Zhou Hui discovered everything so suddenly! After receiving Shu Ran’s answer, she was stunned, but not even half as stunned as her little brother. Wait… What?! Zhou Hui realized that he and Xu Shen had an affair and… Her first reaction was not to object fiercely but to ask him if he was forced in the first place?!
“Sister, you…” Shu Ran was rarely shy and scratched his ears: “When did you find out?”
It didn’t look like a recent discovery, otherwise, she would not be so calm… And his guess was right, it really wasn’t recent.
“Sometime after the New Year. I’m not particularly sure, but I had a vague guess.” Zhou Hui said dryly.
Now, her brother had personally admitted to the affair, and she didn’t know if the stone that had been weighing on her heart had been moved away or become even heavier.
“How did you guess it?” Shu Ran was getting even more shy. It was all Xu Shen’s fault! He had told him many times to not leave traces on him, but he just wouldn’t listen!
So much so that Shu Ran wondered whether Xu Shen did it on purpose?!
“How did I guess it?! You think you are hiding it so well?!” Zhou Hui recalled angrily: “Brother Shen is so attentive and he comes here two or three times a month. How could I not know?!”
Shu Ran’s smile froze on his face, and he became more and more certain about a fact… Xu Shen, that scheming vixen, was probably deliberately trying to gain a sense of presence in front of Zhou Hui…! It was really hateful, he was afraid that others wouldn’t know, right?!
“Sister, don’t be angry!” Shu Ran looked at Zhou Hui carefully: “You are pregnant now, no matter what you think… Don’t worry about us.”
It was really worrying!
“I’m not angry…” Zhou Hui hesitated. The timeline from suspicion to fact was too long, long enough for her to regain her good mood. She sighed: “I’m just annoyed. Your brother-in-law enlightened me, saying that you two are already in love and no one could stop it…”
Zhang Yunsheng told her too much, saying that whether two men or two women fell in love, it was not their fault.
“Thank you, brother-in-law…” Shu Ran said softly, but he never expected it to be like that.
Zhou Hui forced a smile. In fact, she couldn’t understand it at first. Since it was not a sin they committed, then why would they be condemned by society as soon as they were found out, risking jail time or even worse, a permanent residence in the mental hospital…
However, Zhang Yunsheng told her: “Actually, it’s not like that. Whether they are of the opposite gender or the same, they are simply too weak to protect their loved ones. It’s not free love that’s wrong, but how ordinary people see it.”
Zhou Hui understood what Zhang Yunsheng meant. It was also those ordinary people who were unable to fight back when they were dragged and convicted. Since ancient times, has anyone seen a reputable person who had suffered such a crime?!
Zhang Yunsheng enlightened his wife and said: “My younger brother and Xu Shen are both the best among men. They are much better and more powerful than ordinary people, so their fate will not be manipulated by others. And that includes you and me.”
Indeed, Zhou Hui felt that her brother was already flying very high, and would continue to fly even higher in the future, high enough for no one to be able to say a word.
Then… She had nothing to worry about.
“If you two like it, then just live together. I have no objections.” Zhou Hui continued: “I have nothing but worry about your suffering.”
Shu Ran quickly said: “I won’t suffer any trouble! We are both rich and well-off. At worst, we can go abroad. Who would be able to touch us?”
“As long as you know it.” Zhou Hui felt relieved, and then looked at Shu Ran: “Brother Shen wanted to get married and have children in the beginning, so why did he fool around with you?”
Shu Ran raised his eyebrows: “What do you mean by fooling around with me?! This is called meeting true love and falling in love at first sight!”
Zhou Hui smiled: “Stinky boy!”
However, she still vividly remembered Xu Shen’s attentiveness to her younger brother, and she understood it deeply.
Shu Ran also laughed for a while and said hesitantly: “Then… I’ll tell Brother Shen that you know?”
“Don’t say it.” Zhou Hui snorted softly: “My good brother is now his poor wife, let him continue to step around carefully.”
Shu Ran was feeling funny, but the smile soon froze on his face. No… Why did Zhou Hui insist that he was the wife?!
Did he look like he was suffering?! Well, actually he knew it well… You could tell just by looking at the size of the mark on his neck.
One could ask 100 people and every single one of them would think the same thing as Zhou Hui.
“Let’s just say it, Brother Shen feels bad…” Shu Ran begged his sister: “He really values whether you agree or not. If you agree, it means he has a few more relatives. You know, Brother Shen is all alone…”
Zhou Hui nodded. In fact, she was just a bit angry and spiteful just now: “Speaking of it, you two have been together for longer than Yunsheng and I. It’s just a matter of missing the certificate.”
“Yes!” Shu Ran said: “We’re just missing the certificate!”
“Then tell him.” Zhou Hui touched her still flat stomach.
Shu Ran smiled to please: “Sister, how about you say it yourself and give him a surprise?”
Zhou Hui laughed and scolded: “Don’t you know how to love others?”
It was obvious that Xu Shen liked her brother’s heart-warming energy.
“I’ll tell him to come in!” Shu Ran happily stood up and went out, opened the door, and hooked his hands at Xu Shen: “Come in and meet your nephew!”
Xu Shen laughed at first, then was startled, and quickly turned to look at Zhang Yunsheng. Fortunately, the other party reacted as usual and seemed to not be sensitive to Shu Ran’s words.
Maybe his wife was too happy and didn’t know what to do for a moment, so Xu Shen took a few steps to Shu Ran’s side and whispered: “You just spilled the beans, so be careful.”
Shu Ran smiled silently, pulled him in, and then closed the door with his backhand.
“Hey…!” Xu Shen wanted to say to his wife: “Did you enter your rebellious stage today?!”
But he didn’t say anything. He just nervously raised his head to look at Zhou Hui. Unexpectedly, what he met was not a pair of questioning eyes, but a pair of smiling ones. Zhou Hui grinned at him and said: “Brother Shen, are you here to see your nephew?”
“Ah…?” Xu Shen was completely dumbfounded. He couldn’t figure out what Zhou Hui meant. Did she regard him as Shu Ran’s brother?
Then… It was right to say that he came to see his nephew, so he nodded: “Congratulations, next year there will be a baby in our family!”
“Congratulations!” Shu Ran hooked Xu Shen’s neck, turned his face over, and directly kissed him: “Let’s upgrade to becoming uncles together!”
The two siblings were singing together, and Xu Shen was not stupid. He understood the situation instantly and looked at Zhou Hui in disbelief. The other party nodded towards him: “I already know about you two.”
Xu Shen was really surprised by the news and immediately turned to look at Shu Ran. He moved his lips: “Did you say it?”
So sudden?! Why didn’t you discuss it with me?!
Xu Shen glared at his wife with great dissatisfaction. He imagined that kind of moment needed to be faced by two people together, instead of just Shu Ran confessing alone!
“Don’t glare at me! It was my sister who noticed it herself. I was also surprised, okay?” After explaining, Shu Ran felt there was still something wrong, so he glared back at Xu Shen: “Actually, it’s your fault! It’s all your fault for hanging over here every single week! My sister and brother-in-law are not blind!”
Xu Shen felt guilty for a while and didn’t dare to look at Shu Ran anymore. Indeed, he came over whenever he was free, and he had long wanted to get a status. The fact that Zhou Hui saw it was really his fault.
“Then…” He looked at Zhou Hui, slightly nervous.
“My sister has no objections.” Shu Ran said quickly.
Zhou Hui nodded.
“And brother-in-law…” Xu Shen asked again.
“It’s our brother-in-law who saw it first.” Shu Ran felt a little sorry for him. After knowing Xu Shen for so long, it was the first time he saw him acting that meek.
“That’s good…” Xu Shen relaxed and his expression went blank for a moment, and then he slowly smiled.
After holding Shu Ran’s hand and having fun for a moment, Xu Shen came back to his senses and quickly said to Zhou Hui: “Sister Hui, we really love each other! I will treat him well throughout my life… You can just leave him to me!”
Looking at the figure of her younger brother cuddling in Xu Shen’s arms… Although both of them were men, their tenderness towards each other was no worse than that of upright male and female lovers. Zhou Hui put away her worries and smiled: “I know you are good to him, and both of you will live well in the future.”
Xu Shen nodded seriously.
They talked in the room for a long time. When everyone came out, Zhang Yunsheng smiled kindly at them: “Have you already discussed it?”
“It’s done…” Shu Ran looked at his humble brother-in-law and smiled gratefully: “Thank you, brother-in-law! My sister’s ideological work is all thanks to you!”
Zhang Yunsheng waved his hand: “Stop saying polite words, sit down, and have lunch with us.”
That time around, Xu Shen finally no longer had to deliberately keep his distance from Shu Ran. He was used to being clingy at home, and never happy to ignore each other outside.
Xu Shen openly picked up vegetables for Shu Ran, brought him water, and picked bones from time to time. Zhou Hui reflected: “Brother Yunsheng and I were not as sticky as you two during our wedding day…”
Shu Ran said sheepishly: “He was suppressed before and now wants to show his affection in revenge.”
“Nonsense.” Xu Shen immediately said: “I’m like this at home too.”
“Hahaha.” Zhang Yunsheng and his wife were speechless.
Zhou Hui was quite curious about their life at home, and felt that she had guessed the whole truth: “After I left, was there someone too lazy to even fold the quilt?”
Xu Shen said: “Never folded it.”
“Shut up!” Shu Ran turned around and glared. It was such a warm and cozy gathering, could you say something nice about him?!
“I knew it.” Zhou Hui chuckled. She could guess that every time she told her brother to be diligent, her words fell on deaf ears. The difference is that she used to think it was her brother’s fault, but now she no longer thought so. It was as clear as day… One was willing to fight while the other was willing to suffer! If Xu Shen was dead set on getting used to it, there was nothing else left to say.
That time, Zhou Hui no longer told her brother to be diligent, but instead told him: “Be careful and don’t be too ostentatious outside. It’s not good for others to find out.”
“I know, sister.” Shu Ran agreed.
Looking back, he sighed in the car, smoothed his hair, and said to himself: “I don’t want to show off, but my strength won’t allow me to be humble…”
Xu Shen laughed so hard that he almost drove the car into a ditch: “Show some face!”
But yes, Shu Ran got better and better as he grew older, well on his way to becoming a very handsome youth. No, he was already very handsome, even in the photo he sent to the publishing house a while ago. He was ostentatious even if he tried not to be and… His new book was about to be released. From then on, his charm could only increase.
“Let me calculate, if you publish your new book in early June, we will be in Beijing at that time.” Xu Shen had a little longing for the Capital. “If your book is sold in Beijing as well, the sales volume will be better and higher…”
Shu Ran smiled: “It’s okay, don’t you know? Books can last for a long time and be published again and again. When I become famous in the future, will I still have to worry about lack of sales?”
Now it was the perfect time to accumulate a lot of experience and endure some grievances.
“Yes.” Xu Shen smiled broadly, loving his wife’s pride, calmness, and confidence.
After only one trip, most of the day was over.
The two of them packed up their things at home and prepared to catch the train in the early morning. That day had been a good day for double happiness. Xu Shen wanted to be intimate with his wife no matter what, but Shu Ran was worried that it would consume too much energy and he might not be able to get up in the morning. There was also a long-distance train waiting for them, so he decided to forget it.
The distance from Nanshi to Beijing was about the same as the distance from Nanshi to the coast. The two of them extravagantly bought soft sleeper tickets, and staggered into Beijing in early June, a month that was not particularly hot.
There were a lot of big cities along the coast, but the infrastructure and urban landscape were incomparable to the current Capital.
As soon as Shu Ran set foot on his home turf, he felt the familiar heavy feeling rushing towards his face as if even the air was different. Indeed, the weather in Beijing was so much drier and of course, the heavy feeling was not nonsense. After arriving in the main city area, he was afraid that feeling would become more obvious.
“Brother Shen, have you been here before?” Shu Ran was wearing a light sportswear jacket with a good drape, his hands were casually put in his pockets, and a self-made backpack hung on his shoulders.
“I’ve never been here before. This is my first time.” Xu Shen couldn’t help but look around. He was also dressed very casually, like a social elite going on vacation, but he still showed the shrewdness and sophistication brought by his profession.
Xu Shen was also carrying a suitcase in his hand, which contained most of their luggage. When they appeared in the crowd, both of them looked particularly fashionable and eye-catching.
They still needed to catch a bus to the main city and after arriving, they took a taxi to the hotel, since taxis were already available in Beijing in 1984. However, Xu Shen thought: “As expected of the Capital… It’s too big!”
The journey to the city from the train station was extremely long. Shu Ran thought that it would become even longer in the future, with the construction of the airport so far away from the city.
“Do you know if Brother Fan and his family live in the central rings?1Beijing is organized circularly, around the Forbidden City which is considered the core. Each “ring” is marked by a big, circular road that goes around the whole city. As of today, there are 6 official rings, with the 7th being the G95 Capital Area Loop Expressway, an orbital road of about 1,000 km that encircles the city center of Beijing, mostly passing through Hebei. Since only 38 km pass through Beijing, it’s not officially recognized as the 7th ring. In the context of our novel, of course, the closer to the Downtown you live, the richer you are. That’s why Shu Ran asks if Jiang Fan’s family lives in the central rings, considering how affluent they are” Shu Ran asked.
“I don’t know, I haven’t asked.” Xu Shen thought for a while: “They should be quite impressive.”
But Jiang Fan usually didn’t mention it much, since he was disliked by everyone in his family.
“It’s okay, I’m just asking casually.” Shu Ran said. Regardless of how many rings others had, their own houses will be spread all over the second and third rings in the future!
That time around, they came to Beijing to visit and inspect the market, so Shu Ran asked the driver to take them to a prosperous area within the Second Ring Road and find a hotel.
Xu Shen looked out the window and said: “It turns out that the streets in Beijing are full of bicycles. I thought everyone would drive cars.”
“How is that possible?” Shu Ran said. “Cars are so expensive. We are definitely a very strange group of people.” They bought cars because they earned a lot of money and were bold, but most people didn’t dare to expand even if they had enough money. So crazy.
None of them could be summed up as just young and energetic. They were simply crazy.
“According to this, the purchasing power of the people in Beijing is not very good…” Xu Shen withdrew his outward gaze, not without worry: “Do we have to be mentally prepared for the direct-sale brands we produce to be less profitable?”
Shu Ran sighed: “It will be like that in the early stage.”
But don’t worry, the domestic economy was developing rapidly and people would get rich soon. At that time, the largest purchasing power in the world would be precisely those who had become rich during that period.
The driver followed their request and drove them to the entrance of a high-end hotel.
“Thank you.” Shu Ran took Xu Shen’s wallet and paid the driver. The taxi driver thought he was a tourist, but he was just a fake one. There were already many tourists visiting Beijing back in those days, and the hotel industry was quite developed.
Shu Ran didn’t have the guts to ask for a suite, so he asked for a standard, regular room.
“I’m hungry, is there anything special to eat in Beijing?” Xu Shen lazily leaned on the sofa, resting his legs that were tired from riding in the car.
“…” Shu Ran subconsciously wanted to answer, but swallowed it and said: “You can ask at the front desk later.”
After resting for a while, the two came to the front desk and… The staff recommended them to eat roast duck…
Shu Ran knew that was going to happen, and originally wanted to decline, but seeing Xu Shen’s face full of interest, he had to stop talking. Maybe the roast duck in 1984 was delicious?!
“What’s wrong, you’re not in a good mood?” Xu Shen smiled and looked at his wife: “Don’t you like roast duck the most? You eat it every day along the coast.”
Shu Ran: “That’s because the roast duck along the coast is really delicious.”
“Yeah.” Xu Shen continued: “Let’s try to see if the food in Beijing is just as good.”
“Okay.” Shu Ran thought to himself, I’m willing to sacrifice and accompany you in whatever you want to do…
Upon arriving at the big restaurant that mainly sold roast duck, they looked at the menu and saw that one duck cost about eight yuan… Shu Ran initially felt happy, but after calculating the current purchasing power, he exclaimed: “It’s really expensive!”
Sure enough, it was not affordable for ordinary people. If the monthly salary was 30 yuan, one single duck would mean more than a quarter!
Hearing that Shu Ran disliked the high price of barely eight yuan, Xu Shen laughed softly: “One should be enough for the two of us.”
“Okay.” Shu Ran flipped through and ordered a few other side dishes, such as yellow peas and so on.
In the end, it turned out that the craftsmanship of the masters from forty years in the past was quite different. Shu Ran tasted it and felt it was okay. He was not disappointed, but Xu Shen smacked his lips in confusion: “The taste is not very amazing. Eight yuan is indeed expensive.”
Shu Ran took a sip of tea: “You’re paying for the brand. What people sell is not the product itself, but the reputation and effect. It’s just a strategy and any business can imitate it.”2I’m looking at me, the person who wanted to buy macarons in Paris, but instead of going to a random supermarket, decided to buy them from right next to the Louvre for 3 to 4 euros a piece!!!
“Understood.” Xu Shen nodded.
It was indeed the first time he came in contact with that concept, but once Shu Ran explained it to him, he was able to understand and draw inferences: “Do you want our brand to have that effect?”
“If possible…” Shu Ran thought to himself that it would be best to make money from luxury goods, but he didn’t know if the Chinese people would be willing to buy it. The same style and the same quality still had to compete for brand value…
Xu Shen ate most of the overly-priced duck by himself while thinking about the inspiration that dish brought to him.
He found that he still had a lot to learn. In the past, he thought that he possessed rich life experience but was actually just spinning in circles. After a hearty meal, the two of them strolled back slowly. Xu Shen realized that it felt so wonderful to have Shu Ran by his side, slowly exploring the world together.
How lucky I am. Indeed, how lucky.
“Brother Shen, what were you thinking about on the road just now?” Back in the hotel room, Shu Ran threw himself on the bed that had a spring mattress. He hadn’t slept on such a soft bed in a long time so… He decided to go back and get one at home. He even heard that rolling in the sheets on top of a spring mattress saved energy… Yes, it was mainly to save energy… Even though Xu Shen didn’t seem to be lacking in energy.
“I was thinking…” Xu Shen also laid down and put his arms across Shu Ran’s waist: “When I was a child, I always thought that I was here to suffer. I didn’t understand why I was born…”
Shu Ran looked at him sideways.
“It changed now.” Xu Shen smiled and stretched out his hand to trace Shu Ran’s lips: “I’m here to enjoy happiness, and I’m happy when you are here.”
“Then I will always accompany you and give you happiness.” Shu Ran kissed Xu Shen’s fingers.
After a tiring day, the two of them lay lazily for a while, then got up to wash and rest.
“Tomorrow morning, we will go to Chang’an Street first, then walk around the alleys and look at the courtyard houses.” Shu Ran asked: “Is this arrangement okay?”
Xu Shen kissed his mint-flavored lips: “It’s all up to you.”
After lying with his wife in his arms for a while, Xu Shen suddenly sighed: “This bed is too soft, I can’t get used to it…”
“Too bad.” Shu Ran said: “I still want to get one for home.”
Xu Shen looked at him with a smile: “You like it?”
“It’s quite comfortable.” Shu Ran leaned into Xu Shen’s ear and revealed: “I heard it saves effort and adds to the rhythm.”
Xu Shen licked the tip of Shu Ran’s lips: “Your husband is not afraid of effort.”
Shu Ran was inexplicably amused by that sentence. He knew Xu Shen would say it.
“Then you won’t have problems sleeping tonight, will you?” Shu Ran was quite worried, but if it didn’t work, they could only change hotels.
“Probably not.” Xu Shen closed his eyes and put his chin on his wife’s head: “I’ll try my best, please stop teasing me, and let’s go to sleep.”
Shu Ran shut his mouth. He was quite used to the soft bed and fell asleep quickly.
When Shu Ran woke up the next morning, he saw that Xu Shen had washed and hung up their dirty clothes. He thought of something and asked with concern: “Brother Shen, you haven’t slept all night, have you?”
“How is that possible?” Xu Shen looked at him: “I just woke up not long ago.”
Shu Ran felt relieved but still a little distressed. Xu Shen could sleep soundly no matter how bad the environment was, but he couldn’t adapt to a soft bed.
The two of them made arrangements, took their backpacks, and went out. First, they went to Chang’an Street for a walk. At this point, they had already missed the flag-raising ceremony, so they only wanted to pay homage to it from a distance on the roadside.3The Flag Raising Ceremony is a traditional military ceremony of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) which is done publicly on Tiananmen Square in the capital of Beijing. The People’s Republic of China with the leader Mao Zedong started this in 1954. The ceremony is conducted by the PLA’s Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion, which is part of the 1st Guard Division, Central Theater Command. It is done daily precisely at sunrise, with notable ceremonies taking place on National Day of the People’s Republic of China in October and New Year’s Day in January to honor the PRC flag
On the spacious and flat road, military jeeps passed by one after another, and no one knew who was sitting inside. After watching the excitement for a while, Shu Ran and Xu Shen took a taxi and left to find a real estate agent to learn about the current housing market.
Of course, the price was still very cheap… For people like Shu Ran and those who had money, a courtyard house in a good location only costs 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. For a courtyard house in a bad location, the price could be as low as 10,000 yuan. It was a bargain price, very dreamy.
Who would have thought that a courtyard house that costs only 20,000 to 30,000 yuan would be sold for hundreds of millions 40 years in the future?! Shu Ran thought for a moment and gasped. It was so exciting that he wanted to hold Xu Shen and lift him up!
Thinking that the customer thought it was expensive, the agent smiled bitterly: “It’s a bit expensive, but you have to think about it, this is the Capital of the Imperial City, and it may be worth more money in the future…”
But to be honest, it was not an easy sell.
Shu Ran thought to himself, you are right, it will be worth so much more in the future!
Back in those days, people didn’t have the concept of real estate speculation, and even the rich didn’t do it. Most courtyard houses were first-hand, passed down from ancestors, and were not easily circulated.
The agent was extremely surprised when he heard that Shu Ran wanted to buy several houses at once.
That guest was so young and so rich!
The house that Shu Ran and Xu Shen were interested in was located in an alley relatively close to the Forbidden City. All the houses in that area were more expensive, with prices as high as 60,000 to 70,000 yuan. However, the opportunity was rare, so, of course, Shu Ran gritted his teeth and bought it.
As for the other houses they really liked but didn’t have the money to buy… They could only continue to make money!
When going through the transfer procedures, the intermediary found out that they were from out of town: “Now that you can buy a house and settle down, why don’t you transfer your household registrations here?”
Indeed, Shu Ran remembered that the Capital used to have a small population. In order to promote development, there was a policy of buying houses and settling in after a period of time. Many people poured into the Capital to become residents.
“Brother Shen…” he looked at Xu Shen: “You say… Do you want to move?” Having a household registration in Beijing was naturally valuable, and opportunities were rare. In later generations, many people migrated to Beijing and struggled for half their lives just to settle down in the Capital.
The Capital City residence registration was the end of their domestic struggle, and further from there, they could only go abroad but… He would only do that under special circumstances so Shu Ran didn’t want to consider that path for now.
Just like what he said to Zhou Hui, he would only choose to go abroad upon encountering the worst-case scenario.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Shen nodded: “In any case, everyone will come to Beijing to develop, so let’s settle down if we can.”
Shu Ran sighed. His household registration had just been moved from the countryside to the county town. He had not been a city dweller for a few days, but now he was about to become a Beijinger again?!
“Okay, let’s move then.” Shu Ran said.
In that era, there were not as many handling fees for house transfers. The several courtyard houses they wanted to buy would be equally divided between the two of them. When the time came, the ownership would be transferred to Chen Kai and the others, and they would also move to Beijing and become the new generation of Beijing residents!
There were so many courtyard houses waiting to be bought, and the owner of one of them was particularly frustrated. He still wanted to meet and chat with the buyer before deciding whether to sell or not.
Although there was no objection to the price, Xu Shen didn’t understand the request. House buying and selling was all about money, and there was nothing good to say to people.
“After all, it’s something passed down from his ancestors…” Shu Ran understood. “People are afraid that me, an ignorant person, will buy it and waste it.”
So Shu Ran went to meet with the seller. The other party was a young scholar who wanted to sell his house to study abroad. It was very expensive to study abroad back in the 80s, otherwise, he wouldn’t need to sacrifice so much.
However, the moment he met Shu Ran, the landlord agreed to the sale. After a few chats, he was even happy that the house fell into Shu Ran’s hands.
“I’m leaving the house to you so that I can go abroad with peace of mind.” The owner of the house continued: “I hope that we will have a chance to meet when I return from my studies in the future.”
“May all your wishes come true!” Shu Ran blessed him, and then asked: “What major are you studying?”
The young man smiled: “Architecture.”
Shu Ran also smiled: “Oh, our country’s future pillars! It depends on you to build the motherland.”
Since there were so many specialties in the arts, Shu Ran had no urge to dive into a certain field and work hard. If he were still alone, he might also follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and go overseas to learn more skills and then come back to serve the motherland.
But he held a special kind of love in his hands, so let it be. They could only focus on making money since having enough money was always useful.
After finishing the transfer, Shu Ran asked the agent to help pay attention to some stores, since they still needed to rent a storefront and a warehouse. Everything was in full swing, and the sooner, the better.
After arriving in Beijing, they stayed in a hotel for a few days, feeling more and more uncomfortable everywhere. Xu Shen said to his wife: “I don’t want to live in a hotel anymore, and that courtyard house is too big for just the two of us. Let’s buy a normal house.” One that’s not too big or too small, around some popular small alleys.
Indeed, the courtyard house was too big, and it would be very scary for two people to live in it, by themselves. And it was not purchased to live in but… In preparation for the future exorbitant prices!
“Yes, that seems to be necessary.” The current hotel services were not user-friendly enough, so Shu Ran agreed to buy a “normal” house to live in first. He counted on his fingers: “It needs to be close to shops, convenient for traveling, and with good lighting. It’s best to be quiet in the middle of the hustle and bustle. There should be no noise sources around… Looking for a house like this is really complicated!”
Xu Shen nodded: “We need to be very careful about where we live.”
“Then you go and look, I’ll leave it all to you.” Shu Ran was the guardian of their family’s finances, but that was not always the case. He was also busy with other things: “I’m looking at the shops and warehouses.”
Although the plan had almost been implemented, they still wanted to rent in the most prosperous area, since the prices were still a bargain.
“Okay, leave it to me.” Xu Shen smiled, touched Shu Ran’s hair, and took over the matter: “I will put things in place for our family as soon as possible so that we can live more comfortably.”
Shu Ran nodded: “Okay!”
He didn’t want to act separately from Xu Shen, but it was a fact that that approach would be more efficient.
In the next few days, Shu Ran and Xu Shen went out early and came back late. They ran around all day long and only met each other when they returned to the hotel at night.
It was not something unusual. Back in Nanshi, Xu Shen often went to work in the factory, while Shu Ran stayed at home.
It would be great to have a mobile phone in the future. They could send messages, play videos, etc., even when they were separated from each other.
Xu Shen spent two or three days finding a house he liked in an old alley within the second ring road. It had a yard of about 100 square meters, and in a city where everything was small, that yard was considered big enough for two people.
The previous owner was a female painter who lived alone and took good care of the house. When she left, the courtyard was full of flowers and she also left behind some decorations she painted in the house.
Xu Shen took a fancy to the strong artistic atmosphere of that house and thought Shu Ran would definitely like it before buying it. Then he added some other things, including a telephone, TV, daily necessities, bedding, etc.
There was also a small bicycle that Xu Shen absolutely loved. He always found it convenient to have a bicycle, especially for traveling in alleys. After all the preparations were in place, Xu Shen picked up Shu Ran.
As soon as Shu Ran walked into the yard and saw the drunken butterflies and flowers in bloom in the yard, he laughed: “Brother Shen, why did you buy such a delicate house?”
Xu Shen followed him and said with a smile: “This was left behind by a female painter. Go inside and have a look. I think you’ll like it.”
“Okay, then I’ll go in.” Shu Ran went to look around. The new home’s aesthetics were online. It was indeed quite artistic… Could it be that Xu Shen was tempted to buy it just because of that?!
He asked worriedly: “Brother Shen, how much was the transaction price? You haven’t been cheated, have you?”
“Do I look so stupid?” Hearing that, Shu Ran was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Xu Shen continued: “It’s slightly higher than the market price by 20%, but it’s not considered a scam. It’s just a design fee. Anyway, I like it.”
Shu Ran: “…”
Come on… Art was indeed priceless, and the previous owner also left behind many practical things. For example, Xu Shen liked the new gas stove. He never had one back in Nanshi and immediately fell in love with it.
Not to mention, even though it was insignificant for them, the huge number of celebrities in various fields that were also living in that little alley…
![When the Sand Sculpture Protagonist Enters the World of Crematorium [Quick Transmigration]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/photo_2023-12-20_21-58-42.jpg "When the Sand Sculpture Protagonist Enters the World of Crematorium [Quick Transmigration]")
