Chapter 53: Chapter 53 In this life, she just wants to enjoy life with reckless abandon
The Branch Secretary was opening the door while saying, "The educated youths living in these two courtyards returned to the city a few months ago, and now the courtyards are village property."
On their way over, Wang Jianhui had already explained the situation. Not far behind the house was a clay deposit used by the villagers. It was likely over-dug, and combined with the heavy rains in recent days, several trees had tilted. For safety’s sake, the village had gathered the villagers to cut down the trees.
However, an accident occurred. When the tree fell, it deviated from the expected direction and crashed directly into this house.
These were two adjoining courtyards, obviously built simultaneously. Each yard was small, with one main room, plus a small kitchen, and a woodshed.
Yunyi took a liking to them at first sight, finding them perfect for a single person to live in, but she did not show it immediately.
Rather, it was Liu Chenglin who spoke up, "Branch Secretary, how much would it cost to repair this house?"
The Branch Secretary seemed to have already done the calculations, for he promptly named a figure, "At least twenty yuan. That tree fell in a peculiar way, crashing right between the two rooms. Many tiles were damaged at the back, and there’s a hole where the two rooms meet. You’ll need to replace several rafters. It’ll be quite a hassle."
Hearing that it would cost twenty yuan, nobody spoke up.
Yunyi knew exactly what kind of person she was; she had understood everything from the Branch Secretary’s expression and words. "Branch Secretary," she said, "since the village will rent out the house after it’s repaired anyway, how long can the repair costs cover the rent?"
A smile appeared in the Branch Secretary’s eyes; he found the girl shrewd. "The village previously agreed that the rent for a small courtyard is two yuan a month," he said. "If you pay for the repairs yourself, we’ll credit you with six months of rent."
On her way there, Yunyi had inquired and learned that setting up a small courtyard like this typically cost around seventy yuan.
If she rented a courtyard, aside from sharing the cost of repairing the house for ten yuan, she would only have to pay another year’s rent at most before leaving. It was a very good deal.
Geng Erhong, upon hearing the monthly rent of two yuan, gave up altogether. Her family had only given her a total of thirty yuan when she went to the countryside; given their situation, it was unlikely they would subsidize her much more in the future.
As for Bai Suli, she naturally didn’t want to cram herself into the Zhiqing Point, but she had already spent most of the money her family gave her at the supply and marketing cooperative today. If she spent another ten yuan on house repairs, she wouldn’t have a penny left—just the thought of it made her uneasy.
Moreover, she had noticed that the house was left with nothing but the clay bed in the room. The cost of furnishing it would not be insignificant.
Seeing that no one else spoke up, Yunyi said, "Uncle Branch Secretary, I will rent a courtyard. As for the cost of the repairs, I will pay half."
Seeing Yunyi speak, Liu Chenglin immediately took ten yuan out of his pocket and handed it to the Branch Secretary. "I will rent a courtyard too," he said, "and I ask the Branch Secretary to please arrange for the house to be repaired as soon as possible."
Yunyi, seeing Liu Chenglin put down the money, also took ten yuan out of her pocket and handed it to the Branch Secretary, hoping to prevent anyone else from cutting in.
With the repair money settled, the Branch Secretary said cheerfully, "Don’t worry, the house will be ready in two days at most."
Since the house here couldn’t accommodate anyone at the moment, and the night had completely fallen, making it impractical to clean up, they could only return to the Zhiqing Point and make do for one more night.
Bai Suli, ever competitive and never comfortable with being outdone, felt extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to say something, but then, remembering Yunyi’s earlier warning, she kept her mouth shut.
With her living arrangements sorted out, Yunyi felt in high spirits. In this life, she only wanted to enjoy life freely and unrestrainedly.