CH 32.1

The seller must really have been in a hurry, because not long after Old Ji popped in, they agreed to a house showing that afternoon.

Before Fu Zheng could react, he had trailed Ning Wan and Community Director Ji to the house door.

Shortly thereafter, the owner met them there. He looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six, a well-maintained, well dressed man with his hair combed over and gelled, probably because he would be applying for immigration soon. When he saw Fu Zheng, he shook hands with him with a smile.

"Nice to meet to you, Mr. Fu! The moment I saw you I had so much appreciation! A good-looking young man, very handsome. It's said that meeting a good buyer is about fate. Since you be Director Ji's friend, then you will also be my, Bai Sheng's, friend!"

“……”

Let's not even talk about his dreadful English pronunciation. The owner's grammar was incredibly odd, and he seemed to enjoy mixing Chinese and English haphazardly. Fu Zheng couldn't take it after listening to his introduction and requested, "Mr. Bai, would it be possible to you to speak only in Chinese?"

Bai Sheng had been going on expansively about the house's location, transportation and neighborhood. When he heard Fu Zheng's request, he paused before understanding dawned on his face. "No problem! No problem!" he answered with a smile. "So sorry, I've lived in America for a long time, so I can't help speaking English, and the grammar just comes immediately to mind. It's my fault for not thinking that you might not be used to it. I'll switch to Chinese right away!"

Though he was saying that he was embarrassed, Bai Sheng's face didn't seem sorry at all. In fact, he looked a little pompous about it. Thankfully, he did adhere to Fu Zheng's request and dropped his terrible pidgin Chinglish before opening the door.

"Our building looks a little old since it was built in Yuelan's first phase. There isn't an elevator, but there are only six floors, so there will be fewer residents! It'll be quieter with less people, and with no elevator there's less upkeep, so it's very cost-efficient!"

Yuelan Community was the sort of community that catered to people who earned an ordinary salary, and on top of that even if the seller was in urgent need of money, was there a need to drop the price so low? Thus, Fu Zheng had low expectations for the apartment. He had the mental image of a poorly decorated, poorly maintained place whose owner wasn't willing to spend money on before selling and had instead just resorted to reducing the price. He had prepared to use this as an excuse to not buy the place.

Unfortunately, when the owner opened the door, not only were Ning Wan and Director Ji completely taken aback, but so was Fu Zheng.

Unexpectedly, the apartment had been very well maintained. Although it had been unoccupied for a long time, the owner had obviously kept it clean. Even the windows shone brightly. Though the owner spoke in Chinglish, the place was decorated charmingly in a classical, uniform Chinese style. The furniture looked mostly new, well-matched, and well-placed. He hadn't expected it to look so ordinary from the outside, and quite amazing within.

Obviously very pleased with the place, the owner commented, "I had obtained this place as my son's future wedding home. The floor is solid wood, sourced in an environmentally-friendly manner. All this mahogany furniture alone cost a lot of money, and I searched personally for the vases and other decor at the antique market."

"What do you think?" he asked Fu Zheng. "Not bad, right?"

Eager to find an excuse not to buy, Fu Zheng immediately began nitpicking. He looked first at the mahogany furniture. "There are several different types of mahogany and the prices vary widely for different varieties. Siamese rosewood, red sandalwood, and fragrant rosewood are all extremely expensive, two or three hundred thousand a ton, but mahogany sourced from Africa and South America are only worth three or four thousand a ton. Looking at the texture of your furniture, it's likely not that expensive."

"I bought it from the mahogany furniture store for 800,000 yuan!" the owner exploded. "I even have the receipt!"

"Just because you spent a lot of money on it doesn't mean that it's real," Fu Zheng said desperately, in an extremely infuriating manner. "After all, most people can't tell."

“……”

Ignoring the owner's increasingly sour mood, he continued on, "Let's put aside the wood. Even the design of the furniture is unacceptable. It seems to be intended to imitate the Ming style, but it's far too roughly done. Not up to grade at all, and the carving and polishing just aren't good enough."

"Oh, and since the decor is in a Chinese style, attention needs to be paid to feng shui. The orientation of your furniture is all wrong."

"I can tell you in all seriousness that this antique is fake. It's rather awkward for it be displayed it under glass."

"The house seems to be going for a Chinese style, the colours in this corner are a little too bright. It doesn't fit with an older, classical style, yet the furniture doesn't match a more modern look..."

“……”

Bai Sheng was obviously infuriated after listening to Fu Zheng's words. At it's quoted rate, the house was obviously beautiful and an absolute steal. However, it seemed that despite his arrogant looks, the owner had a better temper than expected. Even with all the nitpicking, he didn't get angry enough to drive Fu Zheng and the others out, but only laughed darkly, "Young man, perhaps your standards are too high? This place is a bargain. If I wasn't in a hurry to get the money, and having been away for a long time I wanted to take advantage of being back to sell it, I wouldn't have slashed the price so much! Whether or not this place is a good deal, old Director Ji has been around long enough to know for sure!"

Bai Sheng didn't know what relationship Ning Wan and Fu Zheng had, but since he was getting nowhere with Fu Zheng, he turned to Ning Wan. "Little lady, I feel like you were quite taken with this place. If you think the price is right, it could be yours today. I've already provided all the furniture, and the two of you could move right in! Wouldn't life be great? It's all been here a few years already, so you wouldn't even have to worry about the new-furniture smell!"

To Fu Zheng's surprise, not only did Ning Wan not deny their relationship, but seemed to settle into the part. She frowned slightly, looking a little unsatisfied. "The thing is, it's true I like the decor very much, but..."

"But?" Bai Sheng asked, as expected.

"Unfortunately, I'm not keen on Chinese style," she sighed. "The price is amazing, but Chinese style decor is just too old-fashioned and depressing. The two of us will want to have kids in the future, and Chinese furniture is angular everywhere. When the children start crawling and climbing and walking, they'll be easily bruised..."

"Padding would solve that problem!" The owner said, a little anxiously. "This set of mahogany furniture was expensive! I guarantee you that it really cost 800,000!"

"Yes, but that's for people who like mahogany. I don't like mahogany, and if I ended up having to put up padding, it would make it even uglier..."

Ning Wan sighed in annoyance. "If we take the house, I'll have to get rid of all the furniture, change the decor, and spend a sum of money. When that's all done, I'll have to ventilate, so we might not be able to move in for some time..."

When she was done, she looked at Fu Zheng with a wink. "Honey, should we forget it? It's cheap, but redecorating will cost a lot. It might be better to buy someplace that was already empty... "

This bargaining move was just too skilled, every word to the point...

Just as Fu Zheng was sighing so in his heart, Bai Sheng opened his mouth. There was a a painful expression on his face and some gnashing of teeth in his tone--

"It's very rare for me to come back to China, and I don't have much time to show the place around. The two of you seem like reliable, decent folk, so I'm willing to take a loss on this. Since you don't want mahogany furniture at home, I'll remove it, and cut the price by 500,000 yuan for you! This is the best I can do!"

Before such a tempting offer, Ning Wan seemed quite calm. She put on an act and said, "Well then, my husband and I will think about it and give you an answer as soon as possible."

They talked a little more about the house and toured the layout before the owner received a phone call. Saying that he had somewhere to be, he handed the key to Director Ji, asking him to lock up afterward and hand the key over later.

Ning Wan said goodbye, and as Fu Zheng also bid his farewells, she wandered to the balcony of the apartment. The place was well-positioned for the sun to come in, and when she looked down from the balcony, she could see the road was lined with trees. The apartment owner had just left the building and was walking down the sidewalk. He was at the moment being stopped by a dirty child in the middle of the street, and impatiently trying to shrug the boy off. Who knew whether the child was collecting garbage or begging nearby, but he was clinging desperately onto Bai Sheng. Perhaps he was asking for money. Whatever it was, Bai Sheng was reluctant to give it and was currently trying to break free. There were others walking by on the roadside, but the boy seemed fixated on Bai Sheng.

Although begging for money wasn't entirely pleasant, Ning Wan gazed down at the little boy with some pity and thought of running downstairs to give him a little pocket money. However, she hadn't brought any cash with her, so she had to turn and ask Fu Zheng for money. By the time she looked back, the child and Bai Sheng were gone.

Ning Wan regretted that she hadn't been able to help. Still, as long as the boy made his way back to Yuelan Community regularly, she would always have another chance to see him. Next time, she would inquire a little more carefully into his circumstances.