Chapter 79: Chapter 77: Xia Lin’s Panic Chapter 79: Chapter 77: Xia Lin’s Panic On a Saturday morning, Aunt Liu had borrowed Old Zhang’s handcart early and together with Lu Jingqiu, donning a wide-brimmed hat, they went to a nearby sandfield. They pulled back four bags of sand.
The two of them had been out since six in the morning until ten at noon before they returned, as the sandfield was somewhat far.
They had wanted to haul back more bags in one go, but unfortunately, with their limited physical strength and the distance being great, managing to bring back these few bags was already quite an accomplishment.
On the way, Aunt Liu griped, “Ever since we got a cat at home, it’s like having another child, ah, the crux is the more you take care of it, the more addictive it becomes. Xiao Qiu, nowadays when I go to the vegetable market, I’m always on the lookout for small fish and shrimp, the first thing that comes to my mind is to treat my Ah Fu to a feast. I finally understand the joy you used to feel when you cuddled your Hua Hua.”
Lu Jingqiu had not expected that Aunt Liu, who had previously loathed cats, would now be such a cat devotee: “Aunt Liu, although Ah Fu can’t help us reduce household chores, it can provide us with spiritual relief.”
She had gotten a cat after Gao Shu’s two children went to college. At that time, Gao Shu was often out early and returned late, sometimes even on business trips, and the children were rarely at home all year round, leaving her alone to paint or clean.
Her second cousin’s wife, seeing her in a bad state during that time, feared that her illness had worsened, so she took her to a pet market and bought a cat for her.
However, Gao Shu didn’t like cats. Whenever he was around, the cat had to be kept in a cage, and it could only move around in her bedroom.
Even so, the time she spent with the cat did indeed bring her a lot of happiness.
Unfortunately, the cat lived for less than two years and died suddenly one summer. In fact, she knew it was Gao Shu’s eldest son who had killed it because he didn’t like the cat. At that time, she didn’t tell anyone, but secretly cried for a long time, and it even triggered a bout of her mental illness.
Not long after she and Aunt Liu moved the sand home, the security guard of their compound came over to notify her that someone at the gate was looking for her, saying they wanted to rent a room.
Lu Jingqiu was surprised. She had said before that the room was too expensive for anyone to rent, yet in just two or three months, someone had come knocking.
When she arrived at the entrance of the compound, she saw a plainly dressed girl about seventeen or eighteen years old standing there, with a pair of lively and pretty large eyes.
“Hello, comrade, are you the one looking to rent a room?”
When Xue Jianian saw Lu Jingqiu, she was somewhat surprised; wasn’t this the comrade from the other day who had bought millet at her place? What a coincidence.
“Yes.”
Lu Jingqiu looked at her more closely, obviously not recognizing her: “Is it your family renting, or…”
“Myself.”
“You yourself?” Lu Jingqiu asked again uncertainly, and seeing the girl nod, she said, “My room is five yuan a month, we have a well in the yard, and there’s electric light.”
Xue Jianian nodded, “The auntie next door showed me the room, I’m very satisfied with it, but… I will need a bed and some furniture.”
Lu Jingqiu said, “If you’re sure about renting, I can help you get all that set up. Young comrade, you seem to have just come of age, are you certain you want to rent my house? Actually, we’d prefer not to have short-term tenants, so if you’re only renting for a month or two, forget it.”
Xue Jianian was very affirmative, “I really want to rent, we can sign the contract now.”
Seeing her insistence, Lu Jingqiu went over some details with her: “One month’s rent as a deposit, one month in advance, can you accept that?”
“I can.”
Lu Jingqiu, seeing her straightforwardness, led her home, drafted a rental agreement on the spot, and then took a look at Xue Jianian’s reference letter.
Upon seeing the address on it, Lu Jingqiu was secretly taken aback; she was from the same place as Wei Jincheng. After contemplating for a while, she said, “Comrade Xue, I know someone from your area, his name is Wei Jincheng, do you know him?”
Xue Jianian nodded without much surprise: “I know him, he’s from our village.”
“…Oh, so has he, uh, gotten married?”
Xue Jianian remembered that Lu Jingqiu didn’t seem to know Jincheng, so why was she suddenly inquiring about him? Although she didn’t know the reason, she didn’t hide the truth: “He has not.”
“Oh, does he have a fiancée at home?”
“Yes, that’s me. Do you know my Jincheng brother?”
Upon hearing this, the reference letter in Lu Jingqiu’s hand almost dropped to the floor.
Coincidences abounded, and today she had certainly encountered one, “Oh, I live in the compound, and I’ve heard of Wei Jincheng, a very capable person. Seeing you are from the same area, I thought it was a coincidence and just casually asked.”
Aside from being shocked, she refrained from asking anything more, as the information she had was already enough.
The two signed the contract, and Xue Jianian directly gave Lu Jingqiu ten yuan before getting into Lu Jingqiu’s car to go to the house.
She took Xue Jianian to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a new lock, keeping one key for herself and giving the other two to Xue Jianian.
Then, she went to Aunt Liu’s to get the old keys back.
This was Lu Jingqiu’s first visit to the compound, and the house, which clearly had quite a few years on it, seemed imbued with the sense of a bygone era.
The moment she opened the door, a heavy dampness rushed out to greet them. The house was empty, truly devoid of any furniture.
“What do you need? I can go to the carpenter’s later and have it made to order for you.”
Xue Jianian didn’t beat around the bush, saying, “A bed, a wardrobe, a set of table and chairs, and the steel pots and stoves for the kitchen will do. I can take care of the rest myself.”
“Actually, I’m not sure if there’s a carpenter around here. I’ll go ask the auntie next door.”
“I know, the auntie told me this morning when she showed me the house. There’s someone who does carpentry around here, and not far from this alley there’s a supply and marketing cooperative where you can probably find pots and stoves.”
“Oh, why don’t you come with me? You can pick out whatever style you want yourself.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes,” she said, and with that, they both left the house. Xue Jianian handed Lu Jingqiu the old lock from before. These days, a lock was worth several yuan, and it might still be of use in future.
No sooner had the two locked the door, than Xia Lin emerged from her house, carrying a basket and looking like she was headed to the market.
Glancing up and seeing Lu Jingqiu and Xue Jianian ahead, Xia Lin seemed taken aback, retreating two steps in a sudden fright, her eyes brimming with shock and panic, which both Lu Jingqiu and Xue Jianian noticed.
“You… you two?”
Lu Jingqiu had no intention of greeting her, and seeing her pointing at them, she retorted irritably, “This is my house.”
“Your house?” Xia Lin steadied herself and took two steps forward asking, “This is your house?”
That house had been vacant in the past, always empty. She had thought it was just left unoccupied and had even considered saving up to buy it someday, never imagining it belonged to the Lu family. How could it be hers?
But what was the deal with Wei Jincheng’s wife? Why was she here, and together with Lu Jingqiu?
“Who is this?”
Lu Jingqiu replied brusquely, “My tenant.”
“You’re renting?” Xia Lin ignored Lu Jingqiu and looked incredulously at Xue Jianian.
The moment Xue Jianian saw her, her hand clenched tightly into a fist. No matter, there would be plenty of time in the future. Xia Lin, we have a long road ahead of us.
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“No.” Xia Lin suddenly forced a smile and said, “I’m delighted we’ll be neighbors in the future.”
Xue Jianian wasn’t very enthusiastic, merely nodding distantly at her and then turning to Lu Jingqiu, “Let’s go.”
Without hesitation, Lu Jingqiu began pushing the cart, and they headed in the direction of the carpenter’s house.
Meanwhile, Xia Lin, now wholly disinterested in shopping, turned pale and went straight back home.