Finding a Home

Although the government later stepped in to regulate and standardize the market, that would only happen much later.

Rong Xuelan had confidence in her cooking skills.

Her immediate priority was to find a place to rent near the university as a base of operations.

She took a bus to go to the university and found several rental listings on the bulletin boards inside the university campuses.

Tearing off slips with contact information, she headed back to the construction site.

Rong Xuelan made over ten phone calls, but when the landlords heard she had a child and needed to cook, they all refused to rent to her.

By evening, she finally got responses from two landlords who agreed.

She arranged to view the properties the next day.

The next day, Rong Xuelan first went to meet the first landlord.

The landlord had claimed the self-built house was quiet and clean, but when Rong Xuelan arrived, she found it was on the top floor of a residential building.

The air inside was damp and gloomy, and mold was growing on the walls.

There was no way Dou Dou could live in such a place—it would harm his health over time.

Declining the offer, she moved on to meet the second landlord.

Following the address, Rong Xuelan arrived at the designated spot, where a middle-aged woman in a floral print maxi dress was waiting for her at the entrance of an apartment building.

"You must be Rong Xuelan, right?" the woman asked with a warm smile.

Rong Xuelan nodded. "Yes, that's me."

The landlord led the way up the stairs while chatting as they climbed. "This complex was built by the Ever Group. It's been around for a while, but the quality of the buildings is reliable. I live on the top floor, the eighth floor. The attic on the ninth floor is the unit I'm renting out."

As they climbed the stairs, Rong Xuelan observed the surroundings.

Despite being an older building, the stairwell was clean and well-maintained, which pleased her.

When they reached the top floor, the landlord took out a key and unlocked the door, inviting Rong Xuelan to take a look inside.

The attic apartment appeared to be over 30 square meters in size.

It was a one-bedroom unit with a bathroom.

Inside, it had a single bed, wardrobe, desk, refrigerator, and air conditioner—all the essentials were provided.

The only downside was the low ceiling, which seemed just over two meters high.

However, at 1.56 meters tall, Rong Xuelan could stand upright without any issues.

She nodded in approval and asked, "You mentioned that cooking is allowed here. Is there a separate kitchen?"

The landlord smiled proudly and opened the window in front of the desk, stepping out onto a large terrace.

Following her, Rong Xuelan realized that outside the window was a spacious terrace covered by a canopy for shade.

"I originally planned to set up a barbecue area here for summer, but my husband never got around to it," the landlord said.