Chapter Thirty-Nine Persuasion

  As for why Chu Chen got up so early today, it was because today is Saturday and he decided to go to the flea market. And not just today, whenever he has time recently, he will go to the flea market. After all, in that kind of environment, not to mention the opportunity to pick up bargains, even the information about antiques is more timely than on the internet.

  Of course, this decision is only temporary. If he earns enough money on this trip to Yunnan, he won't go picking up stalls again. At that time, he will prepare for opening a store. Moreover, if you have more money and still pick up stalls, others will think that you have ulterior motives.

  Soon, Chu Chen exercised at home for a while, had a simple breakfast, and then took his own trunk to the antique market.

  When Chu Chen arrived at the antique market, although it was not yet bright, there were already many people, after all, it was Saturday, and the stalls were set up early, and customers also came early. Of course, these customers came so early to pick up leaks, so generally, transactions were not many.

  In the market management office, Chu Chen relied on his old connections to get a position in that area, and he also threw a pack of cigarettes over. Although they were all old connections, if you don't give them some benefits from time to time, those old connections will become new connections.

  Today was also coincidental. Next to his position, it happened to be Zhou Wenping's stall, while Lao Wu was separated from them by several positions.

  As soon as Chu Chen walked in, he saw Zhou Wenping yawning widely. He couldn't help but ask with a smile: "Brother Zhou, what kind of bad thing did you do last night? Why are you so sluggish today?"

  Zhou Wenping saw Chu Chen and scolded with a smile: "You little boy, can't even spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Do you still think I would do something to wrong your sister-in-law Zhou?"

  It's also quite hard for Zhou Wenping, since his wife got sick, it's definitely not going to work out, all these years he has been diligent and dedicated, never heard of him finding another woman, have to say he is a good husband.

  "Haha, men are like that, otherwise you wouldn't be yawning all the time. I've never seen this before!" Chu Chen joked with him.

  "Get out, I'm like this and still not two kids. Yesterday was too noisy, slept at 12 o'clock, and came at 2 o'clock this morning. Didn't sleep much, can you not be sleepy? However, I said you haven't experienced anything in life, what do you know about being a man? Or have you already...?"

  Chu Chen's face turned red as the topic was suddenly shifted to him, who could blame him for being a mere rookie? He hastily changed the subject and said: "Ah, this... hmm... Brother Zhou, you came so early, how's business?"

  "You little brat"

  Zhou Wenping pointed at Chu Chen with his finger, seeing him change the subject, and didn't take advantage of it to attack. Instead, he helped Chu Chen clean up the things on the stall while saying: "It's okay, should be able to earn around 300-500 yuan, but since today is Saturday, the earnings are a bit less."

  Zhou Wenping was under a lot of pressure, so Chu Chen comforted him: "It's still early now, the first wave at dawn, but they're just some who like to pick up leaks. Those who are really generous with their spending are rare. Look at me, I'm usually not happy to come over so early."

  "You're a rich man who doesn't know what it's like to be poor and hungry. Ah, I just remembered, didn't you win big at the gamble yesterday? It's all over the market, heard it was a huge surge!"

  The news of winning the bet spread so quickly, Chu Chen wasn't surprised at all. He humbly said: "It's nothing, just luck, besides it was only a small amount of money."

  Zhou Wenping listened and pointed at him, saying: "Look, rich people are really arrogant. I heard that you made over a million, but in your mouth it's just small change. It seems that one day we'll have to rob this country bumpkin. But with so much money, why do you still want to come and share the bill? You can open a smaller store too."

  "After waving his hand, Chu Chen said: 'With this little money, what kind of store can I open? Brother Zhou, don't you know that the rent for stores is so expensive now? If I open a store, decorate and stock up on goods, this little money will only be enough for me to drink northwest wind. It's better for me to buy a house than to open a store.'"

  "Ah, this is indeed the case. Now house prices are getting more expensive by the day, and rents are starting to rise too. If this continues, our household expenses will be hard to bear. But if we go back, all we have is an old rural house. The education of our two kids can't compare with what's available here. Just thinking about it makes me anxious."

  Chu Chen saw Zhou Wenping's worried and unhappy expression, so he said to him: "Zhou, how about this? I'll lend you money to buy a house."

  "How can this be? Are you not going to buy a house?" Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Wenping waved his hand repeatedly and firmly refused.

  "Hey, I'm telling you, Brother Zhou, just listen to me finish speaking. To be honest with you, I've got this many now." He made a hand gesture of fifteen.

  Zhou Wenping certainly didn't think it was 150,000 and whispered in surprise: "So much?"

  "So, with this amount of money, it's entirely possible for both our families to buy a house. I think like this, Brother Zhou, why not take advantage of the current relatively low housing prices and buy a three-bedroom apartment? Think about it, after all, the kids will grow up, and rather than trouble ourselves later, we might as well solve the problem early."

  "Three-bedroom apartment? I don't even dare to think about it, that must cost a fortune! How can my family afford it?"

  "Brother Zhou, I've also asked around about housing prices before. A smaller three-bedroom apartment would cost around 400,000 to 500,000 yuan. If you pay it all at once, there might even be a discount. Adding the renovation costs and all that, 500,000 should definitely be enough."

  "Five hundred thousand? With what I'm earning now, it'll take me ten years to pay that back. How can that be okay?"

  "Brother Zhou, the money can be earned slowly and repaid, but for the sake of your wife and children, buying a house now is the most cost-effective. Think about it, after buying a house, your wife's living environment will improve, and the conditions for the kids to go to school will also get better. We work hard to earn money, isn't it all just to let our wives and children live a good life?"

  Chu Chen saw Zhou Wenping's deep thinking appearance and knew that he had already been moved, so he continued to persuade him:

  "Zhou Ge, think about it, our Beijing has just successfully bid for the Olympics, and in the future, housing prices will definitely be more expensive than they are now. It's possible that they'll increase by half or even more. If we don't buy now, it'll be even harder to buy later on. You wouldn't want your wife and kids to always have to rent a place to live, or maybe choose to move back to Xi'an in a few years."

  After hearing Chu Chen say that, Zhou Wenping indeed moved his heart, but after thinking about it, he still hesitated and said: "I heard them say that when buying a house in the capital, you need to apply for something, won't it be easy?"

  This matter Chǔ Chuān didn't really understand, but he thought for a moment, if not then go ask Wú Shū or Zhào Qí Ruì, they should be more clear about this aspect. So with a relaxed expression he said: "This is simple, I have an acquaintance."

  Zhou Wenping said with a grateful face: "Xiao Chuan, this is really too much trouble for you. Besides, my family has some savings, even if we need to borrow, we don't need to borrow as much as 500,000."

  "Don't mention it, the little money at home is still used to take care of your sister's illness. Besides, Wenchong and Wen Hui are growing up now, you can use that money to buy them more food and clothes from time to time. As for paying back the money, don't rush." Chuyan waved his hand with a resolute expression.

  Seeing Chu Chen's enthusiasm, Zhou Wenping really didn't know what to say. He patted Chu Chen's shoulder and nodded: "Alright, I'll go home and discuss it with your aunt. Whether it works out or not, Brother Zhou will owe you one."

  Chu Chen helped Zhou Wenping so wholeheartedly, on the one hand, because he really thought that Zhou Wenping and his family were quite good people and wanted to help them, on the other hand, it was also an emotional investment.

  As mentioned earlier, Chu Chen will definitely open an antique shop in the future. According to his idea, it should be at least as large as Zhu Dafu's store. With a store of this size, he alone cannot manage it, and in the future, he will have to hire management personnel.

  This way, knowing the roots and having a good level of antique knowledge, Zhou Wenping is the best choice for Chu Chen. Although Lao Wu is not bad either, but with his greedy character, Chu Chen does not dare to put him in a leadership position. Of course, it's also possible to let Lao Wu manage market issues specifically based on his experience, it just depends on whether he is willing or not.

  After all, it was Saturday. After chatting for a while, the crowd grew and more people inquired about prices. The two of them were busy too. However, many people came to the market with the mentality of picking up bargains, so there were more inquiries than sales. In the end, Chuyan only sold four pieces that morning.

  Although the sales were not many, he still made a lot of money. The four handicrafts brought him a profit of nearly 500 yuan. Although this amount of money is not much for him now, the feeling of making money still delighted him.

  At two o'clock in the afternoon, Chu Chen took a pair of ear bottles from Wu Shu's house and rushed to that private dish restaurant. This morning, he had already contacted Zhao Qirui, but this morning Zhao Qirui was busy, so they made an appointment for the afternoon.

  After meeting, Zhao Qirui was very happy and carefully appreciated the double-ear bottle several times before happily saying:

  "Xiao Chu, your efficiency is quite good, and this pair of double-ear bottles also meets my requirements very well."

  Chu Chen said humbly: "It's also luck, Wu Shu just happened to have a customer who wanted to sell it, so I took it down."

  "This is quite satisfactory, Xiaochu, tell me the price."

  Chu Chen thought for a moment and decided to stick with the original price, so he opened his mouth and said: "Zhao Ge, let's just say 5 million."

  Upon hearing Chu Chen's quote, Zhao Qi Rui was visibly stunned for a moment before pointing at Chu Chen and laughing: "I'm telling you, Little Chu, are you trying to rip me off? I didn't not attend the spring auction this year, you have to give me some discount. Otherwise, how can I still have the face to find you next time?"