Lin Jingwen was pushing her bicycle along the street, feeling a bit lost, unsure where to find a place to rent. Since she had to go to work early, she couldn’t live too far away, so she needed to find something nearby.
Having suffered enough losses in silence before, and having been tormented repeatedly in nightmares, she had changed a lot—she no longer wanted to be someone who kept everything bottled up. Since she didn’t know, she might as well ask someone.
Lin Jingwen walked down the street, looking around for a suitable person to ask. After walking for quite a while, she saw an elderly lady, neatly dressed, with carefully combed hair, glasses, and a kind face.
The woman had just come out of a grocery store, carrying a gift box. From her appearance and demeanor, it was clear her family was well-off.
Lin Jingwen’s eyes lit up, and she quickly pushed her bicycle forward to ask.
“Auntie, hello. Sorry to bother you, but do you know if there are any houses for rent around here?”
“Are you the one looking to rent? My family has a house available,” the lady replied with a smile after looking her over.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! Auntie, I’m sincerely looking to rent. The rent is negotiable, but I urgently need a place to stay tonight. Could we go see the house now?” Lin Jingwen asked excitedly, her face breaking into a bright smile.
“Sure, it’s nearby. Come with me,” the lady said kindly, glancing at her luggage and bedding on the bicycle.
Lin Jingwen thanked her repeatedly, feeling very grateful.
The lady’s surname was Li. She was a retired civil servant, and her husband was a retired military doctor. Their family was quite well-off.
“My son is going abroad for a year on business. The new house would just sit empty otherwise. If you live there, you can help keep it tidy, and it will bring some life into the place.”
As Auntie Li spoke, she led Lin Jingwen to a nearby, newly built apartment building completed just last year and explained the basic situation along the way.
It was a house they had bought at the beginning of the year, intended for their son’s marriage. But half a year ago, his fiancée went abroad, and the two broke up. Now the son was also leaving the country, so the house was left completely unused.
Lin Jingwen wasn’t surprised. Nowadays, everyone wants to go abroad, and many even sell their houses to do so. People believed foreign countries were full of opportunities.
For families like Auntie Li’s, who were well-off enough to buy a new apartment outright, it was no surprise her son was going abroad.
After all, a newly built commercial apartment cost twenty to thirty thousand yuan, while the average person’s salary wasn’t even one hundred yuan. Saving about a thousand yuan a year meant not spending anything at all.
So, twenty thousand yuan was equivalent to more than twenty years of savings—assuming not a single penny was spent!
And since there were no housing loans available, ordinary families simply couldn’t afford to pay two or three thousand yuan upfront.
For most, the only way to get a new home was through housing allocated by their workplace.
At that time, households with ten thousand yuan in savings were considered wealthy enough to be featured in newspapers and on television.
“Look, the furniture is all bought, ready for the wedding. But since the marriage fell through, my son never lived here. This place has central heating. We didn’t plan to live here, so we didn’t pay the heating fee. You can make up the payment if you want, but since people live upstairs and downstairs, the apartment stays warm anyway.”
Auntie Li opened the door as she spoke.
Lin Jingwen stepped inside and immediately felt a wave of warmth. Looking around at the clean, tidy two-bedroom apartment, she was utterly dazed. She had just moved into the kind of new home she had always dreamed of—complete with heating!
She had actually moved into the kind of new home she had always dreamed of—complete with heating!
Although it was rented, at eighteen yuan a month, not cheap, and of course not her own property. But still, it was a brand-new apartment, with heating, and all the furniture was so new and nice.
There was even a television. Good heavens, Auntie Li’s family was truly well-off.
For such a place, with rent at eighteen yuan, Lin Jingwen didn’t even feel comfortable bargaining. She thought it was more than worth it!
“Auntie, how come you don’t live in such a nice home yourselves? And you’re really willing to rent it to me for a whole year?” Lin Jingwen couldn’t help asking. Even in her dreams, she hadn’t imagined something this wonderful.
“We’re used to living in single-story houses. We don’t like climbing up and down. This is the fourth floor, and our knees can’t handle it,” Auntie Li said with a smile.
“I feel you’re a good match for this place. You just mentioned you work at a state-run restaurant nearby, so renting to you is most suitable. By the way, how many people will be living here?”
“Just me,” Lin Jingwen answered openly, then explained her situation about wanting a divorce.
“Auntie, I know many people look down on divorced women, thinking it’s always the woman’s fault. But I’ll be honest with you—my ex-husband has someone else outside, even a child. I don’t want to keep compromising, so I want a divorce, though the paperwork isn’t done yet. My ex-husband and his family might even come to cause trouble. If you’re concerned this could bring problems to your house and don’t want to rent it to me, I’d understand.”
Auntie Li was first surprised, then looked at her kindly and said: “Girl, from the way you speak, I can tell you’re upright in character. And looking at your hands, I can see you’re used to doing housework—you’re diligent and hardworking.”
“I believe what you say. I’m a woman too, so I understand the hardships. The courage you show in daring to divorce is rare and admirable! It’s not easy for a divorced woman. If I didn’t rent you this house and push you out onto the street, my conscience wouldn’t let me rest.”
“Thank you, Auntie. You’re truly an understanding and cultured person. Hearing these words from you means so much to me. Thank you.” Lin Jingwen felt her nose sting with emotion. This kindness from a stranger warmed her heart and made her even more certain that her decision was the right one.
Auntie Li chatted with her a bit more, and in the end even lowered the rent to fifteen yuan a month.
“Auntie, thank you so much! You’re my benefactor! Don’t worry, I’ll cherish this house and the furniture. I’ll keep everything clean every day.”
Gratitude filled Lin Jingwen’s heart. She promised repeatedly, then added, “Next Saturday, when I have a day off, I’ll buy groceries and cook a meal here. I’d love to invite you and Uncle to come and taste my cooking.”
Seeing her sincerity, Auntie Li agreed with a smile. She also wanted to get to know her better, to make sure she wasn’t renting to someone unreliable.
Lin Jingwen drafted a simple rental agreement. Auntie Li looked it over, found no issues, and they both signed it.
Lin Jingwen immediately handed over fifteen yuan.
After seeing Auntie Li off, Lin Jingwen began unpacking, mainly putting her belongings into the cabinets or on the table. As she tidied up, she looked around the new apartment, her mood growing lighter and happier. She even began to sing cheerfully.
With this warm little temporary home, Lin Jingwen finally felt safe and secure. Since she hadn’t eaten since noon, hunger now hit her hard. She went downstairs to buy some noodles, rice, flour, and eggs, along with some vegetables, salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings.
At that time, buying grain, oil, rice, and flour still required ration coupons!
In the south, places like Shenzhen had already abolished the coupon system, and in a few more years, it would be canceled everywhere. Supplies would become more and more abundant.
Fortunately, coupons were also distributed with wages, and Lin Jingwen hadn’t used hers yet. She bought a pile of daily necessities and food staples, spending twenty yuan. Adding the rent, she had already spent thirty-five yuan. To say she wasn’t nervous would be a lie. Her nightmares and past experiences had taught her one thing clearly: only with money could she feel secure!
Besides her job at the state-run restaurant, she needed to find a side hustle—she had to hurry up and make money. Passing by a yarn shop, she paused, hesitated for a moment, then went inside.
Half an hour later, she came out carrying a large bundle of colorful yarn.
The yarn had cost her nearly a month’s wages—sixty yuan. Now she only had ten yuan left in her pocket.
Her plan was to knit scarves, gloves, and woolen socks to sell. After all, it was the middle of winter, so these items should have a market.
Lin Jingwen was confident in her knitting skills. She was already very practiced, and in her dreams, she had even learned some new techniques that hadn’t become popular yet. It was precisely because of this that she dared to spend so much money on yarn all at once. But what if she knitted them and couldn’t sell them?
Lin Jingwen thought to herself: she still had ten yuan left, enough to get by until next month’s wages. At the restaurant, she could eat meals, so she wouldn’t starve.
Back home, she cooked herself a bowl of vegetable noodles. This time, she added two poached eggs right into the bowl!
Before, whether at her parents’ home or at her ex-husband’s family, she was never allowed to eat poached eggs—let alone two at once.
After finishing the noodles, Lin Jingwen smiled with satisfaction, rubbed her stomach comfortably, and sighed before getting up to clean the dishes.
Since it was just her own bowl and chopsticks, it only took two or three minutes to tidy up.
Back at her ex-husband’s home, she had to wash pots and dishes with cold water every winter day, scrubbing for more than half an hour. Her hands would crack and bleed from the cold, yet she never received a word of appreciation.
Lin Jingwen shook her head, refusing to dwell on those unpleasant memories. Her guiding principle now was clear: she would never again do anything that harmed her health.
After cleaning up, she sat down on the sofa, turned on the television, and began sorting through the yarn, ready to carry out her money-making plan.
In her warm, clean home, sitting on the soft sofa, knitting yarn while watching TV, Lin Jingwen’s smile never left her face.
Life felt so comfortable!