“You might be mistaken. We don't even have enough space for ourselves, so how could we have spare rooms for rent?” Su Xiaotian asked with her big, innocent eyes.
The middle-aged woman, though annoyed, suppressed her anger when she saw the young girl. “Your house has been vacant for quite some time. The neighborhood committee was thinking of renting it out to others!”
“Sister, you don’t know our family’s situation. My four brothers are all adults and waiting to get married. That house is intended as their marital homes.” When Su Xiaotian said this with a mournful expression, the middle-aged woman was clearly taken aback. A family with four sons waiting to get married? Even one courtyard for their weddings wouldn't be very spacious.
She didn't know that Su family's four brothers didn't even have girlfriends, let alone be ready for marriage. “Then why isn’t anyone living in the house now?”
Su Xiaotian rolled her eyes speechlessly. Whether the house was occupied or not shouldn't concern others much, right? But she couldn't say that now. Su Xiaotian sighed, her expression quite convincing. “You haven’t been inside to see. The house is so dilapidated that it’s not suitable as a marital home, and we ourselves wouldn't be able to live in it if it's not repaired.”
The middle-aged woman nodded. She had daughters herself and wouldn't accept a dilapidated marital home either. “To avoid any trouble for our future sisters-in-law, we’re planning to renovate it. We didn’t have money at first, but after finally scraping some together, the workers said it was too cold.”
“It’s true that renovating a house in cold weather isn’t ideal. The workers are right,” the middle-aged woman said, appearing knowledgeable and agreeing with Su Xiaotian.
“That’s why I say you’re a sensible person, Sister! The workers advised us to wait until spring next year to renovate. Because of this, even our brothers’ weddings have been delayed.”
“Since it’s a marital home, it can’t be in such a poor state. Otherwise, the young ladies might have second thoughts!” The middle-aged woman didn't notice that Su Xiaotian had subtly steered the conversation. She found Su Xiaotian's reasoning quite sound. It was only natural to renovate a dilapidated house.
These words were all fabricated by Su Xiaotian on the spot, but she spun the lies effortlessly. Since someone had come to her door intending to rent out the house she had paid twenty thousand yuan for, why should she be polite? Being too polite would just make her look foolish.
“You think so too, don’t you, Sister?” The middle-aged woman agreed with Su Xiaotian’s explanation, but she was still anxious! She had volunteered to resolve this issue and couldn't just go back because of a minor obstacle. Since the house couldn't be repaired or lived in for now, perhaps they could discuss it further?
“Young lady, why don’t you discuss it with your family and let those who are homeless stay for a few months during the winter, and then move out in the spring? Would that be feasible?”
Su Xiaotian looked up to the heavens speechlessly. After all that talk, this person clearly agreed with her, yet here they were again? But she had no intention of letting anyone into her house. How tight was housing in this era? No matter who moved in, it would be difficult to get them to move out. Moreover, if it wasn’t their own house, they certainly wouldn’t cherish it. The house was already quite run-down, and if it were further damaged, it would cost a lot more to repair.
“Sister, it’s not that I’m unwilling to support your work, but I’m afraid that once people move in, they might not want to move out, which would trouble you and potentially lead to unpleasantness…” Su Xiaotian didn't state directly what would happen if people refused to leave next year, but she asked tactfully.
The middle-aged woman hadn't considered this issue before, but Su Xiaotian’s reminder made her realize the potential problem. If the people who moved in refused to leave, who would she turn to for recourse? However, a guarantee had already been issued, and failing to deliver would be difficult to explain back at the office.
“How about this? In that courtyard, keep the marital homes for your brothers, and rent out the rest.” The middle-aged woman thought this was a good idea. Su Xiaotian was amused to the point of anger. She had thought this sister from the neighborhood committee was sharp, but now she realized she wasn't sharp at all. She was quite lacking in intelligence! Wasn't this a clear indication that once people moved in, they wouldn't be leaving in just a few months?
“Sister, when my brothers get married, won’t the elders want to come live with their sons and daughters-in-law to enjoy their blessings? If we don't let the elders come, it would be unfilial of my brothers, wouldn't it?”
The middle-aged woman heard this and thought, that made sense! Who, after their son’s marriage, wouldn't want to live with him? Although she hadn't been inside, the courtyard probably had only seven or eight rooms. Counting all the rooms, a family would likely fill it up. The female cadre had initially thought this was a simple matter that could be easily resolved, but she hadn't expected the young homeowner to be so difficult. Couldn't she spare a room or two to accommodate others?
Seeing that the middle-aged woman still hadn't given up, Su Xiaotian’s eyes darted around. People like this lacked the tempering of society, believing that whatever they said could be done. Did she really consider herself an Empress or a Princess? She didn't even consider that even Empresses and Princesses have their share of dissatisfactions. She was determined to make her give up the idea of arranging people in her house today! Preferably, once and for all!
“Sister, you don’t know, our family is very prosperous with many children. We’re almost running out of space to even stand!”
“Don’t you have four brothers?”
“I have nine brothers!” Su Xiaotian said with a smile, and the middle-aged woman was instantly stunned. What was going on? Nine brothers in the family? Good heavens, no wonder she said they were prosperous; this was indeed prosperous. Wait, something seemed amiss! If there were nine brothers, why was the house registered under the name of a young girl? The middle-aged woman voiced this thought, suspecting Su Xiaotian was just making up stories to deceive her.
“We have many boys and few girls in our family. My grandparents dote on me and were afraid I’d have a difficult time with my brothers and sisters-in-law in the future, so when they bought the house, they put it in my name.” Su Xiaotian said this with considerable pride. Her smug little demeanor made the middle-aged woman feel envious. A house, how expensive! Was this family out of their minds? Weren't they afraid this little girl would take the house to her in-laws when she got married? Why hadn't she encountered such good grandparents? As a result, her family of five was still crammed into a two-bedroom apartment. If she had such good grandparents, wouldn't her life be better than it was now?
“You see, Sister, with so many brothers in our family, when they all get married and have more nephews and nieces, where will they live? It’s enough to make one worry!”
“However, my grandmother says that my later brothers are useless and haven’t even found a wife yet.” At this point, Su Xiaotian glanced at the middle-aged woman, as if she had an idea, and spoke joyfully.