Chapter 20: Rent Increase
Once you’ve fired someone, it’s easy to fire again and again. Once the floodgates open, they cannot be stopped.
Not all bosses were as kind and understanding as Madame Li and Fat Boss. To get rid of Mu Mu, who they thought would beg them, they showered him with insults.
Words like cripple, deaf, fool, idiot, unwanted trash… they struck Mu Mu, defenseless and harmless, leaving him wounded.
Mu Mu didn’t beg or create a scene as they expected.
He calmly bowed to each of them, sincerely thanked them, and left without looking back.
On his way back to the apartment, Mu Mu repeatedly wondered what he had done wrong, why everyone suddenly wanted to fire him.
Was it because he was lame, deaf, and couldn’t speak well?
But he’d worked hard to walk at a normal pace.
As for hearing… Mu Mu touched his ear, feeling the hearing aid. Perhaps it was broken.
This hearing aid was given to him as compensation after the accident. He had used it for seventeen years; it was time for a new one.
On Liuli Star, anything related to medicine was astronomically expensive, including hearing aids. Mu Mu had wanted a new one since he’d first started having trouble hearing.
But after searching online for prices and looking at his account, he hesitated.
But this time, it didn’t seem like the time to be worried about money.
Mu Mu didn’t rush into the apartment but stood at the door checking his account, calculating his expenses, and seeing which hearing aid he could afford.
After years of saving, Mu Mu had a considerable amount of savings. After deducting rent and other expenses, he could afford a good hearing aid.
Mu Mu planned to buy a better hearing aid that would last longer.
But now he was unemployed and didn’t know when he’d find work; if he bought the hearing aid, he’d have to save even more.
Mu Mu wasn’t afraid of hardship, but he worried about his rent.
He should talk to An An. Mu Mu trusted Zheng An, thinking he was smarter than himself and would consult him on matters he couldn’t decide.
Usually, Zheng An and Mu Mu had opposing opinions, and Mu Mu would only listen to Zheng An about one out of ten times; in the end, Zheng An would always compromise.
For instance, when Mu Mu wanted to work at Madame Li’s shop, Zheng An was against it, but Mu Mu insisted, and Zheng An had to give in.
Whenever Mu Mu consulted Zheng An, he would end up making Zheng An furious, saying the little fool was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to reason.
However, Mu Mu didn’t agree with this assessment.
When Mu Mu entered the apartment, it was quiet and dark. The late afternoon sun shone through the small living room window, casting an amber glow on the room, and the few pieces of furniture were hidden in the shadows.
The room, bathed in the unattractive color, resembled a monster’s gaping maw, silently awaiting its prey.
Mu Mu felt a sudden unease and hesitated to enter the apartment he had lived in for years and considered his home.
Just as he hesitated, he heard a “creak,” the sound of a door being pulled open, and Zheng An rushed out.
“An An?” Mu Mu looked at Zheng An, puzzled, asking, “Are you going out?”
Zheng An had been about to go look for Mu Mu, and he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him. He grabbed Mu Mu’s wrist, reaching for the door.
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Mu Mu held Zheng An back, asking, “Where are we going? What happened? What’s so urgent?”
Zheng An understood Mu Mu; he knew that without a clear explanation, the little fool would persistently ask “why.”
He released Mu Mu’s wrist, running a frustrated hand through his messy hair, cursing, then said, under Mu Mu’s disapproving gaze,
“The landlord came this afternoon, and he’s gone mad. He said he’s raising the rent by four thousand star coins!”
“Four… four thousand?” Mu Mu widened his eyes in surprise, looking at Zheng An in disbelief.
He raised his right hand, holding up four fingers, waving them in front of Zheng An, as if to confirm he hadn’t misheard.
Their small apartment was in Cheqiru District 6, not a slum, but a place ordinary people lived, but the rent wasn’t cheap.
Because of its location and size, their rent was six thousand star coins a month. Mu Mu and Zheng An each paid three thousand, which they could afford.
But if the rent increased to ten thousand, they’d have to pay five thousand each.
Aside from Mu Mu being unemployed, even with his part-time jobs, it would be a significant expense.
Most importantly, the apartment wasn’t worth that much.
“So expensive,” Mu Mu’s face instantly fell, his right hand clutching his left wrist’s light brain, as if afraid someone would steal his light brain and his star coins.
Zheng An held his hand, clenching the offending “4” into a fist, “That’s expensive! That price is enough for us to rent a 100 square meter apartment with a balcony!”
Zheng An excitedly said, “Of course I refused, and I argued with him. But he started inspecting the apartment! Not a cursory glance, but he was pressing against the walls, squatting on the floor, inspecting every inch!”
Thinking of the landlord’s actions, Zheng An felt a throbbing pain in his temples, releasing Mu Mu’s hand and spinning in frustration before continuing,
“He insisted that we damaged the apartment and demanded ten thousand star coins in compensation! He said we either agree to the rent increase, pay compensation, or leave!”
Hearing about the ten thousand star coins, Mu Mu panicked, urgently saying, “But the rent is due in half a month. He can’t evict us before then! We have nowhere to go!”
“Rent increase? Extortion? Eviction? He’s dreaming! I’ll stall him for half a month! I’ll make sure he can’t find us, I’ll make him furious!” Zheng An gritted his teeth. “Little fool, come on, I’ll treat you to noodles and a park stroll. We won’t come back until midnight. Let’s see where he finds us!”
Mu Mu wanted to talk to the landlord, but he was never good with words and wouldn’t win any arguments, so he agreed to hide first.
He thought, I might not be able to buy the hearing aid now; we have to find a new place.
Zheng An placed his hand on the doorknob, about to open the door, when he heard a series of footsteps outside.
He lowered his head, exchanging a panicked look with Mu Mu.
The next second, there was a violent banging on the door.