Chapter 455: Chapter 451: Troublesome Neighbors and Tenants
In response, Zhang Cheng was evidently somewhat helpless and powerless.
He gave a bitter smile, "Do you want this house? If you do, I’ll give you a fifty percent discount."
Wen Ran raised an eyebrow, "Fifty percent?"
"Yeah."
Zhang Cheng took a deep breath and opted for honesty, "Even if the house is transferred to you, they won’t move out, and you won’t be able to do anything about it."
Wen Ran clicked her tongue; she didn’t think so.
Every cat has its own path, and every mouse has its own way. Just because Zhang Cheng couldn’t handle it doesn’t mean Wen Ran couldn’t do it. Furthermore...
She curiously asked, "What’s the situation with this house?"
"This house was previously taken away and has only recently been returned to us."
As he was about to leave, Zhang Cheng revealed the whole past without any psychological burden, "When the house was in the hands of the Street Office, they arranged for some people to rent and live there.
At just one or two yuan a month, even though the house is now returned to me, the Street Office has made it clear that they can’t do anything about the people inside.
One delay leads to another, two becomes three, and so over time, they’ve just hung on there.
With my grandpa and me having limited strength, we couldn’t win in a fight or argue effectively; all we could do was let it be."
Even easygoing Zhang Cheng was a bit stifled when mentioning this matter.
This group of people were indeed experts at creating chaos and kicking up a fuss.
Talk reason with them, and they act shamelessly. Try to be shameless, and they’re even worse.
It’s like hitting a punch into cotton; you get furious and they laugh carefreely, nothing bothers them.
He lifted his head, sincerely saying, "If you want it, then I’ll sell it to you at half price. If not, just forget it, I won’t put you in a difficult position."
At worst, he’d turn around and sell it to someone in the black market, someone dodgy, for just five hundred yuan.
He couldn’t handle these scoundrels, but there are always people who can.
As the saying goes, it’s startlingly accurate.
Evil people are ground down by other evil people.
We’ll see!
Of course, Zhang Cheng didn’t want to go that far unless necessary.
It’s not that he’s particularly kind-hearted or soft, just, even if circumstances are difficult, there’s no reason to make things hard on his own money.
"It’s not difficult," Wen Ran glanced at the messy yard, "Let’s go! I’ll go get the money; you get the documents, let’s aim to transfer the deed today."
Some things are great at the start.
Drag it out, though, and...
Sometimes, as things get delayed, even good things can slowly turn bad.
"Done."
Both parties were willing, and everything went smoothly.
Zhang Cheng may appear honest and a bit wooden, but when he gets things done, he’s quite capable.
When they went to the housing office to handle the transfer, he carried with him two pounds of brown sugar and a bottle of wine, and during the conversation, discreetly slipped something to the other party.
Indeed, when things were greased with gifts, processing certificates went unbelievably smoothly.
Only when seeing all the items being transferred between the families, she couldn’t help but be a bit surprised.
After the money was counted and the stamp placed, as they walked out the door, the moon was already hanging on the treetops.
"Goodbye!"
"Goodbye," Zhang Cheng wore a light and relieved expression, "I probably won’t be coming back in the future."
Wen Ran didn’t know how to comfort him, she pursed her lips, awkwardly saying, "It’s fine, no matter where you are just live happily, live freely, that’s doing justice to yourself."
Zhang Cheng raised his head, somewhat stunned, "You’re talking about doing justice to oneself?"
"Yeah," Wen Ran smiled, "Life is short, just over thirty thousand days.
You worry about being just to this one and to that one, but in the end, busy all your life, you only care about giving justice to others and never think whether you’re being just to yourself."
"True," Xiao Chenye, who had spent the day like an accessory, now expressed his thoughts, "Doesn’t matter where you are, just live happily."
He raised his hand, giving Zhang Cheng a pat on the shoulder, "In this life, you won’t find a smooth sail.
Ups and downs are life’s norms, you may be down in the dust for the first few years, but who can guarantee you won’t be standing on the clouds in the later years?"
Life.
Is inherently unpredictable.
Live day to day.
Enjoy every day, make the most of it.
Zhang Cheng was visibly moved, "Thank you, no one has said these things to me since I’ve returned."
Before Wen Ran could say anything more, suddenly a woman’s voice was heard screaming, ’Zhang Cheng! Zhang Cheng, you little brat! Didn’t I already tell you?
I want that house on Sweet Water Lane! Why did you sell it to someone else? We’re neighbors, how could you be so heartless, you wretched kid!’
As soon as those screaming words were spoken, Zhang Cheng’s face instantly cooled down.
Wen Ran saw the unfavorable turn of events and wanted to sneak away.
Although she already had what she needed, she wasn’t about to foolishly mess with trouble and bring problems upon herself.
"Uh," However, before leaving, it’s only polite to ask, "Do you need my help?"
"No need," Zhang Cheng decisively replied, "You guys should leave quickly. This woman is very troublesome; if she finds out you bought the house, she’s likely to cause trouble."
"Got it!"
Wen Ran had no intention of standing out and immediately grabbed Xiao Chenye to make their escape.
See ya!
Wen Ran was out the door as the old woman arrived, "Who did you sell the house to? Tell me! I’ll buy it back right now."
"Mind the distance!"
Zhang Cheng extended his hand, stopping the woman from approaching, "The house is mine; I can sell it to whoever I want. It has absolutely nothing to do with you!"
Seeing Zhang Cheng’s impervious demeanor, Li Cuixin was fuming, "Didn’t we agree earlier?
You’d sell that house to me! We were negotiating the price, and then you sold it just like that; isn’t that improper?"
"Ha," Zhang Cheng sneered, "According to you, Auntie, must I sell the house cheaply to you for it to be proper?
Just now, you said it yourself, we were only negotiating the price, and hadn’t reached an agreement yet. Naturally, the highest bidder gets it; I sell it to whoever I want.
Besides, my good house, unless I needed money urgently, would easily sell for over three thousand. Why should I degrade the house and myself, selling it to you for eight hundred?
Did your family save my family’s life?"
These words left Li Cuixin speechless.
Even though she was resentful, thinking about the house compelled her to humble herself, "Alright, alright, don’t be angry; if you think the price isn’t fair, Auntie will add two hundred more, this time, one thousand yuan, surely that’s enough?"
Li Cuixin was banking on Zhang Cheng’s urgency to sell the house, to continually reduce the price.
Unbeknownst to her, Zhang Cheng’s house had already been completely sold to Wen Ran and her husband.
Seeing Li Cuixin’s tenacity, Zhang Cheng understood perfectly: unless she gets an answer today, she won’t be letting it go.
"A thousand is too little."
