When they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the scorching sunlight beat down on them.
The air was hot and stuffy, like someone had pressed a damp, heated towel over their faces.
Song Kening opened the map on her phone, searched for their destination, then looked up at Lu Zhiyu.
“Come on. Let’s take a bus to Huangcun.”
Carrying two plastic bags, Lu Zhiyu followed behind her like a huge, obedient dog as they walked toward the bus stop.
Song Kening checked the bus routes at the stop, then returned to Lu Zhiyu’s side.
“Bus B20. Twelve stops, then we’ll get off at Huangcun Station.”
The bus arrived.
Song Kening squeezed aboard and found a place to stand by the window.
Lu Zhiyu followed with the two plastic bags.
At 1.9 meters tall, he was particularly noticeable in the crowded bus, and the people around him instinctively shifted aside to make a little more room.
The buildings along the streets of Yangcheng were somewhat older than those in Huacheng, but everywhere was filled with the lively atmosphere of ordinary daily life.
Song Kening leaned against the window and looked outside, her eyes bright with curiosity.
Lu Zhiyu glanced down at her before looking away again.
The bus stopped at Huangcun Station.
The two got off.
In front of them was a relatively narrow street lined tightly with shops—fruit stores, fast-food restaurants, hardware stores, general stores, one right beside another.
Electric scooters weaved through the crowds, their horns beeping incessantly.
Song Kening looked around.
When she spotted an alleyway, she grabbed Lu Zhiyu and headed over.
“This way, this way! There have to be rental rooms inside the alley.”
They turned into the alley.
Old residential buildings stood on both sides, with air-conditioner water constantly dripping down from above.
As she walked, Song Kening kept looking around, scanning the walls, utility poles, and bulletin boards.
“There! There it is!”
She stopped beside a utility pole.
A pink piece of paper was pasted on it with four large characters:
ROOM FOR RENT
A phone number was written underneath.
Song Kening took out her phone and dialed.
“Hello, landlord? Do you still have a single room available?”
A man’s voice came from the other end, carrying a Cantonese accent.
“Yes. Where are you?”
“I’m in the alley. I saw the rental notice on the utility pole.”
“Okay, wait there. I’ll be right over.”
Song Kening hung up and waited beside the utility pole.
Lu Zhiyu stood beside her, holding the two plastic bags.
His eyes swept over the surroundings, and his brows furrowed slightly.
But he said nothing.
Less than five minutes later, an old man came walking from deeper inside the alley.
He looked to be in his sixties.
He wore a white sleeveless undershirt, loose shorts, and a pair of flip-flops, with a bunch of keys in his hand.
“You two the ones looking to rent a place?” the old man asked.
Song Kening nodded.
“Yes, yes, that’s us.”
The old man’s gaze instinctively landed on Lu Zhiyu.
No matter how he looked at him, this man didn’t seem like someone who would normally rent a room in an urban village.
Then he looked at the two plastic bags Lu Zhiyu was carrying.
No suitcase.
Just two plastic bags.
They looked almost like refugees fleeing from somewhere.
The old man withdrew his gaze and asked,
“Young man, young lady, where are you two from?”
Song Kening answered,
“We’re from Huacheng. We just graduated and came here to look for work.”
The old man nodded.
“I have rooms on the third and fifth floors. Come upstairs and take a look.”
He turned and walked deeper into the alley.
Song Kening pulled Lu Zhiyu along behind him.
After turning two corners, the old man stopped in front of a seven-story residential building.
The building wasn’t particularly old.
The exterior walls were covered in small white tiles, and it was obvious they had recently been renovated.
There was an iron gate on the first floor.
The wall beside it was plastered with all kinds of small advertisements—drain cleaning, moving services, document processing, rental notices.
The old man unlocked the iron gate.
Inside was a staircase.
The lighting was dim, and a damp smell immediately hit them.
“Third floor or fifth floor. You choose,” the old man said as he climbed the stairs in his flip-flops.
On the third floor, the old man opened a door and pushed it open.
The room wasn’t large, probably around a dozen square meters.
It was completely empty.
There was nothing inside.
The walls had been freshly painted, and the floor was covered with old-fashioned red tiles.
Everything was very clean.
There was only one small window.
It faced the wall of the building opposite, so the room was rather dark.
Song Kening walked inside and looked around.
The room was rectangular.
Immediately to the left of the entrance was a door.
She pushed it open.
It led to a tiny kitchen.
The kitchen was only about two or three square meters.
There was a simple sink, while a hole had been left in the wall for an exhaust fan, though no fan had actually been installed.
At the very back of the kitchen was another door.
Song Kening opened it.
An indescribable smell drifted out.
It was the bathroom.
There was a squat toilet and a single faucet.
There was no water heater or anything else.
Song Kening understood the layout at a glance.
This was a typical urban-village rental.
You entered directly into the bedroom.
The bedroom connected to the kitchen.
And to use the bathroom, you had to walk through the kitchen.
She turned and glanced at Lu Zhiyu.
He stood in the middle of the room, staring at the door leading from the kitchen to the bathroom.
His brows were slightly furrowed.
Song Kening knew that expression.
He was disgusted.
She pretended not to notice.
She walked over to the old man.
“Uncle, let’s take a look at the one on the fifth floor.”
The old man led them upstairs.
The fifth-floor room had exactly the same layout, but the lighting was much better.
The window was slightly larger than the one on the third floor and faced the alley.
Sunlight streamed in, making the entire room considerably brighter.
Song Kening walked inside and stood by the window, looking out.
Below was the busy alley.
People came and went.
She could hear vendors shouting their wares, electric scooters honking, and children laughing and playing.
Another building stood directly opposite.
It was so close that she could clearly see the floor of the balconies across from them.
Lu Zhiyu stood in the middle of the room.
His gaze landed on the door to the bathroom.
His brows furrowed even more deeply.
After remaining silent for several seconds, he finally asked,
“Do you have any rooms where the kitchen and bathroom aren’t connected?”
The old man looked at him as though he’d just asked a strange question.
“Most rental rooms around here are like this.”
“Bedroom, kitchen, bathroom—all like this. If you want them separated, sure, I’ve got some. Fully furnished apartments in upscale communities. Two or three thousand a month. You interested?”
Song Kening quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Uncle, how much is this room?”
“Five hundred for the fifth floor. Four hundred for the third.”
The old man continued,
“One month’s deposit, one month’s rent. Water is six yuan per ton, electricity is 90 cents per kilowatt-hour.”
Lu Zhiyu asked again,
“Do you have one with furniture?”
“Sure. Another building has beds, air conditioning, and a water heater. Eight hundred and fifty a month. No elevator. Want to take a look?”
Eight hundred and fifty.
Song Kening quickly calculated it in her head.
With one month’s deposit and one month’s rent, that would be 1,700 yuan upfront.
They had a little over 2,600.
After paying the rent, they’d have only a little over 900 yuan left.
The two of them had to survive an entire month in an unfamiliar city.
They still needed food and transportation while looking for jobs.
Nine hundred yuan wouldn’t be enough.
She raised her head and smiled brightly at the old man.
“Uncle, we’ll take this one. The fifth-floor room is pretty good.”
Song Kening coughed lightly, looking a little embarrassed.
“Um… could you lower the rent by another hundred?”
The old man narrowed his eyes at her.
“I’m already giving you a cheap price.”
Song Kening quickly explained,
“Uncle, here’s the thing. We just got here and don’t have much money. We’re having a bit of a hard time.”
“Once we find jobs and start getting paid, you can raise it back to 500 yuan in two months, okay? We’re planning to rent long-term. We definitely won’t run off.”
The old man looked at her, then at Lu Zhiyu standing beside her.
The man was carrying plastic bags, wearing a white shirt, and had almost no expression on his face.
The old man suddenly smiled.
“All right. Everyone has difficulties when they’re away from home. Four hundred it is. Rent’s due on the 20th. Just send it to me through WeChat.”
Song Kening’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you, Uncle! Thank you so much!”
The old man took a key from his key ring and handed it to her.
“Give me your ID so I can register you. Add me on WeChat too. If anything comes up, message me.”
Song Kening took the key and rummaged through the plastic bag for her household registration booklet.
The old man took it, looked through it, then pulled out a pair of reading glasses.
He carefully copied down her ID number.
After finishing, he took out his phone.
“Scan the QR code.”
Song Kening scanned it and added him as a friend.
His WeChat name was “Huangcun Landlord Qiang.”
His profile picture showed him wearing a floral shirt and posing by the seaside.
“Rent is 400, deposit is 400. Eight hundred in total.”
Song Kening nudged Lu Zhiyu with her elbow.
“Scan the code and pay!”
Lu Zhiyu added the landlord on WeChat as well and transferred 800 yuan.
“All right. Message me if there’s anything,” the old man said before walking downstairs in his flip-flops.
Slap, slap, slap.
Song Kening stood in the doorway, watching the old man’s back disappear around the stairwell.
Then she turned and looked at the room.
Twenty square meters.
Completely empty.
There was nothing inside.
She walked over to the window and pushed it open before turning to Lu Zhiyu.
Lu Zhiyu was still standing in the middle of the room, holding the two plastic bags.
“What are you standing there for? Put them down. The conditions aren’t great, but it’s only 400 yuan a month. What more could we ask for?”
“In Huacheng, a single room like this would cost at least 1,500 yuan, and that’s still out in the suburbs.”
As she spoke, Song Kening took the plastic bags from his hands and began arranging their things, even though there wasn’t much to arrange.
Lu Zhiyu finally spoke.
“Can you get used to living here?”
Song Kening looked up at him.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like I’ve never lived somewhere like this before.”
She paused before adding,
“Besides, we’re only staying here for three years. Three years from now, you’ll make your comeback and buy a huge villa. I’ll benefit from it too and move into a luxury home with you.”
She said it with such certainty, as though his comeback three years later were already a guaranteed fact.
“All right, don’t worry. With me around, I won’t let you starve.”
“Let’s go get lunch first, then we’ll come back and buy a bed and the other things we need.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
Lu Zhiyu silently followed her downstairs.