My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 8 Uncle Huang

After a good night's sleep, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying got up early the next day at the crack of dawn.

After washing up, I changed into clean clothes. Although I still looked a bit rustic, at least I looked similar to an average Shanghainese.

Moreover, this era, which had not yet truly entered the reform and opening-up period, was dominated by black, blue, and gray, and many people wore patched clothes, so they didn't stand out.

Breakfast was at a state-run restaurant near the hotel. We ate one of the famous "Four Heavenly Kings"—a flatbread with a fried dough stick. A flatbread with a fried dough stick cost nine cents, which came to eighteen cents for the two of us. We bought some extra to have as lunch. We didn't mind the cost, but we still needed half a pound of grain coupons.

Zhou Jiye counted the food coupons he had. They didn't have Shanghai food coupons; Northwest food coupons weren't valid here. When they left, Zhou Furong had managed to exchange them for thirty jin of national food coupons. Thirty jin seemed like a lot, but it wouldn't last long in practice. Once they ran out of food coupons, they wouldn't be able to buy food even if they had money.

After breakfast, the two checked out of the hotel, left their luggage there, and went out to look for a place to stay. They needed to find somewhere to stay immediately. Every extra day meant an extra night's hotel fee, which was no small amount. They had discussed renting a place the night before.

"Borrow a house? No, no, my own house is already too small for me to live in, where would I get a house to borrow?"

"If you want to rent a place, go to the housing management office."

"Who are you? Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

I thought it would be an easy thing, but after asking around, I found out that renting a house in this day and age is extremely difficult.

Not to mention that most people in Shanghai are facing housing shortages, even those who own a house are mostly allocated housing, with several family members crammed into tiny spaces, leaving no extra rooms for rent. Moreover, renting out housing is rare among private individuals, as those who need to rent usually register at the housing management office with proof from their neighborhood committee or work unit, and are then assigned a place through a unified system.

In addition, people are very vigilant nowadays and habitually question strangers. Luckily, Lin Ying speaks fluent Shanghai dialect and made up an excuse that she was a returned educated youth who had nowhere to stay at her home. Otherwise, she would have been taken to the police by the enthusiastic crowd after just a few words.

Even so, the two of them were overwhelmed by the questions and went through several philosophical dilemmas about life. By the afternoon, they were so exhausted that they could barely find a house, and if they continued to ask questions like this, something bad was bound to happen.

Seeing that something was wrong, Zhou Jiye quickly pulled Lin Ying away. Once on the street, the two sat dejectedly on the curb, looking at each other with utter frustration.

"What should we do?" The two of them looked at each other with this question in their eyes. The housing problem alone was already troubling them. If they couldn't find a place to rent, they simply couldn't stay in Shanghai.

"Little floating corpse, come here! Come over and have a chat for a bit."

Just then, a little old man appeared out of nowhere and beckoned to them with a smile from a short distance away.

The two exchanged a glance, then quickly got up and walked over.

"Uncle, are you calling us?"

"If I wasn't calling you, who else would I be calling?" The old man chuckled as he looked them over. "I heard you say you wanted to borrow the house, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Jiye nodded repeatedly, quickly took out a cigarette and handed it over. The old man took the cigarette and casually tucked it behind his ear. Seeing this, Zhou Jiye was stunned, but Lin Ying, who was beside him, reacted and quickly took the cigarette from his hand and handed it over. At the same time, she lit a match, and the old man took the second cigarette and lit it.

"Uncle, do you have a house to rent out?" Lin Ying asked tentatively.

"A house? Heh, my family doesn't have any extra houses to rent out. Besides, renting out houses is under the jurisdiction of the housing management bureau. We ordinary people living in public housing can't just rent out our houses." The old man replied with a smile. Hearing this, Zhou Jiye frowned. What did this old man mean? If he didn't have any houses to rent, why did he specifically call them over? Could it be that he just wanted to scam a couple of cigarettes?
Before Zhou Jiye could ask a question, Lin Ying spoke up first.

"Uncle, you look kind and gentle, you must be a good person. If you know of any connections, please give us some pointers. My husband and I have had a tough time, as you can probably tell. I'm a former educated youth who returned to the city after spending several years in the Northwest. We just came back to Shanghai. My husband isn't a local, and our house is too small to fit us all. Plus, I'm pregnant now. If we had room at home, we wouldn't be looking for rent! Please help us, okay?"

As she spoke, Lin Ying deliberately placed her left hand on her lower abdomen, her face showing eagerness and anticipation.

"It's not easy, it's not easy for anyone." The old man looked Lin Ying up and down, then glanced at Zhou Jiye beside him, and sighed. Before Zhou Jiye could react, Lin Ying shoved most of the pack of cigarettes in her hand at him, and said sincerely, "If you could give us some pointers, Uncle, my husband and I would be extremely grateful and would be very thankful."

"Thanks? Heh, no thanks needed, that won't do. I just feel bad seeing how hard you two young couples have worked. To be honest, my two sons were also sent-down youth. Seeing you reminds me of my sons. They've suffered a lot these past years in other places, and now that they're finally back, they don't even have jobs. This kind of situation is everywhere, and in theory, there's no way to do anything about it, but I'm kind-hearted, and I just can't bear to see this..." the old man said with a sigh, his expression filled with sorrow.

"Yes, yes, you're right." Lin Ying nodded vigorously, while giving Zhou Jiye a wink.

But Zhou Jiye couldn't understand the meaning behind her glances and remained standing there dumbfounded.

"Idiot! Hurry up and buy a pack of cigarettes!" Lin Ying was furious. How could this guy be so clueless? She could only whisper a reminder in his ear.

Zhou Jiye then realized what was happening and quickly turned around to go to a nearby cosmetics shop to buy two packs of Laodong cigarettes. It wasn't that he didn't want to buy good cigarettes, but the key was that better cigarettes like Daqianmen required coupons, while Laodong was an economical cigarette that didn't require coupons and was considered a slightly higher-end brand among economical cigarettes.

When Lin Ying returned with the cigarettes, she took them and immediately handed them to the old man. The old man declined verbally, but his hands moved quickly. With a flick of his right hand, he had hidden the two packs of cigarettes away, his movements as fast as magic.

Having accepted the "thank you," the old man became even more agreeable. He lowered his voice and said to Lin Ying and the others, "You young people are so impulsive. Why are you asking around like this when you want to rent a place? I saw how anxious you were in the alley earlier. If you keep asking like this, you're bound to get into trouble."

"Yes, yes, you're right. We young people didn't think things through, but we really had no other choice." Lin Ying nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The old man scolded them a few times before saying, "In your situation, there are only a few ways to rent a place: one is to ask relatives and friends for help, and the other is to go through the proper channels to the housing management office. But judging from your current state, it seems that neither of these two paths will work, so we'll have to use other methods."

"Please give me your guidance, sir..." Lin Ying chimed in. Zhou Jiye, who was standing to the side, was getting impatient and cursing inwardly. Why was this old man keeping everyone in suspense after taking all the benefits? He could have just said what he wanted to say. All this beating around the bush was really making us wait!
"I don't have any other good points, except that I can't stand seeing others suffer, and I'm kind-hearted," the old man said first. Then he continued, "To be honest, I'm just an ordinary person with no connections, and I don't know anyone at the housing management office. But I do know a place where people can live. You can try it out, but let me tell you! The conditions there aren't great, and the price isn't cheap. Also, you have to ask for it yourself. And once you get there, don't mention me. Just say you heard about it from someone else. Otherwise, I'd rather die than tell you."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying's eyes lit up, and they immediately pressed for details.

This time, the old man didn't keep them in suspense. He simply gave them an address, then turned and left without saying anything more, his hands behind his back.

As Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying watched him humming a little tune and walking towards the nearby alley, they were feeling quite pleased when suddenly a voice rang out beside them, almost giving them a heart attack.

What were Uncle Huang and you talking about just now?

Turning my head, I saw an older woman appear out of nowhere. She looked somewhat familiar, and after a moment's thought, I realized she was the person who had been listening to the commotion when they were asking about rental information earlier.
"Uncle Huang? You said that old man's surname was Huang?"

"Haha, his surname isn't Huang." The aunt laughed and kindly said to them, "Uncle Huang is 'Professor Niujin,' so you can just let his words go in one ear and out the other. By the way, what were you talking about just now?" The aunt's eyes were full of curiosity, and she asked gossipily.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just asked for directions, I didn't ask anything else. Auntie, you're busy, you're busy. It's getting late, we need to go back..." Lin Ying quietly tugged at Zhou Jiye, and the two of them turned and left as fast as they could. This auntie looked like a busybody, and getting entangled with her wouldn't be a good thing, so it was better to leave as soon as possible.

Ignoring the old lady's earnest attempts to "keep" them, Lin Ying and Zhou Jiye resolutely and quickly left. Only after turning the corner and walking a distance further did they turn back to check if the old lady was following them and finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Strange, I don't understand what that old lady was saying. This Uncle Huang isn't surnamed Huang? And he's called Dr. Niujin? What does that mean?" Zhou Jiye asked Lin Ying curiously.

Lin Ying frowned slightly. It was normal that Zhou Jiye didn't understand, but Lin Ying was from Shanghai and naturally understood what "Uncle Huang" meant in Shanghai dialect. This slang term usually describes an unreliable person; in other words, anyone called "Uncle Huang" is generally someone who speaks unreliably and talks nonsense. As for "Dr. Niujin," it's even easier to understand—it means someone who loves to boast.

If Lin Ying had known earlier that the uncle was Uncle Huang, she wouldn't have asked him for advice at all. Now, she's wasted two and a half packs of cigarettes only to get some unverifiable information. If this Uncle Huang is just trying to fool them, they've really lost out today.

But now that things have come to this, Lin Ying has no room for regret. She can't exactly go back and ask Uncle Huang for the cigarettes back, can she? Besides, they're desperate and will try anything. Without solving their housing problem, they can't survive in Shanghai. Whether what Uncle Huang said is true or false, they have no choice but to bite the bullet and find out for now. What if it's true?

With that in mind, Lin Ying made a decision. After figuring out the directions, she led Zhou Jiye toward the address they had inquired about from Uncle Huang, hoping that Uncle Huang would be reliable and help them solve their current problem.

(End of this chapter)