Novel Bin Chapter 455: Rent
Qin Haodong pushed him away. “Enough. We just have a normal relationship.”
Ma Wenzhuo said with a smile, “I know, I know. A normal male and female relationship!”
Qin Haodong ignored him. He turned to Jia Shihan and said, “Where did you rent your place? Let’s go get your things now.”
Jia Shihan told him the address. Qin Haodong had just arrived in Shanghai, so he was not familiar with this place. Yang Jinlong quickly said, “I know where it is. What a coincidence. It’s near the house that Huang Jianye gave you. Your house is part of the first phase of the project. The location of the rented place is going to be developed into the fourth phase of the project.
“Let’s go together. It’s on the way!”
Right after Yang Jinlong spoke, Ma Wenzhuo pulled him away. “What do you mean by on the way? We are going to take a look at the house while they are going to grab things. It’s not on the way. Let’s go first.”
After he spoke, he pulled Yang Jinlong into the car. Their men also followed behind them as they left in a flash.
“What the hell!”
Qin Haodong knew that Ma Wenzhuo wanted to provide himself opportunities. However, he could have at least left a car. Now, one ran faster than the other and did not even leave a car behind. Qin Haodong could only take a taxi.
The two of them arrived at the place Jia Shihan rented. This place was the phase-four project of the Shanghai number one district. It had already entered the state of demolition.
However, because the housing in Shanghai was tight and the rent was high, instead of being empty, there were sheds built everywhere. They were all rented to poor people who had no money. However, these houses, which were not much better than a cowshed, looked a little dilapidated.
Qin Haodong looked at the fairy-like Jia Shihan and said with pity, “You are living here?”
“Yes!” Jia Shihan nodded with a flushed face. “The rent here is cheap. One room is 500 a month.
“Places in Shanghai are too expensive. The boss gives me 1,000 as a monthly salary, so I can only live here.”
Qin Haodong frowned. However, there was nothing that could be done. It had to be known that in big cities like the capital and Shanghai, many so-called job-hunting apartments were ordinary three-bedroom apartments with more than a dozen bunks filled with dozens of people. Each bed cost 1,800 yuan a month.
What could a 1,000 yuan a month salary do in an economic center like Shanghai these days? If she had not worked at the teahouse, then Jia Shihan would have starved. It was easy to imagine what the single room she talked about would be like.
This Zhu Dongmei was really ruthless. Jia Shihan had helped her attract so many guests and made so much money, yet Jia Shihan was given such a low salary. This was going too far.
He said, “With your qualifications, it should be easy to find work in Shanghai. Why did you have to be bullied by that evil woman at the Heming Teahouse?”
Indeed, with Jia Shihan’s qualifications and musical achievements, it would not be difficult to find a job that earned tens of thousands a month in Shanghai through a good channel.
Jia Shihan said with embarrassment, “When I just arrived in Shanghai, I didn’t know anything. When I was with my master on the mountain, 1,000 was a lot of money. It could buy many things, so when the landlady said 1,000 a month, I accepted it.
“The landlady also told me that as long as I signed a long-term contract with her, she would give me a raise in my salary every month in the future. Therefore, I signed the contract with her. However, afterward, not only did she not give me a single raise, but she also didn’t let me leave.”
Speaking up to this point, she sighed. “I didn’t expect for the prices here in Shanghai to be so expensive. 1,000 is not much different from being a beggar. I can’t even rent a decent place.”
Qin Haodong said in his heart that the prices here could not be compared with those in the mountains. The price difference was 10-fold or even 100-fold.
Zhu Dongmei must have seen that Jia Shihan came from the mountains, so she took advantage of her simplicity and kindness to sign the contract at a super low price of 1,000 a month for three years.
While they were talking, the two of them arrived at the single room that Jia Shihan had talked about. Although Qin Haodong had prepared himself, the place looked even worse than he had imagined.
How could this be called a single room? At most it was a portable room made out of wood. Apart from a bed, the remaining space was very limited.
Also, the ceiling of the house was very low, around two meters. It was very easy for tall people to hit their head.
However, although the room was small, Jia Shihan was extremely clean. The place was almost spotless. There was a pot of flowers on the narrow windowsill, which was spreading its leaves among the morning sun. It emitted its own beauty.
But the room was too small. After the two of them entered, they almost filled up the entire room.
Jia Shihan said politely, “Take a seat first. I will get you a glass of water.”
Qin Haodong shook his head. “It’s fine. Grab your things. Let’s quickly leave here.”
Jia Shihan nodded. She pulled out a suitcase from under the bed, then put all the clothes and toiletries she could carry inside the suitcase.
A suitcase and a guqin were all the belongings she had.
“Let’s go!”
Qin Haodong said as he was the first to walk out of the room. In such a narrow space, it was indeed a little stuffy.
The two of them walked out and were about to leave with the suitcase when they heard someone say, “Why, Shihan, where are you going?”
Qin Haodong turned his head and saw a middle-aged man around 40 or 50 years old walking over. The guy was wearing a set of silk pajamas, waving a bamboo fan in his hand. He had a naturally hooked nose and triangular eyes. He did not look friendly.
He was Li Hui, the landlord, who had built all the portable houses around here.
Jia Shihan said, “It’s like this, landlord brother, I have a new place to live, so I’m not going to live here anymore.”
“What? You are leaving?” Li Hui narrowed his triangular eyes and said, “It’s fine if you want to leave. However, we agreed previously that no matter how long you will stay, you have to pay a year’s worth of rent.
“You have lived here for half a year. Since you are not staying here anymore, then you need to give me the remaining rent. 500 a month, so that’s 3,000 for six months, not a penny less.”
Jia Shihan said, “Landlord brother, why are you being unreasonable? I said I will rent the place for one year, but you didn’t say I had to pay.”
Li Hui smiled. “Really? Then I probably forgot. However, this is the rule I set. Anyone who rents a room here must abide by it. You need to as well.”
Jia Shihan said angrily, “You are being unreasonable. I only lived here for three months, and have paid you six months’ worth of rent. I won’t ask for the three months’ rent back. What else do you want?”
Li Hui’s face darkened as he said, “Do you poor people from outside of the country know the rules? It makes sense to rent a house and pay for it. If you live in my house, you should pay the rent. If you don’t pay a year’s rent, then don’t think of leaving here today.”
Jia Shihan said angrily, “Of course you need to pay if you rent a place. But I only lived here for three months. Why should I give you a year’s worth of rent?”
“Why? Because the houses here are all mine!” Li Hui said arrogantly, “Let me tell you, woman. I can open a room here to collect rent, which means that I have a background. The boss of the Biker Gang is my sworn brother. Obediently pay the money, otherwise you won’t be able to afford the consequences.”
Jia Shihan was about to say something else when Qin Haodong pulled her behind him. Then, he walked forward a few steps and said, “She only lived here for three months, yet she paid for six months, is that right?”
Li Hui said, “That’s correct. Therefore, she still owes me six months’ rent.”
Qin Haodong said, “Since she only lived here for three months, then you should return the remaining three months of rent. Hurry up and get the money now.”
Normally, when tenants checked out ahead of time, the rent and deposit paid in advance would be refunded. There had never been such a domineering landlord, where tenants had to pay a year’s rent in advance when they did not live there anymore. What was the difference between this and robbery?
Although that little amount of money was nothing to him, it was Jia Shihan’s hard-earned money. The poor girl had suffered a lot of grievances from the tigress Zhou Dongmei. She should not be bullied anymore.
Seeing that this person in front of him wanted money, Li Hui glared with his triangular eyes. “Are you crazy? You dare to ask me for money? Have you not asked around who I am? All these years, has there been anyone who wanted a refund on the rent?
“Hurry up and pay the rest of the rent. Otherwise, none of you will leave.”
Qin Haodong frowned. He was not a violent person and did not want to use this method unless he had to.
“Now that she has her own place, you should return the rent.”
“What a joke! How can you two poor people have your own place in Shanghai? Don’t tell me that you live in the villa over there?” Li Hui pointed to the group of villas next to them and said with an arrogant smile, “If you can buy a house there, I will refund you a hundred times the rent. But poor people like you will never be able to afford it for the rest of your life.”
In his view, Jia Shihan had to be a poor person, because no rich person would rent a place from him. As for Qin Haodong, he wore even more ordinary clothes. From top to bottom, everything together would only cost a few hundred yuan. Therefore, no matter what, he was nothing close to being a rich person.
Qin Haodong’s expression darkened as he said, “Hurry up and give me a refund of the remaining three months’ rent. Otherwise, you won’t be able to afford the consequences!”
“Brat, don’t you bloody talk to me like that! Do you know who I am? The boss of the Biker Gang and I are brothers. When my brother comes, I will skin you…”
Li Hui was spitting everywhere when suddenly a roar of motors sounded. A dozen motorcycles drove over with a burst of smoke, led by a Crown Prince motorcycle. Xiong Tiejun, the boss of the Biker Gang, was sitting on it.
When Li Hui saw those motorcycles, he immediately shouted arrogantly, “Do you see that, brat? My brother is here. You are now in big trouble!”
He indeed had some sort of relationship with Xiong Tiejun, but it was far from being a brother like he said. He was just a very distant relative.
At that moment, the motorcycle stopped in front of them. Li Hui immediately ran up with a flattering face. “Brother Xiong, I didn’t expect you to come. Don’t leave in the afternoon today. Brother, I will be the host and invite you…”
Before he had finished speaking, Xiong Tiejun pushed him to the ground, causing him to do somersaults. Then, Xiong Tiejun ran up to Qin Haodong with a smirk on his face. He took out a red real estate deed and said, “Boss, I got the real estate deed for you.”
Li Hui got up from the ground. He almost doubted his eyes. How could Brother Xiong, whose eyes were always up high, be so kind to a young man? To be exact, it was no longer polite. It was just like seeing his father.
Also, if he had not heard wrong, Xiong Tiejun was calling that young man “boss”. The boss of the Biker Gang’s boss. Who had he just provoked?
“Not bad!”
Qin Haodong praised him. He took a look at the property deed, then turned around and said to Li Hui, “Didn’t you say that as long as I can buy a house in the villa area, you will refund 100 times the amount of the rent? Now it’s time for you to keep your promise.”