…
“This is the place.” Yu Meijing led the two of them to the spot. Lin Miaomiao had thought that since it was Yu Meijing’s relative, they must be wealthy, but she hadn’t expected them to be this rich.
A standalone house with its own yard—the yard alone was over a hundred square meters.
Inside was a two-story Chinese-style house.
The passage of time hadn’t made it dilapidated; instead, it had gained more character.
Although her father had been the village chief when she was young, she had only lived in a small, single-story house.
After reuniting with her family, they had a house in the city, but it was only a few dozen square meters, without even a kitchen. Cooking had to be done in an outdoor makeshift kitchen.
A house this big was something Lin Miaomiao had never dared to imagine.
She hesitated. “Such a nice house, and really no rent?”
She could tell the house was regularly maintained; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a single weed.
“Of course not. The owners aren’t short on money—it’s just too much trouble to maintain, and it’s inconvenient since they live far away.”
“Just settle in peacefully. It’s free, so why not take it?”
Lin Miaomiao was convinced. Cleaning wasn’t a big deal anyway. After all, she wouldn’t be living here permanently—it was still someone else’s house. She still wanted a home of her own.
She used to think it didn’t matter where she lived, as long as she had a place to stay.
But after Sister-in-law started raising objections, she finally understood what it meant to live under someone else’s roof.
Even though she was her parents’ biological daughter, she had no place of her own in her own home.
A Bao even had to stay in her tiny, few-square-meter room every day, not daring to turn on the fan.
Lin Miaomiao wasn’t blind—how could she not know?
So she later thought about it: she could live without almost anything, but not without a home.
Her life goals expanded beyond just making money: buying a house.
The location of this house was excellent. Lin Miaomiao had been a bit worried on the way over, calculating the time.
It was only ten minutes from A Bao’s Yuhong Kindergarten and fifteen minutes to the factory!
Although it was a bit farther than her brother’s place, it didn’t matter—she could treat it as exercise.
In her eyes, any journey under thirty minutes wasn’t far.
And it was on the way—she could drop A Bao off at school and head straight to the factory.
How convenient.
Entering the house, she saw the light streaming in through the large windows. Even though it was already afternoon, the natural lighting inside was excellent.
Lin Miaomiao thought, if she ever struck it rich, maybe she could buy this house.
With a standalone house like this, who would want to live in a Tongzilou?
The living room was spacious, with some dusty rosewood furniture—she wouldn’t even need to buy a bed! The kitchen even had a window!
Heavens, she wouldn’t have to endure cooking in a greasy, stuffy, poorly ventilated hallway anymore!
She didn’t know what materials the house was made of, but there was no damage at all.
It hadn’t been lived in for seven or eight years, yet it was still intact. Was this what a rich person’s home was like?
When she was young, her family was well-off, but they still had to patch up the roof and fix cracks in the walls every now and then…
Patching things up for another three years.
It was good to be rich.
Lin Miaomiao thought from the bottom of her heart.
Yu Meijing’s parents were strict and didn’t allow her to stay out too long. She handed the keys to Lin Miaomiao and left.
Looking at the house, Lin Miaomiao thought, even if she had to work as a caretaker here for the rest of her life, she’d accept it.
Although the house was well-maintained, there was still a lot of dust.
Lin Miaomiao rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
A Bao also helped by holding a small cloth to wipe the tables. Working together, mother and son managed to clean the entire first floor spotless in just over an hour.
Unfortunately, it was too late today, otherwise Lin Miaomiao would have definitely gone out to stock the kitchen.
The wooden bed also lacked a mattress—all these things needed to be bought, but there was no time today. Lin Miaomiao simply spread a bedsheet and made do for the night.
The next morning, she woke up with an aching back and sore muscles. It had been a long time since she’d slept on such a hard bed.
“Did you have another spring dream last night?” Seeing her rubbing her waist, Yu Meijing asked curiously.
Lin Miaomiao: “…No, the bed was just too hard. I haven’t had time to buy a mattress yet.”
Yu Meijing looked disappointed.
Then she said, “There must be a lot of things missing at home, right? Do you want me to go shopping with you later?”
“Sure. After we buy everything in the afternoon, I’ll cook for you.”
Lin Miaomiao owed her five, six, seven, or eight meals already. She also wanted to get the kitchen set up as soon as possible, mainly because eating out every day was too expensive.
“Great! I want to eat that chestnut braised chicken.”
“Alright, chestnuts are in season now. I’ll buy some later.”
Lin Miaomiao’s rural foster mother was a master chef who catered banquets. When she was young, she often took Miaomiao along to help out.
Although Miaomiao was a bit lazy and spoiled by her family, she had also learned excellent cooking skills.
To save money before, she used to bring her own meals to the factory every day. After tasting them a few times, Yu Meijing was utterly amazed.
She insisted on pestering Miaomiao to cook for her too.
Lin Miaomiao brought meals for her for a while, but later, when her situation improved a bit, she became too lazy to keep it up.
So Yu Meijing could only enjoy her cooking once in a while.
Now that Lin Miaomiao had finally moved out, Yu Meijing could come over and mooch off her whenever she wanted.
Yu Meijing was thrilled.
As soon as they got off work, the two headed straight to the department store. Nowadays, coupons were no longer needed, and there were no purchase limits, so shopping was relatively convenient for Lin Miaomiao.
Except it was expensive.
She bought a mattress, soap, shampoo, bath supplies, and other daily necessities, then went to buy some kitchenware. The kitchenware was relatively cheap—she bought a whole set for just a few yuan.
Just as she was about to go buy groceries, Yu Meijing walked past a clothing store and couldn’t move another step.
Lin Miaomiao, who had originally planned to be frugal, went in with her just to look around.
Many of the new style dresses in their area were influenced by trends from Hong Kong—beautiful and sexy.
Big cities were great; even if you showed your legs or arms, no one would say anything.
And the clothing was colorful, vibrant, and eye-catching—everything from bell-bottoms and jeans to sweatpants was patterned.
Lin Miaomiao loved dresses, the brighter the better.
So much so that once she stepped inside, she couldn’t move either. Both of them started trying things on.
Lin Miaomiao chose a blue sleeveless maxi dress, with the hem reaching near her ankles. The waistband was tied into a bow hanging at the front, and the cinched waist design accentuated her figure beautifully.
She was even stunned by her own reflection in the mirror.
Beside her, Yu Meijing gasped. She measured Lin Miaomiao’s waist with her hands, then touched the three layers of fat on her own belly…
Damn, comparing people really was infuriating.
Lin Miaomiao asked about the price—just this one dress cost five yuan, supposedly because of some special fabric.
In the past, she might have gritted her teeth and bought it, but now that her job situation was unstable, she didn’t dare to be too extravagant.
She thought she’d reward herself once she found a new job.
Just as she was about to go change, someone suddenly called out to her.
“Lin Miaomiao!”
“Have you no shame, going out dressed like that? It’s utterly disgraceful!”