Chapter 204 Renting a House in Beijing
Grandma Luo has been living alone all these years. In the past few years, she was still holding on to the hope that her children would come back alive, but later this hope was extinguished. She came to Beijing, saying that she would be with her children, but is she still only a piece of yellow earth for company?
She always talked to herself, and no one came to visit her, but she was just holding on because of her stubborn nature.
Live a few more years and don’t let your children in heaven feel guilty.
I originally thought that Xia Juanjuan came here with some intention, but now it seems that she doesn't have that intention.
Besides, she is an elderly widow, what could she cheat about?
Grandma Luo quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears, still speaking in a cold tone: "Why are you calling me aunt? How old are you? You are a generation apart!"
Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "That's right. Then I'll call you aunt from now on."
Grandma Luo sighed and said, "I've already sold the house to you. How can I regret it? You're still clamoring to come back. Who do you think I am? I'm already satisfied that you came to see me and brought me the news. In the future, just take good care of the house and don't let it fall into disrepair."
If I go back, I'll be alone. It would be better to stay in Beijing, where I will have my children's tombs to accompany me, right?
Seeing her say this, Xia Juanjuan did not force it and smiled, "That's fine. What I said is always valid. Aunt, if you change your mind, just tell me at any time. The house is fine. I'm waiting for the birth of my baby in the house this year. The peach tree in the yard has produced a lot of fruits, which are big and sweet!"
Grandma Luo was obviously very happy to hear this, and said with some pride: "That peach tree has been there for many years, doesn't it produce peaches every year? Well... you are also very lucky."
Then he couldn't help asking, "Did you give birth? Is it a son or a daughter?"
Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "It's my sons, three big fat boys."
When Grandma Luo heard this, she was stunned for a moment, with a look of surprise on her face: "Triplets?"
Xia Juanjuan nodded.
Grandma Luo couldn't help but smile and said, "This is a rare blessing! My son is good, but he is tough. He becomes naughty when he grows up. I'm afraid three of them will make me angry to death."
As he spoke, his old eyes looked into the distance, as if he had traveled through time and saw his own children when they were little...
After talking for a few more words, Xia Juanjuan said she had to leave for something. Grandma Luo couldn't help feeling a little lonely, but she remained calm and didn't say much.
Xia Juanjuan left the sanatorium and went to Liulichang Street.
Panjiayuan is a famous antique market in Beijing, but it only became popular in the 1990s.
In the 1970s, that area was just an ordinary residential area. On the contrary, Liulichang Street, where glazed tiles were made for the Forbidden City and dignitaries since the Ming Dynasty, and many officials lived there, is a veritable cultural street. There are many alleys and courtyards nearby, as well as calligraphy and painting shops, mounting shops, bookstores, and study supplies. It is a relatively prosperous place.
However, except for the bookstore, all other stores have changed their business. They are either closed or sell cigarettes, alcohol, snacks, etc. But this does not stop people from still enjoying wandering around this area. It is still a prosperous scene.
Of course, Xia Juanjuan didn't go there to look for antiques and jade, or to buy a courtyard house on a whim.
She wants to rent a house.
After all, the time is too tight and it is not convenient this time, so the most important thing is to find a stable place to stay.
Once she has a stable place to stay, she can come and go freely in the space. Then, she can slowly look around, and it will be convenient for her to look for antiques or buy a courtyard house.
There's no need to rush.
She didn't go to any busy places, but took out a piece of paper and followed the route marked on it, turning many turns and going deeper into the alley.
The Liuli Factory is bustling and crowded with people, so the black market has opened up to take advantage of this popularity. It can be said that it is one of the largest black markets in Beijing.
Xia Juanjuan naturally couldn't find out this information by herself, but she asked Luo Cheng for help.
Although Luo Cheng is from Shanghai, he has been active in this area for many years and is naturally familiar with the situation in Beijing.
She wanted to rent a house. If she went the legitimate route, it would be possible with letters of introduction, guarantors, and other things. But it would be troublesome and not private enough. It would be better to go the black market route.
The black market in Beijing covers a wider range than that in other places, and renting a house is one of them.
Of course, it was called "borrowing" at that time.
As long as you have the money, if your relatives from other places come to stay with you for a while, we will even prepare a letter of introduction for you to handle the mobile population check.
And, we guarantee that no matter what you borrow the house for.
To be on the safe side, Xia Juanjuan disguised herself as a middle-aged woman in her thirties and found a man named "Dahei".
After reporting the name of Luocheng, Dahei immediately stopped looking and tried hard to introduce the house to Xia Juanjuan.
Xia Juanjuan was also generous and rented a small courtyard for 15 yuan a month.
The size of this small courtyard is naturally not comparable to a siheyuan, nor can it even be compared to the house in the county town, but it has the advantage of being located in the deepest part of the alley, quiet in the midst of noise, and usually not disturbed by anyone.
Xia Juanjuan directly paid the rent for six months, which was ninety yuan. She estimated that half a year would be enough. After half a year, she would take a look at the situation of the courtyard house and buy her own house, so she would not have to take the risk of renting from others.
In addition, she also gave Dahei a ten-yuan introduction fee, which surprised Dahei.
Dahei received the telegram from Luocheng, saying that a woman would come to him soon to rent a house, and as long as he mentioned his name, that's it, and asked him to be more diligent and work hard, and he would definitely benefit from it.
But ten dollars was beyond his expectations.
Dahei's income in the black market is definitely higher than that of an office worker, and he can earn about 100 yuan a month. But it is not easy to earn money.
Just like today, just by showing people around a few yards, I could easily earn one-tenth of my monthly income? This is... too easy!
Dahei became even more attentive to Xia Juanjuan and asked, "Sister, if you have any other instructions, just come to me, Dahei. I promise to do it for you personally!"
Xia Juanjuan almost burst out laughing, but she still left Dahei's contact address in case of emergency.
After renting a house, Xia Juanjuan bought a wooden box from a nearby store to put ginseng in as a gift tomorrow. Apart from that, she did not go anywhere else and hurried back to the guesthouse.
She fed the triplets when she was away, but she was still afraid that they would cry out of hunger.
After I came back, I realized it wasn't a big deal.
A policeman who looked to be about 18 or 19 years old sat next to the stroller with a nervous look on his face, staring at the triplets sleeping in the stroller.
Xia Juanjuan thanked him gratefully, gave him a lot of walnuts and dates, and let him go back to the army.
At night, after the lights were turned off in the troops, Li Zhan came over again and served them hot and tender stewed crispy, yet not greasy, braised pork and sweet and sour spare ribs, as well as stir-fried choy sum and fried tofu, big meat buns and rice porridge.
After eating and washing up, Li Zhan suddenly took out a paper bag and handed it to Xia Juanjuan, saying with a smile: "Open it and have a look."
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