NOVEL WEB Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Are You Kidding Me?
Jiang Yan watched the expressions and gestures of the two people, thinking they would choose to give up, but to her surprise, He Chunmei bit her lip, vowing solemnly,
"Little sister, it's fine, I'll just have the elderly and children wear double-layer masks! If they get infected, we won't blame you!"
"Yeah, yeah, big sister, the key point is that other families don't have air conditioning installed. The budget hotels outside do have air conditioning, but my parents have some underlying health issues. Plus, we just saw in the owners' group that the D building has blood-sucking mosquitoes that can kill. So if we're next to the house, it's easier for us to take care of their meals and daily needs." Zhou Guangfu quickly added with an ingratiating smile, explaining away.
The couple was like a comic duo performing, with one setting up the jokes and the other delivering the punchlines.
Jiang Yan had nothing else to do at the moment, so she simply stood behind the door, quietly watching their performance.
Zhou Guangfu had just finished his piece when He Chunmei chimed in again, even starting to preach a big principle:
"Right, little sister, if that doesn't work, we could give you a bit more money. How about an extra hundred yuan per night for accommodation and electricity for the air conditioning? We'll bring a tent and won't stay long, we'll move back as soon as the air conditioning is installed the day after tomorrow.
For washing and using the toilet, they will come back to our own home to do it, and at mealtimes, we'll cook for you too, so you won't have to cook by yourself.
Besides, you know, we're all neighbors here, where we meet each other all the time. We ought to help each other out, especially since everyone has their difficult moments, don't you agree?"
He Chunmei's performance and lines were somewhat clumsy, and Jiang Yan finally couldn't stand it anymore.
"Uh-huh, big sister, you're right. Neighbors should indeed help each other out!"
She said this and then, with a change of tone and a sly glint in her eye, she added,
"Big sister, my credit card and mortgage are about to be overdue—how about you help me pay them off first?!"
He Chunmei, with a face full of smiles anticipating Jiang Yan's agreement to let them in, froze as the latter half of Jiang Yan's sentence hit her like a bucket of ice water. She choked up, her face turning a mottled mix of pale and flushed.
But she recovered quickly and raised her voice, saying, "Young girl, that's not the same thing, this—"
He Chunmei was cut off midway, the words "Are you kidding me?" not yet spoken, when Jiang Yan slammed the door shut with a bang and went back inside.
"This—"
He Chunmei, who was somewhat of a leader at work and the major breadwinner between her and her husband, making the decisions at home, had never been snubbed this way.
Unable to control her anger, she raised her foot to kick the door but, recalling Jiang Yan's icy gaze, it turned into a vicious stamp on the ground instead.
Zhou Guangfu gently patted her shoulder, trying to calm her down, "Alright, wife, I told you this approach wasn't right. After all, who wants to live with strangers?"
"But this is a crisis period! We're just borrowing the place for a day or two. Plus, I know the layout of our community. Her master bedroom has an en suite bathroom. I'm just bringing a tent to stay in the living room; it doesn't affect her at all!
And I'm offering her a hundred yuan a day for one room! Think about it, where are shared rental rooms that expensive?! Those interns at our workplace, staying in shared apartments in the community, they only pay fifteen hundred yuan for a four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment per month. That works out to only ten yuan per room per day!!"
"Alright, alright, wife, if she doesn't want to take us in, there's nothing we can do. Let's go back," Zhou Guangfu, seeking peace over conflict, quickly tugged at He Chunmei's sleeve.
"Hmph! What's there to be so arrogant about! She's clearly a shameless mistress supported by someone! I saw that man come with her to view the house! Otherwise, how could a young girl afford such a large apartment!! And every time I see her going out, she's all wrapped up. It's because she's got something to hide!" He Chunmei fumed.
"Alright, wife, keep your voice down, careful not to be overheard," Zhou Guangfu, now quite sober, urged her as she began to rant excessively.
"Let them hear, what am I afraid of! I mean, why did I end up with someone so cautious and unprofitable like you!" He Chunmei had nowhere else to direct her anger, so she took it out on Zhou Guangfu.
While speaking, she didn't forget to twist Zhou Guangfu's arm viciously.
The twist was so fierce, Zhou Guangfu winced in pain, but he couldn't say anything in response; he could only bear it and said,
"Alright, let's head home. My parents' pension comes out tomorrow. I'll talk to them about giving it all to you, okay? Don't be too angry, it's bad for your health, huh."
"That's more like it!" He Chunmei snorted coldly and thrust the cake plate into his hands, storming off into the house.
Jiang Yan did not hear their bizarre conversation; after she shut the door and went inside, she entered the Space.
In the Space's "Planting Area", the black soil was largely empty except for a few lonely rose plants here and there.
The pile of saplings she bought earlier was stacked off to one side, still not planted.
The saplings were in good condition, having only ceased growing.
In the white "Residential Area", apart from an Imperial Concubine Chair and a set of desks and chairs, there was nothing else.
Tomorrow, Jiang Yan would place her personally designed and custom-built luxury mobile Apple Cabin there.
The Apple Cabin featured a healing guesthouse design style and even included an outdoor swimming pool.
The room had three floors in total, adding up to over a thousand square meters, just occupying half the area of the white "Residential Area".
Standard Apple Cabins cost around 3000 yuan per square meter, but she had the other party use the best materials and finest furniture and accessories, such as Hansi Country bathroom fixtures, Noodle Country furniture, and Tuji Country carpets, which altogether cost almost 6000 yuan per square meter.
A bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, multimedia theater room, gym, outdoor swimming pool, and so forth were all equipped.
A holographic shooting range was also to be installed in the multimedia theater room, which accounted for the largest area of the space.
Tomorrow, Jiang Yan would also head to the warehouse in advance to take out part of the solar panels stored in the Space and have them installed directly on top of the Apple Cabin.
That way, once she moved the Apple Cabin into the Space's "Residential Area", she could transfer some of her living quarters there.
After staying in the Space for a while, Jiang Yan returned to her room.
She booked a car for the next day and, after setting the air conditioning to sleep mode, went to bed.
After wandering abroad for a month, she did indeed need a good night's sleep.
*
The next day, Jiang Yan woke up just after seven.
Checking the thermometer and the weather on her phone, the temperature outside had soared to a staggering 45 degrees.
She looked at a few other countries and cities and found that aside from a few desert regions with higher temperatures, the rest were not much different.
It was quite astonishing.
Curious about the public and official reactions, she decided to check the news first.
Just opening a well-known app, a few scorching hot posts quickly popped up, each with likes and comments exceeding a million.