NOVPUB
Chapter 407: 397
After the semester finals, the school completely closed for vacation, and Shen Yunfang returned home. Looking at the empty house, she had previously complained about being too busy, always either at school or dealing with the kids, without any time to rest. Suddenly having free time, she found herself unexpectedly at a loss, aimlessly wandering around the house, unsure of what to do next.
There were still over two weeks left of her child’s daycare program, and she did not plan to take the child out early. Therefore, she had to find something to do to occupy herself.
She began to wander the streets and alleys with a plan, firstly to see if there were any business opportunities. After all, opportunities come to those who are prepared, she reasoned. With free time on her hands, she could explore and learn about the local customs which might bring unexpected rewards from these few days of effort in the future. Of course, this was just her wishful thinking, with no scientific basis. Secondly, she was also casually looking to see if any homes were for sale nearby. Now that she had some money, it was just sitting there. If she could buy a couple more properties while the prices were low, she could look forward to a nice future as a landlord, even without doing anything else. Most importantly, she wanted to see if the winds of reform had begun to blow. This place is the Capital, after all, and closest to the nation’s political heart. Any ripples of change would surely be felt here first. She hoped to witness the emergence of private entrepreneurship.
The results were mixed. She didn’t spot any individual entrepreneurs but did learn of some houses for sale.
There were three houses up for sale, all of them single-story, and each was a small single-room unit of just over ten square meters. Shen Yunfang had looked at them herself. Well, how to put it—the accommodations weren’t even as good as the room she rented in S City. Moreover, the asking prices were far from cheap. The most expensive ones were in a four-sided courtyard, smack in the middle, showing signs of renovation. It appeared that it had been the main living room of the courtyard house, now partitioned off for living.
The room was roughly eighteen square meters, divided into four smaller rooms by the owners, a testament to how cramped their living conditions were. They were asking 1,200 yuan.
That made Shen Yunfang laugh. She had bought Old Lady Zhao’s entire courtyard house for only 1,800 yuan. Even if she got it on the cheap, that was still only a 1,800-yuan deal. This room was equivalent to one-ninth of an entire courtyard house. She didn’t believe property prices could have risen that fast in just six months.
"Your house seems a bit expensive," Shen Yunfang carefully remarked.
"How so? Ask around the neighborhood. What I’m asking for is still on the low side. Take it or leave it. If you’re not buying, believe me, I can sell this house tomorrow," the homeowner, a man in his forties, replied with a disdainful expression.
He had picked up on the fact that this young lady looking at the house wasn’t a local. So he named an exorbitant price, which was essentially taking advantage of outsiders.
Shen Yunfang glanced at his expression and felt she wasn’t so desperate to make her fortune from this house that she’d need to spend this much money and still be subject to someone’s attitude.
"Heh, it seems you’re not really keen on selling, uncle. Then let’s forget it. I’ll go look elsewhere," she said, about to leave.
The man across from her began to panic when he saw she was serious about leaving. "Hey hey, are you playing games with me? You’ve seen the house and now you say you’re not buying, are you just fooling around? That’s not okay. You can’t leave today without a solid reason," he shouted loudly, attracting other residents in the courtyard to come out and watch the excitement.
Shen Yunfang furrowed her brows. Was he trying to swindle her?
"So, uncle, you’re saying that if I come to see your house, I have to buy it? How many times must you have sold this house by now, huh?" Yunfang had not intended to get angry, but the arrogant demeanor of the man across from her was aggravating.
"Forget the nonsense. You said you wanted to buy a house, and I’ve been strung along by you for quite a while now. Then, out of blue, you say you’re not buying—that’s like playing me for a fool. Let me tell you, I have no trouble selling this place, and I don’t care if you buy or not. But leading me on like this isn’t right. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?" the man said, legs stretched out, with a carefree attitude.
"Wang Dahui is bullying people again," said Neighbor A, shaking his head.
"Exactly, he just targets girls because they are young," Neighbor B sympathetically remarked while watching the distressed girl.
"How many victims has it been this month? Wang Dahui could get rich off this," Neighbor C commented nonchalantly, as if he would do the same if he had the ability.
"Humph, just wait and see, one day he’s going to mess with the wrong person," said another under their breath.
Meanwhile, Shen Yunfang, surrounded by onlookers, stared down the man across from her, determined not to be polite with his kind, "So what explanation do you expect from me?"
Wang Dahui, believing he had scared the young woman, arrogantly said, "I took leave specifically to accompany you to see the house. Whether you buy it or not isn’t my concern, but shouldn’t you compensate me for my missed shift?"
Shen Yunfang nodded.
Thinking she had agreed, Dahui, with a devious gleam in his eye, shamelessly continued, "I was going to get a perfect attendance bonus this month, but because of you, I’ll miss out on that too. Shouldn’t you compensate me for this loss as well?"
Shen Yunfang nodded again and after a moment said, "Don’t you think that’s not enough? Do you have any bonus this year? Could today’s leave result in your workplace deducting from your bonus? Oh my, when you retire, will they also deduct from your pension?" 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Wang Dahui might be named ’tiger,’ but he wasn’t a real one. Mulling over Shen Yunfang’s words, he sensed something was off. He then glared with wide eyes and growled, "What’s this, you don’t want to pay?"
"Fine, I’ll pay if you say so, but I can’t give you the money now. If you really want it, let’s go to the police station and settle the account properly. I’ll file a report and we’ll thoroughly check if what you are saying is true. If it’s all true, I’ll pay you; if not, well, then I’ll have to calculate how much your wasting my time is worth." In the face of such bullying, one cannot show timidity; otherwise, it will only make the bully more arrogant.
When Dahui heard ’police station,’ panic flashed across his face, and Yunfang knew she had guessed right—Wang Dahui was probably not a first-time offender; he surely had a criminal record.
"Get lost, who has the time to go to some police station with you? This is my own matter, none of anyone’s business," Wang Dahui started to play tough. "I’m just asking you, will you pay now or not? Don’t blame me for hitting a woman if you don’t pay."
Ah, but Shen Yunfang was truly not afraid of him laying a hand on her, and she even held a slight anticipation for a skirmish.
Cough cough, ever since her physique became extraordinarily good, Comrade Li Hongjun, for safety reasons, had been giving her some special training whenever he had time—which often ended with the two of them rolling into bed together. But as the saying goes, constant dripping wears away a stone; after several years, she had picked up some basic fighting skills. Coupled with her extraordinary strength, she was more than capable of defending herself.
"I’ve already said it, I’ll pay at the police station. You expect me to fork out money just based on your empty words? Do you think I’m stupid? And let me tell you, if you dare to lay a finger on me, I’ll report you to the police station. There are so many people here as witnesses, I refuse to believe that there’s no law under heaven here in the Capital," Shen Yunfang declared with an air of stern righteousness.
