Xia Xiaolan cleared her throat twice. If You Li had been as spoiled and disagreeable as Liang Huan, she wouldn’t have wasted a single word on her.

She carefully chose her words and coughed once:

“I’ll keep calling you Little You since I’m used to it. Little You, you’re only 16 now. The national marriage age requirement for women is 20 years old. Isn’t it too early to be rushing into relationships at your age… At this age, you haven’t finished high school yet, are you still in school?”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure if You Li was a student since both times they’d met had been on weekends.

You Li shook her head, “No, I only finished junior high.”

In truth, she still had two or three months left of junior high, but the teachers had sympathized with her family situation and allowed her to get her graduation certificate.

She didn’t mention her family situation to gain sympathy.

After failing to get help from the street office, You Li stopped expecting anyone to help her without reason.

What could she offer except her young, clean body?

This was the only thing she had to trade, hoping Shao Guangrong could help her and her mother escape their current situation. If Shao Guangrong truly didn’t like her, You Li would probably have to find someone else.

She just didn’t know if those men would keep their word.

You Li spoke casually, but Xia Xiaolan detected something unusual in her tone.

If You Li had been crying and portraying herself as pitiful, after the Tian Xiaoyan incident in Qijing Village, Xia Xiaolan would have felt uncomfortable.

Yet You Li deliberately avoided mentioning why she’d stopped schooling.

Xia Xiaolan parked the car according to You Li’s directions and searched for the house number Zhou Cheng had given her. The door was padlocked with a layer of dust… Well, she’d guessed correctly – Zhou Cheng probably hadn’t looked at the property since buying it.

Xia Xiaolan unlocked it, while You Li stood properly behind her without moving forward.

“Sister Xia, you’ve found the place, shall I head back now?”

“Are you busy? If not, why don’t you look around with me?”

You Li obediently followed her in.

This courtyard was quite dilapidated but spacious, much larger than You Li’s courtyard, with several rooms and a central courtyard.

The courtyard had many flower pots, but without care, most plants had died.

However, there was a wintersweet tree taller than Xia Xiaolan, already covered in buds by late November, looking ready to bloom in about two weeks. Looking around, Xia Xiaolan found the courtyard quite elegant, though neglect had left it run-down.

It wasn’t as large as the siheyuan where the Shi family had stayed, but renting out each room separately could bring in around 500 yuan annually.

What a waste to leave it empty!

Even with her million-yuan assets, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t accept such waste.

Assets needed to cycle positively and required careful management to appreciate.

While Xia Xiaolan carefully inspected the house, You Li stood nervously in the courtyard. Whose home was this, Sister Xia’s? It didn’t seem so – who wouldn’t be able to find their own house? Xia Xiaolan was here for the first time, yet had keys.

While You Li pondered this puzzle, Xia Xiaolan suddenly asked:

“Are houses around here easy to rent?”

You Li truly didn’t know.

Her place wasn’t rented; it was her stepfather’s ancestral property.

It was because of that house, proving her stepfather was a genuine Beijing native, that people had said her mother was fortunate to be taken in by such a man.

Yes, fortunate indeed – so fortunate she couldn’t bear it!

“They should be rentable. I often hear about families whose children are getting married without housing, or people wanting to build additions to their courtyards, causing huge arguments among residents. But I don’t know the exact rental rates. Sister Xia, would you like me to ask around?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “I won’t stand on ceremony then, but I hope it won’t interfere with your work.”

Many workplaces now had only one day off per week.

Factory workshops operated on rotating shifts.

Since You Li wasn’t in school, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure if she worked.

You Li readily agreed, “I just do odd jobs, it won’t interfere!”

Odd jobs? So no steady work then?

At such a young age, surely she wouldn’t become a female hustler on the streets? Xia Xiaolan felt You Li’s personality didn’t seem that type.

“Haven’t you thought about doing something else?”

How could You Li not have thought about it?

She’d even considered setting up a street stall – compared to relying on men for meals, running a stall wasn’t shameful.

But she had no capital.

Her stepfather wouldn’t give her money, searching and taking away any earnings she brought home, fearing she’d run away if she had money. You Li found it laughable – with her mother in his grip, how could she possibly run away alone? Xia Xiaolan’s words made You Li feel ashamed, “I want to find work, the kind that pays two hundred yuan monthly, but without education or skills, I can’t get into factories…”

Xia Xiaolan’s expression remained neutral, “Are you hoping Shao Guangrong will help you find a job paying 200 yuan monthly? Or are you hoping he’ll give you 200 yuan monthly? The first is unlikely even with education and skills – formal jobs consider seniority, and no one starts with such high wages. The second is even more impossible. Shao Guangrong’s salary isn’t even 200 yuan, and the car he drives belongs to someone else – Kang Wei, whom you met last time, remember?”

200 yuan monthly – while Shao Guangrong’s salary wasn’t that high, he still held shares in the building materials store, so he could easily spare that money.

But there was no need to tell You Li this.

Xia Xiaolan’s implication was clear – if You Li hoped for Shao Guangrong to “keep” her, she needed to abandon that idea.

As Shao Guangrong’s friend, Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to interfere in his private life, but if he couldn’t resist the persistence and ended up keeping a 16-year-old girl, while she didn’t know how the Shao family would react, Zhou Cheng would probably beat Shao Guangrong to death.

To save Comrade Little Shao from a beating, Xia Xiaolan reluctantly meddled in this affair.

You Li shook her head vigorously.

Under Xia Xiaolan’s suspicious gaze, You Li felt extremely embarrassed.

“No, Sister Xia, I never thought about taking Young Master Shao’s money I won’t see him anymore!”

She turned to leave, but Xia Xiaolan called her back:

“Don’t run, stop right there. If you run like this, I won’t know what to think. Can you stay away from Shao Guangrong?”

You Li nodded firmly, “I won’t see him!”

“If you truly don’t have those intentions, then I apologize for misjudging you! Little You, if you can keep your word and stop pursuing Shao Guangrong, earning 200 yuan monthly might not be impossible. First, help me with something – find out the rental rates for these places, then come see me, alright? There’s no future in pursuing Shao Guangrong, that poor fellow has no money himself.”

Xia Xiaolan took out her pen and paper, wrote down the addresses of Zhou Cheng’s seven unrented properties, and asked You Li to help investigate.

You Li held the addresses from Xia Xiaolan, her palms sweating despite the winter cold:

“…Sister Xia, are you serious?”

Xia Xiaolan shrugged, “Maybe not, I might be deceiving you. Whether to follow my suggestion is your choice. Let’s go, I’m done here, I’ll drive you back.”

You Li carefully folded the paper with the addresses and tucked it safely in her pocket.

Whether true or false, she had to try.

If she could get this job, she could save money herself to rescue her mother – who would have time to chase after Shao Guangrong then!