Chapter 19

The old woman's voice was hoarse and not very pleasant to hear. Although Ding Ning was not someone who judged people by their appearance, he did not have a good feeling about this old woman. He always felt that there was a smell of decay or mold about her.

However, this place was not far from the seaside high school, and the spiritual energy here was so rich that there was absolutely no better choice.

When the old woman said it was not easy, Ding Ning could not help but become a bit impatient: "Granny, is there any difficulty?"

The old woman hesitated for a moment, seemingly a bit embarrassed, and said, "You are a new student who just came to rent a house this year, right?"

Ding Ning nodded. He was indeed a new student, and this was his first time in this school district.

"That's right. The old students all know that this alley is full of small courtyards for two people to share. Most of the people who live here are student couples, so it's also called Lovers' Lane."

Ding Ning opened his mouth, truly finding it quite unique.

It was not that Ding Ning was narrow-minded. He had lived in Green Mountain Village since childhood, and even when he went to junior high school, it was in a town where the people were relatively conservative. The students were also young, and those who had boyfriends or girlfriends were considered quite forward. Living together was simply shocking.

He never expected that in high school and university, such a situation would not be a big deal, especially in the city, where eight out of ten abortions were for students.

Seeing Ding Ning stunned, the old woman continued, "That's right. The reason no one is living in this courtyard is not because the conditions are bad, but because they are too good. The rent is relatively high, and even the couples who come here think it's too expensive. If you, a single man, move in, it will be hard for me to find another tenant to share with you. So..."

Ding Ning understood. The courtyard was expensive, and she was worried that after renting it to him, it would be hard to find another tenant.

If it were before, Ding Ning would have turned around and left without a second thought, but he could not leave now.

The importance of cultivation was self-evident. Ding Ning was no longer the penniless person he was a few days ago. He had several thousand yuan on him, and with the money in his card, he had nearly 100,000 yuan.

Moreover, he had donated 10,000 yuan yesterday, so it was not a big deal to spend a bit more on rent.

Ding Ning gritted his teeth: "Granny, how much does it cost to live here per month?"

"For one person, it's 1,200 yuan per month. You can live here, but if I can't find another tenant, you will have to pay for two people's rent until I find another tenant. I think you should look for another place."

The standard rent for a single person in this area was 300 yuan per month, and a better one would be 500 yuan at most. He did not expect it to be 1,200 yuan here, which indeed made Ding Ning feel a bit painful.

Moreover, having to pay for another person's rent was something Ding Ning could not accept.

As a cultivator, he naturally knew the importance of cultivation and the rarity of spiritual energy. However, Ding Ning had inherited the legacy of the God of Wealth, and money was as important to him as life itself.

Standing at the door, unwilling to leave or spend money, Ding Ning said with a thick face, "Granny, I really want to live here. Can we negotiate the price? And it's not reasonable for me to pay for two people's rent. Let's talk about it."

"You, this child..."

The old woman did not show any impatience at Ding Ning's persistence. Her aged face was smiling, very kind: "I said I don't want to rent to a single person. If I were willing to rent to one person, my house would have been rented out long ago. A boy came several times, but I didn't agree."

"Ah! Someone else came? That's perfect. I don't mind him, we can live together."

"You two don't know each other, it might not be convenient."

"No problem, no problem. Granny, can I at least take a look at the courtyard?"

Ding Ning said as he squeezed himself in.

The old woman did not stop Ding Ning and let him walk in.

Once inside the courtyard, Ding Ning felt refreshed. His pores opened up, greedily absorbing the rich spiritual energy in the air.

There was a small flower bed in the courtyard. In the summer, flowers bloomed, and the courtyard was filled with their fragrance.

The small courtyard was clean and tidy, showing that the old woman was very particular about cleanliness. Ding Ning even noticed that the ground had been watered, and the courtyard had been washed.

He also noticed that there were only a few old women's clothes and some bed sheets and pillowcases on the clothesline, but no men's clothes.

The house was not large. Ding Ning stood at the door and looked around. The kitchen was right inside, and there were two small rooms on either side.

The rich spiritual energy was coming from the west room.

The old woman explained, "I live in the west room. The east room is empty now. If it's a couple, they can share the bed in the west room. If it's two separate tenants, they will have to live in the east and west rooms. The east room has nothing in it and is not habitable for now. That's why I want to find a couple to rent it. For a single person, it's not suitable."

"It can't be, it can't be, I want to live here."

Ding Ning quickly agreed. If other cultivators were here, they would not haggle over the price, even if it was 24,000 yuan or 240,000 yuan, as long as they had the money, they would agree without hesitation.

But Ding Ning was a miser. He wanted to agree but could not bear to spend the money, so he held back the words.

If there were other cultivators in the world and they saw Ding Ning's behavior, they would definitely not hesitate to kill him.

Seeing Ding Ning's hesitant look, the old woman shook her head. It seemed this deal was not going to happen, so she prepared to see him off.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

The door was open, and after a few knocks, the person outside walked in.

"Granny, I thought about it again and again, and I think we can still negotiate. The main issue is that I have to pay for two people's rent, which is a bit..."

The voice was rough, and it was a boy.

Ding Ning turned around and could not help but frown. What kind of boy was this?

He looked about the same age as Ding Ning, around 1.7 meters tall, about half a head shorter than Ding Ning, but his weight was definitely not less than Ding Ning's, and might even match Ding Ning's recent weight.

Ding Ning now weighed about 200 pounds, and this fat boy weighed more than Ding Ning, but was much shorter, so you could imagine how fat he was.

He had a round body and a round head, but he looked decent, not handsome, but not unpleasant to look at.

He was wearing a blue tracksuit, with a backpack on his back and a large bag in his hand, clearly not planning to leave.

The fat boy stopped talking halfway when he saw Ding Ning and the old woman in the courtyard and asked the old woman, "Granny, who is this...?"

"Oh, Lin Xuan is here again. He's also here to rent a house."

"Rent a house..."

Lin Xuan looked at Ding Ning. For some reason, when Lin Xuan's gaze fell on him, Ding Ning suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

It was not danger, but a sense of crisis about the house. Just now, with no one competing, he was hesitant and wanted to save money, but now that there was competition, he immediately realized the importance of this house to him.

At this moment, the instinct to become stronger overcame his love for money. He did not care about the money anymore and directly said to the old woman, "Granny, I've made up my mind. I want to live here. I'll pay the rent for two people."

The old woman's face showed a hint of surprise, "Are you serious?"

Before Ding Ning could answer, Lin Xuan interrupted, "Hey! What's your problem? I've been here several times. If anyone should rent it, it should be me. Granny, I'll pay the rent for two people. You have to rent it to me."

"Classmate, even if you've been here many times, you haven't confirmed that you want to rent it. I was the first to say I wanted to rent it. Granny, isn't that right?"

Ding Ning could not back down now. Even if the other person was a fat boy, he would not give in, let alone if it were a celestial being.

The house that was hard to rent suddenly became a hot commodity. The old woman was momentarily at a loss, caught between the two: "This... you came first, but he said it first. This is really difficult for me."

In the fragrant courtyard, Ding Ning and Lin Xuan, the two fat boys, stood facing each other, neither willing to give in, ready to fight if necessary.

However, standing together, they did not look like martial artists dueling but more like sumo wrestlers.

If they were to be given a place name, it would definitely be... Hefei.