The programmer and his woman

Xiaoxia was very afraid that this house might be haunted, so I had been living here with her for some time. At the same time, I lied to my family that I had moved out and rented a house with my colleagues. After all, my house was small, and now that I had grown up, it was inconvenient for three people to live in one room, so my family did not object.

Seeing that the lease was about to expire and I had already found a new place to live, I called the landlord and told him that I was going to quit the lease. However, what I didn't expect was that as soon as I told the landlord about this idea, the whole situation suddenly became chaotic. I only heard the landlord on the other end of the phone yelling at me.

What did you say? Check out. I said, Xiao Wang, if I had known you were only renting for three months, I would not have rented to you. It would have been enough trouble for me. If you don't live here, you can keep the deposit.

When I heard the landlord say he would not return my deposit, I became anxious and asked, "Why don't you return my deposit?"

Why? Because you rented it for such a short time.

Don’t we have a contract? The lease period is three months.

The lease term is three months, but I didn’t say that I can get the deposit back if I don’t rent it anymore.

Shouldn't you return my deposit if you don't rent the house and there's nothing damaged in it?

Who said that? Please take a closer look at the attachment.

Ah! What is the proviso?

Please take a good look at the small print on the last page. You need to notify us one month in advance when you check out.

Notifying me a month in advance, aren't you cheating me?

Why am I trying to cheat you? You kid should speak reasonably. You suddenly tell me that you don't want to rent the house anymore. It doesn't take me time to find another tenant. Otherwise, you find a tenant for me and I will return the deposit to you.

Okay, I'll help you find someone to rent the house to, and you just return the deposit to me.

Okay, but let me make a deal. The rent has gone up now, so your original rent is no longer valid. We have to add an extra hundred yuan to your original rent.

Aren't you cheating on me?

Hey, you should speak reasonably. Why am I cheating you again? It was you who wanted to help me find the next partner, not me who forced you to find the next partner.

I'll help you find a new tenant, you can't raise the rent.

The house is mine, why can't I raise the rent? Not to mention that if you find someone else to rent it, and I raise his rent, I will also raise your rent even if you renew the lease.

If you raise the price by 100 yuan, how will you rent out this house?

What's wrong with my house? I tell you, I regret renting it to you. Others sign a one-year contract, but you only signed a three-month contract with me. Renting your house is not enough trouble for me, I tell you.

But I’m telling you today that I won’t rent it anymore. It’s already half a month in advance, and this time is enough for you to find another tenant.

Half a month in advance is enough? Did you read the contract? It clearly states that it requires one month in advance.

I'm unlucky to meet a landlord like you. I don't want to live here for even a day. So how about this? I'll move out tomorrow and I'll give you an extra half month of vacancy. And you can just return my deposit, right?

Is it your bad luck? I think it's me who's unlucky. You're thinking that's a good idea. I'll tell you, if you move out tomorrow, I can return at most half of your deposit to you. And I'll also need to see if you've damaged anything and the cleanliness of the room before I can decide whether to return your deposit or not.

When I arrived, there was only a wooden bed and a toilet in your room. The toilet was extremely dirty and leaking. It took me two hours to clean it. I also fixed the leak for you. Is there anything else to check?

Hey, there’s a gas stove and a table, you’re not going to sell them all, are you?

Oh, I'm impressed by you. That thing is in such a broken state, is there anyone who would want it?

It's a bit old, but you can still use it when you move in. If you break it, I will still charge you.

Don't worry, it's not broken. Do you have time tomorrow morning? If you do, come over and hand it over to me tomorrow morning.

Oh, okay, okay.

Xiaoxia also heard it and hung up the phone, which made us both very angry.

Wang Dong, why is this landlord like this, Xiaoxia said angrily.

I sighed, shook my head helplessly, and replied, "Hey, people nowadays are probably like this when it comes to money."

Then I continued, "But the good news is that I have found a new place to live. We will stay here tonight for the last night, and then we will move there tomorrow. There is also a big vegetable market there, and it is a closed market. The environment is much better than here." I tried to use the new place to divert Xiaoxia's attention so that she would no longer be so angry.

When Xiaoxia heard the news, she was surprised. She looked at me with wide eyes and asked, "When did you find it? How come I didn't know anything about it?"

I smiled and explained, "Oh, this is the student apartment that our school originally rented. Now that there are fewer students, it's vacant and no longer rented out. The other day I heard a colleague mention this, and I thought that our lease is about to expire, and you're afraid that the house is haunted, so I told my colleague to rent the vacant student apartment. Yesterday I asked the landlord to remove all the bunk beds and replace them with a big bed. I also heard that it has air conditioning, gas, water heaters, and everything else. There's a lot more than this."

The next morning, the landlord came to our residence humming a little tune and walking briskly. She pushed the door open and the scene in front of her made her eyes light up, which added to her inner joy.

"Wow, Xiao Wang, this room is really well-kept!" She said happily as she entered the room, looking around the room, "I can tell from the first glance that you are a clean person."

I stood aside, still furious at her previous words and actions, and responded coldly, "You'd better check to see if the four treasures in your house are broken."

"Okay, okay, I'll take a look." The landlord agreed readily and began to check happily. She first walked to the table, gently stroked the tabletop with her hand, and said with satisfaction: "Oh, look, this table is spotless, it's really clean." Then, she walked to the floor, squatted down and observed carefully, "This floor is shiny and bright, really nice." Then, she walked into the bathroom and said in surprise: "Wow, the toilet has been replaced with a new one!"

I shook my head and corrected her: "Look carefully, this is still your original toilet, but I cleaned it."

The landlord examined it carefully again and suddenly realized, "Oh, it really is. I didn't expect it to look so good after being cleaned."

She went to the kitchen again and saw that the gas stove was also clean and tidy. She exclaimed happily: "Wow, this gas stove is also cleaned so cleanly, it's really rare."

I said helplessly, "Yes, I wiped it when I first moved in. I regret it so much. If I had known you would do this, I would not have wiped it."

The landlord listened to what I said, smiled and said: "Hey, look at what you said, auntie is also a straightforward person. Since you have done so well, I am also particular about doing things."

When I heard this, a glimmer of hope rose in my heart. Could it be that she was willing to return the deposit to me because the house was brand new? I thought so, but then I heard her continue: "I brought you the deposit. I will keep my promise. I will return half of it, not a penny less." As she said that, she took out a few bills from her bag and handed them to me.

When I heard this, I felt frustrated. I took the money and sighed helplessly: "Forget it, there are only a few bills. I will leave if it's okay."

The landlord said excitedly: "Hey, have a nice trip. Contact me if you need to rent a house next time."

I smiled bitterly in my heart, thinking that this landlord was really shameless.

When we finally arrived at the newly rented house carrying large and small bags of things, we were filled with anticipation and nervousness. I took a deep breath and gently opened the door, and a fresh breath hit me. Sure enough, this house was even more satisfying than I had imagined.

The house is located on the sunny side, and the sunlight shines through the windows into the entire room, filling every corner with warmth and brightness. We seem to be in a small world embraced by the sun, and instantly feel the warmth and comfort of home.

On the walls of the room, one note after another caught our attention. They are colorful and in various shapes, recording the students' past learning moments and experiences. Some notes say "Come on, tomorrow's exam!" while others have cute cartoon characters drawn on them, as if telling us that this place was once full of laughter and joy. These notes are not just simple pieces of paper, they carry the students' youthful memories and struggles.

We continued to explore the room and found that the furniture was also complete. When we opened the door of the closet, it was full of books. I looked through the books curiously and found that they were not left by students, but by the owner's son when he lived here. The content of these books is rich and varied, including fairy tales, popular science knowledge, historical biographies, etc. They lay there quietly, as if telling every moment of the owner's son's growth from birth to college.

I found a medical book that recorded the news that the owner's son passed the medical doctorate exam and went abroad. I marveled at the young man's achievements and imagined him continuing his studies in a foreign country.

Xiaoxia stood next to me, her face filled with excitement and she shouted happily: "It's really nice here!"

We quickly moved our luggage into the house, and after some busy tidying, the house became neat and tidy. I looked around, nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Xiaoxia: "Look, there is a vegetable market downstairs, very convenient. Let's go downstairs and buy some ingredients, and cook here for lunch."

Xiaoxia jumped up excitedly when she heard that, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. She looked around the room and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, there are more than half a bag of rice and flour, a large bucket of peanut oil and some seasonings, and an electric rice cooker! Great, we can buy some vegetables for lunch and steam rice and cook vegetables!"

I laughed in my heart, these little brats are really wasteful, but the things they left behind helped us a lot and saved us a lot of trouble. I shook my head, thinking that I didn't know who knew how to cook before, and actually bought so many ingredients and kitchen utensils.

We walked out of the room hand in hand and came to the vegetable market downstairs. As soon as we entered the vegetable market, the air mixed with the aroma of various ingredients hit us, which immediately increased our appetite. Xiaoxia looked around curiously, pointing at the ingredients on the stalls from time to time and asking me what this was and what that was.

I patiently answered her questions one by one, and at the same time I was thinking about what to cook for lunch. Suddenly, my eyes lit up and I saw a stall selling beef. I pointed at the stall and said to Xiaoxia, "Let's buy a bag of bread crumbs."

"What are you buying bread crumbs for?" Xiaoxia asked curiously.

I smiled mysteriously and said, "I want to improve your food. There's a beef stall over there. Let's buy some beef and I'll make you some fried steak."

"Fried steak?" Xiao Xia was surprised. "I haven't eaten it before. Is it delicious?"

I nodded confidently and said, "Of course it's delicious. You'll know when I make it."

We walked to the beef stall, and I picked a piece of fresh beef and asked the boss to cut it. The boss skillfully cut the beef into thin slices, then weighed it and quoted: "Five dollars."

"So cheap?" Xiao Xia said in surprise, "Such a big piece of beef is only five yuan."

I explained with a smile: "Maybe the prices here are more affordable. Let's buy some vegetables and go home to cook."

We walked around the market for a while and bought some vegetables and seasonings. When we got home, I started to get busy. I first marinated the beef, then coated it with bread crumbs and fried it in oil until it was golden and crispy. Xiaoxia helped wash and cut the vegetables.

The kitchen was filled with an alluring aroma. Xiaoxia couldn't help but come over to smell it and said intoxicatedly, "Wow, it smells so good! Your cooking is so delicious!"

I smiled proudly and said, "Of course, I learned to cook from my dad. He cooks the New Year's Eve dinner every year, and I help him and have learned a little bit. Xiaoxia, if you want to learn, I can teach you."

Xiaoxia nodded happily, "Okay."

I stood in front of the kitchen stove, demonstrating every step of frying steak expertly. I picked up a piece of beef and rinsed it carefully under the tap to make sure there was no blood or impurities. Then, I took out a sharp blade and cut the beef into thin slices, each slice was even and delicate. Then, I put the cut beef into a bowl and added the right amount of marinade to let the beef fully absorb the flavor.

While waiting for the beef to marinate, I started preparing the bread crumbs. I took out a bag of bread crumbs and sprinkled them evenly on the plate. When the beef was almost marinated, I carefully took each piece of beef out of the marinade and gently coated it with a thick layer of bread crumbs, making sure each piece was evenly coated.

Next, I turned on the oil and let it heat up slowly. When the oil reached the right temperature, I gently placed the breaded beef into the oil. The beef tumbled in the oil, making an enticing sizzling sound. I waited patiently, occasionally using chopsticks to gently turn the beef over to ensure that it was fried evenly.

"Wang Dong, smell it, it smells so good, so good!" Xiao Xia stood at the kitchen door, shouting excitedly. Her face was filled with a happy smile, as if she couldn't wait to taste this delicious fried steak.

I turned my head with a smile, looking at Xiaoxia's expectant eyes, and my heart was warm. I picked up a piece of fried steak and put it into Xiaoxia's mouth, "Try one first."

Xiaoxia closed her eyes and savored the food carefully. A satisfied expression appeared on her face. "Mmm, it's delicious. Wang Dong, your cooking is really delicious! I can only stir-fry vegetables, but I have learned how to fry steak. I can make it for you next time."