For two days straight, Qian Yang didn’t contact him. Wang Tian had even begun to suspect that Qian Yang had been bluffing when he said he used to run with a rough crowd. It wasn’t until this afternoon that Qian Yang finally came looking for him in person.
“You have no idea how much effort it took,” Qian Yang grumbled as soon as he walked in, before Wang Tian could even say a word.
“And? Did you find a place?” Wang Tian poured him a glass of water, then asked.
“I did. My standards were just a little high, so it took some extra time.” Qian Yang took a sip, then answered Wang Tian directly.
“Get changed, quick. This place was just put up for sale at noon. My friend has already made the arrangements, so let’s head straight over before someone else gets there first.”
Seeing how Qian Yang was acting, Wang Tian didn’t waste time asking questions. He changed clothes, and Qian Yang drove him straight to the busiest commercial street in the city center.
After they arrived and parked, Wang Tian assumed the place was on the commercial street. To his surprise, Qian Yang led him into a nearby alley instead. They walked a few dozen meters before Qian Yang pointed to a storefront and said,
“This is it.”
“Isn’t this a little small?” Wang Tian asked doubtfully as he looked at the storefront.
“You’ll see once we go down.” Qian Yang smiled mysteriously. In truth, he was just putting on an act; his friend had told him all about the place. But Wang Tian didn’t know that.
Wang Tian followed Qian Yang through the storefront and headed downstairs. After only a few steps, the space suddenly opened up before them.
The basement covered roughly four hundred square meters. Apart from a few support columns, the whole space was surprisingly open, without any winding corridors. Judging by the decor, it had probably been a taekwondo gym. It was anyone’s guess why it had closed.
“I’m telling you, this place is exactly what you want: quiet in the middle of the bustle. The transportation is convenient, too. The street we came in on is the busiest commercial street in all of SY. There are subway entrances on both sides of the alley, and the back door leads straight to the underground parking lot of the shopping center. There’ll definitely be enough foot traffic.” Qian Yang repeated what his friend had told him.
“Looks pretty good.” Wang Tian nodded. The layout was well suited to the bar he wanted to open. And just as Qian Yang had said, it was far enough from the busy city center to be quiet, yet close enough to benefit from the commercial street’s bustle. It really was a great spot.
“Boss! Boss!” Hearing Wang Tian’s comment, Qian Yang called out several times.
“Coming! You’re Brother Qiang’s friends, right?” A middle-aged man in his forties came out of one of the rooms. He looked the two men over, especially Qian Yang, then asked cautiously.
“That’s right. Are you renting or selling? Name your price.” Qian Yang got straight to the point.
“Either is fine. The property rights are mine. You can both see that I used to run a taekwondo gym here, but I didn’t have many students, so I decided to close it.” The man gave a wry smile as he explained. Seeing that Qian Yang was getting impatient, he hurried on:
“Since you’re Brother Qiang’s friends, I’ll give you a low price. If you buy it, it’s 25,000 yuan per square meter. If you rent it, it’s 350,000 yuan a year, and I won’t be responsible for anything else. Given the location, you can ask around anywhere—the price is absolutely fair.”
“That price really isn’t high. I checked,” Qian Yang murmured to Wang Tian. Then he nudged him, leaving the decision to him.
“Let’s just buy it. Renting would be a hassle,” Wang Tian said quietly.
“Boss, since you’re being straightforward, we won’t beat around the bush either. We’ll buy it, but you’ll have to cover the taxes.” Having received the go-ahead, Qian Yang said this to the boss.
“Deal. No problem.” The boss was delighted. A few hundred thousand yuan in taxes was nothing. He had thought Brother Qiang’s two friends would squeeze him for a lot more, but they were being so straightforward that he readily agreed.
“Go get the property deed. We’ll take care of everything this afternoon,” Wang Tian said.
“Uh, the transfer won’t be that quick,” the boss said quietly.
“Don’t worry about that. Just go get the deed, and we’ll go transfer the ownership together.” Wang Tian waved a hand.
“All right. You two can look around while I go get the deed. I live nearby, so I’ll be back in half an hour.” The boss didn’t ask any questions. Maybe they had connections. Either way, getting the money as soon as possible was a good thing.
After the boss left, Wang Tian and Qian Yang wandered around the place a couple of times. The more Wang Tian looked, the more he liked it. The layout really was great. He patted Qian Yang on the shoulder and said with a smile,
“Thanks. Come by whenever you want after we open. It’s on me.”
“No need to thank me.” Qian Yang waved a hand, but then his face fell as he added,
“I’d love to come by all the time, but your sister-in-law won’t let me.”
“That’s not my problem. I said you could come for free whenever you want.” Wang Tian teased him with a grin.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Qian Yang was even more depressed. His eyes darted around as he tried to figure out how to keep coming over without his wife finding out.
When the boss returned, Qian Yang drove the two of them straight to the Housing Bureau. On the way, Wang Tian called Yang Tian.
So when they arrived, the three of them went directly to an office as Yang Tian had instructed. A balding middle-aged man received them.
The process was smooth from start to finish, and the paperwork was completed quickly. The boss was relieved, thinking that Wang Tian and Qian Yang were decent people who hadn’t thrown their weight around.
After the payment came through, the boss wanted to treat them both to a meal, but Wang Tian and Qian Yang turned him down. What was the point of eating with him? The two of them would be better off heading home and having a few drinks together.
After the boss left, Wang Tian got back in the car and had Qian Yang drive him home. He needed to buy a few things first.
On the way home, Qian Yang called his wife and asked her to prepare some dishes. He was going to have a few drinks with Wang Tian.
Qian Yang’s wife was from the same neighborhood, but Wang Tian had no memory of her at all. They probably hadn’t played together as children. Still, she was quite supportive of Qian Yang having a drink with Wang Tian.
For one thing, the two of them had known each other since childhood, and Wang Tian wasn’t the sort to get into trouble. For another, their families lived right above and below each other, so naturally she had no objection.
When they went upstairs and entered Qian Yang’s home, Wang Tian greeted Qian Yang’s wife, then took out a small bag and handed it to her.
“Sister-in-law, I bought this for my eldest nephew. I don’t know if it’ll fit him.”
“Xiao Tian, is this what you went to buy? You didn’t have to.” Qian Yang gave him a light smack and complained.
“It’s not for you, so what are you making a fuss about?” Wang Tian shot him a look.
Zhang Jing glanced at Qian Yang. After he nodded, she accepted the gift and smiled at Wang Tian. “Thanks, Tian’er.”
“Think nothing of it.” Wang Tian waved a hand, then went to play with Qian Yang’s two-year-old eldest son.
After they washed their hands, they sat down to eat. Zhang Jing chatted with them for a while, then took her son downstairs for a walk.
Once they were alone, Wang Tian and Qian Yang started bragging to each other. They said whatever came to mind, no matter how exaggerated. Wang Tian had never lost to anyone at that.