1979: Literary Master, Starting from the Return of Educated Youth

Chapter 117 Aunt's Treasure

Xu Yuexin was not in a hurry either.

He looked outside the door, quietly admiring the beautiful early summer scenery in the courtyard, feeling calm and relaxed.

Shen Qingru was silent for a long time, but at the end a trace of confusion flashed in her eyes.

“220 per square meter is impossible.”

Shen Qingru looked at Xu Yuexin gently, as if trying to gain his understanding, "I also need to discuss the specific price with my parents."

"If it's convenient for you, you can come back tomorrow and I'll tell you the price then."

"how?"

Ha, everyone uses this trick of discussing with family members when buying or selling a house.

Xu Yuexin smiled in his heart.

"Okay, I'll go discuss it with my family as well."

Xu Yuexin agreed, "Then I'll come back in three days?"

"Well, I've been here the whole time."

Shen Qingru nodded.

Putting aside the identity of a buyer, Shen Qingru found it quite interesting to chat with Xu Yuexin.

The young man is politely spoken and knowledgeable, and knows a lot about history and culture.

Even if the deal doesn't go through, it's nice to be able to chat.

After returning home, Xu Yuexin told Chen Qiaoqiao the results of today's negotiations.

"Can we negotiate to 300?"

After hearing what Xu Yuexin said, Chen Qiaoqiao asked eagerly.

"Let's see. If that doesn't work, 300 or so will do."

Xu Yuexin thought for a moment and said.

……

Three days later, Xu Yuexin came to Shen Qingru's house as promised.

Shen Qingru put on the cheongsam again this time. It was made of aqua green satin, which highlighted her beauty and grace as a mature woman.

Seeing Xu Yuexin coming, Shen Qingru made a cup of tea for him and herself.

After brewing the tea, Shen Qingru sat back on the rosewood chair, her legs elegantly crossed together, the tips of her high heels lightly tapping the ground.

"Try the freshly picked Huangshan Maofeng."

She shifted her gaze toward the door and spoke calmly.

Xu Yuexin picked up the teacup, blew on it and took a sip.

"Good tea."

Xu Yuexin affirmed, "It's definitely not bought on the market."

"Yes, it was sent by a friend in Huizhou."

Shen Qingru said this without showing off.

Xu Yuexin nodded slightly without saying anything.

Anyone who can get top-quality freshly picked tea must be no ordinary person.

Shen Qingru is indeed a very cultured woman. If it were someone else, they would probably be eager to show off their friend's status.

At this time, a drizzle began to fall outside the window, pouring on the banana and willow leaves in the main courtyard, making the scene even more beautiful.

"How have you discussed this with your family?"

Shen Qingru took a sip of tea and asked calmly.

"My family is even more conservative than I am. What about you?"

"My parents were also very persistent and refused to give in."

"Then... it seems that I can only say it's a pity."

Xu Yuexin pretended to be helpless and shook his head.

"Let me think about whether I should act on my own for once."

Shen Qingru put her smooth, white wrist on the table and said.

Xu Yuexin remained silent and looked at her quietly.

Shen Qingru looked thoughtful. After a moment, she turned to Xu Yuexin and smiled gently, "380 per square meter. It can't be less."

"I'll do the math."

Xu Yuexin said, shaking his head after some calculations.

"70, which means it still hasn't dropped."

"It's dropped quite a bit. Xiao Xu, I think no one knows the value of this yard better than you."

"Thank you Aunt Shen for the compliment. I remember you said that you would lower the price if you met someone who knew the goods?"

"I surrendered."

"Forget it, let's not talk about the unit price. Let's talk about the total price, 45, how about it?"

Xu Yuexin said simply and concisely.

"No, it's too low, almost half the price."

"Xiao Xu, you are making things difficult for me."

Shen Qingru gently refused.

This aunt is really interesting. Her voice is always soft when she rejects people.

She should be from Suzhou?

Xu Yuexin pondered.

To ease the atmosphere, he asked Shen Qingru about her hometown.

"Hey, how do you know I'm from Suzhou?"

Shen Qingru said with a little surprise.

"Shen is a famous surname in Jiangnan, and the way you speak sounds like your accent is from there."

“People often say that Wu dialect is soft, and among all Wu dialects, Suzhou dialect is the softest.”

“You even know that.”

Shen Qingru smiled faintly and said, "The young man is really quite knowledgeable."

"It's rare that I get along with you. How about this? I'll lower the price to 68. Is that the price?"

"No, Aunt Shen, it's only less than 20,000, how come it's become an integer?"

"From seven to six. If I offer you this price, my parents will be unhappy when I get home."

Xu Yuexin could see that Shen Qingru's bottom line had really been touched this time.

According to the current situation, it would be extremely difficult to get her to descend again.

The problem is that the price of 68 is still far higher than what Xu Yuexin can afford.

The maximum is 58. Xu Yuexin drew a red line for himself in his heart.

We will do whatever it takes to get the price down to below this figure.

"You are going abroad, right? Have you exchanged your currency?"

Xu Yuexin changed the topic again to ease the deadlock.

"Not yet. I'm just worrying about this."

Shen Qingru said helplessly, "There is no RMB exchange channel in the United States. I don't know what to do."

"For amounts below 10, you can ask someone to exchange it in Hong Kong. For amounts above 10, I don't have a good solution."

Xu Yuexin saw a ray of hope in this.

At present, the country has just started to open up to the outside world, and the frequency of exchanges with the outside world cannot be compared with that of later generations. Correspondingly, it is very difficult to exchange foreign currency. All financial institutions in Europe and the United States do not have RMB exchange services. If mainland residents have needs, they can only go through Hong Kong, and the number is still limited.

Even a daughter of a prominent family like Shen Qingru was unable to exchange sufficient foreign currency.

And this is exactly Xu Yuexin's opportunity.

He has assets worth a total of 170 million Hong Kong dollars!

"Well, how about I use the foreign exchange to buy your house?"

Xu Yuexin looked at Shen Qingru and said.

Shen Qingru's beautiful eyes moved slightly.

"Why, do you have foreign exchange? How much?"

“Enough to pay for your house.”

"Then, we can talk."

"Let's talk about the price, right? I still keep the same price, 45 RMB, which is 72 Hong Kong dollars when converted."

Xu Yuexin raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said.

The initiative of this negotiation is in his hands.

"45 is still too little, add a little more."

"45."

"..."

Shen Qingru looked at him with a helpless look: Really just add a little?

"About 48, really."

"You are a connoisseur of value. I don't need to tell you much about the value of this yard."

"I am also in urgent need of foreign exchange, otherwise I would never agree to this price."

When saying this, Shen Qingru changed her previous quiet and elegant demeanor and spoke with a little anxiety.

She needs to buy a house and a car when she goes to the United States, and 10 Hong Kong dollars is not enough.

"46, no more."

Xu Yuexin said firmly, "You should understand the value of foreign exchange."

……

Shen Qingru remained silent and looked outside the courtyard again.

I saw that the yard was already shrouded in mist and rain. The heat stirred up by the raindrops formed clouds of mist, plunging the yard into a vast expanse of white.

Her mood at this moment was as confused as the mist and rain.

This is the ancestral home that my family has painstakingly built...

Do you really want to sell it for 46?
Shen Qingru regained her calm expression on the surface, but her inner struggle became more intense.

Xu Yuexin continued to drink tea, his eyes also fixed on the yard.

Without looking at Shen Qingru's expression, he knew her current state.

Urgent and not urgent are relative.

When Xu Yuexin first planned to pay in RMB, Shen Qingru was not in a hurry at all.

But when the payment method was changed to foreign currency, she became anxious.

Every class has its own weaknesses. It is true that Shen Qingru comes from a prominent family, and she indeed lives the life with the gentleness, generosity, elegance and composure that she should have.

Yin and Yang complement each other, which also means that Shen Qingru cannot accept a hard life and must maintain a relatively high standard of living even if she immigrates abroad.

At this time, she will be tied down by her foreign exchange and fall into a passive position.

Xu Yuexin thought leisurely.

In the main room, time passed by every second.

A hint of pity gradually emerged in Shen Qingru's eyes.

"Well, 46 is fine. You will cover all the transfer fees."

Finally, Shen Qingru let out a long sigh.

"We'll split the cost in half."

Xu Yuexin insisted.

"Fifty-fifty, then. The furniture is yours. But I want to take all the antiques and paintings."

"Okay, deal. We'll take some time to go to Hong Kong later."

Xu Yuexin said, "And Aunt Shen, I want to remind you that the country just issued a regulation two months ago that even precious antique calligraphy and paintings owned by individuals cannot be taken out of the country."

"what?"

Shen Qingru raised her eyebrows and looked surprised.

Shen Qingru has been busy with the procedures for going abroad for the past two months and has not had time to pay attention to other things.

Now Xu Yuexin said that these antique calligraphy and paintings cannot be taken away, which is a huge blow to her.

Shen Qingru's entire plan was disrupted, and her heart was in a mess.

At this moment, Xu Yuexin's voice woke her up from her confused thoughts.

"Let's continue talking about the house."

Xu Yuexin reminded, "We will take the contract to Hong Kong later and pay the money and sign it on the spot."

"After that, you have to come back from Hong Kong and help me with the transfer procedures."

"As for how much 46 RMB is converted into Hong Kong dollars, it will be determined based on the exchange rate on the day the contract is signed. How do you think?"

"Okay, I agree."

Shen Qingru forcibly cut off those complicated thoughts and agreed immediately.

No matter what changes there are in cultural relics policy, she must first deal with the issue of selling the house.

"Then it's settled. Let's complete the procedures for entering and leaving Hong Kong as soon as possible."

After saying this, Xu Yuexin stood up and walked to the door of the main room.

The rain in the yard has stopped, dew is dripping from the fresh green banana leaves, and the willow leaves are dancing in the wind.

What a nice early summer after the rain.

Xu Yuexin said happily, looking back at Shen Qingru: "I'm leaving, goodbye."

"Hey."

Shen Qingru then realized that she had not seen him off, and hurriedly stood up and said.

"I know you're in a bad mood about the artifacts."

Seeing that she was still dazed, Xu Yuexin comforted her by saying, "You can leave them in China and buy a house to store them."

"If you think about it from a broader perspective, the country has restricted the export of cultural relics for the sake of our national cultural heritage."

"Think about your ancestors. They certainly wouldn't want to see the cultural relics they worked so hard to accumulate being lost abroad, right?"

Shen Qingru's expression changed slightly when she heard what Xu Yuexin said.

"Well, you have a point. I never planned to sell antique calligraphy and paintings abroad."

"I just want to keep them with me so I can see them all the time."

“Perhaps, they do not belong to me, but to this land.”

After thinking about what Xu Yuexin said, Shen Qingru's eyes became light again, "No matter how reluctant I am, I still have to make the right decision."

……

After seeing Xu Yuexin off, Shen Qingru returned to the main bedroom and carefully examined each of the valuable calligraphy and paintings inside.

Among them, there is the "Plum Blossom and Banana Leaf" by Xu Wei of the Ming Dynasty, the rare Tang Sancai Phoenix Head Ewer, and the solitary collection of Wang Anshi's works...

What to do with them...

(End of this chapter)