"This one in Phoenix New Village," Song Yi said, handing Chen Yang the documents. "Brother Yang, the landlord was in a hurry to sell, so when he heard we were paying in full, he offered to lower the price by 10,000 yuan, and we finally settled on 590,000 yuan."
Chen Yang took the documents and glanced at them; he knew which one Song Yi was referring to. This house was also located in Phoenix New Village, a central area of Zhonglou District. This village was built in the late 1980s, consisting of old brick-and-mortar buildings. Similar to the houses in Hengxiang, many long-time residents of Phoenix New Village were eagerly awaiting demolition, and many couldn't wait and started selling their houses.
Chen Yang remembered that Phoenix New Village was supposed to be demolished by the end of 2010. Buying the house at the current price would at least double his profit by the time of demolition. Chen Yang's own asking price was 650,000 yuan, but Song Yi had actually managed to negotiate it down to 590,000 yuan.
Chen Yang said happily,
"Great, Xiao Yi, go get a new bank card tomorrow. I'll transfer 680,000 yuan to your account. 60,000 yuan is your bonus, and the remaining 30,000 yuan should cover the transfer fees!"
Song Yi's new ID card was processed by Han Wenhai that day and mailed to Rongcheng by express mail, making it convenient for him to open a bank account and transfer the house to his name later.
Song Yi quickly waved his hand and said,
"Brother Yang, please don't! I just talked, it's not worth 60,000 yuan! If you really want to give it, transfer 650,000 yuan. After all the transaction fees are included, there will still be money left!"
Chen Yang thought for a moment, seeing that Song Yi's tone was sincere and not just being polite, so he agreed without much consideration. They were brothers, and this small amount of money didn't need to be calculated too meticulously. Chen Yang also planned to give Song Yi shares in the company later, which would be a huge fortune once the company grew. "Xiao Yi, hurry up and negotiate the remaining few houses. Making some concessions on price is fine, the important thing is to secure them as soon as possible!" Chen Yang instructed again.
"Okay! Don't worry, Brother Yang!" Song Yi said confidently, "I'm confident I can handle at least two houses!"
"Thank you for your hard work!" Chen Yang patted Song Yi on the shoulder, encouraging him, "Xiao Yi, I'll schedule a time in a few days to introduce you to some leaders in the real estate management department. You'll be dealing with them frequently in the future!"
...
Then, Chen Yang spent another four or five days in anticipation and anxiety. During this time, Song Yi successfully signed the contract for the house in Phoenix New Village. This time, Chen Yang had Song Yi find a real estate agency to handle the transfer, paying a few thousand yuan more in commission, which would save a lot of trouble. Chen Yang felt it was worthwhile, since it was impossible to ask Xie Fangzhi for help every time, and if everything went smoothly, there were still several houses to transfer! That day, Song Yi's training school had no classes, so Chen Yang called Guan Weiping, Xie Fangzhi, and others to arrange dinner together that evening. Guan Weiping hadn't been very busy with work lately and hadn't seen Chen Yang for a long time, so he readily agreed.
Remembering that he had been driving without a license, Chen Yang also called Kan Xufeng, the director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, to invite him to dinner that evening. He wanted to take the opportunity to discuss his driver's license issue, hoping that Kan Xufeng could handle the process and avoid many troublesome intermediaries.
Around 5 PM, after getting ready, Chen Yang was about to take Song Yi out. Suddenly, the video intercom at the entrance beeped. Chen Yang answered, and the security guard said,
"Mr. Fang, someone's delivering a package. Would you like to leave it at our security room?"
Chen Yang immediately realized it was the limited-edition Yabeah doll from Italy and quickly replied,
"No, no! Tell him to wait a moment, I'll come get it myself!"
After saying that, Chen Yang told Song Yi to wait for him at home, then ran out, jumped into his SUV, and drove straight to the entrance of the residential complex. Upon arriving at the gate, Chen Yang saw a young man in a DH Express uniform waiting at the security desk. He quickly ran over and asked,
"Where's the package?"
The young man pulled a 20-centimeter square cardboard box from a large bag on the back of his electric scooter and handed it to Chen Yang, saying,
"Sir, this is your international package. Please sign for it."
Chen Yang carefully checked the seal and the delivery slip, and after confirming everything was correct, he quickly signed his name on the receipt. Holding the box, Chen Yang suppressed his excitement and drove back to the villa.
Under Song Yi's surprised gaze, Chen Yang took the box straight to the study on the third floor. Using a utility knife to cut the packaging tape, Chen Yang's slightly trembling hands opened the box.
Inside lay a cute little raccoon plush toy, carefully surrounded by plenty of shock-absorbing foam, and the toy was also wrapped in a waterproof, sealed plastic bag. Inside another waterproof plastic bag were the original Yabeah company's certificate of authenticity and sales invoice.
Chen Yang carefully opened the sealed bag, holding the teddy bear in his hands and examining it closely, not missing a single detail. During this time, Chen Yang had browsed numerous articles introducing this teddy bear, mostly sharing photos and texts from collectors, so he had a thorough understanding of it.
Through careful examination, Chen Yang confirmed that this was undoubtedly a genuine Yabeah 1985 limited edition raccoon teddy bear. He breathed a long sigh of relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, and it felt as if he had completed an unfinished mission from a previous life. Chen Yang felt a sense of clarity and peace.
He sat blankly in his chair, staring at the teddy bear, his thoughts wandering. He recalled the moments he shared with Xu Qingya in his previous life, and a warm smile appeared on his lips. After a while, Chen Yang finally sat up straight, opened the website of the third-party platform through which the transaction was conducted, and clicked the "confirm receipt" button.
Then Chen Yang sent an email to the seller, expressing his deep gratitude for their generosity. He carefully wrapped the doll and placed it back in the cardboard box. After thinking for a moment, he locked the box in a drawer under the bookshelf before getting up and going downstairs.
...
In the evening, it was still the Jiangbin No. 1 Clubhouse, still the same private room number one. The difference was that when Chen Yang and Song Yi arrived at the room, led by a waiter, they found Xie Fangzhi and Guo Li already there, waiting.
This small detail also indicated Chen Yang's rising status in Xie Fangzhi's eyes. For a high-ranking official to personally greet Chen Yang, a college student, in the lobby would be somewhat impolite, but his arrival more than ten minutes early and waiting in the private room subtly conveyed a certain attitude.
Chen Yang quickly greeted Xie Fangzhi and Guo Li, repeatedly apologizing for keeping the two leaders waiting, and then introduced Song Yi to them. Having heard that Song Yi was Chen Yang's best friend, Xie Fangzhi and Guo Li treated him with great courtesy.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone took their seats in the waiting area, chatting and drinking tea while waiting for Guan Weiping and the others.
A short while later, Chen Yang and the others heard a gentle knock on the door of the private room. Looking up, they saw Guan Weiping and Kan Xufeng entering together, accompanied by a middle-aged man in his early forties, whose demeanor exuded a silent authority, clearly a high-ranking official within the system.
Chen Yang stood up to greet them, smiling as he spoke to Guan Weiping and the others. Guan Weiping smiled and nodded to Xie Fangzhi and Chen Yang, then said to Chen Yang, "Chen Yang, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Lu Mingjun, Deputy Secretary of the Yongle County Party Committee. He's currently in charge of the preparatory work for the Cross-Strait Cultural Industry Creative Park in the province."
Yongle County is a suburban county of Rongcheng City, and Lu Mingjun is already at the deputy-department level. However, Guan Weiping said he's in charge of the creative park's preparatory work, which means he'll soon become the director of the management committee. This implies the creative park has a full-department-level structure. This Lu Mingjun must be a cadre in Fang Hongda's inner circle; otherwise, Guan Weiping wouldn't have brought him to such a private gathering.
Chen Yang's mind raced, and he understood Guan Weiping's intention. He had mentioned at Fang Hongda's house last time that he hoped to start a business during his university years, and the entrepreneurial direction he mentioned was precisely the cultural industry. Guan Weiping introducing him to Lu Mingjun, the future director of the creative park's management committee, was paving the way for his future entrepreneurial endeavors!
"Brother Guan really takes good care of me!" Chen Yang thought to himself. A warm smile spread across his face as he said,
"Secretary Lu, hello, hello!"
Although Chen Yang was young, Lu Mingjun dared not be negligent, given how highly Guan Weiping regarded him. He extended his hand with a beaming smile to shake Chen Yang's hand in greeting.
After a few pleasantries, everyone took their seats. Once the dishes were served, the guests began toasting and chatting. In official circles, having more friends means more opportunities, and everyone present was a high achiever within the system, so the atmosphere at the table was very harmonious. Song Yi quickly got into character, running around serving the leaders and frequently toasting them. However, he still followed Chen Yang's instructions, consciously controlling himself and not daring to drink excessively.
From the conversation, Song Yi learned that these people present were all prominent figures in Rongcheng. If he drank too much and lost control, it would be a waste of Brother Yang's efforts. Seeing these important figures treating Chen Yang with such courtesy, Song Yi's admiration for him grew even stronger.
Chen Yang didn't deliberately promote Song Yi. Everyone knew better; Chen Yang bringing Song Yi to the gathering spoke volumes. If Song Yi needed anything in the future, these people would likely give Chen Yang face.
Chen Yang chatted amiably with the leaders, able to discuss anecdotes about officialdom without seeming awkward or impolite. He'd experienced this kind of situation countless times in his past life, so he felt perfectly comfortable.
At this moment, a casual remark from Lu Mingjun caught Chen Yang's attention. Lu Mingjun said with a smile:
"The organization put me in charge of the creative park, but I'm really not confident! The cultural industry is tough these days! The other day, Deputy Director Zhou from the city radio station complained to me that their 88.3 channel is declining and has been operating at a loss for several years."
Chen Yang's heart stirred slightly. He picked up his glass, stood up, and walked towards Lu Mingjun.