Chapter 34: 34. An Anxious Guess (Please add to your library, please vote!)

Zhang Ran had no idea that someone had already set their sights on the necklace he had gifted to his daughter-in-law.

At this moment, he was still calmly sipping tea, sitting by the window and watching the people coming and going outside, feeling quite at ease, without a hint of the anxiety or excitement one might expect when about to buy a house.

The others in the shop would steal glances at Zhang Ran from time to time; they all knew about the negotiation, and more importantly, they knew that their previous assumptions were wrong—Zhang Ran was not a friend of the rich second-generation, but his elder.

They also learned of Zhang Ran's bizarre negotiation demands, and at this point, they couldn't help but feel envious of Meng Xin; this was a deal served on a silver platter, requiring no extra effort to get the money in hand.

By around twelve o'clock noon, the negotiations between Meng Mingxuan and the others finally drew to a close.

Meng Mingxuan and Meng Xin walked out together and came before Zhang Ran, saying, "Uncle Zhang, the price was negotiated down to 10.88 million; we really couldn't get it any lower."

Meng Xin looked at Zhang Ran with some nervousness; it was the final moment now, and it all depended on whether Zhang Ran would keep his word.

Zhang Ran clearly had no intention of going back on his word and said quite readily, "That's fine, let's go with that price. Let's sign the contract; when can the title transfer be completed?"

The latter part was directed at Meng Xin.

Hearing Zhang Ran's words, Meng Xin's heart skipped a beat, and she took a deep breath before saying, "This house has no mortgage, and since you are paying in full, we just need to finish signing the contract, go register it immediately, and the transfer can be done this afternoon."

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "Alright, no problem. However, this house won't be registered under my name; I'll have someone else come over to sign the contract."

Since Zhang Ran was buying the house for Zhang Sicheng and his wife, he naturally wouldn't register it under his own name.

"You can sign the contract now; it won't affect the subsequent transfer. We just need the parties involved to be present during the transfer," Meng Xin said hurriedly.

In business, if you can sign a contract on the spot, you must never delay—this was the conclusion Meng Xin had reached after working in sales for so long.

Zhang Ran naturally saw through Meng Xin's thinking, but he had no objections, as long as the transfer could be completed normally.

Afterward, Zhang Ran followed Meng Xin inside.

"Mr. Zhang, please give me your ID card so we can sign the contract first." Seeing Zhang Ran enter, the last heavy stone in Wang Leixin's heart finally fell to the ground.

However, when Wang Leixin saw Zhang Ran's ID card, he was stunned, his eyes darting back and forth between Zhang Ran and the ID.

"Don't worry, it's not fake," Zhang Ran naturally understood what he meant.

"You were born in 1967?" Wang Leixin couldn't help but ask.

As soon as these words were spoken, the landlord and Meng Xin on the side were also stunned. They looked at Zhang Ran with surprise; Zhang Ran was simply too young, with the appearance of someone in his early twenties, looking nothing like a man in his fifties.

Zhang Ran didn't want to say much about this matter, though he figured it wouldn't be long before they guessed the reason themselves.

"Isn't it written on the ID? Just write the contract; as long as the money is correct, that's all that matters."

"Alright." Wang Leixin also saw that Zhang Ran didn't want to talk more about this, so he didn't ask further.

After signing the contract, Zhang Ran first went to the bank to settle the payment, then made a phone call to Zhang Sicheng.

"Sicheng, are you busy right now?" Zhang Ran asked.

"Not busy. Is something the matter?" Zhang Sicheng was somewhat surprised; this was the first time Zhang Ran had called him.

Zhang Ran said, "If you aren't busy, come to the Real Estate Bureau at 1:30 with Liu Lu. I'll send you the location in a moment. Bring your ID cards and household registration book."

Hearing Zhang Ran's words, Zhang Sicheng's heart skipped a beat. This was...?

But since they weren't father and son who had grown up together, Zhang Sicheng ultimately didn't have the nerve to voice his guess.

After hanging up, Zhang Sicheng called Liu Lu and told her about Zhang Ran asking them to go to the Real Estate Bureau.

"Go to the Real Estate Bureau? What for...?" Liu Lu was also startled. After all, besides selling or buying a house, what else would one do at the Real Estate Bureau?

Their family didn't have a house to sell, so naturally, it must be to buy a house.

And they were asked to bring their ID cards and household registration book—if that wasn't for buying a house, what else could it be?

"I suppose so. Otherwise, why would he ask us to go?" Zhang Sicheng was also a bit uncertain.

And if it really was to buy a house, then Zhang Ran's intention was very clear: it was for them, not to be registered under Zhang Ran's own name.

"Honey, even if he really is buying us a house, we won't be able to afford the mortgage," Liu Lu said with a bitter smile.

Although she said that, she couldn't bear to refuse.

This was a house in Shanghai, something she and Zhang Sicheng had dreamed of. Now that there was hope of it coming true, even if she had to shoulder a huge mortgage in the future, she couldn't bear to refuse.

Neither Liu Lu nor Zhang Sicheng had thought that Zhang Ran would pay in full, because in their imagination, Zhang Ran might have some money, but after all this time, the money that was once considered a huge sum was also depreciating and no longer worth as much.

They estimated that Zhang Ran had at most a few million; paying the down payment and keeping a little for himself was already the most a father could do.

Zhang Sicheng knew all too well that he currently had no ability to pay off a large mortgage, and they still didn't know how big a house Zhang Ran had bought or how much they would need to pay each month.

But like Liu Lu, he couldn't bear to refuse. Having lived in Shanghai since he was a child but never having a house of his own, he felt he couldn't integrate into Shanghai.

Having a house in Shanghai had been an obsession he had harbored since childhood. Now that it was finally about to be realized, how could he bear to refuse?

"Let's go see this afternoon and then decide. If it's real, no matter what, I will definitely work my life away to pay off the mortgage," Zhang Sicheng said in a deep voice.

This was as good as a promise to Liu Lu!

From beginning to end, neither he nor Liu Lu had ever thought of asking Zhang Ran to help them pay off any of the mortgage; perhaps this was the reason they hadn't really quarreled in all the years they had been a married couple.

After hanging up, Liu Lu was also somewhat distracted. She began to wonder what kind of house her father-in-law had bought.

How much of a mortgage would they need to pay?

Or perhaps they were both wrong, and Zhang Ran wasn't going to buy them a house at all?

Just like that, Liu Lu spent the afternoon in a state of conflict. She actually wanted to go over early, but she was afraid the answer would disappoint her, so she didn't dare go ahead of time.

On Meng Mingxuan's side, after seeing Zhang Ran sign the contract, he actually felt a sense of accomplishment.

It was only a negotiation of over 300,000; in normal times, he wouldn't have cared about this money, but now it gave him a sense of pride.

So much so that he forgot that from now on, his annual allowance would only be a little over three million. Although this money seemed like a lot to ordinary people, for Young Master Meng, it meant he would have to give up many of his hobbies.