It seemed that the owner was in a hurry to sell, so the process was done at record speed. Right after Fu Yunruo expressed her intention to purchase the house, Mr. Mo quickly brought her to various bureaus, completing the procedures in just three days.
After three days, Fu Yunruo was left with a nearly empty bank account and a shiny real estate certificate. Although her savings was now bottomed up, Fu Yunruo suddenly felt a huge relief — this certificate was a legal document that she now owned this house, and she and Wenwen finally had a house that truly belonged to them.
The purchase of a house gave Fu Yunruo a sense of taking roots. Although they regarded the house in Shanghe Village and the bungalow in the flower garden as home, those were never their houses after all.Wenwen was also ecstatic. It wasn’t a small feat to buy a property in the capital city, where a piece of land was more expensive than gold. How amazing!
“Mom, you are amazing!”
“Wenwen is amazing too!”
After the transfer procedures were over, the house was now completely Fu Yunruo’s. Since the previous owner had moved their belongings in advance, she could theoretically move in right away.
But Fu Yunruo was not in a hurry, mainly because she lacked the money to decorate the house and buy new furniture at this moment. She indeed liked the interior of the house and didn’t intend to revamp it, but the furniture in the bedrooms — such as beds, cabinets, wardrobes, and the likes — was very private and had to be replaced. Moreover, Wenwen was a big kid now and needed his own room, which had to be furnished according to his size and preferred style.
After the house was bought, Fu Yunruo took Wenwen to her studio. This was Fu Yunruo’s first time seeing the studio staff in person. Their number was not many, but Tiantian was very discerning, and the people she chose were excellent. The staff adored their boss and little boss from the bottom of their hearts. Fu Yunruo also found out that some of them were actually Wenwen’s ‘Mom and Daddy’ fans.
...
When Chi Weicheng learned that Fu Yunruo and Wenwen were in Beijing, he hurried to meet them, complaining, “Why don’t you inform me that you are in Beijing?” If not for his excellent network, he would still be kept in the dark even after they returned home.
Fu Yunruo smiled in response, “We are only staying for a few days. I’m afraid of bothering you.”
“We are students under the same teacher. No need to be so polite.” Fu Yunruo was not only his youngest junior sister but also their teacher’s favorite student. As a senior, it was just a given that he took good care of her, or the Teacher would chase him away the next time he visited.
Seeing that Fu Yunruo and the others were about to go out, Chi Weicheng asked where they were going.
“We are visiting the suburbs to survey a rental garden.” The new flower garden didn’t have to be located in an urban area with higher property prices. Considering the need for a larger site, it was more cost-effective to rent something in the suburb, which was why Fu Yunruo focused her search there.
As for Wenwen, this little guy refused to allow others to look after him and insisted on following his mother, so Fu Yunruo had no choice but to take him along.
“Uncle Guo will never agree to part with his precious orchids, so I plan to rebuild the flower garden here. With a site to grow his orchids secured, he should be willing to move with us.”
This plan was the most realistic. Having a new flower garden built in Beijing would not only allow Fu Yunruo to continue doing her job as before, but also eliminate Uncle Guo’s biggest concern and give her perfect ammunition to persuade the old man to move with them. Once this matter was settled, she and Wenwen could immediately launch their attack and beg Uncle Guo coquettishly. See if his attitude would not soften by then!
When Chi Yucheng heard Fu Yunruo’s plan, his eyes suddenly lit up, “Will Teacher be willing to move here?”
“I’ll do my best to persuade him.”
In fact, Fu Yunruo was not too confident. If Uncle Guo was still unwilling no matter what, then the only thing she could do was to bring Wenwen back to the village to visit the old man as often as possible.
“Since you have the plan, what about you meet with our other seniors? Unlike me, most of them work in this industry and are well-connected. They surely know better about suitable sites in the market.”
Fu Yunruo chuckled, “I’ve actually asked Tiantian to help.” Tiantian was both her employee and best friend, so it was just right to ask for her help. In any case, it was not in Fu Yunruo’s character to bother others with her affairs.
In the end, Chi Yucheng also tagged along today. It was a pity that the results were not satisfactory. The garden was too far from the house Fu Yunruo had just purchased, and the site was also not big enough. In the end, the group returned in disappointment.
“It’s alright. I’ve contacted the seniors and asked them to give you a call if they found anything suitable.”
“Thank you, Brother Chi.”
In fact, Fu Yunruo no longer had enough money to lease a garden and was doing some tours just to check on the local market situation. If she was lucky enough to find a suitable place, she planned to mortgage her newly-purchased house to a bank and slowly repay the loan with her income over time.
Fu Yunruo’s career was still going on steadily. A few days ago, an agent came in with an endorsement offer to represent a popular clothing brand called Yishang, a domestic brand famous for high-quality products made from comfortable fabrics and its simple yet fashionable design.
It was common knowledge that foreign brands were more popular in China. Yet, Fu Yunruo was a loyal fan of Yishang, thanks to their competitive prices compared to foreign brands despite the same level of quality and comfort. Since Fu Yunruo revealed her face to the public, she often appeared on the camera wearing Yishang’s product, which probably was why the brand reached out to her.
Fu Yunruo accepted the offer without much thought. The contract had just been signed a few days ago, and she had not yet officially started representing the brand. Once the endorsement started, however, various fees would start to be paid to her account one after another, and her financial situation would improve greatly by then.
Fu Yunruo, Wenwen, and Qian Shengnan returned to Shanghe Village after a few more days in Beijing. They hadn’t had the chance to meet either Si Yue or Yuan Xin on this trip, but saw the former practically everywhere. A movie Si Yue starred in was shortlisted for a triennial international film festival, which was a great honor for an actor. The news about Si Yue was flooding the internet, and a giant screen in the city square repeatedly played his movie trailer.
At first, Wenwen still clamored to see Si Yue, but after Fu Yunruo explained that Uncle Yue was going overseas with the director to promote his new movie, the boy stopped making a ruckus and nodded in understanding.
It took almost three days on the road to travel between the village and the capital, mainly because there was no direct transportation. They not only had to take a roundabout route, but also had to transfer buses several times after getting off the plane. A car would make the journey faster and a bit more convenient, but long-distance travel would remain a hassle unless an airport was built near the town.
When Fu Yunruo’s group of three reached home, they were totally beaten. It took no time for the villagers to hear the news of their return and began to come visiting in flocks. They all wanted to know whether Ruoruo and Wenwen were really going to move?
In fact, the villagers had known from the beginning that Ruoruo and her son would leave their small village sooner or later, but when the time to say goodbye really came, everyone was very reluctant.
They had gotten along as neighbors for a few years and had long regarded Fu Yunruo and Wenwen as their own. Moreover, they had also watched Wenwen grow up from a red-faced newborn into the cute and handsome little lad he was now, and were even more reluctant to part whenever they thought that the tender, cute, and soft little boy who called them uncle and aunt in his babyish voice would no longer be here.
The ones who received the most shock, however, were the children, who couldn’t believe their ears.
Their Wenwen was going to leave the village far, far away?
The children rushed to Fu Yunruo’s house one after another and crowded the yard in an instant. They surrounded Wenwen tightly, expressing their sadness, loss, and disbelief.
Trusting her son to appease his playmates, Fu Yunruo left the children alone and went back into the house. A bunch of parcels had arrived and were now piled up in the living room, bought as souvenirs from their trip to Beijing. Together with Qian Shengnan, Fu Yunruo spent hours unpacking and delivering the souvenirs to their neighbors.
These souvenirs were actually bought using Wenwen’s money, because Fu Yunruo had spent most of her savings buying the house and no longer had sufficient cash on hand to buy gifts for the entire village. In the end, with Wenwen’s consent, Fu Yunruo reluctantly used the boy’s savings for the purchase.
Everyone in the village, including their pet cats and dogs, received a gift from Fu Yunruo to thank for their kindness over the years.
…
The remaining days passed peacefully, and Fu Yunruo continued her normal life while Wenwen spent his time playing with his friends as much as possible. At the end of August, the boy received another shocking announcement from his mother.
“Going to kindergarten?!” Wenwen had heard from Fu Yunruo more than once that he was about to start schooling. But seeing no particular actions on his mother’s part, he soon let go of his worry.
Wenwen’s eyes rolled, thinking hard and quick. He then said pitifully, “I don’t want to go to kindergarten. I want to spend more time with Grandpa Mei, Grandma Mei, Zhuangzhuang, and the others…”
Wenwen grabbed Fu Yunruo’s hand and shook it, acting coquettishly, “Mom, can I?”
Who’d like to go to kindergarten with little kids! With his brain, he should be in the fifth grade at the lowest, alright!
“Mom, I’m still young. I’m still a baby…”
Fu Yunruo was amused, but she deliberately looked serious as she argued, “Don’t you always call yourself a little adult? You are already a four-year-old big kid. It’s time for you to enter kindergarten.”
Wenwen retorted and raised six of his chubby fingers, “I’m not four yet. It’s still six months away!”
“Witty kid!” Fu Yunruo stopped arguing with the boy. Her original intention of enrolling Wenwen so early was not to make him learn any knowledge, but to let him get used to the local kindergarten for a semester. She wanted him to not feel out of place once they moved to Beijing and started schooling for real.
Since the boy himself refused to go, Fu Yunruo didn’t force it. Wenwen was indeed a bit too young, but he would grow up a bit and should be more sensible in a few months. Moreover, Wenwen’s argument actually touched Fu Yunruo’s soft spot because, just like her son, she also took the hassle of commuting from and to the flower garden every day, all for the sake of spending more of what’s little time remaining in the village.
That evening, Fu Yunruo went to the Mei family house to chat with Auntie Mei as usual. These past few days, she noticed Uncle Mei left early and returned late every day, and he always came back with a smile on his face.
Curious, Fu Yunruo asked, “Does something good happen?”
Auntie Mei replied, “It should be about the government. He has been very mysterious recently.”
“Does it have something to do with the donation?” Fu Yunruo was reminded. Otherwise, why should Uncle Mei go out for meetings all day?
“It seems so?”
However, both Fu Yunruo and Auntie Mei guessed wrong. It turned out that a survey team of some huge corporation took fancy of the beautiful scenery and air quality, and thus expressed their intention to build a retirement home for the elderly here.
The scope of the project was huge, involving at least several county towns and villages.
Needless to say, the money involved would not be small, enough to even alarmed the higher-ups. Moreover, this so-called investment was actually a charity project with no prospect of profit. However, if everything went well and the project was successful, the local economy was guaranteed to be heavily stimulated.
For a long time, the government had been racking their brains to develop the rural economy and lift the locals out of poverty. Still, there was no easy one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. The geographical location in most places was horrible, located deep into the mountain and far from modern infrastructures. Not only did the area lack convenient access, but there were also no particular resources that might attract private investment.
This time, a consortium that ranked forefront globally and whose main power was located abroad had expressed their willingness to pour heavy money on rural development projects. Seeing this act of patriotism, the government naturally gave the green light without much thinking.
The consortium also decided to fund the construction of an airport nearby in order to facilitate future tourism projects.
This was a great boon for the locals. Since the news came out, the land price had gone up.
Recently, the favorite pastime for the villagers was to get together and chat about the project. They had lived here for generations, but never realized that their home was actually a treasure trove highly regarded by outsiders. They all felt honored.
Fu Yunruo was equally overjoyed. If an airport was really going to be built nearby, it would be easier for them to go back to visit!
Everything was going for the better!