Husband, Hungry, Eat! Chapter 126 Part 1

Chapter 126

A courtyard mansion worth 200 million yuan — given away for free?

Of course Qi Cheng didn't dare accept it, but hearing Zhao Zhuo's voice over the phone made him feel sorry for the man. As long as the other party wasn't calling to accuse him or make up wild stories about his husband, Qi Cheng was always very patient.

He had no grudge against the Zhao family.

"Uncle Zhao, you know I wouldn't dare accept it if you were just giving it to me. Just tell me straight out what you need."

Zhao Zhuo sighed. He knew that Qi Cheng was a straightforward person who didn't beat around the bush or play negotiation games. He said, "You probably remember that last New Year, my youngest son sent you some gifts. At the time, I converted the dividend shares from Jiang Group into a contract for him..."

Qi Cheng remembered that. Back then, his husband had even warned Zhao San (Third Zhao) about it.

Zhao San was Zhao Zhuo's youngest son, born when Zhao Zhuo was already in his forties, so he had always been spoiled and doted on. 

People say parents should treat all their children equally, but when you have multiple kids, there's always some imbalance. Zhao Zhuo at least tried to be fair on the surface.

The family company went to the eldest son. The second child was a daughter who got married, and Zhao Zhuo went out of his way to help his son-in-law build a business — only for the man to cheat behind his daughter's back once he succeeded. Zhao Zhuo's second daughter had backbone too. She divorced cleanly, sold her company shares to her ex-husband's rival, and drove his company into bankruptcy.

After that, his second daughter started her own fashion brand company and became a successful businesswoman in her own right.

The first two children both had their own companies and careers. But for Zhao San, because the age gap with his older siblings was large, the brotherly/sisterly bond wasn't very strong. Plus, outsiders always praised the first two — "so accomplished," "what wonderful children Mr. Zhao has" — while for Zhao San, all they ever said was that he was good-looking and handsome.

Zhao San felt bad about it. He wanted to make something of himself too — to show his family and all the gossips. Back then, Zhao Zhuo thought, his family couldn't compare to Jiang Group, but they weren't exactly poor either. Throwing a few tens of millions at it was just a way to let his son get some hands-on experience.

"...The kid actually did pretty well. Of course, he had the Zhao family backing him and his big brother and second sister covering for him, so people gave him face out of courtesy. I saw he was happy and didn't point it out — when people do business with you and give you orders, they're really looking at the connections behind you." Zhao Zhuo regretted it now, but it was too late.

Zhao San's confidence swelled, and he wanted to expand the company rather than settle for small-time contracts. So when the Jiang Group shareholders' meeting came around in January, and Zhao San heard from his father about the Jiang Group chip collaboration — that dividend shares could be converted into contracts — he was instantly tempted.

He knew he couldn't swallow the whole thing himself, but even the scraps that fell from Jiang Group's table were worth more than a year's worth of his company's hard-won orders. So he begged his father for it.

Zhao Zhuo doted on his youngest son. He figured his son was grown up now, and the first two already had their own companies and were doing well. Besides, the Jiang Group chip project really did have great potential. So he went ahead and converted a big chunk of the shares into contracts for his son.

To keep things fair, Zhao Zhuo gave the remaining money to his eldest son and second daughter, and told them that from now on, no matter whether the youngest's company won or lost, he wouldn't interfere or ask them to help out or subsidize anything.

"It's all dead weight now." Zhao Zhuo's voice sounded worn with age.

Qi Cheng didn't say anything. He couldn't very well tell his husband to stop working on artificial intelligence, nor could he offer to buy up the useless chips that Zhao Zhuo had stuck with.

In the tech world, people chase the newest innovations. Since there was already newer and better AI available, why would anyone settle for an inferior version? The gap was just too huge.

"You saw the courtyard last time. It's been very well preserved and maintained. There's a kindergarten nearby too, very close — better than private ones. It's the affiliated kindergarten of Mingcheng Experimental Primary School. The kid can go to elementary, middle, and high school there too, all nearby..."

"Uncle Zhao, would you please speak plainly?"

Qi Cheng had switched to a more formal address, clearly putting up polite distance.

[Qi Cheng uses 您 (nín) — the polite/formal form of you]

Zhao Zhuo realized that after all that emotional appeal, it hadn't worked. Although Qi Cheng seemed naive and easy to manipulate, when it came to anything involving Bai Zongyin, he was alert and wouldn't budge an inch. So he said, "Do you think you could use my son's chips? They're lower grade, but I'll sell them cheap — just enough to cover cost."

Silence hung over the phone.

"I'm putting you in a difficult position." Zhao Zhuo said. The family looked like a grand, bustling family with many members — as long as no interests were at stake. But now, if he tried to take money from the eldest son and second daughter to subsidize the youngest, even the outward show of family harmony might fall apart.

Zhao Zhuo knew all this. This phone call was just him playing the pitiful card and testing the waters. He'd have to find another way. His most valuable real estate asset was that courtyard house.

The call ended. Qi Cheng thought about it but didn't call his husband to ask. He just went about his business as usual. In the afternoon, when his husband came home from work and they'd had dinner, the family of three went for a stroll in the backyard.

He told his husband about the phone call from Zhao Zhuo.

"...I didn't agree." Qi Cheng patted the little goose's head. "Now that I'm a father too, I feel like Uncle Zhao has it pretty hard."

Even if he played favorites, he had still put genuine effort into supporting and caring for all three children. Now at his age, he was coming to Qi Cheng for help. And that courtyard mansion — Zhao Zhuo really loved it and had maintained it beautifully.

Fanfan felt his dad patting his head, so he craned his neck and rubbed his chubby cheek against his dad's palm, wearing an adorable little expression and saying, "Wuzzat?"

"Hahahaha, say that again?" Qi Cheng teased the little goose.

Fanfan smiled too and said to his dad, "Wuzzat?"

Qi Cheng laughed so hard he collapsed into his husband's arms, letting out a huge "HAHAHA" of pure joy. Bai Zongyin patted the big one's head, then the little one's, and saw that Fanfan had the exact same smile. Though Fanfan wasn't laughing "haha" — he just opened his mouth to show his teeth, his big eyes curving into crescents.

"Do you like that courtyard?" Bai Zongyin asked casually.

Qi Cheng said, "It's pretty big. I used to worry about it being inconvenient for meals, but later I felt it was fine. Mostly, isn't our current place getting a bit small?"

Because the bodyguards were on duty and stayed on the first floor, it was always a bit awkward. Qi Cheng had a strong sense of personal space. Maybe because he never had a home or family growing up, he loved hanging out in the living room, sometimes with zero regard for appearances. But after the guards moved in, he held back.

He felt like only the master bedroom on the second floor was truly his home — his little sanctuary.

"It is a bit small." Bai Zongyin agreed.

They didn't dwell on the topic. About half a month later, Qi Cheng heard his husband say, "I bought Uncle Zhao's courtyard. It's an early birthday gift for Chengcheng."

Qi Cheng immediately sat up on the bed, stunned. "For me? That's too—" He was about to say "too expensive," but his husband kissed him on the lips. Qi Cheng melted into his husband's arms, his eyes curving into happy crescents, and corrected himself with a smile: "An expensive gift should go to someone precious like me."

"Isn't that wight?" he added, mimicking Fanfan's lisp.

Bai Zongyin couldn't hold back his laughter and said, "Right. Chengcheng deserves the most precious gift."

The courtyard mansion was now under Qi Cheng's name. He hired a designer to replace the furniture and decide whether to renovate or knock things down and start over. The courtyard mansion had three courtyards, so Qi Cheng figured they'd only furnish the first courtyard for their own use and leave the other two untouched for now.

Bai Zongyin had no objections. Actually, Zhao Zhuo's renovation was fairly new, since it was regularly maintained and Zhao Zhuo didn't live there often — he usually stayed at his villa and only used the mansion during holidays, New Year, or summer break.

The old mansion was very cool and comfortable.

The decor style already suited the traditional character of the place, so Qi Cheng didn't plan major structural changes — just soft furnishings.