Today was originally the day to pay next month's rent. If Lin Yuhan didn't pay, it would mean she wasn't staying next month, and the landlord would directly demand she move out by tomorrow.
Only then did Lin Yuhan see through the landlord's hypocritical nature.
The landlord actually thought that since she was a young woman with so many belongings, she would definitely find moving troublesome and would most likely grit her teeth and continue staying, just like the previous two times.
Moreover, based on the landlord's observations, she guessed Lin Yuhan was unemployed. Having been jobless for so long, she probably didn't have much money saved up, would struggle to find affordable housing quickly, and moving would cost additional money.
In short, the landlord believed Lin Yuhan would perceive the cost of moving and finding a new place as too high, hence the sudden 200-yuan rent increase.
But this time, the landlord miscalculated. Lin Yuhan now had money and the confidence to refuse being treated unfairly.
Lin Yuhan immediately contacted a real estate agent and secured a two-bedroom apartment in a quite nice residential complex within an hour.
Originally, she had wanted to find a one-bedroom unit, but those available were either located farther away—making viewings time-consuming—or nearby ones required scheduling with the landlord for keys.
Pressed for time, Lin Yuhan opted for the two-bedroom apartment. The rent was 2,000 yuan per month, with one month's deposit and three months' rent paid in advance, totaling four months' rent upfront, plus a 1,000-yuan agency fee.
After signing the contract and renting the apartment, Lin Yuhan promptly hired hourly cleaners to tidy the place and arranged for a moving company that offered packing services. Another 1,000 yuan was spent in the process.
In just a few hours, Lin Yuhan had spent 10,000 yuan. Last month, she wouldn't have dared to imagine such an expense.
However, recently, thanks to the Trading System, she had been buying various items daily for Ning Xuan. Although spending 10,000 yuan still stung a little, it was only slightly, because she now had the confidence to earn even more.
Having money felt wonderful. Because she spent it, Lin Yuhan's room full of belongings was quickly packed up and delivered to her newly rented apartment, all within five hours. After packing, she immediately called the landlord to inspect the room and return her deposit.
The landlord initially tried to find excuses to deduct from the deposit, but Lin Yuhan deliberately had the movers wait nearby. Seeing there were several people, the landlord didn't dare press further and honestly returned the 300 yuan.
Yes, the deposit was the initial 300 yuan paid when she first rented the place, and it hadn't changed since she kept renewing the lease.
The landlord never expected Lin Yuhan to actually have the courage to move out, and so swiftly at that. She cursed Lin Yuhan for being so desperate for money that she clung to 300 yuan.
Lin Yuhan didn't argue with her face-to-face, but as soon as she received the deposit, she immediately called the fire department and tax bureau to report the landlord.
300 yuan wasn't much, but Lin Yuhan was fighting for her dignity.
About two months later, the former landlord's unit still hadn't been rented out. The landlord even tried to message Lin Yuhan, offering to lower the rent as a special deal, only to find she had been blocked.
.
Ning Xuan was unaware of what had happened to Lin Yuhan. If she had known, she would have deeply related.
Because when she first started working, lacking life experience and being naive, she too had been cheated by a landlord.
Perhaps because the autumn harvest had ended and it was time to reward the hardworking farmers, during this period after the harvest, nearby brigades were screening movies every day.
After finishing work and eating each day, the young people from the brigade would gather in groups and head to other brigades to watch movies, creating a lively atmosphere for quite some time.
It wasn’t until all the nearby communes had taken turns screening movies that the excitement gradually died down.
During this time, Ning Xuan, along with the other Educated Youth, continued working as usual—tasks like weeding and breaking up clods of soil were relatively light work.
Meanwhile, the brigade leader had freed up some manpower to help several Educated Youth build houses.
With sufficient labor and the use of simple earthen construction methods, the houses were completed in less than a month, though they still needed some time to dry before they could be occupied.
As for He Yuting, after the incident last time, she had quieted down. Throughout the entire episode and afterward, Li Ming had shown no concern for her, and He Yuting’s feelings for him had cooled.
Initially, He Yuting had considered pursuing Zhou Jiahe as a backup option, but because of the scene she had caused in the Educated Youth Compound, the male Educated Youth had formed a poor impression of her. As a result, her attempts to show interest in her backup option were completely ignored.
Feeling discouraged by her failed attempts at pursuing someone as a girl, He Yuting grew disheartened. She stopped focusing on the male Educated Youth and began accepting the kindness of a local male comrade.
Meanwhile, Li Ming learned that Xu Jiajia was planning to move out with Zhou Zhipeng and a few others. He thought to himself that Xu Jiajia was always hanging around these two men, and even if he married her someday, she might end up cuckolding him. He decided she had poor character and unilaterally declared to himself that he would never marry such a woman. From then on, he stopped trying to win her favor.
Overall, since the incident caused by He Yuting last time, the Educated Youth Compound had returned to a state of calm. On the surface, everyone continued to coexist peacefully.
Zhao Yulian had already discussed with Liang Qingqing that once Ning Xuan and the others moved out, she would move in to share a room with Liang Qingqing.
“I really don’t want to stay in the same room with her anymore,” Zhao Yulian complained. “She acts like everyone owes her money all day, and when you talk to her, she barely responds. I’m not going to grovel for her attention.”
Huang Xiaomei disagreed, saying, “Don’t be like that. She’s already apologized, and what’s done is done. Holding a grudge like this isn’t good for unity.”
Zhao Yulian shrugged it off. “It’s not like I want to. At first, I tried to keep things as they were and even initiated conversations with her, but she’s the one who didn’t want to engage. I think she’s still upset about how I confronted her that day. Now, there are three of us in the dorm, but we hardly speak to each other.
“I can still chat with Jiajia a bit, but whenever we talk, He Yuting starts making little noises or causing distractions, and it just kills the mood.
“We’re already exhausted from work every day. Who wants to come back to the dorm and have to put up with her bad attitude?”
Liang Qingqing reassured her, “Alright, let’s not talk about her. Just move in when the time comes. I’m actually a bit scared of sleeping alone anyway.”
The two then began discussing the details of Zhao Yulian moving in.
Ning Xuan knew that from then on, the Educated Youth in the compound would likely split into several smaller groups.
She never expected that, despite initially planning to stay away from the protagonist group led by Xu Jiajia, she was now growing increasingly close to them. Was this the so-called protagonist halo, the charm that attracts everyone?
However, Ning Xuan comforted herself by thinking that as long as she didn’t foolishly oppose the female lead or compete with her for men, she probably wouldn’t end up as cannon fodder.
Moreover, according to the original plot, the female lead and her family would continue to sail smoothly through life, each achieving career success and family happiness. After Xu Jiajia’s eldest brother married his second wife, his life went very well, and he was also very intelligent, treating Xu Jiajia exceptionally well, just like everyone else.
In fact, as long as Ning Xuan didn’t dwell on the original plot, she genuinely felt that the real-life Xu Jiajia and the others were actually quite nice.