"I'm really left with no other choice. My husband and I bought this house when we were young. After so many years, I really don't want to sell it if I have a choice..."
"But my son and daughter are both unemployed now. With a whole family to feed, I have no other way but to sell the house."
The old lady said worriedly.
"Auntie, please give us a discount. We've just started this business, and haven't even rented this house for a full year yet."
"Our child has just been born. We really can't afford such a large sum all at once..."
"How about we pay you in installments? We'll give you part first, then every six months, we'll send you the money as fast as we can."
"My child, please understand my situation too..." the old lady sighed.
"2.3 million. Not a cent less."
Ding Sha was troubled. She looked at Xiao Jun. Xiao Jun was gently patting Little Ping An to soothe him. He glanced up and said, "We really can't afford that. How about this - we'll move out as soon as we can next month."
The old lady was stunned for a moment. To be honest, in her heart, this young couple was the ideal choice.
She had seen how bustling their business was, and guessed they must have made quite a lot.
But the old lady still couldn't bear to lower the price. She wanted to sell the house as quickly as possible.
Xiao Jun could tell what she was thinking from her expression.
"Auntie, won't you reconsider? This house is in a great location. Once you miss this chance, it'll be hard to find another buyer," the old lady couldn't resist and spoke again.
"We can't afford it. Let's look for another place," Ding Sha also understood, "We paid the rent several years in advance. Please remember to refund it to us when the time comes."
She wasn't too upset. She thought it wasn't too egregious a sin to be more concerned about oneself in this situation.
The old lady asked again, "So how much can you afford?"
Xiao Jun had already opened his phone to look for new houses.
Seeing his expression, Ding Sha knew he didn't want to stay here anymore. So she just smiled without answering.
The old lady sighed, still a bit reluctant, "I've never seen people negotiate like you."
Xiao Jun laughed a little, "Auntie, don't pretend you don't know this house could be bought for 1.8 million right now?"
"If you ask for an extra 500,000, can I not agree?"
The old lady choked up, "Young people these days don't understand how hard it is for seniors like me... I'm so old but still need to provide for two whole families. Is it so wrong for me to want to save up more?"
The old lady went on and on about how good her house was, and how Xiao Jun and Ding Sha didn't know a good deal. She said young people nowadays don't respect their elders and lack manners. She talked for a long time and refused to stop.
Xiao Jun was getting impatient, "That's enough. Bring up your own kids yourself. I don't want to rent or buy anymore. Is that not allowed? You're forcing me to give you this extra 500,000 to feed your kids?"
"I've never even heard them call me dad!"
"Ah Jun!" Ding Sha had been listening quietly to Xiao Jun arguing with her. Frankly, Ding Sha was a bit angry too, but hearing his last line, she still tugged his arm out of respect for elders.
The old lady pointed at him with a trembling hand, fuming, "You... you!"
"Get out of my house immediately!"
Xiao Jun pulled his mouth into a smirk, "Fine. First refund the extra rent we paid."
"The law states that a sale does not nullify existing rental agreements. Even if you sell the house, as long as you don't refund my rent, I can stay until the day I'm supposed to move out."
The old lady was so angry she nearly popped a blood vessel. She huffed and squeezed out the door.
Soon after, Xiao Jun received a call from the agent.
The rent was returned a week later. Xiao Jun sent back an "OK" and continued looking at houses.
This time, he looked at a small multi-story house with a yard in the south of Nanjiang City.
"Why do you keep looking at these small houses with yards?" Ding Sha asked curiously after glancing around twice.
"Because you like them," Xiao Jun looked at her strangely.
The house Xiao Jun looked at alone, he booked on the spot.
"You'll definitely like it," he said mysteriously.
With nothing to do, the two of them packed at home, preparing to move after Sister Ge and the others came back.
It was a pity for their regular customers. They wondered if there was a way to notify them of the snack shop's new address.
Ding Sha swept up a huge clump of hair from the floor. She was stunned for a moment, then reached up to touch her scalp, "Ah Jun!"
"Hm?! What's wrong?" Xiao Jun was startled by her.
Ding Sha said anxiously, "Am I going bald? I lost so much hair!"
Xiao Jun thought it was something serious. He breathed a sigh of relief, "No no, you still have plenty of hair."
Ding Sha didn't believe him. She threw down the broom, "I'm going to cook up some black sesame!"
She rushed into the kitchen. Xiao Jun picked up the broom helplessly and started sweeping the floor. He didn't forget to say to Little Ping An, who was watching curiously from the crib, "Look at your mom, so easily shocked. How cute!"
Little Ping An: "...."
If Little Ping An could understand and talk, he would definitely also find this very silly.
Ding Sha grabbed a large jar of black sesame and stir-fried it over low heat in a flat pan for six or seven minutes until it popped crisply. She pinched a small handful and put it in her mouth to chew. The crunchy texture was satisfying.
She poured it out and added water, then blended it into a paste in the blender. To make the texture even finer, Ding Sha filtered it once more.
She added water to the leftover dregs and blended again in the blender to increase utilization and not waste any.
She steamed a handful of red jujubes until soft, then filtered into date paste.
Finally, she poured the black sesame paste and rice flour paste thinned with water together into a pot and simmered it over heat, adding sugar as she simmered.
When the color had clearly darkened, Ding Sha also added the prepared date paste and continued simmering, adding some rose jam for beauty and nourishment.
She kept simmering.
When she felt it was about right, it was ready to drink.
Ding Sha stood at the kitchen door with a bowl of thick, dark, aromatic black sesame syrup and finished it.
Her fear of hair loss was slightly alleviated.
She didn't dare serve any to Xiao Jun, afraid Little Ping An would want it.
After shooing Xiao Jun to the kitchen to drink black sesame syrup, Ding Sha held Little Ping An and paced around the room making him laugh.
Little Ping An grabbed his mom's clothes, smelling the fragrant aroma on her.
Ding Sha only felt her shoulder grow damp. Walking to the mirror, she saw Little Ping An's drool flowing like a waterfall.
Ding Sha uncharacteristically felt a little guilty. She immediately went to change her clothes and put a fresh drool towel on Little Ping An.
Time passed slowly. A few small restaurants tentatively opened their doors. Ding Sha was still somewhat uneasy and only opened for takeout orders. There were fewer and fewer customers each day. Business was very relaxed.
"Hello, are you open for dine-in?" Ding Sha looked up holding her child to see a middle-aged man with a squared face supporting a very kind-looking, trembling old lady.
"Sorry, we're not open for dine-in yet," Ding Sha smiled. "We're only doing takeout now."
"Can I order some dishes to go then?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Please tell me what you'd like," Ding Sha handed him a menu.
The middle-aged man didn't take it. "I want Round Dream Pancakes, Crispy Braised Pork, and Rice Noodle with Pork."
Ding Sha was stunned for a moment. These dishes sounded somewhat familiar. They seemed to be what that grandfather had wanted to eat...
She looked at the middle-aged man and felt he did look a bit familiar.
"Has the elder been here before?"
