Chapter 96 - "I left there before that was never my home. My home is here!" (2)
Zou Fangyun’s nose tingled when she heard what Tong Xuelu said. “That’s rough for someone your age.”
Tong Xuelu wiped her tears away and said, choking back her tears, “Life is rough for everyone in this day and age. But we must do what needs to get done, am I right? I am about to switch my job with someone and will be working at the government-operated restaurant in the city. This is why I need to rent a house nearby.”
Zou Fangyun’s eyes lit up when she heard that Tong Xuelu was working for the government-operated restaurant. “Is your job at the government-operated restaurant stable?”
Tong Xuelu nodded, “Of course it’s a stable job. But the other party is still taking care of some stuff and we won’t be trading for another week or two.”
It was a big deal to be able to work at a government-operated restaurant in this day and age. The same when one had friends or families that work at one.
Especially when one was hosting dinner. Having connections at a government-operated restaurant meant they could have nice dishes reserved for them. That was a very prideful thing for sure!
Zou Fangyun wanted very much to befriend Tong Xuelu. “That’s a good job. You must switch for it. As for your living arrangements, there are no rentals right now but there are a few for sale this month. Do you have time to go and check them out?”
Tong Xuelu looked at the time and said, “It’s almost lunch hour already. Why don’t I take you to lunch at the government-operated restaurant first and we can go look at places afterward?”
Zou Fangyun quickly declined. “No, no. The government-operated restaurant is too expensive. I can’t let you take me there!”
Tong Xuelu had no parents and she had to support her young siblings on top of that. She couldn’t possibly let Tong Xuelu take her out to lunch.
Tong Xuelu, however, insisted and headed in the direction of the government-operated restaurant while holding onto Zou Fangyun’s hand.
This was necessary if she wanted someone to help her out.
Her philosophy had always been not to skim on necessary expenditures.
By the time the two of them stepped out of the Housing Management Office, Xiao Chengping was already gone.
Tong Xuelu and Zou Fangyun finally ended up going to the government-operated restaurant and each of them ordered themselves a bowl of soup noodles with shredded pork.
The government-operated restaurant did not offer a large selection but what they lacked in options they made up for it in their quantity. The quantity was solid and both girls were so filled that their stomachs were round.
After dinner, Zou Fangyun was even friendlier toward Tong Xuelu. She was short of treating Tong Xuelu as her own little sister.
She decided against taking her afternoon break after lunch and brought Tong Xuelu with her to check out the few places that were for sale.
***
There were very few houses for sale at this day and age, almost unheard of.
Most people right now lived in houses that were passed down in the family or were assigned to them from their work. Most of the time, their houses were barely large enough to house the entire family, never mind selling it.
Besides, individuals were not allowed to sell the houses that were assigned to them by their work unit. If they were to sell them, they could only sell them to another individual who worked for the same unit.
Zou Fangyun brought Tong Xuelu with her to check out the three houses.
The first two of them were in such decrepit states that Tong Xuelu felt that they could come crashing down at any moment. More importantly, their locations were poor and they asked for a lot of money.
Tong Xuelu vetoed them without any hesitation.
The third one was a standalone house.
There were four rooms plus its own kitchen and bathroom. The rooms were spacious and bright. Each and every single room had ample amount of sunlight with good ventilation. There were no dark rooms.
The house wasn’t too decrepit, and its location was nice. It was far from the main street and could block out the noises once the door was closed.
The place was perfect for Tong Xuelu.
“Sister Fangyun, this place must be very expensive, right?”
Zou Fangyun gestured with her open palm. “This much!”
Her entire hand. That meant 5,000 yuan!
Tong Xuelu was stunned beyond words when she heard that.
Tong Dajun and his wife’s death benefits came out to 1,000 yuan. The position that Tong Xuelu had sold to the Xu’s fetched her 380 yuan, half of them gone to those from Beihe.
She spent a lot of money a while ago trying to create the image that Jie Jinhua and the others were “wasteful”. All in all, she had about 1,100 yuan remaining right now.
That was not even half the cost. How would she be able to afford this place?!