Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Slow down at the next corner, I'm getting off; when you get back, dress up as me and go with Xiaoyu to the living room to take out those two boxes of money and count them. Remember to draw the curtains, but don't close them completely," An Xiaohai said quickly.

"Okay, be careful!" Zhou Xun slowed down and steered the car into a small alley, which was a shortcut to the Xingfuyuan residential area.

An Xiaohai turned around, grabbed his backpack and coat from the back seat, opened the car door, jumped out, and closed the door behind him as the car drove away.

The car sped away.

An Xiaohai quickly turned his jacket inside out and put it on, then took out a baseball cap from his backpack and put it on. Just as he slung the backpack over his shoulder, a motorcycle turned from the main road into the alley and chased after Zhou Xun's car.

An Xiaohai didn't turn around and walked forward steadily. This motorcycle must have been following him. It was so late at night and the headlights weren't even on. Was it really necessary to be so obvious?

At a corner in the alley, the motorcyclist had already stopped. His eyes followed An Xiaohai as he turned onto the main road before he twisted the throttle and headed towards Xingfuyuan residential area.

"Xiao Hu, have they come out yet?" An Xiaohai took out his earphones from his pocket, put them on, and contacted He Xiaohu.

"Not yet. Zhan Weiting's car is still parked where it was, and the lights in the clubhouse are still on."

Is anyone watching the back door?

"Yes, Number 1 and Number 10 are over there, and Number 7 and I are watching the front gate."

"Okay, when we left just now, a motorcycle followed us. Did you see where it started from?"

"Report, I saw it," came Number 7's voice: "Across the street at a 45-degree angle south of the clubhouse intersection, there's a convenience store. That person came out of that building, and his motorcycle was parked next to the convenience store."

"Okay, I understand." An Xiaohai immediately turned around, bypassed the clubhouse building, and emerged from a small alley. After lighting a cigarette and putting it in his mouth, he headed towards the convenience store.

An Xiaohai stopped at the entrance of the convenience store and took two deep drags on his cigarette, giving the impression that he was unwilling to enter the store with a cigarette in his mouth.

From this vantage point, An Xiaohai couldn't see anything at all about the clubhouse, and he could only see a very small section of the path in front of it.

An Xiaohai looked up at the building where the convenience store was located. This building was on the outskirts of the nearby urban village, with iron bars welded to the densely packed windows, so it should be available for rent.

An Xiaohai threw away his cigarette and went into the convenience store, picking out a bunch of snacks and several buckets of instant noodles.

The shop owner was a woman in her forties. She had a professional smile on her face and was quickly calculating prices with a calculator.

"Big sister, are there any houses for rent here?" An Xiaohai asked casually.

In those days, large-scale real estate agencies had not yet emerged. Homeowners would either post notices downstairs themselves or entrust the small shops downstairs to rent out their properties. Judging from the owner's appearance, he seemed like a trustworthy person to rely on.

"Handsome, you want to rent a house?" The landlady's eyes lit up immediately.

"Yes, I live over there, but the rent is just too expensive," An Xiaohai said, pointing in the direction of the clubhouse.

"That side is closer to the road, of course it's more expensive!" The proprietress immediately perked up: "Our side is only a few steps from the road, but the prices are much cheaper than over there!"

You've come to the right person! I manage both of these buildings outside! Do you want to rent a suite or a studio apartment?

"I live alone and rent a studio apartment. Are there any available? By the way, I prefer to live on a higher floor."

"A bit higher... how about the fourth floor? There used to be a studio apartment on the seventh floor, but it was rented out recently."

"The fourth floor is a bit low."

"It's not low at all! Both of our buildings have very high ceilings! Why don't you go up and take a look? Maybe you'll find something you like!"

"Okay," An Xiaohai thought for a moment and nodded, "Can we watch it now?"

"Of course, the key is with me, just wait a moment," the proprietress said, taking a bunch of keys from the counter and handing one to An Xiaohai.

"Here's the key to 403. Go out from here, turn left, and walk around to the side of this building. The entrance is right there. The apartment is fully furnished. You just need to bring some changes of clothes and you're good to go."

"Thank you, ma'am! Ma'am, is there a parking space here? I have a motorcycle that I always park outside. Last time it was almost stolen. Someone even pried open the lock and I had to spend a lot of money to replace it."

"That's easy. You can just park your motorcycle in front of my shop. Our shop is open 24 hours a day. I'll guard it during the day, and my husband will guard it at night. It definitely won't be stolen."

"Isn't it inappropriate to park here?" An Xiaohai looked around. "The road is so narrow here, people will yell at us if we park here."

"Don't worry, it won't happen! Cars don't usually drive here, you can just pull over a little to the side."

The tenant of apartment 702 also has a motorcycle, which he usually parks in front of the shop... It was just here a moment ago, but now I wonder where he's off to have some fun, haha.

"Oh, that's great! I'm going to go look at the house now, I'll be down soon."

"No rush, take your time looking around. Judging from your accent, you don't sound like a local. You're probably here in Nancheng to work, right?"

"Yes, I'm from Jingbei."

"Jingbei... I heard it's not so peaceful there."

"Yes, my hometown is indeed too remote, and the security is a bit bad. There are still quite a few highway robbers. I ran into one when I went home last time. Look at my face, that's where they beat me up."

"Oh my, that was terrifying! Have they caught the person yet?"

"No," An Xiaohai shook his head, "They run into the mountains as soon as the police arrive, so it's impossible to catch them. They're just out of luck."

"Sigh... never mind, you silly child. They're robbing us, so just give them the money. Your life is more important!"

"Yes, you're right. I won't be so foolish again. Thank you, big sister. I'm going to look at houses now."

Go!

An Xiaohai left the convenience store, and even after he walked out the door, he could still hear the proprietress sighing.

An Xiaohai quickly climbed to the fourth floor, entered apartment 403, turned on the light, glanced around quickly, and then immediately ran to the small balcony to look out.

It's not high enough here; you can see the building where the clubhouse is located, but you can't see the road below.

An Xiaohai turned around and rushed out of room 403, closing the door behind him as he quickly climbed up to the 7th floor.

702 was right next to the stairwell. An Xiaohai was about to go take a look when he suddenly realized something and immediately stopped.

This is a house specifically for rent. The staircase connects to a long corridor, with rooms lining both sides of the corridor.

The rooms on the left are odd-numbered, and the rooms on the right are even-numbered.

An Xiaohai just looked at 403, which is on the left side of the corridor and faces the clubhouse. But 702 is on the right side of the corridor, and it's impossible to see the clubhouse from there.

An Xiaohai frowned deeply, but quickly figured out the key point. He cautiously peeked into room 701 across from room 702, and sure enough, there was a peephole on the door of room 701.

This peephole is really unique in this building.

An Xiaohai didn't rush forward. He quietly returned to room 403, stayed in the room for five or six minutes, and then went downstairs back to the convenience store to return the key to the proprietress.

"How's it going, handsome? Are you satisfied?" the proprietress asked hopefully.

"The room is great, I'm very satisfied, it's just that the floor is a bit low. How much is the rent here, ma'am?"

"220 a month, water included but electricity not included, one month's rent as deposit."

"Are there no higher floors?"

"That's all. There are only two apartments left, and the other one is on the second floor, which is a suite."

"You seem like a very polite and refined person, probably a very good tenant. How about this, I'll give you a discount, how about 200 a month?"

"200... That's a reasonable price, but I'd like to look around for a higher floor nearby."

"Oh, that's fine, but you should decide quickly, as houses here are easy to rent."

"Sister, could you hold that house for me for half a month? I'll definitely make a decision within half a month."

"Half a month? That's a bit difficult! It takes too long. I can give you three to five days, though."

"How about this, I'll pay half a month's rent, consider it as me renting for half a month," An Xiaohai said with a smile, handing a hundred-yuan bill to the landlady.

"Isn't this a bit much?" the proprietress said hesitantly, but her eyes, fixed on the money, gleamed with joy.

"There's nothing wrong with it, keep it, sister. I can't let you suffer a loss! I really want to choose carefully, since I don't know how long I'll be staying here, and moving is too much trouble."

"I'll keep it for now. If you decide to rent it later, this money will be included in the rent."

"Okay, thank you, big sister. I'll head back now," An Xiaohai said, picking up the bag of snacks and turning to leave.

"Have a good trip, handsome!" The proprietress happily pocketed the money.

An Xiaohai shook his head and smiled bitterly. The landlady would definitely not tell anyone that he had been here. In this way, as long as he didn't come to rent that house, the landlady could get 100 yuan for free.

What a clever boss lady!

An Xiaohai did not leave immediately, but instead quietly circled the two buildings and found a very good observation point.

After circling around for a bit longer and making sure no one was paying attention to him, An Xiaohai vanished into the darkness.

"The wind is calling for a big mango, the wind is calling for a big mango, will you receive it?"

"Received, please speak!" Mai Xiaoyu's voice came through the communication system, very clear. The Security Department's communication system was really useful.

"Have you finished counting the fruit?"

"I've finished counting, I've counted twice already."

"Okay, you've worked hard, take a rest."

"Okay, be careful, we'll wait for you to come back."

"I'll be careful, see you in a bit."

See you in a bit!