Chapter 487: Chapter 173: You Are Hives (3)
Seeing Qin Mei’s unwavering determination, Xiao Men’s conscience pricked him. "How about... I lower the price a bit more for you."
Qin Mei was speechless. Five hundred was already a bargain. Any lower, and her own conscience would start to hurt.
When Jing Wu first quoted five hundred, she’d thought, ’The location must be terrible.’ She never expected it to be this good. Forget five hundred—she wouldn’t have even haggled if the price were a thousand.
"No need. We agreed on five hundred, so it’s five hundred," Qin Mei said generously.
Hearing Qin Mei’s words, Jie Jingjue put a hand to his forehead. ’Fourth Sister-in-law is such a big spender. She’s definitely been influenced by Mom and Jing Qi.’
’Xiao Men was willing to give her a discount, yet she generously turned it down.’
"This..." Xiao Men looked toward Jie Jingjue.
"My fourth sister-in-law isn’t short on cash," Jie Jingjue said.
The corner of Xiao Men’s mouth twitched. He sized up Jie Jingjue. ’The Jie Family is wealthy, yet Jing Wu is so poor. I’m starting to wonder if he was adopted.’
Qin Mei took out a pen and paper and wrote up a contract right in front of them.
It was a simple contract without a single wasted word; every term was precise and to the point. She even added a special clause stating that regardless of how property prices might fluctuate, neither party could back out of the agreement.
The two of them signed and added their thumbprints. Qin Mei handed over the money, and Xiao Men handed over the house deed.
Qin Mei happily tucked the deed into her crossbody bag. When they stepped out of the house, Xiao Men gave the keys to Qin Mei, letting her lock the door.
Qin Mei glanced at the houses on either side and asked Xiao Men, "Do you know the neighbors?"
Xiao Men paused for a moment, then nodded truthfully. "I do."
Qin Mei’s eyes lit up. "Do you have their contact information?" she asked.
"Yes," Xiao Men nodded, gazing at Qin Mei in confusion.
"Can you give me their contact information?" Qin Mei asked. ’Buying the houses on both sides as well would be perfect.’
"Fourth Sister-in-law, just tell me what you have in mind," Xiao Men said.
Qin Mei didn’t immediately reveal her intentions. ’The way Xiao Men asked that proves he knows the neighbors well. Selling a house is a major decision. He could sell the house his parents left him, but can he really make the call for his neighbors’ properties?’
"Fourth Sister-in-law, don’t tell me you want to buy more?" Jie Jingjue saw right through her.
"Heh." Qin Mei let out a dry laugh and looked at Xiao Men. "Are they planning to sell?"
Instead of answering, Xiao Men countered, "Do you really want to buy them?"
’This sounds promising,’ Qin Mei thought, and immediately nodded.
Xiao Men lowered his head, lost in thought. After a long moment, he looked up, his expression earnest and serious. "Fourth Sister-in-law, you need to be sure. There’s no ’friends and family’ discount for the houses on either side. The price will be at least this much."
"I accept," Qin Mei said. ’Six hundred isn’t an outrageous price. Xiao Men’s initial price was probably six hundred, too. He likely knocked off a hundred for me because of my connection to Jing Wu, and a hundred is no small sum.’
Xiao Men was surprised she accepted so readily. After a moment’s hesitation, he explained, "The house on the left belongs to my third uncle, and the one on the right belongs to my fourth uncle. My father was the eldest brother."
Qin Mei fell silent.
’This... is perfect.’
’The third and fourth uncles’ houses are definitely for sale. But if Xiao Men is just acting as their agent with the deeds in his hands, I’d be a bit uneasy about buying. He’s only the nephew. It could lead to future complications. I’d worry that his uncles’ sons or daughters might show up later to cause trouble.’
Xiao Men explained that his third and fourth uncles didn’t have daughters, only one son each. When the two cousins were ten, they were playing on the railroad tracks and were run over by a train. Their deaths were horrific. After the boys died, both his third and fourth uncles moved away.
With that potential complication eliminated, Qin Mei decisively bought the properties. She didn’t have enough cash on her, so she had Jing Wu take them to the bank. Qin Mei withdrew two thousand, gave one thousand two hundred to Xiao Men, then handed him an extra two hundred. "A referral fee."
"Fourth Sister-in-law, you don’t have to give me a referral fee," Xiao Men said, refusing to accept it.
His third and fourth uncles had been trying to sell their houses for years, but there were never any buyers. His parents had passed away without managing to sell the properties for them. Now, thanks to Jing Wu making the connection, he had not only sold his parents’ house but his uncles’ as well. He was incredibly grateful; how could he possibly accept a referral fee on top of that?
"Take it. Jing Wu took a referral fee from me, too," Qin Mei said. ’If Xiao Men doesn’t accept it, I won’t feel right about it.’
"Jing Wu." Xiao Men looked at Jie Jingjue in astonishment. ’I can’t believe he’d even take money from his own sister-in-law.’
"Heh." Jie Jingjue rubbed his nose awkwardly. "My fourth sister-in-law is loaded."
Xiao Men was speechless. ’Loaded is an understatement. In just a short time, she spent seventeen hundred. Plus a referral fee of two hundred for me and one hundred for Jing Wu... that’s three hundred in fees, bringing the total to a full two thousand!’
At Qin Mei’s insistence, Xiao Men finally accepted it. After all, who’s going to argue with money?
Jie Jingjue drove Qin Mei home first. As she was getting out of the car, Qin Mei pressed another hundred into his hand, telling him to treat Xiao Men to a meal. Jie Jingjue accepted with a grin. "Thanks, Fourth Sister-in-law!"
"See you next time, Xiao Men!" Qin Mei waved goodbye to him.
"Okay," Xiao Men said, beaming. He waited until Qin Mei had entered her courtyard and Jie Jingjue started to drive away. Then he couldn’t help but clap Jie Jingjue on the shoulder, looking at him with envy. "Your sister-in-law is really something else."
"You know it." Jie Jingjue was bursting with pride. ’Fourth Sister-in-law has only been part of the family for a little while, and she’s already given me two hundred. My second and third sisters-in-law never offered me any spending money. Especially Second Sister-in-law... no, wait. Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law divorced, so she’s not my sister-in-law anymore.’
’Thinking of Lin Yaru, who was infatuated with Fourth Brother but ended up marrying Second Brother... Jie Jingjue felt a headache coming on just from the thought. Thankfully, Mom had the foresight to make Second Brother move into the housing provided by the machinery factory. Otherwise, if Second Brother had brought Lin Yaru home to live in the same courtyard, forget how awkward it would be for Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law—even he would have found it uncomfortable just watching them.’
When Qin Mei returned to her room, she saw that Jie Jingchen was still asleep. She put the three house deeds away, locking them securely in a cabinet.
"Did you buy the houses?" Jie Jingchen’s voice suddenly cut through the silence.
Qin Mei jumped, clutching her chest and glaring at Jie Jingchen. "You scared the life out of me!"
Jie Jingchen wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Why didn’t you take me with you?"
"You’re sick." Qin Mei raised a hand to caress his cheek, her gaze shifting to study his flawless face. ’He has so many scars on his body, but not a single one on his face. Even this bout of hives, which covered his whole body in a red rash, somehow spared his face. It’s as if heaven itself is protective of this face of his.’
"Meimei." Jie Jingchen’s arm around her waist tightened, and he spun her around to face him. "I don’t accept that excuse."
’If she had really wanted to take me, she would have found a way, even if I were crippled, let alone just sick.’
"You needed to sleep," Qin Mei offered another reason.
"I can sleep in the car," Jie Jingchen retorted, still not accepting it.
"You can’t rest properly in a car," Qin Mei said, feigning an air of great consideration.
"Excuses. It all boils down to you just not wanting to take me," Jie Jingchen said, starting to sulk.
Qin Mei gently pinched his nose and coaxed him softly, "Next time. I promise I’ll take you with me next time."
Knowing when to quit while he was ahead, Jie Jingchen leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Take off your clothes, let me see your rash," Qin Mei said, trying to distract him.
"You can undress me." Jie Jingchen released her and held out his arms, waiting for Qin Mei to undress him.
Qin Mei sighed in resignation. "Childish."
Qin Mei undid two of his buttons and checked only his chest and neck. The rash had already subsided, leaving only faint scratch marks where Jie Jingchen must have clawed at the itch. She moved to button his shirt back up.
Jie Jingchen, however, was not pleased. ’Didn’t she say I had to take my clothes off? She’s only undone two buttons and she’s already bailing?’
He caught her hand as she reached for the buttons. "Meimei, you’re being a little half-hearted here."
’He’d been hoping that after she took off his shirt, he could tempt her into taking off his pants, and then...’
"You’re all better now," Qin Mei said, looking up to meet his gaze.
"You barely even checked. How would you know I’m all better?" Jie Jingchen protested.
"I did check," Qin Mei stated.
"Where? My shirt is still on," Jie Jingchen said.
"Button it yourself." Qin Mei pulled her hand free, gave him a light push, and turned to leave the room, calling for Jing Qi. "Jing Qi!"
"Come in, Fourth Sister-in-law," Jie Jingshan’s voice called out.
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