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Chapter 9 Haggling

  Chapter 9: Haggling

  Lu Xiaotong was very punctual, and at exactly eight o'clock, he appeared in front of Lang Siyu's house. He thought Lang Siyu would be standing at the door like the first time, welcoming him like a distinguished guest. But after getting out of the car and looking around for half a day, there was no sign of Lang Siyu. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his heart.

  Luo Xiaotong didn't know that Lang Siyu wanted to see him even more. She also wanted to stand at the door and welcome her little lover, who was now her new husband. But she didn't dare. Bai Lao Wan had already woken up, but he was lazy by nature and every day would snuggle in his bed until the sun was high in the sky before getting up. At this moment, he was dozing off with his eyes half-closed to rest his mind.

  Lang Siyu couldn't go out and wait, but his heart was getting more and more anxious. He kept looking at the time in the kitchen. He wanted to send a text message, but he was worried that Bai Laowang would notice. He walked back and forth in the kitchen for who knows how many times, and he really couldn't bear this torture anymore, so he went back to his bedroom.

  "White, you should get up, Luo Xiaotong is almost here."

  Bai Lao Wan opened his eyes and looked at her: "Come if you come, it's not like you're some kind of noble guest. Besides, what time did you tell him to arrive?"

  Lang Siyu knew it should be eight o'clock, and thought of telling a lie that it was half past eight, so Luo Xiaotong wouldn't be late. But if Luo Xiaotong came and he didn't have the chance to hint, once Bai Laowang asked, it would be easy to get caught. So he decided to speak straightforwardly. In any case, he couldn't put himself in a disadvantageous position.

  "At eight o'clock." Lang Siyu's eyes stared out of the window, his heart racing with anticipation, hoping that Luo Xiaotong would appear immediately.

  "This kid is so unpunctual, it seems like he's not sincere about asking me for help."

  So, Lang Siyu naturally understood that Bai Lao was angry, and she also knew the consequences of his anger. So her heart was hanging in mid-air, and she blamed Luo Xiaotong in her heart: "This rascal, I told you to be punctual, it's already very clear, but still not on time, don't blame me."

  Just then, Luo Xiaotong's figure appeared at the door, and she was so happy that she almost jumped up, saying: "She's here, she's here."

  "What's wrong with you? What's gotten into you?"

  Lang Siyu said: "That Luo Xiaotong has arrived."

  Bai Lao Wan glanced at the time and muttered: "This kid is still on time."

  At this time, Lang Siyu had already walked out and laughed loudly from a distance: "You're here." The voice was loud, meant for Bai Laowang to hear, so as not to arouse his suspicion. However, while speaking, he still kept walking towards Luo Xiaotong, until they were face-to-face, then whispered: "He's angry, you need to be careful."

  "Did he find out about us?" Luo Xiaotong was startled.

  Lang Siyu said: "No, you're a bit late. Don't say anything more, he's very suspicious." As she spoke, her face smiled naturally, which was for the benefit of Bai Laowang in the house.

  Although Luo Xiaotong had only been here once, he was clever and had a good memory, so he could find the bedroom with his eyes closed. However, because White Lao Wan couldn't see Lang Siyu's face after entering the house, Lang Siyu used her eyes to hint to Luo Xiaotong not to go directly to the bedroom, but instead went to the living room and said loudly: "You sit here for a while first, my husband will be back soon."

  Lu Xiaotong was deeply moved, her eyes fixed on Lang Siyu, her heart filled with emotion.

  Liang Siyu's voice was loud, and Bai Laowang in the house naturally heard it, saying: "Si Yu, let him come here."

  Lang Siyu nodded, patted Luo Xiaotong's shoulder with her hand. She knew that Bai Lao Wan was still lingering in the quilt, and she couldn't see her intimate action. Luo Xiaotong naturally understood her meaning, and involuntarily stretched out his hand to touch her chest, but thinking of the man in the room, he froze there. Lang Siyu smiled slightly, grabbed his hand and put it on the outer layer of clothes, making Luo Xiaotong's heart flutter, quickly withdrawing his hand, with an indescribable sweetness in his heart.

  Pushing open the bedroom door, I saw Bai Lao Wan still lying in bed, with a cigarette in his mouth, wearing casual and sloppy clothes.

  Luo Xiaotong smiled and bowed his head to Old Wan, bowing at the waist as well.

  "Uncle, I'm disturbing you." The words were spoken very naturally, but Bai Lao's eyebrows furrowed: "What did you just call me?"

  "Uncle." Luo Xiaotong didn't understand, and repeated it again.

  "How old am I again?"

  Lu Xiaotong suddenly understood that the problem was with his form of address. He didn't expect to be treated as a senior and not feel happy about it, so he smiled apologetically: "You see, I got confused, thinking that when meeting someone like you, I should show more respect, so I gave you a higher title than necessary. In that case, I'll just call you 'ge' (brother) instead." White Old Wan said: "That's more like it."

  He made Luo Xiaotong sit at the head of the bed, took a puff of smoke, and looked at Luo Xiaotong with his eyes slanted: "Do you plan to get a job in the government?"

  Lu Xiaotong nodded carefully: "I hope Brother Bai can help."

  Bai Lao Wan let out a soft sigh and said, "Alas, these days are not like the past. Finding a job is not easy anymore. In the past, as long as I, Bai Lao Wan, hummed a tune, there would be ten jobs available. Nowadays, alas, it's tough."

  Luo Xiaotong understood that Bai Laowang was intentionally making things difficult, and it was all about money. So he took out the two thousand yuan from his pocket and put it on the bed: "Brother, this is a small token of our meeting, as long as you can make it happen, I will surely reward you handsomely."

  He glanced at the old man, and since he had dealt with money often, he initially determined that it was at least 2,000 yuan. He felt a thrill in his heart, thinking that this little guy had some value and could be exploited for a sum of money. However, he said: "Look at you, so vulgar, underestimating me? I don't need your few thousand yuan. But money is still needed to get things done, I'm doing you a favor, can't take it out of my own pocket, dealing with officials is different from our Jianghu, no money doesn't work, and righteousness is worthless to them."

  "Brother, I understand this. Isn't there a saying that goes 'Money can make ghosts grind mills'?"

  After saying that, he looked at Bai Laowang and saw that his face had changed, only then did he realize he had misspoken. He hastily added: "Brother, don't misunderstand, I was referring to those people in the official circles."

  "Little brother, I heard you're a university student. University students are supposed to be cultured and refined, unlike us rough folks. If that's the case, then it's not something you should say. You can think it in your heart, but saying it out loud will give people a bad impression."

  Under someone else's roof, one cannot but lower his head. Luo Xiaotong naturally understood this. Moreover, he indeed said the wrong thing, so he nodded repeatedly: "Brother is right to scold me, I will definitely change."

  "Little brother, I need to say something upfront. This amount of money is only enough for me and them to discuss things over drinks, it's just an activity fee. If they agree to help, you'll have to pay them a labor fee, which isn't a small sum. I don't know how much you can afford to give. It's not that I'm being stingy, but I need to know the details so I can reassure the people helping you and let them feel secure."

  This is just about asking for money, Luo Xiaotong has already stopped what Lang Siyu said, so he has a bottom line in his heart. However, he hid a clever idea and didn't want to say too much at once, lest Bai Laowang would think he had a lot of money and become even more greedy. So he pretended to be very determined and said: "Brother, is 10,000 enough?"

  Bai Lao Wan furrowed his brow: "Less."

  "How much is suitable?"

  "Two million at least," said Bai Lao Wan, holding up two fingers. "I can't do it with less than that."

  "Alright, brother, I'll go along with you. Just let me know when you need me."

  Bai Lao Wan said: "You go back and wait for my news, I'll go find that Vice Mayor Chen soon, he and I are iron brothers, as long as there's a vacancy, it will definitely be done."

  After finishing speaking, Zhen hurriedly put on her clothes. Luo Xiaotong felt that she had no need to stay any longer, stood up and bid farewell. Lang Siyu said: "I'll see you off." and also went out with her.

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