"Old Zhang, will this place really not be cold in the winter?" Liu Xiuying asked.
"Don’t you worry, ma’am."
Zhang Zhicheng walked over to a wall in the living room.
"This is one of the few communities around here with floor heating. The municipal hot water is piped directly under the floor. In the winter, it’s at least twenty-something degrees in here. Xiaozhuo finds it too hot to even wear a sweater when he’s inside reading."
Chen Jianguo didn’t join their discussion about the lighting and layout.
He was crouching by the floor heating manifold.
As a veteran technician who had spent most of his life in machining, he wasn’t interested in things like European styles or Roman columns. But he understood hardware, and he understood the manufacturing process for metal parts.
He reached out and felt the row of brass inlet and outlet valves.
The brass was thick and cool to the touch. He ran his fingers carefully over the threads and joints of the valves, feeling no rough burrs. The bite of the screw threads was perfectly uniform.
He stood up again and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the balcony.
He grasped the handle of the aluminum alloy window and gave it a couple of firm pushes and pulls.
A low rumbling came from the track. It was very smooth. The moment the window closed tight and the handle was pressed down to lock it, the faint whistling of the wind, which had been audible from this high up, was instantly and completely sealed out.
Finally, Chen Jianguo walked back to the front door.
He looked at the heavy, dark red security door, closely examining the four concealed metal hinges connecting it to the frame.
He curled his index and middle fingers and knocked on the door panel twice with his knuckles, not too lightly and not too heavily.
The sound was muffled and solid, not hollow.
Chen Jianguo turned and nodded at Liu Xiuying, who was watching him.
"The materials for the door hinges are solid, the window seals are fitted properly, and the machining on the brass heating valves is good too."
Chen Jianguo dusted off his hands and delivered his verdict on the apartment in the plainest of terms.
"The developer didn’t cut corners on these small details. The quality of this apartment shouldn’t have any major issues."
With those words from Chen Jianguo, Liu Xiuying’s heart was finally put at ease.
"Old Zhang, how much is this apartment if we pay in full?" Liu Xiuying asked.
Zhang Zhicheng turned to look at the saleswoman.
The saleswoman took out a black calculator and quickly punched in some numbers.
"Sir, ma’am, this unit is 142 square meters. Including the initial installation fees, the major repair fund, and the deed tax, if you pay in full, we can apply to our manager for a two-percent discount."
She turned the calculator’s screen toward them.
"The total price is three hundred and eighty-five thousand."
Three hundred and eighty-five thousand.
Hearing this number, Liu Xiuying subconsciously tightened her grip on the strap of her cloth bag.
In the past, she’d haggle for ages with a vendor at the market over twenty cents’ change when buying pork ribs.
To her, three hundred and eighty-five thousand was an astronomical, unattainable figure.
But today.
’As soon as I remembered what my son said on the phone last night—that if I messed up the purchase, it would implicate his department head and affect his future—all my penny-pinching instincts vanished without a trace.’
"Alright."
Liu Xiuying’s reply was crisp and decisive. She didn’t even ask if they could knock off another few hundred.
Zhang Zhicheng, listening from the side, glanced down at the Orient watch on his wrist.
The hands were approaching twelve o’clock.
"Brother Chen, ma’am."
Zhang Zhicheng waved his hand, stopping the saleswoman who was about to lead them downstairs.
"It’s almost noon. Large, cross-province wire transfers through the central bank’s system aren’t that fast. And the banks are on their lunch shifts now. The safest bet is to go to the ICBC branch at two this afternoon to check the account."
Chen Jianguo nodded.
"Alright, we’ll do as you say. Let’s head downstairs first, find a noodle shop nearby to grab a quick bite, and then go this afternoon."
"What do you mean, head downstairs?"
Zhang Zhicheng chuckled, pointing at the closed security door of the apartment across the hall.
"We’re already at my doorstep. Why go to a restaurant?"
Chen Jianguo froze for a second.
Zhang Zhicheng strode directly to the door of 602 and pulled a key from his pocket.
"My wife is cooking right now. Come on, inside! Have lunch at our place today. It’s just a matter of setting two more places at the table. Besides, this way you can get to know the way. From now on, we’ll be real neighbors, seeing each other every day."

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