After going up to Jiangdong Bridge and passing Jiangdong Gate, Huo Xi and Huo Erhuai Yang Fu entered the outer city of the capital.
Then walk towards the Shicheng Gate and Qingliang Gate in the inner city. Mochou Lake is between these two gates.
This place is bustling and lively. When she brings the groceries from the north back from Huai'an, she may even sell them here. If the house is rented here, it will be convenient for storing goods and making it easier to access.
The closer you go to the inner city gate, the greater the flow of people, with people coming and going in various shops.
Huo Erhuai felt a little worried and looked around, "Xi'er, isn't this place too busy?"
"Brother-in-law, isn't it good to be busy?"
"That's good. But since it's so popular, I'm afraid the money to rent a house will be indispensable. How about we look to the east? There are many shanties there, and renting a house is cheaper."
"Dad, we won't go to the shantytown. I won't worry about leaving my mother and Nian'er there."
Huo Erhuai just thought about it and let it go. The shantytowns were cheap, but everyone lived in them. If something happened, he simply didn't dare to think about it. Let's forget it.
He also calculated the eleven taels of silver at home. He wanted to keep some money to spend all the way to Huai'an, and also left some money for his mother and son. The money for renting a house... I don't know if it would be enough.
Huo Erhuai looked at the people coming and going on the street. Their mental outlook was different from other places, and their clothes were better than those elsewhere. He touched his chest again and counted the money in his arms.
But Huo Xi had already found a tooth shop by a familiar route.
A few people from Yaxing were sitting in the room, talking leisurely. When they saw Huo Xi and the others coming in, they raised their eyelids leisurely and continued talking without getting up.
A young man of seventeen or eighteen years old stood up and greeted him with a smile.
At first glance, he looks like a newbie.
Huo Xi didn't dislike it at all. The three of them seemed to be not people who could bring any big business. It was normal for people to look down on them.
Then he smiled at the man who called himself Ma and said, "We want to rent a house. Can you take us to see it?"
Upon hearing this, the Ma Ya people were very enthusiastic. They invited them to sit down, poured them tea, and asked them what they wanted.
When Huo Erhuai and Yang Fu first arrived at a place like this, they were served tea. They felt uncomfortable and at a loss.
Huo Xi calmly picked up the tea and took a big sip to relieve the fatigue from the journey, and smiled at Huo Erhuai and Yang Fu.
When the two of them saw her drinking, they put down their nervousness, picked up the tea and drank it.
Quench thirst. Comfort.
The horse-toothed man smiled when he saw this: "You are thirsty, I will pour you another drink."
The tooth man inside looked at them with disdain. He was so thirsty, he must have walked a lot. It seemed that he didn't have any means of transportation. So he turned his head and refused to pay attention, not even bothering to grab business.
Huo Xi sat as steady as a mountain.
Huo Erhuai and Yang Fu moved their buttocks uneasily under the gaze of others.
The horseman gave them more tea.
Huo Xi went straight to the point and said: "We want to rent a small courtyard that is quieter. The neighbors should not be too cluttered or too far away. There are three or four rooms in the house and a kitchen for cooking. It is better to have a yard."
After hearing this, the horse-tooth man looked at them again.
At first glance, they look like poor lower-class people, but they want to live alone?
The real person doesn’t show his face?
He looked at them carefully again.
"Just take us to see it. It's old and there's nothing in the house. It doesn't matter. What matters is the environment. You want to live in peace of mind."
The horse-toothed man nodded: "Understood. I do have a few houses in my hand. Come on, I will show you." He took the keys to several houses and led them out.
Huo Erhuai took the hands of Huo Xi and Yang Fu and followed behind.
The three of them followed the horse-toothed man to look at the house. Huo Xi did not want to get into the details of his probing, and only asked for common sense.
After reading several places in succession, Huo Xi and Huo Erhuai were not very satisfied.
When they arrived at the fourth place, the horseman said: "This one should meet your requirements. It is a single-family house, with a main room, a hall, left and right wing rooms, a kitchen, and a small courtyard."
Huo Xi looked at the small courtyard. The surrounding environment was not bad. I heard that the neighbors were all scholars, so there should be nothing messy here.
The Ma Ya man kept selling: "Most of the courtyards here are rented to students from other places who come to Beijing to take exams, and rented for short periods of time to study. This place is not far from Mochou Lake, and students usually go out to Mochou to
I can recite poems in the lake and write poems in pairs, or I can stay in my room and read a book. I don’t have much to worry about. You can rest assured."
Yang Fu was very satisfied with the surrounding environment. Huo Xi was very satisfied with the small courtyard and the well.
Although the house was a bit old and didn't have much furniture, it had an independent well to draw water. Yang went to fetch water, but it was inconvenient to carry Nian'er there, and it was even more uneasy to leave Nian'er at home. There was a well just right.
Huo Erhuai felt that the house just now was better. It was separated from a large courtyard and had neighbors on both sides. If anything happened to Yang and Nian'er, they would have someone to help them.
But Huo Xi doesn't want that kind of mixed-use house.
Although the price is not high, it is only one yuan a month. There are beds and cages in the house, and you can move in with your bags, but who knows who the neighbors are.
“How much does it cost to rent this yard?”
"This place costs three yuan a month, three months a month, and the rent starts at least half a year."
"Three yuan a month? Do you need to rent for half a year?" Huo Erhuai frowned. If you rent for half a year, you will have to live until the end of March next year.
It would cost nearly two taels of silver to rent, and it would cost a lot more to buy two more beds and furniture.
And if they live for half a year, do they want to rent it for such a long time?
Huo Erhuai looked at Huo Xi.
Huo Xi felt that the lease term was a bit long. But three cents a month was not something she could not afford given the current family situation. Now the family could earn two cents a day selling groceries and fish.
"Can we negotiate the rent?"
The horseman shook his head: "You don't have to worry about renting the houses around here. Later on, candidates from all over the country who are taking the Chunwei exam will come to Beijing one after another, and the house prices will rise. You can't even grab them."
Huo Erhuai felt a little sick. To live here, it would cost at least three taels of silver to repair and maintain the house, buy furniture, and rent.
Then there are only eight taels of silver left.
The family still has to live and stock up. In the winter, the fish catch is small and cannot be sold for much money, and the fishing tax has to be paid at the end of the year. Moreover, if the trip to Huai'an does not go smoothly, the family will have to rely on the money until next spring.
Huo Xi felt that the small courtyard here was very suitable. She thought it was a good deal to rent it for half a year for 20 to 30 taels of silver.
He shook Huo Erhuai's hand.
Huo Erhuai looked down at her and understood what she meant.
He gritted his teeth and nodded towards the horse-toothed man.
The horseman glanced at Huo Xi and then at Huo Erhuai. He happily led the three of them to the tooth office to sign the lease agreement.
After paying the rent and deposit, the keys to the house fell into Huo Xi's hands.
Not bothering the two masters, Huo Xi asked the Ma Ya people to introduce a house repair craftsman, who cleaned up the house that needed to be cleaned and repaired the leaks that needed to be repaired. The matter was completed in more than an hour.
Then he went to buy a bed, simple furniture, and some kitchen utensils. Shen Shichu arranged the small courtyard properly.
They rented two more carts and pushed them to the ferry, unloaded some things on the ship onto the carts, pushed the carts into the small yard, and put the things in the warehouse. Then they locked the door, returned the carts, and the three of them returned