Which way to go is the road?

The apartment is near the subway station, five stops away from "Shuiyunjian". This makes commuting to work far. Including walking, waiting for the subway and the time spent on the subway, it takes about 40 minutes on the road.

Like the basement apartment complex where Xiang Fei used to live, this is an old residential area with brick-concrete houses whose exterior paint is peeling and mottled, and it would be better to just scrape it off.

In such old residential areas, the network cables and telephone lines that were installed later are exposed to the elements, and some electrical wires are even exposed to the elements outside the walls. Fortunately, the quality is still acceptable, and there has been no large-scale short circuit.

There was an elderly man in his sixties at the entrance who served as both a security guard and a cleaner. He liked to practice Tai Chi, and he could complete a set of movements without getting red in the face or out of breath, which showed that he exercised regularly.

The residential complex has five buildings in total. Xiang Fei's rented apartment is in Building 3, on the sixth floor, facing west. It's less than 50 square meters, but it's small yet fully functional, with a balcony, bathroom, and living room. The decor is old-fashioned, but it's spotless. Most of the plants are still there, and the furniture is complete. However, the elderly couple doesn't use the internet, so there's no internet connection.

"You young people all like to surf the internet. If you want to get a wired connection, just call the telecom company, and they can install it right away. Isn't that a problem?"

The speaker was the landlord, surnamed Hao. He seemed like an honest and straightforward man, but also quite opinionated. Xiang Fei and Bai Xue sweet-talked him, calling him "Uncle Hao" repeatedly, and he felt embarrassed to ask for more money. They agreed on a price of 1200 yuan per month, payable quarterly. Relatively speaking, this was already a very good deal.

"Okay, Uncle Hao! We'll contact them ourselves if we need anything. You've thought of everything for us, thank you!" Bai Xue said with a smile after finally finding Kexin's house.

"I've been through that stage of my life too, and I know that you're not as well-off as you are now. Every little bit helps, it doesn't matter. I'm not short of a hundred or two dollars."

"When everyone values ​​money so much, your understanding towards us is truly touching! Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of this place for you. It will be better than it when I left, not worse!" Xiang Fei was overjoyed to have found a place, especially with such a wonderful landlord.

"Hey! This place is so old, it can't be that bad, so you can stay here without worry! But there's one thing I need to tell you: please water these flowers and plants I've been growing when you have time. I've had them for years, and I'm reluctant to part with them, but there's no room in the new house, so they have to stay here for now! I've written down how to water them and how long to leave them on this note, so you won't lose it. Thank you for your trouble!" Old Hao said, pointing to the small note stuck on the door frame.

Xiang Fei glanced at the spot where Lao Hao was pointing and said, "No problem, Uncle Hao, I'll do my best to check it out. How about this, you come over once a month to check, and if there's anything wrong, please give me your feedback!"

"Alright, with you saying that, everything's settled. I can't keep coming back and bothering you, can I? Let's leave it at that! Tomorrow morning, we'll come over to sign the contract. Bring the money with you, and this place is yours! It's almost 10:20, I have to go home!"

"Why don't you stay out for lunch? Let's eat out and have some drinks! It'll be on me, as a way of showing my gratitude."

Old Hao didn't let Xiang Fei spend any money. He went downstairs, unlocked the car, put on sunglasses, and rode his bicycle to Xiang Fei and Bai Xue. The new mountain bike was stylish and dynamic, making Old Hao look very cool.

Few of these old Yandu residents still travel by bicycle, so Xiang Fei couldn't help but wonder, "Uncle Hao, you've worked your whole life, and your children are successful. Buying a car shouldn't be a problem, right? Why are you still riding a bicycle?"

"This is great! It's green and environmentally friendly, and it saves fuel. You know, our lives are so good now, we have everything we could want to eat and wear, almost everyone is a little over-nourished, and we still have to spend money to go to the gym to lose weight. Why bother? Riding a bicycle solves everything, and you can even get a sunbath! Look at me, I can even use some foreign words. Okay, I'll stop now, I have to go cook for my grandson! I'm off!"

Old Hao rode his bicycle quite fast, and soon he turned the corner of the alley and was on the main street.

"Why!"

Xiang Fei suddenly sighed, and Bai Xue, beaming, playfully punched her boyfriend from behind: "What's wrong? You finally found a place, and you're still sighing? Are you reluctant to leave your basement?"

"I'm reluctant to part with that 1200 yuan. The basement rent used to be only 200 yuan, but this time it's six times that. That's more than half of my salary, leaving me with only 800 yuan to live on. Shouldn't I be sighing?"

People with limited financial means are like this: they are excited when buying any goods, but once the deal is finalized and it's time to pay, they inevitably consider the practicalities and fall into the dilemma of not being able to give up.

However, this feeling is not understood by everyone, because in the end they are just outsiders, even if they are in the transaction, they are still bystanders.

"But your quality of life has increased! It's only natural that costs will increase as well. It's just a pity that your income hasn't increased accordingly! But luckily, you have this 5000 yuan to tide you over for a quarter."

"The problem is I still have monthly mortgage payments to make; I have to pay the bank 1000 yuan every month!"

"Then what are we going to do? Stop renting the house? You figure it out yourself! You're a man, solve your own problems, don't keep nagging me. Do you think I'll pay for this?" Bai Xue was initially quite happy, but seeing Xiang Fei's cowardly and gloomy appearance, her anger flared up immediately.

Seeing Bai Xue was angry, Xiang Fei realized he had ruined the atmosphere. He shouldn't have complained about being poor in front of her, so he quickly hugged her and wouldn't let go no matter how much she struggled: "Of course we have to rent a place! It was so hard to find one, I was wrong! Let's rent it for a quarter first. Things will work out in the end, we'll find a way!"

Looking down at his girlfriend, Xiang Fei noticed tears streaming down her face. He gently wiped them away with her large, warm hand, feeling even more apologetic but unsure how to comfort her. He then gently kissed her forehead.

For the first time, Bai Xue felt the desolation of "poverty-stricken couples suffer a hundred sorrows." She hugged Xiang Fei even tighter, using their warmth to dispel the feeling. Perhaps her tears had absorbed all the heat from her body, and she felt her body getting colder and colder, the coldness spreading from her heart to the soles of her feet.

"Let's go back! It's a bit cold here!" Bai Xue left Xiang Fei's chest and walked alone towards the gate, feeling lonely and dejected.

Xiang Fei glanced at Bai Xue's retreating figure twice, a sense of unfamiliarity rising from the bottom of his heart. He quickly shook his head to clear his mind of these random thoughts and hurried a few steps to catch up with her.