CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: THE PROPOSAL

After all, she was the only one.

Renting such a large house, she could only live in one room, leaving the other two empty, not making good use of the space.

That was truly a bit wasteful.

For a moment, Jiang Xinyi was in a bit of a dilemma.

The owner of the breakfast stall took Jiang Xinyi through the living room, then to the kitchen, and the three bedrooms.

Because there were still people living in the house, every room was filled with all kinds of household items.

But fortunately, everything was kept very tidy.

Moreover, Jiang Xinyi happened to visit suddenly today, coming over to view the house.

So seeing the house so clean suggested that the owner was very particular about hygiene in daily life.

The kitchen and bathroom, even the often overlooked sanitary corners when cleaning, were very clean.

Not only that, but the kitchen even had a range hood and a refrigerator.

This truly left Jiang Xinyi a bit shocked.

She didn’t know much else, but she had been around for a few days, so she was quite comprehensively knowledgeable about the circumstances of this era.

At this time, the average monthly salary of people was only a few tens of yuan, yet a refrigerator alone almost cost four figures.

The fact that the stall owner’s sister-in-law’s family was willing to spend such a huge sum on a refrigerator was incredibly shocking.

After all, according to the breakfast stall owner, her brother and sister-in-law were merely ordinary working-class people.

Thus, this refrigerator cost almost a year and a half of their family’s wages.

Jiang Xinyi, after glancing at the sofa in the living room, suddenly understood why a deposit was necessary to rent this house.

After touring the whole house, the owner and her sister-in-law invited Jiang Xinyi to sit in the living room.

Up to this point, Jiang Xinyi was overall very satisfied with the house.

The only concern was that the house was a bit too large.

So, when the breakfast stall owner and her sister-in-law asked Jiang Xinyi for her thoughts on the house.

"You’ve seen most of the house now. How do you feel about it?"

"If there’s anything you’re not quite satisfied with, feel free to bring it up, and we can see about adjusting it."

If possible, it was best to finalize the house quickly to avoid complications arising from delaying the decision.

Of course, this last sentence was entirely the owner’s sister-in-law’s own thought.

She held back for a long time to keep from blurting it out.

After all, if she came across as too eager and scared people off, the loss would be great.

So, the breakfast stall owner’s sister-in-law could only suppress her impatience and wait for Jiang Xinyi’s response.

After hearing the sister-in-law’s question, Jiang Xinyi was silent for a moment.

Her dilemma was simply that the house was a bit too large.

Living alone was wasteful, and if she sublet the other two empty rooms, she valued peace and quiet.

Having two additional strangers living with her was not something she was used to.

Besides, she also wanted to rent a factory space for use as a warehouse.

Though not lacking money, she did have a certain budget.

If she overspent and had no cash on hand, she would feel insecure.

After thinking it over, Jiang Xinyi suddenly had a bright idea: wasn’t she planning to rent a warehouse?

If she thought the house was too large, she could completely convert the two empty rooms into a warehouse.

She had some shelves ready in her space, so she only needed to move the beds out of the two rooms.

This way, Lin Ye could come by every day to move goods from her house.

Being from the future, Jiang Xinyi never thought of it as inconvenient to invite a man into her home just because she was a single woman.

After all, in Jiang Xinyi’s eyes, she and Lin Ye were only in an employer-employee relationship.

As long as one is upright at heart, there’s no fear of those rumors.

Jiang Xinyi hesitated for a couple of minutes before voicing her concern:

"I’m very satisfied with the house."

"But there is one thing..."

Jiang Xinyi paused slightly as she said this.

At that moment of pause, the sister-in-law felt her heart skip a beat.

Fearing Jiang Xinyi might change her mind, she quickly said:

"Feel free to voice any opinions you have."

"As long as there’s something you’re dissatisfied with about the house, we can try to improve it."

"So long as it’s within reason, feel free to say so."

During the house viewing, they could naturally tell Jiang Xinyi’s level of satisfaction with the house.

However, this satisfaction was intertwined with a few concerns.

Jiang Xinyi spoke frankly, directly voicing her thoughts:

"Since I’ll be the only one living here, the three bedrooms and a living room are a bit too large for me."

Upon hearing this, the owner understood the reason.

Her face instantly showed regret, knowing this house viewing was likely another failure.

But there was nothing to be done about it; after all, as Jiang Xinyi said, it wasn’t necessary for her to inhabit a three-bedroom house alone.

The owner’s sister-in-law forced a smile.

She spoke to Jiang Xinyi:

"It’s okay, our house is indeed too large and not quite suitable for you to live alone."

"Unfortunately, it seems today’s house may not be rented."

They were just waiting for Jiang Xinyi to nod and they could see her off.

But just when the owner and her sister-in-law were feeling disheartened,

Jiang Xinyi spoke again:

"Don’t be in a hurry, I haven’t finished yet."

"Since there are too many rooms and since I’m here for business, I thought about living in one room and converting the other two bedrooms into a warehouse for stockpiling goods."

"This way, I can save the cost of renting a separate warehouse."

"You only need to move the beds out of the two bedrooms."

"If possible, we can sign the lease contract today, and I can pay the rent in full."

"And don’t worry, the goods I stockpile are household items that won’t damage the house, just taking up space like storing miscellaneous items."

Jiang Xinyi laid out all her requests. If the owner’s sister-in-law agreed, everything would be fine.

If not, she would have to look for another house.

As Jiang Xinyi finished speaking, the room fell into a prolonged silence.

The owner’s sister-in-law seemed to be pondering whether to agree to Jiang Xinyi’s proposal.