Chapter 372: Eighty-Era Gourmet System (10)

During her lunch break, Xie Yang went out to scout for a private house that included a toilet, a kitchen, and a small courtyard.

Private houses could not be openly bought or sold yet, and private Trading lacked guarantees.

Even if they could be bought or sold, she did not have that much money.

She could only rent for now.

But even if she were renting, she wanted to rent a courtyard that was to her liking.

Xie Yang spent over half an hour circling the alleys around the Yuhong Class, finally finding a residence with a rental notice posted.

But the owner was only renting out one of the rooms, not the entire courtyard.

Xie Yang went in, took one look at the room for rent, and immediately backed out.

"Didn't see anything you liked, dear?"

The landlady was a woman in her thirties with trendy little curls, and she spoke quite straightforwardly:

"Tell me what you need, and maybe I can help you out."

Xie Yang said it directly: "I want to rent a complete courtyard, with a kitchen and a toilet, and at least two bedrooms."

The woman clapped her hands: "Oh! You should have said so earlier! I happen to have a small independent courtyard I'm planning to rent out, but I hadn't settled on the rent yet, so I wasn't in a hurry to post an ad. Come, come, I'll take you to see it! It's not far from here; if you're satisfied after seeing it, we can talk about the rent."

The woman was a brisk person; she locked the courtyard gate immediately and led Xie Yang to the house with the private entrance and courtyard she had mentioned.

Xie Yang hadn't even seen the house yet, but she was already eighty percent satisfied just by the location—it was at the entrance of the alley opposite the Yuhong Class, only a four or five-minute walk away.

If she lived here, it would be incredibly convenient to send the two children to school in the future.

Once she saw the house, she was even more satisfied—

Private entrance and courtyard—get√

Had a kitchen, had a toilet—get√

Two bedrooms—get√

Additionally, the front and back yards were both quite large—

The front yard had a well and a laundry basin, with a row of Chinese roses planted along the base of the wall.

It was currently the season for Chinese roses to be in full bloom; they were clustered together and very beautiful.

The back yard had a water vat and a vegetable patch, and a chicken coop was set up under the lush grape trellis.

The key point was—

Fruit trees were planted in both the front and back yards, and judging by the thickness of the trunks, they were quite suitable for hanging a swing.

The woman didn't need to look at Xie Yang's expression to guess that she must be satisfied with this house.

After all, this was originally intended as a wedding house for her younger brother.

The bride-to-be had backed out at the last minute, choosing instead a family with a single child where both parents were Formal Workers who were willing to pay a six-hundred-yuan dowry.

The marriage didn't happen, and her brother was heartbroken, deciding to join the army.

Such a good house; she originally couldn't bear to rent it out.

But since he would be in the military for years, it was hard to say, and a house left empty for a long time was prone to collapse, so the family decided to rent it out after discussing it, saving the rent to find her brother a good match in the future.

"So, dear, you and I are fated. If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have been in a hurry to rent this house out, because I couldn't bear to."

The woman led Xie Yang through the rooms, introducing them one by one:

"Look at this house, it's been whitewashed inside and out, and the roof tiles have all been renovated; I guarantee it won't leak or seep water."

"Touch the wall of this bedroom; isn't the putty applied finely? Is it smooth to the touch? The paint on the wainscoting was brought from Haicheng by a relative in the Provincial Capital; you can't even buy such a fresh and beautiful apple green in this city."

"Look at this toilet, isn't it clean? There's a bathroom partitioned off inside, and it's even tiled. My brother had these tiles shipped from Nancheng by a friend; they cost him quite a bit of money. The toilet's sewer connects to a Septic Tank, unlike the old dry toilets where flies fly around and it reeks; isn't this toilet completely odorless?"

"Dear, I'm not exaggerating; I haven't listed this house. If I had, it wouldn't be your turn to see it today. Really! As soon as this house hits the rental market, it will definitely be a hot commodity."

Xie Yang believed this.

Now she was worried that the little money she had on hand wouldn't be enough to pay for one month's rent.

Fortunately, the woman was quite reasonable: "Dear, if you're truly interested in renting, I'll hold this house for you for seven days! I won't rush you within these seven days; you can come sign the contract any day. If I haven't heard from you after seven days, I'll have to post the rental notice."

Xie Yang shook the woman's hand and thanked her profusely.

She casually asked if the woman knew anyone who wanted to buy a Formal Worker position at the Gad Steel Factory.

"A Formal Worker position at the Gad Steel Factory?" The woman slapped her thigh, "Oh, dear! You should have said so earlier! If you had, I wouldn't have let my brother join the army!"

"..."

With the landlady helping to make the connection, by noon that day, Xie Yang had not only scouted out a future home for her and her three children, but also successfully sold the technical worker position left behind by Zhang Li.

It sold for 1,200 yuan.

It seemed a bit expensive, but the technical worker position had good benefits, and the monthly salary had already risen to one hundred, which was a significant jump over the salary of a Workshop Worker.

It was equivalent to spending a year's salary to get an iron rice bowl job; the family buying the position was more anxious to process the paperwork than Xie Yang was.

But there was really no time today; she still had to rush back to the Canteen for work.

She arranged to meet at the entrance of the Gad Steel Factory at one o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and she would accompany them to handle the handover procedures.

After finishing these tasks, she took off running toward her workplace.

But despite hurrying, she was still more than half an hour late.

Xiao Rong comforted her: "It's okay, Sister Xie. It's fine if you're late for something; Xiao Fu and I can handle the washing and chopping."

Although she hadn't had time to discuss it with her family, Xiao Rong had already made up her mind to take Xie Yang as her master.

Her attitude toward Xie Yang was no different from her attitude toward a master; she was so attentive that even Xiao Fu on the side was puzzled.

Taking advantage of the gap while Xie Yang went to wash her hands, Xiao Fu nudged Xiao Rong with his elbow:

"Why are you suddenly being so polite to her? She's just a Temporary Worker; no matter how skilled she is, she can't become a Formal Worker. I heard that becoming a regular is very strict now..."

Xiao Rong glanced at him sideways and suddenly smiled.

She had originally been worried that Xiao Fu would compete with her, but now it seemed she had worried for nothing.

With Xiao Fu's blockhead and that mouth of his that speaks without a filter and easily offends people, Xie Yang probably wouldn't take him as a disciple.

But one still has to be vigilant!

As long as Xie Yang hasn't drunk the apprenticeship tea he offers, one cannot be careless for a single day!

Mentioning tea, Xiao Rong, who was picking vegetables, suddenly bounced up from his stool and carefully fished out from his pants pocket a small bag of good tea he had snuck from the tea canister while his grandfather wasn't in the office:

"Xie Yang, I'll brew you a cup of tea! This tea is definitely good; if you don't believe me, smell it—isn't it fragrant?"

Xie Yang didn't need to smell it; one look at the appearance of the tea leaves and she knew it was good tea.

But to show courtesy for no reason—it's either treachery or theft...

Xie Yang looked Xiao Rong up and down: "Is there something you want?"

"..."

Ah! Can the matter of apprenticeship be brought up now?

Would it be too rash?

Shouldn't he go home to inform his parents and then come to pay a formal visit with carefully selected gifts to request apprenticeship?

Consequently, Xiao Rong flashed a toothy grin: "Nothing, nothing at all! It's just that I feel you understand tea better, Xie Yang, and good tea should be enjoyed by those who understand it. It would be a waste for Xiao Fu and me to drink it! No matter what tea it is, we can't tell the good from the bad; it's like a cow chewing on a peony. We're better off drinking coarse tea stems."

Xie Yang: "..."

Xiao Fu: "..."

Pfft! When have you ever invited me to drink the tea you brought?