Chapter 14

The next day, after breakfast, Ye Xiaoyu and Lele began packing things together.

Water bottles, dried fruits, jump frogs, picture books — everything they might need for eating, drinking, and playing was stuffed into his little backpack.

Ye Xiaoyu took Lele’s hand and went to the third floor of the Yang family’s house. Little Lele knocked on the door by himself.

Knock knock knock, the door opened.

It wasn’t Old Lady Yang who opened the door, but a woman in her twenties. She looked somewhat like Old Lady Yang, petite with a friendly smile on her face. “Are you Lele’s mom, from upstairs?”

Old Lady Yang had mentioned to her about Lele coming over today, so she was expecting them.

“Yes, I’m Lele’s mom,” Ye Xiaoyu said. She had met Haohao several times, but it was her first time meeting his mother. She asked, unsure, “Are you Haohao’s mom?”

“Yes, I’m that little troublemaker’s mom.”

“Hello! I’m Ye Xiaoyu,” Ye Xiaoyu smiled and introduced herself. “I’ve heard so much about you from Grandma Yang. It’s nice to finally meet you. I didn’t expect Haohao’s mom to be so young and beautiful.”

Lele also greeted, “Auntie.”

“Ah! Lele is so well-behaved,” the young woman’s lips curled up as she chuckled, “I’m Yang Qian, Haohao’s mom. But I don’t know about being young. How old are you? Maybe I’m older than you!”

Ye Xiaoyu told her birthdate and realized that they were born in the same year, just a couple of months apart, so she was indeed a little older.

While the two women were chatting, little Haohao couldn’t wait any longer. He dashed out from the living room, grabbed Lele’s hand, and ran inside, calling out, “Aunt Ye, Lele and I are going to play!”

Ye Xiaoyu waved at them.

Yang Qian couldn’t help but laugh, “This little troublemaker is always so lively and can never stay still.”

“No matter how lively Haohao is, he knows manners. Qianqian, you’ve raised him very well. I’m actually hoping Lele will become a bit more lively. He’s sometimes too quiet.” She smiled, but the words might have sounded a bit too much like a humble brag.

They chatted for a few more minutes, and when Yang Qian invited Ye Xiaoyu in, Ye Xiaoyu quickly waved her hand to refuse. “I still have things to do today. Please take care of Lele with Grandma Yang.”

“Not at all, with Lele around, Haohao is so happy. It’s actually us troubling you by bringing Lele here.”

Then, Yang Qian watched Ye Xiaoyu leave.

Half an hour later, Old Lady Yang came back from the market. To entertain her grandson and little guests, she had bought quite a lot of vegetables, meat, and some seasonal fruits.

As soon as she entered the door, she saw the two children playing with trains in the living room, laughing and having a great time. The old lady smiled with satisfaction and called out to Lele, “Lele, here you can treat it like home. If you’re thirsty, eat some fruit, if you’re hungry, tell Grandma. Don’t be shy. Haohao, let Lele have some space.”

Haohao turned his back to his grandmother and wiggled his butt: “I won’t!”

“Thank you, Grandma Yang.”

Lele wasn’t the type to compete or fight; instead, he handed the toy gun he was holding to Haohao, and Haohao gave him a little soldier in return. The two children quickly began playing happily together.

Hearing the noise, Yang Qian walked out from the room and went to help her mother with the groceries. She took the opportunity to pull her mother into the kitchen. She poked her head out, ensuring that the children weren’t paying attention, then whispered, “Mom, do you know who lives on the fifth floor? Have you figured it out? Don’t just invite people’s kids over without knowing anything, or it’ll cause a whole lot of trouble.”

“You’re still young. I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice. I know how to judge people.” Old Lady Yang rolled her eyes at her daughter, then proceeded to tell her everything she knew about Ye Xiaoyu. Ye Xiaoyu hadn’t hidden any details about her background. “She’s raising a child alone, which isn’t easy.”

“A single mom?” Yang Qian said thoughtfully. She then sighed, “She’s beautiful, like one of those ladies from the Tang Dynasty, like Yang Guifei. I never thought someone could be so pretty even when they’re a bit overweight. Maybe her ex-husband divorced her because he thought she was too fat? He really has no taste.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Old Lady Yang, however, found her daughter’s guess to be somewhat reasonable. If someone had kicked a woman out of the house because of childbearing, their character was indeed questionable.

“This Ye Xiaoyu is a single mom, renting a house, and she’s eating out every day. Where is her money coming from? Could it be from that ex-husband who abandoned her? Even if it’s true, isn’t she afraid of running out of money like this? Mom, I know you’re kind-hearted, and Lele seems like a good kid, but when you interact with these neighbors, you need to be a bit more cautious. Just look at her demeanor; she doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.” Yang Qian spoke calmly.

“Alright, alright, I can’t argue with you,” Old Lady Yang was clearly convinced by her daughter’s reasoning, though she was still a bit stubborn. She gave Yang Qian a knock on the head. “I’ll be careful in the future, don’t bring it up again. The more you talk, the more unreasonable it sounds. Be careful, the kids might hear. Didn’t you say Lele is a good kid?”

The two of them left the kitchen and saw the children in the living room, laughing happily, which made them both feel relieved.

On the other side, Ye Xiaoyu had no idea that the mother and daughter were talking about her and her financial situation. Even if she did know, she could only smile awkwardly. Didn’t she know this already? But some things couldn’t be rushed. Besides, her trips around Yanjing city these days weren’t aimless; she had a clear goal — to earn her first bucket of gold.

Today’s destination was the train station. Near the station, there were still some old bus and taxi terminals that hadn’t been demolished.

As a first-tier city, Yanjing had a large number of migrant workers, probably only second to the coastal cities in the economic development zones, or the economic hub of Shanghai. Naturally, the train station was packed.

Ye Xiaoyu had been circling the station for many days.

It was clear that anything sold at the station would make a profit. There were many small shops and two market stalls in the area. Though the area was still somewhat disorganized and thieves were common, it was believed that in Ye Country, since 1995, infrastructure had improved every year.

She didn’t choose the relatively cheap and flexible stalls or the shops directly facing the station. Instead, her focus was on the row of shops on the left side of the station, which were older and had not yet been demolished.

There were two shops in particular, with lease contracts expiring at the end of November. The tenants, who had made a lot of money in Beijing, were preparing to return home to seek other livelihoods and wouldn’t be coming back to Yanjing next year. As the year was nearing its end, the landlord’s shops were temporarily unavailable for rent.

Ye Xiaoyu told the landlord she wanted to rent the place.

But her rental terms were different from others. She wasn’t interested in a long-term lease; she only wanted it until the 30th of the lunar year, meaning until February. While others were on holiday for the New Year, she would be working.

For the landlord, the shop had been empty for the last couple of months, so renting it to Ye Xiaoyu for a short period was better than leaving it vacant. He didn’t mind what she planned to do with the space.

If there were any legal issues, the police station was right across from them, making it convenient for the police to respond quickly. It was said that the police station had installed cameras imported from abroad, which could capture people’s faces clearly, unlike regular cameras. They could even monitor the shopfront.

This was the main reason Ye Xiaoyu chose this location — it had a police station and surveillance cameras.

Surveillance had only been introduced to Ye Country in the 1980s and was used on a small scale in the 1990s. However, Yanjing, being the capital, had already installed several surveillance systems this year.

Although this location wasn’t in the prime area, the foot traffic was still considerable. Trains were the primary mode of transportation between cities in this era. Not only during the Spring Festival, but even on normal days, the station could be overcrowded, and during the holidays, it would be impossible to get a seat, let alone a sleeper ticket.

Here, she could also capture some of the passenger flow from people taking short-distance buses or returning by public transport.

Ye Xiaoyu had been negotiating with the landlord for a while and finally made her offer: “The total rent is 5,000 yuan.”

“No way. My current rent is more than 5,000 yuan a month. You want to rent for two months? That’s impossible. This is a prime location by the station.”

“First of all, I’m not renting for two months, only for a little over a month. Your rent is too high. In such a short time, I’m worried I won’t make enough to cover it. Second, this 5,000 yuan is essentially extra income for you. Once the lease ends, I’ll leave the place clean and won’t affect your ability to rent it out next year.” Ye Xiaoyu clarified her terms and pointed to the shop next door, “If you don’t agree, I’ll look elsewhere. The shop next door is still available, and I’ve heard that the landlord has been unable to rent it out since November.”

Fine, 5,000 is fine, but you’ll need to pay for the electricity and other utilities yourself,” the landlord finally agreed, though he still seemed a little reluctant. “This is a prime location by the station. Young lady, you’re really good at negotiating.”

The contract was signed, and the shop was settled.

Ye Xiaoyu toured the shop and nodded in satisfaction. The reason she chose this shop over the one next door was simple: the previous tenant of the adjacent shop ran a restaurant.

Apart from the fact that the stove in the front occupied a large space, the shop next door wasn’t as suitable. In contrast, this shop had previously been used for selling general goods, and there was a wooden partition in the middle. On the right side of the partition, there was a small door, which not only served as a small storage area but could also be used as a temporary rest area with a bed.

This setup required no renovation and was perfect for her needs.

After securing the shop, Ye Xiaoyu hailed a cab and rushed to her next destination—a paper factory.