22: Chapter 22 Purple Gold Garden

"Dad, Mom, let's go look at the apartments first. If everything goes well, we'll buy one today. After that, we'll go look at a car for Dad."

"Today... buy it today?" Wang Mei was a bit stunned. "So fast?"

"The sooner the better. I'm only off on Saturday and Sunday; I have to go to class on Monday."

"Alright then."

"Have you decided where you want to buy the apartment?"

"I've already looked into it online and consulted a classmate whose family lives in the county seat. If we're buying now, I'm planning on getting an apartment in Zijin Garden. It was built just this year, has elevators and central heating. You won't need to climb stairs, and with central heating in the winter, you won't feel cold even wearing just a single layer of clothing at home."

"Fine, we'll listen to you. Your dad and I don't really know much about this."

"Then let's go now."

They hailed a taxi and headed to the Zijin Garden sales office.

The doors to the sales office were glass. Pushing them open, a gust of warm air greeted them.

The lobby was decorated quite impressively. In the center stood a massive sand table, covered in little red flags marked "Sold." A few sales agents in uniforms were gathered around the table explaining things to customers; their voices were low, but the atmosphere was lively.

As soon as Chen Fan and his parents entered, a female sales agent immediately walked up to them.

The sales agent looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four, wearing a black uniform skirt suit. While her looks weren't exactly stunning, she gave off a very pleasant vibe.

"Hello, are you here to look at apartments?"

"Yes, we'd like to see a three-bedroom unit, preferably on a middle floor," Chen Fan said.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, a hint of surprise flashed in the sales agent's eyes.

Chen Fan looked like a high school student, yet he acted as if he were the one calling the shots.

She glanced somewhat skeptically at Chen Jianjun and Wang Mei behind him.

"You don't need to look at my parents. I can make the decisions here. Just take us to see the units; if it's suitable, we can sign the contract today."

The sales agent was taken aback by this and didn't say anything else. She didn't know whether to believe him; after all, since she started working, she had never seen a kid who looked just barely an adult say they wanted to buy an apartment.

But seeing Chen Fan's confident demeanor, she chose to believe him.

If it were true, her commission would be secure. Even if it were false, she wouldn't lose anything; after all, showing people apartments was her daily job.

She instantly adjusted her expression. "Alright, please follow me. Let's first choose a suitable floor plan."

She led the three of them to the sand table and picked up a long, thin pointer, indicating the locations of several buildings.

"Our community has two types of three-bedroom, one-living room floor plans. One is 106 square meters, a compact type where the three bedrooms are slightly smaller, but the living room is large. The other is 118 square meters, a spacious type where the master bedroom has a bay window and the living room is also wider."

As she spoke, she tapped the sand table with the pointer. "The 106-square-meter units are in Building 1 and Building 3; the 118-square-meter units are in Building 5 and Building 6. Building 5 has the best location; it's surrounded by gardens in the front and back, isn't facing the street, and is quiet."

"The one in Building 5, take us to see that," Chen Fan said.

"Would you like to see the model unit first, or go directly to see the actual apartment?"

"Let's look at the model unit first," Chen Fan said. "We'll decide after seeing it."

The sales agent nodded and led them toward the back of the sales office.

The model unit was on the 3rd floor, accessible by elevator. As soon as the door opened, Wang Mei's eyes lit up.

Warm-toned lighting, light-colored floor tiles, and a spacious, bright living room. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the community garden in the distance. The bedrooms were furnished with exquisite beds and wardrobes, and the kitchen cabinets were polished to a shine.

"This... this is just too beautiful." Wang Mei stood in the center of the living room, looking around with a hint of disbelief in her eyes.

The sales agent smiled and said, "Ma'am, this is the model unit, it's already decorated. When you renovate your own place later, you can decorate it however you like."

Chen Jianjun didn't speak. He walked around the room, touched the walls, and tapped on the window frames.

Chen Fan asked, "Dad, what do you think?"

"It's alright." Chen Jianjun nodded. "Looks pretty good."

After seeing the model unit, the sales agent took them to Building 5.

This time it was a different floor—the 8th floor, an unfinished unit that hadn't been renovated yet. As the door opened, the smell of cement and lime hit them. The room was empty; the walls were grey-white cement mortar, and the floor was rough concrete.

Wang Mei was stunned for a moment. "This... is it just like this?"

The sales agent smiled. "Ma'am, this is what the apartment is actually like. You just saw the decorated 3rd-floor unit; this is the unfinished 8th-floor unit. You'll need to decorate the walls and floors yourself, so you can choose whatever style you like."

Chen Jianjun squatted down to touch the floor, then stood up and walked to the window, pushing it open to look out. Outside was the community garden; the landscaping was already done, and a few trees were right in front of them.

After seeing the model unit and the unfinished unit in Building 5, Chen Fan decided that this was the one he wanted; he didn't want to look at any other floor plans.

As for Wang Mei and Chen Jianjun, all that was showing on their faces was satisfaction.

"If I buy it today, when can I get the property deed?"

The female sales agent quickly explained, "As soon as you sign the contract and make the payment, you can get the keys immediately. As for the property deed, you can generally receive it within 2-3 months. If it's fast, you can get it in 30 days."

Chen Fan nodded; he could accept that timeframe.

Returning to the sales office, Chen Fan immediately stated his intention to purchase.

"I want unit 803. How much is it?"

The sales agent's eyes lit up, and her fingers flew across the calculator.

"Building 5, 8th floor, 118.36 square meters, unit price 1,980, total price 234,352 yuan, plus a free parking space." She looked up at Chen Fan. "If you pay in full, we can give you a 3% discount, which comes to 227,321 yuan."

"220,000 flat. If that works, we'll sign the contract today," Chen Fan said, pausing for a moment. "Full payment."

"Please wait a moment," the female sales agent said, pretending to be in a difficult position. "I need to ask my manager."

Two minutes later, the sales agent returned, saying with an excited face, "Mr. Chen, the manager agreed."

"Prepare the contract," Chen Fan said calmly.

"Okay, okay, please wait a moment, I'll go print it right now." As the sales agent turned around, her steps were much lighter.

Ten minutes later, the sales agent brought the contract to the lounge area.

"Mr. Chen, here is the contract. Please take a look; if there are no issues, you can sign it."

Chen Fan took the contract and read it carefully. After confirming there were no issues, he signed his name.

"Mr. Chen, the contract is signed. When would you like to make the payment?"

"Can I pay by card?"

"Of course."

"I can pay now." Chen Fan took out the bank card with over 900,000 in it from his wallet.

The sales agent took the card with both hands, swiped it on the POS machine, and then handed it over for Chen Fan to enter his PIN.

Chen Fan pressed the six digits.

The machine whirred for a few seconds and printed out a long receipt.

The sales agent's previously slightly tense face instantly relaxed.

It worked; she had bet correctly.

The stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.

This teenager who had just turned 18 could really pull out 220,000 in cold hard cash to buy an apartment. Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

The sales agent tore off the receipt and handed it back along with the bank card. "Mr. Chen, congratulations, this apartment is now yours."

She turned and took a document folder from the cabinet behind her, put the contract, invoices, and keys inside one by one, and handed it to Chen Fan with both hands.

"These are the keys; you can go see the apartment right now. I've already notified the property management, so you can go and handle the move-in procedures whenever you like."

Chen Fan took the document folder and weighed it in his hand.

It was quite heavy.

He turned to look at Wang Mei and handed the folder over. "Mom, you take this."

Wang Mei was stunned for a moment, then took it with both hands, as if holding something fragile.

"This... is it done?" Her voice was a little shaky.

Chen Fan smiled. "Mom, it's done."