Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

I used to own a fruit shop, then a supermarket... I closed it down two months ago...

He actually remembered where that store was located.

It seems to be quite good.

Thinking this through, Ai Qing nodded in agreement and said to Ai Huijun, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie."

"What's the big deal?" Ai Huijun waved her hand and walked forward. "It's your own shop anyway. If you don't like it, I'll take you to see other places. If you can, it's definitely more comfortable to use your own shop. It saves on rent, and you don't have to work for other landlords."

That makes a lot of sense.

So why does his father still charge him two thousand in rent?

He didn't want to choose the apartment in the South District that he had demolished himself because the tenants were still renewing their leases, and it wouldn't be good to kick them out directly.

Another issue is that it's too close to home.

In the end, I chose the North District, only because I was tempted by the rent of 2000 yuan for a room of just over 100 square meters.

Otherwise, he would definitely have gone to rent a place in the south or even in the main urban area of ​​Hangzhou.

Just like Xiao Youqian, she lives a little further away from her family and has her own independent space.

After all that effort, she still hadn't escaped her father's clutches, leaving Ai Qing somewhat speechless.

"Brother, how come you have so many houses?" Xiaoyu asked Aiqing quietly.

"Good fortune," Ai Qing said succinctly.

"Then shouldn't they be called 'second-generation rich kids'?" Xiaoyu asked curiously. "That's what I saw online."

Ai Qing: "..."

To be honest, because all the relatives he knew were relatively wealthy, he never had this perception growing up.

In his mind, a second-generation rich kid should at least be on par with someone like Kong Fugui to qualify.

What is my little karami compared to that?

The family claims to own several properties, but they still live their lives as usual.

I didn't have much pocket money when I was in school, and when I went to college, I only had 1500 yuan a month for living expenses.

If this is what you call a rich second generation, then you could probably call any random local in Hangzhou that.

However, compared to those truly impoverished families, Ai Qing's family was indeed well-off.

"Look, this is it." Ai Huijun walked up to the shop, looked inside, and saw that it was still a mess.

After the previous tenant's supermarket closed down, some items were sold off, but the rest that couldn't be sold immediately were left behind, including some decorations that couldn't be taken with them.

After looking around the door, Ai Huijun realized that this was a last-minute visit, so she didn't ask Ai Zhongguo for the key.

Then he looked at Ai Qing and said, "The space inside is only this big. Besides what you can see at the entrance, there is also a small warehouse inside."

"If you need it, you can use it to renovate a bathroom later."

"This entire storefront outside is about 100 square meters, which is more than enough for you to run a cat cafe."

As Ai Qing listened to Ai Huijun's introduction, her gaze wandered from the shop entrance to the side, finally settling on the pet hospital next door.

——Qianxin Pet Hospital.

What a coincidence!

No.

Ai Qing suddenly realized that Xiao Youqian's family's house in the North District was right across from the house her father bought.

Now even the shops are connected together. Ai Qing simply refuses to believe that they weren't bought together in a coordinated effort!

OK OK.

Is that how it works?

Ai Qing felt her toothache getting worse.

"This shop hasn't been rented out for two months?" Ai Qing asked.

“Yes.” Ai Huijun nodded. “After all, it’s 120 square meters, and the location is good, especially with the nearby shopping malls seeing an increase in foot traffic.”

“There’s also an elementary school nearby, and your high school and middle school are not far away either. The area is gradually becoming more popular.”

"This is the entrance to the residential area, and the rent used to be seven or eight thousand a month."

"However, the residents in this community are all familiar faces from previous demolitions; they've all known each other since childhood, even from the same village."

"Usually, people who own their own shops will open a shop, just like your grandparents."

Even though this supermarket is large and has a wide variety of products, everyone is still used to buying things from your small supermarket.

"Those who rent shops here are usually out-of-town bosses. If they don't make much profit after a month, they definitely won't be able to keep going."

Ai Qing looked up at the shop, counted carefully, and while listening to what his aunt was saying, he saw the window of the house he was currently renting.

It really does offer a perfect view of the shops downstairs, which is incredibly convenient.

"Then let me tell my dad and see what he thinks," Ai Qing sighed and shook her head helplessly.

“Okay.” Ai Huijun smiled and took out her phone to call Ai Zhongguo.

She didn't say that Ai Qing wanted to rent a place, but said that a customer had taken a liking to the shop and asked him to come out and bring the keys.

Ai Huijun is a few years older than Ai Zhongguo. She has watched her cousin grow up since he was a child, and they have a relatively close sibling relationship. At this moment, she has a little bit of a mischievous streak.

While waiting for others, Ai Huijun looked at Ai Qing, wanting to find something to talk about, and suddenly thought of something.

"Oh, right," Ai Huijun said, remembering something, and asked Ai Qing, "I saw your mom's posts on WeChat Moments before, are you writing a novel now?"

Ai Qing: "...?"

Wait... I'm just renting a shop, do I really need to do this?

When asked about her novel by her own relatives, Ai Qing stammered, "Um... sort of... just something I wrote casually."

"Oh, you're being modest," Ai Huijun laughed. "Your mom was bragging about it in the group chat, saying you're making over 20,000 yuan a month in royalties now, that's amazing."

"If my son had that ability, would I need to worry about him so much?"

"You've really made something of yourself now, even writing a book. You're quite capable."

It has to be said that this turn of events was somewhat unexpected for Ai Qing.

But after thinking about it carefully, I can understand it a little better.

After all, not many of his elders actually read his novels.

Even now, if he asks his aunt what the name of his novel is, she might not be able to tell him. She only knows that her nephew wrote a novel and earned a lot of money.

In their circle of relatives, there was no such thing as keeping wealth hidden.

At least for someone like Ai Qing, who earns 20,000 yuan a month, there's absolutely no need to hide it, let alone have it as something her parents would use to show off.

During holidays like Chinese New Year, relatives would have a meal together.

Is your family member still studying abroad?

Is someone in their family passing the civil service exam?

Oh my, so-and-so's child, I heard they got into such-and-such university.

When it was Ai Zhongguo and Yao Qiang's turn, they said modestly that their child was just so-so, only liking to tinker with novels and such.

My relatives were curious and asked, "Can you really make money writing novels?"

That's right, I only earn a little over 20,000 yuan a month, all hard-earned money, I have to write a lot of words every day.

Hey!

That's really impressive.

Ai Qing could already picture that scene in her mind...

As for what the novel is?

That's no longer important.

Thinking of this, Ai Qing's thoughts about the social death faded considerably, and she happily chatted with her aunt about online novels.

For older people like them, they don't usually come into contact with this kind of thing.

Ai Qing also had to explain to them what online novels were and where they could read them.

What is original content? What is piracy? How do online novel authors make money? What contracts do they sign with platforms? What do they write every day? What does subscription mean?

However, when her aunt asked what book she had written and if she could read it when she had time, Ai Qing just laughed it off.

"Sister Jun, what's up?" Ai Zhongguo walked over from across the street and waved to Ai Huijun as soon as he saw her. "Who is this...?"

He was halfway through his sentence when he noticed Ai Qing and Xiao Yu standing to the side, and was immediately stunned: "You guys..."

"Hello, Uncle!" Xiaoyu greeted Ai Zhongguo with great enthusiasm, a sweet smile on her face.

"Look, these are the two who want to rent a shop from you." Ai Huijun smiled with satisfaction upon seeing Ai Zhongguo's reaction. "Where are the keys? Take them in and have a look first."

"Ah...oh...no..." Ai Zhongguo was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously listened to Ai Huijun's words, took out his keys from his pocket, and immediately realized what was going on, "Wait! What's going on with you guys? Why do you want to rent a shop?"

"I was planning to open a cat cafe to try it out, so I approached my aunt, and that's how I found out," Ai Qing said, pausing suddenly before pursing her lips. "So, Dad, you've been making money off my rent all along?"

Upon hearing this, Ai Zhongguo realized that his scheme had been exposed. He twitched his lips and looked at Ai Huijun, saying, "Jun-jie, really, why did you tell him something like this?"

Ai Huijun rolled her eyes at him: "You didn't tell me either. I thought Qingqing knew."

Ai Zhongguo clicked his tongue, looked at Ai Qing, and then said a few more words: "I didn't do that on purpose. I just didn't think you were good at writing novels back then."

"Back then, the message was simple: renting a house was really unnecessary, since you have a place to live at home."

"But if I tell you directly, there isn't enough pressure to make you face reality."

"So I set a rent of two thousand for you to live in. Including utilities and living expenses, you need to earn at least three or four thousand a month to make enough for you to live on."

"If you can hold out until the end of the year and Chinese New Year without asking your family for living expenses, then your mother and I won't object. You can do whatever you want."

At this point, Ai Zhongguo paused for a moment, then continued, "Who knew you were so capable, making 20,000 yuan a month in royalties? You knew about this beforehand, and I never intended to keep it from you."

As he spoke, Ai Zhongguo took out his keys, walked to the door, and said as he opened it, "But what do you mean by this cat cafe? Why did you suddenly think of this?"

"I just feel that writing novels isn't safe enough." Ai Qing coughed twice and said the explanation she had already prepared. "I have to find a real business to do, it's more stable."