Ye Linchen left the dormitory area and headed familiarly toward the high school section of the steel mill's affiliated school.
I've walked this path countless times in my past lives, each time with immense suffering and resentment.
Because of her accent and shabby clothes, she was often ridiculed by her classmates at school, who called her a country bumpkin and a country bumpkin.
In addition, Meng Zihan spread rumors at school, saying that Ye Linchen looked honest but was actually full of bad intentions, bullied her at home every day, and wanted to drive her out of the Ye family.
The students disliked Ye Linchen even more and bullied her even more.
He even claimed to be a messenger of justice, avenging Meng Zihan.
They would either secretly spill ink on her desk or tear up her notebooks.
She was a quiet and timid person. When she was bullied, she didn't dare to tell her teachers or parents. She could only hide under the covers and cry secretly at night.
Their previously decent grades plummeted.
When she graduated, even if Meng Xueyun and Ye Zhenghua hadn't let her go to university, and even if they had let her take the exam, she wouldn't have been able to pass with those grades.
In this life, she will not repeat the same mistakes.
She wants to seize this learning opportunity, work harder, get into a good university, and change her destiny.
Although Meng Xueyun and Ye Zhenghua haven't confronted her yet, Ye Linchen knows very well that they won't agree to her going to university.
I just hope she graduates quickly, gets a job, and brings her salary home to support her family.
If she insists on taking the exam, given Meng Xueyun's personality, she will use every means to sabotage it and prevent her from participating.
So she needs to rent a place and move out as soon as possible.
She has already decided on the location of the house.
In his previous life, after Ye Linchen was kicked out of his home by Meng Xuexueyun, he rented a small single room near the school.
The location is excellent; it's close to the school and quiet, making it perfect for studying.
The only downside is that the room is a bit small.
Instead of reminiscing about his high school days, Ye Linchen followed the route from his memory and headed straight for his former rented apartment.
Soon, a narrow alleyway appeared before her.
There's a sign at the entrance of the alley: Pear Blossom Alley.
After walking along this alley for less than ten minutes, you will see a large iron gate.
Inside the iron gate were two rows of single-story houses facing each other, with a path paved with bluestone slabs running between them.
This is also the dormitory area of the steel plant. It was built in the 1950s and is one of the earliest dormitory areas.
The layout of the bungalows on both sides is exactly the same, each with one room and one kitchen.
There are no private toilets; there are only public toilets at one end of the alley and the other at the other.
This was considered a decent house back then, but as more and more buildings sprang up, it became disliked.
There aren't many employees living here now; most are renters.
Because of its small size and incomplete facilities, the rent is much cheaper than that of the dormitory area where the Ye family lives.
It's perfect for her current situation.
At this moment, several middle-aged women were sitting in front of the gatehouse next to the iron gate, chatting excitedly about gossip.
Upon seeing Ye Linchen, everyone stopped talking and looked at her curiously.
"Young lady, who are you looking for?" one of the kind-looking middle-aged women asked first.
Ye Linchen hurriedly walked over with a smile: "Auntie, do you have any single rooms available for rent here?"
"You're looking to rent a room?" Another older woman looked her up and down suspiciously. "Why are you alone? Where are your parents? Did they know you were looking to rent a room?"
Ye Linchen didn't intend to tell them the truth.
If the women knew she had run away from home, they would definitely have tried to persuade her to go back.
She smiled sweetly and nodded, "I know."
"Why aren't you living at home? Why are you renting a place?" The older woman didn't believe her and continued to question her, "Aren't your parents worried about you?"
"My house is too small, there's really no room for everyone. I'm about to take the college entrance exam and I want to study hard. My parents are worried that having too many people at home will affect me, so they let me rent a single room."
Ye Linchen took out the prepared speech.
“My parents also work at the steel mill, so they feel comfortable letting me live here.”
When everyone heard her say this, and saw her fair face and sweet smile, they immediately believed her.
How could such a pretty, quiet, and polite girl possibly make up lies to deceive people?
"There's a place available. How long do you want to rent it?" the persistent older woman asked again. "There's a place that just became available. I can take you to see it right now."
It seems this middle-aged woman is the manager of this dormitory area.
Residents who have houses to rent out will give her the keys and ask her to keep an eye on things.
Ye Linchen was secretly delighted.
I was so lucky; there were rooms available right away.
Ye Linchen immediately said to the older woman, "Then I'll trouble you to take me to see her."
The older woman didn't say much. She stood up, told the other older women to look after her, and then led Ye Linchen into the alley.
On the way, after the older woman asked Ye Linchen's name, she introduced herself: "My surname is Chen, you can just call me Aunt Chen."
According to Aunt Shen, this apartment was originally allocated to a newlywed couple.
The new bride became pregnant and disliked the dampness of the single-story house, fearing it would be bad for her health, so she moved to the groom's house.
"It was thoroughly cleaned before the wedding, and we haven't lived here for long. The house is very clean, and it's perfect for you to move in."
As they were talking, Aunt Chen stopped in front of room 56, took out a bunch of keys, found one, and opened the heavy iron door.
Upon entering, there is a long, narrow kitchen, which is about three square meters in size.
A stove was built on the outer side, with a single natural gas stove placed on it.
To the left of the stove is a two-tiered cupboard, and to the right is a small sink.
Further inside is the bedroom, which also serves as the living room.
It's a small area; according to Aunt Shen, it's twelve square meters.
The furniture inside was very simple: a desk, a single bed, and a wooden box that served as a wardrobe.
The windows were empty; there were no curtains.
Through the glass window, you can see a small river flowing slowly forward in the distance.
"The wedding furniture has all been moved out; these are secondhand pieces they bought, and they're quite sturdy."
Aunt Chen walked over and shook the headboard. "Listen, there's not a sound. The mattress is basically new; you can just put the sheets on."
Ye Linchen was very satisfied.
These pieces of furniture are more than enough for her; she doesn't need to buy any more.
I never expected that this house would hold such a pleasant surprise.
Behind the bedroom, the family built a small toilet themselves.
"There's an open space behind here. They thought it would be convenient to have a toilet there, and it would be easier to rent it out, so they built one. You can wash up here from now on."
Although the steel plant does not provide toilets for its employees to build themselves, many people do not bother to build them.
Renting a place with a toilet is not only expensive, but you also have to wait for an opportunity.
I never expected to run into this as soon as I arrived.
Isn't this a good start?
"This is so convenient!" Ye Linchenzi asked with satisfaction. "I'll rent this place, Aunt Chen. How much is the rent per month?"
"One hundred yuan, one month's deposit and three months' rent in advance, plus a fifty yuan referral fee."
Ye Linchen started doing the math in his head.
She only paid 560 yuan, with a deposit of one month's rent and three months' rent paid upfront. Including the referral fee, it would cost her 450 yuan.
Next, she needs to buy some household items, study materials, and make a living.
The remaining 110 yuan is clearly not enough.
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