Five, Renting a House

Luo Shu took out a handkerchief from her pocket, unfolded it, and inside lay a ginseng whose shape closely resembled that of a human, with very dense roots. She had taken out this ginseng from her space earlier on the car ride; it wasn't very old, but it was almost a hundred years old nonetheless. Ginseng of such age was in no short supply in her space, and she naturally didn't hold it in high regard.

Seeing that it was indeed ginseng, the middle-aged uncle's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to reach out his hand, "Young girl, let me have a look quickly!"

Luo Shu passed the ginseng to the middle-aged uncle, who hastily took it and started to closely inspect it. The ginseng had a fat root that looked like a spindle, closely resembling a human's head, hands, feet, and limbs, "What a treasure! This is truly a fine item!" Ginseng like this hundred-year-old one had become very rare, and the young girl's luck was truly enviable.

Luo Shan tugged at Luo Shu's sleeve and quietly asked, "Sis, how do you have ginseng?"

"I just happened to see it when I was picking firewood on the mountain," lied Luo Shu, as she naturally couldn't tell Luo Shan the truth.

"Sis, you are really lucky!" exclaimed Luo Shan cheerfully. If they traded the ginseng for money, Dad would definitely be happy when they got home, and he wouldn't hit Sister anymore.

After a good while, the middle-aged uncle finally shifted his gaze from the ginseng and smiled at Luo Shu, "Young girl, this ginseng is about a hundred years old. If you're selling it, I'll give you five hundred. What do you think?"

"Five hundred?!" Luo Shan could hardly believe what she heard. She had never heard of so much money in her life. She had never expected something that looked almost like a radish to be worth so much.

"Deal!" Luo Shu agreed briskly. In her previous life, this ginseng would be worth at least a hundred thousand, but in this era, five hundred yuan was already considered a lot, especially when many people only made twenty or thirty yuan for their salary.

Seeing Luo Shu's calm expression, the middle-aged uncle was somewhat impressed, but more surprised. The young girl didn't seem to be a child from a wealthy family. Could it be she was too excited to think straight? But she didn't seem like it.

After safely storing the ginseng, the middle-aged uncle went to the counter, withdrew five hundred yuan, and handed it to Luo Shu, "Young girl, make sure you keep this money safe. Be extra cautious on your way home." Five hundred yuan was not a small sum; it was more than many families earned in a year.

"Alright, thank you, Uncle! I'm looking for a place to rent, do you know if there's any nearby?" Luo Shu asked as she put the money into her pocket. Now that she was out, naturally she needed to find a place to stay; she didn't want to end up sleeping on the streets.

"Sis, aren't you going home?" Luo Shan asked in surprise. She thought her sister was just acting out of spite and hadn't expected her to actually be looking for a house outside.

"Mhm," nodded Luo Shu. She wasn't the Luo Shu of before and certainly wasn't going to return to suffer.

"But we're not married yet, and moving out will definitely make people gossip." Even though that home was not warm, it was still their home after all.

"I've made my decision," said Luo Shu in a calm voice. She knew it would be hard to change her sister's mindset all at once, but she intended to change her gradually.

Seeing Luo Shu's slightly displeased expression, Luo Shan didn't dare persuade her further. Sister seemed to be truly different from before.

The middle-aged uncle, seeing that Luo Shu was looking at him, cleared his throat and said, "Aunt Chen on the back street, I think she has a house for rent. Wait here for a moment; I'll have a worker accompany you to have a look." He had overheard the conversation between the two sisters, but he didn't look down on them. Instead, he admired the young girl who had sold him the ginseng.

"Then we really thank you, Uncle!" Luo Shu and Luo Shan said, smiling gratefully.

The middle-aged uncle waved at the apprentice, who was busy arranging the medicinal herbs. "Shunzi, come over here."

"Coming!" Li Shun quickly set down the herbs he was holding and ran over.

"Take them to Aunt Chen's place behind the street to see if there's any room for rent," the middle-aged uncle said, pointing to Luo Shu and her companion.

"Alright!" Li Shun nodded, stepped out from behind the counter, and said to Luo Shu and her companion, "You can follow me." This town is different from the countryside; many people rent out spare rooms in their homes to increase their income, especially to those in business.

Following Li Shun through twists and turns, they arrived at a small courtyard. Li Shun stepped forward and knocked on the door.

The door was opened swiftly, and a spirited elderly woman in her fifties or sixties peeked out. She smiled upon seeing Li Shun. "Shunzi, what brings you to my place?" She often went to Jimin Pharmacy to buy medicines, which made her quite familiar with Li Shun.

"Aunt Chen, I've brought these two young ladies to inquire about renting a room in your house," Li Shun said with a smile.

At his words, Aunt Chen turned her attention to the Luo sisters standing behind Li Shun, sizing them up and down. "Is it just the two of you ladies living here?" She'd been wanting to rent out the room for a while but had not taken a liking to any potential renters, so it had remained vacant. Though the girls' clothes were a bit tattered, they appeared clean.

"And our brother," Luo Shu added. Luo Zheng was not boarding at school and had to walk home every day after classes; by the time he reached home, it was already dark. The next morning, he had to leave very early, which was a real hardship.

Jiansen had actually planned to make Luo Zheng drop out of school, but Luo Zheng insisted on finishing middle school, so Jiansen tried to force his hand by this means. But Luo Zheng was stubborn and preferred to walk dozens of miles each day rather than quit school.

"Well then, come in and take a look at the room," Aunt Chen said, stepping aside to let them enter.

"Aunt Chen, I won't go in; we're quite busy at the store. The shopkeeper asked me to give you a message to spend more time taking Uncle Chen out for walks, as it's good for his health," Li Shun mentioned.

Aunt Chen nodded with a smile, "Alright! Thank Liu the Shopkeeper for his concern." If it weren't for her husband's health issues, she wouldn't have considered renting out their room.

Following Aunt Chen into the courtyard, Luo Shu looked around. The yard wasn't very big; besides the roughly fifteen square meters of open space, there were only three flat rooms and a woodshed, obviously serving as a kitchen. There were tenants in the rooms on the east and in the center, which left the room on the west side empty. That must be the one intended for them.

Indeed, Aunt Chen led them to the room on the west side and, opening the door, said, "This is the one, have a look."

The room was about ten square meters, with nothing in it but a kang bed. However, the cement walls were coated with a layer of white lime, making it look very clean.

Luo Shu turned to Aunt Chen, "How much is the rent for the room?" This room was somewhat larger than the one in the Luo family's home where she lived.

"Eight yuan per month, and you can use the kitchen to cook," Aunt Chen said. There was only one kitchen in her house, which wasn't very convenient, but for the sake of money, it had to do.

"Then I'll pay you six months' rent in advance." Luo Shu took out five ten-yuan bills from her pocket and handed them to Aunt Chen.