“Then, Grandpa and Grandma, shall we go buy a house in the city tomorrow?” Song Ying asked.
Chen Shuqin said, “Don’t you want to rest for a bit?”
Song Ying replied, “I’m fine. I’ll be good as new after a good night’s sleep tonight.”
“Then let’s go tomorrow. We’ll take the bus.”
Song Ying said, “It’s inconvenient without a car. After I buy the house, I’ll go buy a car.”
Song Guozheng said, “Yingzi, when you buy a car, bring your uncle and your cousins—your paternal cousins and your second uncle’s sons along.”
“Buy the car the day after tomorrow. I’ll have someone sell the sheep the day after.”
Chen Shuqin added, “Right, we should also tell your uncle and the others about our plans to open a restaurant.”
Song Ying said, “I know, Grandpa and Grandma.”
She knew what her grandparents meant. Her parents had passed away, she was still young, and her grandparents were getting on in years. Whenever anything came up at home, it was her uncle and her paternal uncles who helped out.
Now that she was about to buy a car, her grandparents didn’t know anything about cars, and she didn’t know much either. They definitely needed someone to consult, or at least that’s how it would appear to outsiders.
She needed to let her uncle and her paternal uncles—the elders—feel involved.
“Meow~”
At that moment, the cat in Song Ying’s arms meowed and jumped to the ground. Song Ying said, “Grandma, is our cat pregnant? Her belly looks pretty big.”
Chen Shuqin said, “She probably is pregnant.”
Song Ying said, “Once I buy the car, I’ll take her to a pet hospital in the city to get an ultrasound.”
The kitten was a tabby cat. Her grandpa had found it at the village entrance while herding sheep last year and brought it home to raise. That made it about seven months old.
Chen Shuqin asked, “Cats get ultrasounds too?”
Song Ying said, “Of course, Grandma. I need to confirm whether she’s pregnant or not. If she isn’t, I’ll get her spayed.”
“Fine. Anyway, from now on, you’re the head of this household. Big or small, everything’s up to you. Your grandpa and I are retiring.” Chen Shuqin said with a laugh.
Song Ying smiled and said, “Great! Whenever we have time, I’ll take you both to Sanya and show you around properly.”
“We’ll go. Once we finish up things at home next year or the year after, we’ll go.” Song Guozheng said.
His eldest brother and sister-in-law had gone to Sanya on a trip with their daughter and son-in-law the year before last. They said it was a hot place by the seaside, and he wanted to see it too.
That evening, after washing up, Song Ying lay down on the heated brick bed. She opened Little Red Book and contacted the designer account. The one-story American-style villa she had her eye on was designed by this designer.
She sent a private message stating her requirements.
Since she was hiring this designer for the house, she might as well have her design the big restaurant too.
The other party replied quickly.
Chatting on Little Red Book was inconvenient, so they added each other on WeChat. The designer’s name was Mi Duo.
As long as money wasn’t an issue, other problems were easy to solve.
After negotiating, the villa design and restaurant design together came to around 150,000 yuan. The villa design fee was the expensive part—the interior, exterior, and courtyard all needed careful design.
Song Ying paid a deposit of 50,000 yuan.
They agreed to meet with the designer in three days.
Since they were going to the city the next day, the sheep couldn’t be cooped up in the pen all day. Song Guozheng got up at three in the morning to take the sheep out to graze. The bus came at seven-thirty, so he grazed them until six—three hours was enough for them to eat their fill.
Before leaving, he fed them some green silage so they’d last until they got back in the afternoon.
Chen Shuqin said, “Why don’t you tell Song Qiang? If we’re back late this afternoon, have him help feed them.”
Song Qiang was Song Ying’s paternal cousin, the son of her second grand-uncle.
Song Guozheng said, “Fine, I’ll let him know.”
The next day.
Song Ying got up at six-thirty. For breakfast, they had the leftovers from last night’s dinner, and the three of them made do with a quick meal.
The bus arrived right on time at 7:30.
Besides the three of them, Auntie Liu from their village was also heading to the city.
“Oh my, Song Ying’s back?” Auntie Liu was quite surprised.
Song Ying smiled. “I came back yesterday, Auntie Liu.”
Auntie Liu said, “Came back yesterday? How many days are you staying?”
The old Song family’s granddaughter was said to work at a five-star hotel in the capital, making twelve thousand a month.
Song Ying said, “I’m not leaving, Auntie Liu. I quit my job in the capital and plan to stay home.”
“Quit, huh?” A bit of a shame.
But Auntie Liu understood. “That’s fine too. Even though the pay was good over there, it’s too far away. It’s inconvenient for you to travel back and forth. Finding a job here in the banner or the city would be just as good.”
“Your grandparents are getting old too—they need someone around…”
Song Ying nodded. “Auntie Liu is right.”
Auntie Liu asked, “What are you all going to the city for? I’m going to the hospital to get my neck checked—it’s been hurting.”
Chen Shuqin said, “Yingzi said she’d take us to the city for a stroll.”
“That’s nice, that’s nice.”
With an acquaintance around, the ride wasn’t boring. Chen Shuqin and Auntie Liu chatted all the way to the city, while Song Ying and Song Guozheng, grandfather and granddaughter, didn’t dare speak.
Song Ying had severe motion sickness—she felt dizzy just looking at the bus before even getting on. Once aboard, she didn’t dare look at her phone or talk, just closed her eyes and rested.
Song Guozheng was also feeling a bit queasy, mainly because an old man sat next to him, about the same age as him, but with terrible breath, and he kept pulling him into conversation.
The stench, combined with the smell of gasoline, made the whole ride miserable for him.
After the family of three got off, they went straight to the property sales office.
Song Ying told the staff what she needed: she wanted to decorate the flat herself, and the other four apartments should come with fine finishes, ready for tenants to move in.
She was a big client. The staff showed them several buildings, and Song Ying didn’t dawdle—she bought four regular apartments and one flat as planned.
In total, she spent 4.8 million yuan.
Five properties: the flat cost 1.6 million, 190 square meters.
The other four were 80 square meters, two at 90 square meters, and one at 100 square meters.
Looking at the five property deeds, Song Guozheng sighed with emotion. “Our Yingzi’s got a bit of luck on her.”
“If she hadn’t won the lottery, how long would an ordinary person have to save up just to buy one apartment?”
Chen Shuqin added, “Isn’t that right. Yingzi, you’d better keep those deeds safe.”
Song Ying said, “Don’t worry, Grandma. I could lose myself before I lose those.”