Chapter 137 I'll Just Sell Barbecue
Crane City, an old mining town washed ashore by the tides of time.
The roaring mining machines of the last century have long since fallen silent, and the prosperity of border trade has faded with time, leaving only mottled brick walls and empty corridors, bearing witness to the remnants left behind by the mass exodus of young people. The wave of layoffs was like a cold snap, sweeping away the sounds of factory machines and freezing the vitality of the small town.
These days, walking down the street, you see nothing but elderly people leaning on canes and a few idle middle-aged people looking down at their phones. Worse still, the shadows from across the border are quietly creeping in; smuggling, theft, and robbery are growing like weeds, and the sirens of police stations pierce the silence of dusk every few days.
Su Yingxue stepped onto the moss-covered stone path and turned into Ping'an Lane.
This is a forgotten corner of the city. Old residential buildings, like haphazardly stacked building blocks, are crookedly squeezed into narrow alleys. Windows are broken or fogged up, and sunlight struggles to penetrate the cramped gaps, casting only a few blurry patches of light on the greasy cement. The elementary school at the alley entrance has few students left; its dilapidated iron gate is half-open, occasionally letting out a few hoarse broadcasts, quickly drowned out by the loudspeakers of massage parlors along the street.
"Xiao Su, keep up." Aunt Zhang lifted the overhead power line and gently parted a tangled spiderweb with her fingers.
"Little Su, you're a really pretty girl. Why are you renting a place here?"
She stared at Su Yingxue's face with a hint of surprise in her eyes—the wind in Hecheng was always shrouded in coal dust, and the skin of most locals was rough and dark, but the girl in front of her was as fair as a pebble in a mountain stream, and her fluffy hair swayed gently with her steps, making her eyebrows and eyes look particularly vivid.
"Okay, let's set up a barbecue stall here." Su Yingxue replied with a smile, shifting her foot slightly towards the wall to avoid a greasy, smelly ditch. The wind in the alley carried the scent of herbs wafting from the acupuncture shop next door, mixed with the spicy aroma of the hot pot stall, directly into people's noses.
Aunt Zhang casually grabbed a handful of broad beans that the stall owner had placed by the roadside, cracking them open while shaking her head: "Barbecue? With your looks, why don't you go sell a bowl of white fungus soup or some sweet soup? That would be much more respectable." She glanced at Su Yingxue.
“All I know how to make is barbecue.” Su Yingxue scratched her head, her hair swaying as she spoke, her tone carrying a stubborn insistence. She looked around: on the ground floor of the old residential building were several hardware stores and general stores, with yellowed “low-price sale” signs pasted on their glass doors; deep in the alley was a closed clothing store, with a few outdated cotton-padded coats hanging in the window; three blocks further ahead, the dusty roof of the police station could be vaguely seen.
“Aunt Zhang,” she suddenly lowered her voice and pointed to the six-story old residential building above, “are there any shops around here that allow you to set up a stall downstairs and have small cubicles upstairs? Preferably places where people can live.” She touched the little cash she had left in her pocket, thinking that if she could find a place that was “commercial and residential,” she could save on rent and keep an eye on her stall at all times.
Aunt Zhang chewed the last broad bean, squinting as she peered into both ends of the alley. "Upstairs? Sigh, these houses are all dormitories allocated by old state-owned enterprises, there aren't any proper shops here! But..." She suddenly tugged at Su Yingxue's sleeve and gestured towards the depths of the alley, "Go another fifty meters, there's an old man who converted the first floor into a small warehouse, which used to be used for storing miscellaneous items, but it's empty now. Why don't you ask him?"
Su Yingxue looked in the direction she pointed—it was an old building with vines climbing its exterior walls, the windows on the first floor were boarded up tightly, and several rusty gas cylinders were piled up by the door. She licked her lips and clenched her fist: "Okay, I'll go ask in a bit."
The overhead power lines suddenly buzzed, and a few sparrows fluttered past, casting a trail of dappled shadows. In the distance, the school bell rang, and several children in faded school uniforms ran through the alley, holding lollipops worth five cents each. Their laughter echoed against the mottled walls, breaking into a series of faint echoes.
Old Li was playing mahjong under the old locust tree at the alley entrance, a "three of bamboo" tile clutched in his hand. He squinted and slowly tossed it away, a half-smoked pipe dangling from his mouth. When he heard Aunt Zhang and Su Yingxue's purpose, he didn't even lift his eyelids. He tapped the pipe against the sole of his shoe, sparks flying onto his faded blue trousers, leaving a small clump of black ash.
"The rent is two thousand." He exhaled a smoke ring, his voice lazy, as if he had just woken up.
Su Yingxue paused for a moment, instinctively clutching the crumpled cash in her pocket—she hadn't brought much money with her this time. Her budget wasn't much either. This was her last five thousand yuan, and she still needed to set aside enough for a week's worth of groceries and seasonings. "Uncle Li, this price... is more expensive than the previous places." She tried to make her tone sound polite, but the hesitation in her eyes was still evident.
Aunt Zhang got anxious, grabbed Su Yingxue's arm, turned around and yelled at Old Li, "How can you be so dishonest! Granny Wang's warehouse only costs eight hundred, Sister Liu's coal shed costs one thousand two, why should your shabby house cost two thousand?"
She pointed to the small building covered in vines, "Look at these walls, they're all cracked! Two roof tiles are missing, it'll leak when it rains!"
Old Li slowly picked up a card without looking up: "I'm not trying to scam you." He finally glanced at the building, his cloudy eyes darting around. "All the young men upstairs have rented it. They all paid four thousand! Several young men sleep there all day long, I don't know what they're thinking."
He lowered his voice and tapped his pipe on the wooden table. “Last time I got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, I saw them sneaking around carrying cardboard boxes out of the alley. They were wrapped up like dumplings in the freezing cold, and they were speaking in hushed tones, barely audible.”
Su Yingxue and Aunt Zhang exchanged a glance, their hearts skipping a beat at the same time.
"Alright, alright. If you really want to rent, I have a new two-story building across the street. It's still two thousand, no bargaining."
"Old Li, it's freezing cold, don't keep the young lady from doing business." Aunt Zhang gritted her teeth, turned to Su Yingxue and winked, "Little Su, let's try to bargain some more."
For the next twenty minutes, Aunt Zhang and Old Li engaged in a tug-of-war. She first praised Old Li for being "honest and kind," then said that Su Yingxue "had come all the way from the south, which was not easy," and even brought up the sentimental saying that "neighbors should look out for each other."
Old Li initially insisted on 2,000, but later relented and offered 1,800.
Later, Aunt Zhang tugged at her sleeve and nagged, "I don't think this girl can even afford a few decent meals."
Old Li finally frowned and waved his hand: "Alright, alright, 1,500! Any less and I'll really lose money!"
Su Yingxue quickly took out her money, counted out three thousand yuan, and handed it over, paying one month's rent as a deposit.
Old Li took the money, counted it twice, and then pulled a brand-new key from his pocket and threw it on the table.
"Don't damage the furniture in that two-story building on the left ahead. If you do, you'll have to pay for it."
He gestured with his chin toward the small villa across the street, "The one with the red door, go up and open it yourself."
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