dkrc Chapter 10 The storefronts near the school gate
Chapter 10 The storefronts near the school gate
The next day at noon, on the third floor of the cafeteria.
When Li Si'an arrived, Zhang Ziyi had already taken a seat by the window, with three bottles of Beibingyang soda in front of her. She was wearing a faded denim jacket, her hair was tied in a ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead, and she was idly tapping the table with her chopsticks.
"Where is she?" She looked up at Li Si'an. "Where's Tang Yun, the one you mentioned?"
"Coming right away." Li Si'an sat down, took a bottle of Beibingyang soda, pried open the cap, and took a sip.
As soon as she finished speaking, a tall figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Tang Yun was wearing a light gray-white coat, her hair was loose, and she walked with her head slightly lowered, as if afraid of making eye contact with someone. She glanced around the cafeteria, saw Li Si'an waving at her, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over.
"Sit down." Li Si'an gestured with his chin toward the seat opposite Zhang Ziyi.
Tang Yun sat down, glanced at Zhang Ziyi, and then quickly looked away.
Zhang Ziyi boldly sized her up—from her face to her shoulders, from her shoulders to her chest, her gaze lingering there for a moment before returning to her face with a somewhat ambiguous smile.
"You're Tang Yun? From the second class of folk dance?"
"Mmm," Tang Yun said softly.
"My name is Zhang Ziyi, I'm in Class 1." Zhang Ziyi pushed a bottle of Beibingyang soda in front of her. "He's treating you to soda."
Upon hearing this, Li Si'an raised an eyebrow: "Weren't you treating?"
Yesterday we agreed that he would give Zhang Ziyi a commission for delivering gift cards, and she would treat everyone to a meal after making her money. How did it suddenly become him paying?
Zhang Ziyi gave him a defiant look: "You've invited such a beautiful woman to dinner today, how can you let me pay for it?"
Li Si'an was taken aback by her words, looked at Tang Yun, then at Zhang Ziyi, and finally sighed.
"You stingy bastard, you make money but don't even treat people to meals, you just want to take advantage of me."
"Who tricked you? I'm just stating the facts." Zhang Ziyi picked up her soda bottle, took a sip, and smiled triumphantly.
Tang Yun sat beside them, watching the two bicker. Her lips moved slightly, and she couldn't help but smile.
Li Si'an didn't argue with her anymore. She took the menu and ordered four dishes: shredded pork with garlic sauce, Kung Pao chicken, braised eggplant, and tomato and egg soup. They were all dishes that would go well with rice, inexpensive, and plentiful.
While waiting for their food, the three chatted casually. Zhang Ziyi did most of the talking, Tang Yun occasionally chimed in, and Li Si'an interjected with jokes.
"What have you been busy with lately?" Li Si'an asked Zhang Ziyi.
"Preparing for the competition," Zhang Ziyi sighed. "The National Dance Competition in May. I'm in the rehearsal room every day; my legs are about to break."
"Then why did you go out to eat?"
"How could I not come out when you've brought me money?" Zhang Ziyi said matter-of-factly. "Besides, even if I'm busy, I still have to eat."
Zhang Ziyi picked up a piece of eggplant and stuffed it into her mouth. Suddenly remembering something, she asked Tang Yun, "By the way, how's the rehearsal for your May Fourth performance going?"
Before Tang Yun could speak, Li Si'an interjected, "Don't even mention it. They brought in everyone they could from the music competition, regardless of their abilities, just to make up the numbers. It's like forcing a duck onto a shelf."
Zhang Ziyi laughed: "Then is your show even watchable?"
"Whether we can see it or not is another matter, just getting on stage is a victory." Li Si'an smiled.
The dishes were served. The three of them started eating, and after a while, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
Zhang Ziyi asked Tang Yun, "What are you doing during your May Day holiday?"
"I don't know," Tang Yun said. "He's probably at school."
"If you're free, come visit our rehearsal hall," Zhang Ziyi said. "Anyway, you're in the folk dance class, so you can watch us practice and exchange ideas."
Tang Yun glanced at her, neither agreeing nor refusing, and softly hummed in agreement.
Li Si'an didn't interrupt. He lowered his head and ate his food, thinking that Zhang Ziyi was indeed a good person—warm-hearted, unpretentious, she would invite him to dinner if she wanted, and make friends if she wanted. Tang Yun should become more cheerful after spending more time with her.
After finishing their meal, Zhang Ziyi went to the counter to pay the bill—in the end, she paid for it herself, proving that Li Si'an's "stingy" comments weren't in vain. Li Si'an and Tang Yun went downstairs first.
When Tang Yun reached the corner of the stairs, she suddenly stopped.
"Li Si'an".
"Um."
"Zhang Ziyi is... a very good person."
"Of course," Li Si'an said, hands in her pockets. "How could someone I introduce be bad?"
Tang Yun glanced at him, her lips twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything and quickened her pace.
With no classes in the afternoon, Li Si'an strolled alone on the street near the school gate.
The sun was already quite strong at the end of April, making people feel lazy. He walked from east to west, passing by Little Fatty's Grocery Store, the auto repair shop, the photocopy shop, the Lanzhou ramen shop, and the dumpling restaurant, counting them one by one.
When he reached the westernmost end, he noticed that the second-to-last stage costume store was closed.
The roller shutter door was half-drawn, the shop window was empty, and the inside was dark. A white piece of paper was pasted on the door frame with the words "For Sale" written in red, and a landline number was left below.
Li Si'an stood there and watched for a minute.
He wrote down the number and looked around the street—across the street was the gate of the Affiliated High School of Beijing Dance Academy, a few hundred meters to the east was Minzu University, and further ahead was Capital Normal University. This location, with shops downstairs and residences upstairs, couldn't be more perfect.
He had heard people talk about the price of these houses before; the ones directly opposite the school gate were more expensive, around 16 or 7 yuan.
This apartment is for sale; because it's a bit west-facing, I estimate you can get it for around 15 to 6.
Li Si'an didn't hesitate at all and immediately decided to buy the house.
He squatted on the curb, doing some mental calculations. 150,000 to 160,000. He now had over 120,000 in his hands.
I started doing magnetic card business last May, and from July onwards I earned a little over 10,000 yuan every month. By March of this year, after nine months I had saved up nearly 100,000 yuan.
I've saved over 20,000 yuan in royalties since I started writing in 1993. Adding it all up, it's over 120,000 yuan, less than 30,000 yuan short of 150,000.
But buying a house isn't just about paying the down payment. Simple renovations and furniture also cost money.
He needs to set aside working capital. So the amount he needs to borrow can't just be 30,000; he needs to borrow 50,000, so he can still have more than 20,000 left and won't feel anxious.
Li Si'an stood up, dusted off his pants, and decided to make a phone call that evening.
Around 7 p.m., Li Si'an borrowed a phone from the reception room and dialed the number on the note.
It rang four times before I answered. It was a woman's voice, with a southern accent, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Hello, I saw the sign for your house that says it's for sale, and I'd like to ask about it."
"Oh, that house." The woman paused. "Are you a real estate agent or a private individual?"
"personal."
"Then come and see the apartment tomorrow. The price is negotiable. My surname is Zhou. Just call this number when you arrive."
"Aunt Zhou, may I ask how much it costs approximately?"
"160,000. If you're really serious about it, I can give you a discount."
Li Si'an didn't haggle, said "See you tomorrow," and hung up the phone.
He leaned against the wall of the reception room, stared at the fluorescent light on the ceiling for a while, then picked up the phone and dialed the Hong Kong number.
It rang several times before I answered it.
"Feed?" Zhou Weilan's voice had a slight Cantonese accent.
"Mom, it's me."
"Si'an?" Her voice suddenly rose. "Why did you suddenly decide to call Mom? Did something happen?"
"No, no. I just wanted to discuss something with you."
"you say."
"I've found a storefront I like across from the school; it costs 160,000. I have 120,000 on hand, and I'd like to borrow 50,000 from you."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
"You're buying a house? You're only sixteen, what are you buying a house for?"
"I bought the house next to the school; the ground floor is a storefront, and the upper floor is for living. I'll live there myself now, so I won't have to stay in the dormitory anymore. The storefront will be empty for now; I'm thinking of opening a shop during the summer vacation."
It was quiet for a while.
"Where did you get over 120,000 yuan?"
Li Si'an briefly explained to her over the phone: the magnetic card business started in May of last year, and from July onwards, the monthly income was more than 10,000 yuan. By March of this year, he had saved nearly 100,000 yuan; plus the royalties he had been saving since 1993, more than 20,000 yuan, for a total of more than 120,000 yuan.
After listening, Zhou Weilan remained silent for a few seconds. When she spoke again, her voice had changed; it no longer had that raised quality.
"Is 50,000 enough?"
That's enough.
"Okay. Here you go, Mom."
"It's not a gift, it's a loan. I'll pay you back once the shop opens."
"Okay. I'll lend it to you." She paused for a moment, "But I'm in Hong Kong, how can I give you the money?"
"Call your uncle and ask him to pay for it first. You can pay him back later."
"Okay. I'll call tomorrow."
"Thank you, Mom."
"Si'an".
"Um."
Does your uncle know about your house purchase?
"I haven't told him yet. I'm telling you first."
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then Zhou Weilan chuckled softly, it was hard to tell whether it was from happiness or something else.
"Okay. I'll call him tomorrow."
Li Si'an hung up the phone and sat in the gatehouse for a while longer. The streetlights were on outside the window, and the playground was empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.
He looked at the number on the slip of paper again, folded it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
I'm going to look at apartments tomorrow.