Daily Life in the 70s
Chapter 213: The Matter is Settled

Chapter 213: Chapter 213: The Matter is Settled

Although that was the case, it was still necessary to see the room before making plans.

Shen Yiqiu looked at Yang PeiMin and Yang PeiMin said to her, "Third sister, we should still see the room before we decide. As long as it’s good, a higher rent doesn’t matter."

Shen Yiqiu nodded and then told Aunt Fan that they needed to see the room first.

Having settled this, Shen Yiqiu saw that the meal at home was almost ready and called over Dahua to bring back her father-in-law and husband from the factory to eat. They usually came home for meals, but this time Shen Yiqiu was so happy internally that she specially sent her eldest son to fetch them one more time.

After the meal, Shen Yiyue also came up, following Yang PeiMin and Shen Yiqiu to Aunt Fan’s house to look at the room.

As she described, the room was indeed on the ground floor, but it had a good orientation. The room for rent had a window through which the morning sun could shine in. The room wasn’t big, about six square meters. With a bed inside, there wasn’t much space left. Yang PeiMin estimated that there was just enough room to fit a small table and two chairs. The walls were papered with old newspapers, and they looked recently done, not too shabby.

Aunt Fan then said, "This room was used by my two daughters before, it’s not dirty or anything. I left the bed for you considering we’re neighbors. Normally, I’d let you use the water and electricity for free."

Shen Yiqiu took a glance and still found it expensive. She knew that six yuan could rent a one-room apartment elsewhere. At that time, not many people were renting, and those who had jobs almost all lived in the factory dormitories, so the rental market wasn’t high.

Seeing Shen Yiqiu’s expression, Aunt Fan added, "There’s nothing much to say, our families are close, and you want to live near your brother and sister-in-law to take care of them, right? Other than my place, who else in this yard could spare a room for your brother and sister-in-law?"

Her words were true. Were it not for the proximity to the An Family, Shen Yiqiu really wouldn’t have considered it. With Aunt Fan’s personality, Shen Yiqiu wasn’t eager to engage with her.

Yang PeiMin nodded at Shen Yiqiu, resigned to the situation. The small room wasn’t as good as expected, but it would do for the two months they had. It was important for the family to have peace of mind living close to Shen Yiqiu.

Finally, they made the agreement. However, Shen Yiqiu said that she wasn’t sure how long Yang PeiMin would stay, so they’d settle the rent after she left. Aunt Fan disagreed, insisting on an upfront deposit for one month. After some haggling, they agreed on half a month’s deposit.

Yang PeiMin looked at the lock on the room’s door. It could be bolted from the inside, but there was no lock on the outside. She thought she would need to install a lock herself because security had to be ensured.

Shen Yiqiu also specifically took half a day off from the factory to help clean the room. They hired someone to change the lock and familiarized Yang PeiMin with the neighborhood, buying some daily necessities.

After that, Shen Yiqiu helped Yang PeiMin register at the tutoring class. Yang PeiMin was touched, as Shen Yiqiu, in the manner of an elder sister, took care of everything for her. She said to Yang PeiMin, "You’re leaving home alone for the first time at such a young age. I must take good care of you; otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to dad, mom, and Yiguang."

Having arranged everything, Yang PeiMin and Shen Yiyue had to catch the last bus home.

By the time they arrived home, it was almost evening, and the sun had just set, casting a swath of twilight across the land.

Chen Guizhi, perhaps a bit worried, was about to go to the village entrance to look around when she was stopped at the courtyard gate by Huang Tao.

"Aunt, where are you heading?" Huang Tao’s tone was affectionate, devoid of the resentment from the previous night.

Chen Guizhi nodded uneasily. As the saying goes, one does not slap a smiling face. With Huang Tao’s smiling demeanor, even if Chen Guizhi still harbored some misgivings, she found it hard to face her with a cold look and harsh words. Not one to quarrel, Chen Guizhi let it be.

Huang Tao looked at her expression, and her smile remained unchanged, if not slightly tinged with embarrassment, "Aunt, I came here to apologize to you. I’m really sorry about last night. It was my fault for speaking thoughtlessly and upsetting your daughter-in-law. These kinds of things concerning children would matter to anyone. I deserved to be scolded for bringing up what should not have been mentioned."

Chen Guizhi glanced at her, managing a strained smile and waved dismissively, "Indeed, that’s true. Next time, just don’t say those things again. It doesn’t matter if it’s toward my daughter-in-law or someone else—it’s quite hurtful after all. Besides, they’ve only been married for a short while. How could there already be a problem with her health?"

Huang Tao saw how she defended her daughter-in-law, and her face stiffened slightly, feeling extremely annoyed on the inside. Chen Guizhi was really like ’mud that won’t stick to the wall,’ enduring all those years and finally becoming a mother-in-law, yet she couldn’t stand up for herself and was instead ridden by her daughter-in-law. Seeing her daughter-in-law get angry, she even put aside matters involving her grandson. What a useless act; Huang Tao secretly harbored quite a bit of resentment in her heart.

If Chen Guizhi had been more assertive back then, maybe Shen Yiguang would have married her instead. And now the one who got to enjoy the good life, not needing to work, wearing attractive clothes, and putting her mother-in-law beneath her was herself. All because of this useless old woman who had been of no help at all; it seemed her past efforts to charm and please had been for naught.

Despite how unwilling she felt inside, she managed to maintain her composure, her face betrayed her effort to endure. Since the Shen family was blind to her worth, she would just have to make things messy for them and see if they would regret not marrying her.

"Aunt, you are absolutely right. I regretted it so much when I got home last night. I was going to come over and apologize immediately, but then my little one started fussing, and I simply couldn’t leave. I heard your daughter-in-law went out today, but I didn’t know when she would be back. I’ll apologize to her later."

Chen Guizhi nodded, "It’s good that you can think this way."

Huang Tao forced a smile and nodded, noting Chen Guizhi looked ready to go out, she broached the topic they had been discussing earlier, "Aunt, where are you off to?"

Chen Guizhi replied, "I’m going to pick some vegetables in the field and then stop by the village entrance to see if Yiyue and Ah Guang’s wife have returned yet. I need to start preparing dinner."

Huang Tao’s eyes darted about, "Where are they returning from? Does your daughter-in-law go to work or something? I rarely see her at home."

"Oh, she went to the county with Yiyue today, to pay Yiqiu a visit."

"Oh, so they went out for fun?"

"Not exactly, it’s—"

"Mother, we’re back." Shen Yiyue and Yang PeiMin spotted Chen Guizhi and Huang Tao from afar by the doorway. Seeing that shameless Huang Tao clinging around again, Shen Yiyue called out to Chen Guizhi in haste.

"Look at that, speak of the devil and she appears," Chen Guizhi’s smile grew broader.

Huang Tao’s face showed a trace of discomfort, and she took a step back as they approached.

Shen Yiyue walked over and addressed Huang Tao first, "What have you been saying to my mother?"

Chen Guizhi immediately said, "Nothing, the wife of our second son came to apologize and wanted to say sorry to you as well."

Yang PeiMin looked at Huang Tao with undisguised disdain and contempt showing in her eyes.

Huang Tao almost couldn’t control her emotions and nearly jumped up in response.