The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 275 - 265: Dividing the House

Chapter 275: Chapter 265: Dividing the House

Jiang Nanzhou took Lu Jingqiu around the city, visiting many places. By the afternoon, too tired to continue strolling, they headed to a nearby port to see if they could bump into her second cousin.

Sure enough, they found him.

When they saw Second Cousin, he had already loaded a truck with goods.

Yang Mingchao laughed and said, "If you hadn’t come, I was planning to come look for you guys later. So, how’s the house situation going? Is everything okay?"

Not wanting to worry him, Lu Jingqiu smiled and replied, "It’s alright, almost there. I should sign the contract in the next couple of days. They’ve allocated five apartments for me; one with three bedrooms, three with two bedrooms, and one with one bedroom."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mingchao almost dropped his jaw, his mouth wide open. He held up five fingers and took a while before he managed to contain his voice and exclaimed, "Five apartments? Five apartments?"

Their second cousin’s expression made them both share a laugh. When he got their confirmation, Yang Mingchao let out an incredulous "Good heavens!" He said, "Here I am, working myself to death transporting goods and hardly making any money, while you—without any trouble—buy a few apartments. In less than six months, you double your worth. I can’t help but admire your luck, sister. Next time you buy a house, take me with you."

Lu Jingqiu smiled and said, "My next step is to buy a house in Shanghai. Are you interested?"

Yang Mingchao was momentarily stunned before answering, "Going all the way to Shanghai, isn’t that a bit far? Let me know when you’re buying in West City, bring your brother along." Then, turning to Jiang Nanzhou, he added, "Nanzhou, my boy, you married my sister and hit the jackpot. You must have done good deeds for several lifetimes to be this lucky."

Jiang Nanzhou joked back, "Indeed, I must have cultivated good karma over many lifetimes. Fortunately, I’ve achieved the ultimate reward."

Watching the two of them jest, Jingqiu then asked, "Second Cousin, when will you be leaving?"

Yang Mingchao replied, "I’m leaving tonight at around seven or eight. This time, I’ve transported some watches and radios, a few hundred of them. There’s still some space in the truck, so I’m also helping someone else transport some goods back."

"You’ll be driving at night. Be careful on the road."

"Don’t worry, I know this route well. How about you guys? When are you planning to head back?"

"Nanzhou has another week here, so I’ll return with him."

"Makes sense, it’s summer vacation after all. This is a good time for you guys to get out and about a bit more."

That’s what the two of them had in mind. After parting ways with their second cousin, Jiang Nanzhou dropped Lu Jingqiu off at the Xue Family’s place and told her to find him at the team office if anything came up.

When Jingqiu got home, Xue Jianian and Wei Jincheng had already returned, but only Grandma and Xue Jianian were present at the house.

Back in the room, Lu Jingqiu asked, "Where’s your Wei Jincheng?"

"He said he had a friend here and went to see him. Where did you guys hang out today?"

"We went to many places. We even found my second cousin, but he’s leaving today. How about you? Did you get the house sorted out?"

"All the paperwork is done, and the village chief had someone start demolishing half of the house. We also asked the village chief how much it would cost to hire villagers to build the house. He said if we provide meals, we pay thirty yuan per day; without meals, fifty yuan per day. Once we have all the materials, the construction should take about a month. Jincheng and I discussed it and decided to pay wages only, without providing meals. Jincheng went to get the materials from his friend this afternoon."

"Can you get bricks?"

"Yeah, the village chief has arranged the bricks and tiles for us. Jincheng is getting some rebar and cement from his friend."

"As long as you have connections."

"Exactly. The materials should be ready in three to five days. Jincheng and I plan to hire more people from the village to dig the foundation in one day, do the ramming in half a day, and in three to five days, the walls of the three tile-roofed houses should be up. After we measure and cap the roof in another three to five days, the courtyard walls and ground inside should be done in about a month. Once we’re finished with my grandparents’ place, Jincheng plans to take me around the area."

"If things get sorted here, I’ll just wait for Nanzhou so we can make a trip to Capital City together, and then head back to West City."

Once the topic of the house came up, Xue Jianian couldn’t help but smile and said, "I really don’t know what the outcome will be tomorrow."

"Ah, let’s not think about it. In any case, there will be some kind of resolution tomorrow."

Wei Jincheng returned quite late, saying that everything had been arranged. While he was talking to Xue Jianian in the outer room, Lu Jingqiu overheard some matters regarding the Wei Family.

Something was mentioned about catching a train, but Lu Jingqiu didn’t listen too closely.

The next day, just after eight o’clock, they were called over by the factory.

When they arrived at the meeting room, they found that Government Section Chief Zhang was there, as well as Uncle Lin.

Upon seeing them, Section Chief Zhang greeted them with a smile, "Comrade Lu, Comrade Xue, we’ve done some investigations these past few days and found that all your procedures are legitimate with no violations. The developers have also been notified. This morning, we’ll sign the demolition contract, how does that sound?"

Lu Jingqiu naturally agreed but still asked, "Is it still on the previously discussed terms?"

"Yes, in addition to the house, each household will also receive compensation according to the number of occupants, plus a housing subsidy of sixty yuan per person per year. Of course, this is on the condition that your household registration is here and that you work here, but obviously neither of you meet these criteria."

Xue Jianian didn’t care much for herself but went on to ask, "What about my maternal grandparents then?"

Section Chief Zhang replied, "The two elderly people are entitled to it."

"That’s good."

They had no idea how many years it would take to build the houses, and reckoned one year should suffice; their grandparents could receive a hundred and twenty yuan, enough for living expenses.

About half an hour later, the developers arrived with their team.

This time, without the commotion from the Liu Family and the factory people, the contract was signed quite swiftly.

Today, Wei Jincheng wore a green outfit, and he oversaw the entire contract signing process. Even if the developers had any issues, after seeing Wei Jincheng’s attire, they would think twice.

When signing the contract, Xue Jianian and the developers discussed having three apartments within the same building.

The person in charge from the developers showed them the floor plan of a building for their consideration.

There were four units in each entryway, with the two in the middle being one-bedroom units and the two on the sides being two-bedroom units.

Xue Jianian felt they were all quite similar and was about to point and say she wanted one whole floor.

However, she was discreetly pulled back by Lu Jingqiu.

When Xue Jianian looked at her, she saw Lu Jingqiu addressing the developers, "I see on your contract that there are a total of twenty-eight buildings, of which twenty-five are mostly eight stories tall and two are over ten stories. The floor plans for each building are different, right?"

Lu Jingqiu’s remark surprised the developers, as they didn’t expect the locals to be so astute, although some of the buildings were intended for sale.

The housing units allocated for factory employees were limited to just those eight buildings, prompting the person in charge to glance at their leader for guidance.

Factory Director Lin said, "Dear leaders, these past days we have actively cooperated with your work. The demolition compensation has already been agreed upon. It’s impossible that all units are one-bedroom and two-bedroom types. Besides, these two women have a unique situation, as the ownership of the main pond area belongs to them, differing from the rest of the factory."

The words of Uncle Lin drew Section Chief Zhang to subtly glance at the leader. Seeing both sides advocating for Lu Jingqiu and Xue Jianian, the developers didn’t object further. They gestured to the person in charge who then showed them the three types of apartment floor plans allocated for their selection.