Chapter 27 Visiting the Store

Yang Gang shouted up toward the second floor, “Grandpa Li, someone’s here to look at the shop!”

No one knew if Grandpa Li heard him, so the group waited downstairs. Jiang Peiyu looked around — the foot traffic in the area was indeed good. The storefront was located right at a crossroads, directly across from a cinema. Diagonally across was a department store. Behind the department store was a daily-use chemical factory that made detergent and soap. Next to the chemical factory was a clothing factory. In the evenings, there was a night market, with many vendors setting up street stalls.

The building with the shop had two floors, like most in the area, and backed onto a residential complex for the city elementary school staff. Across the street from the complex, about a ten-minute walk away, was the elementary school itself — a small campus with one main gate, a modest playground, and a five-story red brick school building facing the playground.

The area around the school was full of communal housing blocks. Across from those was a farmers’ market. The newspaper office, post office, and bus station weren’t far either — very convenient for future errands.

After checking everything out, Jiang Peiyu was genuinely satisfied with the location. The cinema had a show every night from 7 to 9 PM, so there would be plenty of customers for snacks and fruit. Plus, the nearby night market guaranteed even more foot traffic.

After waiting about 7 or 8 minutes, Grandpa Li finally arrived and slowly opened the door.

“Grandpa Li, this is my little sister and her brother. They’ve come to see the shop,” Yang Gang explained.

“Mm, Teacher Yang, come on in and take a look,” Grandpa Li replied.

Only then did Jiang Peiyu realize — Yang Gang was a teacher!

The three of them entered the store. It was empty inside, freshly whitewashed walls and a concrete floor. The layout was rectangular, with the two storefronts separated by a wall but connected by a door in the middle. One side also had a partitioned room with a window — a small storage area, complete with water and electricity.

Grandpa Li noticed Jiang Peiyu was carefully inspecting everything without nitpicking or trying to talk down the price. That made him more favorable toward her.

“Come upstairs and take a look,” he offered.

“Sure, Grandpa, lead the way.”

The storage room next door had a staircase leading up. At the top, they entered the living room area by a window. The layout was simple: a room directly across the staircase, then a living room, dining area, kitchen, and a bathroom inside the kitchen. Diagonally across from the kitchen was a second bedroom. Across from that was a tiny utility room, about 3 or 4 square meters.

Jiang Peiyu thought it could be renovated: knock through the wall to extend the kitchen, redirect the bathroom entrance, and convert the original kitchen into a third bedroom. That way, there’d be an extra room either for storage or to rent out.

Though the space wasn’t huge, the layout was practical. She was very satisfied. If things went well, factories in the city would likely move to the outskirts, the school might expand, and the residential blocks could be demolished for redevelopment. In such a prime location, spending a few thousand now on the property would definitely be worth it.

“Grandpa, I’ll buy both the house and the storefront.”

“Girl, you seem sincere and straightforward, so I’ll be honest with you — this house won’t be a loss for you.”

“I’m only selling because I’m getting old and going to live with my children. They’ve all moved out of town and won’t be coming back.”

“I’ve lived here all my life, and I wouldn’t want to sell otherwise. But if you’re buying, it’s a fixed price — no bargaining.”

“I know. Brother Yang already told me.”

“I’ll pay the full amount. I’ll go home and gather the money now. Tomorrow at this time, I’ll return — cash in hand, and we’ll sign the contract.”

“After that, I’ll need you to accompany me to the government office to transfer the land-use certificate.”

“Sure, I’m usually home. Just call for me when you arrive.”

With the shop settled, Jiang Peiyu thanked Yang Gang and left with Jiang Yanwen.

Even after climbing into the ox cart, Jiang Yanwen was still in a daze. His little sister was amazing. Without even blinking, she had spent over 5,000 yuan to buy a building — and right in the city center!

That evening, when everyone had come home from work, Jiang Peiyu told the family about buying the property. The moment they heard she had spent over 5,000 yuan on a two-story building, everyone’s jaw dropped.

Li Shuzhen still wasn’t at ease. That was over 5,000 yuan — more money than she’d ever seen in her life.

“Girl, maybe we should think it over a little more…”

“Five thousand yuan isn’t a small amount…”

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ve got money…”

“It might seem like a lot now, but the country is developing fast. That land might be redeveloped in a few years…”

“Even if it’s not, property prices are only going to go up with the way things are progressing.”

“We won’t lose anything. Once we have more money, we can tear it down and rebuild — live downstairs and rent out the upstairs.”

“There’s a school nearby, factories, and the newspaper office and post office aren’t far either. It’ll rent out easily.”

Jiang Fugui stared at his daughter seriously. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, Dad. I’ve thought it through. Tomorrow, I’ll go sign the contract and complete the paperwork.”

“Alright. Then go for it. Do your best. Young people shouldn’t be afraid.”

“Yes, Dad.”

Seeing her father agree, Jiang Peiyu smiled brightly.

“Second, follow your sister and protect her. If she gets bullied, I’ll have your hide…”

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll take care of her.”

“Mm.” Jiang Fugui clasped his hands behind his back and went to his room.

Li Shuzhen, seeing this, told her eldest daughter-in-law to clean up, then returned to her room too.

“Old man, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Even if it’s not, what can we do? Can you stop your daughter…”

“…How much money do we have left?”

“The 800 yuan bride price from the Lu family is untouched. Our savings were a little over 600. We sold some sweet potatoes, eggs, and duck eggs. The money the second pair gave us these past two months — all together, around 900.”

Outside of the bride price, the couple had only ever saved about 600 yuan in their whole life. But with the kids selling melons these months, they’d been given over 200 yuan just in the first month. Life was finally improving.

Jiang Fugui thought for a moment.

“Let’s give her 1,000 yuan. Don’t touch the rest — we’ll use it for her dowry.”

“The rice will be ready for harvest soon. Let’s harvest and sell half the cotton from the backfield this week. Save the rest for her wedding.”

“Okay.”

Li Shuzhen got up, counted 1,000 yuan from the money box, then went to knock on her daughter’s door in the west room.

Inside, Jiang Peiyu was also counting her savings — it totaled over 11,100 yuan. She set aside 6,000 to pay for the building. The rest would go toward renovating the shop and remodeling the upstairs apartment.

Just as she finished organizing the money, there was a knock on the door.

“Girl, are you asleep?”

“No, Mom. What’s up?”

She opened the door.