Before Yi Jin could finish speaking, Jiang Shuiyun interrupted her, "You have an injury on your foot, be good."
Yi Jinbai stopped talking. Jiang Shuiyun felt the hands around her neck, straightened up, and carried him on her back. She told Yi Jinbai to take a blanket so that if it was still raining when they went out, it would provide some shelter.
Perhaps God had had enough of rain all day, because the rain had stopped when Jiang Shuiyun carried Yi Jinbai outside.
Just like when they came, Jiang Shuiyun carried Yi Jinbai back step by step. The two of them still didn't speak, but the silence didn't seem out of place in the quiet night.
When she came, the road seemed very long, but when she returned, it seemed much shorter. When Jiang Shuiyun reached the alley entrance, she heard a commotion around her. Even though it was late at night, the neighbors were still standing in the alley talking amongst themselves. But when they saw Jiang Shuiyun and Yi Jinbai, the chatter subsided.
When Jiang Shuiyun reached her own doorstep, she realized what had happened: her house was on fire.
Jiang Shuiyun then realized that she had left in such a hurry that she hadn't turned off the lights or even the gas stove. The water in the pot had boiled away, and the pot had caught fire. The fire quickly spread and set the house on fire. Fortunately, a neighbor noticed something was wrong and called the fire department, preventing even greater damage.
After thanking the firefighters and neighbors and seeing everyone off, Jiang Shuiyun and Yi Jinbai sat in their charred home. Looking at Yi Jinbai, who was looking down and feeling sad, Jiang Shuiyun tentatively patted Yi Jinbai's shoulder and said, "It's good that we're alright."
Chapter 7
After letting Yi Jinbai rest, Jiang Shuiyun checked the remaining items in the house. Her computer on the table was completely destroyed, and the wardrobe not far from the kitchen was burned to a crisp. The only thing that was still intact was the bed, which was furthest away, but it was blackened by soot. Fortunately, Jiang Shuiyun found the original owner's remaining jewelry in the bedside drawer, and it was still intact.
After putting everything back in its place, Jiang Shuiyun took out the relatively intact mattress from the bed and covered Yi Jinbai with it to prevent him from catching a cold.
There wasn't much left. Jiang Shuiyun looked at the completely broken computer. This computer was bought by the original owner for more than 200,000 yuan specifically for playing games. The computer played a crucial role in his ability to rank up so quickly and reliably in such a short time. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to buy another one now. If he didn't pass the team recruitment this time, he might have to give up the game option temporarily without a computer.
But it's okay, we can always find a job. Jiang Shuiyun met Yi Jinbai's gaze and smiled reassuringly, "It's alright, it's getting late, let's rest for a while and clean up the mess when it gets light."
They turned the blackened blanket over, with the clean side facing up, and laid it on the half-burnt and still damp sofa. Jiang Shuiyun and Yi Jinbai squeezed under the same mattress to rest for the time being; they were simply too exhausted.
Jiang Shuiyun didn't expect that the landlord would arrive even before Li Ming.
When the Jiang family went bankrupt, Jiang Shuiyun was penniless. All her properties, cars, and other assets were frozen. With nowhere else to turn, she relied on Yi Jinbai to spend all her money to rent this house in this urban village. Unexpectedly, before the lease was up, they burned down the house.
The landlord was a middle-aged man with a loud voice. He started shouting even before Jiang Shuiyun entered the gate, and Jiang Shuiyun, who had barely slept all night, was also woken up. As soon as she stepped out the door, she was met with a barrage of insults.
Yi Jinbai was also awakened by the landlord and quickly tried to get out by holding onto the sofa.
Hearing the sound, Jiang Shuiyun turned around and helped Yi Jinbai. The landlord, who had been ignored, became even angrier and raised his voice even higher.
Jiang Shuiyun, who had never seen anything like this before, frowned slightly and helped Yi Jinbai, who was trying to apologize despite his injured foot. "I'll handle this. You sit here and rest for a while."
“No,” Yi Jinbai retorted to Jiang Shuiyun with such conviction for the first time, but his momentum weakened again after he finished speaking, “Hitting people is illegal.”
Jiang Shuiyun then understood why Yi Jinbai was so adamant about not letting her handle it. Based on Yi Jinbai's impression of the original owner, he might have resorted to violence over a few words. The old man was so old; if something happened to him, who knew what the consequences would be.
Jiang Shuiyun helped Yi Jinbai sit down on the only intact chair outside the door and patted her shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't act impulsively."
Under Yi Jinbai's worried gaze, Jiang Shuiyun took out the intact jewelry box from the blackened drawer. This was the only thing the original owner had left. Fortunately, it was far from the fire source and protected by the drawer, so it was undamaged.
A group of neighbors had already gathered outside the door. Jiang Shuiyun looked at the landlord, who was still complaining to the neighbors, and walked over with her jewelry box.
“This fire was indeed due to my momentary negligence, which caused some damage to your house. You…” Jiang Shuiyun had just started to speak when the landlord seemed to have found some leverage against her, and suddenly became even more aggressive and intimidating.
"Of course it's your fault! I rented this perfectly good house to you, and you've ruined it like this in just a few days. You should take full responsibility!"
Jiang Shuiyun looked at the landlord with calm eyes, watching his momentum gradually weaken before speaking again, "Are you finished? If you're finished, it's my turn to speak. I will take full responsibility for the losses this time. You can choose to let me repair it for you, or calculate the repair costs and I will pay for them."
"You should have paid for it in the first place!"
The landlord wanted to yell again, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he saw Jiang Shuiyun's eyes, which had remained unchanged from beginning to end, and felt a sudden chill. "Ahem, it's best if you're willing to pay, but I'm telling you, you can forget about living in this house from now on. Give me the money, I'll fix it myself, and you'd better move out today."
"Okay, you can start settling the costs now. But let me remind you, I've already settled all the costs for the damage to your house. If the difference is too large, I can choose to refuse to pay compensation."
Jiang Shuiyun genuinely didn't know the rules for renting a house, so she could only guess and draw a circle around the compensation range she could accept, giving advance notice to avoid the landlord making exorbitant demands.
The landlord's lips moved slightly, he snorted coldly, and walked past Jiang Shuiyun to take stock of the losses.
Jiang Shuiyun also turned back and stood at the doorway waiting for him to take inventory. Feeling her clothes being tugged, Jiang Shuiyun looked down at Yi Jinbai, "What's wrong?"
"The remaining rent is around 2,500 yuan, and the deposit I paid is 5,000 yuan, and so on..."
Just as Yi Jinbai was reminding Jiang Shuiyun not to forget the money, the sharp-eared landlord overheard it and immediately ran out from inside.
"You burned down my house, and you still want the deposit and rent? Dream on! The deposit was to ensure you wouldn't damage my house. Now that my house is damaged, you..."
Jiang Shuiyun had truly run out of patience with this landlord this time. "So you mean you don't want our compensation and just want to keep the deposit and rent? Okay, Jinbai, let's go."
"no……"
The landlord didn't expect that his words had dug a hole for himself. Seeing that Jiang Shuiyun and the other person were about to leave, he quickly came out to stop them.
Just as the landlord was rambling on, Jiang Shuiyun's phone rang. She glanced at it and saw it was an unknown number without any identifier. "Quiet."
Jiang Shuiyun was used to giving orders all the time, and this commanding tone made the landlord reflexively shut up. The surroundings finally quieted down, and Jiang Shuiyun then answered the call.
"Excuse me, are you Ms. Jiang Shuiyun?"
"It's me."
"Your resume has passed the initial screening and we still need to conduct an on-site interview. When would you be available?"
"Now."
Jiang Shuiyun glanced at the time; after all this commotion, it was exactly eight o'clock in the morning.
"Okay, may I schedule an on-site interview for you at 9:00 AM today?"
"Can."
"Okay, we look forward to your timely arrival. If it's inconvenient for you, our company can also provide a pick-up service. Would you like that?"
“Yes, we need to,” Jiang Shuiyun glanced at Yi Jinbai beside her, “and also, may I bring a family member with me?”
"Yes, family members can wait in the reception area. Just to confirm again, is your address the same as on your resume?"
"Yes, thank you."
"You're welcome. If you have any further questions, please call this number back. Thank you for choosing our company. Goodbye."
"goodbye."
Jiang Shuiyun hung up the phone and finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was still thinking that if her computer burned out and she failed this time, she should consider giving up on the game. But it seems that she doesn't need to find another way for the time being.
"This is?"
Yi Jinbai asked Jiang Shuiyun hesitantly, since Jiang Shuiyun had just mentioned family members, so it must be her, right?
"I've found a job, but I still need to go through an interview. A car will be picking me up later. You can come with me. If I can sign the contract, there won't be any major problems."
Jiang Shuiyun gently patted Yi Jinbai's head; the good news had come at just the right time.
"Now that you've found jobs, my compensation..."
The landlord, not to be outdone, jumped out.
"Have you finished your estimate? The amount you estimate will be reduced by the remaining rent and security deposit, and only then will compensation be awarded. If you choose not to return the remaining rent and security deposit, then I think we have nothing more to discuss and will have to take legal action."
Although Jiang Shuiyun had never rented a house before and didn't know much about this, she was sure that going through legal channels would be fair and reasonable. She originally wanted to resolve the matter quickly, but since the landlord was so persistent, there was nothing she could do.
Yi Jinbai nodded in agreement, "Moreover, if the landlord evicts the tenant during the rental period, they should pay a penalty, which is clearly stated in the contract."
"You..." The landlord hadn't expected the situation to turn so unfavorable for him, so he could only accept his loss. "Fine, fine, I'll take it easy, okay? Everything in this house, big and small, needs to be replaced, and we need to renovate and reinforce it. All in all, after deducting the 7,500 yuan rent and deposit, you can give me another 5,000 yuan, okay? I'll take the loss in this!"
Jiang Shuiyun didn't have a precise idea of how much these things were worth, so she could only look at Yi Jinbai. Yi Jinbai shook his head, "At most two thousand five. The furniture that was burned was all old furniture, so you can't calculate the price as if it were new furniture. Besides, the amount I'm giving you is already enough for your interior and exterior renovations, based on the extent of your previous renovations."
After glancing at Jiang Shuiyun, Yi Jinbai continued, "According to the contract, we only need to bear the losses. The compensation of 10,000 yuan is already far too much."
"And all my furniture is antique!"
When the landlord heard that the rent was 2,500 yuan less, he immediately objected.
"An antique with a 20-year history?"
Jiang Shuiyun really felt that this landlord would say anything to get more money.
The landlord, unable to get more money and fearing that he would reduce the amount further, reluctantly agreed, saying, "Two thousand five hundred it is, I'll give it to you now, and you can move out after I give it to you."
The compensation was settled, and now all that was left was the money. Jiang Shuiyun glanced at the time. Luckily, she had left the owner's phone number when she went to the pawnshop last time. She explained that she had a lot of things to sell and it was inconvenient for her to go out, and the owner readily agreed to the payment.
It wasn't far to begin with, and within minutes the pawnshop owner arrived, greeting Jiang Shuiyun with a smile.
He handed the jewelry box to the pawnshop owner, saying, "Please give me an estimate."
"Oh dear," the pawnshop owner opened the package, glanced at it, and then said with a glint in his eye, "Friend, you really sold it all? If you sell it now, you won't be able to buy it back at this price later."
"The boss can give an estimate."
Jiang Shuiyun never intended to buy it back.
"Okay, don't let these prices make your heart bleed. I'll give you a higher estimate for this one, ten thousand. This one, eight thousand. This one, twelve thousand. This one..."
As the pawnshop owner quoted a price, Yi Jinbai couldn't help but grab Jiang Shuiyun's clothes. These items had cost at least a million yuan when they were bought, and they were all popular and trendy items. Now, they had suddenly shrunk by a tenth of their original value.
"Please give me the money, then I'll take the items."
The pawnshop owner was well-prepared and settled the transaction on the spot. After all, such a good item at such a low price was practically a windfall.
"good."
Jiang Shuiyun counted the money, put it in the bag the pawnshop owner brought, took out two thousand five hundred and handed it to the landlord, "We're even now, where's the contract?"
The money has been paid, and the contract has officially expired; that's considered the end of the matter.
After confirming that nothing was missing, the car from Shengguangji □□ that was there to pick them up arrived at the door.
Jiang Shuiyun held Yi Jinbai's hand and sat in the car, taking one last look at the alleyway. "Let's go."
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 04:31:28 on April 7, 2022 and 04:41:28 on April 10, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 17622433 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 8
The Shengguang Group building wasn't far away; we arrived in no time.
Jiang Shuiyun helped Yi Jinbai out of the car. She originally wanted to carry her on her back, but Yi Jinbai firmly refused. In addition, she had been taking medicine and applying ointment for the past two days, and her condition was not as serious as it had been at the beginning, so Jiang Shuiyun let her go.
As she climbed the steps, Jiang Shuiyun was led to the reception area to settle Yi Jinbai in before preparing for her interview.