Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence-Chapter 43: The Most Dashing Old Deng on This Street!

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Most Dashing Old Deng on This Street!

Xiaoshanhe Urban Village.

The biggest room on the first floor of a tube-shaped building, its balcony crowded with all kinds of flowers and plants.

Lü Qian was fiddling with a nearly glossy string of prayer beads in his hand, lounging comfortably on a recliner and listening to the radio.

His eyes were half-closed, humming along to the melody drifting from the radio, a Beijing opera show tune.

Every now and then, he’d reach out for the enamel mug on the side table and take a sip of his liquor.

A tune of Beijing opera, a sip of his liquor.

Beijing’s Old Deng, living a worry-free and well-fed retirement, life is just this dull and monotonous.

Ring ring ring––

A burst of phone ringing interrupted Lü Qian’s little moment of pleasure.

He picked up his phone for a look—Caller ID: "Xiao Jiang".

The only tenant surnamed Jiang renting from him was Jiang Tao; aside from him, there was no one else.

"Hey, Xiao Jiang."

Lü Qian swiped to answer, and Jiang Tao’s voice came in over the line.

"Landlord grandpa, do you want a wife or not!"

Lü Qian laughed and scolded, "You little punk! Are you messing with your grandpa? Wait till I see you, I’ll sort you out."

On the other end, Jiang Tao didn’t bother to banter with Lü Qian.

He gave Lü Qian a quick rundown of Ma Dongmei’s background. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Then forwarded the photos He Jing just sent him to Lü Qian’s WeChat, telling him to figure it out himself.

If he liked her, come over; if not, forget it.

Ding dong!

Sure enough, just as Lü Qian hung up on Jiang Tao, he got a picture from Jiang Tao on WeChat.

"Little brat, messing around with your grandpa, huh."

Lü Qian scolded with a laugh but couldn’t help the curiosity as he clicked into his chat history with Jiang Tao.

The moment he saw Ma Dongmei’s photo, Lü Qian started by freezing, then shot up from the recliner in an instant.

So quick, he didn’t look at all like a man his age.

He stared at the photo for a good while; the more he looked, the more excited he got, so he immediately found Jiang Tao’s number and called back.

After getting the address from Jiang Tao, Lü Qian rushed into his bedroom.

Rummaged through his closet for his most expensive suit and put it on, pairing it with a crisp white shirt underneath.

Even dug out an old Rolex that’d been gathering dust in the closet for years and strapped it on.

Once he was all dressed up, the chill, laid-back retired Beijing grandpa had transformed in an instant into a sharp-dressed, dapper Old Deng.

He opened the door—cold wind howled; Lü Qian shivered, but still strode resolutely outside.

Hair all white, donned in a black suit, white shirt, and, extra flashy, an understated gold tie.

Lü Qian strutted through the streets of the urban village, instantly becoming the coolest grandpa on the block!

At a local flower shop, he dropped more than 300 yuan on a big bouquet of roses.

After buying the flowers, Lü Qian caught a cab at the village entrance, heading straight for the Red Star Second-hand Furniture Market!

Fifteen minutes later, the taxi arrived at the market gate.

Lü Qian, spotting Jiang Tao through the car window, told the driver to pull over.

He handed the cabbie a hundred-yuan bill with a "keep the change."

Lü Qian pushed open the car door and strode briskly toward Jiang Tao.

"Xiao Jiang! Where is she? Where is she?"

Lü Qian, too eager to wait, blurted out his question as soon as he saw Jiang Tao.

"Ay, come on... Landlord grandpa, aren’t you cold?"

Seeing the landlord grandpa in full suit and tie, Jiang Tao was completely stunned!

Young people put fashion before warmth, but you’re a seventy-plus grandpa, what are you joining in for?

"No, no, I’m not cold! I’m, uh, sturdy; this chill is nothing, I can handle it!"

The old grandpa really had a stubborn mouth—stubbornly stiff!

This cold weather, dressed all flashy—who wouldn’t be freezing!

"She’s over there, roasting sweet potatoes. Come on, let’s go."

Jiang Tao quit teasing the old landlord, grinned, pointed out Ma Dongmei’s direction, and set off with him.

Out of nowhere, Lü Qian felt his heart racing, a wave of nerves flooding him.

"Xiao Hu, this is the landlord gran—"

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!!!"

Jiang Tao was about to say "landlord grandpa" when Lü Qian started coughing up a storm and shot him a laser-focused look!

"Brother! That’s right, I’m Xiao Jiang’s landlord—big brother Lü Qian!"

Lü Qian saw Jiang Tao didn’t get the hint, so he rushed into introducing himself.

"Uh..."

Jiang Tao was speechless hearing Lü Qian suddenly call himself "brother"—what was that all about!

Lü Qian was two or three years older than Jiang Tao’s own grandpa!

"Brother Lü, hello, I’m He Jing. This is my aunt Ma Dongmei. She’s deaf-mute, can’t speak."

He Jing looked at Lü Qian, who’d just called himself Jiang Tao’s brother, her face equal parts surprised.

A head of white hair, a sharp black suit, leather shoes.

To be honest, this Old Deng looked pretty cool!

And what really surprised He Jing: her aunt’s eyes lit up a bit when she saw this cool old guy.

Looks like her aunt has a pretty good impression of him too!

Hearing He Jing say Ma Dongmei was deaf-mute, Lü Qian wasn’t taken aback.

Jiang Tao had already mentioned this over the phone.

The surprised one was Jiang Tao!

After exchanging greetings with He Jing, Lü Qian suddenly started signing, skillfully, to Ma Dongmei!

The landlord grandpa’s sign language was nothing like Jiang Tao’s "plastic" version—his gestures were accurate and elegant, and he and Ma Dongmei were off signing away!

He Jing watched the pair happily signing, looking both incredulous and delighted.

"Uh, Xiao Hu, mind doing a live translation for me? What are those two chatting about?"

Out of the four people present, Jiang Tao was the only one who didn’t understand sign language—wanted to get the landlord grandpa’s gossip but was totally lost!

"What! Seriously? She agreed? Just like that??"

He Jing, seeing the content of their gestures, couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

"Agreed to what? Agreed to what?"

Jiang Tao, clueless about sign language, was like a newborn who couldn’t get any milk—talk about anxious.

"Just now, your landlord big brother invited my aunt out for dinner tonight, and my aunt said yes!"

He Jing translated the whole exchange for Jiang Tao, sounding almost in disbelief herself!

The two who’d just met were vibing already.

Lü Qian and Ma Dongmei had cut out He Jing and Jiang Tao, starting a private conversation, one-on-one!

"Is this what a 97% compatibility rate can do?"

Jiang Tao glanced at the landlord grand... brother and Ma Dongmei, chatting away, and couldn’t help sighing to himself.

"Hope lovebirds end up together. If the two of them stick together for the rest of their days, maybe that’s not a bad thing."

Task complete—matching up landlord grandpa and Ma Dongmei. Jiang Tao felt he could retire with honors.

As for whether it’d work out in the end—it’s up to fate!

As for the 88,888 yuan red packet, whether he gets it or not depends on grandpa’s conscience.

Jiang Tao wasn’t going to push it.