‘Why don’t you open the umbrella?’
A cute voice rouses Shannchyuan from his reverie. He can feel the raindrops have fallen from the sky. He at once opens the umbrella that he holds since hours ago in his hand. Now he is standing on the pavement of a bustling street.
‘Thank you,’
Shannchyuan turns his head to the source of the voice. He smiles at the person who just knocked him out of his reverie. He feels her voice sounds familiar. As soon as his eyes meet the face of the voice owner, he is stunned. The umbrella handle almost falls from his grasp. The cute voice owner’s face is very similar to someone he knew several years ago. For a second, Shannchyuan hesitates. But he is not crazy enough to think they are the same person. Under any circumstances, there is no way that person could be here. Besides, this person looks a lot younger.
‘You’re welcome!’
She answers while smiling and holding a brightly coloured umbrella. ‘You seem to confuse,’ suddenly she says that with a serious face.
‘Confuse?’ Shannchyuan asks her with a confused look. Earlier, he was not confused but just daydreaming. Something that he always does when he is alone. But her question might rather confuse him.
‘Yes, confused. You look like someone who lost. Are you new here?’
This time the question is obvious enough that Shannchyuan could explain it straight away.
‘I’ve lived here for more than a year. I was just thinking about something. So, I might look like someone who lost.’
‘I see. Sorry, I was wrong.’
‘It doesn’t matter. Thanks again.’
‘The last few days, it has always rained before and shortly after sunset. So every day we have to carry an umbrella when we go outside,’ said that person. She looks up at the inside of her umbrella.
‘That’s right! It’s quite strange the weather recently. But fortunately, it usually rains only briefly. So if we don’t bring an umbrella, then we can just find a place to take shelter temporarily,’ Shannchyuan replied.
That person nods her head at Shannchyuan’s words. She agrees for one hundred per cent. She then said, ‘the few days I was here; indeed, I saw that there were lots of places on the side of the road that I could use as a shelter when suddenly it rained.’
‘Where do you come from?’ Asks Shannchyuan. From that person’s accent, it is clear that she is not from this city.
‘I come from Yeuandong,’ says that person.
‘Oh! I also happen to be from Yeuandong,’ says Shannchyuan, ‘where exactly your city in Yeuandong?’
‘Yehjing,’ says that person, ‘But I moved to another place since I was five years old. So my accent is not the same as that of the Yehjing. It was only five years ago when I moved back to Yehjing. From what I hear, your accent is also not exactly the same as the Yehjing.’
‘You are right!’ Shannchyuan says. ‘I was born and raised in Yehjing. But my parents are not native of Yehjing, so my accent is a mixture between the Yehjing and my parents’ accent.’
‘I see! It’s so nice to meet fellow Yehjing in this city.’ She then reaches into the pocket of her jacket. ‘May I ask you a question?’
Technically, she just asked Shannchyuan a question. But, before Shannchyuan can answer that question, she takes a piece of paper out and hands it to him.
‘Do you know this address?’
Shannchyuan at once grabs the paper. After looking at it for about three seconds, he replies, ‘It’s only two blocks from here. Just go straight. There’ll be a gigantic sign with the name of the place on it, so it won’t be mistaken.’
It seems the brief explanation is satisfactory to her.
‘Thank you,’
She put the paper back into her jacket pocket.
Shannchyuan continues his words,
‘But I don’t know the place is still open or closed. It’s already sunset. Maybe it’s better to go there tomorrow morning.’
When she hears Shannchyuan’s words, she pauses for a moment. It seems she is considering whether to go there now or tomorrow. Then she says,
‘That’s right. It’s almost night. Most likely, the place is closed. But I’ll try it, anyway. If it’s already close when I get there, then I’ll try again tomorrow.’
After saying so, she excuses herself and, in a trice, left for the place shown by Shannchyuan.
Shannchyuan looks at the back of the person who hastening in the direction he showed. Her brightly coloured umbrella sways from side to side. Looks harmonious and in line with her light but fast footsteps. In an instant, that person’s figure shrinks and slowly disappears from Shannchyuan’s sight. Even the way she moved is similar to someone from his past.
‘Today is a very tiring day,’ Shannchyuan mutters to himself.
It has been almost three months since Shannchyuan has been out of work. Previously he worked part-time at a bookshop. Since the beginning, he doesn’t want to work full time because he doesn’t want to be tied down in that place. Three months ago, the bookshop had to close down because the owner sold the slot to someone else. The person who bought the site wants to turn the shop into a café. The old owner moved to another city because his relatives, who lived in another city, invited him to live with them.
The bookshop that he worked at was a secondhand bookshop. When the old owner sold all the existing books to another secondhand bookshop, he asked them to take care of his employee. The other bookshop agreed to accept Shannchyuan and other clerks, whose total number was only six people. But the problem is the bookshop is in another city, so it is impossible for Shannchyuan to work there. Shannchyuan felt comfortable living in this city and wanted to be here for a few more years. The new café that replaced the secondhand bookshop also cannot accept Shannchyuan because they thought Shannchyuan was too old to work there. They said his appearance did not suit the target market of the café, namely the younger generation and adolescents.
Last year, Shannchyuan arrived in this gigantic city. The city has a square shape, each side about 160 kilometres long. With a population density of up to 25000 people per square kilometre, this city’s population reaches over 600 million. Even more so during the day, many commuters live in the surrounding towns and commute every day to work in this city.
There is so much to explore in this city. One of the reasons Shannchyuan moved to this city was to explore all corners of the city, which has a very long history. Therefore, since coming here, Shannchyuan has always chosen to work part-time only, so he has more free time to travel around the city.
After a moment’s pause, Shannchyuan feels it is time to leave the place he has stood for about fifteen or twenty minutes. He has to come home because the sky is getting dark. The place he called home would soon not be his home. The landlord decided to increase the rental price of the house. Shannchyuan couldn’t afford the new price this time. The house is not that big, but the location is very strategic. So, it is only natural that the landlord intends to increase the price.
This landlord is the new landlord. The old one passed away last month and left the property to his family. This new landlord is the nephew of the old one. When he was still alive, the old one promised Shannchyuan he would not raise rental rates for homes in the near future. Of course, after he died, the heir has the right to decide what to do with the house. He will still lease it as it is, or he will sell it. Two weeks ago, the landlord said he had no plans to sell the house soon but asked for an increase in the rent if the tenants still want to live there.
The old landlord had many properties that were scattered all over the city. The house Shannchyuan lives in is one of them. Shannchyuan lived in the house for a year. He feels comfortable living there. Moreover, he does not live alone. Apart from him, there are four other people who also live there. They are Yihshyong, Jenqyih, Iren, and Shinnshiow. Actually, there is one more person, Chioujen. But six months ago, Chioujen moved to another city because the company he worked for opened a new branch in another city. They sent Chioujen there. All of them decided to live under one roof last year.
According to their calculations, living together in the house is obviously much cheaper. The old landlord, in his old age, had other priorities for the rest of his life. When he was renting out his property, he didn’t do it for the money. Having someone willing to take care of his property was enough for him. That’s why he charged very cheap rents.
Although the house is not big, there are three bedrooms in that house, so it is enough for the five or six of them. The bedrooms are not large but make them feel comfortable. The lease will be ended tomorrow, so they have to search for a new place quickly.
About ten days ago, the new landlord said he was willing to give them tolerance to stay at this house for a week after tomorrow. This one week must be appropriately used to find the new place. Of course, they realise it is challenging to find a new place to live on par to the house they are currently living in, but they will try to find a suitable place. Maybe they can try to rent a small place for a while. Even a one-bedroom flat is fine, as long as it fits their budget.
Not long after, Shannchyuan arrives at his residence. He finds out that the other four residents are already in the house.
‘Dahge, How is it today?’
When Yihshyong, one of the occupants, sees Shannchyuan enter the living room, he at once asked. He asked while putting biscuits into his mouth. Yihshyong called Shannchyuan “Dahge” because he is younger than Shannchyuan. As a matter of fact, all the other people living there are younger than Shannchyuan. They consider Shannchyuan as their leader. Not because he is wiser or having more experience, but simply because he is the oldest. Shannchyuan himself sometimes feels that he is often acting so immature that he seems like the youngest.
Shannchyuan’s appearance is much younger than his proper age, so it is not uncommon for people to think that Shannchyuan is the youngest of five, or six of them if they include Chioujen. Yihshyong is the second oldest. At first glance, he resembles Shannchyuan. His stature is not much different. Their height and weight are roughly the same so that Shannchyuan and Yihshyong can easily borrow clothes from each other. In terms of appearance, Yihshyong is the second youngest.
‘What do you mean?’ Shannchyuan asks him back. But, without waiting for Yihshyong’s reply, he continues, ‘today, there has been no progress. Neither a matter of residence nor work. Hahaha ....’ This time he laughs out loud.
From one of the three bedrooms, another occupant comes out. Looking at Shannchyuan, he says, ‘Dahge, there is excellent news from Iren.’
‘What good news?’ Shannchyuan asks curiously.
‘Let him explain it. He is having a shower now,’ the other occupant replies with a big laugh. He is Jenqyih, a very cheerful person. Jenqyih is the tallest person among them. To be honest, he is not very tall either. Still, because Shannchyuan and Yihshyong are relatively short, so Jenqyih looks very tall.
After waiting for a while, Iren finishes the shower and comes out of the bathroom. He already knew Shannchyuan was waiting for his answer. Then he says,
‘Do you still remember Tsaehorng?’
Shannchyuan raises his eyebrows, ‘Do you mean a kid who we helped six months ago?’
‘Right,’ Iren firmly answers.
‘I met him today. He offered his help to us. So, it turned out that his family is the owner of Shindongchaang.’
Everyone knows Shindongchaang is a large company that operates in various fields. One of the Shindongchaang business fields is warehousing.
Iren stops talking for a moment, then continues his words again.
‘Although he cannot help us financially, he can lend us several small warehouses to store our belongings. It’s beneficial, considered the possibility next week we still haven’t got a new place.’
‘We don’t need a large warehouse because we don’t have a lot of stuff.’ this time, Yihshyong joins the conversation.
Iren nods his head, then says.
‘He can’t possibly lend us an enormous warehouse. He’s not an executive or anything in his family’s company. So all he can lend is small warehouses like the lockers that are scattered all over the city. Of course, we still have to pay.’
As far as Shannchyuan knows, the Shindongchaang warehousing business comprises large warehouses in particular locations and lockers scattered all over the city, such as train stations and shopping centres.
Iren continues his speech.
‘We can store items in small warehouses such as lockers at stations. In contrast to lockers managed by the station, which are usually only for temporary storage, because the maximum storage time is only two weeks, this Shindongchaang locker is exactly like their warehouses. We can rent it monthly or annually. He said we can use it for up to three years.’
‘So, how much do we have to pay?’ Shannchyuan asks.
‘We get a 98% discount,’ Iren answers. ‘This payment is just a formality because they can’t provide this service for free because we have to rent it legally. So, I accepted his offer straight away because I thought we just got a jackpot!’
Shannchyuan nods his head while smiling.
‘We have solved one problem. Now we just need to find a place to live that doesn’t need to be big. The most important thing is we can rest and clean our body in that place.’
‘Eh, wait a minute,’ Jenqyih interrupts. ‘What size do we get?’
‘2x2x2 meters,’ Iren explains. That’s the biggest locker in the station. ‘
‘Is it enough for all of our stuff?’ Jenqyih utters in a slightly worried tone. Among those six persons, Jenqyih’s goods are the most.
‘Of course, that’s enough. We can rent six units. We have to include Chioujen. So each of us gets one.’ Iren explains.
‘It’s great then,’ Jenqyih laughs.
Suddenly Shinnshiow, the fifth occupant, appears from the kitchen. It turns out since Shannchyuan came home, he did not join the conversation because he was busy cooking their dinner.
‘Everyone, our dinner is ready. Let’s eat now.’
And the five of them rush to eat the dish Shinnshiow had fully prepared. Tonight Shanchyuan can sleep soundly because there is one less thing to think about.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
