Chapter 30: Complimentary with Phone Recharge, Picked from the Tree

After understanding what Chen Lan was worried about, Lu Feng took her to a well-kept residential area and found a two-bedroom apartment. He signed a rental contract with the owner and paid a full year’s rent by card—forty-five thousand six hundred yuan in total, with a monthly rent of 3,800. Chen Lan tried to stop him but failed; the rent was simply too expensive. She estimated that even if she found the best job, her salary would barely reach four thousand per month, just enough for rent. Such a life was unsustainable.

“This won’t do. I can’t afford to live here,” Chen Lan shook her head.

“I’ve already paid the rent. Just stay,” said Lu Feng.

“I... I don’t want to take your money for nothing,” Chen Lan said, troubled.

“Then treat it as a loan,” Lu Feng replied casually.

“But... I can’t pay it back...” The second half of Chen Lan’s sentence was so quiet even she could barely hear it, and Lu Feng certainly couldn’t.

Lu Feng inspected the apartment. The furniture was adequate, though not brand new. Drawing the curtains and glancing at the balcony, he asked, “Should we replace the furniture? The air conditioner’s quite old; it might be noisy.”

“No, no!” Chen Lan waved her hands hurriedly. The furniture was still seventy percent new; changing it would be wasteful. “New furniture has formaldehyde—you can’t live here if you replace it.”

“We could buy formaldehyde-free ones,” Lu Feng said breezily.

“Let’s not.” Chen Lan realized Lu Feng had no concept of frugality. High-end, formaldehyde-free furniture would cost at least ten thousand, and she couldn’t bear to buy it.

“But these are dusty,” Lu Feng said, wiping the coffee table with his finger.

“A little cleaning will do. Xiao, will you help Mama tidy the room?” Chen Lan stroked her daughter’s hair.

“Yes!” Xiao smiled happily. Finally, she could live in a big house. Though it was barely over sixty square meters, it was the largest home she’d ever had.

Chen Lan fetched a mop from the bathroom and began cleaning inch by inch, wiping sweat from her brow as she worked. Her face shone with joy—this would be her “home” from now on, and she wanted to keep it spotless.

Lu Feng opened the fridge in the kitchen. It was empty, but Chen Lan had already wiped it clean.

“Why is the fridge empty? Should we buy something to put in it?” Lu Feng was used to the Su family’s fridge, always packed full. This small, bare fridge made the place seem desolate.

“Sure. Xiao, would you like to go with big brother?” Chen Lan said while mopping.

“Yes!” Xiao nodded instantly.

Chen Lan knelt, tidying her daughter’s tousled hair. “Do you remember what to watch for outside?”

“I do! Don’t go with strangers. If I get lost, find a police officer. The emergency number is 110. Mama’s name is Chen Lan, and home is... home is...” Xiao recited a long list, faltering when it came to the address.

“Home is Wenhua Community. From now on, we live here,” Chen Lan added.

Xiao bowed her head, counting on her fingers to memorize their new address.

“What should we buy?” Lu Feng had no idea.

“Xiao knows; I used to take her to the market,” Chen Lan replied.

“All right. Don’t overdo it—the bruises on your back haven’t faded. If you get tired, rest for a bit,” Lu Feng said gently.

Chen Lan smiled with delight; in the past, she’d worked even with a high fever. The bruises on her back were nothing.

Lu Feng took Xiao’s hand and led her downstairs. The apartment was on the third floor, and though there was an elevator, Lu Feng preferred the stairs.

There was no rowdy market near Wenhua Community; the residents shopped at a nearby warehouse supermarket for daily necessities.

Lu Feng asked for directions to the supermarket and went there with Xiao.

“Xiao, what should we buy? Snacks?” Lu Feng asked as they walked.

“No, veggies, meat, eggs, tomatoes, noodles...” Xiao counted off everything Mama usually bought.

At the supermarket, Lu Feng consulted a sales assistant and bought items one by one.

First, vegetables. Xiao pointed to freshly stocked lettuce and exclaimed, “That one! It’s crispy and delicious.”

Lu Feng waved the sales assistant over to weigh and bag the lettuce.

Suddenly, Xiao looked at the assistant with watery eyes and pleaded, “Big sister, can you sell it for a little less?”

Supermarkets don’t bargain, but Xiao was used to markets, where Chen Lan watched every penny and haggled over vegetables. With Xiao’s charm, they often got a discount of a few cents.

“Little sister, we can’t haggle here, but these are cheaper—how about buying these?” The assistant pointed to a pile of picked leaves.

Supermarkets usually remove some leaves, wrap the hearts in plastic, and set the picked leaves aside. These leaves are clean and fresh, sometimes greener than those at the market.

“Okay, I want these,” Xiao nodded.

Lu Feng agreed to buy whatever Xiao wanted. The leaves were indeed fresh, just not as tender as the hearts, but their price was only a third or a quarter of the hearts—very cheap.

Xiao filled a big bag with lettuce leaves, and the assistant weighed it and printed a price sticker.

“What else?”

“Eggs and tomatoes.”

“All right.”

“Sister, can the eggs be cheaper?” Xiao bargained for every item, never succeeding, but her cuteness worked—the assistant would round down the price.

When everything was ready, Lu Feng started with a basket and ended up switching to a cart.

Passing the dairy section, Lu Feng stopped. “Shall we get some yogurt?”

“Can we?” Xiao asked.

“Of course.”

“Can we get blueberry flavor?”

“Certainly.” Lu Feng took a box of blueberry yogurt and put it in the cart.

“Brother, are we buying too much?” Xiao asked worriedly.

Lu Feng picked her up, set her in the cart, and pushed it along, laughing, “Not at all! We haven’t even reached your weight. Anything else?”

“Anything?”

“Of course!”

“Can we get ice cream?”

“Absolutely.” Lu Feng pushed the cart over to the ice cream section, and Xiao giggled as she rode inside.

When they reached the ice cream display, three girls buying ice cream clustered around the cart, reaching out to play with Xiao’s cheeks. One said, “Hey, which shelf did you pick up this porcelain doll from?”

“I was picked from a tree, not a shelf!” Xiao replied seriously.

“Haha... How cute. Didn’t your mom tell you? She got you by topping up her phone credit!” another girl laughed.