Chapter 9: Renting a House

After packing her belongings, Lin Xuexia spent her last night at the Ocean Electronics Factory. Early the next morning, she left the factory carrying her luggage.

She didn’t have much—just a few large items: a rolled-up straw mat, a bucket, a basin, a thin blanket roll. All her clothes were stuffed into a patched blue cloth bag. This was truly all she owned at the moment.

She had taken off the red dress and sandals she wore yesterday, changing into a simple outfit of blue top and black trousers with black cloth shoes—old clothes she had brought from her village.

Now, she carried a bag on her back, held the basin in her left hand filled with small daily necessities like toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, and cups, and in her right hand, she held the bucket with the rolled blanket inside. The rough straw mat with a yellow base and green edges was tucked alongside.

Xie Yingzi and a few others had similar luggage—roughly the same items. Besides the five of them, Xu Yongfang was also leaving the electronics factory today, carrying a large bundle.

Xu Yongfang had stayed at the factory a long time, so she had more belongings. She had two sets of quilts, and her bamboo mat was different from the coarse straw mats the others had.

The bamboo mat was cool in summer, unlike the straw mat which felt stuffy and uncomfortable in the heat. But in winter, the bamboo mat was too cold, so people switched to blankets. The straw mat was usable year-round.

Those with more knowledge had their ways: straw mat in summer, a blanket laid over it in winter, topped with a thin quilt. The winter passed just like that.

This city’s kindness to migrant workers was shown in its mild winters.

Lin Xuexia had slept on that straw mat for two years in her past life. Yesterday, seeing the rough mat and her tattered quilt, she felt disgusted and wanted to throw them away. But after checking her money, she realized she still had to use those worn items for a while longer.

Qin Yi had settled their wages and secretly slipped thirty extra yuan into the envelope. When Lin Xuexia discovered this, she tried to find Qin Yi, but she had already avoided her.

Lin Xuexia was grateful for this small kindness. Now, she had one hundred and fifty yuan—a significant sum for her.

With so much luggage, she dared not keep money openly on her person. She used the common method many women adopted to hide cash: wrapping large bills in silk stockings and dividing small change into several portions, hidden in different parts of her backpack.

Money could not be kept in visible pockets; even secret pockets required caution. One had to have multiple hiding spots—like a cunning rabbit with three burrows. This wariness was necessary because pickpockets were rampant on the streets; a moment’s carelessness meant losing everything.

Protection against thieves was paramount.

Lin Xuexia had long remembered these survival habits.

“Lin Xuexia? You’re Lin Xuexia, right? You’re really pretty!” Xu Yongfang, carrying a large bundle and looking quite pleased with herself, took the initiative to speak to Lin Xuexia. Among those leaving the factory, Xu Yongfang’s expression was the most triumphant.

Xu Yongfang wasn’t exactly beautiful—just somewhat delicate-looking. Her trendy clothes and the fashionable feather hairpin clipped in her hair made her stand out.

Looking at these women dismissed from the electronics factory, Xu Yongfang felt very proud. She secretly mocked them, thinking they probably went to the dance halls just to learn how to hook men, stupid women.

Only she was lucky.

Xu Yongfang had once envied Lin Xuexia for having a college-student fiancé—a college student! None of them, with just middle or high school education, had ever seen one, let alone had a fiancé who was a university student. Their statuses were worlds apart.

But now... well, people were what they were. Xu Yongfang felt smug and said with feigned concern, “Do you have anywhere to go? You could come with me to my man’s place. He has a building, and there’s a vacant room on the second floor. If you’re in trouble, I could say a word for you, let you stay a few days.”

“Then when you find a new factory, you’ll have a place to move,” she added proudly. She wasn’t genuinely kind; she just wanted to show off and slip away. Her future in-laws surely wouldn’t allow any empty rooms. Rent was fiercely competed for. She was “helpful but powerless,” and could boast publicly about her fiancé’s good family background.

Xu Yongfang pretended to be earnest: “You have a college-student fiancé. You’re different from us poor souls. Xuexia, you should seize your chance. Even if that man looks down on you, there are his classmates. If you can catch one of them, your status will change.”

Lin Xuexia glanced coolly at Xu Yongfang, noticing the barely concealed pride in her eyes. She wasn’t angry—just found it amusing.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I have a place to go,” Lin Xuexia said, turning to Chen Liling and Xie Yingzi. “Yongfang says she has a place you can stay a few days. If you can’t find anywhere, you can come with her.”

Xu Yongfang’s eyes widened.

Chen Liling and Xie Yingzi were stunned. Xie Yingzi quickly waved her hand, “I—I’m going straight back home.”

Her face flushed red; after what she had done, she couldn’t bear to accept Lin Xuexia’s kindness—it felt like a fiery slap to her face.

Her heart was full of guilt. How had she acted so strangely the day before yesterday... Luckily, Lin Xuexia was unharmed.

Chen Liling said, “I’m going to my sister’s factory. Xuexia, sorry, if you have nowhere to go, come with me.”

Lin Xuexia smiled faintly. “I have a place.”

“Yongfang, can I stay with you for a couple of days?” The shameless Zhou Jiajia and Tang Xiuchun hurriedly asked.

Xu Yongfang looked troubled. “Well...”

Seeing Zhou Jiajia and Tang Xiuchun pestering Xu Yongfang, Lin Xuexia suppressed a smile and walked out of the factory briskly with her things.

She hadn’t wronged herself. Not far from the factory, she hailed a small tricycle taxi, which carried her and her luggage forward. It was early morning, the sky bright, and Lin Xuexia wore a foldable cloth hat for shade.

Most vehicles on the road were black bicycles; more than half the city’s population traveled by bike. Occasionally, a few small cars, buses, and taxis appeared.

Taxis were a fashionable novelty introduced to the city this year. Many dreamed of obtaining a taxi license to become a “driver.” The license itself was quite valuable.

The tricycle driver was a middle-aged man wearing a hat, gray shorts, and a blue worker’s uniform. Every time he passed a taxi, he couldn’t help but look at it with envy.

“Little sister, we’re here.”

Lin Xuexia got off and gave the driver thirty cents. The area she was now in was a “village within the city,” crowded with self-built houses of varying heights. Streets were narrow, and clothes hung from balconies showed that all homes were packed with people—completely overcrowded.

The year 1988 was a turning point—many migrants from the south like her came here to work then. Afterwards, the influx became unstoppable. The permanent population was about 1.2 million, but by the turn of the millennium, it surged to 7 million, growing by hundreds of thousands annually.

Lin Xuexia came to visit Aunt Chunyan, hoping to leave her luggage there and inquire about nearby rental housing.

By chance, just as she arrived beneath a three-story building, a plump middle-aged woman came out to post a notice. In front of the ground-floor storefront, she set up a wooden board announcing a vacancy on the second floor, with a large character meaning “for rent” and the number 65 beside it.

“Big sister, are you renting?” Lin Xuexia recognized the woman. She had short hair, wore a pale floral blouse, had a large face and droopy eyes that made her look perpetually tired even when she opened them wide.

The woman glanced back, saw Lin Xuexia’s modest attire, and softened her expression. “Yes.”

She didn’t expect Lin Xuexia to rent her place, so she answered casually.

Lin Xuexia’s heart lifted. “Sister, can I rent your room?”

She knew the landlord, Chen Miaorong, lived alone raising three children. Renting from her felt safer than elsewhere.

“You?” Chen Miaorong was not pleased, even somewhat reluctant. Here, there was no shortage of tenants. Chen had many requirements for renters.

She disliked renting to single men or women, preferring honest couples with children. A family of two parents and two children might be noisy but was safer.

Men tied down by family were less likely to cause trouble, and having men living upstairs deterred outsiders with ill intentions.

Chen Miaorong anxiously asked, “You want to rent alone? What do you want to do? I don’t rent rooms separately.”

A young woman renting alone was often feared to be involved in improper activities. But Lin Xuexia’s simple, clean appearance didn’t fit that image.

Why would she spend so much on rent?

Currently, a forty-square-meter apartment rented for sixty-five yuan a month. It had a cramped living room and two small bedrooms. Many would sublet the rooms separately—the large room for thirty to forty yuan, the small one for twenty to thirty. The big room, about twelve square meters, could fit two bunk beds and a spot for sleeping on the floor, squeezing in five or six people. Sharing rent and utilities, it was about ten yuan per month, the top choice for new, struggling workers.

Chen Miaorong would never split the apartment to rent separately—it would create chaos from too many single tenants. She didn’t want to attract that kind of trouble.

Lin Xuexia smiled slightly. “Sister, I want to rent alone. I just left the factory and want to set up a small stall. My Aunt Gao Chunyan rents from you too. I want to live near her so we can look out for each other. After all, it’s not safe for a young woman alone.”

Lin Xuexia really wanted to rent from Chen Miaorong because she was timid, raising kids alone, and had installed security bars on all windows. The iron gate at the back stairwell was locked with strong locks.

“My room is sixty-five a month. That’s a lot. Are you willing to pay that?” Chen Miaorong eyed her suspiciously.

“Sister, I’ll be straightforward. Your place is safe. I’ll rent alone and won’t bring anyone back without your permission. If family or my fiancé come, I’ll let you know in advance.”

Chen Miaorong’s expression softened but remained hesitant.

She asked further, “What does your fiancé do?”

“Xuexia!” Aunt Gao Chunyan, pushing her tricycle, was surprised. She had come home briefly from her morning rice noodle stall. It had quieted down, so she left the stall in someone else’s care.

She saw Lin Xuexia talking to the landlord.

“Xuexia, why are you here? Aren’t you at the factory?”

Lin Xuexia replied, “I don’t want to work in the factory anymore. I want to do small business like you, selling at stalls.”

“That... that’s good too. It’s tough work,” Gao Chunyan waved, speaking a bit sheepishly. She wasn’t very diligent with her rice noodle stall—starting late and often slacking off, hoping outsiders wouldn’t come to buy her noodles, so she wouldn’t have to work hard.

If she sold too many noodles, she’d get tired; too few, she’d earn less. Once she reached her quota, she’d start to coast.

She wasn’t afraid of struggling—if things went badly, she’d blame her husband. If she could return home, that would be even better.

“Aunt, I want to rent a place.”

“Ah?” Gao Chunyan quickly advised, “Maybe don’t rent. Come stay with us, squeeze in a bit.”

She and her husband lived with two kids in a forty-square-meter house. A little more crowding could manage another person.

She worried about rent and stall fees—twenty-five hundred a year for the stall, seven or eight hundred yearly rent. Rent kept rising. With thousands of yuan in rent in their hometown, life was much easier there. Why stay here?

Lin Xuexia said, “That wouldn’t be suitable.”

Chen Miaorong grew worried again, fearing Lin Xuexia would withdraw. If the girl was good, renting to her would be easier.

Gao Chunyan asked, “What’s not suitable?”

Chen Miaorong asked eagerly, “Little sister, do you really want to rent?”

“Yes, I really do,” Lin Xuexia replied.

Chen Miaorong asked, “What does your fiancé do? If you want to bring him over, I want to meet him first.”

“Aren’t you talking about her fiancé? He’s her fiancé, right? Her family set them up. He’s a college student,” Gao Chunyan quickly explained, still puzzled by Lin Xuexia’s desire to rent.

“College student, huh!” Chen Miaorong’s eyes brightened. She hoped her children could get into university one day.

“No,” Lin Xuexia shook her head. “That engagement is off. He looked down on me and told his classmates I was just his cousin.”

“I have a new boyfriend. I was almost harassed by a thug before, but he saved me. He’s a veteran. Sister, I’ll have him meet you in a couple of days.”

Chen Miaorong studied Lin Xuexia carefully and suddenly smiled. “You’re honest. I’ll rent to you. Sixty-one yuan a month, that’s the deal.”