The Chen Kai family, who bought a house in New Zealand for the first time, had no experience and did not do a detailed inspection of the house before buying a house. The problems continued to emerge in the future, which brought them a lot of troubles.
In the rainy season, the rainstorm in Auckland continued, and the roof lampshade suddenly flooded and poured down, scaring Mrs. Chen to jump up from the bed. The bedroom was full of water, and it kept coming in. Chen Kai immediately brought a few buckets and placed them under the leak. The two looked at each other, speechless, and suddenly felt that they were back in the 1960s. Only the old dilapidated houses would keep leaking water when it rained. Putting a bucket under the leaking point, this kind of thing can only be seen on TV dramas, but now it happened to me, and I was at a loss.
If you are in China, you can call the property and someone will come to your house to repair it, but here, I live in a small villa and have no property management. In desperation, he called Xiongjun for help. Under the guidance of Xiongjun, he immediately turned on the computer and searched for a leaking room repair company on the Internet.
Although it is all in English, the computer is equipped with translation software. After careful consideration, I found that there are many companies to choose from. Chen Kai, who has suffered from the suffering of his Chinese compatriots, chose two companies this time, a foreigner and a Chinese, just to compare the differences. I thought they would come to rush repairs right away, but after contacting them, they still had to make an appointment, and they didn’t come until a week later!
This inefficiency is simply unbelievable. After confirming to Xiongjun, this is still true. New Zealand’s population is already small, and there are fewer people working in the construction industry. Coupled with the soaring housing prices in New Zealand, all construction workers are busy building houses, and no one has spare time to do some low-income maintenance work.
There is a heavy rainstorm every hour, which is a common occurrence in the rainy season in New Zealand. Watching Chen Kai keep changing the buckets, Mrs. Chen was very anxious, but she was helpless. A friend mentioned before that New Zealand is not a developed country, but a big rural area. If you really want to experience a developed country, you should go to the United States and Canada (the United States and Canada). It seems to be true.
After a week of tossing, it was finally time to make an appointment for maintenance. In the morning, the Chinese construction company sent a salesman. He climbed up the roof and looked around for a while, then came down and said eloquently, the roof was badly damaged, the top beams and columns needed to be replaced, and a crane was needed to come over.
This scared the Chen Kai and his wife silly. He went on to say that if the maintenance is not done as soon as possible, the wood soaked in rainwater will become moldy, and the entire house will collapse soon, which is life-threatening. Then he said that he was very busy and left. If he wants to start repairs, he will first pay a 10% deposit.
The house was purchased through the real estate agency Aren. Could it be that he hid something and sold the broken house to the Chen Kai family? Such unscrupulous intermediaries are not without them. Many intermediaries know the hidden dangers of the house, but they deliberately do not talk about it. They are only responsible for flicking the house and selling the house to the pick-up man, and they only take the intermediary fee.
In the afternoon, the foreigner construction company sent a young man over. He climbed onto the roof, checked it carefully, and took out his mobile phone to take pictures. After coming down, he explained in detail that several tiles on the roof were cracked, there were huge cracks, and rainwater poured in when it rained heavily, and showed Chen Kai the picture. Other locations were also inspected and found no damage.
Chen Kai also mentioned the pillars to him in broken English. The young man climbed up again, checked it patiently and responsibly, and came down to tell him that there was no problem. It’s just that the wood of this top beam and column has not been soaked in anti-corrosion potion, so if it is often wet, it will become moldy, but it is normal at present.
The young man immediately made a maintenance plan, replaced eleven old tiles, and gave a seven-year quality guarantee. This is much more reliable than the compatriot’s quotation of NZ$10,000 just now. Chen Kai and his wife were very satisfied and asked for repairs as soon as possible.
Said to be as soon as possible, or after three days, the young man bought the exact same tile from the market, climbed up and replaced it in ten minutes, and left immediately after coming down.
Chen Kai rushed to send 700 New Zealand dollars in cash, but he refused. After some explanations, he found out that the foreign company behaved in a well-behaved manner, and it was illegal to directly collect cash (tax evasion). The normal order is that the company sends an invoice, and Chen Kai pays according to the information on the invoice. This makes Chen Kai, a person who runs a company, very ashamed. He must change his shameful habit of leaving after receiving cash, for fear that others will not give money.
Not long after, the drifting heavy rain hit again. Chen Kai and his wife sat in the bedroom, staring at the ceiling, trembling with fear, for fear that if something was not repaired, the rain would pour into the room again. But such a thing did not happen. Over time, they finally understood that this foreigner guy’s maintenance skills are really reliable.
The house of Chen Kai and his wife, built two thousand years ago, is relatively new. Most of the houses on the market were built around 1960. No matter what kind of property it is, as long as it is not a newly built house, there will be more or less equipment and parts in it that need to be replaced.
Not long after, the toilet tank of Chen Kai’s house leaked again. With the experience from the last time, this time he is more experienced. He directly searched the Internet and found a foreign repair company. Although it is the standard market price, it is not cheap. There is no service on an hourly basis, 100 New Zealand dollars an hour, starting from two hours. That is to say, to change a toilet tank at your door, you need to pay 200 labor costs.
After consulting the circle of friends, everyone suggested to change it by themselves. So I went to the building materials market and found that a toilet tank cost only 35 New Zealand dollars. Chen Kai bought two without hesitation, and planned to try the installation of the first one. If it broke, just throw it away.
After viewing the instructional video on youtube online, the installation was successful at the first time, and my confidence was multiplied. As said in the circle of friends, I will not do anything before going abroad, but will only call for maintenance. Slowly after going abroad, everything will be done. Because foreign labor costs are expensive, it is better to find someone to do it yourself.
After that, Chen Kai also tried to replace the old water pipes, old faucets, old gas stoves and other equipment in the house, and gradually became an all-around master. Even an old immigrant like Xiong Jun often asks him for help.
Soon after, the news of Wang Bingbing’s pregnancy spread all over the circle of friends. Xiao Su looked at the photos of her big belly on her mobile phone and felt very sad. It has been more than half a year in the blink of an eye. If Zhang Nini is still here, her child should be about to give birth. Still, he made a trip to Auckland and bought some gifts to send with his blessings.
Xiongjun did a good job, Wang Bingbing was well taken care of, with a big belly and a little fat. The friends had not seen each other for a long time, and the three of them had a long chat, chatting about past interesting events, and briefly discussing future plans.
When talking about Zhang Nini, both of them persuaded politely, hoping that Xiao Su can cheer up and walk out of the past memories as soon as possible and move towards a new life in the future. Xiao Su didn’t tell them that Zhang Nini was pregnant. First, it was unnecessary, and secondly, she didn’t want to affect their pregnancy mood. After dinner, Xiongjun sent him to Auckland Airport, took the last flight back to Queenstown, and came back to congratulate him on the day of production.
Walking into the Auckland Airport, Xiao Su touched the scene again. It was here that he rescued Zhang Nini, who was about to be escorted back to China by the Zhou Shijun brothers. Looking back now, it is still as clear as yesterday. The thoughts and feelings for Zhang Nini have never diminished in the slightest because of the passage of time.
After returning to his residence in Queenstown, he walked into the room and looked at the note that had been kept on the table. He never gave up his belief that one day Zhang Nini would reappear and return to his life. Although Zhang Nini could not see anyone in life and no corpse in death, this was the only spiritual motivation for him to live, waiting for her to come back.
Since the two sisters moved out of the Auckland student housing, they haven’t had much chance to be together, but Wang Baihe still often finds time to visit her sister. She was very reassured about Xiongjun. As expected, a man who could do housework, cook and cook would definitely be able to rely on him with peace of mind. At the same time, she also brought embarrassing news that she was going to hold a wedding, just as the bouquet of flowers fell on her head, it was destined.
That’s because Li Hongyuan invited her to the office for a secret conversation this morning. Wang Lily’s work visa is about to expire, so she submitted an application for a spouse’s work visa. Recently, immigration policies have been gradually tightened, the review system has become more stringent, and the Immigration Service has asked for evidence to prove that the marital status is true. At least there should be videos and photos of the wedding day, as well as photos of daily life.
There are a few life photos, not the kind of intimate, but there are no wedding videos and photos, so there are many loopholes. In order to submit this evidence, Wang Baihe spent money to prepare a wedding and invited friends to show it. No one knew about the business marriage, so her friends thought she was really married to a foreigner who was 20 years older than her, which made her very embarrassed.
On the boat of commercial marriage, no matter what, you have to bite the bullet and continue to act. Unless you give up halfway and go home, or you will be found by the Immigration Bureau, it is a fraud, not only will you be deported, but you will also be banned from entering New Zealand for life.
All the catwalks are the main, the sooner the better, not to talk about ostentation, only pay attention to efficiency. Wang Lihe chose the church where her sister held the wedding, and simply held a wedding with the same priest and the same process. I found a few photographers and took a lot of videos and photos.
After the wedding, the priest said humorously in broken Chinese, “It was God’s will that the bouquet hit you that day.”
Wang Baihe and Li Hongyuan, who was beside him, looked at each other and smiled silly. It seemed that God didn’t know anything.
The next day, Li Hongyuan submitted the marriage video and photos to the Immigration Bureau, and soon the spouse’s work permit was approved. The first step is to pass the border, and now it is equivalent to submitting the application for the spouse’s green card after living for 12 months, and there is still half a year.
But since this fake wedding, Wang Baihe’s reputation in the circle of friends has deteriorated. Friends who do not know the inside story agree that she is a slut who is willing to sell her body in order to get a green card. But Wang Baihe was dismissive, the old lady went her own way and let others say it.
Immigrants living overseas are most afraid that their parents in the country suddenly fall ill, and it is difficult to come and go after being separated by thousands of miles. But the more afraid of things, the faster they tend to come. The business of entrepreneurial immigrants is running smoothly, and they can apply for a green card in half a year. At this time, Chen Kai received bad news from China. His father fell to the ground with a sudden cerebral infarction on the road in the morning. After a passerby called the police, he was sent to the hospital emergency room by the police. He is currently unconscious and in critical condition.
This sudden and unexpected event caught Chen Kai by surprise. In the summer, the time difference between New Zealand and China was five hours. It was already five o’clock in the afternoon, and it was noon in China. In any case, there is only one option, return home as soon as possible. Chen Kai immediately stopped Xiongjun who was leaving after get off work, explained the situation, and asked him to help take care of the business. Brothers, of course Xiongjun agreed immediately, and promised to do his best, comfort Chen Kai, relax, and do his best to obey the destiny.
This is a big event, and I don’t know when it will return. The cerebral infarction is very likely to cause the patient to be paralyzed, unable to afford it for life, and needs to be taken care of. Immigrant success is halfway through, and now there is a dilemma.
After discussing, Chen Kai and his wife decided that Chen Kai would go back to China first to see the development of the old man’s condition before making a decision. At this moment, Chen Kai was very anxious. New Zealand and China were separated by thousands of miles.
There is no discount for the temporary purchase of air tickets, but I can’t care about these, a one-way ticket is 17,000 yuan. Chen Kai was in a hurry to prepare his luggage overnight. New Zealand and China have opposite seasons. It is midsummer now, but it is winter in China. I just packed a box of winter clothes, and tossed it all night. It was 5:00 in the morning when I couldn’t take care of other things.
Xiongjun’s car was already waiting outside the house, and the sleeping child was not disturbed. After the couple hurriedly bid farewell, Chen Kai got in the car and headed to the airport. The plane took off on time, with a ten-hour flight, first to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, and then to make a transfer.
At this moment, Chen Kai’s father has been transferred to hospital in China. Later, I learned that I had been transferred to the hospital once before, and I was sent to the emergency room because I suddenly fell to the ground. The doctor habitually issued a critical illness notice and did not want to take any responsibility, so his relatives asked him to return to China immediately to see his father for the last time.
The ten-hour flight from Auckland to Guangzhou was as long as ten years. Technology has progressed so fast. I didn’t expect that after two years of flying, WiFi can already be used on the plane. Chen Kai contacted the domestic situation and the family in New Zealand through WeChat. The child became a little flustered when he couldn’t see his father early in the morning. After all, the family has never been separated.
Ten long hours later, the plane landed at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. This is the first time Chen Kai has returned to China after two years. The cabin door opened, and the turbid air made him a little uncomfortable. Looking up, the smog in the sky was completely different from the blue sky and white clouds in New Zealand. The domestic environment was even worse than two years ago. After getting off the plane and waiting for the transfer time, Chen Kai also bought a mask and wore it, which was a bit strange in the eyes of others.
A wife’s voice came from WeChat, and after clicking it, the son cried, “Dad, when are you coming back?”
Chen Kai felt a burst of sadness in his chest, not knowing how to answer. In retrospect, since the birth of the child, he has never left him. This is the first time. In desperation, he could only comfort him in a soft voice, “Grandpa is ill, Dad goes to see Grandpa, you have to listen to Mom, Dad will come back soon and buy you a gift.”
”Dad, be careful of bad people.” His son’s innocent and lovely reply made him wonder whether to laugh or cry.
During the two hours waiting for the transfer at the airport, Chen Kai thought about a lot of things, which made him very worried. He and his wife are both only children and have four elderly people to support. Usually I am very busy at home, and now it is even more inconvenient to come and go abroad. In addition, Chen Kai’s parents were divorced since childhood, and he lived with his mother. Thinking that he would have to support the elderly separately in the future, it was even more of a headache.
My father lived a casual life on weekdays. All his wages and pensions were exhausted, and he was always nagging. When he turned old, he closed his eyes, stretched his feet, and walked straight away, neat and tidy. It’s fine now, and I just fell ill in the hospital, no matter what.
Another news from relatives came through WeChat: Your father was hospitalized for 20,000 yuan, and we have already paid it in advance. Your father has no money, and it was all spent by his girlfriend.
Chen Kai sighed, not knowing how to reply, feeling extremely annoyed. But after all, he is his biological father, and his feelings and life memories from childhood to adulthood are vividly in his mind, and helplessly weeping.
”Criminal!” Chen Kai said with a wry smile with tears in his eyes.
Then I immediately contacted my wife and needed to prepare a sum of cash, which seemed to cost a lot of money. The wife put everything together, first made 20,000 yuan, and immediately remitted it with Alipay. Chen Kai remitted the money to his relatives immediately, expressing his deep gratitude, and told them that they had arrived in China and that they would go to the hospital two hours after the transfer.