I want to develop my career overseas and want to exchange my assets for cash, preferably gold. The price is negotiable. If you want 10,000 RMB, that's a friendly price. You've seen the decorations here. Every piece of furniture has cost a lot of money and effort. I can't take it with me; it's all left here."
He was familiar with Qi Qingqiu. He said that his fiancée wanted to buy a house as part of her dowry, and he was willing to give her priority. So he directly told her his bottom line: if she could accept it, they could transfer the property; if she couldn't, they would miss out. If he offered any less, he would lose a lot of money.
Zhu Fanfan said, "As long as everything stays here, the price is fair, and getting gold isn't difficult. Do you want the large yellow croaker or the small yellow croaker?"
The refined landlord, Si Nian, was pleasantly surprised: "How much gold do you have? What else do you want? I have many good things, as long as you give me gold."
Although he could exchange money for foreign currency, he was in a hurry and didn't dare to go to a bank to do it, as banks are now very strict. If he dared to say he was exchanging foreign currency, his ancestors for eight generations would be investigated. However, the exchange rate on the black market was quite unreliable, so he preferred to buy gold and exchange it for money directly overseas, as the exchange rate was more favorable that way.
Although the house was decorated in a very understated yet luxurious way, it was because my father's generation wanted to interact with foreigners, and wealthy people in Shanghai decorated their homes in a Western style. So they went all out to decorate the house in a high-class manner, just to make people look at them with respect. After all, a home is also a symbol of status, and if the decoration is too shabby, people will laugh at you.
So the Si family didn't actually have much wealth, especially since the new China was established just as they were gaining a foothold and starting to make money. In the first few years, due to economic blockades, the country's productivity was very low, so there wasn't much output, and therefore they didn't earn much money. Especially after the public-private partnership, they earned even less. However, with the state backing them up, they were indeed relatively safe.
Logically, he should be content. Without the old society's system of exploitation at every level, there was almost no profit in the hands of the Si family. Unlike the old society, which was dark and powerful where anyone who disliked the Si family could easily cause trouble, the new society was equal for everyone. They were actually quite grateful.
Recently, he heard rumors that the country was about to undergo major changes and would be unfriendly to businessmen. After thinking it over, he decided to take a risk and move his family overseas. He has relatives overseas who he can go and seek refuge with. He has already arranged a time with the smugglers and is just waiting to sell the house to raise some money.
Zhu Fanfan became interested: "What other good stuff do you have?"
Si Nian didn't answer, but asked instead, "Can you make that decision? Should we tell Grandpa Fu?"
Zhu Fanfan shook her head firmly: "No need, I used my own savings."
Xue Chenxi asked with some concern, "Fanfan, where did you get your secret stash of money?"
What worried her was the markings on the gold. Her mother's gold was part of the Fu family's dowry. Although there were only a few pieces, large families like the Fu family had the habit of marking their gold. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. If her mother found out, there would be another uproar.
Zhu Fanfan said smugly, "I swindled all of Grandpa's wealth. He said I'm his only son, so all of this will be mine in the future. Consider this an advance payment."
After saying that, she whispered to her sister, "He upset me, and when I got angry, he saw that I liked gold and tried to coax me with gold. The Zhu family only had a few pieces of gold, and I managed to coax them all. I have plenty of money!"
Xue Chenxi said, "I'll pay you the market price later, so you won't suffer a loss."
Si Nian said helplessly, "I'm in a bit of a hurry here. Let's talk about the house first. Based on the current gold price ratio in our country, if you have small yellow croakers, give me twenty yuan. If you have large yellow croakers, give me two yuan."
Gold is currently 16 yuan per gram, while large yellow croaker is usually 10 taels and small yellow croaker is 1 tael. Now, 1 jin is 16 taels, which is 500 grams. So, gold is about 10 taels and 300 grams, which is exactly two large yellow croakers. He actually wanted the small yellow croaker more.
Zhu Fanfan saw through Si Nian's thoughts: "If you have anything that moves me, I'll give you all of Little Yellow Fish."
She robbed ill-gotten gains and didn't care about giving them away.
Si Nian didn't keep them in suspense: "My family has some ancestral items, which are the family secrets of various heroes. When they came to Shanghai, they found that life was not just about being good at martial arts. Because of their straightforward tempers, they were tricked by some people and sold their family secrets. It was only later that my grandfather stopped them. Otherwise, these things would have been sent to overseas countries, where people would have been very fond of them."
Even if he burned these things, he wouldn't let them be given away. Back then, his grandfather discovered that all the martial arts manuals from various families had been tricked into handing them over. Someone devised a plan to replace the manuals and even hired an expert to change the contents. The manuals were made to look exactly the same as new, and anyone who practiced according to them would be considered a cripple. His grandfather had people look at these manuals, some of which were even passed down from his ancestors. He spent a lot of money and was willing to die if he was discovered to do it.
Zhu Fanfan said, "I need to read the contents to know if you're lying to me."
Unexpectedly, there was an even bigger surprise. If it really was a martial arts manual from various schools, she would be rolling in money. She could have her grandfather combine the strengths of many schools to create a training program specifically for soldiers, and also promote techniques that the general public could adapt to. Although not everyone would have internal strength, everyone would be strong and well-equipped. When there are a billion people and a billion soldiers, that would be truly awe-inspiring.
Since Si Nian was determined to sell the goods, he naturally wouldn't act coy: "The goods are all in the secret room. I'll take you there."
Secret rooms are something every family with a bit of resources will build. Anyway, everything is prepared, the money and such are all packed up, and there's nothing left in the secret room. They'll find out about the secret room sooner or later if they buy it, so why not just tell them now and show sincerity?
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