Chapter 361 - 360: Allocating the Apartments

After Wang Hai left, He Lang called the front desk and asked for Little Chen to come up.

"Third Uncle, you were looking for me?" Little Chen pushed the door open, panting. He had run up after getting the call.

He Lang gave him a look, gesturing for him to sit down. "How are your classes going?"

Little Chen told him the truth. "They’re a bit of a struggle."

He Lang told him, "You have to keep studying, even if it’s a struggle. You’ve fallen behind in your studies and have a lot of coursework to catch up on, so it’s bound to be difficult. Do you have the confidence to do it?"

Little Chen patted his chest. "Of course I do. It won’t be a problem if I just put in more effort."

He Lang smiled. "That’s good."

"I have some good news. The apartment I mentioned before is available now. It should be ready for handover in about three months. I got you a place that’s eighty to ninety square meters. That way you won’t have to live somewhere else, and you’ll officially have a home in Beijing City. Later, you can move your household registration here too, which will make things easier."

Little Chen’s eyes went wide. In his excitement, he shot to his feet. "Really?"

He Lang nodded. "The person just left a little while ago. I picked it out for you myself. It’s on a good floor, too."

A wide smile spread across Little Chen’s face as he nodded. "Great! Third Uncle, about how much would an eighty to ninety-square-meter place cost?"

He Lang thought for a moment. "Probably around fifty or sixty thousand."

"That much?"

He clenched his fists.

"Third Uncle, I only have twenty thousand on hand right now. Could you help me cover the rest for now so I can secure the apartment? You can deduct it from my salary every month."

Little Chen had also heard that housing prices were rising nonstop, to a frightening degree. He wanted to secure the place first and then slowly pay He Lang back.

He Lang looked at him with a smile. "What are you thinking? I don’t want your money. The apartment is a gift from me."

"How can I accept that?" Little Chen said in surprise. "It’s too much money."

"Alright, enough nonsense. When it’s time for the handover, you can come with me to see it. Keep your money for renovations; I won’t be helping you with that."

Little Chen hesitated for a moment but still nodded and sat back down. "Third Uncle, didn’t you say you had a task for me?"

"I do. I’m planning to build a hotel, and I’ll have you manage it when the time comes. But we’re still getting the land approved, so it’s a long way off. You need to focus on improving your education so I can entrust it to you with confidence."

Little Chen’s eyes instantly lit up. He looked at He Lang with excitement, feeling overwhelmed by the string of good news he’d received today.

He Lang smiled too. "I hope we get good news about the project. Just know that I have high hopes for you. Don’t let me down."

Little Chen nodded solemnly. "I understand, Third Uncle."

He Lang waved him off. "Alright, go on back to work."

Little Chen stood up, suddenly gave He Lang a deep bow, and then ran out.

He Lang was taken aback for a second, then chuckled. "That rascal."

In the hallway, Little Chen ran into Xue Xingjun. Xue Xingjun looked at him curiously. "What are you grinning like a fool for? Something good happen?"

Little Chen’s smile vanished. He shook his head. "It’s nothing. Third Uncle was just quizzing me on my studies."

They all knew that Little Chen was taking supplementary classes.

Xue Xingjun scoffed. "What’s there to be happy about with studying? School is the least free thing in the world."

Little Chen just smiled at him and headed downstairs.

Xue Xingjun felt a secret sense of relief. ’My brother-in-law really showed me some mercy by not making me go to school, too.’

After dinner, Xue Yue listened as He Lang told her about the apartments.

"I plan to give the two large units to Ruanruan and Shiyi, one for each. There’s no rush to renovate; they can be their future marital homes."

Xue Yue joked, "You’re really thinking far ahead. Your son is only eight years old this year."

He Lang crossed one leg over the other and swayed it gently. "It’ll happen sooner or later. This is the foundation his father is laying for him. By the time he grows up, I’ll be old. Where would I get the energy to earn money to buy him a house then? Who knows if I’ll even be able to afford a house at that point?"

Oddly enough, Xue Yue found herself agreeing with him. The market changed so quickly; you really couldn’t predict the future.

"I gave one of the smaller units to Little Chen. I promised him before. The kid’s been wanting to buy a house in Beijing City, but with his current salary, he’s still a long way off. I couldn’t just ignore it. Little Chen is a steady and diligent worker. Since he came to Beijing City, he’s never missed a day of work barring special circumstances. This can serve as an incentive for him."

Xue Yue nodded. Little Chen was indeed a good kid, so giving him one was fine. She had always considered him family anyway. Besides, Little Chen’s situation was unique; he also had to support his family and his younger brother.

Xue Yue asked him, "Didn’t you say there were two more units?"

"I’m planning to give the mid-sized unit to your brother. Big Brother has helped us out so much over the years. He did the designs for the supermarket and the clothing store for free and gave us a lot of great advice that made a huge difference. And he was a huge help with Shiyi’s incident last time. Forget giving him an apartment; I wouldn’t hesitate to give him cash. I’m just afraid Big Brother won’t accept it. Why don’t you talk to him?"

Xue Yue pouted. "He’d refuse something free? I’ll give it to him. If my big brother knew you felt that way, he’d probably be too happy to sleep."

He Lang laughed. "Then I’ll leave it to you."

Xue Yue nodded. "Who are you planning to give the other small unit to?"

He Lang was still hesitant. "I was originally thinking of giving it to your younger brother, but I feel he’s still too young. Suddenly getting a house worth tens of thousands might make him impetuous and get to his head. So I’m not planning to give it to him for now."

Xue Yue agreed. "You’re right. He just became an adult and hasn’t really faced any hardships. Why give him a house? We can’t let him think it’s easy to get something for nothing. Let’s just leave the apartment empty for now. If we can, we could rent it out and make some of the money back."

He Lang nodded. "You can decide what to do with it, then."

Xue Yue glanced at the time. "It’s still early. Why don’t I head over to my brother’s place now? It’s usually hard to catch him."

"Sounds good."

When Ruanruan and Shiyi heard that Xue Yue was going to their uncle’s house, they clamored to go too. But it was already past seven o’clock, so Xue Yue had He Lang coax the children while she left.

When she arrived, they were eating dinner. Xue Xingzhou had gotten home late from work. Fortunately, when he got back, Xing Jun had already washed the vegetables and started the rice cooker, so all Xue Xingzhou had to do was start stir-frying.

"Having dinner?"

Zhang Qian stood up as soon as she saw Xue Yue come in. "Yue’er, have you eaten yet? If not, sit down and have a bite with us. I’ll go get a bowl and chopsticks."

Xue Yue quickly said, "I already ate before coming. Please, sit down and finish your meal."

Ever since Tun Tun started school, they no longer came home for lunch, so they had let go of the auntie who used to cook for them.

Xue Yue looked at Xue Xingzhou and asked, "Big Brother, is your new job keeping you busy?"

"It’s alright."

In truth, things hadn’t been very peaceful lately, which was why Xue Xingzhou was a bit busy. But they were always good about confidentiality, so he couldn’t even tell his own family.

After they finished eating, Xue Xingjun and Zhang Yunlei were sent to wash the dishes, while Xue Yue followed her brother and sister-in-law into the room.