The Poor School Heartthrob Was Secretly a Financial Titan - Chapter 30
Han Xuetao and his mother walked back, through the narrow alley, and as they approached the small gate of the hospital, something suddenly flashed through his mind.
He had heard many stories like thisâof which elderly overseas Chinese found their ancestral home, or which foreign businessman bought back his father’s former residence. In order to attract investment, the local government played the emotional card, actively helping to coordinate and giving the original residents a large sum of compensation to get them to vacate their houses.
He remembers the most sensational one very clearly.
It’s located in the area behind the Provincial People’s Hospital.
In his previous life, he had heard someone say that in the 1990s, an American businessman returned to trace his roots. His father was a high-ranking government official during the Republic of China era, and his former residence was located behind the Provincial People’s Hospital. That house was later occupied by some factory and allocated to its employees.
After the American businessman found the family, the government intervened and the businessman voluntarily provided a large sum of money to the families. Those families became rich overnight, causing a sensation throughout Ninghai.
Now–
He paused in his steps.
“Mom, you go to the hospital first, I have something to do.”
Zhao Xiurong was taken aback: “What’s wrong?”
“I think I left something there. I’ll go check it out.” Han Xuetao said and turned to leave.
Zhao Xiurong called out from behind, “Hurry up, your dad’s waiting!”
Han Xuetao waved his hand and quickened his pace.
He returned to the row of bungalows, stood still, and stared at the largest one.
This is the place.
The door was closed, and the windows were covered with old newspapers, making it impossible to see inside. He took a deep breath and went to knock on the door.
Who is it?
The woman’s voice came from inside, tinged with impatience. The door opened, and the woman poked her head out. Seeing him, her face fell: “What, it’s you again? I told you, the roof can’t be touched, or you’ll have to payâ”
“I won’t touch the roof,” Han Xuetao interrupted her. “I want to ask you something.”
The woman looked at him suspiciously: “What is it?”
Han Xuetao leaned against the doorframe, his voice neither loud nor soft: “Are you selling this house?”
The woman was stunned.
What did you say?
“Are you selling or not?” Han Xuetao repeated, “You’ve seen the conditions yourself, they really aren’t great. My mother and I are only here to take care of a sick person, we can’t stay for long, we can just put up with it. But your family is going to live in this dilapidated house forever, it leaks when it rains, it’s drafty in winter, and you have to fight with other people for the toilet and kitchen. If you sell, I’ll fix the roof too, so you won’t get wet in the rain. You can take the money and find a way to buy an apartment.”
The woman’s mouth was open, and she couldn’t close it for a long time.
“You…you want to buy a house?”
Han Xuetao nodded.
“How much money could a child like you have?”
Han Xuetao smiled and said, “How much money I have depends on your offer. Name your price and I’ll hear it.”
The woman’s expression shifted several times, her gaze sweeping over him. Finally, she uttered, “You wait!”
The door slammed shut.
Han Xuetao stood at the door and waited for three or four minutes. The door opened again, and the woman came out, followed by a middle-aged man, tall and thin, with a dark face; he was clearly her man.
The man sized up Han Xuetao, his eyes filled with suspicion and disdain: “So you’re the one who wants to buy a house?”
Han Xuetao nodded.
After a long silence, the man finally spoke: “Six thousand.”
He felt guilty after saying that, and his eyes darted to the side.
Han Xuetao smiled.
Six thousand yuan. He was just thinking that he wouldn’t haggle if the woman asked for less than thirty thousand. But this man opened his mouth and said six thousand, acting like he’d overcharged.
“Six thousand is fine,” Han Xuetao said, “but there’s a condition.”
The man was taken aback: “What are the conditions?”
Han Xuetao pointed to the side: “That room next door, that old bachelor from your workplace, you have to sell it to me too. Both families together, otherwise it’s inconvenient for my mother to live alone.”
The woman’s eyes lit up: “The one in Old Hu’s house?”
“right.”
The woman turned to look at her man, and he looked at her too; they exchanged a glance.
The woman slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Fine! I’ll go find Old Hu right now!”
She lifted her leg and ran outside, faster than a mother rabbit.
…
Things went even more smoothly than Han Xuetao had imagined.
Old Hu was a bachelor in his fifties who had worked his entire life in a shoe factory. He was allocated this dilapidated room, converted from a storage room. Hearing that someone wanted to buy it, he asked for two thousand, but the woman scolded him, and he finally bargained it down to one thousand two. Together, the two families offered a total of seven thousand two.
After signing the agreement, I went to the shoe factory to change the certificate.
Then, the money is exchanged for the goods.
Two housing certificates, red-covered, stamped with the shoe factory’s seal, with names and area written on them.
These days, there are no property ownership certificates yet, so this kind of housing certificate serves as proof, but it will be an important document for obtaining a property ownership certificate in the future.
That family’s large room is 42 square meters, and Hu Laoguai’s small room is 7 square meters, totaling 49 square meters.
The woman’s hand trembled slightly as she handed the housing certificate to Han Xuetaoânot out of reluctance, but out of excitement. They had bought the house from the factory, deducting years of service, for a little over three thousand yuan. Old Hu’s house was even cheaper, only eight hundred.
She looked at Han Xuetao with a hint of pity in her eyes. She probably thought the boy was a spendthrift; his mother was so frugal, yet her son was so extravagant. Seven thousand two thousandâif you looked carefully in Ninghai, you could afford an apartment there.
Han Xuetao took the housing certificate, saw that his name had been changed at the shoe factory office, and put it in his pocket with satisfaction.
This woman may have a bad temper, but she’s quite efficient.
The woman said again, “Young man, don’t worry, we’ll finish moving within two days, making sure it won’t interfere with your care of the patient. Don’t leave today, have a meal at home!”
Han Xuetao tried to refuse, but the woman had already pulled her man inside.
When we came out after dinner, it was already getting dark.
He stood in the alley, looking at the two dilapidated houses side by side, with their blue bricks, gray tiles, and mottled walls. He thought of the American businessman he had heard about in his previous life, and those families who had become rich overnight.
In this life, it’s his turn.
When Han Xuetao returned to the hospital, it was already completely dark.
In the hospital room, Han Defu lay on the bed, and Zhao Xiurong sat beside him, wiping his face. Seeing her son enter, Zhao Xiurong put down the towel: “Why did you take so long?”
Han Xuetao sat down on the edge of the bed, remained silent for two seconds, and then said, “Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you.”
The elderly couple looked at him.
“I just bought the house.”
Zhao Xiurong was taken aback: “Huh?”
âThe two rooms that Sister Ping helped me rent,â Han Xuetao said, âI also bought the big one next door, and the one in the alley for that old bachelor. Itâs two rooms in total, forty-nine square meters.â
Han Defu tried to sit up, propping himself up on his arms, but Zhao Xiurong quickly helped him. The elderly couple stared at him as if he were an alien.
“Why…why are you buying a house?” Zhao Xiurong asked anxiously. “We’re only going to live here for a few months. Once your dad’s leg heals, we’ll go back to Donglin. Why buy it? It’s a waste of money!”
Han Defu frowned as well: “That money was meant for your college education! Now you’ve used it to buy a house, what about your tuition?”
Han Xuetao had long anticipated that they would be anxious.
He leaned back in his chair, his tone relaxed: “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing regarding the tuition. I’m working part-time at Donglin University, earning several dozen yuan a day. By the end of the summer, I’ll have more than enough to cover the tuition.”
Zhao Xiurong opened her mouth, as if to say something.
Han Xuetao continued, “Moreover, our class monitor said that we can apply for scholarships and subsidies when we get to university. Would the country really let an outstanding student like me drop out of school?”
Upon hearing this, the elderly couple’s expressions immediately softened considerably.
Their generation believed in the country, not anything else.
“That’s good, that’s good…” Zhao Xiurong murmured.
Han Defu leaned back against the pillow and sighed, “You’re all grown up now, you can decide your own affairs. The house is bought, so be it.”
He paused, then suddenly changed the subject: “I was chatting with Xiao Zhou in the next bed today. He’s a local from Ninghai and used to work in a plastics factory. He said there’s plenty of work for electricians like me in Ninghai. They’re short-staffed for private house construction and renovations, and working privately is much better than in a factory.”
He looked at his son and said, “When you start school, my leg will be better. I’ll find work in Ninghai to earn money to support your studies. Your mother can go back alone.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiurong objected: “You two are both staying here, what am I, a laid-off female worker, supposed to do back home?”
She sat down on the edge of the bed: “I’ll find a job here too. Washing dishes, sweeping, guarding the gate, there’s something I can do. The three of us will support Xiao Tao through university.”
She looked at Han Defu, then at her son: “Once he graduates, gets a job, and gets married, we’ll have accomplished our mission.”
Han Xuetao touched his nose and remained silent.
Get married.
In his previous life, he was worth hundreds of billions but never got married. In this life, he just graduated from high school, and his parents are already starting to think about him getting married.
But it’s fine, I guess.
At least they’re willing to stay in Ninghai.
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