sjar Chapter 201 Recognizing the Red Flag
Chapter 201 Recognizing the Red Flag
Not long after the New Year, Qiao Yicheng came to find Zhang Jianjun.
"Xiao Jun, do you have time? Want to go out for a walk?"
Zhang Jianjun knew that Qiao Yicheng had something to say but didn't want to talk about it at home.
On the city wall, the two each chose a crenellation. Looking out from the crenellations, the newly sprouted green and brown tree trunks were reflected in the azure lake water. It wasn't particularly beautiful, but it had its own charm.
"Xiao Jun, do you... have any spare money?" Qiao Yicheng wasn't happy to ask for money; he wouldn't have asked unless he was forced to.
Zhang Jianjun raised an eyebrow, but it was blocked by the arrow stalks, so Qiao Yicheng didn't see it. "How many do you need?"
Qiao Yicheng seemed not to hear Zhang Jianjun's words and said to himself, "I've got my eye on a house. It belongs to a colleague, and he wants to sell it. I'm thinking of buying it, but I'm a little short on cash."
Zhang Jianjun listened, but still couldn't find the key information. "Just tell me how much money you need!"
"Ah! Oh, we're still short 30,000!" Qiao Yicheng gritted his teeth and said a number.
Zhang Jianjun nodded, "I can lend you the money. But first, tell me if you're getting married?"
Qiao Yicheng was surprised. "How did you know? Did Nanfang tell you?"
"No, I was just guessing. Otherwise, why would you want to buy a house for no reason? And even borrow money to buy a house, that's not like you."
Qiao Yicheng originally wanted to rent a house, but the thought of Xiang Nanfang's family being a wealthy and powerful family, while he himself came from a poor background, and the fact that Xiang Nanfang had jokingly said he could live with them after marriage, made Qiao Yicheng feel very uncomfortable and his self-esteem was severely damaged! He didn't want to be a live-in son-in-law, so he had to buy a house!
After enjoying the scenery, Zhang Jianjun turned to Qiao Yicheng and asked, "But, are there any problems with the procedures for that house you're looking at?"
"That colleague said the house was allocated by the company before, but the individual also paid for it, so it should be possible to buy it, right?" Qiao Yicheng wasn't very sure.
Zhang Jianjun pointed south and said, "I suggest you don't buy this kind of house. You work in journalism, so you should have heard that there are a lot of housing disputes. I heard there are real estate sales over there. Although the prices are a bit higher, they are legal and compliant, and there are no messy hidden dangers."
Housing allocated by work units is most prone to disputes, mainly involving ownership disputes with the work unit. Zhang Jianjun didn't want to worry about this until the housing reform was implemented, since commercial properties had already been sold and there was no need to get involved in such messy situations.
Although the real estate market has begun to develop, the concept of welfare housing allocation is deeply ingrained in people's minds. Everyone is waiting for the allocation of housing or for renovations to upgrade their homes, and not many people actually buy houses. In fact, many people don't even know they can buy their own houses, and of course, they can't afford them. Although housing prices are low, incomes are also low. An average person's monthly salary, even if they don't eat or drink, can only buy one square meter.
“I can give you 60,000 yuan to look at houses over there. Use the rest to look at furniture and appliances. You can’t have a new horse with an old saddle. A new house with a bunch of old furniture doesn’t look good!” Zhang Jianjun knew Qiao Yicheng didn’t have much money; he’d only been working for a few years. Even if he could save money, Zhang Jianjun thought Qiao Yicheng could only save a maximum of 10,000 or 20,000 yuan. Having 10,000 yuan was considered wealthy in the 1980s, but it wasn’t much in the 1990s. Even prices had gone up.
Zhang Jianjun felt that he should take this opportunity to buy two or even three houses. He also wanted to get a car for both Qiao Sanli and himself. Although Yunying Catering Company already had a car, Qiao Sanli refused to drive it, saying she didn't want to take advantage of the company.
Zhang Jianjun actually went to check out the cars. Hongqi had resumed production, so he ordered three more. The third car was for Chang Xingyu, even though she might not want it.
Two months later, Zhang Jianjun became the first person in the hospital to drive to and from get off work! This caused a sensation in the hospital, and everyone speculated about where Zhang Jianjun got the money, wondering if he had made a mistake.
The Discipline Inspection Department did indeed speak with Zhang Jianjun to understand the situation, not because of the report, but because of the rumors. The Discipline Inspection Department wanted to quell the rumors as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming more and more outrageous.
There are already rumors that Zhang Jianjun is the son of a high-ranking official, and even an illegitimate child, the kind who only dares to give money but not admit it!
But after learning how they made the money and posting a notice, a stock-buying frenzy swept through the hospital. Why could you make money like this, but I couldn't? As it turned out, it did nothing but make us victims.
The director has spoken with Zhang Jianjun, saying that he will be compensated for the matter with the disciplinary committee and that he won't be investigated for no reason. Also, Zhang Jianjun has reached the required years of service, and the hospital's consensus is to encourage him to take another step forward. Since his professional title can't be changed, they want him to move into an administrative position.
Zhang Jianjun didn't want to take that step. His purpose in staying at the hospital was for the patients; more contact with patients meant more samples. Medicine has no limits; continuous research leads to new discoveries. The samples weren't just from critically ill patients, but also included a vast number of healthy individuals as data support.
But the arm can't twist the thigh, and Zhang Jianjun still became the deputy director. The director, however, was transferred, leaving Zhang Jianjun as the nominal head of the department.
Qiao Yicheng bought a house on Tangzheng Road, right next to Xiaoyue Lake, with a very nice view. It's not a big house, just two bedrooms and a living room.
At this point, Qiao Yicheng finally felt more confident and suggested that Xiang Nanfang come to his house for dinner.
Xiang Nanfang was very happy. Ever since Qiao Yicheng visited the Xiang family, Xiang Nanfang had noticed that Qiao Yicheng was in low spirits. It was obvious that after comparing the two families, Qiao Yicheng felt inferior and thought he was not good enough for Xiang Nanfang.
But in reality, Xiang Nanfang didn't care about this, nor did his mother. Xiang Nanfang also had two half-siblings who were married to ordinary people and lived ordinary lives; nothing special about them. Except for Xiang Beifang! Xiang Beifang was dating the youngest daughter of a high-ranking provincial official. That's why he dared to be so boastful.
But when Qiao Yicheng suddenly became confident, Xiang Nanfang was very pleased.
The whole family took this meeting very seriously. Qiao Erqiang was the head chef, with Qiao Sanli and Qiao Simei assisting, preparing a sumptuous dinner. As for Sun Shaofen, Qiao Erqiang told her to stay at the shop for a while and come back in the afternoon. Sun Shaofen was annoyed. Her wedding was only briefly mentioned, but Qiao Yicheng was described in so much detail? Discrimination against secondhand writers!
Wei Shuying thought for a moment, then asked Qiao Sanli to go next door and call Zhang Jianjun. Zhang Jianjun initially wanted to refuse, as it seemed inconvenient for him to be involved in the matter of the woman meeting her parents. However, seeing the expectant look in Qiao Sanli's eyes, he nodded in agreement.
Soon, Xiang Nanfang arrived at Wei Shuying's house carrying bags of gifts. He had already spent the night at Qiao Yicheng's house once before, when he was drunk. So this was his second visit.
Xiang Nanfang greeted everyone one by one, and finally saw Zhang Jianjun. "Jianjun, you're here too?"
Zhang Jianjun sarcastically remarked, "The matchmaker can only be thrown over the wall after the newlyweds have entered the room! You two haven't even tied the knot yet, and you're already asking for a matchmaker?"
Xiang Nanfang, with the straightforward genes of a northerner, was not reserved at all. "How could that be? But I won't drink with you today; your alcohol tolerance is a mystery!"