Chapter 194: 123, teasing Chen Shanhe! Refresh to reveal a bizarre new piece of information!_5
In the dream, he opened a very large antique store in the downtown area of the city where his hometown was located. Every day, the whole family was busy in the store, earning money while enjoying a relaxed lifestyle.
No worries, at peace with the world.
There was more money than they could ever spend, able to have whatever they wanted.
…
The following day.
Lin Mo deliberately switched to a different app and rented a business van with his own identity to head for Dongxia Village in Xijiang.
It was only when he arrived that he discovered how close it was to Qinglong Mountain, just less than 10 kilometers away.
He could even see the peak of Qinglong Mountain standing from a high place.
Number 184 Dongxia Village was a 3-story old house that looked precarious and hadn’t been maintained for a long time.
In those third-tier cities, no one would probably want such a dilapidated house.
But this is Rakshasa City, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, and as long as it’s a house with a reasonable price, there would be someone willing to live in it.
It could be reinforced and divided into small rooms for subletting, or even used as a warehouse for storing miscellaneous items.
The landlord’s phone number was posted above the door. After Lin Mo made the call, the person showed up not long after.
The landlord was an old man around 70, with a slight disability in his leg, causing him to limp as he walked.
He sized up Lin Mo, who was standing at the door, and asked, “Is it you who wants to rent the house?”
His accent was thick, but Lin Mo, having grown up in Rakshasa City, had no problem understanding it; in fact, he could speak some of the local dialect of Rakshasa City, though he hardly ever used it.
He nodded with a smile and said, “Yes, old man, I am looking to rent your house. How much are you asking for per month?”
“Isn’t it written on the paper?” the old man replied in not-so-fluent Mandarin after hearing that Lin Mo was not from Rakshasa City, “The annual rent is 55,000, a deposit of 20,000. The price is non-negotiable. I’ll take you inside for a look.”
Lin Mo did not refuse.
The two entered the house and began to look around.
The old man found it difficult to go upstairs, so he let Lin Mo go on his own while he waited outside.
The house was indeed large, a total of three floors, with a very spacious basement on the first floor that could easily accommodate four families at the same time. If some money were spent on refurbishment to divide it into smaller rooms, then the number of tenants could increase.
Even though there weren’t many factories around, it was quite close to the Xijiang metro station, and some workers who worked in the city would choose such suburban houses.
Even though it was a bit shabby, the price was cheap after all.
“Old man, how about a discount, 50,000 for one year? I’ll handle the renovation and buy any necessary furniture,” Lin Mo said, naturally not inclined to simply accept whatever price was stated.
He did have some money now, but that did not mean he was willing to waste it recklessly.
The sense of saving money was ingrained in his DNA.
5000 yuan off could buy a very nice smartphone.
Moreover, when renting a house, if you don’t haggle, others would find you strange!
The limping old man did not immediately agree or immediately object; instead, he asked, “What are you going to do with it? Sublet it?”
“At the moment, I’m not sure. It might be for renting out, or perhaps as a warehouse.” Lin Mo did not give a definite answer and continued, “Old man, the house is pretty old, and the basement is damp. I have to redo the flooring. What do you say, old man? 50,000 a year and a 20,000 deposit, as you requested.”
After some negotiation, Lin Mo finally secured the rights to the house for one year for 51,000 yuan.
The old man did not have WeChat or Alipay.
Lin Mo had no choice but to drive him to the bank to process the transfer, after which they signed a rental agreement.
When they returned to the village and Lin Mo dropped the old man off at his other house, the old man asked Lin Mo to wait for a while. He went to the field to pick a lot of fresh vegetables for Lin Mo.
They were not worth much, but it was a kind gesture.
Although Rakshasa City had a bit of a bad reputation for nit-picking, the majority of the people were actually quite nice.
Moreover, their nitpicking wasn’t just about looking out for themselves. Lin Mo had been reminded by the aunties in line behind him at the breakfast shop many times when he had been short-changed by a few cents or when there was a mistake in the bill.
Once all the procedures were completed, Lin Mo went to the hardware market to buy some tools needed for digging.
Shovels, jackhammers, hoes, electric cables, power tools, and such.
He was quite professional in this area, having used such tools on construction sites and having been exposed to them daily when he worked as a laborer.
After preparing these items, Lin Mo proceeded to the basement of his self-built house.
The basement was large, and indeed, the damp and mold were severe, the air was so stifling it was uncomfortable to breathe.
Luckily, Lin Mo wasn’t the fussy type. He simply found a corner and got busy.
The Intelligence System had only indicated that there was an ancient well two meters below the basement, but it did not specify the exact location, so Lin Mo had to try slowly.
It was a shame he couldn’t use heavy machinery; otherwise, he could have quickly loosened the soil under the house and found the ancient well’s location.
Because he had skill and experience, and knew how to work efficiently, Lin Mo worked quickly. In just a few hours, he had broken up all the concrete around him and had dug a large hole about four meters in diameter and half a meter deep.
He piled the soil to the side, planning to refill and switch to another spot to continue digging if he did not find anything.
This method was crude and time-consuming, but it was also the most reliable.