Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

What made Zhao Nuanyue even more reluctant was that the house was the only thing their father had left them.

”Sis, it’d be a shame to sell such a nice house,” Zhao Nuanyang said with a frown. ”One of the courtyards is a garden. There are no buildings in it, so it’s not livable, but we could plant some vegetables there next spring. The front courtyard has the main house and the east and west wings, so there are plenty of rooms. Even if Zhao Jinghai’s family moved in, there’d be enough space for them and us, but we can’t let them stay. It’s easy to invite someone in, but much harder to get them to leave. Why don’t we rent the house out instead?”

Zhao Nuanyue was taken aback. After a moment’s thought, she said, ”Does anyone even rent houses these days? Isn’t housing assigned to everyone?”

”You’re right, very few individuals rent, but we could rent it to the neighborhood committee,” Zhao Nuanyang said. ”I saw that their office is planning to widen the road and carry out some urban renewal. They’ve been without a proper office space, crammed into a small alleyway.”

”Huh?” Zhao Nuanyue was astonished. She passed by there every day. Now that she thought about it, it did seem like some people had started roadwork and were redirecting foot traffic. ”Nuanyang, how did you know that? I come here every day, and I can’t believe I never thought of this solution!”

”You only just saw Guo Dongmei yesterday,” Zhao Nuanyang said with a smile. ”She’s not about to resort to murder or arson. Besides, this isn’t the kind of neighborhood where just anyone can come and cause trouble; it’s quite respectable. And as for the Hua family, she’s so desperate to marry into the Li family that she can’t distance herself from the Hua family fast enough. Therefore, Guo Dongmei’s only option is to go after our stepfather’s family. As for how I knew about the neighborhood committee’s situation... heh, it’s because one of my colleagues is the director’s son. I just overheard him talking about it.”

Zhao Nuanyue was pleasantly surprised. ’So, without me even realizing it, my little brother has already matured so much.’

’This is wonderful!’

”Nuanyang, let’s do it. We’ll rent out the front courtyard and live in the back. Even just the back courtyard has plenty of rooms, which is more than enough for us.” Zhao Nuanyue thought her brother’s idea was excellent. ”Ask your colleague tomorrow. If his mother is interested, we’ll rent it to the neighborhood committee.”

”How long should the lease be?” Zhao Nuanyang asked. ”If it’s too short, it won’t solve our problem. But if it’s too long, the back courtyard won’t be big enough once we both start our own families.”

Zhao Nuanyue thought for a moment, then answered, ”Let’s offer a five or ten-year lease. We can be flexible on the rent. The house is just sitting empty anyway. It’s not just a waste, we also have to worry about Zhao Jinghai’s family trying to take it over.”

”Okay, it’s settled then,” Zhao Nuanyang agreed with a nod, thinking the timeframe was perfect.

After the siblings made their decision, they left the hospital the next day and headed to their home by Qingya Lake, bringing Little Red Carp with them. When they arrived, they saw a middle-aged woman in simple gray clothes sitting by their door. She wore a neighborhood committee armband.

The woman was about fifty years old. Seeing Zhao Nuanyue stop her bicycle, she knew the owner of the house had arrived. She quickly stood up and smiled. ”Hello, I’m Zhang Dahong, the director of our local neighborhood committee. May I ask if you are Mr. Zhao, Zhao Nuanyue?”

’She’s very polite. No wonder she’s the director of the neighborhood committee.’

Zhao Nuanyue nodded with a smile. ”Yes, I’m Zhao Nuanyue. Director Zhang, you’re here about renting the house, I presume?”

”Yes, that’s right.” Zhang Dahong nodded eagerly. ”Since you’re so direct, I won’t beat around the bush. With the current road construction and urban renewal, our neighborhood committee has no office space. We’re crammed into a tiny alleyway, which is extremely inconvenient. I’ve been looking everywhere for a suitable place, but with no luck. My son heard the news from your brother at noon today and came back on his lunch break to tell me. I was so anxious to see it that I came right over.”

’As expected of a neighborhood committee director, she’s certainly a smooth talker.’

”Oh, alright then. Let’s go inside to talk, Director Zhang,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile, unlocking the door and inviting her in.

”Yes, yes.” Director Zhang was delighted. ”Let’s have a proper discussion.”

Zhao Nuanyue told Little Red Carp to go rest in the back courtyard, then she gave Director Zhang a tour of the front. ”Director Zhang, as you can see, our front courtyard is quite large. I can rent this entire section out to you. I’ll move all our things to the rooms in the back, so you can bring in your own office furniture.”

Director Zhang followed Zhao Nuanyue, inspecting the rooms one by one. They were indeed large and very spacious.

”Excellent, your courtyard is truly excellent. It meets all our committee’s requirements,” Director Zhang said with a soft chuckle, nodding repeatedly. ”It’s much, much better than that little alley we’re in now.”

”That’s right. There’s plenty of space to park bicycles, both by the entrance and inside the courtyard,” Zhao Nuanyue said. ”If you’re satisfied, shall we discuss the lease term and the rent?”

Director Zhang nodded. ’Zhao Nuanyue seems eager,’ she thought. ’We should be able to settle this today.’

”Mr. Zhao, as you know, we’re the neighborhood committee. We serve the local residents, so we can’t move our office frequently, or else people won’t be able to find us, which wastes time and delays important matters,” Director Zhang said earnestly. ”Therefore, we’re looking for a long-term lease, not just for a year or two, but for five or ten years.”

”That’s fine. This house is too big for just the three of us siblings anyway, so a long-term lease shouldn’t be a problem,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a nod, making her position clear.

Director Zhang was pleased. ’Her son and Nuanyue’s brother are colleagues,’ she mused, ’and we’ll be neighbors, living in the front and back courtyards. It’s only right to offer a higher rent.’

”Since it’s a long-term lease, we can offer a considerable rent. Let’s start with a five-year lease, with the rent paid annually. We can offer three hundred yuan a year, plus the equivalent of three hundred yuan in coupons,” Director Zhang said tentatively. ”What do you think?”

’Three hundred yuan a year works out to twenty-five yuan a month.’ It didn’t sound like a lot, but it was a decent sum considering the cost of living back then. Besides, Zhao Nuanyue’s primary motivation for renting wasn’t the income, but to keep Zhao Jinghai’s family out of her house.

”Deal!” Zhao Nuanyue nodded. ”After five years, my brother might be married and will need the front courtyard.” She nodded again. ”I’m very satisfied with the rent. However, I have one condition.”

”What condition?” Director Zhang asked, a little hesitant. After all, it was somewhat unusual for someone to rent out such a fine house.

Most people in this area would rather leave a house empty than rent it out.

Zhao Nuanyue thought for a moment and decided to be honest with Director Zhang. ”Director Zhang, you’ve worked for the committee for a long time, and we live in the area under your jurisdiction. This house was left to us by our biological father. After he died heroically in the line of duty, the house was put in our mother’s name. But after she remarried and became pregnant, our mother transferred the deed to my brother and me. So the house belongs to us now, and there are no ownership disputes. I just have one request: if my stepfather’s family comes and asks to live here, please just tell them that we have signed a formal contract and it cannot be changed.”