And they weren’t even coming to ask her for a kidney donation anymore—it was just ridiculous.
Gu Huaichuan thought for a moment. “How about hiring a lawyer? Several new law firms have opened on Changhe Road. I have a friend who studied abroad with me and opened one there after returning. Should we reach out to him?”
Hearing this, Li Yue’s eyes immediately lit up. She was about to agree when the landlady walked in, smiling as she led a man inside.
“Come on in, Qiangzi. These two girls are the ones who want to rent the place. They said they want to sign the agreement right away. They’re young and starting a business—it’s not easy, so I gave them a discount of two hundred yuan.”
When Wang Qiang saw Li Yue, he sized her up from head to toe.
Noticing this, Gu Huaichuan took a step to the left, blocking his line of sight.
Li Yue had been eating well lately and had gained some weight, making her delicate features more noticeable, which naturally drew attention.
“Hello, sir,” Gu Huaichuan greeted politely.
“Hello. What are you renting the house for?”
He was more professional, asking what kind of business they were opening. From the time they started looking for a place until now, no one had ever asked them what they planned to do.
Although Wang Qiang was talking to Gu Huaichuan, his gaze kept drifting toward Li Yue behind him.
Gu Huaichuan smiled and said, “We’re opening a restaurant.”
Wang Qiang frowned. “A restaurant.”
His tone carried a hint of reluctance, as if he wasn’t keen on renting it out for a restaurant.
In reality, though, he was secretly thrilled.
From now on, he wouldn’t have to spend money on meals. He could just drop by anytime to stir-fry a couple of dishes, and they probably wouldn’t have the nerve to charge him.
Besides, that girl was quite good-looking…
Sensing his hesitation, Gu Huaichuan asked again:
“Yes, a restaurant. Can we sign the contract now?”
Knowing Li Yue was in a hurry to find a place to live, he wanted to secure the contract immediately.
If they couldn’t sign it, they could always rent a place in the neighborhood to stay in for the time being. Xiao Yue wouldn’t agree to stay at his place, so he didn’t even bother asking.
Wang Qiang pondered for a moment. “Will you pay half a year in advance or quarterly?”
As he spoke, he kept glancing at Li Yue.
Li Yue stood there without moving. She could sense the man’s gaze wasn’t entirely proper, so she was starting to reconsider.
“We’ll pay annually,” Gu Huaichuan said.
“Alright, let’s sign the contract then. Today is the 14th, so how about we sign it for September 20th, valid until September 19th next year? I’ll give you a week’s discount.”
Once everything was settled, they started drafting a handwritten contract. Wang Qiang’s handwriting wasn’t great, but his agreement was simple—just the duration and the rent.
Li Yue felt this wasn’t appropriate, so she dictated the terms while Gu Huaichuan rewrote it. After all, long-term use of the property would inevitably cause wear and tear. If they ended up with a landlord like the ones she’d heard about in her past life, who would nitpick over every little damage, it would be nothing but trouble.
While the four of them were discussing the rental contract, Nan Si and Jiang Lian walked in.
None of them noticed that someone had entered the room.
It wasn’t until Nan Si cleared his throat that they finally noticed.
“Ahem, excuse me, who’s the owner?”
Hearing the voice, all four of them turned to look at the door. Li Yue’s eyes widened in shock. Were these guys haunting them? Were they here to snatch this place too?
Hu Haiyan smiled and asked, “Can I help you two?”
Nan Si nodded politely. “Ma’am, are you selling this house?”
Just now when they looked at that house, the master felt it was too small and unsuitable for opening a restaurant. By chance, they saw the rental notice written in black characters on red paper here.
So they stopped the car to inquire, thinking maybe it could be purchased.
They just didn't expect to see those two 'young friends' here again.
This place was indeed suitable. Though quite dirty, with some renovation, the size of this house would be perfect for opening a restaurant.
But Gu Huaichuan objected: "Wait, can't you go find another place? Why do you have to buy wherever we rent?"
Nan Si smiled apologetically: "Young friend, it's not what you think. We didn't know you had come here either."
Jiang Lian paid no attention to what others were saying. He neither responded nor spoke, simply examining the house on his own. When he reached the staircase and was about to go upstairs to look around,
He suddenly smelled that special tea fragrance again. His gaze fell on that slender figure – no need to guess, the scent was coming from her.
Li Yue felt a burning glance sweep over her and turned to look, only to see the man already heading upstairs.
She came to Gu Huaichuan's side.
Speaking quietly: "Let's talk to that man and ask him to let us have this house."
Gu Huaichuan adjusted his glasses, glanced toward Nan Si, thought for a moment and nodded.
"Alright, I'll handle the talking. They can't just bully people like this, buying wherever we rent."
However, before he could speak, they heard Wang Qiang ask Nan Si: "How much are you planning to pay?"
Hearing this, Li Yue and Gu Huaichuan exchanged glances. Their plan was good, but they couldn't stop the landlord from wanting to sell.
At this moment, Li Yue also vaguely thought about buying property herself. If necessary, buying one wouldn't be bad, especially since housing prices were cheap now.
Thinking this, she sighed inwardly – the difference between having money and not having money when doing things was truly enormous.
She seemed to have 180,000, plus all that gold, and even a commercial street, but in reality? She still had to calculate carefully and act cautiously. Who told her foundation was so weak?
While she was lost in thought, the other side had already started discussing prices.
"For this area, if 700 RMB per square meter is possible, I think that would be a high price."
Nan Si gave this price after careful consideration. It wasn't that he was deliberately lowballing – the house was just too dirty inside.
If they bought it, they would need to invest a large sum in renovation.
Actually, this house was only worth about 600.
The reason they were offering above market price was Jiang Lian's usual practice.
Jiang Lian wasn't short of money, possessing enormous cash flow that could rival a nation's wealth. This amount flowing from his hands really didn't count for much.
His mother was from the mainland, and when he was young, she often said how difficult life was for people inland, with many not having enough to eat.
Since childhood, he had thought that when he grew up, he must earn lots of money to help those hungry people inland.
This was why, after being driven out of the Jiang Family, he directly took the funds his late father left him and headed straight for the mainland instead of going to more developed foreign countries.
So he wasn't short of money, nor was he stingy about paying a bit more.
Wang Qiang immediately beamed with joy upon hearing this. He grabbed Nan Si's hand: "Then when will you buy? Now? If you're going to buy, then do it now. Otherwise, I'll rent it to these two young friends."
Now he had money to pay off his gambling debts, Wang Qiang thought secretly to himself.
The house was left to his wife by her father. He knew the property would only appreciate in value, but recently he had lost ninety thousand in gambling and was racking his brains on how to sell their house first. Just like dozing off and someone bringing a pillow—the perfect opportunity presented itself.
It was just a matter of selling this particular building first.
Hu Haiyan had no idea what was going through his mind, but she was startled to hear her husband mention selling the house.
"We haven't even seen the upstairs yet," Nan Si remarked, giving Wang Qiang a surprised look. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was overly enthusiastic—was there something wrong with the house?
Hu Haiyan grabbed her husband's arm to stop him from moving forward. "Have you lost your mind? Why sell the house?"
"What's the point of keeping so many? We can't live in all of them anyway. If we sell this place, we can buy a small Western-style house inside the compound," Wang Qiang coaxed.
The house faced a bustling street in the business district, with the Fujuyuan Residential Area behind it. Their family only owned two buildings along the street and hadn't purchased any property within the residential area.
Seeing this, Gu Huaichuan quickly pulled Nan Si outside.
Nan Si could guess his intention, but she was absolutely unwilling to back down—they had spent so long searching for a house already.