The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 279 - 269: Buying a House in Shanghai

Chapter 279: Chapter 269: Buying a House in Shanghai

By the time they reached the train station, Wei Jincheng had already bought the tickets. He quickly handed them to Lu Jingqiu, saying, "You arrived just in time. The train will be here in about ten or twenty minutes."

Lu Jingqiu asked, "That soon?"

Wei Jincheng gave a smile and said, "This is the last train passing through Shanghai today. I was really worried you wouldn’t make it."

Xue Jianian glanced around and noticed a steamed bun vendor. He hurried to buy Lu Jingqiu a few steamed buns.

At the train station, Lu Jingqiu also came across a vendor selling instant noodles, charging fifty cents per bag – quite expensive. She thought it was pricey but craved them nonetheless.

In the end, she couldn’t control herself and impulsively purchased two bags.

After they helped her board the train, Wei Jincheng and Xue Jianian got off, advising her to be careful with her belongings during the journey.

She hadn’t brought much with her this time, just a small bag with some clothes to change into. The money was sewn into various inner pockets of her clothing, secured tightly.

As the train began to move, Lu Jingqiu waved to them and turned back to comfortably check the people around her.

There was a middle-aged woman sitting beside her who looked very competent, likely on a business trip. The two men sitting opposite her must be her colleagues, as they seemed acquainted with each other.

Lu Jingqiu didn’t pay much attention to them, as she was fortunately seated by the window, spending most of the journey gazing out at the scenery.

The only downside was the summer carriages being quite stuffy and the air not smelling too pleasant.

However, she could endure it, though she ate less during meal times.

In the evening, she ate the steamed buns Xue Jianian had bought her, and the next morning, she had one bag of dry instant noodles.

For lunch, it was another bag of instant noodles. She wanted to soak them in hot water, but there were too many people queuing for water, and she didn’t want to wait in line.

Luckily, she got off the train around two or three in the afternoon and immediately saw He Yu, the person who had come to pick her up.

It seemed Xue Jianian had sent He Yu a telegram, which was very considerate. She had indeed troubled them quite a bit during this time; she would have to express her gratitude properly when she returned.

"Jingqiu, over here."

"He Yu."

After meeting up, an excited He Yu took her hand and said, "You finally arrived, I was really afraid you wouldn’t receive my message."

"Is finding a house that troublesome?" she asked.

"Of course, I asked my uncle and a friend for help. I found three places in total, one of which I really liked and was quite urgent. How many things do you have?"

Lu Jingqiu lifted the bag in her hand and said, "Just this one."

Glancing at his watch, He Yu said, "It’s still early; let’s go take a look at that house."

"Ah... Okay."

They left the train station, and He Yu rode his bicycle with Lu Jingqiu toward a certain direction.

On the way, he didn’t forget to give her an overview of the houses: "The one I’m taking you to now is a two-story house located at the entrance of an alley within the second ring, right beside Linda Road. The house is quite new and nicely decorated."

Curious about Shanghai, Lu Jingqiu looked around with interest. Initially, she hadn’t paid much attention when listening, but when she heard it was beside Linda Road and the house was still very new, she was shocked and exclaimed, "Ah, isn’t that a two-story villa, a Western-style house? I can’t afford that."

He Yu turned to look at her, laughed, and said, "It’s not a Western-style house. It’s only been built for about ten years, can’t compare to those old red-brick Western houses. It’s a gray and white wall affair attached to other houses, not very large, just over eighty square meters. There’s no bedroom downstairs; the bedrooms are on the second floor."

Lu Jingqiu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Oh, how much are they asking for it?"

He Yu replied, "The houses here are priced by the square meter, one hundred yuan per square meter. The one for sale is eighty-five square meters, totaling eight thousand five hundred."

The eight thousand five hundred price truly surprised Lu Jingqiu; she had thought that houses there must cost over ten thousand at least. She hadn’t expected one with a small yard would only be eight thousand five hundred.

"What about the other two places?"

"One is a bit far from the city center, a new house designed by the government for a village, all row houses. Each building is three stories high, with one family per floor, and each family has over a hundred square meters. The price there is eighty-one yuan per square meter, totaling eight thousand four hundred, even cheaper than this small building. The last one is in a shanty in the second alley, a single room with a kitchen, two rooms in total. I don’t really like that place; it’s messy, dirty, and the inhabitants tend to cause trouble."

"What about the price?"

"The price is five thousand yuan, but my eldest uncle said there is some room for negotiation."

"Oh. Then let’s start with this one."

He Yu smiled, pointing to a fork in the road ahead: "Just a short distance ahead, about a fifteen-minute walk. The landlord of this house is an old lady. Her two sons moved to the Hong Kong Area many years ago, and now that she’s getting on in years, her sons want to take her over there to live out her old age. She doesn’t want to go empty-handed; she wants to have some retirement money, so she’s thinking of selling this house. Her eldest son has been here for nearly a month, and he’s quite eager to go back. I was originally calling you for a place in West City when I remembered you went to Yangcheng City. Luckily, you had told me Comrade Xue’s address before, and that’s why I sent one there."

"I didn’t think it through. I thought it would be tough to find a place here and that it would take a long time."

"Houses are tight, but they’re not nonexistent, it’s all down to luck. You’re lucky you wanted to buy a house; hey, I really did find one for you. By the way, how was it over there?"

"Pretty smooth, I’ve signed all the contracts."

"Not bad, Jingqiu, I’ve found that you’re quite lucky. It’s a pity I don’t have the money, or else I’d buy one too."

Lu Jingqiu laughed: "You locals in Shanghai, lacking a house? You might get rich overnight for all you know."

"Haha, I do hope so."

The two of them chatted and laughed as they arrived at the entrance to an alley. The alleyway was wide and well-planned. He Yu parked the car and pointed to the nearest courtyard: "This is the one."

At a glance, Lu Jingqiu saw a two-story house with gray-white exterior paint and triangular trim, very much in Shanghai’s western-style house fashion.

"This house is really nice."

"Come on, I’ll take you inside for a look."

As soon as He Yu finished speaking, she pulled Lu Jingqiu to the front door and knocked: "Granny, are you home? It’s Xiao He, here to see the house." He Yu’s speech was thick with a Shanghai accent, and Lu Jingqiu didn’t quite catch everything at first.

But in no time, an old lady in a cheongsam came to the door: "Is that you, Xiao He? Come in quickly."

He Yu said, "Granny, this is my friend Lu Jingqiu. She’s the one who wants to buy the house."

"Good, good, come on in and take a look."

Lu Jingqiu greeted the old lady while taking in the small entrance courtyard. It wasn’t very big, just over thirty square meters, but it was full of flowers, clearly showing the homeowner had a taste for the finer things.

He Yu pulled her straight into the house. Right by the front door to the right was the kitchen, which led to the staircase, and further in was the living and dining room. To the right of the dining room, next to the stairs, was a large bathroom.

Beyond the living room was a back door, which opened to a small rear courtyard, even bigger than the front yard.

On the second floor at the one-and-a-half-story level was a large bedroom, which the owner had converted into a very traditional-style study. Jingqiu fell in love with it the moment she stepped inside.

One more flight of stairs and you were on the second floor, with another large bathroom to the right, laid with the kind of vintage patterned tiles that looked great. Next to it was a large bedroom, and halfway up to the second floor was a smaller room.

There was one more level above. After climbing the stairs, there was a small living room with a sofa and a low cabinet. The ceiling was slanted with a skylight. Next to the living room was a large bedroom with a skylight as well, and an en-suite bathroom that even had a window.

Lu Jingqiu was astonished and, noticing that the old lady hadn’t come up, whispered to He Yu: "Are you sure this is a two-story building, not four?"

He Yu said, "It’s two stories, but since the house is quite tall, there’s a split-level design, with each floor having a mezzanine. How do you like it?"

Trying to contain her excitement, Lu Jingqiu nodded and restrained herself: "I like it, I like it a lot. This is the most stylish of all the houses I’ve bought, and it’s a special surprise too. Are you sure it’s only just over eighty square meters?"

He Yu nodded: "Certain, the front and back yards aren’t included in that area."

Lu Jingqiu thought about it and it made sense; at this time, house sizes didn’t include a shared area calculation, so eighty square meters meant solid, usable space.

The courtyard must have been omitted from the property title measurements at the time.

After seeing this house, Lu Jingqiu didn’t want to see the other two at all.

She asked softly, "Is the price of the grandmother’s house negotiable?"

He Yu knew she would be interested and said with a smile: "Let’s go down and have a chat with granny."