Chapter 111. Renting a House
I had just gossiped about the educated youth with my family yesterday, and the next day Shi Liu met all of them.
Qiao Hongbin has a fair complexion, and perhaps his family conditions are also good. His temperament is more like that of a weak scholar, but he is not that stunning. At least in Shi Liu's opinion, he is far inferior to Prince Rui.
However, what surprised her most was the educated youth named Liu Feixue, who wore a snake-scorpion braid, a hairstyle popular only in later generations. Shi Liu seriously suspected that Liu Piaoxu was a time traveler. Her usual attentiveness to Qiao Hongbin was quite unbelievable, and she wasn't about to have a "fellow countryman meeting, tears welling up" moment with her.
In addition, another educated youth named Liu Tiantian also hung around Qiao Hongbin all day long.
Because the two most beautiful young women were so obsessed with Qiao Hongbin, rumors began to spread in the village that he was from an educated youth family. He had gone to the countryside to gain experience, and would be picked up by his family after a year or two. This attracted many young women in the village, and they all began to show their affection to Qiao Hongbin.
Qiao Hongbin and Gu Aiguo, who were walking towards them, looked at Shi Liu in amazement. They didn't expect that there would be such a stunning beauty in such a small village. However, neither of them planned to settle down in the countryside, so they just nodded.
Shi Liu didn't take it seriously until she accidentally discovered something strange about Liu Tiantian...
"Shiliu, high school is about to start. Do you plan to live on campus or rent a house outside? If you rent a house, we have to leave a few days in advance, otherwise it will be difficult to find a suitable house." Su Sanlan wanted her daughter to rent a house. After all, the dormitory environment of the county high school was really average. With 12 people living together, she was worried that Shiliu would be bullied.
"Mom, I plan to go to high school in the city. My grades are just good enough. As for where to live, I plan to rent a house." Seeing that her three sisters-in-law all looked unhappy, Shi Liu hurriedly explained, "When I was studying in the county, I helped my friends with some things and made quite a bit of money. It's enough for rent."
Shi Erge's face changed: "Are you a profiteer? Big sister, you are too bold!"
Su Sanlan glared at everyone in the family and said savagely, "Anyone who tells this story out loud is not a member of the Old Shi family!"
The others were so scared that they shook their heads and patted their chests to promise that they would never tell anyone about it.
Shi Liu knew very well that if she wanted to unite her family, she would need to be bound by interests. She simply took out 30 yuan and handed it to her mother: "Mom, this money is for you. Buy more food for the family. I have a feeling that food prices will go up in the future."
Su Sanlan, about to refuse, paused, "Why are food prices still rising? If they keep going up, our family won't be able to afford food."
Fourth Brother Shi's face wasn't looking good as he thought about the situation in the county. "The situation in the county hasn't been good lately. I heard from my classmates that the supply in the city is likely to decrease, and my uncle and his family also privately said that the yield in the fields will decrease this year."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the family fell silent. These days, the harvest from the fields is their lifeblood. A decrease in production would be like a death sentence for them. Moreover, with the reduced supply in the city, the price of grain on the black market would definitely rise. How could they afford to buy grain?
"Okay. Big brother, come with me to the county to buy food today. Second and fourth brother, you two take the pomegranates to the city and pay the tuition first, and then try to secure a house."
Shi Liu had no objection to this, and she had saved up 15 sign-in points that she hadn't used recently, so she had to sign in no matter what when she went to the city this time.
"Hurry up and get on the bus, it's 20 cents per person!" the ticket seller shouted towards the door.
Shi Liu was escorted by her two brothers from front and back onto the bus. After finally getting a seat, she breathed a sigh of relief: "This is too crowded! It's a good thing you two came along, second brother, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get a seat."
"Sister, please bear with it. We will be in the city soon." Shi Dong took out an orange from his pocket and handed it to Shi Liu.
Shi Liu quickly put the orange under her nose. The smell in the car almost made her vomit. The orange came at the perfect time.
After finally getting off the bus, Shi Liu took two deep breaths of fresh air. She was suffocated by the smell of someone's stinky feet in the car. It was nothing compared to the subways of later generations.
After the three siblings recovered, they hurried to the No. 1 Middle School in the city. After finding the finance office, they knocked on the door and went in.
"Come in!"
"Hello, teacher. My name is Shi Liu. This is my report card. I'm here to report."
"Why are you here just now? School starts in two days. Okay, pay the tuition first, a total of 25 yuan. Student, are you planning to live on campus? If so, please pay the accommodation fee, 10 yuan per semester."
"Teacher, can I ask how many people are in a dormitory?"
"Eight people in one dormitory."
Shi Liu frowned. She had only lived in four-person and double rooms before. The original owner's dormitory didn't count. There were so many people and so many things to do. And since they were all girls, there was bound to be a lot of trouble. "Teacher, I'm planning to rent an apartment. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Do you want to move out? There's an old retired teacher in our school who has a house. She asked me to find her a young girl to live with her a while ago. It'll be 3 yuan a month. If you're willing, we can go over there." In fact, what Wang Li didn't say was that the old teacher was also her aunt.
3 yuan a month is not expensive if the house is good. Shi Liu nodded obediently to Teacher Wang's suggestion.
After walking for about 15 minutes, they arrived at a small courtyard.
Teacher Wang went forward and knocked on the door: "Aunt, I'm here to look at the house!"
After a while, a white-haired old lady opened the door: "Wang Li, come in quickly."
After some understanding, Shi Liu learned that the old lady's sons were all soldiers. The eldest son was now stationed on an island, the youngest son was eating sand in the northwest, and the second son became a martyr early like her husband. The old lady now lives with the little grandson left by her second son. She not only has a pension but also pensions from her two sons. It can be said that she lives a very comfortable life.
Although she had a strong background, some people were still jealous of her big house, so the old lady asked her niece to help find a female student to rent a house. However, the female students who had spare money to rent a house basically lived in the city, so it was a good deal for Shi Liu.
Shi Liu happily paid a year's rent. She planned to scramble on the black market, hoping to save enough money before the economy opened up, so she could later purchase the palace she had coveted in Beijing. According to the old man, the Bai family had also set their sights on the palace, but they couldn't explain the source of their funds, so it ultimately went to their sworn enemy, the Cui family.
Although the rented house was only 15 square meters, it was definitely spacious enough for Shi Liu to live in alone. She didn't have to do anything, as her second and fourth brothers quickly helped clean and make the bed. By the time Shi Liu came to her senses, her small room had been tidied up.
Teacher Wang looked at the two tall and strong men and asked curiously, "Shi Liu, where do your two brothers work?"
Shi Liu saw the look in Teacher Wang's eyes and knew what she was talking about. He was trying to introduce potential partners to his brothers. But it was a pity: "My brothers are all working on the farm at home. My second brother got married a long time ago, but my fourth brother is still unmarried."
Teacher Wang looked at Shi Laosi with some regret. If he had a good job, she really wanted to introduce him to her niece. After all, there were not many men willing to do housework these days.
(End of this chapter)
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