novelraw Chapter 30 Renting a House
Chapter 30 Renting a House
"Girl, let's get straight to the point! I know about your family situation. Since you're here, be prepared to endure hardship and toil."
Our brigade doesn't have many people, but we have a lot of land, and conditions aren't good, so I can't take care of you all too much. Earning food rations this year won't be easy!
The implication was clear: don't try to shirk your responsibilities just because you have connections. If you don't work, I won't give you any extra food.
"Captain, I'll call you Uncle Chen. We're so grateful that you took our family in despite the pressure. Don't worry, even though we're all women, we're quite capable. We're prepared for hardship since we've come to the countryside, and we won't cause you any trouble!"
"That's good. So, what are your plans for coming here this time...?"
"Uncle Chen, we'd like to live together as a family. Do you think we could rent a place? I'll come over and make the arrangements first, then go back to pick up my mother and sisters," Tong Yuheng said, getting straight to the point and stating the purpose of his trip.
"Rent a house? There aren't many suitable houses in the village..."
He thought for a moment and said, "Old Wang's family in the west of the village has a small courtyard with two rooms. The two elderly people in that family have moved to their son's house in the county. It can be rented out for two yuan a month."
"There are only two rooms, which is a bit small for our family of eight. Are there any relatively independent and quiet houses with a larger layout? We have some savings, so renting a place shouldn't be a problem, and we don't mind if it's a bit expensive."
"There are bigger ones, but they're not really suitable for you. Your family is all women, and that house is too old and many people have died there..." The captain spoke frankly, advising them against renting that house.
"We don't have any taboos, as long as we can live there. Uncle Chen, where is that house? Can I go take a look?" Tong Yuheng knew in his heart where the house he was talking about was; it should be the one his grandfather had mentioned.
"Okay, I'll take you to see it in a bit!"
The brigade leader stood up to leave, and Tong Yuheng hurriedly took out all the gifts he had brought and placed them on the kang table, piling them up to fill the entire table.
Here you'll find famous Quanjude roast duck, Poria cocos cake, preserved fruit, Sachima, and two pieces of fatty pork weighing at least four or five pounds each!
"Uncle Chen, these are some local specialties I brought. I'd like to wish you a Happy New Year in advance..." Tong Yuheng was stopped by the captain before he could finish speaking.
"You silly girl, why are you taking so much stuff! Don't you know how to make a living?" The captain's eyes didn't show greed, but a hint of joy flashed across them. Who doesn't crave good food?
"Thanks to you for taking care of my grandparents these past two years. My mom asked me to take care of them so we could express our gratitude."
"No, no, this is too much. You're making me make a mistake!" He scooped out most of it and was about to stuff it back into Tong Yuheng's backpack.
"No, Uncle Chen, what's wrong with me, as a junior, wishing you a Happy New Year in advance? Besides, this isn't just for you, it's for the old Party Secretary too..."
"You're such a smooth talker, girl. Alright, I'll take it. Xiufen, come here..."
The village chief's wife poured water and went to the outer room. Usually, when someone came to visit and asked her husband for a favor, she would sit here quietly.
She could hear everything being said inside the house. If there was something important, the brigade leader would send someone to the brigade headquarters to discuss it with her uncle.
When Wang Xiufen heard her husband call her, she lifted the curtain and came in. She was stunned for a moment when she saw the table full of things, and then looked to see what Chen Hongxiang wanted to do.
"This is a gift that Xiao Tong brought to our family and Second Uncle. You can keep it, but give half of it out. I'll take her to Second Uncle's house later." It wouldn't be good if other villagers saw it if we just left it there.
"Xiao Tong wants to rent a house. I'll take her to see some apartments first. You should prepare lunch early!" the captain instructed.
"Okay. Xiao Tong, do you have any dietary restrictions? Come back for dinner in a bit," Wang Xiufen asked with a smile.
"Auntie, don't cook for me, I still have to go to the town and the county!" Tong Yuheng declined, she really did have to go out.
"Once you've finished your business for today, it'll be lunchtime. Just grab a bite. I'm not bragging, but my stew is really delicious."
"Xiao Tong, don't be shy. We don't have anything fancy at home, just have a bite." The captain spoke up, it was a sincere invitation, not just politeness.
"Come on, let's go look at houses first! After we've seen the houses, if you've decided on one, go to the village accountant to sign a lease and give him the money. I'll take you to my uncle's place later! We can also have him come to my house for lunch."
This person is really straightforward; they get things done quickly and don't like to procrastinate.
The brigade leader first led her to the Wang family's small courtyard with two rooms. There was only one hall with a stove and one room with a kang (heated brick bed). The furniture was complete and very clean. The courtyard was also tidy, but the two rooms were indeed too small.
Leaving here, they arrived at the so-called "haunted house" again. They could see inside from the low walls, and the yard was indeed quite spacious.
The main house has three rooms, with a central hall and two side rooms, each with a kang (heated brick bed). The side rooms are quite spacious, about eight or nine meters long and six or seven meters wide.
The house has a high ceiling, about half a meter higher than the average house in the neighborhood. It's no wonder it was built by a landlord.
In front of the main house was a brick-paved platform, with weeds growing in the cracks between the bricks. To the right of the platform was a small kitchen, used in the summer; to the left were two side rooms, each about ten square meters in size, completely empty.
The kitchen and side rooms hadn't been used for a long time. There were no pots on the earthen stove in the kitchen, and it was covered in ash; the window in the side room was also broken, with a large hole in it, and the window paper was fluttering in the wind.
Old Feng, the widowed and childless man who died two months ago, lived in the east room of the main house. When the villagers buried him, they took the mat from the kang (a heated brick bed) and buried it with him, so all you could see on the kang was the exposed mud bricks.
The old table in the room was so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable; it was covered in dust. Tong Yuheng thought to himself, "I can't eat anything looking at this table. I'd better chop it up and use it for firewood!"
The other room wasn't much better; it was completely bare, without any furniture. There was a tattered mat on the kang (a heated brick bed), with layers of it, and it was hard to tell if it was wet or stained with urine. It was so dirty that even using it for cooking was unacceptable!
Previously, there were no restrictions on raising pigs and chickens, and there were pigsties and woodsheds on the right side of the front yard. The pigsties, inside and out, and the roof were covered in weeds, indicating that no one had cleaned them for a long time.
The front yard was about 1/10 of an acre (approximately 60 square meters). There was no shortage of land there, and that old man Feng probably couldn't do any work. Nothing was planted in the yard; it was overgrown with weeds, more than half a person's height, all withered and yellow.
The backyard wasn't small either, a square patch of land, about two-tenths of an acre. Someone had planted corn without stalks, and when the wind blew, it sparsely trembled in the cold wind, creating an indescribable sense of desolation.