"Sigh, I drove all the way back from Guangdong and haven't had a break. I'm so tired. Sis, I'm going to bed now. You can cook a couple more dishes and heat up the rice, then take it upstairs to Brother Zhou. He hasn't eaten yet."
As Zhuang Rui spoke, he stood up and walked towards his room. What a joke! He had already been bombarded with questions by Qin Xuanbing's mother once, and his older sister was much more formidable than her.
"Honestly, why didn't you call others down for dinner? Never mind that, go to sleep. Hey, wait a minute, Xiao Rui, get back here! You haven't answered my question yet!"
Zhuang Min was met with the sound of Zhuang Rui slamming the door shut, which angered her so much that she went over and kicked it twice. The person inside the room, of course, pretended to be dead and didn't hear it.
Zhuang Rui had been through a lot these past few days. The continuous stone-cutting had kept his nerves on edge. This fatigue was different from physical fatigue; it was something that spiritual energy couldn't eliminate. Now that he was back home in his familiar room, he immediately relaxed and slept for more than ten hours. If it weren't for his phone ringing, he probably would have slept until the afternoon.
Hello, who is this?
Zhuang Rui didn't even open his eyes. He followed the sound, reached for his phone from the bedside table, and asked groggily.
"Are you in Pengcheng? Still sleeping? Get up quickly, I'll take you to handle the formalities. I have to rush to Beijing at noon, but I don't have time..."
Song Jun's voice came from the phone, startling Zhuang Rui awake. He drew back the curtains and looked out the window, only to find the sun already high in the sky, its intense rays flooding the room and instantly brightening it.
As Zhuang Rui put on his clothes, he said into the phone, "Brother Song, I drove back. I'm leaving now. Where are you?"
"Drive directly to the Housing Management Bureau in Yunlong District later. I'll wait for you here. Hurry up, okay? Don't forget your ID card..."
Song Jun really had an urgent matter. His father hadn't been feeling well yesterday and couldn't get out of bed today. If it weren't for Zhuang Rui's matter, Song Jun would have taken a plane to Beijing this morning.
"Xiao Rui, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry? Drive carefully."
Zhuang Rui hurriedly brushed his teeth, grabbed a wet towel and wiped his face haphazardly. Without even eating breakfast, he ran downstairs, causing his mother to think something had happened and chase after him to ask.
Zhuang Rui reversed the car, leaned out of the window, and said, "Okay, Mom, it's nothing, I'll be back in a bit."
When Zhuang Rui arrived at the Housing Management Bureau, Song Jun was already getting restless. When he saw Zhuang Rui come in, he pulled him over, took out a stack of documents from his bag, spread them on the table, and said, "You have to sign each one. There's ink pad over there. Put your fingerprint on your name. I've already arranged everything regarding the property certificate. You can get the certificate in three days."
"Thank you, Brother Song. By the way, why are you in such a hurry to get back to Beijing?"
Zhuang Rui waited almost two months to get the property certificate for the house he bought in China Overseas, but he didn't expect it to be done in just three days here. He knew that Song Jun had used his connections to get it done so quickly.
"My grandfather isn't in good health, shouldn't I, as the eldest grandson, go back? Alright, if you want to thank Brother Song, come with me to Myanmar next year..."
Before Zhuang Rui could reply, Song Jun glanced at his watch and continued, "I'm leaving now. You can fill out those forms. By the way, this villa only cost 15.2 million. I won't give you the remaining 800,000. Keep the key. There are some items left in the villa that are worth your money."
Song Jun took out a large bunch of keys and the remote control for the garage door lift from his bag and placed them on the table. It wasn't that he wanted to embezzle Zhuang Rui's hundreds of thousands of yuan; he simply didn't have time to go to the bank to transfer the money to him.
Zhuang Rui felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, knowing that he must have delayed Song Jun's time. As he got up to see Song Jun out, Zhuang Rui asked, "Brother Song, is the old man alright? Should I go with you to check on him? I brought back some Tibetan medicine from Tibet."
Zhuang Rui was thinking that if he could see the old man and send him some spiritual energy from a few meters away, even if it didn't cure him, it could at least alleviate his condition. Moreover, as long as he didn't have physical contact with Song Jun's grandfather, no one would suspect that he was the one who was affected.
"He doesn't have any serious illness, he's just getting old, and with some old injuries from the war years, his health is deteriorating day by day. It's alright, don't worry. When you go to Beijing to study, I'll take you to meet the old man."
Song Jun knew that the old man's illness was a serious matter. He didn't take the Tibetan medicine Zhuang Rui mentioned to heart. What good medicine couldn't be found in Beijing? Besides, even his grandson had to go through a check to see the old man, let alone bring anyone else in.
Instead of letting Zhuang Rui drive him, Song Jun hailed a taxi and hurriedly headed to the airport.
Zhuang Rui turned around and went back to the Housing Management Bureau. After filling out the documents and forms, he handed them in through the window in the service hall and received a receipt. Since all the money had been paid, the villa now belonged to him.
Chapter 234 The New Home (Part 2)
Modern people live in pigeonhole-like houses in steel cities. Naturally, they all yearn for the idyllic scenery of lakes and mountains. Yunlong Villa is surrounded by mountains and water, with extremely beautiful scenery, making it a dream home for all the people of Pengcheng.
Zhuang Rui was no exception. Holding the key to the villa, he felt an urge to go and check it out immediately. However, remembering that he had just told his mother he would be home soon and was afraid she would worry, Zhuang Rui drove home after completing the formalities.
Just as Zhuang Rui drove out of the housing management bureau's gate, his phone rang. He pulled over to the side of the road and answered the call.
"I have to say, you're really not a good friend. You went back to Pengcheng yesterday without even saying goodbye. If Zhou Rui hadn't called me just now, I wouldn't have known..."
Liu Chuan's loud voice came through the phone. This guy was eagerly awaiting Zhuang Rui's return, or rather, Zhou Rui's, since Zhou Rui wasn't there. He had to look after the mastiff kennel and couldn't leave. Besides, he'd practically been calling Zhuang Rui's phone non-stop since he couldn't go to Guangdong to meet Lei Lei.
"Alright, stop talking nonsense. I'm going home right away. You can come over now. We'll have lunch together. Oh, and buy some cooked dishes. Don't make my mom cook for you again."
Zhuang Rui interrupted Liu Chuan before he could finish speaking. This guy could be even more long-winded than the neighborhood committee aunties downstairs.
When Zhuang Rui drove his car downstairs, he saw the rather flashy Hummer and couldn't help but call Liu Chuan again, asking him to come down. The reason was simply that he needed Liu Chuan's help with some manual labor.
Zhuang Rui then thought of the red jadeite rough stone in his car. He couldn't leave it in the car forever. It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried about carrying a rough stone worth hundreds of millions every day. Now that he thought about it, he decided to move it to the old house first, and then find a way to go there to cut it open once the villa was properly renovated.
This rough stone is quite large, weighing over 100 kilograms, which Zhuang Rui couldn't move by himself.
"You're already downstairs. Why don't you just go upstairs and finish? Why did you call me down again?"
Liu Chuan, wearing baggy beach shorts and flip-flops, ran downstairs. He had only been there a few minutes and was just thinking of cooling off in the air conditioning when Zhuang Rui's phone call brought him down.
"Goodness, ancient ships used ballast stones, are you going to put a whole rock on your car while driving?"
Upon seeing the raw stone revealed after the seat was lifted, Liu Chuan gasped. The stone was quite large; Zhuang Rui would have to push it out little by little from the inside.
"Xiao Rui, why did you bring a rock home?"
When Zhuang's mother saw the two men struggling to carry a stone into the house, she was startled.
"Mom, the money I used to buy this villa all came from the stones."
After Zhuang Rui hid the wool fabric under his bed, he began to explain to his mother.
"Godmother, Mu Tou really made a fortune this time. He won a hundred million yuan gambling on stones."
Liu Chuan added fuel to the fire, saying that he was extremely regretful for not being able to go to Guangdong. He wished he had gone to be Zhuang Rui's driver himself, then he would have definitely gotten a share of the profits.
"As long as it's not illegal, money is just a number. Da Chuan, call Xiao Zhou down, let's eat..."
After listening to Zhuang Rui's explanation, Zhuang's mother said calmly that she knew her son had been good at managing money since he was a child and wouldn't spend money recklessly.
After helping his mother set out the food, Zhuang Rui said, "Mom, shall we go look at the house together in a bit? I got the keys."
"I want to go too! I want to stay in my uncle's new house!"
Before Zhuang's mother could answer, the little girl raised her hand high, as if afraid that she would be forgotten.
"Okay, everyone go."
Mrs. Zhuang smiled. Since her granddaughter moved in, the house has become much more lively, and Mrs. Zhuang's smiles have become much more frequent.
After lunch, Zhuang Rui and Liu Chuan drove two cars, taking Zhuang Rui's mother and daughter Zhuang Min, as well as Zhou Rui, along to familiarize themselves with the place. Zhao Guodong, who worked at the auto repair shop, also drove over from there, showing how important Zhuang Rui's villa was to them.
The property management office of Yunlong Villa was very efficient. After Song Jun helped Zhuang Rui acquire the villa, they received a notification that the owner of Villa No. 18 had changed to a person named Zhuang Rui. So when the car arrived at the entrance of Yunlong Villa, Zhuang Rui showed his ID card and drove the car in directly. The treatment was much better than the last time he came.
"Wow, this...this is even better than Brother Song's villa! Mu Tou, you have to save me a room. Lei Lei and I can come and stay here whenever we want. Damn it, I should have asked Brother Song to buy one like this too."
Liu Chuan parked his car at the gate outside the villa, looked inside through the gate, and couldn't help but exclaim.
"Da Chuan, you're not allowed to swear..."
Liu Chuan stuck out his tongue at Zhuang's mother's words. Seeing Zhuang Rui open the door with the remote control, he quickly slipped inside, not wanting to be scolded by Zhuang's mother with his ear pulled.
The villas at Yunlong Villa are divided into several grades, varying in size. This particular villa had a swimming pool, but the previous owner had renovated it into a pond with a five- or six-meter-high artificial hill in the middle. A water circulation system was implemented from the top of the hill, creating a small but beautiful waterfall that flows from the top into the pond. The water is clear, and the willow trees along the pond droop into the water, providing a sense of coolness even in the hot summer.
Pavilions and terraces in the distinctive Jiangnan style were built around the artificial hill, while the corridors were constructed of transparent, high-strength glass. Standing above the pond, watching the schools of fish swimming below, one almost feels as if they are in a Jiangnan water town. One's mood will naturally improve.
The villa not far away is a three-story building surrounded by many tall trees, with some vines twining around the thick trees, creating a feeling of being in a tropical rainforest. Although we haven't entered the villa yet, the view outside is already breathtaking.
Although the pond wasn't very big and there weren't many trees, they blended together harmoniously. Even Zhuang Rui hadn't expected this villa to be so unique. The 15 million yuan was definitely well spent.
"Xiao Rui, this place is really... nice..."
Once inside, even the usually composed Mrs. Zhuang couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of the villa's former owner. It was a state of mind that money alone couldn't buy.
"Nannan, don't go fishing, be careful not to fall in."
Zhuang Min was startled when she saw her daughter running towards the pond. She quickly followed, only to find a low railing along the edge of the pond that even a four- or five-year-old child couldn't climb over, let alone her daughter. The little girl jumped up and down, pointing at the fish in the pond and shouting something indistinctly.
The white lion, which couldn't move around much in Zhuang Rui's house, started wandering all over the yard, running around every corner. It seemed to know that this was now its territory, and it occasionally let out excited growls, which startled the fish in the pond, causing them to quickly dive downwards.
"Mom, let's go inside and take a look."
Seeing that the group was lingering in the courtyard, Zhuang Rui spoke up, expressing his curiosity. He wondered what items Song Jun had left him, something he claimed was worth 800,000, and judging from Song Jun's tone, it seemed to be worth even more.
After opening the villa's door with his key, a cool breeze immediately blew out. The air conditioning, which had been shut off, was turned back on after Zhuang Rui became the homeowner. Zhuang Rui was very satisfied with the management office's work.
The entrance to the villa leads directly to the living room, which is laid out similarly to Song Jun's room. However, apart from four old-fashioned chairs and the original decorations, there is nothing else in the room, making it seem empty. Presumably, all the furniture has been moved away.
Zhuang Rui didn't care about that. Emptying the place would be a good opportunity to rearrange things. He wouldn't feel comfortable using other people's things anyway.
Besides the living room, there are three rooms on the first floor, which should be a storage room and a maid's room. They are also empty. There are four rooms on the second and third floors. What surprised Zhuang Rui the most was that the ceiling of one of the rooms on the top floor of the villa was glass. You could lie in bed and look up at the night sky. It seems that the previous owner was a very romantic person.
Zhuang Rui searched for a long time but couldn't find the items Song Jun had mentioned. After returning to the living room on the first floor, Zhuang Rui had a sudden thought and walked towards the few yellowed chairs.
When the spiritual energy seeped into the chairs, Zhuang Rui could tell that the delicate wood grain contained a faint spiritual energy. He was certain that the items Song Jun was referring to were these huanghuali chairs.
In recent years, antique furniture made of huanghuali wood has become very popular. A square huanghuali table from the Ming Dynasty can be worth millions of yuan. These four chairs are probably from the Qing Dynasty, but their price is likely to be far more than 800,000 yuan.
Seeing all this, Zhuang Rui became curious about the villa's former owner. The villa's exterior and interior decoration were beyond the imagination of ordinary businessmen. He checked the time; it was already past noon. Zhuang Rui took out his phone and dialed Song Jun's number.
"Brother Song, is the old man alright?"
Zhuang Rui felt particularly hypocritical at this moment. He clearly wanted to ask about the villa, but he had to find another excuse.
"It's nothing, he's probably just happy to see his eldest grandson. The old man can get out of bed now..."
As soon as Song Jun finished speaking, Zhuang Rui heard a burst of mocking laughter coming from the side through his phone, which he found somewhat amusing.
Zhuang Rui suppressed a laugh and said, "Brother Song, I have a question for you. What did the previous owner of that villa you helped me buy do?"
Chapter 235 You can also find bargains when buying a house
"Hey bro, you've come to the right person. Most people wouldn't know this..."
Song Jun seemed to have left the room with his phone, and the background noise from the receiver had decreased considerably.
"Let me tell you, if you hadn't been thinking about buying a house, I would have bought that villa myself. You're lucky, kid. Nobody has lived in that house since it was renovated. The previous owner was a real bastard..."
Song Jun told Zhuang Rui everything he knew over the phone, which made Zhuang Rui overjoyed. He hadn't expected that no one had lived in the villa before; it was like paying the price of a second-hand house for a fully furnished villa.
"You can even find bargains when buying a house?"
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui was still somewhat incredulous, but the smile that never left his face showed that he was in a very good mood.
The previous owner of this villa was truly unlucky. He was the vice-president of a university in Pengcheng and a well-known architect in the country. He had many outstanding works in various cities and was not old, just fifty years old, in the prime of his life.
Perhaps because he had been in university for too long, he was restless and decided to take a break. He was transferred to another city as vice mayor, with the same rank as before, although both were at the deputy provincial level. However, in his new position, he was the executive vice mayor in charge of urban construction and transportation, a position that was a good fit for his major. The newly appointed vice mayor should have made a name for himself.
However, the former principal and the current newly appointed deputy mayor, although he was exceptionally talented and originally took office to support local development, was far less resistant to temptations. After taking office, he was surrounded by glitz and glamour and endless drinking and socializing, and gradually lost himself. He felt that the first fifty years of his life had been wasted, and he had not grasped the true meaning of life.
Besides the finance bureau, the urban construction and transportation systems are the most important government departments in a city. Once the deputy mayor relaxes his self-discipline, all sorts of temptations will follow. He lives a carefree life, maintaining his marriage at home while having affairs outside, seemingly younger than himself.