What??
Two pieces?
Jia Dongxu was immediately displeased: "Third Uncle, do you think I'm out of my mind? You dare to charge two yuan a month for a tiny side room? Do you really think my Jia family is easy to bully?"
"If you don't give me a fair price, I'll rent someone else's place!"
Renting someone else's house?
Jia Dongxu's words almost made some people laugh.
You've already sunk to the point of renting a side room, yet you're willing to spend even more money to rent a more expensive house?
He's obviously bragging.
Uncle Yan Bugui chuckled and replied, "We'll haggle on the spot. If you think it's too expensive, we can discuss the price."
"How about this, I'll offer a special rate for acquaintances, 1.8 yuan a month, what do you think?"
One yuan and eighty cents may not sound like much, but for the thrifty Yan Bugui, it was more than two jin of pork belly.
Yan Bugui's bottom line is one yuan a month, and he will agree to any price Jia Dongxu dares to haggle.
"No, no, it's still too expensive. If only..."
Before Jia Dongxu could even haggle, a man living in the front yard interrupted him, saying, "Jia Dongxu, if you want to rent a house, I can give up my outbuilding. It has windows and gets sunshine, and it only costs one yuan a month."
hiss......
Chen Jun glanced at the man with some surprise. This guy was in his early forties, named Zhang Laosan. He had a shifty look and was lazy at home. His wife went out to do odd jobs to earn money. The reason he had two houses was all because his father was hardworking.
His family lived a very poor life, not only because he was idle, but also because he liked to gamble whenever he had a little money, so his family was dirt poor.
But their two sons live in the outbuilding. Renting the outbuilding to Jia Dongxu so cheaply must be out of their minds.
Of course, there's another possibility: that this guy is so poor he'd rent it out for even a dollar a month.
"Third brother, you can't do things like this!" Yan Bugui looked at Zhang Laosan with dissatisfaction. This kind of interference and snatching is somewhat unethical.
But Zhang Laosan was no ordinary man; he smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Yan Bugui.
“Uncle, you are a teacher at the school, and your son Jiecheng works in the canteen of the steel rolling mill. Your conditions are much better than ours.”
"It's not that I'm trying to steal your business, it's just that my family is really struggling to make ends meet. We're tightening our belts, and one yuan can last us two days' worth of food."
"One yuan, right? We can't go back on our word!"
Jia Dongxu was overjoyed. It only cost one yuan to rent for a month, twelve yuan for a year, and one hundred and twenty yuan for ten years. Five hundred yuan could last for more than forty years.
More than forty years later, the house will still belong to the Jia family no matter what, and Banggeng will have grown up by then and will no longer have to worry about food and housing.
That's why Jia Dongxu was so eager to confirm it.
"I won't return it. I, Zhang Laosan, am a man of my word. If I say it's one dollar, it's one dollar." Zhang Laosan thumped his chest loudly, looking every bit the righteous man.
“Then I’ll rent it for ten years first!” Jia Dongxu wasn’t stupid; he was worried that Zhang Laosan might go back on his word later, so he wanted to sign a ten-year contract in one go.
ten years?
Zhang Laosan hesitated, scratching his chin, looking somewhat troubled.
“Ten years is too long. Who knows what might happen in the future?” Zhang Laosan shook his head and added, “How about this, we sign a one-year contract, but we can make an agreement that the rent will increase by the same percentage each year as the market price.
"Of course, the increase will be based on one yuan per month."
It seems that Zhang Laosan doesn't want to sign a long-term contract with Jia Dongxu, which is understandable. Ten years is too long, and who knows what might happen in the future, so signing a one-year contract is also understandable.
Jia Dongxu thought about it for a moment and felt it was alright. After all, there was a supplementary agreement that even if the market price increased by 10% in the second year, the rent for the following year would only be one yuan and one jiao. The extra amount didn't matter, since he was now a wealthy man with more than five hundred yuan in his pocket.
“Alright, let’s sign the agreement then. Uncle Zhang, could you help us write it down?” After discussing it with Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu agreed to Zhang Laosan’s request.
Yan Bugui said coldly and irritably, "The fee is two mao (0.2 yuan), no credit, and no refunds."
They stole his business and now want him to write the agreement for free?
No way!
You have to pay up, or else you'll have to find someone else to do it!
"Uncle, don't be angry. Wife, quickly give me two cents!" Zhang Laosan snatched two cents from his wife's pocket and handed the money to Yan Bugui with a sly grin.
For the sake of money, Yan Bugui then took out paper and pen and wrote two agreements for Zhang Laosan and Jia Dongxu.
Both parties pressed their fingerprints and exchanged money, and Jia Dongxu happily put the agreement into his pocket.
One yuan a month, that's an incredible deal!
Even after Jia Zhangshi is released from the labor camp, one still has to praise her for being smart.
Hey! Wait a minute.
Jia Dongxu suddenly frowned. The outbuilding of Zhang Laosan's house was not large, and it was already barely enough for a family of three. It was obviously impossible to squeeze in another person.
However, it's not appropriate for a family of four to sleep in one bed.
Forget it, let's wait until Jia Zhangshi comes out before we talk about it.
Jia Dongxu shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind.
Seeing that the matter had been settled, the others dispersed one by one.
Liu Haizhong glanced at the Jia family's house with some regret, sighed, and went back to the backyard.
Liu Guangqi and Xu Damao also sighed.
The former is because they no longer have their own independent new house after getting married, while the latter is because they can no longer ask their parents to help take care of their children.
However, as regrettable as it may be, the Jia family's house is indeed not worth much money; the repair costs alone would be a considerable sum.
Yi Zhonghai is wealthy and doesn't care about that little bit of money; it wouldn't be a big deal if he took it.
With a place to stay, Jia Dongxu began to arrange for Qin Huairu to tidy up the house.
First, we had to move the bedding and household items from our home to Zhang Lao Er's house. Then we had to open a new ventilation opening in the window, otherwise cooking with the stove would easily cause problems.
The annex was, after all, an annex, and it was certainly not as convenient as before, but Qin Huairu was already quite satisfied with it.
Anyway, it's more comfortable than living in a shelter or an old house.
Just as Qin Huairu was busy running around inside, Zhang Laosan grinned and approached Jia Dongxu, reaching into his pocket to pull out a cigarette and handing it to him.
Jia Dongxu glanced at it; it was one of those hand-rolled cigarettes. He then waved his hand and said, "I don't smoke."
Zhang Laosan didn't care and lit a cigarette, puffing away.
"Jia Dongxu, aren't you bored staying cooped up in the yard all day?"
"Sigh, what can I do?" Jia Dongxu pursed his lips and helplessly shrugged.
Old Zhang exhaled a smoke ring, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Want to have some fun?"
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