Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
The overtime bell rang and it became quiet outside.
After seeing off Principal Jia, Su Yingmin arranged for them to go out for dinner, but Ye Zhao didn't want to go.
"Xiaoqin wants to study here, can you guys also think of a way?"
Ye Dingguo, who had just been attacked by his disobedient daughter and abnormal principal, firmly rejected the idea and said, "Send her back to Wancheng."
"She doesn't want to go back, and I can't do anything about it."
Ye Dingguo: "You took my money and plan to take her to live outside?"
"How about you take her back yourself?"
Ye Zhao's speech is totally different from other people's. If you say east, she will directly talk to the west. The key is that she speaks slowly and with a lively tone, and she can say the most sarcastic words with little effort.
You still can't refute it. Ye Dingguo has a headache. After Ye Zhao recovered from his illness, did he evolve a new brain? Every word he said hits the heart.
At that time, there was no such thing as school districts in Shenzhen. Transferring to a primary school did not involve the college entrance examination, so it was not difficult to transfer schools. Su Yingmin continued to put out the fire: "There are both public and private schools nearby. I will find a way to transfer students."
"Thank you, Uncle Su. You are such a good friend to my dad... and my mom."
Su Yingmin's face was originally smiling, but when he heard the words "my mother", an embarrassed look flashed across his face...
Ye Zhao picked up his bag and was about to go back. Su Yingmin said, "I'll drive you."
"No, it's only a few minutes' walk."
Su Yingmin grabbed the paper and pen on the table and said, "Write me your address. I will go with you to report to Yuxin Middle School next Monday."
Ye Zhao took the paper and pen and wrote six Arabic numerals, "I forgot the name of the street. This is the landlord's phone number."
Su Yingmin walked behind the desk, took off his suit jacket, took out his wallet, pulled out all the hundred-dollar bills inside, and without counting them, stuffed them all into Ye Zhao's pocket.
"This is the pocket money Uncle Su and Aunt He gave you. Take your sister and eat well. Don't go hungry."
Ye Zhao looked at Ye Dingguo. Ye Dingguo had a straight face and showed no objection, so she did not refuse. "Thank you, Uncle Su."
As they walked out, Ye Zhao glanced at the money Su Yingmin had given her, then looked at her father, "Six hundred yuan..."
Ye Dingguo didn't understand for a moment and was stunned for a moment, but his daughter's next sentence was: "Remember to return the favor."
Ye Dingguo wanted to roll his eyes, but Su Yingmin laughed and reminded him, "It's just small change. If you have no money to spend, come and ask Uncle Su for it."
Su Yingmin sent Ye Zhao downstairs. It was getting dark outside, but the factory was brightly lit and the workers were working overtime to deliver the goods.
When the gatekeeper, Old Li, saw Ye Zhao go out, he hurried out from the pavilion and said, "Hey, little girl, little girl!"
Ye Zhao stopped and looked back at him.
"Your classmate is working overtime, and she asked you to come see her tomorrow at noon."
Ye Zhao guessed that Li Ruixiang was still worried about her getting a job in the factory, so he borrowed a pen and paper from the security guard and left a note for Li Ruixiang, telling her that he would only have time next weekend and that he would come to see her then.
Ye Dingguo returned home and lay down on the recliner in the study to rest. His mind was in a mess. Someone whom he had tried hard to forget for so many years seemed to have come back to life and was running around in his mind.
Bai Yunlian made him a cup of tea and brought it in. Seeing that Ye Dingguo didn't want to talk, she hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking, "What should we do now?"
"Lao Su found a school for her."
"Su Yingmin..." Su Yingmin had bad intentions, but Bai Yunlian didn't dare to openly sow discord between the brothers, "Then, what about Xiaolu's household registration?"
"Where's Xiaolu?"
"She was doing her homework in the room. I didn't dare tell her that the household registration had not been transferred."
"I'll find another way to transfer her household registration."
"What do you mean?" Bai Yunlian blurted out. Does this mean he is not planning to marry her
Ye Dingguo rubbed his forehead and said, "We'll talk about our marriage later. We need to convince Ye Zhao first."
When has Ye Dingguo ever cared about his daughter's feelings? Bai Yunlian didn't know what was wrong with him. His attitude suddenly changed so much. It was most likely that Su Yingmin was causing trouble again.
I was finally about to get a regular job, and just needed to take the final step, but I kicked the ball off target.
She was furious but dared not say anything, her heart was trembling with anger.
On the way home, Ye Zhao came across a bookstall and bought a set of ten second-hand comic books for his sister.
Then she went to buy noodles and eggs. After eating fast food for several days in a row, she was tired of it and decided to keep it simple for dinner tonight.
Back at the small west building, there was no light on in the house on the first floor. A young woman with long curly hair was standing at the door, fanning herself and listening to the people upstairs talking.
Fatty Ying came over with a bowl of rice. She pointed upstairs and said to the woman with long curly hair, "Qiao Jie always keeps her word. If she tells you to move out, she will definitely let you move out. You should pack up as soon as possible and don't make it difficult for me."
The curly-haired woman snorted coldly, "If you want to move, then move. It doesn't matter where you live."
"She has the final say in this courtyard. There's nothing we can do about it." Fatty Ying said in a low voice. She looked up and saw Ye Zhao coming in. She smiled and greeted him, "What are you holding? It's so heavy."
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Books and eggs."
Ye Zhao has not yet figured out the relationship between Fatty Ying and the mute brother and sister and Aunt Qiao. After two days of observation, the brother and sister's attitude towards Aunt Qiao can be described in four words: "obedient."
After going upstairs, Qiaoyi's door was open and a woman with a pockmarked face was standing at the kitchen door.
Aunt Qiao had just finished cooking dinner. She took off her apron and cursed, "You have money for a mistress but no money for rent? Get the hell out of here."
The pockmarked woman pleaded softly, "It's not that we don't have money, it's that he's not at home. He'll pay when he comes back later. Madam, can you turn on the water and electricity for us first?"
"You didn't say you were going to have a mistress when you rented the house! What bad luck! Move out tomorrow! Get out, don't bother me here in this hot weather."
The pockmarked woman was driven away.
Aunt Qiao saw Ye Zhao coming back and asked him questions like a machine gun: "Finally back? Did you get the money from your father? Can you sign the contract today?"
"I have a temporary ID card and can sign the rental contract now."
Ye Zhao put the noodles and eggs on the kitchen counter.
"I want something light."
Poor, Zeng Erqiao shook his head silently.
"Just sign the contract with me directly. I'll let Fatty Ying sign for the others."
They signed the contract in the living room. The contract was purely handwritten and had been prepared in advance. Ye Zhao handed the temporary ID card to Aunt Qiao, and Zeng Erqiao just filled in the ID number.
"Your household registration is in our village? The dormitory building of the Irene Toy Factory... Your father works in Irene? If you can transfer your household registration here, your father must have a good job."
Ye Zhao smiled in response. Ye Dingguo did not live in the Irene dormitory area. He bought a house in the most high-end commercial building in the village. However, her family’s household registration was registered with the factory and had not changed for many years.
"Deposit two and pay one, how much can you give today?"
Ye Zhao took out the 60 yuan in cash he had prepared and paid two-thirds of the amount as a deposit.
Aunt Qiao pressed the cash under the paper and said, "Did you get the money from your dad? You still have to swallow your pride. The crying child gets the milk. You can't let your stepmother get away with it."
Ye Zhao raised his eyebrows slightly: "It doesn't matter about the stepmother, the main bad one is my dad. If he was a normal person, how could he be led astray by his stepmother?"
"The little girl is clear-headed and knows what's going on. By the way, I won't lock the phone at home. You can answer it but you can't make calls. The gas, water and electricity bills will be shared equally by each person every month, okay?"
Ye Zhao glanced at the sumptuous dishes on the table in the restaurant next to him: shredded pork with green beans, three-cup chicken, steamed grouper, sweet potato leaves with garlic sauce, and pork bone soup with ginseng. There were only two of them, mother and son, but four dishes and one soup. They were typical people from Guangdong province. Their clothes and things could be shabby, but their food must not be shabby.
Ye Zhao, who had been eating fast food for several days, was extremely envious when he saw the home-cooked meals.
"You guys have a full banquet every day, but my sister and I just cook noodles and share the gas, water and electricity bills. This... isn't appropriate, right?"
"Oh! This is the first time I've met someone who cares more than me! Well, you can just buy the gas tank and pull the wires yourself. You are such a stingy girl! You won't make a lot of money in the future if you continue like this." Zeng Erqiao's Mandarin became more and more distorted as she got excited. Fortunately, Ye Zhao could understand her.
Ye Zhao smiled innocently and did not defend herself.
Zeng Erqiao was confused: "What are you laughing at?"
"Aunt Qiao, how about this, let us eat at your house? We'll pay. You can include the gas, water, and electricity bills. My sister and I will go to school in September, and we won't have time to cook when we get home. Eating fast food outside every day is also unhygienic."
This surprised Zeng Erqiao. She originally thought Ye Zhao was going to work in a factory, but she didn't expect him to go to school. She asked, "Which school are you in?"
"I'm at Yuxin Middle School, and my sister hasn't decided yet."
"You and Xiangzi go to the same school? What grade are you in?"
"I'm a senior in high school."
"What a coincidence, he is also in the third year of high school. Is he majoring in arts or science?"
"science."
"Oh, what a coincidence! So... how are your grades?"
"I used to rank first in my class," Ye Zhao said without any modesty. "The second-best student hired eight tutors but still couldn't beat me."
Aunt Qiao's eyes lit up immediately, "So amazing."
"Generally speaking, it's great." Ye Zhao smiled modestly and brought the topic back. "My sister and I don't eat much. Aunt Qiao, we can eat whatever you cook. Is that okay? Aunt Qiao, you are so beautiful and kind! You are the kindest and cutest person I have met since I came to Shenzhen."
Ye Zhao's mouth seemed to be covered with honey.
Aunt Qiao, who was known for her beauty and kindness, was moved by the compliment. The key point was that the little girl had good grades. She glanced at Ye Zhao and asked, "How much can you give?"
Prices are high here. Ye Zhao has calculated that if she and her sister eat fast food outside, it will cost at least two yuan a day, and the food expenses alone will be 60 yuan a month. If they cook for themselves, the cost can be less, 30 should be ok, but it is definitely not as sumptuous as the food at the landlord's house.
After a simple consideration, she could give around forty or fifty.
Before Ye Zhao could say anything, Aunt Qiao gave him a number. "The rice you eat outside is 1.2 yuan per pound. The rice we eat at home is 3.0 yuan per pound. Prices are soaring now, and everything is expensive. We still have to eat good food every day. I'll give you two 30 yuan a month. See if you can accept it. It's very cheap."
That's absolutely great. Ye Zhao suppressed his excitement and pretended to be hesitant.
Aunt Qiao thought that what she charged was not expensive at all, and her real purpose was not to make any money from her.
"If you weren't good-looking and had good grades, I wouldn't agree to let you eat for free. If you think it's expensive, forget it."
Ye Zhao grinned, "Not expensive, not expensive! That's a happy decision."
"But I have a condition."
"What conditions?"
"My son's grades aren't very good. Can you give him extra lessons later?" Aunt Qiao was afraid that Ye Zhao would refuse, so she said, "I'll give you the tuition fee."
Tutoring fee? Give Bking extra lessons? She has no problem with that. The key is to get the other party to cooperate.
"That's fine with me. But..."
Aunt Qiao knew her concerns and waved her hand, saying, "Don't worry, you don't have to guarantee the birth of the baby."
"ha?"
"In our local dialect, it means that you don't have to guarantee that your grades will improve."
"Oh, there's really no way to guarantee a baby, but I'll try my best." Ye Zhao felt weird after saying that, and added, "I'll try my best to help him improve his grades."
Aunt Qiao patted Ye Zhao happily and said, "It's rare that we two get along so well. You really found the right tenant."
"That's right." Who said that the landlady is hard to talk to? Although she is not beautiful, she is kind-hearted. Ye Zhao, who didn't want to eat boiled noodles tonight, took the opportunity to say, "Then the dinner contract starts from tonight? The food is so delicious, so tempting."
"Let's start tonight? There are enough dishes and rice, too."
Aunt Qiao suddenly realized that something seemed wrong. The grouper on her table cost nearly five dollars. Wasn’t she at a huge loss
But she was quite happy deep down, but she couldn't explain why.
The little girl is pretty, sweet-spoken, and most importantly, has good grades. She likes her very much.
"Eat, eat." Aunt Qiao put the contract away and called inside, "Xiangzi, it's time to eat."
(End of this chapter)