Chapter 238: Borrowing Death, Not Life

As the saying goes, the bold will die of overeating, and the timid will die of starvation.

In the early days of opening up, most people who were able to take a leave of absence from their jobs to start their own business would be successful. It was difficult to become a billionaire, but it was not difficult to earn enough money to live a lifetime.

Xia Mi nodded, "Can I go and take a look?"

"Okay, but I can't leave now. Sister Xia Mi, why don't you wait for me to take you to see it at noon."

Li Meng looked awkwardly at the two radios beside him, with a TV at his feet.

Xiao Wang walked towards Li Meng with good sense. "I'll do this for you. Take Sister Xia Mi to have a look now. The master will be back soon after the visit, so we don't have to wait here."

Li Meng's eyes were uneasy. After his senior brother pulled him up, he stood there, then came to his senses and went to wash his hands.

Seeing this reaction, Xia Mi was puzzled. She was not a man-eating tiger, so why did they look so scared at her?

After washing his hands, Li took Xia Mi and walked towards home. On the way, he did not forget to introduce the house type and geographical location.

"We live in a small house in the food factory, with two households in one yard. It's near the affiliated middle school and the department store. There's a grocery store right in front of our factory, so it's convenient for us to buy anything."

Li Meng was very nervous, but he still introduced the surrounding facilities and road sections to Xia Mi in detail.

"You two brothers are living at home now?"

Li Meng nodded. "There are five of us living in our house. We also have a younger sister who went to college last year. She doesn't live at home now, but she will come back during the holidays."

Xia Mi understood the situation.

It is said to be the factory's family compound, but in fact it is no different from an ordinary street. According to Li Meng, this large area is the territory of the food factory.

It takes about fifteen minutes to walk from here to Shen Zhihui's store, which is not far. According to him, the department store is just twenty minutes' walk to the right.

There are pharmacies and grocery stores. The only downside is that there is no hospital nearby. There is only a food factory clinic, which doesn't look very big.

So far, Xia Mi is quite satisfied.

Li Meng took Xia Mi into an alley, No. 35 [Huaiqin Lane].

The alley looks ordinary, but there is a house on each side. If you walk in for more than ten meters, there is only one left turn.

I thought the road would become narrower and narrower, but unexpectedly the road gradually widened.

"That's our yard." After seeing his home, Li Meng pointed excitedly and motioned Xia Mi to look over.

Xia Mi looked and saw that the house types were similar to the ones she had walked all the way to, all with courtyards of over 100 square meters, divided into two or three households, and all were flat buildings.

The Li family has two households, and the yard is not very big, about 30 square meters in total, which is used by two families.

"I'll take you in to have a look." Judging from Li Meng's accelerated pace, it is not difficult to guess that he is very excited now.

Xia Mi followed the people into the yard, which was kept in perfect order. A small piece of land was enclosed by bricks on the left side of the wall, where onions and coriander were planted.

At that time, there was no main gate, and the courtyard door was the main gate.

The doors of both houses are small, one on each side, very symmetrical.

The door of Li's house was open, and the person inside heard the sound and came out. It was Li Meng's mother, Huang Lirong.

Huang Lirong was still holding a spatula in her hand, as if she had just run out. Her eyes fell on Xia Mi, and then quickly looked at Li Meng. She was surprised at why her son suddenly came home, and then looked at Xia Mi again, with a smile on her face.

It's obvious that there is a misunderstanding about the relationship between them.

Li Meng also realized this problem. "Mom, let me introduce you. This is my master's friend, Sister Xia Mi. She wants to rent a house. I brought her to see Aunt Zhao's house."

When Huang Lirong heard this, the smile on her face remained unchanged.

"Girl, are you a renter?"

Xia Mi smiled politely and explained her needs, "I live alone, but my husband comes over occasionally."

When she heard her husband, the smile on Huang Lirong's face froze for a moment, but soon rose again.

"Wait a minute, I'll get the key."

Li Meng said enthusiastically, "I'll go, Mom. You can introduce the house to Sister Xia Mi."

"If you live alone often, I suggest you only rent the master bedroom. The master bedroom is large and spacious, and the kitchen has a separate entrance. In our backyard, the kitchen is shared."

If you only rent one room, it means that the second bedroom may also be rented to someone else in the future.

Li Meng took the key to open the door, and Huang Lirong led people into the house and introduced the house type.

There is a room on the right side of the door, and further ahead is a small living room. There are two doors at the end of the living room. The one on the left is the master bedroom, and the one on the right is the door leading to the backyard.

"This house belonged to one of our colleagues. Her family moved to Shenzhen, and the house became empty. After they moved out, many people came to inquire about it. They were all employees of the factory who wanted to occupy the house for free just because of their small connections."

No wonder this house, despite having a nice layout, hasn’t been rented out yet.

The furniture is not very new, but overall it is better than on the island. There is also running water and gas, which is much more convenient than on the island.

The bed in the master bedroom is 1.5 meters long and there is a maroon wardrobe. The window is just to the right of the wardrobe. There is a desk covered with a cloth to prevent dust.

After taking a look, Xia Mi was quite satisfied overall.

"Auntie, how much would it cost to rent this entire house?"

Xia Mi didn't want to rent just one room. If a man or a couple moved in in the future, she really wouldn't be able to handle it.

She would rather spend more money than have a weird roommate.

"So, you want to rent all the rooms?" Huang Lirong was surprised by Xia Mi's generosity and suggested sincerely, "My daughter, it's a waste for you to live in such a big house by yourself. It would be better to rent one."

"Auntie, I won't hide it from you. Actually, I'm pregnant now, and I'm definitely going to need someone to take care of me later. My husband is busy with work and definitely can't come over often, so I still want to rent the whole place so that I can provide someone with a place to live when the time comes."

After Xia Mi said this, Huang Lirong felt that it made sense.

It's just borrowing death, not life, Huang Lirong said in advance, "My daughter, do you want to go back to your hometown to give birth to the child, or do you want to stay here?"

"I'll go back home when the baby is a little older. This house is where I'll use it for work and rest. My home is on the island now, and it's inconvenient to commute back and forth every day."

Huang Lirong nodded and asked her what she thought of the house. "Do you think this house is okay? If you like it, I'll call the landlord and ask her about the rent for the whole house and see if she can give you a discount."

Xia Mi didn't expect that she would be able to decide on a house after just the first viewing.

"I'm quite satisfied. Auntie, please ask for the price for me. If you have any news, please tell Li Meng and ask him to pass it on to me."

"Okay, okay, then it's settled." Huang Lirong breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally solved the hot potato that everyone in the yard was eyeing.

Huang Lirong invited Xia Mi, "Since everyone is here, why don't you have lunch at home today? I was just about to cook when I heard you guys coming."

Time passed quickly and it was already time for dinner. Xia Mi thought that Chen Zhihui should be back.

"Auntie, I can't. Li Meng, you can have lunch at home. I have a lunch appointment with someone. Let's do it next time."

Huang Lirong is a warm-hearted person. If she moves in smoothly, maybe we will have more contact with each other in the future.

Huang Lirong wanted to persuade him, but her son stopped her, "Mom, Sister Xia Mi doesn't come to the city very often. She always has something to discuss with the master."

"Sister Xia Mi, let me walk you a little way." The road conditions here are complicated, and Li Meng is worried that Xia Mi will get lost.

Xia Mi did not refuse and thanked him softly, "Thank you for your help."

After seeing Xia Mi off, Li Meng returned home. As soon as he entered the house, Huang Lirong called him over to help pick vegetables.

"Mom, do you think Aunt Zhao will rent it?"

Huang Lirong took out the half-cooked rice and put it into the rice cooker.

"They'd rather die than live, and your Aunt Zhao is so superstitious, I think it's going to be tough." Huang Lirong said truthfully, "Second brother, what does this woman do? Her husband is on the island. Could she be a fisherman?"

Li Meng denied it, "No, she's a military wife, and her husband is a soldier on Zhuifeng Island."

Huang Lirong was surprised when she heard that she was a military wife. "A military wife, then your Aunt Zhao will probably agree."

"Why would Aunt Zhao, a military wife, agree?"

Huang Lirong rolled her eyes. "Your Aunt Zhao's eldest son is a soldier. As a military family member, she can be more understanding."

Li Meng's mood was up and down, and he didn't feel relieved until the end.

"Second brother, you said this is your master's friend, so you have to pay more attention to him. Your master is the first millionaire in our city. Even if he loses 10,000, he still has 10,000. You have to learn from him."

"Come to think of it, it seems like every time Master encounters a problem, Sister Xia Mi will appear, and then the problem will be solved."

Xia Mi doesn't come here often, but every time she comes, the store makes some important decisions, such as buying a car or closing the store to develop dealers.

Anyone who is not a fool can guess that these might be the methods Xia Mi came up with.

Huang Lirong naturally didn't understand the problem. "You're acting like you're the savior. You and your brother should just learn the skills well."

Li Meng answered repeatedly.

Xia Mi was able to find the way out of the food factory and returned to the store along the same route.

Shen Zhihui had returned from delivering the goods and was sitting in the living room to rest, his eyes fixed on Li Yuan, closely following every step he took.

The sun began to shine outside. Xia Mi walked back with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

"Xia Mi." Shen Zhihui's attention was distracted, and he saw Xia Mi come in. "How do you like the house?"

"It's not bad, but I need to ask the landlord and negotiate the rent."

Xiao Wang has always been the most considerate person. Before Xia Mi even sat down, the water was handed to her.

She really felt that it was a pity for Xiao Wang to be an apprentice, and he should go to work as an assistant with Shen Zhihui.

"I met a few people when I rented a house last time. If you're free this afternoon, I can take you over to see them."

Xia Mi looked at the glaring sunlight outside and chose to refuse. "Forget it today. I'm a little tired from all this going back and forth. Let's wait for next time."

"That's fine. Let's take a break and go to the newly opened restaurant up ahead. The owner is from Sichuan and makes authentic Sichuan cuisine. I wonder if you can handle spicy food."

Since Xia Mi became pregnant, her taste has become stronger, and she likes both sour and spicy food.

As soon as she heard the word "spicy", her mouth began to secrete saliva, and she even found the sun outside more pleasing to the eye.

"Okay." Xia Mi agreed. She wanted to call the remaining two people, but thinking that Li Meng was still at home, she was worried that there would be too many people, so Xia Mi did not call the other two.

Shen Zhihui had no intention of calling anyone because he had something to say to Xia Mi.

The two arrived half an hour early and did not catch up with the main group. Most of the seats in the restaurant were still empty.

"Comrade, what would you like to eat? The dishes on the blackboard are all our signature dishes. See if there is anything you like." The waiter came over immediately and enthusiastically introduced the signature dishes.

Xia Mi grew up in Suzhou in her previous life. The food in Suzhou tends to be sweet, and people cannot tolerate spicy food. Over time, she has not had a strong desire for spicy food.

On the contrary, I like spicy food now.

This was not the first time Shen Zhihui came here. "I want boiled pork slices, mapo tofu, ants climbing trees, and vegetable soup."

"It's too much. Two dishes are enough for the two of us."

Shen Zhihui waved his hand, “Not much, her family’s cooking is good, I can eat two dishes by myself.”

Xia Mi was a little surprised, because Chen Zhihui was from Haicheng, Suzhou and Haicheng were very close, and the local tastes were similar.

Even he thought it was delicious, and Xia Mi's expectations for Sichuan cuisine increased.

"By the way, regarding the last case, I asked someone to inquire around in the black market, and no unfamiliar large trucks have entered our city recently."

Xia Mi was stunned and quickly responded, "Does this mean the things are still in the city?"

"Yes, this information is 90% true, but where can we hide such a big car without being discovered?"

Shen Zhihui also received the news today, but he didn't expect Xia Mi to come by chance.

"For cargo over a ton, the tire tracks should be from a medium-sized truck. Trucks this large are usually only available at state-owned factories or transport companies."

"The police have investigated and it's not the transport company's vehicle. The transport company's medium-sized trucks are out on long-distance trips and haven't returned yet."

That leaves only state-owned factories, but they have the least motivation to steal. How could such a large factory possibly care about such a small amount of money?

Xia Mi couldn't figure it out. Since all the possibilities were ruled out, the truck must belong to the criminal gangs. The police also investigated the recent sales of the trucks. Except for two purchased by the compressor factory and the TV factory, no other trucks had been sold.

This matter caused a huge uproar, and all the surrounding counties and cities were investigated. It was found that none of the cars were sold to self-employed individuals or private individuals.

Xia Mi suddenly had a very absurd guess. What if he really was someone from the state-owned factory?

Shen Zhihui's business is witnessed by everyone in Qingcheng City. It is getting bigger and bigger. Many people are lining up to ask him to be their apprentice, all wanting to learn from him or make money from him.

In the parts market, he and Cheng Quan are competitors, one backed by a township factory and the other backed by a state-owned factory.

Currently, Cheng Quan is in a state of loss, but Chen Zhihui is flourishing in all aspects both inside and outside the city. Seeing the increasing volume of goods, Hongxing's profits are also increasing. Naturally, some people will be restless in opening up new markets.

Xia Mi pondered, but if it was made by a state-owned factory, what was the point? Was it just a warning to Shen Zhihui?

That would be too unnecessary, and would hurt yourself by a thousand and hurt the enemy by eight hundred.