I Became the Mother of His Child-Chapter 427: Money Well Spent
Song Tianxin quietly took several hundred dollars from Song Yuan Yao’s house and ran away, thinking that it would be enough for her to live comfortably for quite some time. Not having had any real experience with money, she didn’t quite understand what the cost of living was like outside. Carrying her luggage, she left Song Yuan Yao’s home without any concerns for her future, only hesitating about where exactly to go. After thinking it over for a while, she decided to find an inn to stay at.
She had gone to school in the county and knew quite well what an inn was, so she hailed a rickshaw and found a fairly decent place to stay right away. But as she was young and not yet at the age to get an ID card, which had only been required for a few years, it was much easier to check into an inn than before. However, the person who rented her a room was a shrewd middle-aged woman who saw right through Song Tianxin at first glance and immediately began to scheme.
"Little girl, how long are you planning to stay?" the middle-aged woman asked Song Tianxin warmly.
"Auntie, I’m thinking of staying for three days first! How much is one night?" Song Tianxin estimated the time and also left herself an exit strategy; if she couldn’t find a job, she would just call home and go back to the countryside. After all, she wouldn’t starve.
"Sure, staying for three days! But you need to pay a deposit of one hundred first, and fifty yuan for one night. That’s a total of one hundred and fifty for three days. Including your deposit, it’s two hundred and fifty yuan altogether." The middle-aged woman’s lips curled up as she quickly inflated the price of staying one night by several times in her mind.
At first glance, the young girl appeared inexperienced, a simple girl from the countryside, dark-skinned, and exuding a kind of foolish cleverness. To the experienced middle-aged woman, the thoughts of such a young girl were like writing on a blank piece of paper, crystal clear in an instant.
"Why is it so expensive?" Song Tianxin had never stayed at an inn and was unaware of the actual prices, but she did the math and counted the money she had taken from Song Yuan Yao’s home—a total of three hundred yuan. She also had two hundred yuan that Yuantao had given her to spend in Z City. After paying a few yuan for her rickshaw ride and contemplating the possibility of spending more than half of her money on a three-day stay—and still having to afford food and drinks—she realized she wouldn’t have much left, which made her hesitate.
She wasn’t someone with high living standards or a rich fool to be easily taken advantage of.
"Little girl, you must have never stayed in a hotel before, which is why you don’t know the prices of inns," the shrewd innkeeper pointed out Song Tianxin’s discomfort and then began to manipulate her with a smile. "Let me tell you the truth, fifty yuan a day is a conscience price. I certainly did not hike it up for you. You can go out and ask around at other hotels nearby. The price for one night around here is about the same, we are all running legitimate businesses. Moreover, we provide free hot water and there’s a TV in the room. Among the hotels around here, Anxin Inn is definitely known for its cleanliness. If you weren’t so young, I wouldn’t offer you such a discount. If it were someone else, they’d think this price is too low! Besides, you don’t have an ID card, do you? Now you know that staying at an inn is not like before; you don’t need a certificate from your village, but you still need a household registration book or an ID card. Do you have any of these with you?" The innkeeper spoke at leisure, noticing that the more she cajoled, the more insecure the girl became, and she intensified her efforts.
"Auntie, do you really need an ID card and household registration book to stay at an inn? I didn’t bring any of those with me!" Song Tianxin replied, her face a mix of embarrassment and surprise.
"Yes! Little girl, not having an ID card or household registration book makes things very difficult for me. If authorities come to check, I could end up in jail. If it weren’t for your young age, I wouldn’t dare take this risk!" The innkeeper hoodwinked her, presenting herself as a remarkably kind person, "Or let’s just forget about it! You could check out other inns as well." After scaring Song Tianxin, she then used reverse psychology to corner the bewildered girl.
"I’ll trouble you to give me a room then," Song Tianxin fell for it in no time, rummaging through her pocket to hand over neatly folded bills, "I’ll stay for three days first. Could you please be a bit flexible, auntie?" There was a plea in her eyes.
"Well, alright!" The innkeeper happily accepted the money, thinking that she should have asked for more, knowing how easily the young girl in front of her could be swindled and that she actually had money. "I’ll get a room ready for you then. But if anyone asks you anything, you mustn’t say too much, okay? If someone comes to check, it will be easier for me to claim you are a distant relative. Little girl, remember that I’m taking a risk to let you stay. You should also consider this for me," the innkeeper added, completely convincing Song Tianxin.
"Of course, auntie, don’t worry! I definitely won’t say anything." Song Tianxin agreed with no hint of the fierce defiance she displayed when at home, trying hard to seem experienced and not easily fooled. But in reality, she was being taken for a ride without even knowing.
"Good, I’ll take you to the room now." The woman smiled as she led Song Tianxin away, "My inn is very tidy. Once you enter the room, you’ll see. Spending fifty yuan a day really is not in vain." It has to be said that what the innkeeper was saying had some truth to it.
Though she had deliberately raised the accommodation price, she hadn’t completely lost her conscience; the room she arranged for Song Tianxin was indeed clean and tidy. Moreover, the innkeeper was a diligent middle-aged woman who liked to keep things in order. The environment of the place was very clean, and she even had a sewing machine from when she got married and used her free time to hand-make curtains and tablecloths to furnish the rooms nicely. It could be considered a pretty fine inn when compared to other similar places, that is, if the price hadn’t been outrageously high. However, the conditions of the Song Family were indeed good, back in Song Family Village, they definitely belonged to the first households to be fairly well-off. But they hadn’t built a new house, and they were still living in the same one they had built over a decade ago. For rural folks, building a new house meant living in it for decades or even longer, and it would house their descendants too. Despite it being somewhat old, it was still considered a new house.
