"In a fit of anger, my sister-in-law packed a few things and left with Xiao Tong, saying she doesn’t want to go back home to live anymore." Chiang Songhai looked at Ge Dejun and said, "I heard you two had looked at a house before, so I asked her about it, and she simply took us all to see it. The house is big, but for the moment, it’s the only one available for rent, so she..."
Ge Dejun was shocked, "She didn’t actually rent the house, did she?"
That place has seven or eight rooms!
And, could he really leave his elderly mother behind and move out? After all these years, Liu Pei knew what Grandma Ge was like. She had endured it for twenty years, so why suddenly could she not tolerate it anymore?
Chiang Songhai nodded, "She did rent it. The landlord was easy to talk to. He said if we were willing to lock his room and keep it for him when he returns and doesn’t mind staying together for a few days, then he would offer a discount on the rent, requiring only six Yuan per month."
Considering the current income level of a worker, which is around twenty to thirty Yuan a month, sixteen Yuan for rent is really not cheap. But minus the room the landlord kept for himself, there are seven rooms there! Seven rooms, plus a large kitchen, a bathroom with a toilet, and a big courtyard, and considering it’s an ancient-style house, sixteen Yuan is quite a bargain.
Of course, that kind of house could also be rented out by individual rooms, perhaps three or four Yuan per room per month.
Now as a full rental, sixteen Yuan seems fair.
"When my dad and I went to ask before, they said it would be twenty Yuan." Xu Linjiang said in surprise.
So they offered a four Yuan discount to women and children asking?
"But it’s still expensive, we don’t need that many rooms. Isn’t this a waste?" Ge Dejun frowned deeply, wishing he could rush back and find out what was really going on.
The trouble his mother caused today must be significant. Otherwise, Liu Pei wouldn’t have made such an impulsive decision.
"There’s another thing, Little," Chiang Songhai suddenly looked at Chiang Xiao with some trepidation, "I’ve discussed it with your grandma, and we’re thinking of renting there as well, paying half the rent with your aunt and uncle. What do you think?"
Chiang Xiao’s eyes widened in surprise.
This morning, she thought it was a big step forward that her grandparents were considering going out to look for a house in town, but she figured it would take at least a month or two to find a place.
A short supply of houses was one thing, and the psychological process the two elders required was another.
Being willing to look for a house and actually deciding to rent one are not the same thing.
After all, they had lived in Siyang Village for most of their lives. People back then had strong and concrete notions about their homeland and home, and they might not be willing to actually move out of that house.
But she really hadn’t expected that they would decide to rent a house after just one day out.
Ge Dejun and Xu Linjiang were also quite surprised.
But they were absolutely happy and welcoming about it. Living together with Chiang Xiao was something they were very much looking forward to.
This way, there was no need to worry about the place being too desolate. With enough people, it would feel much more comfortable and secure to live in.
"That’s great, really great! Having Big Sister and brother-in-law there, we’ll all feel much more at ease!" Ge Dejun immediately said.
Seeing how happy they were, the reluctance Chiang Xiao initially felt faded away a lot.
Initially, she didn’t plan to live with Ge Dejun’s family, fearing that being together day and night might wear out their affection. But after spending more time together these past few days, she had really grown to like her granduncle and uncle.