Chapter 277: with translation of chapter title

0271 Money, doesn't matter (5/5 for Alliance Leader Lurenyi bonus chapter 9)

Noon, the sunshine was splendid.

Pedestrian traffic on the street was sparse, especially young people.

This is an ordinary scene against the backdrop of the great southward migration of population; those abandoned small towns in the former Soviet Union's Siberian region might be Hai Cheng's future.

Li Xiaochen looked at Xie Yiren across from him, brimming with youthful vigor, and felt a sigh rise in his heart.

Zheng Lao Ban is really lucky; in such a poor, remote area, he managed to find this instrument nurse. Not talking about skill, just based on appearance, Li Xiaochen can affirm this is someone who can make a living off their looks.

Moreover, she has money, so it seems poaching her will be difficult.

But what does it matter? Hai Cheng is a remote third- or fourth-tier city; even with money, how much can there be? In Li Xiaochen's mind, there's no one who can't be poached—only a difference in how much money you throw at it.

I need to poach Zheng Ren before Professor Rudolf Wagner summons him to the capital; if Zheng Ren makes a second trip to the capital, poaching him would become astronomically expensive.

In the face of such astronomical sums, the small-time moguls of third- and fourth-tier cities are nothing but dust.

"Cough cough. Miss Xie, are you satisfied with lunch?" Li Xiaochen glanced at the time; it was almost the moment Xie Yiren had said she'd arrive, so he prepared to get down to business.

"I'm full." Xie Yiren smiled, like a flower; every casual gesture and word brimmed with vitality, adorable to the extreme.

"Beautiful Miss Xie, may I have five minutes of your time to express my admiration for you?" Li Xiaochen said in his broken translation tone.

He was used to American English, but after returning home he had to pick up Mandarin again; mixing the two resulted in this way of speaking.

If he were facing the department head, he would surely summon a hundredfold spirit and speak standard Mandarin; but facing Xie Yiren, a young girl, Li Xiaochen still felt somewhat relaxed.

"Admiration?" Xie Yiren exclaimed in surprise.

"He's trying to persuade you to jump ship to another hospital," Xie Yiren's classmate explained with a laugh.

"Oh, you say that's fine, but I don't actually want to jump ship." Xie Yiren had a dazed, cute look, pure as a cup of plain water.

"Hai Cheng is merely a corner of this great nation—remote, desolate, utterly lacking vitality." Li Xiaochen said: "A beautiful girl like you ought to be in a first-tier city, freely enjoying your youth."

"Oh, you mean play? When I was little I was especially fond of play; before I turned ten, while my dad was still working, I traveled the whole country with my mom." Xie Yiren said innocently: "As for touring the world, I think it's still too early; going too much would also get boring. Perhaps in a few years I'll consider your suggestion."

"No, no." Li Xiaochen felt helpless, but his smile didn't change; he urged: "A bustling city means lots of opportunities; I think you haven't fully planned your future yet."

"Future? No need, no need." Xie Yiren laughed: "My dad said all I need is to grow up healthy and happy; nothing else is necessary."

Li Xiaochen stared in disbelief……

But he knew that the Chinese mindset is to raise sons frugally and daughters lavishly.

Quite helpless.

"But you still chose to be an Operating Room instrument nurse; this job is hard and tiring, requires night shifts, and the pay isn't much—I think you have your own ideas." Li Xiaochen hadn't given up, probing Xie Yiren's bottom line.

"It's a hobby," Xie Yiren said cheerfully: "I don't have a special fondness for blood and organs, except when eating hot pot. I like being an instrument nurse because each successful Shou Bing gives me a special sense of achievement."

Seeing Xie Yiren's radiant expression, Li Xiaochen felt especially helpless.

This girl is probably spoiled by her family, utterly unconscious of life's hardships.

"But before, when I worked with other doctors, their skills were average, and I really felt troubled. At that time I also considered going to Di Du or Modu."

Xie Yiren's words gave Li Xiaochen a glimmer of hope again.

"But after seeing Zheng... Zheng Ren's Shou Bing, I dismissed that idea." Xie Yiren hesitated a moment, not addressing Chief Zheng but calling Zheng Ren directly, her smile blooming like a mountain flower.

"No wonder you became Zheng Lao Ban's instrument nurse." Li Xiaochen smiled: "This time I came to Hai Cheng as the full-power representative of Shunmei Resources' Haixia Hospital, to invite Zheng Lao Ban and you to work at Haixia Hospital."

"Oh, I don't care; as long as Zheng Ren is happy." Xie Yiren said.

"..." This "doesn't matter" attitude is truly impeccable; Li Xiaochen felt increasingly helpless.

But he still hadn't given up; after a few seconds of silence he said again: "We have a good medical environment and compensation commensurate with your level."

"Money, that's not important." Xie Yiren had no concept of money: "My family owns a lot of real estate—for example, the building we're eating in now, the title belongs to my family."

"..." Li Xiaochen's jaw nearly dropped.

Although this is a third- or fourth-tier small city, a CBD building in the downtown area—what's its worth? If sold, at least Xie Yiren could grow up healthy and happy without problem.

Indeed, she's really rich, Li Xiaochen lamented, but he still wanted to try.

"That's not how to put it." Li Xiaochen smiled: "The international financial crisis is about to erupt; the domestic economy will tighten. Super-first-tier and first-tier city property prices may stabilize, but third- and fourth-tier city prices will surely plummet straight down. How low the bottom will be depends on the amount of population outflow."

"Oh, that's also irrelevant." Xie Yiren and Li Xiaochen weren't even on the same wavelength when they spoke.

"I think, whether out of your hobby or to prepare for the financial crisis, we should find a..."

"No need, I think my family also has property in Di Du." Xie Yiren pondered, then said: "Since property in Di Du won't lose value, that'll do."

"Di Du..." Li Xiaochen stared in disbelief; property prices in Di Du were nearly catching up to New York's, yet her family actually had real estate there?

"Let me think." Xie Yiren propped her chin, tilted her head in thought: "Right, it seems the CBD at Sunshine 100 on the Third Ring Road is my family's."

Li Xiaochen nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

My own studio in Di Du is actually right inside Sunshine 100 CBD.

Third Ring Road, near Chaoyang Park.

An apartment of a few dozen square meters commands a yearly rent that's astronomical.

She actually said the whole CBD belongs to her family?

Xie Yiren recalled: "It seems when I was just born, my dad happened to be acquiring property in Di Du; in the 1990s it apparently wasn't that expensive either. The day that CBD was completed and its ribbon-cutting ceremony held, I was born. So my dad named the CBD Sunshine 100, hoping I'd be sunny and happy, one hundred percent."

Having said that, she gave a bewitching smile: "My dad is a good dad, right?"

Li Xiaochen not only had his jaw drop, his eyeballs practically popped out.

Having a CBD in Di Du—never mind within the Third Ring Road, even if it's in Daxing or Tongzhou... even if he's a total scumbag, he's still a damn good dad.