The three of them hurried along the road and arrived at the front of a small building in the county town.
Looking out, there is a fairly large courtyard with a tall persimmon tree that is lush and laden with fruit. Its branches even extend into the neighbor's yard. The courtyard is not crowded and receives excellent sunlight from the south.
Li Dashun stepped forward and knocked on the door. The person who opened the door was an elderly woman who was over seventy years old and whose hair was already gray.
She was taken aback when she saw the three people standing in front of her.
Who are you?
"Auntie, we've come to look at the house. We told you before that we were coming to rent a place," Li Dashun quickly explained.
Meng Shuyun carefully examined the layout of the house. On the right side of the first floor was the kitchen, with a canopy in front of it. The old lady lived in one room on the first floor, along with two storage rooms. The living room in the middle had two small stools. There were three rooms on the second floor, with a living room in the middle. The rooms were well-lit.
Meng Shuyun was quite satisfied, and Su Xiuju also thought the house was nice.
Just as they were discussing the rent with the old lady, a commotion came from next door. They could vaguely make out a few words that seemed to mention things like houses and eaves.
The old lady sighed deeply, took a long bench from the kitchen, invited them to sit down, and slowly said.
“I can rent this house to you, and I’m not afraid to tell you the truth.”
My husband and I don't have a son, we only have a daughter.
My sister-in-law has always coveted this house. She wants to connect the two courtyards and seize my house so that she can marry off her son.
My daughter bought a house in Beijing and is taking us two old folks to live with her in our old age. I'm not comfortable leaving the house empty..."
Before he could finish speaking, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and an old man of similar age walked in, his face extremely grim. He froze when he saw someone in the courtyard: "Old woman, this is…"
After everyone sat down, Meng Shuyun explained her purpose and thoughts.
"Sister, I really like your house. It's just that the rent is a year's rent paid upfront, and I simply can't afford that much money right now. What do you think..."
Meng Shuyun silently calculated in her mind that of the six hundred yuan Su Dahai gave her, she had saved three hundred yuan, but these days she had spent money like water, and now she only had one hundred and thirty yuan left.
The money I earned from making masks was all used to buy fine cotton fabric, and I haven't even paid for the sewing machine yet. All things considered, the little money I have is simply not enough.
She was indeed satisfied with the courtyard, but paying a year's rent upfront would cost 720 yuan. What was she going to do?
Meng Shuyun deeply felt the urgency of making money. Money is not everything, but you can't do anything without it.
Su Xiuju nudged Meng Shuyun with her arm; she had a thousand yuan on her, just enough to pay the rent.
Meng Shuyun shook her head helplessly; that was Su Xiuju's money, and she couldn't touch it.
If only I could have a few more days...
The old lady seemed to see Meng Shuyun's predicament, and after exchanging a glance with the old man, she made a concession.
"I'll give you a discount of five yuan every month. We'll be moving in half a month. If you don't come after half a month, I'll sell this house."
Upon hearing that there would be half a month, Meng Shuyun was overjoyed and quickly took the old lady's hand to thank her.
"Then it's settled. I'll definitely be there on time in two weeks."
Su Xiuju understood the family's situation. She took Meng Shuyun's arm and took out the savings book from her bag: "Mom, I have money here. We can use it to rent a house. We can settle it now."
Meng Shuyun pushed the money back and said, "This is your money, keep it safe. I'll figure out how to pay the rent. Starting tomorrow, you should go to work."
Meng Shuyun went to the bank, withdrew three hundred yuan, and handed two hundred and thirty yuan to Li Dashun.
"While it's still early, Xiuju, take Dashun and move the sewing machine back," Meng Shuyun instructed methodically, already having other plans in mind.
Su Xiuju nodded, and after watching Meng Shuyun leave, she went into the bank, withdrew the money, and looked at Li Dashun, saying, "Brother Dashun, let's go back and pay the rent now. I have money now."
Li Dashun stood still, shaking his head in disapproval: "Mother won't agree. You keep the money safe. You don't need to worry about the rent."
Su Xiuju stood firmly in place, looking directly at Li Dashun, and said with a determined expression, "Don't worry about the rent, I'll find a way."
She looked at Li Dashun intently and continued, "Even if you go there now and pay, it won't work without a rental contract. We'll have to find someone to draft one."
"So come back with me now and move the sewing machine."
When Su Xiuju heard that a contract needed to be drafted, which she hadn't expected, she followed Li Dashun and counted out 660 yuan, stuffing it into his hand.
"Then I'll leave the money with you for now. You can find someone to draft the contract and pay the money while you're at it."
As soon as Meng Shuyun stepped into the supply and marketing cooperative, she saw a young girl standing behind the counter. It was afternoon, and there weren't many customers in the cooperative. The girl was lazily yawning.
"Comrade, I'd like to see some gauze." Meng Shuyun gently tapped on the glass counter, attracting the girl's attention.
The woman looked up and saw Meng Shuyun. Her face immediately lit up with a smile, and she greeted her warmly, "Auntie, you've arrived! Sister Lan is inside taking inventory. Should I call her out?"
Meng Shuyun was slightly surprised: "You know me? How much is this pink gauze?"
The saleswoman smiled and brought the gauze to the counter, patiently explaining, "Auntie, everyone in our supply and marketing cooperative knows you."
You didn't know that, did you?
Zhang Youjin, that vampire, has been sent to the towns below. Now, Sister Xiulan is our deputy manager.
Meng Shuyun examined the gauze, then pointed to the elastic band at the bottom and asked, "How much gauze do you have left? I'd like to buy more."
"This gauze is 50 cents a foot. It's a bit stiff and doesn't look very good in clothes, so it's not really suitable for making clothes. We just got a new batch of fabric in our shop; the quality is good, and the price is cheap. Would you like to take a look?"
As she spoke, the girl took out a roll of red polka-dot fabric and recommended it: "Auntie, this fabric was transported from the south. The clothes and skirts made from it are fashionable and beautiful, and many people buy them."
As Meng Shuyun looked at the fabric, the style of the dress she had made in the garment factory in her previous life immediately came to mind.
She thought to herself that Xiuju would look absolutely gorgeous in a dress made of this material.
Meng Shuyun smiled and nodded: "I'll take a look myself. You can get me the gauze." The sales clerk nodded in agreement and ran to the warehouse to get the goods.
Su Xiulan came out of the warehouse and greeted Meng Shuyun with a smile: "Mother, what brings you here?"
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