The market value of the space Chen Lishu was currently renting was over two thousand yuan. However, the house was very old, and paying half the price was more than generous. Furthermore, she had agreed to purchase it at market rate, demonstrating ample sincerity in her compensation.
Alas, the landlord was too greedy. Upon hearing Chen Lishu’s words, her eyebrows shot up. “So, you’re trying to take advantage of me here? How could I possibly sell a house in such a prime location? Go ask around, countless people are scrambling to buy, but I haven't budged for any of them.”
Chen Lishu listened without interrupting.
The woman, crossing her arms, continued, “Besides, the house has already burned down, and you're only offering me a thousand yuan? That's not how this is calculated.”
Chen Lishu: “Then how do you think it should be calculated?”
“Naturally, you should compensate me for the full value of the house. You just said yourself that my house is worth over two thousand yuan. Given that you rented my place for so long, I’ll even waive the fractional amount. Just give me two thousand yuan, and we’ll call it even. If you want to buy it…”
The woman thought for a moment and held up three fingers: “At least three thousand, and I can go with you to the housing authority to transfer the deed.”
Chen Lishu was almost amused by her words.
She was obligated to compensate for the burned house, but that didn't mean she would let the landlord make an exorbitant demand.
“How about this, I have a third option. I can pay to rebuild it for you, guaranteeing it will be the same size as the original.”
A single brick cost only a few cents. Due to a partnership with the Materials Bureau, even with all the raw materials, it wouldn't cost a thousand yuan. Moreover, she had manpower; a small suite could be built in less than a month.
This dilapidated place was located in an alley. Even if rebuilt, its selling price would only match the market rate. This was not a worthwhile deal for her.
Thus, the landlord said with displeasure, “I want my old house now. Only the old house has value. What do you mean by building a new one?”
At this point, Chen Lishu finally understood. Even rebuilding it wouldn't suffice; it seemed the landlord just wanted to extort money.
With this realization, her expression softened slightly. “Since you don’t like the previous options, I think it would be best to choose the fourth one.”
The woman blinked, “What is it?”
Chen Lishu smirked, “A wild goose chase.”
The woman’s expression stiffened. “You, do you believe me if I say I’ll call the police right now and have you arrested?”
“On what grounds would the police arrest me? Haven’t I offered compensation? It’s your greed that is excessive.”
Chen Lishu looked at her and spoke slowly, “Choose one of the three options. The fire burned a lot of my merchandise, and my funds are limited at the moment. If you haven’t made up your mind, you can take your time to think about it. I can use that time to compensate other clients.”
Upon hearing that she didn't have much money and seemed prepared to delay, the landlord started to panic.
Actually, if she thought about it carefully, Chen Lishu’s offer for her dilapidated house was already very good. If she pushed Chen Lishu too hard and she walked away, the landlord would definitely not get such favorable terms when she eventually had to beg for them.
After much deliberation, the woman finally sold the house to Chen Lishu for twenty-three hundred yuan. Regardless of which option was chosen, she had ultimately decided to sell the house.
Although it was equivalent to spending twenty-three hundred yuan to buy a property number, Chen Lishu was quite satisfied with this outcome.
Currently, the fabric business was very profitable. At least until next year, with the increase in cotton production due to household-based farming, the shortage of fabric supply would be greatly alleviated. The state’s control over fabric coupons would not be as strict as before, and in just a couple more years, fabric coupons would be abolished. At that point, with true freedom in clothing, fabric prices would decrease, and the business of processing fabrics would yield little profit.
But before then, Chen Lishu had to continue her business, which required warehouses to store inventory. If she wasn't renting this place, she would have to find another location. It might not be suitable in a short period, and the geographical location might not be as convenient.
Moreover, Chen Lishu knew that a new shopping mall would be built nearby in the coming years. Property values would rise accordingly, and housing prices in this area would also skyrocket. This was one of the reasons she bought the house.
After going to the housing authority with the landlord to transfer the deed, Chen Lishu held a property deed in her hand.
“Sister-in-law,” as they returned to the shop, Wang Dazhu hesitated for a moment before deciding to voice his suspicions. “There was a thief in the shop the night before last.”
Fearing Chen Lishu might misunderstand, he quickly explained, “I discovered it in time; he didn’t even get inside the shop.”
Chen Lishu hadn’t expected such a thing. It seemed arranging for Wang Dazhu to live at the shop was a very wise decision.
Wang Dazhu: “The shop was targeted by a thief just the day before yesterday, and then the warehouse caught fire last night. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”
Indeed, it was too coincidental, so coincidental that it made one suspect the two incidents were the work of the same person.
Was it an attempt to steal, and in anger after being discovered by Dazhu, they set fire to her warehouse? But this explanation was too far-fetched. It sounded more like someone with a grudge against her deliberately did it, a scheme that failed, leading to another attempt.
However, she had been attending classes at school during this period and couldn't possibly have offended anyone.
Chen Lishu couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it, hoping the police would solve the case quickly.
She had classes in the afternoon. After instructing Wang Dazhu, Chen Lishu took the bus back to school.
Two days later, the other party finally managed to gather the money, and Zhao Hong successfully sold her shop.
After signing the contract, Zhao Hong took the money and left the shop. She originally intended to go home, pack her things, and then find Lu Chengming. However, her gaze fell on the distant ‘Shu Se’ clothing store. Zhao Hong hesitated but decided to go see Chen Lishu one last time, after all, Lu Chengming had ultimately chosen her, and they had decided to never return to the provincial capital again.
Having known Chen Lishu for so many years, it was only fitting to go and see her one last time.
With that thought, Zhao Hong walked to the entrance of the ‘Shu Se’ clothing store and pushed the door open.
Due to the warehouse fire, they were short-handed for a while. On days when she didn't have classes, Chen Lishu would also come to the shop to help, and Wang Aixiang could go and assist Liang Chunsheng.
She had no classes that afternoon. After lunch, Chen Lishu came to the shop.
As she was calculating accounts, Chen Lishu looked up upon hearing the door open. When she saw Zhao Hong, her brows instinctively furrowed.
“What, our shops are so close, you don’t recognize me?” Zhao Hong spoke first.
Chen Lishu let out a cold laugh. “I just didn’t expect you to be so bold.” Thinking about how she had colluded with Lu Chengming to hinder her, and then threatened her through Zhao Liang, Chen Lishu felt an urge to simply close the shop and give her a good beating.
Zhao Hong was unfazed by her threat and said with a smile, “I heard your warehouse caught fire. How much did you lose?”