Lin Chuxia really had no idea that Qin Han developed such animosity towards Su Wensong just from one visit to the store.
The next day, Sun Lanlan came over, and with her, her third brother Sun Bingnan.
As soon as she arrived at the store, Sun Lanlan started talking to Lin Chuxia about marriage prospects, “The moment my mom heard that my third brother and I were coming to the city to work, she didn’t hesitate to call off the arranged marriage that wasn’t set in stone. That’s all in the past now. She also said that with a job in the city, I should work hard. Once you’re employed here, any future matchmakers will have to think twice. If not a city-dweller, at least someone who works in the city.”
This outcome was within Lin Chuxia’s expectations. The villagers, generation after generation of farmers, dreamed of escaping the fields. There had been no opportunity before, but with relaxed policies now, and with Sun Lanlan securing a job in the city, why would Aunt Sun want her to marry a farmer and return to village life?
With the addition of Sun Lanlan and Sun Bingnan, work in the shop suddenly became much easier.
After acclimatizing the two newcomers to the job for a couple of days, Lin Chuxia felt comfortable leaving them to it and went with Su Wensong to look for houses.
Su Wensong had already checked out a few places in those two days, two of which were quite well-located: one was for rent only, the other could be either rented or sold.
Lin Chuxia first visited the closer one, a courtyard with three rooms but no side rooms, which made it appear quite spacious. The owner had moved to a new family building and only wanted to rent the courtyard, mentioning they still had elderly relatives in the countryside who might move into the city when they got older.
The yard looked quite suitable, spacious enough for any kind of arrangement.
However, Lin Chuxia didn’t rush to make a decision and went to check out the slightly more distant one.
It was an ancestral home with four main rooms and two side rooms.
Previously, two elderly residents lived there, but their children were all out of town. Last year, one of the elders passed away, and the surviving one was taken by a son, leaving the house empty.
It just so happened that the son was back for the annual remembrance of the deceased elder and wanted to deal with the property. He preferred a long-term lease, but if the price was right, he was willing to sell.
Because it was an old house, the condition was somewhat dilapidated, and it had hosted a funeral not long before, which left it looking a bit desolate.
Worried that Lin Chuxia might be superstitious, Su Wensong didn’t strongly recommend this courtyard.
Lin Chuxia looked around the courtyard inside and out, “What’s the asking price for this place?”
“For rent, it’s cheap. The owner is aware of the house’s state and only asks for 80 yuan a year. He hopes for a minimum of a two-year lease. If you’re buying, the bottom price is this number…” Su Wensong held up three fingers.
3000 yuan!
Lin Chuxia inspected the house’s beams and windows. Though in disrepair, with some fixing up, it could still serve its purpose. Yet, in the long term, there could be hidden problems.
The price of 3000 yuan was indeed not expensive.
The housing market had just opened up. With few people selling and even fewer buying, that’s why prices were pressed so low.
In a couple of years, when people become more aware of buying properties, especially when the family unit buildings transition from public to private ownership, the price of such small courtyards would generally hit 1000 yuan per room, not something just anyone could afford.
Seeing her careful consideration, Su Wensong ventured to ask, “Are you thinking of buying this place?”
Lin Chuxia stepped out of the house, closed the door behind her, and dusted off her hands, “I do have that in mind,” but the problem is the lack of money.
“When is the owner leaving?”
“In addition to performing the annual remembrance for the elder, the owner is here to deal with the house and will stay at most three more days, as he has work elsewhere.”
Lin Chuxia nodded, “Go talk to the owner and push down the price further. If we buy it, can we lower the price a bit more? And is there any flexibility to extend the time by a couple of days? I’ll try to figure out how to raise some money.”
“Going to borrow money?”
Although aware that the question was somewhat abrupt, Su Wensong also knew about Lin Chuxia’s financial situation.
Born from a peasant family, her husband working away from home, even though he earns wages, how much can a worker earn nowadays?
3000 yuan is no small sum, a worker who doesn’t eat or spend, it would take nearly 10 years to save up, which a typical family can’t afford.
Let alone the fact that the investment made in starting their business was not small, he vaguely knew that Lin Chuxia had already put in all her family’s savings at that time.
“Should be enough, let’s go back.”
Lin Chuxia returned to the shop and asked Sun Bingnan to go to the butcher’s to buy some offal and a rack of ribs. After buying them, she started cleaning them in the courtyard.
Su Wensong went straight to the landlord to settle things and came back to the Bun Shop, only to see Lin Chuxia cleaning a pile of offal in the yard, ready to cook some prepared food.
He pulled Sun Bingnan aside and asked, “Has the boss been doing this all along?”
“Ah,” Sun Bingnan replied with a sense of cluelessness, nodding, “Didn’t we say that our Bun Shop is going to sell cooked food?”
Selling cooked food wasn’t supposed to be right now, Su Wensong told him to get busy, and he went to find Lin Chuxia.
Lin Chuxia had just finished cleaning the offal and washed the ground too.
Seeing Su Wensong return, she smiled and pointed at a basin of raw offal, “You’re back just in time, help me bring this to the back kitchen.”
They used a large pot for steaming buns in the back kitchen.
Su Wensong bent down and directly carried a large basin of offal to the back kitchen, while watching Lin Chuxia skillfully put meat into the pot, he said, “The landlord dropped another 200 yuan, 2800 is the lowest he can go, and he’s giving us at most 5 more days.”
Lin Chuxia threw the last handful of seasoning into the pot, “5 days is enough,” she looked at Su Wensong, “If we can’t get the money in 5 days, then we will just have to rent.”
She had just calculated the accounts, and the Bun Shop had nearly made one thousand yuan since its opening more than twenty days ago.
The end of the month was approaching, and she needed to pay her employees’ salaries, plus there was a certain investment involved in making prepared food, and the operation of the Bun Shop also required capital for turnover.
All this accounted for, there was a shortfall of at least two thousand or more.
Su Wensong pursed his lips, thinking about where he could help her borrow some money, but after thinking it through, he realized that having returned from the countryside after all these years, he was practically friendless.
Lin Chuxia stewed the meat and left Su Wensong to watch it while she went out.
She went straight to the bank.
Su Wensong was right; she was indeed planning to borrow money, planning to take out a loan from the bank to buy a property.
Loans for buying property were not mortgage loans at the time, but simply borrowing money from the bank.
Lin Chuxia had walked this road in her past life, so she had a certain understanding of the procedures for bank loans.
However, because the loans in her previous life occurred several years later, she came to confirm, in case there were any changes.
Nowadays, loans are all collateral-based, requiring not only collateral but also a guarantor, who needs to be a public servant.
When you can’t repay the money, the options are either auctioning the collateral or directly deducting it from the guarantor’s salary.
At that time, being a worker was a solid job with guaranteed succession; the bank’s method was undoubtedly a double insurance, a deal that would surely make a profit without loss.
Coming out of the bank, Lin Chuxia felt much relieved; the Bun Shop met the collateral requirements. The next step was to find a guarantor.
Back at the Bun Shop, from afar, she could smell the aroma of pork—it was almost done, and since it was for personal consumption, she could use a little higher heat.
Sun Lanlan saw her return, promptly served the last customer, and hurried over, “Chuxia, are we selling meat in our store today? Just now, several customers asked if we have new products in our store, and I told them that we would sell cooked food in the future.”