Chapter 59.1

“Ring, ring, ring! Ring, ring, ring!”

It was just after nine in the morning when the phone at the Xie household rang cheerfully.

Tang Siyun happened to be sitting by the phone, busy with a manicure. She picked up the receiver, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then called over to Xie Zhen, who was sitting on the opposite sofa reading the newspaper, “Xiao Zhen, it’s for you, it’s Zheng Jun!”

Xie Zhen raised an eyebrow and got up to take the phone. In a calm voice, he asked, “When are you coming back?”

On the other end, Zheng Jun said something that Xie Zhen didn’t quite catch. He smiled slightly and replied, “Alright, I’ll head over in a bit!”

With that, he hung up the phone.

Su Xi had slept in that day and had only just gotten out of bed. She was still having breakfast, taking a bite of a crispy youtiao, and asked curiously, “Are you going out?”

Xie Zhen folded the newspaper and walked over to her, poking at her cheeks, which puffed out as she chewed. Amidst her playful huffs of discontent, he smiled and reassured her, “We’re going out together.”

“But I made plans to go out with Mom yesterday,” Su Xi replied softly, swallowing her food.

Tang Siyun, overhearing their conversation, waved her hand dismissively. “You two go ahead; it’s perfect for me to get some rest. I’m exhausted from going out every day these past few days.”

Since her mother-in-law wasn’t going, Su Xi didn’t insist. To be honest, she felt a bit worn out herself.

Determined not to keep Zheng Jun waiting, Su Xi quickly finished her breakfast. While Xie Zhen was busy tidying up the dishes, she dashed back to her room to change.

Since she was meeting friends, Su Xi opted not to wear her military uniform. Instead, she chose a cute, white dress adorned with blue floral patterns and paired it with a set of round-toed leather shoes. She simply tied her hair into a bun, skipped the makeup, grabbed two bottles of wine, and hurried down the stairs.

She would have liked to dress up a bit more—what woman didn’t want to look good? But she felt a sense of caution; survival was more important!

However, even without elaborate preparations, Xie Zhen couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked in her outfit. His little wife was charming, and no matter how she dressed, she looked good. It was a rarity for him to see her in a dress since they usually wore military uniforms.

He playfully pinched the bun of hair she had arranged on her head, and, receiving a mock glare from her, he took the bag from her hand, hoisting it up as he waved goodbye to his mother. Together, they set off.

The meeting place was a bit of a distance from the military compound.

Xie Zhen rode his bicycle for nearly forty minutes before finally arriving at the destination.

Su Xi jumped down from the backseat, stretching her legs and easing her numb backside. She looked up at the dilapidated siheyuan in front of her and suddenly felt a surge of excitement. “Xie Zhen, I love this kind of siheyuan! I want to buy it!”

Xie Zhen propped the bicycle up, raised his hand, and knocked on the gate. After hearing his wife’s words, he replied straightforwardly, “Sure, I’ll ask Junzi to keep an eye out. If we find a suitable one, we’ll buy it!”

“Wow! My bro is indeed a bro, so generous!” The gate swung open from the inside, revealing a robust man with a rugged demeanor and a distinctly masculine presence. He surveyed them with a relaxed attitude, clearly having overheard the couple’s conversation.

Xie Zhen turned around to bring the bike inside, casually introducing, “This is Junzi, my childhood friend.”

After securing the bicycle, he took Su Xi’s little hand and looked at his mischievous friend. “Junzi, this is my wife. You can call her sister-in-law!”

Zheng Jun smirked, “How shameless! You’re only three days older than me!”

Despite his teasing, when he looked at Su Xi, his brashness softened a bit. He greeted her politely, “Sister-in-law, just call me Junzi, like Xie Zhen does!”

Inside, he felt a bit surprised. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he and Xie Zhen had grown up as two peas in a pod. Knowing that his childhood friend had found love made him happy, but he was also quite curious about the woman who had managed to tame Xie Zhen.

He never expected her to be such a delicate and stunning girl.

Yes, girl!

She was so young that he hesitated to ask Xie Zhen how old she was. She looked… about twenty, right?

So his buddy liked girls like this?

She seemed so fragile, and he wondered if his loud voice would scare her. Should he tone it down a bit?

However, to his surprise, the seemingly delicate woman smiled brightly, completely unconcerned. Unlike others who might frown or show distaste at his presence, her tone was cheerful. “Hi, Junzi! I’ve heard about you from Xie Zhen for a long time. It’s nice to finally meet you!”

Wow, this sister-in-law… had some guts!

Tsk, tsk, tsk… It made sense, though. If Xie Zhen had found a crybaby, he would have found that strange.

He led the couple inside, speaking casually. “So, sister-in-law really wants to buy a siheyuan?”

Su Xi nodded eagerly, “Yes, I really like this style of house.”

Zheng Jun was puzzled. “But you’re not even living in J City. What’s the point of buying one if you can’t live in it? Are you planning to move back to J City?”

Zheng Jun was genuinely surprised by this. Initially, his first impression of Su Xi was that she was his buddy’s wife—young, beautiful, and a respected doctor. She seemed well-suited for Xie Zhen.

But he hadn’t expected that this girl was not only beautiful but also very sharp. He glanced at Xie Zhen, wanting to ask if he had mentioned something to her about buying a property for investment.

However, in that brief moment of eye contact, he clearly saw the pride in his friend’s eyes.

Zheng Jun grinned, feeling a bit envious!

Once they were inside, Zheng Jun invited them to sit down and went into the room to bring out a brand-new radio, placing it in front of them. “I missed your wedding banquet, so I’m making up for it with a gift!”

Xie Zhen didn’t hold back and accepted it without any pretense; they didn’t need that kind of insincerity between friends.

Zheng Jun was pleased with the couple’s attitude and poured them some tea. “This is authentic Da Hong Pao. How about that? Pretty generous, right?” ^[1]Da Hong Pao, also known as Big Red Robe, is a rare and expensive Chinese oolong tea that’s grown in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province

Xie Zhen took a sip of the tea and nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad!”

Zheng Jun chuckled, “Come on, stop pretending! But are you guys really planning to buy a siheyuan? If you want, I can help you look!”

Xie Zhen looked at Su Xi. He didn’t have much of a desire for these things, but if his little wife liked it, then they could buy it.

Su Xi was a practical person. To her, Da Hong Pao didn’t taste particularly special. Upon hearing Zheng Jun’s words, she immediately nodded, “Yes! Now is the best time to buy!”

Zheng Jun gave her a thumbs-up. “Absolutely! Sister-in-law has foresight. But do you have a budget? There’s a big difference between siheyuan.”

Su Xi assessed the house in front of her. “Is this siheyuan a courtyard-style one? Can I ask how much it’s worth now?”

Zheng Jun leaned back in his chair, nonchalantly lounging. “What can’t you ask? I bought this last year, and it is indeed a courtyard-style one. It wasn’t expensive—got it for 6,000 yuan.”

Six thousand yuan wasn’t cheap in that era. Considering the salaries of many workers at the time, it would take nearly twenty years of saving without eating or drinking!

Moreover, this siheyuan wasn’t very large; it might even be less than two hundred square meters!

However, to her, that price was really cheap. She and Xie Zhen had over two hundred thousand yuan in savings, so taking out half to buy a house seemed quite reasonable. She directly stated, “My budget is around 100,000 yuan. Whatever can be bought within that budget, the best would be to find a three-courtyard style. It would be more convenient to live together with the elderly in the future.”

As for earning money later, they could always buy another property when the right opportunity arose!

One hundred thousand yuan!

Zheng Jun hadn’t expected his sister-in-law to be so bold with her spending. He knew roughly how much money his friend had; after all, they had earned it together over the past few years.

But was it too much to spend all that money on a house?

He glanced at Xie Zhen, only to find him affectionately playing with his wife’s fingers.

Zheng Jun’s expression stiffened for a moment. So this was the kind of Xie Zhen he was dealing with? So clingy with his wife? He felt a shiver run down his spine!

Xie Zhen noticed his friend’s gaze and understood what he was worried about. He said directly, “Let’s do as your sister-in-law said. This money is hers!”

His sister-in-law’s earnings?

Could it be…?

“Is that wine from your sister-in-law?” Zheng Jun wasn’t stupid. For someone so young to have such assets was extraordinary. The only thing he could think of was that amazing peach wine!

Su Xi smiled and pulled out the two bottles of wine from her bag. “Yes, I brewed it myself. I wasn’t planning to mention it, but it looks like we let it slip. Look, these are two different grades.”

Zheng Jun hadn’t expected his sister-in-law to have such a skill. To be honest, at that moment, he felt a twinge of jealousy towards his buddy.

What kind of luck was this? Finding a wife who was young, beautiful, educated, and who could also make money? This was just too much! He felt agitated, wondering when he would be able to find a wife himself!

Zheng Jun shot a sideways glance at his friend!

Jealousy made him feel ugly!

Look at that—his eyes looked so distorted from envy!

Though he was feeling this way, he was still eager to see the wine; he had been waiting for it for a long time!

The wine bottles were actually soy sauce bottles that Su Xi had cleaned thoroughly.

As she pulled out the cork, a rich aroma of wine wafted through the air. Zheng Jun squinted his eyes and took a deep breath, exclaiming, “That’s the scent! Sister-in-law, how much of this wine do you have? I want it all!”

Su Xi thought for a moment about the stock at home. Excluding this year’s batch, she still had quite a bit: “Around a thousand jin, I suppose!”

Zheng Jun was taken aback. Such good wine could actually be produced in bulk? No wonder she was making so much money—his envy only deepened!

But for him, this was great news; the more wine, the better! If it could be distributed nationwide, it wouldn’t even be considered a lot in the grand scheme of things!

Once they confirmed the quantity, the two began discussing annual supply amounts and prices, quickly settling on the details since they were friends.

After sealing a major deal, the three were in high spirits. Zheng Jun checked his watch and realized it was almost noon. He waved his hand and declared, “Let’s go! I’ve booked a table at a restaurant. We can eat and discuss the transportation of the goods. I’m not too comfortable with such precious items; I’ll mostly drive to deliver them myself…”

As they spoke, they had already exited the courtyard and climbed into Zheng Jun’s Jeep, heading towards the restaurant!

—o—o—o—