Song Xinran remained noncommittal about such self-praising remarks about the property. Every landlord would say the same, and she wouldn’t get her hopes up unnecessarily. Everything would depend on seeing the place first.
The apartment was on the third floor. The moment the woman opened the door, Song Xinran fell silent.
“This place gets excellent sunlight—much better lighting and ventilation than the unit next door!” the woman boasted proudly.
Song Xinran thought to herself, Well… aside from the natural light, there isn’t much else to praise, is there?
The cement floor was uneven, the whitewash on the walls had yellowed overall, and the wall near the bathroom was stained with watermarks. The window frames were made of peeling wood, and one pane of glass had a missing corner patched with white tape, swaying precariously in the wind. The main room contained only a table, without even a stool, making it look eerily empty.
In the corner of the balcony stood several clay jars with chipped rims.
The woman was generous: “You can keep these jars. They’re good for storing water or rice. My son brought them back.”
Song Xinran was at a loss for words. What would she do with these jars?
Song Xinwen’s home had plenty of these, said to have been brought back by Cai Yongde from the factory. Although they were discarded products, they were still usable at home.
These jars were probably also brought by the woman’s son from the factory.
Noticing Song Xinran’s grim expression, the woman hurriedly said, “Let’s take a look at the rooms. This place has two bedrooms, and it’s cheap—only two hundred a month in rent.”
Song Xinran hesitated, then said, “Thank you for your trouble, but I won’t be looking further.”
Hearing this, the woman’s smile vanished instantly. “Not renting?”
“If even my place doesn’t meet your standards, you probably won’t find anything else to rent. This apartment has two rooms, plus a separate kitchen and bathroom. The conditions are quite good, and the price is cheap.”
Song Xinran had initially wanted to avoid further discussion, but the woman’s words grated on her. She replied coolly, “Your place is indeed very cheap. It wouldn’t be overpriced even at five or six hundred a month, given its excellent feng shui, ensuring your son’s smooth career at the pottery factory.”
Song Xinran had only meant to sarcastically mock the situation, but to her surprise, the woman’s eyes widened in shock. “How did you know?!”
Song Xinran glanced at her indifferently, said nothing, and turned to leave. The woman quickly followed her. “Wait, miss!”
“How did you know my son works at the pottery factory?”
Song Xinran couldn’t be bothered to engage, but her aloof demeanor only reinforced the woman’s belief that she was a master of divination—calm and detached. Stamping her foot, the woman guessed, “Miss, are you a feng shui master?”
Song Xinran paused mid-step. What nonsense was this?
Seeing her reaction, the woman grew even more convinced of her speculation. “Master, did you notice my home’s excellent feng shui? I thought so too! Otherwise, how could my son’s career be so smooth, even buying a house in the city!”
“The feng shui of this house is very effective. I’d heard before that if you rent out your home, the feng shui changes and your own family’s luck declines.” Clapping her hands, the woman reached her own conclusion. “I knew I shouldn’t have rented this place out!”
“Thank you, miss!” Flustered, the woman hurried upstairs and shut the door, likely afraid that the auspicious energy would leak out.
Song Xinran: ?
Wait, she hadn’t said anything.
How could this person jump to so many conclusions?
Shaking her head, she left.
Inside the house, the woman locked the door and immediately called her son to tell him about the incident: "I met a master who instantly said our house has excellent feng shui. Son, we really can't rent this place out!"
Her son's voice on the other end sounded bewildered: "What feng shui? Just rent it out quickly and get the money sooner."
The woman adamantly refused, insisting they must trust the master's words. Her son, thoroughly annoyed, pressed for details about what happened, especially what the master had said!
Finally, he snapped irritably: "Mom, for heaven's sake! She was criticizing you for setting the price too high. Can't you tell?"
That day, Song Xinran viewed six rooms but found none suitable. Rubbing her sore calves, she deeply missed the scooters and e-bikes from her previous life.
In this lifetime, once she had money, she'd definitely buy a motorcycle.
Since she was already in town, Song Xinran decided to buy some groceries before heading home. She wanted to go back to the same butcher stall, but the vendor wasn't there today, so she randomly bought half a jin of meat instead.
On the motorcycle ride home, Song Xinran started calculating her expenses for the day: two yuan for noodles at noon, four yuan for meat, and five yuan for transportation.
She now had only 44 yuan in small change left. The thousand yuan in her bankbook remained untouched, but after learning more about rental prices today, Song Xinran felt this money was truly insufficient. She longed to start setting up a stall in town to earn money soon, but she hadn't even found a suitable rental yet.
Song Xinran sighed.
It was almost 6:30 when she arrived home. Song Xinran didn't see Song Yu outside but noticed other village children playing together. The moment they spotted her, they scattered faster than dogs—probably still remembering how she'd scolded them the day before yesterday.
Song Xinran chuckled to herself, wondering what Song Yu was up to now. She decided to braise the meat with potatoes for dinner since Song Yu liked potatoes. With that thought, she quickened her pace.
Just as she reached the courtyard, before even getting to the door, she heard Cai Yongde's voice:
"Why isn't dinner ready yet? I've been working all day and I'm starving."
Song Xinwen retorted impatiently: "Always rushing! You know your son is sick—shouldn't I be taking care of him?"
Cai Yongde said: "Isn't Xinran home? Didn't she help you?"
Song Xinwen replied: "Xinran helped me all day yesterday. Since Xiaoyang was better today and she had factory business, she went to town."
"Enough already!" Song Xinwen cut him off. "When Xiaoyang got sick, did any of your siblings come to see him?"
Cai Yongde: "They didn't know he was sick."
"Why do you always bring up the past? She did help you before, but after Chun Jun died, you looked after your sister's child for two years. Any debt is repaid…"
Just as an argument was about to erupt inside, Song Xinran called out loudly: "Sis, I'm back!"
Instantly, the house fell silent.
Song Xinran walked in carrying the meat, first making deliberate eye contact with Cai Yongde, who averted his gaze nervously.
"Brother-in-law, you're back early today—must be thinking of Xiaoyang," she said cheerfully, casually handing the meat to Song Xinwen.
Song Xinwen hesitated briefly before accepting it without a word.
Cai Yongde grunted vaguely and tried to leave.
Song Xinran subtly shifted to block the doorway: "Sis, what were you talking about? I could hear you all the way outside—sounded so lively."
She then covered her mouth with a light laugh: "You and brother-in-law have been married four or five years now, yet you're still so close. The moment he returns, you two have endless things to discuss."
Cai Yongde was so embarrassed by these words he couldn't lift his head. What they had just discussed was far from indicating a good relationship, and he wondered what had gotten into Song Xinran today. Normally she wouldn't say a word, yet today she was unusually talkative.
"I'm going to take a shower." Cai Yongde turned around and hurried into the bathroom.
Song Xinran continued loudly from behind: "Brother-in-law is such a good man! He came back early thinking of Xiaoyang, chats with sister as soon as he gets home, and he's so clean and diligent about bathing. Sister, you're really fortunate!"
Cai Yongde fled as if his pants were on fire, leaving only Song Xinran and Song Xinwen in the main room.
Song Xinwen couldn't help but chuckle. After being married for so long, this was the first time she'd seen her husband in such an awkward state.
In their marriage, she appeared to be the one benefiting – Cai Yongde's parents were still alive and could help out, he worked at the ceramic factory with regular monthly wages.
Their family had built a multi-story house years ago, making them quite prominent in the village, but only Song Xinwen knew the bitterness hidden beneath the surface.
Because her own family was poor and without support, her in-laws looked down on her. Even when Cai Yongde broke his leg two years ago, only Song Xinran had come to help for a week. Cai Yongde's relatives just brought some gifts when they visited and left without even helping with meals.
Yet Cai Yongde still claimed his siblings were so good, bringing fruits and milk, never considering who had truly eased their family's burden.
Before, Song Xinwen would just endure and move on. Unexpectedly, seeing Cai Yongde embarrassed today brought her such satisfaction.
But then she reconsidered – Song Xinwen didn't want any rift between her sister and husband, so she said: "Xinran, your brother-in-law may have a sharp tongue but he's soft-hearted. Don't take his words to heart. My home is your home – come back whenever you want."
Song Xinran played dumb: "Sister, what are you talking about? Of course I know what brother-in-law is like."
She smiled: "Sister, you live your own life. If you feel it's good, then it is. I just want you to be happy and joyful!"
Happy and joyful.
Hearing this, Song Xinwen couldn't stop her nose from tingling with emotion.
The next day.
Song Xinran decided to go to town again to look at houses.
When she left, Xiao Yu watched her with longing eyes: "Will mommy come back today too?"
He remembered how in the past, after mommy left, he had to wait a long, long time for her return. But yesterday she came back quickly, and he hoped today would be the same.
Song Xinran bent down halfway, looking into the child's pitch-black eyes: "Of course I will. I'll bring candy for Xiao Yu when I come back."
Xiao Yu shook his head seriously: "No candy. Just mommy coming back is enough."
Song Xinran's voice softened: "Mommy will come back. Mommy still needs to take Xiao Yu to live together in town."
Xiao Yu pressed his lips together, smiling until his eyes curved.
Arriving in town, Song Xinran decided to try a different approach to finding housing today.
She first went to a store and bought two yuan worth of candy, then headed straight for the teahouse outside the town middle school.
Currently, most rentals relied on referrals from acquaintances. Though she didn't know anyone now, she could sit with people, share some candy, make conversation and gather information.
As she approached the teahouse, Song Xinran's eyes lit up – among the chatting crowd outside sat a familiar figure.
After brief consideration, Song Xinran casually walked toward the teahouse. Passing the chatting group, she immediately called out: "Sister!"
Her voice brimmed with surprise. The person she called out to looked up, eyes initially blank before recognition dawned. "Hey, little sister!"
Song Xinran said, "Sister, haven't you been to the market these past couple days? I specifically went looking to buy meat from you but didn't see you around."
The person before her was unmistakably the same butcher from whom Song Xinran had bought meat at the market that day.
Hearing that someone had specifically come to buy from her stall, Huang Yun naturally felt delighted. "I've been taking a break these last couple days, but my family's been handling the stall!"
Song Xinran said, "Sister, I only trust you. I didn't buy much meat when I didn't see you. Never thought I'd run into you here. I should hurry and buy some now before it sells out."
The chatting crowd around them teased good-naturedly, "Huang Yun, you've really built up a reputation—people only want to buy from you now."
"Absolutely! The pork from Huang Yun's family just tastes better when cooked."
Song Xinran chimed in, "Sister Yun's meat is truly fresh. Even the color is different from other vendors'. It comes out incredibly fragrant when cooked—my whole family craves it after trying it!"
Hearing this, Huang Yun's face blossomed into a radiant smile. "If you all like it, come buy more often. I'll give it to you at cost price!"
Song Xinran pulled out some candy she had just bought and pressed a handful into Huang Yun's palm. "Sister, I just bought these sweets—they're quite tasty. Have some."
She then distributed candies to everyone present, her face beaming as she addressed each woman as "sister." Though it was just a few pieces of candy, everyone accepted readily, remarking, "Today we're benefiting from Huang Yun's connection."
Huang Yun's smile grew even brighter. "This young lady bought these—we should be thanking her."
Turning to Song Xinran with noticeably warmer eyes, she asked, "What brings you to this part of town, little sister?"
Song Xinran replied, "I've been coming to town to look at houses these past few days. Today I'm here to see if there are any suitable ones."
Huang Yun immediately said, "Oh, I actually heard someone in our building wants to rent out their place. I'll ask around for you when I get back!"
Others chimed in, "There might be some in our area too—I never paid attention before, but I'll check when I go back."
Author's note: