My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 34 Taking advantage of the situation
Turn off the lights and lock the door.

After saying goodbye to Teacher Chen, Zhou Jiye, Lin Ying, and Lao Wen headed outside. As they left, Zhou Jiye felt a little uneasy. He had thought that the house hunting would go smoothly today, but he hadn't expected it to turn out like this. It seemed that they probably wouldn't be able to rent the house.

Just as Zhou Jiye was thinking this, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. At first, he didn't pay attention to it, but when he realized what was happening and turned to look at the spot where he had just been, the figure had disappeared, and he was slightly taken aback.

"What's wrong?" Lin Ying, who was walking beside him, asked instinctively when she saw Zhou Jiye suddenly stop and turn around to look.

"It's nothing, maybe I'm just seeing things. I saw a figure that looked familiar."

"who?"

"I can't quite remember right now, but it looked familiar at first glance." Zhou Jiye scratched his head. Lin Ying was both amused and exasperated by his answer. She didn't press him further and told him to go home early.

When the three arrived outside the residential area, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying thanked Lao Wen for his help once again, and Lao Wen seemed to have noticed that they didn't like the house.

Old Wen comforted Zhou Jiye and the others, saying that renting a house is a big deal and it's normal to look at many options. If they didn't like the house, it was okay; he would keep an eye out for others and take them to see it when a suitable one came along.

After thanking Lao Wen repeatedly for his help, Zhou Jiye watched him leave in another direction. Once Lao Wen was gone, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying exchanged a glance and couldn't help but sigh.

"How to do?"

"Let's look at some others, what a pity..."

Lin Ying shook her head slightly. Without a local household registration, they couldn't rent that apartment at all. It would be really nice if they could. The fact that it was a detached house with gas was especially appealing to Lin Ying, but the basic requirements weren't met. And that Teacher Chen was so rigid and seemed really difficult to talk to. No matter how good the apartment was, it was out of their reach!

The two dejected individuals walked towards their lodgings, and after crossing a street, they were not far from the alleyway where they lived.

As you walk to the entrance of the alley, you see nearby residents cooling off along the street. Some are lying on deck chairs chatting or listening to the radio, while others are playing cards or chess together. There are also many children chasing each other, laughing and playing, their faces covered in sweat.

"Xiaolin! Why are you back so early today? Where have you been?"

Before they even entered the alley, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than their landlady, Aunt Wang.
Aunt Wang was also among the group enjoying the cool evening air. Her husband, son, and daughter-in-law were watching a game of chess with several other elderly men not far away, engrossed in their game. Aunt Wang sat on a bamboo recliner, holding a palm-leaf fan in her hand. She spotted Zhou Jiye and his group walking across the street and greeted them with a smile.

"Aunt Wang, have you had dinner? Why are you out so early?" Lin Ying greeted Aunt Wang with a smile and asked casually.

Aunt Wang got up and walked a few steps to Lin Ying: "You went out for a stroll? Business was so good today? You closed up shop so early? When I came out after dinner, I saw your coal stove in the kitchen. I knew you were back at a glance, and I even went up to look for you."

"I've been so busy for so long, it's rare to give myself a break, so I went out for a stroll," Lin Ying said with a smile, then asked Aunt Wang what she needed.

Aunt Wang chuckled and took Lin Ying's arm, leading her to the side. Then, she muttered something to herself in the corner.

It was noisy outside, and Zhou Jiye couldn't hear what they were saying, but he saw Lin Ying first frown slightly, then talk to Aunt Wang in hushed tones. Zhou Jiye took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and quietly smoked, waiting patiently.

About ten minutes later, after Zhou Jiye finished his cigarette, Lin Ying and Aunt Wang's conversation ended. Lin Ying smiled and said goodbye to Aunt Wang, then told Zhou Jiye to leave. Zhou Jiye walked towards Lin Ying, politely greeting Aunt Wang as well, and then the two entered the alley.

"What is this woman saying to you? Why have they been talking for so long?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back!" Lin Ying said to Zhou Jiye in a low voice.

Zhou Jiye nodded without asking any further questions, and the two quickly arrived at their lodgings. As usual, they first prepared the tea eggs to be sold the next day, then left the pot simmering on the stove. After finishing these tasks, Lin Ying invited Zhou Jiye upstairs. Once they reached the attic and closed the door, Lin Ying frowned, her expression somewhat grave.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Something has happened. We have no choice but to move now. We need to find a place as soon as possible."

"What do you mean? What exactly did this woman surnamed Wang say to you?" Zhou Jiye sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked.

"She wants to raise the rent!"

"What? A rent increase?" Zhou Jiye was stunned. What a joke! The rent was agreed upon beforehand, and they even signed a one-year agreement. They'd only lived there for three months, how could the rent suddenly increase? "How much is she asking for?"

Lin Ying gestured with her hand, and Zhou Jiye asked incredulously, "A 50% increase?"

This guy is so greedy! The original rent was five yuan a month, but they gave them an extra yuan as compensation because they didn't have a household registration, so they spent a full six yuan to rent this attic.

Six yuan is no small amount. These days, a regular worker's daily wage is only 1.2 yuan, so six yuan is five days' wages. Moreover, Aunt Wang's rent is not cheap to begin with. If it were public housing, the rent for a loft like the one at the housing management office would be less than 3 yuan a month at most. Six yuan is almost double that.

Besides, this is just an attic! It's not a proper room. The two small rooms Lao Wen introduced were only this price. Compared to the small rooms, the attic is lower, and even the tall Zhou Jiye has to bend over slightly to stand. Plus, the attic is cold in winter and hot in summer. In the current weather, it's like a sauna. Why should it be rented for the same price as a small room?

"Fifty percent? Hah." Just as Zhou Jiye was surprised, Lin Ying sneered, "You underestimate her. She's going to double it!"

"What! This woman's gone mad?" Zhou Jiye was instantly furious. Doubled? Did he hear that right?

A rent of six yuan is already not cheap, and now it's doubled to eighteen yuan. Eighteen yuan to rent such a loft? Is Aunt Wang crazy or are they crazy? What kind of house can't you rent in Shanghai for this price? It's equivalent to half of an average person's monthly salary.

“She’s very shrewd; how could she be crazy?” Lin Ying’s expression was grave. “She thinks she has us cornered, otherwise why would she offer such an outrageous rent?”

Do you know what she just said to me?

Seeing Zhou Jiye's questioning gaze, Lin Ying then recounted her conversation with Aunt Wang to him in detail.

Lin Ying said that Aunt Wang first inquired about their household registration issues, directly asking Lin Ying if her household registration transfer had been completed. In the past few days, the neighborhood committee had been asking them what their relationship with Aunt Wang was. Aunt Wang, as previously agreed, said that Lin Ying was her distant relative who was temporarily staying at their house, and used this reason to barely get by.

However, Aunt Wang also said that this is not a long-term solution. The street office is now very strict, and with the increasing number of educated youth returning to the city, the security situation is very serious. Yesterday, the street office held a meeting and asked the lower levels to do a good job in statistics and grasp the population situation of the entire street.

Reasons like these might have been barely acceptable in the past, but they will become increasingly difficult in the future. Aunt Wang is under a lot of pressure helping them cover up.

Besides, Aunt Wang knew that Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying were both running businesses. One sold tea eggs at a stall near the movie theater, and the other sold old hens at the vegetable market. As migrants, their business activities were completely against the policy. If they were Shanghai residents, people would turn a blind eye, but the problem was that neither of them had Shanghai residency and thus belonged to the migrant population. This was problematic, and if they were caught, it would be no small matter.

Therefore, Aunt Wang believed that helping them now was too risky, as the effort and the benefits were disproportionate, and gave Lin Ying two options. One option was for Lin Ying and her family to move out as soon as possible, and the other option was for them to continue living there, but the rent would be doubled.

According to Aunt Wang, if she hadn't covered for them, the neighborhood officials would have come knocking on their door long ago.

At that point, forget about living there, they won't even be able to continue their business. Aunt Wang's original words were "spending money to avoid disaster." Anyway, they make money in business, so they don't care about this small amount of money. They might as well spend more money to find people to pull strings. She has to ask people on her side and ask the neighborhood committee for help, which also costs money. To be honest, the extra rent doesn't actually end up in her hands. To use the adults' famous saying, it's like using their money to do their business.

Lin Ying felt disgusted by these words. Although she had noticed that Aunt Wang had been acting strangely these days, she did not expect the change to happen so quickly.

A few days ago, they were just playing along, but today the truth has been revealed.

This greedy woman thought she had caught them red-handed, and used it to blackmail them, quadrupling the rent. To put it bluntly, she just wanted to make more money.

Thankfully, they had always been very polite to Aunt Wang, and Lin Ying even brought her some tea eggs every few days. Unexpectedly, all those tea eggs were fed to the dog. If Lin Ying hadn't managed her expression well and been patient, she would have started arguing with Aunt Wang right then and there.

"This is outrageous! They're pushing their luck!" Zhou Jiye was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. How could such a thing happen? If it were him, he would have already turned on them and confronted them directly.

"Turning your back? What kind of back? A small act of impatience ruins a big plan!" Lin Ying glared at him, sighed, and said, "What do you plan to do if you really turn your back on her? Let her kick us out and leave us to live on the streets? Or let her report us to the local authorities? If they really come to investigate, will we still be able to stay in Shanghai?"

"But we can't break the rules, can we? Don't forget we have an agreement with her!"

Seeing Zhou Jiye's anxious expression and his mention of the agreement, Lin Ying was speechless.

"An agreement? What's an agreement worth!" Lin Ying said with a wry smile. "Don't even mention an agreement, even a formal contract wouldn't be legally binding. People don't care about these things anymore. Besides, the original agreement was based on the premise that we had Shanghai residency. Do you have Shanghai residency? Or do I? Don't forget we're both outsiders! Two country bumpkins from the Northwest, if we bring this up later, we won't have any grounds to stand on!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiye was stunned. His face turned pale and then red, and he didn't know what to say.

(End of this chapter)