Linxia

Chapter 46, Renting a House

Apparently, the news that Fang Lin and Geng Shi found good jobs yesterday had spread.

The reason why these aunties and grannies are willing to please Fang's mother is precisely because Fang Lin is not only capable himself, but also capable of bringing benefits to the people close to him. Relatively speaking, the latter point is more important.

At this time, when these aunties and grandmas saw Fang Lin coming back, they all smiled and greeted him warmly.

"Is Linzi back?"

"I heard that you are working in a bookstore now? That's amazing!"

"I knew it. I've always seen Linzi as someone with great potential. Oh, is this something you bought for your family? How filial!"

……

"Want to eat? Ask your son to buy it for you! If that doesn't work, just make it for your old Su on the kang... ahem, son, let's go back and eat."

Fang's mother seemed to realize that she had said something wrong, and quickly stopped talking. She stood up, picked up the stool, and went back with Fang Lin. She changed the subject and explained to herself, "The weather is great today, so I thought I'd come out and chat with these old ladies. It's really refreshing."

Fang Lin was speechless, and translated it in his mind: "My son went to work in a bookstore, so he must go out and show off to those old ladies? It's really comfortable to be flattered."

"Mom, where is my sister Xuan?"

"Let her go back and cook first. I'll stay there and do some more work."

Fang Lin silently translated in his mind: "Let Xiaoxuan go back to cook first. I'll stay here and enjoy the flattery for a while longer."

"How's it going? Are you tired from working today? Yo!"

Fang's mother asked, then she remembered the things Fang Lin bought, and hurriedly took them away for fear that he was tired. She took one look and complained: "It's not easy for you to earn money, so don't spend it carelessly, and don't even think about buying anything to show filial piety to us, just save it and spend it yourself..."

"I didn't spend any money. Zheng Yu came to me to ask about finding a job. I said a few words and I was paid."

"My son is really capable!" Fang's mother praised him out of habit and was not surprised by this. Her son had already found a job in the bookstore, so it was only right for him to give some advice to others and be compensated. He deserved it!
Come back home.

"Brother Lin, are you back?" Tian Xuan was boiling water. She looked up and gave Fang Lin a big smile.

Uncle Fang was soaking his feet. His dusty, gray face had streaks of sweat on it. When he saw his son coming back, he felt guilty for some reason and said to himself, "I won't go tomorrow. I'll take a day off."

Obviously, he remembered Fang Lin's instructions yesterday and was afraid that his son would accuse him of being stubborn and not taking care of his body.

This was the first time Fang Lin had seen Mr. Fang like this. He felt amused, but considering his father's face, he said nothing and went to help Tian Xuan.

"It's better to take a day off. Look how dirty you are." Fang's mother put down her things, took a clean wet cloth, and wiped Fang's father's face with a caring look.

Gurgling!

At this time, the coarse rice soup in the pot was boiling, and the aroma of the heated sesame cakes and braised meat was wafting, turning into light white smoke, curling up.

Under the dim sunlight and the gentle evening breeze, two pairs of shadows, one old and one young, were stretched very long, swaying slightly in the hazy smoke, snuggling together, forming this home.

……

Time flies, and another half month has passed.

During this half month, Fang Lin went to Xuan Mo Zhai early in the morning every day, strolled around with the shopkeeper Liu, had breakfast, and then worked with the three shop assistants Cheng Shiliang, Huang Di, and Chai Yiwei, during which time he learned some calligraphy by osmosis.

Because the bookstore has not yet received any new stock, it is not too busy and is relatively relaxed.

After work in the evening, he did not stay in Xuan Mo Zhai, so he had less dealings with the other three jobs in the store these days and did not know more about them for the time being.

After work, Fang Lin asked Geng Shi to look for a house together. They walked around and looked around, compared and screened, and finally, they finalized it the day before most people in Xiaohe Village left the city.

This is a house in Xixiang Hutong. The location is a little off, but the environment is good, relatively clean, and the public security is not bad. I haven't heard of any major vicious incidents. The neighbors are also okay. There may be some minor problems, but I haven't heard of any bad people. The price is also okay. Relatively speaking, it is the most cost-effective one among the many houses Fang Lin has seen.

"Xiao Fang, are you renting or pawning the house?" The owner, whose surname was Weng, was an old man in his forties or fifties. He asked with a smile.

"You're kidding. How can I afford to mortgage my house? Of course I have to rent it." Fang Lin said.

In addition to buying a house, Daxia has two other ways to rent a house and to rent a house. Needless to say, renting a house means paying rent on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. The house belongs to someone else and you live in it under someone else's roof.

To pawn a house, you just need to pay 70% to 80% of the house value in one lump sum, agree on a time limit, and live there during the period. The money will be returned in full when the term expires.

This method is better than renting a house, but worse than buying one. It is like pawning your jewelry at a pawn shop when your family is in trouble and you can redeem it when you have money.

The emergence of this method of pawning a house is naturally beneficial to both parties in a certain sense.

For the homeowner, although the money has to be returned to the other party when the contract expires, he can retain the ownership of the house and receive a large sum of money at one time for emergency use.

For those who pawn their houses, they can live there for free during the agreed period, which is more secure than renting a house. At least until the house is redeemed, it can be considered theirs.

Fang Lin and Old Man Weng agreed on the lease method and signed a contract, with monthly payments of five cents of silver per month.

——This is not a small amount. Working as a porter at the dock only makes one tael and five cents of silver a month. After deducting the money for food and drink, the money that can be saved is about one tael of silver, and this is already half of it.

"Now that I have rented a house and have a place to stay, I can barely be considered to have settled down in the capital." At this moment, Fang Lin felt relieved, and felt that the busyness after work for more than half a month was worth it.

After seeing off Old Man Weng, I looked around the house again and was quite satisfied: in addition to the kitchen and the main room, there were three other rooms, which could be used for cooking, living, and storing miscellaneous items, and basically all my living needs could be met.

The only inconvenience is that there is no toilet of our own. However, this is not a problem with this house. No other house in the alley has one.

——The land in the city is very expensive, and the land value is extremely high. It is already quite difficult for ordinary people to buy a house, so how can they afford to set aside a piece of land to build a private toilet? In addition, the infrastructure of sewers and septic tanks in this era is not in place, and there is no condition for every household to build a toilet.

"There is a large public toilet in the shantytown. When we get here, we can only use the toilet." Fang Lin thought to himself.

The advantages of a toilet are obvious: it is lightweight and does not take up space. But as for urinating or defecating in it, how do you deal with it?
Simple! Every morning, there are dung men walking around the streets, shouting "collect people's yellow"!
The dung man collected the dung without asking for money or giving any money - the people got convenience, and the dung man was also able to sell the collected dung to dung merchants and make real profits.

Speaking of renting a house, like the Fang family, the Geng family also rented a house in Xixiang Hutong, but it was located at the entrance of the alley, about a hundred meters away from the Fang family.

Sister Guihua is also here, across the diagonal street, in Baishun Hutong. It’s not too far away and can be reached in half a cup of tea.

——The Fang family was close to Sister Guihua and vaguely knew that the other party was the pawnshop owner.

In addition, among the people of Xiaohe Village, those who wanted to stay, such as Fu Hong, Song Kai, Bai Bao, Zheng Yu, etc., had already made plans. They were going to see where the Fang family and the Geng family rented and choose a place nearby.

Even Song Kai, who hated Fang Lin the most, was no exception. After all, one thing after another had already proved Fang Lin's vision.

This is naturally a smart choice for other families, except for Bai Bao, who lives near the Fang family and is naturally close to Sister Guihua's house. As to whether there are more advantages or disadvantages, that depends on personal opinion.

It is true that in the capital city, it is impossible to act in extreme ways, but in this world, there is always more than one way to destroy a person.

It is also worth mentioning that after Song Kai failed to learn Fang Lin and was beaten, and Bai Bao spread the news and made the villagers laugh, Song Kai and his group completely fell apart. Song Kai became a lonely man; Bai Bao was too lazy to maintain the superficial relationship; Zheng Yu even distanced himself from the two of them. It is said that he found a job as an apprentice in a restaurant, helping the master chef, and came to thank him again two days ago.

……

Here, Fang Lin and Geng Shi rented a house after work today and went back to the shantytown together. They met Fu Hong on the way.

Fu Hong came over with a licked face and walked together. On the way, he complained to the two of them: "Linzi, Shitou, I really regret not listening to you. My damn shopkeeper directly deducted half of my wages. He only gave me one tael of silver instead of the two taels..."

……

(End of this chapter)