Chapter 3 Renting an Apartment
Steven was very supportive of Hu Xiaoxiao becoming a waiter, saying, "Being a waiter is good. You don't need any skills, as long as you have hands, you can do it. As long as you have a good attitude and are willing to work hard, you will be fine."
Then he asked Hu Xiaoxiao where he planned to live. "I suggest you rent a cheaper house first and save money after you find a job. If you can buy a house in Gangcheng, you'll have a place to stay in the future."
"How much does it cost to rent a house?" Hu Xiaoxiao has discovered that everything costs money, and the little money he has in his hand seems to be enough for daily expenses.
"It's very cheap, only four or five hundred yuan a month. I'll take you to find it later." Steven was determined to help others to the end.
What's more, Hu Xiaoxiao had done him a great service, and promotion was a sure thing, so he owed Hu Xiaoxiao a favor.
Hearing that the rent was very cheap, Hu Xiaoxiao finally smiled.
So Steven returned to the police station, changed back into casual clothes, and took Hu Xiaoxiao to look for a house.
However, when Hu Xiaoxiao followed Steven to the rental place, he looked up at the dilapidated house, a room so narrow that it was barely enough for sleeping, and frowned so much that he could kill a fly.
"Don't like it? Then change to another room." Steven took Hu Xiaoxiao to the next room.
This area of old houses is all rented out. It is crowded and noisy, and there is basically no sound insulation. Once you enter the house, you can hear every little movement outside clearly.
Another cramped room.
Not only is it cramped, but there are no windows. As soon as you open the door, a damp smell hits your nose.
Hu Xiaoxiao covered his nose and looked at the dark and damp floor. Several cockroaches were crawling on the wooden bed above.
The season now is the transition between spring and summer, with heavy rain, humid air, and frequent southerly winds.
In the unventilated room, even breathing is difficult.
How could the pleasure-loving Hu Xiaoxiao be interested in her? He just glanced at her and left.
Steven yawned, his sleepy eyes almost closed. "What kind of house are you looking for? All the houses nearby are the same."
Hu Xiaoxiao stood by the roadside, looking around, then pointed at a few twenty-story, new-looking buildings in the distance and asked, "Are they renting out there?"
Steven pointed in that direction, startled. "You're really imagining that! That building has only been built for a few years, and the rent must be several thousand."
Very expensive?
It’s expensive, that’s right.
It just suits her status.
"It's over there." Hu Xiaoxiao took the lead and walked towards the destination.
Steven shook his head speechlessly: This mainland girl is so timid. She has only been in Hong Kong for a few days and hasn't even found her feet yet, but she dares to live in a house with a rent of several thousand yuan. She doesn't know her place.
Steven felt that Hu Xiaoxiao needed to experience the cruel blow of reality.
The name of the property is Huangfu Haoting. It has three high-rise buildings in a U-shape and was completed and delivered three years ago.
Steven found the real estate agency downstairs in Royal Mansion and inquired about rental information.
The agent is a handsome guy, his surname is Chen and his English name is Ban.
Due to some special reasons of Hong Kong, most people in Hong Kong have two names, one is Chinese and the other is English.
The Chinese name is the real name, and the English name is mostly used in the workplace and communication.
Steven's name is his English name, and his real name is Wang Linjia.
Aban took them to the roadside and pointed to the three buildings above and said, "The one on the left is Building A, the one in the middle is Building B, and the one on the right is Building C. There are two elevators and six units, mostly two-bedroom and three-bedroom units.
The monthly rent is NT$3,000 for a three-bedroom apartment and NT$2,500 for a two-bedroom apartment."
"It's too expensive." Steven said, "Give me a more affordable price."
"Sir, this price is not expensive. House prices are all around 4,000 now, and the location isn't great. In this location, with such a good building and good property management, renting a house for 2,000 to 3,000 is normal.
The tenants who live here are all executives from nearby companies, and there are also many foreigners who like to live here.”
Aban pointed at a few blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners who had just passed by and said, "Look, these foreigners are from up there. If you want something cheaper, there are old buildings a few blocks away that cost a hundred dollars a month."
Steven looked at Hu Xiaoxiao and said, "Think about it. Renting a house here is convenient and comfortable, but the cost will be very high."
Hu Xiaoxiao said without hesitation, "Right here."
"Okay, I'll go get the key and take you upstairs to choose a room." Seeing that business had come, Aban immediately went into the company, got the key and took them upstairs.
It was Hu Xiaoxiao's first time taking an elevator and he was very curious. He watched Aban's operations and memorized them in his mind.
There is a huge difference between the upstairs and downstairs in high-rise buildings. It is noisy downstairs and you can smell car exhaust.
The air upstairs is much better, the view is wide and the sunlight is abundant.
Of course Hu Xiaoxiao would choose the best one. The three-bedroom apartment has better lighting than the two-bedroom apartment and has a bigger balcony, so she would choose the three-bedroom apartment.
Steven's mouth twitched when he heard this. How many days would she last with the little money she had? "You live alone, so you can just rent a two-bedroom apartment. You can save an extra five hundred."
"It's not comfortable to live in two rooms." It's no different from the place where she was imprisoned. There is no light and no view. She is tired of living there.
Steven couldn't persuade the young lady, so he bargained with Aban and asked him to give him a lower price.
Aban was not worried about not being able to rent out the house, and he refused to lower the rent. "If I give a low price, what if the landlord asks me to make up the difference? You can't ask me to subsidize you with my salary every month, right?
Looking for something cheaper? I have an apartment on the Phoenix floor. It's fully furnished and ready for you to move in. The view and air are fantastic. It's a three-bedroom apartment, and the rent is the same as a two-bedroom apartment. Interested?
"Is there a problem with that house?" Steven immediately noticed something was wrong.
If it was any other tenant, Aban would have fooled him, but since the other party was a police officer, he didn't have the courage to do so.
Aban said honestly, "The landlord is a seafood businessman who bought the house for his mistress to live in. But the first wife found out about this and she had someone stab the mistress. This incident became a big deal, and the sir should know more about it than I do."
Although Steven wasn't in charge of this area, he had some recollection of what Aban had said. Thinking about it, he realized it happened last year, so he asked, "Is it the apartment on the second-to-last floor of Building B?"
The wife killed the mistress. This was explosive news, and citizens loved gossip the most, so Steven naturally heard a lot of it.
Steven also knew what happened next. The eldest wife's family had connections, and she hired a powerful lawyer, so the sentence wasn't severe. She was sentenced the day before, and she was released on bail the next day. Now she's living a carefree life.
"Yes, that's the one. After the incident, it became difficult to rent out that apartment. Someone who didn't know the truth rented it before, but got sick after less than a week, saying there was something fishy going on, and even forced the apartment back without paying the deposit."
"Are you kidding me? You're from a haunted house, and you're introducing a haunted house to a girl?"
"Sir, you want to be both flat and pretty. How can such a good thing happen? If such a good thing happened, would it be your turn?"
Steven was about to refuse on Hu Xiaoxiao's behalf, but Hu Xiaoxiao said, "Take me to see it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
