Chapter 52 - Moving (1)
Buying the house along with all the other expenditures came out to be $485,000. She spent $150 that afternoon, plus housing rental and agency fees etc. which came out to be $430. She would need to give Manager Wang another $10,000 tomorrow for remodeling. She had spent almost $500,000 in total.
The five houses that she sold came out to be $91,000. The cash from Ye Zhiqiang’s company came out to $1.5 million. That plus the original $10,000 saving came out to $2.42 million. Now, she only has $1.92 million.
There would be tuition for the two children and after school classes plus other living expenses. She would, of course, have some expenditures herself as well. All said and done, even $1.92 million didn’t seem like a lot of money.
That wouldn’t work. She would need to figure out some way to bring in more income. Getting a job was not a realistic option. The original owner only graduated grade school. She wouldn’t be able to get any remotely decent jobs. She didn’t want to go work in a factory. Not to mention she has two children to take care of, she needed her schedule to be flexible. Her best option was to start her own business. It has always been said that back in the 90s, there was gold all over the floor. But one would still need to have the ability to pick them up.
Shu Yan’s own parents raised her and her brothers by running a fruit store. A fruit store might not seem much, but its profit was ridiculously high. Even after counting the rotten produce, the profit was still at 50%. But a fruit store was too much work for just one person. Shu Yan didn’t think she would be able to handle that. She had a cousin who had a shoe store; that was a profitable line of business as well. Shu Yan decided to look into the direction of shoes and clothing.
That would be a long-term plan. She needed to wait till the kids started school first.
“Mom, are we going to be staying here permanently?” asked Ye Jingjing after a long hesitation.
“Yes, and you will be able to start school in a few days. Are you happy about that?” Shu Yan looked at her daughter who had recently gained a little bit of weight. She has a very decent feature. She’d be a pretty girl when she gained a little more weight and her skin tone lightened up another shade or two.
“I can start school in a few days?” Ye Jingjing’s eyes lit up.
Shu Yan nodded and said, “Yes, mom found a good school for you. You should be able to start maybe…. Next week or so.” Today was already Thursday and Manager Wang said he’d let her know by tomorrow. The school might not be as fast plus the weekend. They were probably looking at least until Monday.
“Mom! I want to go to school too!” said Ye Tianbao. When he saw the excitement in his sister, his own eyes were sparkling as well.
“Yes, you will be going to school too,” said Shu Yan as she touched the tip of his nose. “You will need to follow the teacher’s instructions and not fight with other kids, okay? Otherwise, the teacher will scold you and the other kids won’t want to play with you and will you be all alone, alright?”
“I promise I won’t fight and will listen to the teachers!” said Ye Tianbao as he pounded on his chest.
His promises meant nothing to Shu Yan. She’d find out after for sure after he started school.
The next morning, after preparing breakfast for the two children and having a few bites of it herself, Shu Yan still has a lot to take care of – blankets, propane stove, kitchen stuff, table, chairs, etc. And, she also needed to meet up with Manager Wang and find out about the status of the down payment.
There were a few shops right outside the market selling everyday items. Shu Yan bought two blankets, a dining table and chairs set, bowls, plates, utensils, etc. etc. Luckily, cycle rickshaws were very popular back in the days in City Nan. Shu Yan didn’t even have to wave one down before a few stopped in front of her to see if she needed their services. Shu Yan picked a young man to help her move all her stuff onto the cart and then moved them upstairs after they had arrived at their destination. She paid him extra money for his trouble.