Chapter 26 Paying Back the Money

Master Xu's house is a two-story building. It looks really old and renting it for thirty yuan is not cheap.

But Pu Xiang looked very satisfied.

"I was originally thinking of selling it, but I couldn't bear to part with all these things. Now I'll just rent it. There are two rooms. We'll put all our things in one room, and you can sleep in the other. Downstairs is the kitchen, dining room, and a small bathroom. You can use all the things, but you have to fix them if they break, and you have to pay for it yourself."

Pu Xiang was not dissatisfied at all; all she wanted now was to have a place to live.

Master Xu is a tailor, a very capable man. It is said that his wife used to work in a cotton yarn factory. Now she is a bit older and their son is serving in the army in another place, so she sold the job without him taking over. He is also very capable and clean.

Although face reading is not accurate, Pu Xiang felt that the couple was pretty good and there was nothing uncomfortable about them.

Because the rent they asked for was not cheap, the couple was obviously easier to negotiate on other matters.

After looking at the house, Pu Xiang said, "Master Xu, Aunt Zhang, I'm renting this house. The rent is paid annually. Let's write a contract. Also, if possible, I want to move in today."

"ah?"

The old Xu couple looked at each other and asked, "Are you so anxious?"

Pu Xiang smiled and said, "Yes, I am in a hurry to find a store. Living in the countryside, I have to ride a bicycle for two hours every day to go back and forth. It is a waste of time. I have to move here quickly to make it convenient for me to go in and out."

When Mr. and Mrs. Xu heard this, they agreed without hesitation. There were only two small rooms upstairs, one for them and one for their son.

Since her son was not at home all year round, this room was originally empty. After putting the things in the cabinet in their own room, only an empty bed and a few empty boxes were left, which were all given to Pu Xiang to use.

Pu Xiang took the room key and the front door key and rode back to Shijia Village.

She left one set at Shi Wenya's house when she sold the quilt, thinking that she could use it when she rented a house. Now she is using it.

After two round trips in the morning and afternoon, a bicycle ride of more than four hours, Pu Xiang felt that her legs were about to become thin.

As soon as she turned off the road, Pu Xiang saw aunts and young wives standing in groups of three or five, each of them unable to conceal the excitement on their faces.

"Third sister, third sister, come here!"

Someone saw Pu Xiang and immediately waved to her.

"What's wrong?"

The lead of Puxiang's car turned in another direction and passed by.

The one who stopped Pu Xiang and talked to her was a young wife from the same team. They got married at about the same time and their relationship was usually pretty good.

"Where have you been? Uncle Shi Hai is beating up Shi Dafu, did you know that?"

“I don’t know!”

Pu Xiang showed a surprised expression, but in her heart she felt that this was something Shi Hai could do.

The young wife added, "Not only did they beat you, they also used bamboo poles to beat you in the drying field in front of our house. After beating you, they went to your parents' house and said they wanted to return all the betrothal money. This was the money given to your family. You worked hard in the Shi family for the past few years, and you deserve this money. It was Shi Dafu who was being unreasonable... Uncle Shi Hai is still a good person."

Pu Xiang said "Oh" and didn't comment.

But in my heart I was thinking that if Shi Hai was really smart, he shouldn't have performed this drama in front of so many people. A reasonable father and an unreliable son, this configuration, it would be better to beat the man into submission behind closed doors, and then change the way the play is performed.

For example: the unreliable son paid back the debt himself and pushed all the blame onto his ex-daughter-in-law who was threatening for divorce, saying that she did it out of anger, and the old father sat at the door and cried.

People tend to sympathize with the weak. When it comes to divorce, the father-in-law is right, the husband is right, but the one who is wrong is the divorced woman.

She doesn't live a good life and abandons her husband and children.

How can she be a good woman? Maybe she has already hooked up with someone else outside... Create another wave of dirty rumors, nail the label of bad woman on people's heads, and get rid of men completely.

People these days are still simple.

Pu Xiang also saw a lot of weird news in later generations, such as breakups and divorces. When it comes to money, people with bad character have no bottom line.

"Third sister, why are you back?"

Shi Wenya saw her from a distance and ran over quickly.

Pu Xiang said, "I'm here to get the quilt. I've found a place to live and will move in this afternoon."

She didn't avoid people when she spoke, and many people around her were listening to her gossip.

"Looking for a place to live, Third Sister, aren't you going back to live with your parents?"

Pu Xiang: "I'm not going back. There's no place to stay at my parents' house. I rented a small room outside."

"ah?"

"How much does it cost to rent a house outside?"

"Third sister, didn't you pay back the betrothal money? Where did you get the money?"

Asked at once.

Pu Xiang smiled calmly and replied, "Wen Ya and I borrowed a few dozen yuan. There are jobs in the town and the county now. Although it's not a stable job in a state-owned factory, it's still a few dozen yuan a month. I live alone and it's enough to have a meal. If you have time, you can go to the town to have a look. Working in the fields all year round won't make much money. Working in a factory can make a few dozen yuan a month. If you and your wife go to work together, wouldn't life be better?"

She sincerely hopes that the women in the village can leave the countryside earlier and see the outside world.

There is no shortage of hardworking and diligent people in the village. It is good to make money to improve their lives, or to have the confidence by holding the money in their hands.

Just don't get stuck in a marriage anymore. If something goes wrong, you will end up with no way out.

This society is developing rapidly and moving in a good direction. They should catch up as soon as possible.

"It must be good to work in a factory. Who wouldn't want to make money?"

"Yes, yes, but we are all country folk and can barely read. No one wants us."

"That's not true. I think some factories don't look at the educational level of their employees when recruiting. As long as they can do the job, it's fine."

"Why don't we just go and take a look? It's not far from the town."

…

The women chattered away their conversation, all shifting their focus from dowry and divorce to discussing the recruitment of workers in factories in the town and county.

Regardless of whether I dare to take that step or not, I am definitely excited.

Everything costs money, and everyone wants to have money!

Pu Xiang and Shi Wenya went together to get the blanket and her clothes, tied them on both sides of the back seat, and barely managed to fit them.

After telling Shi Wenya her future address and asking her to give a message to Mo Jingjing, Pu Xiang rode away on her bicycle again.

After returning to Master Xu's house, Pu Xiang cleaned up the room she was going to live in and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some daily necessities.

They had dinner at Master Xu's house. She signed the contract readily and paid the rent. Master Xu and Aunt Zhang had a good impression of her.

Aunt Zhang: "Comrade Xiao Pu, why are you renting a house by yourself? Where are your family members?"

Although I have seen your ID card, I still need to ask about the basic situation.

Pu Xiang said: "My parents and my brother and his wife live together. My husband is a driver and he drives long distances. It takes a long time for him to come back each time. We don't have any children yet, so I want to find a job and earn some money."

Because Pu Xiang spoke so frankly, Master Xu and Aunt Zhang had no doubts and asked about this so-called "man". Pu Xiang talked nonstop.

These stories were not entirely made up. When she ran a restaurant, she knew a lot of people. One of her old customers was a car racer in his early years. She had heard a lot of him bragging to others when he was drunk and still remembers it.

Now it's all her material.

When they heard that Pu Xiang's husband was a race car driver and was away from home all year round, and that the couple were working hard to make money, Master Xu and his wife soon stopped asking any more questions.

The main thing is Pu Xiang's current appearance. Although she is capable, she looks like a simple farmer dressed in plain clothes. Her eyes are also upright, and she doesn't look like a woman of questionable character.

At night, Pu Xiang fell asleep in the new environment.

In just a few days, her life has completely changed.

Although the future is still unknown, everything is full of hope.

This was the best night of sleep Pu Xiang had ever had since her rebirth.

The next day, Pu Xiang went out early in the morning and walked around every street in the center of the county town.

She found that there were basically no stores selling mid- to high-end women's clothing, except for the stores in the central building. Even if there were some stores selling women's clothing, they were sold together with socks, gloves and other small items.

It's a bit like the kind of store in a small commodity market.

That boutique model hasn't emerged yet.

This is also the advantage of being in a small place. Some things that are popular in big cities have not yet spread to small counties.

Pu Xiang can seize this opportunity.

It’s just that it’s really hard to find a suitable store.

Pu Xiang searched for two days in a row and looked at several shops for rent along the street, but was not very satisfied with any of them.

The location is not very good and there is too little traffic.

We haven’t found a store in Puxiang yet, but Master Xu’s store has been sold.

If the location is good, it will be easy to sell.

Unfortunately, Pu Xiang has no money, and it is unlikely that she will be able to borrow money again. The only reason she was able to borrow money before was because of Shi Hai's family's reputation as a household with a monthly income of 10,000 yuan. Now she can only give up the idea.

"Master Xu, are you going to move in the next few days?"

Pu Xiang ran around outside and came back, seeing the couple happily packing things there.

Lao Xu said, "Yes, I have almost packed everything. I will buy the tickets tomorrow and leave the day after tomorrow."

Pu Xiang talked to the man for a few words and was about to go upstairs when he suddenly thought of something and turned back to ask, "Master Xu, who did you sell this store to?"

Lao Xu said, "The seller is an acquaintance, the owner of the dry goods store next to my store. His family has always wanted to buy the store they rented, but the landlord refused to sell it, so they had no choice. Now they have bought my store. Although it is smaller, it is enough. You know, our store is right next to the central building. Who would sell it for no reason? This is a golden hen that only lays eggs. Even if they don't open a store themselves, collecting rent for a lifetime is enough."

Pu Xiang nodded. That’s right. She just didn’t have money. If she had money, she would go crazy buying shops and houses, and then live a life of idleness as a landlady.

Just thinking about it makes me feel that this day is beautiful.

She worked hard for several years to achieve this goal.

But now, Pu Xiang had an idea. The dry goods store owner bought Master Xu’s shop, so wouldn’t the shop that his family rented be vacant?

One can’t have two stores, right?

Pu Xiang wanted to rent the store overnight.

After dreaming about renting a house all night, Pu Xiang woke up early the next morning. She couldn’t wait to go out, had breakfast outside, and then seeing that it was almost time, she went straight to the store next to the central building.