SAG -Chapter 30 The Pressure on Zhang Sicheng and Liu Lu

“Oh? Liu Lu, you’re buying a house too?”

Sun Lin smiled brightly.

“What neighborhood are you looking at? Why not buy in my community? It’s a little farther away, but the environment is excellent, and it’s not that expensive—only 42,000 yuan per square meter.”

Not long ago, Sun Lin’s family had bought a home.

It had become the thing she was proudest of.

She and Liu Lu had never really gotten along.

They weren’t enemies, but they simply couldn’t stand each other.

Sun Lin also knew something about Liu Lu’s financial situation.

She knew perfectly well Liu Lu couldn’t afford a home in her neighborhood.

Her words were nothing more than blatant bragging.

As expected, Liu Lu’s expression darkened slightly.

Still, she suppressed her discomfort and explained, “Everyone misunderstood. I’m not buying a house. We’re planning to rent one instead. Our current home isn’t big enough anymore, so we want to rent somewhere larger.”

The moment she said that, Sun Lin became even more pleased with herself.

Putting on a sympathetic expression, she said, “Oh, so I misunderstood. Well, you could still rent near us. My husband drives me to work every day anyway. He could give you a ride too.”

Although the words sounded considerate, Liu Lu could clearly hear the mockery beneath them.

She was just about to lose her temper when Wang Jiajia suddenly spoke first.

“Sister Sun, after buying your house, how much money do you have left?”

She smiled innocently.

“I’ve noticed you hardly buy any new clothes anymore, and you eat in the cafeteria almost every day. Even your complexion doesn’t look very good lately.”

“You shouldn’t ruin your health just to save money.”

Sun Lin’s face immediately turned ugly.

She was about to snap back.

Fortunately, the other nurses quickly stepped in, changing the subject before the situation escalated.

After all, they were coworkers.

They simply didn’t get along very well.

There was no need to make things too unpleasant.

After everyone dispersed, Wang Jiajia looked apologetically at Liu Lu.

“Sis… I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

Liu Lu forced a smile.

“It’s alright. It wasn’t your fault.”

She had no desire to continue talking about housing.

Instead, she quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, you mentioned borrowing the necklace for your photo shoot. When are you going?”

“Tomorrow!”

Wang Jiajia immediately brightened.

“I’ve already gotten approval from the head nurse. My friend managed to hire a famous photographer this time. Apparently he’s won a lot of awards.”

She was genuinely excited.

She had spent a small fortune just to take a few beautiful photos.

Liu Lu nodded.

“Alright. I’ll bring the necklace to the hospital tomorrow morning. You can pick it up here.”

“Sis, you’re the best!”

Wang Jiajia happily hugged Liu Lu once again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Sicheng was worrying as well.

Not only was he troubled about finding a larger place to live—he was even more worried about his job.

By now, it had become almost certain that their company was heading toward bankruptcy.

Recently, the entire office had been filled with anxiety.

Many employees had already begun searching for new jobs.

Yet management had never come forward to reassure anyone.

That alone said enough.

Now, just when his family needed money the most, if he also lost his job…

Zhang Sicheng didn’t know how he would face his wife.

Life’s burdens had increased once again because of Zhang Ran’s sudden return.

He didn’t resent his father.

Instead…

He simply felt guilty toward Liu Lu.

And ashamed of his own inadequacy.

So over the past several days, he had quietly been looking for new employment.

He hadn’t dared mention any of this to Liu Lu.

His apprentice, Wu Ying, quietly walked over.

“Master, have you found another job yet?”

Zhang Sicheng sighed.

“No. Jobs are hard to find right now. Where am I supposed to suddenly find something suitable?”

Wu Ying lowered his voice.

“I heard Team Leader Zhao found a new company, and they’re hiring quite a few people.”

“Everyone’s been privately asking him for referrals.”

Wu Ying knew that Zhang Sicheng and Zhao Yu didn’t get along.

The reason wasn’t complicated.

When Zhao Yu first joined the company, he had been talented.

Yet he had always been overshadowed by Zhang Sicheng, an older employee.

What frustrated Zhao Yu even more was that Zhang Sicheng had only graduated from high school.

Even after Zhao Yu eventually received promotions, the two had continued clashing over the years.

Zhang Sicheng naturally knew about the referrals.

Originally, his pride had made him reluctant.

But now…

What did pride matter?

Swallowing his pride?

Admitting defeat?

Compared to the pressure of supporting his family…

Those things meant nothing.

He nodded slowly.

“I know.”

“I’ll probably invite him out for dinner tomorrow.”

Then he looked at Wu Ying.

“What about you? What’s your plan?”

Wu Ying sighed.

He knew Zhang Sicheng had finally decided to compromise.

He also knew how bitter that decision must feel.

“I’m not in a hurry.”

Wu Ying smiled.

“I only graduated not long ago.”

“Besides, New Year’s is coming soon.”

“Whenever the company finally shuts down, I’ll just go home for the holidays and look for another job next year.”

That was one of the advantages of being young.

No family to support.

No overwhelming pressure.

Meanwhile…

Zhang Ran knew nothing about Liu Lu’s and Zhang Sicheng’s worries.

Nor did he intend to tell them anything just yet.

He wanted to wait until he had secured a house first.

After viewing the final property, Zhang Ran dismissed Meng Mingxuan and went to pick up the two children from school.

Back at the real estate agency, Meng Xin slumped into her chair.

One of her coworkers walked over.

“So? Any chance?”

Meng Xin sighed.

“No.”

“They didn’t like any of them.”

“They spotted the problem with our renovated company property the moment they walked in.”

“Fortunately I reacted quickly. Otherwise they probably would’ve walked right out.”

“This client’s difficult.”

Her coworker nodded knowingly.

“Makes sense.”

“Clients like that are always the hardest.”

“The ones who don’t have much money themselves but have a rich friend or classmate.”

“The good properties are beyond their budget.”

“The cheaper ones don’t meet their standards.”

“Honestly, if I were you, I’d give up.”

Meng Xin actually agreed.

Customers with high standards but limited budgets were notoriously difficult to satisfy.

Still, after thinking for a moment, she shook her head.

“I’ll follow up for another couple of days.”

“If it still doesn’t work out, then I’ll give up.”

She wasn’t ready to abandon the opportunity just yet.

Soon, she sat back down and resumed searching through listings.

This time, however, she had a much clearer direction.

She had noticed that Zhang Ran seemed particularly fond of Phase One of Azure Garden.

So she decided to focus her search there first.

Only if she couldn’t find anything suitable would she broaden the search to cheaper neighborhoods.

Before long, one listing caught her attention.

It was a first-floor unit in Azure Garden.

143 square meters.

But that wasn’t the most impressive part.

It also included:

two basement levels, and

a 100-square-meter private garden.

Meng Xin merely jotted it down as one of the properties to show.

She had no intention of recommending it as her main option.

Instead, she planned to use it as a comparison.

If she could find another house with similar features but at a much lower price, the comparison would make the cheaper property look far more attractive.

After all, although gardens and basements weren’t included in the official floor area, buyers still had to pay for them.

Using this expensive property as a benchmark might significantly increase her chances of closing a deal on another listing.