Married but Untouched! Her Soldier Husband Came Home Dumbfounded! - Chapter 24

Ye Fangfei thought to herself: forget fifty yuan a month—she could even pay a hundred, and no one would care, as long as she could find someone willing to take over.

She could tell that Li Qiuping was deliberately putting on airs, trying to intimidate her because of her youth.

Fangfei didn’t want to waste any more time and calmly stated the price she could afford.

“Auntie, your house is indeed good, but forty yuan a month is really a bit high. Before coming, I checked the rental prices nearby—I’m sure you did too.”

“How about this?” she continued. “We each give a little ground—thirty-two yuan a month, paid every six months. If you agree, we can sign the contract this afternoon.”

Li Qiuping smiled and shook her head, refusing to budge. “Young lady, since you’ve done your research, you should know my price is fair. Forty yuan a month isn’t expensive.”

Fangfei realized immediately that this was a battle of will.

Li Qiuping had been chatting and bargaining with her for so long because she wanted to rent out the house—but she wanted to get as much as she could.

Fangfei sighed, putting on the appearance of someone reluctantly conceding defeat. “Auntie, I really can’t afford that. Sorry to have wasted your time today. I’ll look elsewhere, and I hope you find a suitable tenant soon.”

She even gave a small bow after speaking.

Li Qiuping was momentarily stunned—she hadn’t expected Fangfei to walk away so decisively after just a few words.

As Fangfei turned to leave, Li Qiuping hurriedly called after her.

“You were referred by my sister! You can’t just walk away like this. If she finds out, she’ll blame me. And my husband definitely wouldn’t agree to rent at such a low price.”

With a fake sigh, Li Qiuping relented slightly. “Alright, young lady. For my sister’s sake, I’ll lower it by two yuan—thirty-eight a month. No more haggling; I can’t go any lower.”

Fangfei smiled wryly. “Auntie, thirty-two is the absolute maximum I can offer. I really can’t pay more.”

Li Qiuping frowned, a little irritated. “Ah, you’re being unreasonable! I’ve already lowered the price by two yuan, and you still won’t budge. Fine, then I won’t rent it at all!”

Fangfei inwardly chuckled at her anger.

She gently took Li Qiuping’s hand, lowering her head as if guilty. “Auntie, please don’t be angry. It’s just that I don’t have enough money. If I were better off, I wouldn’t be bargaining over a few yuan with you.”

Li Qiuping, seeing her humility, couldn’t continue scolding her, but she still refused to give in.

After some back and forth, they finally settled on thirty-five yuan a month, paid every six months, with the contract signing scheduled for three in the afternoon.

Fangfei was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it had gone—she would be signing the lease today.

She had brought only twenty yuan with her, so she needed to return home to fetch the rest.

Checking the time, it was already 11:20. She first went to the textile factory, arriving just as the end-of-shift bell rang.

Ye Fangfei didn’t see her eldest brother, but Second and Third Brothers were there.

“Little sister, are you looking for your eldest? He’s not selling here today—he went to the glass factory,” Ye Sanhu said, handing her an ice cream.

Fangfei didn’t take the ice cream, grabbing a simple popsicle instead. Talking prices with Li Qiuping had left her parched.

After finishing it, she said, “Second Brother, Third Brother, I’ve rented the house. We’ll sign the contract this afternoon. I need to go back for the money. After selling the ice cream, tell Eldest Brother not to make any deliveries this afternoon. Meet me at the supply cooperative to go sign the lease.”

“You rented it so quickly! Where is it? How much per month?” asked Ye Erhu eagerly.

Fangfei pointed down the street. “Just there. Thirty-five yuan a month.”

As workers streamed out of the factory, she helped call out for ice cream sales until most had left, then rode her bicycle home.

At the Ye family home, the dinner table was set with dumplings—chive and egg filling—and six additional dishes:

• Stir-fried luncheon meat with chili
• Stir-fried eggs with chili
• Cucumber with preserved egg
• Tomatoes with sugar
• Stir-fried bean sprouts
• Stewed tofu

Ye Laifu had missed the meat market that morning and couldn’t get pork or intestines, so he bought a canned luncheon meat behind the school.

Zhou Hongyu could only make do with what was at home, preparing small dishes to host her daughter’s younger siblings.

When Fangfei arrived, the dumplings had just come out of the pot.

“Cuijuan, Zhanqiang, what are you two doing here?” Fangfei asked in surprise. “Is something wrong at home?”

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. Nothing’s wrong at home. You said you had heart pain a few days ago, and Mother was worried, so we came to check on you,” Cuijuan explained.

Shen Cuijuan, helping serve dumplings, noticed Fangfei’s flushed face and quickly fetched a basin of water. “Sister-in-law, wash your face.”

“Thank you, little sister,” Fangfei said, taking the basin.

Zhou Hongyu came out of the kitchen. “Cuijuan and Zhanqiang came early, helping with the children and cooking. Very diligent.”

“Mother, don’t say that. We didn’t really help. Coming here just made more trouble for you. If my mother knew, she’d scold us,” Cuijuan said sheepishly, glancing at her brother for making the trip.

They had brought a dozen eggs, yet Fangfei’s mother had prepared so many dishes and dumplings—the family’s best offerings—just to host them.

“No need to be polite,” Fangfei said, pulling her in. “Even if you hadn’t come, my mother would’ve cooked. It’s just a matter of extra chopsticks.”

Shen Zhanqiang handed a glass marble to their little dog and excitedly said, “Sister-in-law, our family is splitting!”

“Really?” Fangfei’s eyes sparkled with joy.

Cuijuan and Zhanqiang nodded happily.

“When Second Sister and I went out, Eldest Brother and Father went to invite the village chief. Today’s the day we split,” Zhanqiang told her everything he knew.

Fangfei knew it was only a matter of time before the family split, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

She thought: the heroine really is a heroine—just a little push, and the family split. Her own meddling a few days ago had also smoothed the process.

Fangfei smiled, thinking, Today is truly a good day.

She had rented a house to her liking, and the troublesome family home had been divided—what a great start.

In this era full of opportunities, she was confident she could build a career and change her life.

During dinner, Zhou Hongyu said to her daughter, “Fangfei, you’ve stayed here for a few days. In the afternoon, go back with Cuijuan and Zhanqiang.”