Chu Fangfang and I sat in the restaurant.

After ordering, we started chatting.

At this moment, the landlord walked in with two walnuts in his hand.

"Haven't eaten yet?" The landlord smiled.

"Just came back," I explained, "after a day of interviewing, I still haven't bothered to eat!" ”

"I just came back from a walk," said the landlord, pulling a chair and sitting down, "I saw you, and wanted to talk to you!" ”

"Drinking?" I asked.

"No," said the landlord, "just finished eating and walked the corner!" ”

"What's the matter?" I asked, puzzled.

"Look at you," the landlord said with a smile, "It's a fragrant car again, and it's a beautiful woman, and it's not suitable to live in my house with 200 yuan a month including water, electricity, and sanitation fees!" ”

"You want to raise your rent?" I asked tentatively.

"That's the thing," the landlord smiled, "you know the house on the edge of my fourth floor?" ”

"I know," I thought to myself, "that is the house where your son used to live!" ”

"Yes," said the landlord seriously, "do you know why I don't rent out that house?" ”

"I don't know," I told the truth, "I'm kind of puzzled, too!" ”

"A house like that," said the landlord in all seriousness, "has a kitchen, a toilet, a bathroom, and a large terrace in front of it, and it must cost at least 800 a month if you want to rent it out!" ”

"That's natural," I said with a smile, "1,500 yuan a month is not too much!" ”

"But who can afford to rent a house here for 1,500 yuan a month?" The landlord smiled, "200 yuan a month, and I often default on rent, and I secretly roll up the cover!" ”

"I believe that," I laughed, "that there are a lot of people who run away in arrears of rent!" ”

"I'll tell you a real story," the landlord said with a smile, "Before SARS, a little girl who came to Beijing to look for a job lived in the house where you live now, but before she could find a job, SARS came, and the little girl couldn't leave, and she didn't have a job, so she was embarrassed!" Later, not to mention the arrears of rent, she also borrowed half a bag of rice from us, and boiled a pot of porridge every day to eat, which made me cry in my heart......"

"And then?" I asked curiously.

"Later," said the landlord, rubbing the walnuts in her hand, "she slipped away quietly through the back door after she owed us half a year's rent!" ”

"You're to blame," I said with a grin, "and if you lock the back door, won't she be able to escape?" ”

"During the days when the rent was collected," the landlord smiled, "my back door was never locked!" It was, it is, and it will be! ”

"You deliberately left the door for those people?" I asked, thoughtfully.

"Yes!" The landlord said seriously.

"I admire you so much!" I complimented.

"I could see that she was a very capable and successful girl!" The landlord said in a firm tone.

"How do you see that?" I asked, puzzled, as I casually counted the pockmarks on the landlord's face.

"It's simple," said the landlord in a sonorous voice, "because I have never had a girl as beautiful as her in that house, and a girl who can live in that house and wander on her own is destined to succeed!" ”

I nodded earnestly and looked at the landlord with a look of adoration.

The landlord smiled.

Chu Fangfang's cheeks were rosy and thoughtful.

"Do you think the story is over?" The landlord asked me seriously.

"How?" I wondered, "Did you run into her later?" ”

"No," said the landlord with a smile, "she came by herself!" ”

"To pay it back?" I guessed.

"You guessed it," said the landlord seriously, "that is, the summer before last, she wore a famous brand and drove a sports car, and came to pay the money!" ”

"That's a pretty good mix!" I sighed.

"I was out on an errand the day she came," the landlord said with a smile, "My son is at home!" At that time, my son had just come back from college, so I received her! She insisted on paying back the money in front of me and apologized for her previous lack of resignation, so she didn't leave all afternoon! And guess what? ”

"Can't guess!" I laughed.

"She made eye contact with my son," the landlord smiled, "and the two of them talked all afternoon, and then ran out together in the evening!" She is my current daughter-in-law, Jingyi! ”

"Huh?" Chu Fangfang and I exclaimed in unison.

"We learned later," said the landlord with a deep face, "that she had slipped away from our unlocked back door that year and moved to a more remote and cramped house in Scotts. How small is that house, she is 1.7 meters tall and can't stretch her legs when she lies on the bed! Later, she succeeded, and now the company is in Zhongguancun, and she also bought a house there, with a garden on the roof......"

"I saw her when she came to see you a while ago," I said, thinking, "and she is very kind and laughs!" ”

"People who have suffered generally understand others!" The landlord said with emotion, "Since then, you see my back door, it will not be locked for a few days at the end of each month, and it is usually locked for everyone's safety!" ”

"Then your daughter-in-law and her two have bought a house in Zhongguancun," I said with a smile, "basically don't live here, right?" ”

"That's what I mean by talking to you today," the landlord said seriously, "I see that you are a good person, and you are a writer, and it seems that you can stay for a long time, so I will discuss it with you!" ”

"How much money a month?" I asked tentatively.

"The all-inclusive is 1,000 yuan per month," the landlord said seriously, "but this cannot be paid monthly, at least for half a year!" ”

"1,000 yuan per month, 12,000 yuan per year," I thought and said, "Just order, 10,000 yuan per year, I will pay it for a year!" ”

"Yes," said the landlord, "if you are happy, I will be happy!" ”

"Then it's decided," I smiled, "I'm all thirsty!" Have a drink! ”

"Let's have a drink!" The landlord said with a smile.

Seeing this, Chu Fangfang hurriedly took a cup and put it in front of me.

I took the bottle and poured the host a beer.

"It's much better now," the landlord said to me with a playful smile, "and when you and your girlfriend live in my house, you don't have to go to the public toilet anymore, you don't have to go to the public bath anymore, you can cook when you want, you can have sex when you want, and no one can disturb you......"

"Let me explain to you," I laughed, "this isn't my girlfriend!" ”

"That's ......," the landlord looked at Chu Fangfang and thought.

"Lover!" I said solemnly, "My girlfriend, the short-haired one you've seen who often comes on weekends!" ”

"Oops, ay, ay......" the landlord took a cup and drank all the beer inside, "Compared to you, my brother has wasted his time in this life!" By the way, where does she live? ”

"In the westernmost part of the village," Chu Fangfang said with a flushed cheek, "there are a few big trees next to it, and a tree with a crooked neck!" ”

"Do you dare to live in that place?" The landlord asked in surprise.

"How?" I asked, puzzled.

"There used to be a girl hanged in that place," said the landlord alarmistly, "and a little girl who worked part-time, as if she had lost her love, hanged herself from that tree, and now it is often haunted in the middle of the night!" ”

"Huh?" Chu Fangfang exclaimed, "I just said that every time I go back, I feel a chill down my spine!" ”

"She's looking for a house now," I said to the landlord, "do you have any spare space?" Two rooms, one for her and her dad! ”

"Yes," the landlord affirmed, "just moved out!" If you want to live in my house, you can make another room!" ”

"Is it still 200 yuan a month?" I asked.

"The rent has gone up this year," the landlord explained, "and you've been living for a long time, so I'm not embarrassed to give you a raise!" However, if she wants to rent those two rooms, she can still calculate it at the previous 200 yuan! ”

"Then I'll calculate," I thought about it, "200 yuan a month, 2,400 yuan a year, 4,800 yuan for two rooms, it's too ugly to die!" 4,000 yuan, one year at a time, not on a monthly basis, so you don't have to worry about it, and you don't have to worry about her sneaking away from the back door! ”

"If you're happy, then I'm happy," the landlord smiled, "That's 4,000 yuan!" ”

"I'll give you 14,000 tomorrow morning!" I said to the landlord, "It's not safe to get money while driving now, so I'll give it all to you tomorrow morning!" ”

"Then I'll go clean your house now!" The landlord stood up as he spoke, taking a sip of the beer in his glass.

"Can you move in tomorrow afternoon?" I asked the landlord.

"Yes!" As the landlord walked outside the restaurant, he said with emotion, "This writer is amazing! An iron-clad writer, a beautiful woman with flowing water! ”