My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 45: Sky-High-Priced Formula

The owner of the three-sided courtyard house eventually relented, and this time it was Xu Dong who pulled Mr. Wang aside into the hallway. “Mr. Wang, based on your intuition, do you think this is Mr. Cai’s bottom line?” Xu Dong asked softly. “I’d say it’s about right. 6. 65 million—that’s already quite a bit below market price. Mr. Xu, if you’re truly interested, I’d advise you to close the deal as soon as possible. The real estate market is getting hotter by the day.” Mr. Wang, of course, wanted to close the deal as soon as possible to avoid any complications down the road, so he was very enthusiastic. Xu Dong thought it over, then went back inside to discuss it with his mother and the others. After his persistent persuasion, they ultimately decided to buy the house. Since he had to work during the day, he didn’t actually have much time to look at properties. It was best not to drag things out—after all, his family could easily spare those extra 100,000 or so. Once the price was agreed upon, both parties quickly signed the purchase contract. Xu Dong transferred a 200,000 deposit on the spot, and the real estate agent took care of the rest. However, it would take at least ten days to half a month to obtain the property deed. “Mr. Wang, please try to speed up the review process on your end—I need the place urgently,” Xu Dong requested before leaving. “I understand, Mr. Xu. Rest assured, I’ll definitely keep a close eye on it for you,” Mr. Wang assured him. “Thank you very much!” “You’re welcome—it’s our pleasure.” With the house settled, Yu Dong once again settled into a life of leisure that could be described as that of a couch potato. However, there were still plenty of little things to deal with. He’d barely finished lunch when Gao Yuemei came by again to ask about the progress on the baby formula. “Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu…” “Sister Gao, what brings you here? Go sit under the electric fan—look how much you’re sweating. You should’ve brought an umbrella when you came out.” Xu Dong quickly put away his phone; he’d been so engrossed in it just a moment ago. “I’m not hot,” Gao Yuemei said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. Xiao Wang poured Gao Yuemei a glass of water: “Sister Gao, here’s some water.” “Thank you, Xiao Wang.” Gao Yuemei took the glass but didn’t drink; instead, she looked at Xu Dong with a worried expression, her eyes full of expectation. Xu Dong couldn’t stand the tension and quickly explained: “Sister Gao, I asked about the formula for you, and it’s definitely out of stock right now.” Sister Gao’s face quickly darkened; she looked like a desperate old woman. Xu Dong didn’t dare beat around the bush any longer and changed the subject: “But…” “But what?” Hope flared up again in Gao Yuemei’s eyes. “But it should be back in stock next week.” Gao Yuemei patted her chest and sighed with relief, “As long as there’s formula, that’s all that matters. We can wait a few more days.” She was truly at her wits’ end—her little grandson simply refused to eat. She’d tried rice porridge and wheat porridge, but nothing worked. If she couldn’t find any formula, she’d have to swallow her pride and ask someone to lend her some breast milk—but that wasn’t a long-term solution; weaning was inevitable. Xu Dong nodded, then hesitantly added, “It’s just… Sister Gao, this… the price might be a little… steep.” “How expensive?” Gao Yuemei’s heart skipped a beat; she was already braced to be ripped off. “It’s an imported, well-known brand of formula—8,000 yuan per can.” Xu Dong had suddenly jacked up the price by more than tenfold. He didn’t want to take advantage of her desperate situation, but unless he quoted a high price, he wouldn’t be able to deter those who were playing the “favors and social obligations” card. His warehouse was stocked with a total of 100 cases of infant formula—600 cans in all—half of which was meant to last the triplets for the next three years. In three years, this batch of formula would be close to its expiration date. In other words, Xu Dong had a surplus of 300 cans available for trade. Although the number seems substantial, it would only be enough to feed 10 babies for a year at most. So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he’d let the price do the talking: whoever offered the highest price would get the formula, sparing him any awkward situations. Gao Yuemei was indeed taken aback—the price was truly outrageous. Fortunately, her entire family worked for state-owned enterprises, so their financial situation was fairly stable. 8,000 yuan wasn’t completely out of the question, so she gritted her teeth and went ahead with the purchase. “Can I buy a few more cans?” Xu Dong thought for a moment. Giving her too many would make him look too powerful—he couldn’t do that—so he sighed and said, “Two cans at most. They’re running low over there, too.” “Thank you so much, Xiao Xu. You’ve really done this big sister a huge favor,” Gao Yuemei said gratefully. Xu Dong waved his hand. “I’m just acting as a middleman. It really depends on whether they have any stock over there.” “I still have to thank you, Xiao Xu. I’ll transfer the money to you right now.” “Sister Gao, let’s wait until the formula arrives. There’s no rush,” Xu Dong immediately declined. “All right then!” Not long after Gao Yuemei left, Section Chief Li called again to tell him to pick up his pay stub. Today was May 6th—payday at the Power Company. “Knock, knock, knock…” “Come in!” “Uncle Li, I’m here.” Section Chief Li cut straight to the point, handing Xu Dong his pay stub and saying casually, “You started on the 12th of last month. You worked a total of 18 days in April. Is that correct?” “That’s right—I didn’t start until the 12th.” Xu Dong took the pay stub and looked first at the total amount. “Wow,” 10,600 yuan—far more than he’d expected. As he looked it over, Xu Dong quickly noticed something was off, so he asked: “Uncle Li, I clearly only worked 18 days last month. How come it says ‘full attendance’ here? Is there a mistake?” Section Chief Li shook his head and explained, “Normally, you wouldn’t qualify for the perfect attendance bonus under these circumstances, but I made a special note explaining the reason, so there’s no problem.” “Thanks, Uncle Li,” Xu Dong said quickly. After all, 1,200 yuan was definitely worth a thank-you. “All right, if everything’s fine, you can go back to work!” Xu Dong hummed a tune as he walked back to Beimen. Even though the pay wasn’t much, he’d earned it day by day, so he still felt a real sense of accomplishment. “Brother Xu, how much did you get paid?” Xiao Wang asked. “Just over 10,000. If I work a full month, I should be able to make around 17,000 or 18,000,” Xu Dong replied. Xiao Huang said enviously, “If I could make even half that, I’d be over the moon.” “Young man, don’t talk about ‘dying’ or anything like that. A little over 10,000 yuan isn’t exactly a high salary. As long as you’re willing to work hard, there are plenty of opportunities to make big money.” After all, he’d been young once himself and had felt lost, so Xu Dong was more than willing to encourage the younger generation. Moreover, the world today is undergoing a once-in-a-millennium transformation; as long as one is willing to work hard and has the ability, opportunities to make a name for oneself are everywhere. In his previous life, if it hadn’t been for his heavy family responsibilities, Xu Dong would have set out to make his mark long ago. “Brother Xu, you’re just the rich man who doesn’t understand the poor man’s hunger. If we had a chance, we wouldn’t be here working as security guards,” Xiao Wang said with a wry smile. Xiao Cheng chimed in, “What ‘striving’ are you talking about? I used to deliver packages and food—in the end, being a security guard is way more laid-back.” “All right, all right,” Xu Dong waved his hand. “I can’t explain it clearly right now, but you’ll understand later.”