Chapter 695 — The Discounted Apartment

"They say they'll call us all together in the next few days to discuss compensation. After what happened last time, they'll probably raise the price a bit—though maybe not by much." Mother Tang sighed. "Our house is gone already. Whatever they pay is what we take; I've stopped fretting over that. What I'm wondering now is whether we rent a place first or buy one."

As for the compensation itself, Wei Zhao had no way to interfere. He couldn't very well go looking for Zhao Qibing a second time and threaten him into paying Mother Tang something, could he? He had already brought one of his towers crashing down; that more or less evened the score, so he would leave him alone for now.

Had Zhao Qibing known what was in Wei Zhao's mind, he would probably have spat blood with rage! One of his buildings traded for a rickety little bungalow—and that was only "more or less" even? That was just too much of a swindle, wasn't it!

"Buy one, then. Renting is no solution." That was Wei Zhao's view: buying a place left you with far less trouble than renting one.

"Buying..." Mother Tang's heart pinched a little at the thought. Earlier, Tang Jucheng and Tang Yun had both been for buying a place outright. Now that the family had the five hundred thousand Wei Zhao had given them, plus the money from before, a large apartment would be more than covered. But Mother Tang didn't want to spend it all in one go. If she did, the family would have no savings left, and the faint sense of being well-off she had only just acquired would vanish all over again.

Wei Zhao saw the way Mother Tang's face winced at the cost, and how could he not know what she was thinking? He smiled faintly. "Auntie Wang, I know a friend who used to work in property development. He must know any number of developers. Let me give him a call and see whether there are any discounted apartments or the like."

"All right, that would be wonderful—quick, ask him for me!" The money-grubbing streak buried in Mother Tang's bones hadn't changed a scrap; the moment she heard Wei Zhao might get hold of a discounted apartment, she perked straight up. In truth, even if he couldn't come through, with Tang Jucheng and Tang Yun both pushing for it she would have agreed to buy in the end—but if Wei Zhao's connections could save her a sum of money, why on earth not?

Mother Tang was thoroughly pleased with herself for having thought to consult Wei Zhao first instead of foolishly running off to buy on her own. Otherwise wouldn't she have lost out enormously?

Wei Zhao placed a call to Fatty Lai. At that moment Fatty Lai was in a state of extreme elation. The press conference had gone superbly well; he believed no further advertising would be needed before the product reached the market. With coverage like this from the media, Dr. Guan Pharmaceuticals would find it nigh impossible not to become famous!

After all, the mass fainting incident at No. 1 High School had been hyped by Scar Wolf until it was thoroughly blown out of proportion, its exposure on the internet now being counted in the hundreds of millions, and netizens the country over were watching the whole affair.

And it was Dr. Guan Pharmaceuticals that had cracked the case at the critical moment, compounding the appropriate antidote in short order. That kind of response was enough to leave every rival in the dust. When the time came, the name of Dr. Guan Pharmaceuticals would thunder across the entire internet.

"Boss!" Fatty Lai answered the phone.

"I hear your press conference went over rather well?" Wei Zhao hadn't seen it himself, but taxi drivers along the way had all been talking about it, saying what a marvel Dr. Guan Pharmaceuticals was—an illness not even the hospitals could cure, cured by them!

"Ha! If the boss's prescriptions weren't so damn effective, everything I did would be wasted breath!" Fatty Lai's head was still perfectly clear; he wasn't letting it go to his own. He understood full well that all of this flowed from Wei Zhao's poison formula and his antidote formula. Without those two, however dazzlingly he might blow his own trumpet, someone would still have to be made to believe it.

"Heh, you've done well enough." Wei Zhao, for his part, was generous with praise. "By the way, how are things coming along with the antidote?"

"The raw materials have all been procured and are already on the production line. With Elder Guan there keeping watch over the process, there shouldn't be any problem," Fatty Lai said.

"Good. Let me ask you something—do you know anyone who sells houses?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Sells houses? Why, is the boss buying a house?" Fatty Lai started, momentarily thrown.

"It's Tang Yun's family. Their house in the shantytown was knocked flat by Zhao Qibing, wasn't it? Now they're getting ready to buy a place. Do you know any developers running a promotion, or any discounted apartments for sale?" Wei Zhao put it very obliquely, though he trusted that with Fatty Lai's shrewdness the meaning would get through without fail.

And indeed it did. The instant Fatty Lai heard that it was Tang Yun's family buying a house, Wei Zhao's meaning was plain to him. Fatty Lai had once been in property development himself and still owned several residential projects in Songshan City, a number of which held units that had gone unsold—or that he had kept back for himself.

Wei Zhao could not simply hand Tang Yun's family a house. With Tang Yun's temperament she would certainly refuse, while Mother Tang would certainly keep it—and when that happened, mother and daughter would inevitably come to blows over it. It had been exactly that way with the five hundred thousand: Tang Yun kept wanting to return it to Wei Zhao, yet Mother Tang held on to it and would not let go.

So Wei Zhao hit upon a way. He would have Fatty Lai find some pretext to sell one of his houses to Mother Tang at a low price. That way Mother Tang got her bargain, and Tang Yun would suspect nothing.

"Oh, there actually is something!" Fatty Lai thought it over. "Just have Auntie contact me directly—I'll handle everything!"

Wei Zhao smiled slightly; Fatty Lai's powers of comprehension were sharp enough. "There is? Good—I'll have Auntie Wang get in touch with you!"

Mother Tang was watching Wei Zhao with eager, expectant eyes. The moment she heard him say there was, her face lit up and she nearly laughed out loud. She didn't have much money in hand; what she could save, she naturally wanted to save. "Is there really?"

"Auntie Wang, my friend says there really is a developer running a discounted-apartment promotion. All you have to do is contact him," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Wonderful! Then I'll go have a look tomorrow!" Mother Tang was in a hurry to move out, too. Earlier she hadn't been able to find a house to her liking—though what she really wanted was a cheap one. House prices weren't cheap these days; if she could pick up a discounted one, that would be a huge windfall.

Wei Zhao passed along Fatty Lai's contact details, while Tang Yun, standing to one side, frowned ever so slightly. She was a little suspicious. How could it be such a coincidence—the very moment her family was about to buy a house, Wei Zhao could find someone to get them a discounted one?

But with her mother sitting right in front of her, she couldn't very well ask. She had no choice but to tuck the doubt away in her heart for now...

.................

Police stood guard at the ward door. For some there was rejoicing; for others, grief.

Zhong Yongliang, for his part, was having a wonderful time of it. He felt like some tremendous personage, with guards posted outside to protect him; if anyone he knew were to see him now, it would do no end of credit to his face.

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