Xie Lan looked at his son outside the door in surprise, carrying a large and small box and a bag on his back. After being stunned for about two seconds, he jumped out with a scream.
Fortunately, Hu Lai is much stronger now and was not knocked to the ground by his mother's attack.
But he still took two steps back before catching his mother.
“Wow, mom, you are also...”
"Why are you back? Didn't you say you want to play for two more days?" Xie Lan didn't give Hu Lai a chance to speak. He grabbed his shoulder, pushed him away a little distance, and looked at his son carefully.
“Of course I lied to you, just to give you a surprise.” Hu Lai said with a smile.
"You brat!" Xie Lan patted Hu Lai on the shoulder and cursed, but with a smile on his face. "You can inform us in advance so that your dad and I can pick you up..."
“No need, I am such a big man, how can I get lost on my own?”
“We can go and help you get your luggage...how did you come back alone?”
“I’m not alone, Mom.”
“Huh?” Xie Lan was stunned.
“I came back with Li Qingqing, and then she took her father’s car and took me back to Dongchuan. I took a taxi myself for the rest of the way...”
Before Hu Lai could finish his words, he was interrupted by his mother: "You came back with Li Qingqing?"
“Yes, I went to Paris first. After playing with her for two days, we came back together..."
“You’ve been playing for two days? What did you do?” Xie Lan’s eyes lit up.
Hu Lai was helpless: "Mom, I haven't even entered the house yet..."
"Oh? Oh, oh!" Xie Lan reacted. She just rushed out, and now she and her son are outside the door.
After she came to her senses, she helped her son carry the suitcases into the house. The mother and son went inside and closed the door to talk again.
As soon as the door closed, Xie Lan took his son's hand and asked eagerly: "Tell me, what did you play?"
“Actually, I didn’t do much, I just went to Disneyland…” Hu Lai said simply.
“Is that Disneyland fun?”
“It’s okay, I’m just too tired...even more tired than playing a game...” Hu Lai complained.
Xie Lan saw this and scolded him with a straight face: "That's not the right idea of yours. How can you feel tired when you hang out with girls?"
Hu Lai felt aggrieved: "It's really tiring... I can't even walk with my feet. Mom, you know that my physical fitness as a professional player is definitely better than that of ordinary people. I can't stand it at all..."
Xie Lan thought of her husband. Sure enough, all bad men have the same virtues!
She waved her hand: "Then you will take her father...your coach's car when you come back?"
"Um."
“Is his father happy to see you?” Xie Lan asked in a roundabout way to find out how his future in-laws would treat his son.
Hu Lai recalled the scene when they met at the airport. As always, the coach didn't seem to like him very much. He spoke plainly and his attitude was definitely not enthusiastic, even a little cold.
The coach has had this attitude towards him for so many years, so he is actually used to it and there is nothing wrong with it.
Anyway, he knew that the coach probably didn’t like him.
But it doesn’t matter, I don’t like him either!
“It’s okay, it’s normal.” Hu Lai replied.
“Did you talk about anything on the way back?”
Xie Lan still wanted to ask, but Hu Lai didn't want to answer: "Mom, I've been back for a long time, and I haven't even washed my hands, and you've been interrogating me for a long time..."
“Okay, okay, I won’t ask anymore. When your dad comes back tonight, I’ll make delicious food for you! Let’s celebrate the New Year early today!”
Hu Lai was startled: "The New Year is celebrated in May? Mom, are you celebrating this year's New Year or next year's New Year?"
“Of course it’s next year’s year, the Year of the Horse.”
"It's too early..." Hu Lai was very uncomfortable with it. During the Chinese New Year in the summer, he suddenly felt like he was from the southern hemisphere.
"Do you think I want to?" Xie Lan also complained, "You went to England to play football and can't come back in December. And I checked, the Premier League does not have a winter break, so you have to wait until Christmas and next January
If we can’t come back, won’t we have to wait until next summer to come back? It will be like this every year in the future, so naturally our family’s New Year will have to be brought forward to summer.”
Hu Lai was speechless. His mother was right.
I used to play football in China. Although the team was training every Spring Festival holiday and could not go home to celebrate the New Year, the season ended in November and December. He could go home to celebrate the New Year in advance. It was only two or three months in advance.
It was still winter, so the sense of inconsistency was not very obvious.
Now that I have gone to the Premier League, thousands of miles away, I have no way to go home to celebrate the New Year.
Most European leagues are New Year's Eve seasons. When the season is over, it will be summer. It's really embarrassing to have no place to go at this time...
So there is nothing my mother can do about this arrangement.
Hu Lai sighed. When people go abroad to play football and then return home, they are at best jet-lagged. It’s good for him. If he doesn’t have jet lag, he’ll be in trouble...
When he thought about celebrating the Spring Festival under the scorching sun, he had an indescribable and wonderful feeling. From now on, our family will have a "tradition" that is very different from other families.
The Chinese New Year is the New Year, and our family will celebrate the New Year in the summer.
※※※
As the exam approaches, the team’s activity time has been greatly compressed, and Li Ziqiang’s work has become more leisurely.
So he doesn’t have to go to school early every day.
You can spend more time with your daughter...looking at houses.
In these few days, they went from the houses around the school to the houses in the city center, and then all the way to the south of the city.
“This is a bit far from Dongchuan Middle School...” Li Ziqiang frowned.
"Dongchuan is so big, how far can it go?" Li Qingqing didn't care, "The environment in the south is good, and the focus of Dongchuan's future development is shifting to the south. After all, Jincheng is in the south. Buy a house here
, the room for appreciation is also greater..."
Li Ziqiang felt a little uncomfortable when he heard his daughter give him a clear and logical analysis of where it would be more beneficial to buy a house. How could his daughter consider such a thing in the past?
He has always hoped that his daughter could concentrate on playing football and not worry about anything else, because he would be there for everything else.
But since his daughter went to play football abroad, he realized that this model could not continue in the long term. Because he could not control the affairs around his daughter, he could only leave it to her to deal with.
Through the training of these two seasons, my daughter has indeed grown a lot in terms of independence.
only……
Li Ziqiang glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the gray top of his head.
The growth of a child is both a happy and sad thing for a father.
“Which real estate projects are we looking at today?” Li Ziqiang, who was driving, asked his daughter sitting in the passenger seat.
Li Qingqing, who was holding her mobile phone, pointed to a location on the map: "It's right here. Dad, just follow the navigation."
※※※
As Li Qingqing analyzed, Dongchuan is a small third- and fourth-tier city. Because it is adjacent to the provincial capital Jincheng, the city is not large due to the siphon effect. It is normal to drive from the community where Li Ziqiang currently rents to the several properties in the south of the city.
The traffic conditions took us 11 or 2 minutes to reach our destination, even during rush hour it only took a few minutes.
In other words, if you buy a house here, it will be very convenient for Li Ziqiang to go to work at Dongchuan Middle School. It takes fifteen or six minutes by car. And the place he is renting now requires a short walk to go to Dongchuan Middle School.
ten minutes.
Parking the car in the marked parking space on the roadside, the father and daughter walked towards their first real estate target of the trip.
Before entering the community, you can see the tall buildings in the community. The balconies on the facades are arranged in an orderly manner. There is also a two-story wind tunnel on each north-south building, which has a unique shape.
From outside the community, you can easily see the dense green trees and flowers inside, just like a park.
“This environment is really good...” Li Qingqing couldn’t help but admire. “No wonder the housing prices are much higher than those in the neighboring communities!”
“What does it look like to do with such an expensive house?” Li Ziqiang was still worried about money.
It’s true that his daughter has made some money now, but football is a youth sport, especially women’s football. He still has to think about his daughter’s future.
The reason why I am not opposed to buying a house is that I feel that buying a house can be regarded as an investment, and it is the only safe investment channel for ordinary people.
Buy a house now, wait for the value to gradually appreciate, and then sell it when you need money later.
It’s no problem if you don’t sell it. You’ll have an extra place to stand, so you won’t be unable to afford a house in the future.
But since you have an investment intention, if the starting house price is high, the space for investment appreciation is too small...
So Li Ziqiang doesn’t really want to see the houses in this community.
But Li Qingqing seemed to like it very much. She turned and pointed behind her father: "Look, Dad, there is a riverside greenway here. The air is good, the scenery is good, and it is convenient for exercise. When the weather is good, you can also bask in the sun on the riverside lawn."
...How wonderful!"
She has already sketched a beautiful picture of future life for her father.
After speaking, she took the lead and walked towards the rental and sales center located outside the community.
Li Ziqiang saw this and had no choice but to follow his daughter.
As soon as you walked into the leasing and sales center, the staff immediately greeted you warmly: "Hello, welcome to Hailan Shengjing. Do you want to buy a house or rent a house?"
Wearing a mask and a hat as a simple disguise, Li Qingqing said straightforwardly: "Buy a house. Do you have any house recommendations here?"
“Yes, yes!” When the staff saw that there was business coming to the door, they became more enthusiastic and quickly moved out the ready-made floor plans for Li Qingqing and Li Ziqiang to see.
Li Ziqiang frowned as soon as he saw it: "If I don't have such a big house, why would I live in a house worth 150 or 60 yuan by myself?"
Li Qingqing also feels that there is no need to buy such a big one. She does not have strong financial resources, so she should do what she can.
So she asked the salesperson: "Are there any small apartments? One with two bedrooms and one living room will do."
"Yes, some. For example, this type of unit is in a very good location. It is located at the top of the community. There is only one unit in this building with this type of unit, which is a scarce resource. Currently, there is only one unit left for sale...
Although the unit price is a bit more expensive, the scenery, lighting and ventilation you enjoy are first-class, and the apartment layout is very square, facing north and south..."
“Can I go see the house?” Li Ziqiang asked. He didn’t listen to the salesman. He hyped up the house so much that it might all be a lie in the end. Seeing is believing.
"sure!"
The salesperson found the key to the house from the drawer, and took the father and daughter from the rental and sales center into the community.
As he walked, he introduced: "What I am taking you to see is not a model house, but an actual house for sale that has been fully decorated. The furniture and appliances are all provided for you, so you can move in with your bags..."
After a group of three people took the elevator to the tenth floor, the salesperson got out of the elevator first, walked to a door, took out the key and opened the door.
Li Qingqing noticed that the door of the house next door had Spring Festival couplets and the word "Fu" on it. She asked, "Does the house next door have the same house type as ours?"
The salesperson shook his head: "That's not true. The area next door is larger. The unit you are looking at is at the westernmost end of the building. Only the two houses at the west end of this unit are small units, and the other two units are large units."
“Oh.” Li Qingqing asked casually.
The door to the sales room has been opened.
The morning sunlight shines in from the south, illuminating the living room that you see as soon as you enter the door with a golden light.
As the salesperson said, this apartment is transparent from the north to the south, with first-class lighting and ventilation. Although the apartment is small, it has small advantages. The decoration in the house coupled with the sunshine makes people feel warm immediately.
"Wow..." Li Qingqing let out a sigh, and his eyes lit up.
※※※
“Dad, which of the houses we looked at today do you think is better?” Li Qingqing asked Li Ziqiang on the way back in the car.
“I think? I think the 80-square-meter apartment in Xiangzhou Xiyuan is pretty good...” Li Ziqiang replied while driving.
"Dad, you are interested in the cheap one, right? But that community is really bad. You see, the agency took us in to see the house. We can enter casually without registration. The guard room is just like a decoration... If you live alone in this community,
I'm not worried." Li Qingqing retorted.
“I’m a grown man, why do you have to worry about me?” Li Ziqiang was happy.
“Anyway, I didn’t like it. The house itself was not good either. It was of average size and faced north. It didn’t get sunlight all year round and it was very damp. There was nothing good about it except that it was cheap...”
“You are right, if everything is good, how can it be so cheap?”
“So you get what you pay for. I think the Hailan Shengjing set is pretty good,” Li Qingqing said.
Li Ziqiang was not surprised. He smiled and said, "I knew you liked that style from the moment you entered the room."
“Is it that obvious?”
“There is light in your eyes.” Li Ziqiang said.
“Hey! Dad, let’s just buy this set, okay?”
Li Ziqiang drove the car and nodded: "Okay."
This set is a bit expensive, but my daughter likes it. What is more important than her daughter liking it?