Tehran Grocery Store: My Intelligence is Priced Clearly

Zhang Jian rubbed his temples and answered the call.

"Hello, Mom."

"Hey kid, what are you doing! You're taking so long to answer the phone."

My mother's strong voice came through the phone.

The sound was mixed with a few familiar hawking cries, sounding like it was coming from a vegetable market in a county town.

"Nothing much, just found a few helpers for the shop, they're on their way back."

"Your shabby shop needs to hire people?"

My mother's surprised voice came through the phone.

"It seems you weren't lying last time."

Zhang Jian moved his phone a little further away and quickly got back to the main topic.

"Mom, why are you calling me at this hour?"

"Hey, what else could it be?"

"You said you wanted to buy a house last time, so I've been working on it these past few days."

"We've basically visited every housing development in and around our county now."

My mother's tone revealed an undisguised excitement.

"Oh? So, which one did you like?"

Zhang Jian leaned back in his chair and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"I've got my eye on three properties, but I can't make up my mind, so I'm asking you for advice."

Mom cleared her throat and began her report.

"The first one is in that newly developed area in the east of the city."

"It's a top-floor duplex with a huge terrace."

"I've seen it. The terrace gets great sunlight. I'll buy some soil to put on it later. Not only can I grow flowers, but I can also grow some scallions, garlic, and bok choy."

Zhang Jian was delighted to hear this.

Why spend a lot of money to buy a rooftop garden just to grow onions and garlic?

That's exactly the kind of thing your own mother would do.

"What about the second set?"

He followed up with a question.

"The second one is in the south, it's a small villa, three stories high with a small yard."

Mom clicked her tongue twice.

"The house is really beautiful and quite grand."

"That property management fee alone costs several thousand yuan a year! Isn't that highway robbery?"

"One is a penthouse, one is a villa, so what about the third one? A large single-level apartment?"

"I prefer the third one!"

My mother's voice came again.

"It's near our old street, a newly built residential complex, on the ground floor facing the street."

"I asked the developer, and they said the balcony can be knocked down and replaced with a roller shutter door."

"The street is right outside my door, how convenient!"

"If I have nothing to do in the future, I can set up a stall at the entrance and sell some cigarettes, alcohol, and drinks..."

Zhang Jian sighed helplessly.

"Mom, I'm sending you money so you can buy a nice house and enjoy your retirement, not so you can buy goods and open a small shop."

"What's wrong with running a small shop? People get sick easily if they're idle!"

My mom wasn't happy about it.

"Okay, okay, you're right."

Zhang Jian quickly stopped.

"But if you ask me, I'd buy that little villa."

"It has three floors, and it's spacious to live in."

"As for the property management fees, please don't worry about them."

"It's only a few thousand dollars, which might not even be as high as the interest you get from depositing money."

"Are you really buying a villa?"

My mother was still a little reluctant and said hesitantly.

"Although housing prices are not high now, that villa is quite large, so the total price is not cheap."

"Your $500,000 is a lot of money in RMB, but after buying it all, you'll only have about half left!"

"Mom, you really don't need to worry about the money."

Zhang Jian put his hands behind his head and rested his head on his palms.

"I've landed a few big orders and made quite a bit of money."

"It's more than enough to buy a villa in our county town."

"Another order?"

My mom was skeptical. "Really?"

"More real than pearls."

"Don't worry, eat and drink as usual. If you see a villa you like, just buy it in full. If it's not enough, I'll transfer more money to you."

"If you really like that floor, you can buy it too, since a floor in a residential building doesn't cost much anyway."

"You have so much money, why buy so many houses? Houses aren't worth much anymore, they get cheaper every year!"

"spendthrift."

His mother scolded him in a bad mood.

Zhang Jian shrank his neck.

Well, let's just go along with it.

If you say the wrong thing, you'll get scolded.

"Let's put the money aside for now. I'm calling you today because I have something important to discuss."

Zhang Jian's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

"What important matter?"

"Your Aunt Zhang has found you a girl!"

My mother's voice instantly rose in pitch, even taking on a somewhat mysterious tone.

Zhang Jian's hand trembled, and he quickly sat up.

"Mom, I'm abroad, why would I go on a blind date..."

"What happened while you were abroad?"

"So you don't get married abroad?"

"You're already twenty-six! Look at Aunt Wang's youngest son next door, he's two years younger than you, and his second child is already old enough to run errands!"

My mom started bombarding me with questions.

"Let me tell you, this girl is really exceptional."

"Not only is she pretty, but she's also a college graduate and now works as a primary school music teacher in our county."

"My family is well-off; my parents are both retired workers, and we know them well."

"People heard that you do business abroad, but they didn't mind that you're rarely home."

Zhang Jian felt a chill run down his spine.

"Mom, I really don't have time, there's a ton of stuff to do at the shop."

"Don't try to fool me with the store's claims!"

My mom doesn't buy into that at all.

"I've already spoken to Aunt Zhang about it."

"You'd better set aside half an hour for me this weekend."

"Go get a haircut, shave, and change into some more presentable clothes."

"I'll create a group chat later, and you two can video chat and chat!"

"Anyway, you just hired someone, and you have time."

"No, Mom, this video dating is ridiculous..."

"Stop arguing, it's settled!"

Zhang Jian's mother didn't give him a chance to argue.

"I'm telling you, if you dare to stand me up at 3 PM this weekend, don't ever call me Mom again!"

"It's dead!"

"Beep beep beep..."

The phone call was unilaterally cut off.

Zhang Jian stared blankly at the black screen of his phone, feeling completely numb.

He, a powerful intelligence broker who wields influence in Tehran and is treated with utmost respect even by high-ranking military officials, is being forced into a video blind date by his own mother.

If Ahrid and Salish knew this, they'd probably laugh themselves silly.

Farhad has recently been learning Chinese. Although he can't understand most of it yet, he does know the word "mother".

Compared to the arrogant attitude on the phone, look at your own boss's submissive demeanor.

He finally couldn't hold back anymore.

His lips curled up wildly, and his shoulders twitched from trying to hold back his laughter.

"Boss, the auntie is quite energetic."

Zhang Jian glared at him irritably.

"You don't know anything, this is bloodline suppression."

He put his phone back in his pocket and scratched his head in frustration.

"Alright, stop laughing."

"Drive faster, we have a ton of things to take care of back at the shop."

"Suleiman and his men will be reporting for duty tomorrow, so the equipment list needs to be revised again."

"clear."

Farhad stopped smiling and stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck drove out of the slum area and turned onto a relatively flat asphalt road.

Zhang Jian rolled down the car window, letting the wind blow in, trying to dispel the annoyance in his mind about "blind dates".

The car drove forward for about ten minutes.

Farhad's previously relaxed body suddenly tensed up, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.

"Boss."

Farhad's voice was low and tinged with wariness.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Jian sensed something was wrong and sat up straight.

"We're being watched."

Farhad gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands.

"From the intersection after we left the market, that black Toyota SUV followed us the whole time."

"I tried changing lanes twice, but he held on tightly both times."

Zhang Jian glanced back.

At a distance of several dozen meters, there was indeed a black SUV without license plates following slowly behind.

The car windows were covered with extremely dark privacy film, making it impossible to see the people inside.

"Mossad? Or the CIA?"

Zhang Jian squinted.

"uncertain."

Farhad reached for his sidearm at his waist with one hand.

"Boss, should we take a detour and go back to Suleiman's place?"

Zhang Jian stared at the car for a few seconds and chuckled softly.

"No need, just walk normally."

"I'm really not afraid of them in the South District."

"He wants to come along, so let them come."