Chapter 382 - Good Neighbors (2)
Chapter 382: Good Neighbors (2)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
He thought about it. His parents were still at work, so Xu Tui did not call them. He sensed with his mental perception and saw his parents and his own photo in the room. After confirming that this was the house his parents had rented, he probed the lock with his mind power and exerted a little force. The door opened.
In the face of materialized mind power, locks that did not reach a certain level were really useless.
Xu Tui’s eyes became moist the moment he entered the room.
The living conditions were much worse than he had imagined. It was a little narrow. There were two plug-ins on the wall. Xu Tui looked at them and tried them. The ceiling light in the bedroom was broken.
In the bathroom, the shower was also broken. In order to bathe, his parents had bought a new foldable bathtub. The drain in the basin was also broken. There was a basin at the bottom. There were a few layers of plastic bags covering the leak in the bathroom and kitchen. They should be used to prevent the sewer pipes from reeking.
…
Xu Tui felt an inexplicable sadness as he walked around.
Although the house in the past was small and old, it was very comfortable to live in. If anything broke and needed to be replaced, his parents would immediately replace it themselves. However, it was fine to spend some money to repair this rented house. However, you had to spend money to exchange for certain pipe items.
But what if the landlord stopped renewing the lease a year or two later and the rent increased?
This was probably the main reason why his parents, who had always been hardworking, did not completely clean up this rented room.
Xu Tui thought about it and called Zhuang Ziqiang.
“Brother Xu, if there’s anything, just tell me.”
“Help me look for suites around the Huaxia Genetic Evolution College. The estate has to be good and not too old. The area can’t be too small either. It needs to have three bedrooms and two living rooms. It would be best if there is a terrace or balcony, the kind that allows people to smoke secretly,” Xu Tui said.
“No problem! I’ll get it done immediately. However, Brother Xu, can you tell me if it was bought for you or someone of your age? I could choose the geographical location and the relevant backup facilities. Also, you can’t buy a house in the capital just because you want to. You have to have a household registration, authority, or…” Zhuang Ziqiang said.
“It’s for the two elders. It needs to be convenient. As for the purchase request, you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll settle it.”
“Alright, I’ll do it now.” Zhuang Ziqiang agreed readily.
In the Huaxia Sector, those who had Level D rights and above would have the right to purchase a house in the capital. This was another benefit of the system.
A place to live was easy to settle. Most importantly, he had to find something for his parents to do. Once this old man had nothing better to do, he would either have physical or mental problems. He had to arrange something or work for him.
As he considered this question, the sky gradually turned dark. It was 7:30 p.m.
Zhang Xiuli’s voice came from the door.
“Old Xu, don’t come and pick me up in the future. Go home directly after work. I’ll take the bus home too. You can still get home early this way. You were in a rush after work. Look at how tired you are.”
“It’s not that early. I’m just taking a detour to pick you up. Maybe after winter. After winter, the weather will be hot. If you squeeze into the bus again, I’ll drive my lousy car for a spin. I can even get a beautiful colleague occasionally.”
“How dare you! Ah… Improvement? Am I seeing things?”
Zhang Xiuli, who had just pushed open the door and entered, suddenly screamed. She was dumbfounded when she saw Xu Tui standing there.
His father, Xu Jianguo, came in. He was a little stunned when he saw Xu Tui suddenly appear. However, he was still the head of the family. He quickly closed the door.
“Improvement, why didn’t you tell us that you were coming back? We could have come back earlier and prepared something delicious for you,” Zhang Xiuli complained.
As she complained about Xu Tui, she pushed his father, Xu Jianguo, and said, “Look at you. Why are you still changing your shoes and clothes? Stop changing. Hurry up and go to the supermarket to buy meat and vegetables.
“Three lean and two fat pork belly and pork chops. If they have beef ribs, buy some beef ribs too. Also, buy some front leg meat. I’ll make buns for Improvement tomorrow morning. The front leg meat must be tender! Mushrooms, vegetables, carrots and beancurd skin. Don’t forget them!”
After a round of nagging, his mother, Zhang Xiuli, pushed his father, Xu Jianguo, out the door. Xu Tui felt extremely helpless. He had not even spoken to his father yet.
“I haven’t seen you in half a year. You’ve grown taller and thinner! Isn’t your school the best school in the country? Why is the food so bad? You even lost weight from hunger! I’ll send an anonymous complaint!”
They naturally had a late dinner.
Xu Tui’s favorite sweet and sour pork ribs and braised pork with potatoes were placed on the dining table at 9:30 p.m. His parents stopped asking Xu Tui all sorts of questions.
“Come, Improvement. Eat more.”
His mother, Zhang Xiuli, picked up a piece of red braised pork for Xu Tui. She had just picked it up when the sound of running water suddenly came from above her.
The sound of the water made it obvious that someone was peeing above their heads. A few moments later, there were even a few pops. It was even connected. It was followed by another crashing sound.
Xu Jianguo and Zhang Xiuli’s expressions turned awkward at the same time.
“The house upstairs has been changed to a small single room for rent. He just happened to change a bathroom above our dining room. This… I told the person above about it, it might be because we ate too late today. It’s fine. It’ll be fine in a while… It’ll be fine in a while…”
Xu Jianguo’s face turned red. He felt awkward. Zhang Xiuli lowered her head and was about to cry.
“Dad, Mom, it’s fine. Isn’t this a building?”
Xu Tui stuffed the red braised pork into his mouth and started chewing. He ate three to four pieces in a row.
“I haven’t eaten your braised pork in a long time. It’s so fragrant! Hey, this stewed sweet and sour pork is much more delicious than the sweet and sour pork fried in our school’s restaurant. It’s not greasy at all. Come, have a piece too. Don’t just watch me eat.”
The slight awkwardness dissipated silently.
Xu Tui felt nothing but sadness.
After the meal, the makeup made Zhang Xiuli happy for a while, but the Maotai made her complain for a while, saying that it was a waste of money.
“Come, Dad, let’s open a bottle and have a few drinks!”
“Okay!
The two elders were very happy when Xu Tui returned.
As they drank and chatted, they felt awkward several times. The sounds on the roof sounded like they were knocking on something above their heads. However, since they had already spoken, it did not matter anymore.
“Improvement, let me tell you. It’s much better than when we first started. When we first moved in, there were six or seven people in a room upstairs. They only returned at midnight. It was so noisy that we could not sleep at all.
“Your father and I wanted to move then. However, in the past few months, the tenants in our vicinity have been changing quite frequently. Furthermore, the more they change, the better they become.”
“Yes, it’s quite frequent. We’ve only been here for three to four months, but our neighbors have changed four to five times. However, the neighbors now are much more refined than before. Come, let’s drink!” Xu Jianguo said.
“That’s right. A family of five used to live in the house opposite ours upstairs. It was fine all in all, just that the children are too noisy. The sound of their footsteps was like a bell, making my head hurt. However, ten days ago, two young people who were said to be working in a car dealership moved in.
“It has become quiet. Sometimes, they would even drive their second-hand flying car to work. The way the flying car flew away was very eye-catching.”
A worker in a car dealership? He could drive a repulsive force flying car in the city? Xu Tui’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that. This seemed a little abnormal.
“They just moved here ten days ago? Are you close?” Xu Tui asked.
“Not really, but he’s a nice guy. He borrowed some repair tools from your dad the other day and gave him two boxes of cigarettes after he was done.”
After saying that, Zhang Xiuli glared at Xu Jianguo. “Your father is also useless. He actually accepted it!”
“Hey, isn’t this a relationship? Didn’t I send a plate of the braised pork you made two days later? It would be more convenient to have a good relationship with the neighbors. Just like our new neighbor who had just moved in above our heads. He was also very easy to talk to. I had only looked for him once, but he had never gone to the toilet during mealtimes! It was just a coincidence today.” Xu Jianguo felt a little awkward when he mentioned this.
“Looks like they’re all good neighbors. I’ll visit them tomorrow when I’m free! Come, Dad, let’s drink!”
That night, Xu Jianguo was drunk.