บท 23: Chapter 23: If You Have Money and a Hukou, Run Away Quickly
Ye Nai had taken many photos, and her mother flipped through more than a dozen, her expression growing uglier with each one.
"It looks like for a girl who wants to work locally without a certificate, the only option is to go to the danger zone."
"Pretty much, but going to the danger zone means having to rent an apartment outside. Otherwise, the travel time is unbearable. Or you could go out of town—I'm sure with my strength, someone at the construction site would take me on to move bricks."
Her mother fell silent for a moment, knowing it was difficult to find a job in the city, but considering sending her eldest daughter away to the danger zone or out of the city was out of the question.
"Let's eat first. After dinner, I'll look up some information on rental housing in the danger zone."
"Why look for a job? Your grandparents are coming, and you should stay at home to take care of them."
Her father caught the off tone in his wife's voice, seeming to support their daughter renting a place and working outside the home, but who would take care of his parents once they arrived? He quickly objected.
"Will you provide for her at home? Are you back at work? Get your facts straight; you're only making eight hundred a month, but still have the nerve to talk big at home."
"You're working, I'm recovering from an injury, and the three little ones can't earn money. What are we going to do about taking care of the grandparents if she isn't home?"
"Do you have any idea how much a full-time nanny costs to take care of the elderly, not to mention two of them? Only your full-time salary would cover that."
His wife, Yu Qing, picked up Ye Nai's phone, flicked through a few photos, and thrust them in front of her husband.
"Look closely, this is the current rate for nannies taking care of the elderly. You're so full of it, keeping your daughter at home to look after your parents for free, as if she doesn't need to earn money for living expenses?"
He grabbed the phone and glanced at it, as if he had found a loophole.
"Look carefully, this is the rate for certified nannies."
"Hmph," she scoffed coldly, "What are you trying to say? That your daughter should stay home as a free nanny? That family chores should be unpaid because they're internal matters, is that it?"
When it came to money, the reaction of one who had been an accountant for half a lifetime was indeed fast.
"In this less than 60 square meters house that's too cramped for six people, our daughter has been sleeping in the living room since she was a child, and I haven't seen you feel sorry for her. Now that your parents are coming to stay and need care, you suddenly become compassionate. You really are a good son."
"Your parents are moving in, and you don't even ask your elder brother and sister-in-law for living expenses. They're holding onto the large house and retirement pension for the old folks, having married off their eldest daughter and renovated a house for their eldest son's wedding, while we struggle without any help. Yet here you are, playing the rich man. You've got guts."
She took the phone back and handed it to her daughter.
"Don't listen to your father. Finding a job to support yourself is more important. Without money in your hand, you are nothing. Forget about marriage for now. If you're poor, you'll only find a poor man. Why would a man with options look at a poor woman, unless you're a celestial beauty or a genius?"
There was one more thing she clenched in her throat and didn't say: she was genuinely worried looking at her eldest daughter's muscular body. Who would find her appealing in the future, and what man wouldn't be scared of her physique?
Ye Nai wholly agreed with her mother on this point—money made one bold. With money in her hand, she wasn't panicked at all.
Dinner ended in such a completely unresolved atmosphere. Her father returned to the bedroom after eating, while her mother sat on the sofa searching for rental information in the danger zone on her phone. Ye Nai sat beside her, pen and paper in hand, jotting down useful information for comparison.
After more than an hour of research, the mother and daughter concluded that based on Ye Nai's average income from the past two months, if they wanted to survive, they would have to move to the danger zones near the Plane Channel, zones 5, 6, and 7.
"Only these three dangerous areas have cheap rent, where one thousand yuan can cover the deposit and one month's rent, and there's even a little left over to buy daily necessities," her mom took the paper from Ye Nai's hand and said.
"Houses without appliances are even cheaper, one thousand yuan is enough for the deposit and two months' rent."
Ye Nai didn't fancy a house with appliances at all. Wouldn't it be better to buy brand new ones herself?
"No way, houses without appliances don't even have private toilets. You're a girl, safety is important, you can't skimp on this."
"...?" Ye Nai pinched her own biceps, "...Oh."
Her mom saw her action, the lines of her arm seemed smoother and more powerful than the last time she saw them, and suddenly she felt that if her older daughter were harassed, it was hard to say who would be more at risk.
After a moment of silence, her mom fiddled with her phone for a while, then Ye Nai's phone vibrated. She took it out and saw that her mom had just transferred her two thousand yuan.
Ye Nai was startled at first; this was really an unexpected surprise.
"Mom, do you want me to move out and be independent?"
"What else can we do? You're staying at home without a job, eating for free, adding to the household burden? With one less person around, the household expenses can be reduced."
Yu Qing's mind was entirely preoccupied with money, completely overlooking the fact that, with her older daughter's departure, all the household chores would fall solely on her, possibly to the point of exhaustion.
"Oh." Ye Nai immediately accepted the two thousand yuan. She wouldn't remind her mom to rest and not to overwork herself—if she did, her mom might regret it and she wouldn't be able to leave.
"Living in a rented place outside, you'll need money for everything at first, to buy stuff and set up your home. Later on, you'll need to work hard to make sure you can afford the rent after a month's toil."
"Okay, Mom. If I save some money in the future, I'll definitely transfer it back to you."
"No need, keep it for yourself. I'd rather you spend it yourself. If you transfer it back and your dad finds out, he'll definitely go spend it on smoking and drinking. You know how much he spends on these every month, right? He spends even more at the electrician crew. If it wasn't for me forcibly taking a portion of his salary every month to cover the mortgage, utilities, property management, and other fixed expenses, don't count on having any surplus with him. He married me because I'm good with money."
"Then what did you see in him at the beginning?"
"I saw that he was earning a good wage in the electrician crew. Finding a husband was about finding a father for future children, not about becoming his mother. If I were to be his mother, I should have married his dad. How much a man earns is one thing, how much he's willing to spend on his family is another. I have the accounts here; the household has so many fixed expenses. As long as your dad doesn't dawdle with his monthly payments, that's good enough."
"...Oh"
Once they had talked things over, there were no more obstacles to Ye Nai moving out, but she still had her own little plan.
While her dad was showering and her mom was busy on the balcony, Ye Nai sneaked into her parents' bedroom. She quickly opened the wardrobe drawer, took out the Household Register, pried open the binder, removed and stored her own page in the Space, then restored everything as it was and casually brought her pillow and blanket out to place on the living room sofa.
By moving into the Collective Household Register of the Awakener Center, she could move and stay temporarily anywhere in the country. If one day she decided to settle down, she could directly register her residence. East Ridge City was too small, even with a Plane Channel, it would take many years to clean up the surrounding dangerous areas to a level where infrastructure could be developed. Ye Nai knew she would definitely have to venture out in the future. It was better to prepare now than to go through the hassle later.
The next morning, Ye Nai left as usual for shopping. In addition to the daily necessities like vegetables and eggs, she used the remaining money in the public account to stock up on household goods, and with her own money, she bought some new clothes for her mom, her dad's usual cigarettes and alcohol, and popsicles and cold drinks for her younger siblings, all stored in the Space.
When she got home, everything was as usual. Her dad had arranged a call with his elder brother to set a date for picking up the grandparents. He ordered Ye Nai to clear the living room so there was space for a bed. Naturally, her trunk and wire bed ended up stuffed under the dining table, and she was expected to sleep in the kitchen tonight to avoid messing up the living room.
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