“Oh?” Xia Ruofei’s eyes lit up. “Sister Wu, tell me what kind of house it is.”
Wu Liqian said with a smile.
“After what you just told me, I thought of one of my relatives’ houses that basically fit your criteria. But I don’t know if you’ll find it too remote. His house is in Changping County and about a half-hour drive from the city.”
“Half an hour’s drive shouldn’t be a problem!” Xia Ruofei was very tempted. Then, he asked, “Sister Wu, is your relative’s house a separate unit? Does it lead to a connecting road?”
Wu Liqian said with a smile.
‘Of course there’s a connecting road! To be honest, it’s a small detached villa my relatives have built on a local homestead for their holidays. Now their whole family has emigrated overseas, so the house is not in use. So, are you interested in renting it?’
Actually, Wu Liqian’s relatives wanted to sell it directly, but if she stepped in, it would not be an issue to rent it out. After all, they were not in urgent need of money, and if they did not sell it for the time being, the property might still increase in value.
With a phone call from her, it could do Xia Ruofei a favor. Why not?
Xia Ruofei immediately said.
“Of course I’m interested! It’s just… a single villa… Sister Wu, will the rent be very expensive?”
Wu Liqian chuckled and said.
“It definitely won’t be cheap for someone else. But if you want to rent it, we can just charge you a symbolic sum. My relatives aren’t short of money!”
Xia Ruofei chuckled in embarrassment and said.
“Isn’t that… a little inappropriate?”
“Just tell me if you want it or not!” Wu Liqian glanced at Xia Ruofei and said with a smile, “If you want to rent it, I’ll call my relative now. We’ll go look at the house in the afternoon. If there’s no problem, we’ll settle this matter!”
“Sure! But it’s too much trouble for you, Sister Wu!” Xia Ruofei said.
Wu Liqian smiled and said.
“There’s no trouble. Mayor Tian gave me half a day off, and she specially instructed me to settle your matters well. I’m just carrying out my boss’ instructions!”
Xia Ruofei stopped turning down the offer and said sincerely.
“Thank you, Sister Wu!”
Wu Liqian immediately took out her phone to contact her relative. Perhaps her relative was very close to her, or perhaps it was because of her status as the mayor’s secretary, in any case, the other party agreed readily. Moreover, they had agreed to view the house immediately and to meet at the villa.
Therefore, Wu Liqian hung up the phone and instructed the driver to turn the car around and drive towards Changping County.
After about half an hour of driving, they turned onto a newly built concrete road and drove for a few minutes to an almost 80 percent new villa.
Wu Liqian’s relative had arrived first. He was a very elegant middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they went straight to the house.
Xia Ruofei was very satisfied with this villa.
Although it was remote, the mode of transport was still very convenient. The cement road was built in front of the house, so it was not a problem to drive a small van.
The villa was not big. It covered an area of more than 200 square meters and had a small courtyard in front and behind. The two-story villa had a total of six rooms. Moreover, there were all kinds of appliances and facilities. He could directly carry his bags and move in. Because Wu Liqian’s relatives were preparing to emigrate, these appliances and furniture were originally planned to be packaged and sold.
The front of the villa faced the sea, but it was about three thousand meters from the sea. In front of the villa was a large piece of wasteland. At the same time, there was a small mountain behind the villa. It was really a good place to have both the mountain and the sea.
In terms of rent, Wu Liqian’s relative only charged 3,000 yuan a month. For such a big vacation villa, 3,000 yuan a month was no different from free rent.
Xia Ruofei felt that he had taken too much advantage, so he took the initiative to increase the monthly rent to 5,000 yuan. Even this was considered a low price.
After the two parties reached an agreement, they immediately signed the rental contract. The other party did not even want the deposit and gave Xia Ruofei an account number, telling him to transfer the rent to this account when the time came. Moreover, he said that it was fine if he did not have money for the time being. He could pay when he had the money.
Xia Ruofei did not know whether to laugh or cry. This was the first time he had seen such an easygoing landlord.
Compared to the fierce landlady of the rental house in the slums, this landlord was simply a saint!
Of course, Xia Ruofei also knew that this was all because of Wu Liqian, so he was still very self-conscious. In front of everyone, he transferred two months’ rent, totaling 10,000 yuan into that account.
In less than half an hour, the rental issue was settled.
Wu Liqian’s relative handed the key, the access remote, and everything else to Xia Ruofei before politely leaving.
Xia Ruofei still had to go back to pack his things, and he had to bring Hu Zi’s mother and Lin Qiao to look at houses at night, so he took Wu Liqian’s car back to the city.
After the long journey, coupled with the house viewing and signing the contract, it was almost time for lessons to end in the afternoon. Wu Liqian simply decided to be kind all the way and asked the driver to drive to the entrance of No. 8 High School, where he found a parking space and stopped.
After waiting for a while, Xia Ruofei saw Lin Qiao walk out of No. 8 High School. She was talking to a girl as she walked. Xia Ruofei was very relieved to see her. It seemed that this little girl had already made new friends on the first day she transferred school.
Xia Ruofei pushed open the car door and waved vigorously at Lin Qiao.
When Lin Qiao saw Xia Ruofei, she immediately revealed a surprised smile. She quickly said a few words to the female classmate beside her, then jogged towards Xia Ruofei.
“Brother Ruofei!” Lin Qiao did not avoid arousing suspicion at all. She immediately grabbed Xia Ruofei’s hand with a bright smile on her exquisite face, attracting the attention of many students.
Instead, Xia Ruofei was a little embarrassed. He calmly pulled his hand out and asked.
“Qiao’er, how do you feel about lessons in the morning?”
“Very good! The students are all quite friendly. And the standards of teaching is very high!” Lin Qiao said happily.
“Haha, not bad, not bad!” Xia Ruofei was also very happy. “Let’s go! Brother Ruofei will take you to a big meal to celebrate!”
Lin Qiao hesitated for a moment and said.
“Brother Ruofei… next time! I… I want to eat with my mother…”
Xia Ruofei laughed and said.
“Alright! You’re such a filial girl! Let’s go then! Let’s go over together and eat at the government guest house with Auntie. We still have something to settle tonight!”
“What do we have tonight?” Lin Qiao asked curiously.
Xia Ruofei did not keep her in suspense and said.
“Sister Wu has found a house for you. It’s very close to No. 8 High School and is quite suitable in all aspects. I’ll bring you there after dinner!”
“Really? That’s great!” Lin Qiao cheered.
They got into the car together, and Wu Liqian asked the driver to take them to the city government’s guesthouse.
When they arrived at the city government’s guest house, Wu Liqian originally wanted to have dinner with Xia Ruofei and the rest before personally showing them the house.
However, Xia Ruofei felt very embarrassed to have troubled her for the entire afternoon. Moreover, the mayor’s secretary must be very busy. How could he have the cheek to take up her night’s rest?
Hence, Xia Ruofei politely declined.
Wu Liqian did not insist. Instead, she made a call to her colleague at the Forestry Department and arranged for house viewing at 7:30 p.m. She then gave Xia Ruofei her colleague’s contact information before leaving.