She didn't care what would happen if Old Lady Xia came back and saw this scene.
Xia Jin pretended to have a stomachache and asked for leave from her teacher. She planned to look for an apartment today to avoid being kicked out in three days. However, after searching all over, Xia Jin only had fifteen yuan left. So, Xia Jin planned to find a house near the county town and rent it for a month. Xia Jin believed that after a month, she would be able to afford to buy a house.
Xia Jin walked out of the school gate holding her stomach. After walking for a distance, Xia Jin straightened up and walked to the central street of the county town. She crossed the "cross street" and walked towards the "lower street". People living there were from poor families and the rent was cheap. She decided to find a place to settle down first.
Xia Jin walked into the alley and looked at the messy environment around him, then looked at the clean street and new buildings across the street. It seemed like two different worlds. Xia Jin avoided the gazes of the people around him, pushed away the child who bumped into him, and continued to walk inside.
Xia Jin stopped in front of a row of courtyards. Although these courtyards were shabby, the surroundings were very clean. The clothes of the children playing around were patched but washed very cleanly.
Xia Jin walked up to the children who were playing and asked, "Does anyone have a vacant house?"
The oldest boy in the middle stood up and said, "Zhang Ping'an's family has it."
Xia Jin smiled and said, "Can you take me there? I want to find a place to live."
The boy said, "Okay, I'll take you there."
Xia Jin followed the little boy to the house at the far end and said, "Little boy, I'm waiting for you outside. Please go in and look for it."
The boy nodded and ran in. After a while, a woman came out holding the hands of two little boys. Xia Jin looked at the woman and saw that the clothes on the two boys were clean and tidy although they were all patched. Xia Jin thought that this family was quite clean, which was good.
The little boy who just entered pointed at Xia Jin and said, "Aunt Zhang, this sister wants to rent a house."
The woman led the two of them to Xia Jin and said, "I heard from Qiancheng that you want to rent a house, little girl."
Xia Jin nodded and said, "I want to rent a house. My last name is Xia. I wonder if you can take me to see your empty house?"
The woman quickly said, "Okay, come in with me." Then she turned to the child beside her and said, "An An, go play with your brother."
The little boy said, "Come on, An An, come and play with us." Then he pulled the little boy named Ping An and ran away.
Xia Jin followed the woman into the yard. Although the house was old, the owner had cleaned it well. It was very clean and tidy. The woman led Xia Jin into the west wing and said cautiously, "Miss, do you think this is okay?"
Xia Jin looked at the house in front of him. There was a corridor between the two independent rooms and the main house. The house was also well cleaned. Xia Jin nodded and said, "It's okay. How much is it per month?"
The woman rubbed her hands and said, "Five dollars."
Xia Jin thought the house outside would cost about ten yuan, and five yuan was indeed cheaper. Xia Jin said, "Okay, let's rent it for a month first. Can you read? Let's sign a contract."
The woman said, "My husband knows. I'll show it to him after you finish writing it."
Xia Jin said, "Okay, then find a neighbor to witness it."
Xia Jin took the paper from the woman and wrote two copies, then signed his name in the presence of a witness. The woman took the signed paper and took it into the house.
The witness watched the woman enter the house and said, "Young girl, renting the Zhang family's house can be considered an additional income for the couple. The Zhang family's husband was paralyzed in an accident while working two years ago, leaving the family without a source of income. Zhang Jianshe also needs medical treatment, so Cuihong has been working odd jobs washing clothes for others. Her life is hard, and she's in her thirties, looking like she's in her fifties. The child is also very sensible and helps her mother with work all day long. Sigh."
Xia Jin said, "If I get injured while working, doesn't the factory pay me compensation?"
The witness said: "We got compensation, but Jianshe has been taking medicine all year round, and the compensation is not enough to cover the medical expenses."
Xia Jin didn't say anything, perhaps she didn't know what to say. Since she was living here, she would help out as much as she could. At least Xia Jin didn't see calculation in their eyes, only fatigue from being tortured by life. She hoped that helping them would make them feel more relaxed later.
Xia Jin waited for a while, and the woman came out with the signed paper. Xia Jin took his own, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Then he took out five yuan from his pocket, handed it to the woman, and said, "Sister Zhang, this is this month's rent, please take it."
The woman took the money, put it away, and smiled embarrassedly at Xia Jin.
The witness saw that his mission was completed and said, "Sister Zhang, I'm leaving first. And the little girl lives next door to me. You can just call me Aunt Liu."
Xia Jin said, "Goodbye, Aunt Liu. From now on, just call me Xia Jin. I'm leaving as well as Aunt Zhang. I have other things to do. I won't be moving in for the time being."
The woman said, "Okay, I understand."
Xia Jin said goodbye to the two people and walked out of the alley. Xia Jin found a place where no one noticed and entered the space. It had been almost a day since Xia Jin planted those vegetables and fruits, and he didn't know what they looked like.
Xia Jin came out of the cabin and looked at the scene in front of him and said in disbelief: "No way, so fast."
He saw that the seeds he had planted yesterday in the black and gold soils had all matured. The seeds in the red soil were growing slower, but Xia Jin was confident that they would mature in another day. Xia Jin hurried inside to check, carefully examining the crops on the three plots of land. He figured that since there was no apparent difference in the plants, it meant that they had simply grown at different times.
The red soil was slower, so Xia Jin went to check out the ginseng in the black and gold soils. He found that the ginseng in the gold soil was half as thick as the ginseng in the black soil. After Xia Jin understood the purpose of these plots of land, he thought to himself that with such a cheating tool, he would have no worries in the future.
After boasting, Xia Jin looked at the various vegetables and fruits he had planted. Both plots of land were ripe. Big, round, brightly colored tomatoes, and long, green patches of rapeseed and spinach. Xia Jin casually picked a tomato, wiped it, and began to eat it. The tomato was juicy, sweet, and rich in flavor.
Xia Jin looked at the things in the space and thought that everything was good, except that he needed to collect them himself. After selling the ginseng, he would buy a few machines to transport them in. Otherwise, it would take him a long time to get the wheat and dry rice.
Xia Jin dug two ginseng roots from the golden soil and prepared to sell them. The golden soil ginseng had already taken human shape, and Xia Jin weighed it and thought it weighed about a pound. He left the others alone, especially the ones in the black soil, which were still growing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com