Chapter 117: Auntie's Treasure

Xu Yuexin wasn't in a hurry either.

He cast his gaze outside the door, quietly appreciating the early summer scenery in the courtyard, his entire demeanor calm and composed.

Shen Qingru was silent for a long time, but in the end, a trace of hesitation still flickered in her eyes.

"Two hundred twenty per square meter is impossible."

Shen Qingru looked at Xu Yuexin with gentle eyes as she spoke, as if seeking his understanding. "As for the exact price, I'll have to discuss it with my parents too."

"If it's convenient for you, why not come again tomorrow? I'll tell you the price then."

"How about it?"

Ha, everyone uses the 'discuss with family' trick when buying or selling a house.

Xu Yuexin laughed inwardly.

"Alright, I'll go and discuss it with my family too."

Xu Yuexin agreed. "Then I'll come back in three days?"

"Mm, I'll be here."

Shen Qingru nodded.

Setting aside his identity as a buyer, Shen Qingru found that chatting with Xu Yuexin was actually quite interesting.

This young man was polite in speech, well-informed, and knew quite a bit about history and culture.

Even if the deal didn't go through, it was nice to have a chat.

Back home, Xu Yuexin told Chen Qiaoqiao about today's negotiation results.

"Can you talk it down to three hundred?"

After hearing Xu Yuexin's words, Chen Qiaoqiao asked with eager eyes.

"We'll see. If it really won't work, a little over three hundred is acceptable too."

Xu Yuexin said after a moment's thought.

…

Three days later, Xu Yuexin arrived at Shen Qingru's house as promised.

Shen Qingru had put on a cheongsam again this time, one made of water-green satin, highlighting her mature womanly elegance and grace.

Seeing Xu Yuexin arrive, Shen Qingru brewed a cup of tea for him and one for herself.

After brewing the tea, Shen Qingru sat back down in the Huanghuali Wood Armchair, elegantly crossing her legs, the tips of her high heels lightly tapping the floor.

"Freshly picked Huangshan Maofeng Tea, have a taste."

She shifted her gaze toward the door and said lightly.

Xu Yuexin picked up the teacup, blew on it, and took a sip.

"Good tea."

Xu Yuexin affirmed. "Definitely not the kind you buy in the market."

"Mm, a friend from the Huizhou area sent it over."

Shen Qingru said without revealing anything.

Xu Yuexin nodded slightly and didn't say a word.

A friend who could get top-grade, freshly picked tea leaves was certainly no ordinary person.

Shen Qingru was indeed a woman of great cultivation. Some other people would probably be eagerly showing off their friend's status and position.

Just then, a light drizzle began to fall outside the window, sprinkling on the plantain and willow leaves in the main courtyard, making the scene even more beautiful.

"How did your discussion with your family go?"

Shen Qingru took a sip of tea and asked without changing her expression.

"My family's attitude is even more conservative than mine. And you?"

"My parents are also very insistent and won't budge."

"Then... it seems we can only regret it."

Xu Yuexin shook his head, pretending to be helpless.

"Let me think about it, whether I should make a decision on my own for once."

Shen Qingru rested her jade-white, smooth wrist on the table as she spoke.

Xu Yuexin remained silent, quietly looking at her.

A contemplative expression appeared on Shen Qingru's face. After a moment, she turned to Xu Yuexin, smiled gently, and said with a soft demeanor: "Three hundred eighty per square meter, I can't go any lower."

"Let me calculate."

Xu Yuexin said, and after doing some calculations, he shook his head.

"Seven hundred eight thousand six hundred, that's basically no reduction at all."

"That's quite a reduction. Xiao Xu, I think no one knows the value of this courtyard better than you."

"Thank you for the compliment, Aunt Shen. I remember you said you'd lower the price if you met someone who knew its worth?"

"I did lower it."

"Forget it, let's not talk about the unit price. Let's talk about the total price. Forty-five thousand, how about that?"

Xu Yuexin said crisply and decisively.

"No, that's far too low. It's almost half off."

"Xiao Xu, you're really putting me in a difficult position."

Shen Qingru gently refused.

This auntie was really interesting; even when refusing someone, her voice was soft and gentle.

She must be from the Suzhou area, right?

Xu Yuexin mused.

To ease the atmosphere, he asked Shen Qingru about her native place.

"Hey, how did you know I'm from Suzhou?"

Shen Qingru replied, a little surprised.

"Shen is a prominent Jiangnan surname; from the way you speak, it sounds like that region's accent."

"People often say Wu speakers have soft speech, and within the entire Wu Yu Qu, Suzhou dialect is the softest."

"You even know that."

Shen Qingru gave a faint smile, "The young fellow is truly quite erudite."

"It's rare to get along with you; how about this: I'll drop to a round number, 689,000, and we close at that price, okay?"

"No, Aunt Shen, it's less than a 20,000 drop; how did it become a round number?"

"From the seven‑digit to the six‑digit, huh? If I quote you this price, my parents back home won't be happy."

Xu Yuexin could see that Shen Qingru had truly hit her bottom line this time.

Given the current situation, getting her to lower further was exceedingly difficult.

The problem was that the 689,000 price was still far above the ceiling Xu Yuexin could bear.

At most 580,000; Xu Yuexin drew a red line for himself in his mind.

He would exhaust every means to cut the price below that figure.

"You're going abroad, right? May I ask if the Foreign Exchange has been arranged?"

Xu Yuexin switched the topic again, easing the stalemate.

"Not yet; I'm worrying about it."

Shen Qingru said with helplessness, "There are no Renminbi exchange channels in the United States, and I still don't know what to do."

"Amounts below 100,000 can be exchanged in Xiangjiang through a proxy, but over 100,000 I have no good solution."

Xu Yuexin saw a glimmer of hope.

The country has only just begun opening up abroad, and the frequency of external interactions cannot yet compare with later times; consequently, exchanging Foreign Exchange is very difficult. All European and American financial institutions still lack Renminbi exchange services. Mainland residents, if they need it, can only go through Xiangjiang, and the amount is limited.

Even a daughter of a prestigious family like Shen Qingru cannot obtain a sufficient amount of Foreign Exchange.

And that is precisely Xu Yuexin's opportunity.

He actually possesses a full 1.7 million Hong Kong Dollars in assets!

"Then, I buy your house with Foreign Exchange, how about that?"

Xu Yuexin looked at Shen Qingru and said.

Shen Qingru's beautiful eyes flickered slightly.

"What, you have Foreign Exchange? How much?"

"Enough to pay for your house."

"Then, we can discuss."

"Discuss price, right? I stick to that price: 450,000 Renminbi, which converts to 720,000 Hong Kong Dollars."

Xu Yuexin slightly lifted the corner of his mouth and said.

The initiative of this negotiation was now in his hands.

"450,000 is still too little; add a bit."

"450,001."

"……"

Shen Qingru looked at him, both laughing and crying, "Really, just a little more?"

"480,000, really."

"You know the value; I need not elaborate on the worth of this courtyard."

"I also urgently need Foreign Exchange, otherwise I would never agree to this price."

While saying this, Shen Qingru changed from her previously poised and elegant demeanor, speaking with a hint of urgency.

She still needs to buy a house and a car in the United States; 100,000 Hong Kong Dollars alone is nowhere near enough.

"460,000, cannot be more."

Xu Yuexin said firmly, "You should understand the preciousness of Foreign Exchange."

……

Shen Qingru fell silent, once again casting her gaze outside the courtyard.

The courtyard was already shrouded in misty rain; the heat generated by the raindrops formed clusters of thin fog, turning the yard into a white haze.

And her state of mind at that moment was like the misty rain, lost in confusion.

This was the ancestral home that her family had painstakingly built…

Really sell it for 460,000? Shen Qingru's outward composure returned, but the inner struggle grew more intense.

Xu Yuexin continued sipping tea, his gaze also fixed on the courtyard.

Without watching Shen Qingru's expression, he also knew her current state.

Urgency and lack thereof are relative.

When Xu Yuexin initially intended to pay with Renminbi, Shen Qingru was not at all urgent.

But once the payment method switched to Foreign Exchange, she became urgent.

Every class has its own weakness; Shen Qingru indeed comes from a prestigious family, and she truly embodies the gentle, generous, elegant demeanor expected.

Yin and Yang generate each other, which also means Shen Qingru cannot accept a modest life; even if she emigrates abroad, she must maintain a relatively high standard of living.

At that moment, she would be tethered by her own Foreign Exchange, falling into a passive position.

Xu Yuexin thought leisurely.

In the hall, time passed second by second.

Shen Qingru's gaze gradually showed a hint of unwillingness.

"Sigh, 460,000 is 460,000, the transfer fee is all yours."

Finally, Shen Qingru let out a long sigh and said.

"Split the fee half and half."

Xu Yuexin insisted.

"Half and half it is, the furniture is yours. I'll take all the antique calligraphy and paintings inside."

"Fine, deal. We'll find time later to go to Xiangjiang."

Xu Yuexin said, "Also Aunt Shen, I must remind you that the state issued a regulation two months ago: even personally owned precious antique calligraphy and paintings cannot be taken out of the country."

"What?"

Shen Qingru lifted her eyebrows slightly, her eyes startled as she said.

Shen Qingru has been busy handling overseas paperwork these two months and hasn't had time to pay attention to anything else.

Now that Xu Yuexin says these antique calligraphy and paintings cannot be taken away, it is a huge blow to her.

Shen Qingru's whole plan is shattered, her mind a tangled mess.

At that moment, Xu Yuexin's voice snapped her out of the chaotic thoughts.

"Let's continue talking about the house."

Xu Yuexin reminded, "We'll go to Xiangjiang with the Contract later, pay on the spot and sign."

"After that, you'll need to come back from Xiangjiang to cooperate with me on the transfer procedures."

"As for how many Hong Kong Dollars 460,000 People Renminbi converts to, we'll use the Exchange Rate on the day we sign the Contract. How does that sound?"

"Fine, I agree."

Shen Qingru forced herself to cut off the tangled thoughts and answered in one breath.

Regardless of any changes in cultural relic policies, she must first settle the house sale.

"Then it's settled, we'll process the Xiangjiang entry and exit procedures as soon as possible."

After speaking, Xu Yuexin stood up and walked to the hall's doorway.

In the courtyard the rain had stopped, fresh green banana leaves were dripping dew, and willow leaves fluttered lightly in the wind.

What a perfect early‑summer after the rain.

Feeling refreshed, Xu Yuexin turned back to Shen Qingru and said, "I'm leaving, goodbye."

"Ah."

Only then did Shen Qingru realize she hadn't seen him off, and she hurried to stand and said.

"I know you're upset about the cultural relic matter."

Seeing her still dazed, Xu Yuexin comforted, "You can keep them in the country, buy a house to store them."

"Think broadly, the state restricts relic export to preserve our national cultural heritage."

"Consider your ancestors; they surely wouldn't want the hard‑earned relics to end up abroad."

Shen Qingru's expression flickered slightly at Xu Yuexin's words.

"Hmm, you make sense. I never intended to sell the antique calligraphy and paintings abroad."

"I just wanted to keep them close, to see them all the time."

"Perhaps they don't belong to me, but to this land."

After pondering Xu Yuexin's words, Shen Qingru's eyes became light again, "Reluctant to part, yet I must make the right decision."

…

After seeing Xu Yuexin off, Shen Qingru returned to the Guogong Mansion Main Hall bedroom and carefully examined each precious calligraphy and painting inside.

Here are Ming‑dynasty Xu Wei's "Plum Blossom and Banana Leaf Painting", a rare Tang Sancai Phoenix-Headed Pot, and Wang Anshi's solitary anthology…

What should be done with them…

(End of chapter)