Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 4 – Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Xue Yuantong

Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Xue Yuantong Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Xue Yuantong At midnight, the lights at Uncle's house were brightly shining.

Uncle Jiang Qitian sat on the sofa with a stern face, his accent full of energy.

“Didn't we agree that you would stay at my place? What made you change your mind, looking down on your uncle's home?”

“That's not it, Uncle's place is spacious and well decorated.”

“It's just that I usually prefer living alone. If I hadn't agreed to stay with you, my parents definitely wouldn't have let me come to the city to study.” Jiang Ning found an excuse.

Uncle Jiang Qitian laughed, “You little rascal, were you playing tricks on your uncle all along?”

Jiang Ning chuckled, “Isn't it because I know Uncle is a generous man?”

After chatting with Uncle for a while, Jiang Ning finally got everything explained and Uncle had no objections anymore.

Meanwhile, Shen Qing'e was holding her phone, watching anime, and occasionally glancing at Jiang Ning. Ever since he returned, he hadn't said a single word to her, and her heart was annoyed, If you're not going to speak, then fine!

Silent treatment, who doesn't know how to do that?

Cousin Jiang Junlong sprawled over the dining table, gobbling down his food. He and his classmates had gone on a trip and only returned after half a month. Now, seeing Jiang Ning visit their home, he was quite happy inside.

When he was younger, every holiday, he would come back to town and Jiang Ning would take him to the fields, roast sweet potatoes, make a fire, or catch fish in the streams, having the time of his life.

Jiang Ning was the same age as him and always came up with fun things to do. Back then, in his heart, Jiang Ning could do anything. But as he grew older and his horizons broadened, the aura around Jiang Ning faded.

However, his heart still welcomed Jiang Ning's arrival in Yuzhou City, looking forward to future fun.

…

The next day, Jiang Ning woke up early. When he got out of bed, Aunt was busy preparing breakfast.

Seeing that breakfast would still take a while to be ready, Jiang Ning said he was going to look for a place to live and left the house.

He found a breakfast restaurant on the road, had some egg soup, and ate a few large buns.

He then withdrew one thousand yuan in cash, as QR code payments were not popular at the time.

He walked all the way to the Huishui River dam where, at still before seven, the temperature had yet to rise, and many elderly men and women were strolling on the dam, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

He found the electric transformer box where he practiced yesterday and started the ‘Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Body Tempering Technique,' beginning to absorb the electricity to refine his body.

By the time the sun turned scorching hot, Jiang Ning stopped his cultivation. With the temperature in the thirties, standing in the sun, people might suspect he had a problem with his brain.

He checked the time; it was already nine o'clock. Jiang Ning straightened his clothes and headed towards the bungalow area.

Today, he had to settle the matter of finding a house.

After descending from the dam and walking for a few minutes, he arrived in front of a row of bungalows.

One of them was a small shop with scarce business, and given its location, it likely only earned a bit of pocket money.

A few elderly men with tea mugs sat under the shade of trees playing cards and sipping tea.

Seeing a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy approaching, the old men paid him no mind.

Jiang Ning headed straight to the third house on the west side. He was uncertain if anyone lived there and, if they did, he reckoned it might take some effort to negotiate.

At that moment, a little girl came out from next door. She was roughly one and a half meters tall, looking like a primary school student with messy hair, wearing black shorts with a white t-shirt, and blue slippers on her feet.

When Jiang Ning saw the girl's face, he paused.

She was Xue Yuantong, a beautiful and quirky girl from his cohort.

Xue Yuantong sniffed and waved her hand towards one side:
“The shop's over there, you took a wrong turn.”

Jiang Ning said, “I'm not here to buy anything, I just wanted to ask if there's anyone living in this house? Thank you.”

After listening, Xue Yuantong immediately gave him a suspicious glance, staring at Jiang Ning:
“Someone lives there, all right. They are quite fierce and have a big wolf dog that bites anyone who comes around. Do you have any business?”

“Oh, that's too bad. I'm looking to rent a place,” he said, shaking his head.

“You want to rent a house?” Xue Yuantong's expression froze.

“Yes.”

“This is my house,” she admitted somewhat embarrassed.

Jiang Ning's lips twitched slightly, “What about the house next door?”

“Both rooms are ours. You want to rent a house, right? How long? What do you need a house for?” Xue Yuantong crossed her arms, assuming the air of the person in charge, but her small stature made her seem less convincing.

“At least a year to start. How much per month?”

Xue Yuantong had never rented out a house before and was unclear about the prices. She thought for a moment and then called into the house, “Mom, someone's here to rent the house.”

Soon, a woman in her forties came out. Her clothes were clean but worn enough to have turned somewhat white, and the years had left their marks on her face, making her look significantly older than Aunt.

Seeing the decision-maker had arrived, Jiang Ning immediately said, “Hello, ma'am. I'm a student at Fourth Middle School nearby and I'd like to rent your house.”

Jiang Ning remembered that a few years later, the landlady was not the woman before him; presumably, after Xue Yuantong had fallen ill and passed away, she must have sold the house.

With that thought, Jiang Ning's gaze toward Xue Yuantong slightly wavered.

“Ah, you're also at Fourth Middle School? My girl is going there this year too,” the woman said with a smile.

Jiang Ning took that into consideration and said deliberately, “Oh? She goes to Fourth Middle School, too? I wouldn't have guessed. That's impressive.”

Xue Yuantong pursed her lips unhappily at his tone. Fourth Middle School was nothing special; she could attend it with a snap of her fingers.

Her mother gently explained, “Tongtong just looks younger than she is; she's actually fifteen this year.”

“Mom, he's here to rent the house, not to chat with you.”

“Ma'am, how much do you charge per month for this house?”

“Are you living alone?”

“Yes.”

“Let me show you the house first.”

Jiang Ning was led inside to a square living room of about five meters in length and width. A few steps in and past a door was a small courtyard laid with concrete, with three slightly smaller rooms opposite—bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen, in that order.

“The house has running water, solar-powered water heaters, and separate electricity and water meters. You can move in whenever you're ready. If you're renting, it's two hundred yuan a month.”

The woman did not ask for an exorbitant rent. Although the house was decent, it was in a remote location, strictly suburban, which made it inconvenient for work or school. Since the house was otherwise vacant, it made sense to rent it out cheaply and supplement the family income.

Of course, this was also because Jiang Ning, being clean and a student from Fourth Middle School, didn't seem like bad company. If it had been a local youth enquiring about the house, she definitely would have refused.

“Fine,” agreed Jiang Ning, as the price met his expectations, and he did not bargain.

They reached a verbal agreement, and Jiang Ning paid her eight hundred yuan, a deposit for three months, and received a set of keys.

Afterward, Jiang Ning went to the city center to shop for living essentials and then to his uncle's house to pick up his suitcase.

His aunt was surprised at how quickly Jiang Ning had found a house, while his cousin offered to help with a car ride, and Jiang Junlong, having nothing better to do, tagged along as well.

Many hands make light work; all of Jiang Ning's necessities, such as a cooling mat, blankets, a desk lamp, a washbasin, and some daily supplies, were quickly acquired.

The aunt even gave Jiang Ning an induction cooker leftover from a recent purchase for the family restaurant, and after some arrangements, the rented house began to feel like a home.

Xue Yuantong sat on a small stool in front of the house, holding half a watermelon bigger than her head and digging into it with a spoon. She watched Jiang Ning and his relatives busily outfitting the place from start to finish.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, “Jiang Ning's relatives have a car, and judging by their clothes, they seem quite wealthy. Why would they come here to rent a house?”

“Could there be some hidden story?”

“Never mind, never mind, it's none of my business. As long as it provides some extra income and lightens my mom's load, that's all that matters.”

Jiang Junlong watched his mother and sister-in-law arranging the room for Jiang Ning, envy flickering in his eyes. He too yearned for such a space to call his own, but that was out of the question; his mom would strangle him if she found out.

Since he never did household chores and couldn't help, he simply stood at the doorway, sighing internally and feeling envious of Jiang Ning's freedom.

He turned to see Xue Yuantong enjoying the watermelon and thought she looked really pretty and cute.

He called out, “Hey, kid, big brother will treat you to some chocolate!”

He pulled out a beautifully wrapped piece of chocolate from his pocket—a nut chocolate he had bought specifically during his travels, costing fifteen yuan each, too pricey for him to indulge in.

Xue Yuantong glared at him as soon as she heard that.

Seeing the little girl's fierce look, Jiang Junlong retracted the chocolate, muttering to himself, “Pfft, impolite little brat.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co

Chapter end