Chapter 45: That’s Right, I’m the Landlord
Author: Black Lantern (黑色花灯)
Link: https://book.qidian.com/info/1009922190
Translated by Gumihou
Ma Cuihua pushed open a door. Behind the door was a short corridor that lead to a glass door.
After pushing the glass door open, Ma Cuihua pursed her lips and said, “Well, this is the kitchen. Everything is pretty complete. What do you think?”
Ye Fei walked into the kitchen. He stood beside Ma Cuihua and surveyed the kitchen. He was so happy that he nearly jumped with joy. Huge!
If Ye Fei had to describe this kitchen in one word, it would be huge!
Ye Fei made some rough estimations and concluded that this kitchen was at least 60 square meters wide. It was also very beautifully renovated and clean.
Inside, were all kinds of kitchen equipment, from permanent features like a state-of-the-art cooker hood, to small electrical appliances meant to facilitate cooking. The kitchen cabinets were all in sea blue colour, which gave people a very relaxing, ocean-like ambience.
“Well [1]?” Ma Cuihua prompted again.
Ye Fei smiled, “Very nice, I’m very happy with it. I want this place. But, I guess for this kind of luxury mansion, the monthly rental should be quite expensive, right?”
Ma Cuihua said, “HX¥24,000 per month. However, since you’re an old customer, you can have it for HX¥20,000, what do you think? Good?”
Ye Fei looked at Ma Cuihua strangely. He thought: Was the relationship between Ma Cuihua and the owner of this place that good? For Ma Cuihua to help him get a discount of HX¥4,000 right off the bat… Surely she must know that HX¥4,000 is no small amount? His shabby little room might be shabby, but the rent was only HX¥1,000 per month. That 4,000 is several months’ worth of rent, you know?
“HX¥20,000, ah?” Ye Fei said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Ma Cuihua made a tsking sound, “What? Too expensive? You’re the one who said you’re looking for a bigger place, nicely furnished with a big kitchen. I happened to know a place that more or less fits your description. The furniture here is all fairly new, so you can move in immediately.”
Ye Fei smiled bitterly in his heart. Your mom. Here, daddy thought that having HX¥100,000 in my pocket was a big deal. Who would have thought that monthly rent alone would cost me HX¥20,000? Moreover, HX¥4,000 had been generously taken off the price tag. That discount alone is worth several months’ worth of rent in my old place, ah.
Money, daddy needs more money!
Talking about money matters might be vulgar, but it is this vulgar thing that can improve one’s quality of life, ah.
For the first time in his life, Ye Fei developed a compulsion to make money.
Ye Fei privately howled: I must make money! I must become a successful broadcaster, the best in Yinzhou, [1] the best in Hua Xia, the best in the world!
“Alright, how do I pay?”
Ye Fei really liked this place. Perhaps it was because he had never seen such a large living space before. Perhaps it was because he had never seen such luxury or such decorations. At any rate, Ye Fei was 120% satisfied with this place.
Ma Cuihua said, “It’s a 2 plus 1 [2]. If it’s anyone else, 1 year’s advance. However, since you’re an old customer, I gave you some preferential treatment.”
Ye Fei nodded, “Alright, I’ll take it. May I speak with the landlord? I’ll pay him right now and go through all the formalities.”
Ma Cuihua paused. She really had not expected Ye Fei to really rent this place. [1] Even with the discount, HX¥20,000 a month was not something that even a gold collar worker could easily afford.
Moreover, Ye Fei’s original rent of HX¥1,000 was always a month or so in arrears. Just when did he become so arrogant and reckless? Something must be wrong somewhere.
“You sure you want to rent?” Ma Cuihua asked once more.
“Yes, I really want this place, so why not rent it?”
“Very well, since you wish to rent it, the total is HX¥60,000. Water and electricity bills are calculated separately, you pay as much as you use each month.”
“Alright,”
“You can pay now. Once you’ve paid, you can move in right away. Well, are you going to pay in cash or Tianxin Transfer?”
Ye Fei, “… …”
He looked at Ma Cuihua again. He felt that Ma Cuihua had a little too much decision-making power over this place.
Seeing Ye Fei’s stare, Ma Cuihua said, “What are you looking at? Hand over the money, ah. If you don’t pay right away, auntie will raise the price.”
“No, that is, I was just thinking that this is a really nice place. If I want to rent it, surely I should sign a rent agreement or contract with the landlord? Surely it’s not right for me to just hand over the money to you right away like this?”
“What are you talking about? Are you afraid that this auntie will cheat you?”
“No, no, no, how could such a benevolent and kind-hearted person like Sister Ma cheat me? I just want to meet the owner. In the future, if I happen to have questions or require assistance, it would be easier to contact him, right?”
Ma Cuihua crossed her arms under her chest and leaned against the door frame. “I am the owner of this house.”
Ye Fei, “… …”
Shocked. He was really shocked.
He knew that Ma Cuihua had an entire building rented out. 6 rooms per floor and 12 floors in total, which could generate quite a lot of income. Even so, a luxury mansion in Yinzhou City cost quite a lot of money. Considering how new the furniture was, he estimated that this mansion must have been bought and renovated quite recently.
According to the current housing prices in Yinzhou, a single house could cost HX¥20,000 to HX¥30,000 per square meter. This house should be about 200 square meters, that meant it should cost about 5 million yuans at least on the low side. Does collecting rent alone earn her so much money?
Ye Fei was very shocked.
However, at the same time, he also felt a little depressed. Here he thought he had left his former drabby nest along with Ma Cuihua. Who would have thought that he would be renting from her again? Are you saying that daddy could never escape her eagle’s claw?
“A little unexpected?” seeing Ye Fei’s shocked appearance, Ma Cuihua was very satisfied.
Ye Fei honestly nodded and said, “Really unexpected, ah. Sister Ma, you’re too wealthy. This house should cost around 4 or 5 million yuans, right?”
“En, that’s the price of the house. If you take into consideration the renovations and furniture, it’s more than 6 million but not more than 7 million,” said Ma Cuihua indifferently.
When Ye Fei heard this, his legs went weak. He nearly collapsed to the ground. More than 6 million but less than 7? Just look at the relaxed way you spit out those numbers. That’s still a lot of money, ah. Why does it sound like nothing in your eyes?
Right then, Ye Fei had the sudden urge to let Ma Cuihua take care of him for life. If he stuck himself to a rich lady like her, would he even need to work as a broadcaster? All he had to do was stay at home and comfortably serve Ma Cuihua. Whenever his services were not needed, he could just do whatever he liked.
However, as soon as the idea formed in his head, it was swiftly killed off by Ye Fei. After all, as a big man, how could he rely on a woman for food? En, absolutely cannot. Moreover, Ma Cuihua was probably not willing to raise him.
“The thing is, ah, Sister Ma. Can I also delay the rent for 10 days to half a month, just like before?” Ye Fei asked in a small voice, flashing a secret glance at Ma Cuihua.
When she heard this, Ma Cuihua’s beautiful eyes widened and she snapped, “You dare! Auntie already rented this place to you at cabbage price and you still dare to renege on my rent? You go outside now and find out. Can you get rent such a large and beautifully furnished house for the shitty price of HX¥20,000!”
“Sister Ma, please don’t be anxious. I’m just saying. Don’t worry, I’ll transfer the money to you now. Could you give me a receipt?”
“No receipt,”
“… …”
No receipt? M*therf*cker, this is renting a whole house, ah. Why does it sound more like a scam? If, once I give you the money but later found out that this house didn’t actually belong to you and you run off with my money, who do I cry to, ah?”
“Sister, my dear blood sister, ah. You can also give me a written note if you don’t have a receipt, ah.”
“Don’t have that either. Are you going to pay or not? If not, you can just get out.”
“… …”
Ye Fei really felt like an unwanted dog. Hey, aren’t I a potential tenant? That means I’m your customer, you know? Isn’t there a saying that ‘Customer is God?’ Why does it feel like you’re the one acting like God, ah?
“You guarantee that I can live here after I paid?”
“What? You don’t trust this auntie?”
“No, no, I admire Sister Ma’s character very much,”
“What admire? If you trust me, hand over the money. Quickly now, I still have something to do later.”
In the end, Ye Fei still coughed out the HX¥60,000 to Ma Cuihua.
After receiving an alert from Tianxin, Ma Cuihua took out her phone. After a glance, she threw the bunch of keys at Ye Fei and said, “There are too many rooms here. I don’t know which key belongs to which room. Wait until you have moved in to match them. Also, it’s best if you don’t let other people stay here, otherwise, it would become too messy. Take good care of the furniture, especially the wardrobe and sofa. These are all brand-name goods. If you break them, you’ll have to compensate me at the original price. Be sure to open the windows every day to ventilate, otherwise, the room would smell mouldy. You may replace the pots and pans as you like, but not the cooker hood. I bought that for a few tens of thousands of yuans.”
Why on earth would I want to replace your cooker hood that costs several tens of thousands of yuans? I might as well let you change my head.
After wandering through the rooms once again, Ye Fei felt that he really like this place.
While Ye Fei was poking around the room, Ma Cuihua said, “Are you done? You happy with it? If you’re happy with it, let’s go, I still have something to do later.”
Ye Fei waved a hand at her, “If you have something to do, you can go first. Since I’ve already paid both rent and deposit, I can stay here.”
“No, this aunt still needs your support for something. Come on, quickly now.”
With that, Ma Cuihua left the condo.
Ye Fei looked at Ma Cuihua’s rapidly disappearing figure and wondered: Want my support? What is she talking about?
[Gumihou: Uh, well, I have a few theories…]
[1] Some small corrections.
[2] 2+1 = 2 months deposit + 1 month rent
In short, you are required to pay 3 months’ worth of rent at once, with 2 months as a deposit. This is insurance for the landowner in case you suddenly decided to skip town, cause damage to the place or leave without paying the utilities.
d to a glass door.
After pushing the glass door open, Ma Cuihua pursed her lips and said, “Well, this is the kitchen. Everything is pretty complete. What do you think?”
Ye Fei walked into the kitchen, stood beside Ma Cuihua and surveyed the kitchen. He was so happy that he nearly jumped with joy. Huge!
If Ye Fei had to describe this kitchen in one word, it would be huge!
Ye Fei made some rough estimations and concluded that this kitchen was at least 60 square meters wide. It was also very beautifully renovated and clean.
Inside, were all kinds of kitchen equipment, from permanent features like a state-of-the-art cooker hood, as well as other small electrical appliances meant to facilitate cooking. The kitchen cabinets were all in sea blue colour, which gave people a very relaxing, ocean-like atmosphere.
“Well [1]?” Ma Cuihua prompted again.
Ye Fei smiled, “Very nice, I’m very happy with it. I want this place. But, I guess for this kind of luxury mansion, the monthly rental should be quite expensive, right?”
Ma Cuihua said, “HX¥24,000 per month. However, since you’re an old customer, you can have it for HX¥20,000, what do you think? Good?”
Ye Fei looked at Ma Cuihua strangely. He thought: Was the relationship between Ma Cuihua and the owner of this place that good? For Ma Cuihua to help him get a discount of HX¥4,000 right off the bat… Surely she must know that HX¥4,000 is no small amount? His shabby little room might be shabby, but the rent was only HX¥1,000 per month. That 4,000 is several months’ worth of rent, you know?
“HX¥20,000, ah?” Ye Fei said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Ma Cuihua made a tsking sound, “What? Too expensive? You’re the one who said you’re looking for a bigger place, nicely furnished with a big kitchen. I happened to know a place that more or less fits your description. The furniture here is all fairly new, so you can move in immediately.”
Ye Fei smiled bitterly in his heart. Your mom. Here, daddy thought that having HX¥100,000 in my pocket was a big deal. Who would have thought that monthly rent alone would cost me HX¥20,000? Moreover, HX¥4,000 had been generously taken off the price tag. That discount alone is worth several months’ worth of rent in my old place, ah.
Money, daddy needs money!
Talking about money matters might be vulgar, but it is this vulgar thing that can improve one’s quality of life, ah.
For the first time in his life, Ye Fei developed a compulsion to make money.
Ye Fei privately howled: I must make money! I must become a successful broadcaster, the best in Yinzhou, [1] the best in Hua Xia, the best in the world!
“Alright, how do I pay?”
Ye Fei really liked this place. Perhaps it was because he had never seen such a large living space before. Perhaps it was because he had never seen such luxury or such decorations. At any rate, Ye Fei was 120% satisfied with this place.
Ma Cuihua said, “It’s a 2 plus 1 [2]. If it’s anyone else, 1 year’s advance. However, since you’re an old customer, I gave you some preferential treatment.”
Ye Fei nodded, “Alright, I’ll take it. May I speak with the landlord? I’ll pay him right now and go through all the formalities.”
Ma Cuihua paused. She really had not expected Ye Fei to really rent this place. [1] Even with the discount, HX¥20,000 a month was not something that even a gold collar worker could easily afford.
Moreover, Ye Fei’s original rent of HX¥1,000 was always a month or so in arrears. Just when did he become so arrogant and reckless? Something must be wrong somewhere.
“You sure you want to rent?” Ma Cuihua asked once more.
“Yes, I really want this place, so why not rent it?”
“Very well, since you wish to rent it, the total is HX¥60,000. Water and electricity bills are calculated separately, you pay as much as you use each month.”
“Alright,”
“You can pay now. Once you’ve paid, you can move in right away. Well, are you going to pay in cash or Tianxin Transfer?”
Ye Fei, “… …”
He looked at Ma Cuihua again. He felt that Ma Cuihua had a little too much decision-making power over this place.
Seeing Ye Fei’s stare, Ma Cuihua said, “What are you looking at? Hand over the money, ah. If you don’t pay right away, auntie will raise the price.”
“No, that is, I was just thinking that this is a really nice place. If I want to rent it, surely I should sign a rent agreement or contract with the landlord? Surely it’s not right for me to just hand over the money to you right away like this?”
“What are you talking about? Are you afraid that this auntie will cheat you?”
“No, no, no, how could such a benevolent and kind-hearted person like Sister Ma cheat me? I just want to meet the owner. In the future, if I happen to have questions or require assistance, it would be easier to contact him, right?”
Ma Cuihua crossed her arms under her chest and leaned against the door frame. “I am the owner of this house.”
Ye Fei, “… …”
Shocked. He was really shocked.
He knew that Ma Cuihua had an entire building rented out. 6 rooms per floor and 12 floors in total, which could generate quite a lot of income. Even so, a luxury mansion in Yinzhou City cost quite a lot of money. Considering how new the furniture was, he estimated that this mansion must have been bought and renovated quite recently.
According to the current housing prices in Yinzhou, a single house could cost HX¥20,000 to HX¥30,000 per square meter. This house should be about 200 square meters, that meant it should cost about 5 million yuans at least on the low side. Does collecting rent alone earn her so much money?
Ye Fei was very shocked.
However, at the same time, he also felt a little depressed. Here he thought he had left his former drabby nest along with Ma Cuihua. Who would have thought that he would be renting from her again? Are you saying that daddy could never escape her eagle’s claw?
“A little unexpected?” seeing Ye Fei’s shocked appearance, Ma Cuihua was very satisfied.
Ye Fei honestly nodded and said, “Really unexpected, ah. Sister Ma, you’re too wealthy. This house should cost around 4 or 5 million yuans, right?”
“En, that’s the price of the house. If you take into consideration the renovations and furniture, it’s more than 6 million but not more than 7 million,” said Ma Cuihua indifferently.
When Ye Fei heard this, his legs went weak. He nearly collapsed to the ground. More than 6 million but less than 7? Just look at the relaxed way you spit out those numbers. That’s still a lot of money, ah. Why does it sound like nothing in your eyes?
Right then, Ye Fei had the sudden urge to let Ma Cuihua take care of him for life. If he stuck himself to a rich lady like her, would he even need to work as a broadcaster? All he had to do was stay at home and comfortably serve Ma Cuihua. Whenever his services were not needed, he could just do whatever he liked.
However, as soon as the idea formed in his head, it was swiftly killed off by Ye Fei. After all, as a big man, how could he rely on a woman for food? En, absolutely cannot. Moreover, Ma Cuihua was probably not willing to raise him.
“The thing is, ah, Sister Ma. Can I also delay the rent for 10 days to half a month, just like before?” Ye Fei asked in a small voice, flashing a secret glance at Ma Cuihua.
When she heard this, Ma Cuihua’s beautiful eyes widened and she snapped, “You dare! Auntie already rented this place to you at cabbage price and you still dare to renege on my rent? You go outside now and find out. Can you get rent such a large and beautifully furnished house for the shitty price of HX¥20,000!”
“Sister Ma, please don’t be anxious. I’m just saying. Don’t worry, I’ll transfer the money to you now. Could you give me a receipt?”
“No receipt,”
“… …”
No receipt? M*therf*cker, this is renting a whole house, ah. Why does it sound more like a scam? If, once I give you the money but later found out that this house didn’t actually belong to you and you run off with my money, who do I cry to, ah?”
“Sister, my dear blood sister, ah. You can also give me a written note if you don’t have a receipt, ah.”
“Don’t have that either. Are you going to pay or not? If not, you can just get out.”
“… …”
Ye Fei really felt like an unwanted dog. Hey, aren’t I a potential tenant? That means I’m your customer, you know? Isn’t there a saying that ‘Customer is God?’ Why does it feel like you’re the one acting like God, ah?
“You guarantee that I can live here after I paid?”
“What? You don’t trust this auntie?”
“No, no, I admire Sister Ma’s character very much,”
“What admire? If you trust me, hand over the money. Quickly now, I still have something to do later.”
In the end, Ye Fei still coughed out the HX¥60,000 to Ma Cuihua.
After receiving an alert from Tianxin, Ma Cuihua took out her phone. After a glance, she threw the bunch of keys at Ye Fei and said, “There are too many rooms here. I don’t know which key belongs to which room. Wait until you have moved in to match them. Also, it’s best if you don’t let other people stay here, otherwise, it would become too messy. Take good care of the furniture, especially the wardrobe and sofa. These are all brand-name goods. If you break them, you’ll have to compensate me at the original price. Be sure to open the windows every day to ventilate, otherwise, the room would smell mouldy. You may replace the pots and pans as you like, but not the cooker hood. I bought that for a few tens of thousands of yuans.”
Why on earth would I want to replace your cooker hood that costs several tens of thousands of yuans? I might as well let you change my head.
After wandering through the rooms once again, Ye Fei felt that he really like this place.
While Ye Fei was poking around the room, Ma Cuihua said, “Are you done? You happy with it? If you’re happy with it, let’s go, I still have something to do later.”
Ye Fei waved a hand at her, “If you have something to do, you can go first. Since I’ve already paid both rent and deposit, I can stay here.”
“No, this aunt still needs your support for something. Come on, quickly now.”
With that, Ma Cuihua left the condo.
Ye Fei looked at Ma Cuihua’s rapidly disappearing figure and wondered: Want my support? What is she talking about?
[Gumihou: Uh, well, I have a few theories…]
[1] Some small corrections.
[2] 2+1 = 2 months deposit + 1 month rent
In short, you are required to pay 3 months’ worth of rent at once, with 2 months as a deposit. This is insurance for the landowner in case you suddenly decided to skip town, cause damage to the place or leave without paying the utilities.
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