ebookslot Chapter 21 Planning to Rent a Room
Chapter 21 Planning to Rent a Room
"Alright," Felix said, ending the conversation.
"We should leave now. Just like when we came, place your hand on the door and silently say 'corridor'."
Lucius followed and touched the scarred door in the materials and alchemy room. The next moment, the two were back in the corridor on the third floor.
Felix waited until Lucius was standing still before speaking:
"That's the schedule for today. After you finish your work tomorrow morning, come here to learn the basics of mysticism from Oliver."
Lucius nodded, making a mental note of it. He glanced at the clock on the wall; the hands pointed to three in the afternoon.
As he and Felix walked side by side to the platform, his stomach, which had been silent for a long time, let out a loud "rumbling" sound.
"Oh no." Lucius instinctively clutched his stomach.
Since he transmigrated to this world, he hasn't eaten anything, and his stomach finally had to protest in the most embarrassing way.
Felix's expression remained unchanged, and he subtly shifted his gaze.
After descending a few steps, he seemed to casually recall a trivial matter:
"You can get an advance on next week's salary. The finance office is at the end of the corridor on the second floor. Just get Oliver's signature and you can collect the cash."
Lucius quickly put aside his earlier embarrassment, his tone filled only with excitement for the £5.12 shillings:
"yes!"
…………
Baked beans in tomato sauce, rolled pancakes, lamb and pea soup...
Once Lucius had money, he started spending it out of revenge.
He found a small, reasonably clean-looking restaurant on the west side of Splin Street, intending to treat himself.
"Burp~"
Lucius used the last piece of bread to wrap up the remaining tomato beans on the plate and stuffed them into his mouth. Then he looked at the diary, which did not mention that he had gained any occult points.
This was an attempt by him to gain occult points using cup readings, and the simplest way to do that was to eat.
As for other cup signs criteria, such as fertility...
Hmm, this just doesn't seem right!
Lucius handed the boss three shillings, while mentally summarizing:
"To gain Mysticism Points, one's code of conduct must at least be related to Mysticism. If I had consumed a Tier 1 creature this time, perhaps I could have met the 'food' requirement."
He walked out of the restaurant, stood on the sidewalk of Sprin Street, checked his bearings, and walked east along Sprin Street until he reached the steam tram stop.
It was only around 4 o'clock, and there weren't many people around.
A "whooshing" sound came from afar.
The steam trams in Hull belong to the steam dumbcar series. This type of tram was originally designed by engineers of the Unyielding Order 30 years ago. It is powered by a small steam engine and can tow two carriages at a time, carrying about 60 passengers.
"Hiss—" Accompanied by a cloud of white steam escaping from the exhaust valves on both sides of the chassis, the steam-powered dumb wagon, towing two iron-gray carriages, came to a stop in front of Lucius.
The doors of the two carriages opened simultaneously, and two burly men in blue uniforms were in charge of the front and back doors respectively.
They wore brass badges of the tram association on their chests and skillfully maintained order as people entered and exited the area.
The man in charge of the front gate was also in charge of selling tickets. He had a metal money box hanging on his shoulder, secured to his waist with a leather rope, and a stack of cut-up tickets in his other hand.
Lucius handed over a brand new shilling.
After taking the ticket, the ticket seller turned it over in his hand to confirm its authenticity, and then counted out eleven pennies from the money box and handed them to him.
Lucius climbed into the carriage and casually found an empty seat by the window.
The carriage wasn't crowded. At this time, the workers were still at the factory. Scattered among the seats were an elderly gentleman wearing reading glasses reading a newspaper and two women with headscarves talking in hushed tones.
The "whoosh" sounded again. This steam tram only had a stop on Bank Street. Lucius needed to get off on Bank Street and then walk back to his apartment on Princes Avenue.
"Hey Lucius! I've been waiting for you here all day!"
Lucius was stopped by Leo Harrison in front of the apartment building. Reluctantly, he pulled two pennies from his pocket and said:
"Landlord, you are as persistent as ever."
"Consider this a compliment," Leo said with satisfaction, accepting the two pennies and smiling.
"How's our East York University students doing with their job search lately? Uh, don't get me wrong, I mean you should be living in a more decent apartment."
"You just want to raise the rent, don't you?" Lucius suppressed his inner grumbling.
When the original owner first enrolled in school, in order to save trouble and to prevent future rent increases, he signed a three-year long-term lease contract with Leo Harrison, with a fixed weekly rent of 5 shillings.
At the time, this seemed like an unprofitable deal; a small single room with just a bed and a desk was definitely not worth the price.
But as time went on, Hull attracted a large number of out-of-town workers looking for work at the docks and factories, and housing demand rose sharply.
With simple modifications, Lucius's single room could easily fit six people.
Leo had at least hinted at this to the original owner once when collecting rent, his tone filled with regret for that three-year contract.
However, this also served as a reminder to Lucius.
He really needed to find a new place to live. The house on Baker Street didn't even have a bathroom; all the residents on the floor had to share a small cubicle at the end of the hallway where there was always a queue.
In my memory, the workers living on this floor didn't seem to follow the slogan written on the back of the cubicle doors: "One small step forward, one giant leap for civilization."
Every morning, the experience of using it feels like a test of willpower to the extreme.
He looked at Leo Harrison, who was still standing beside him and had no intention of leaving.
This stingy landlord, though so miserly he could almost be included in a museum, owns the property rights to at least six apartment buildings around Prince Avenue and Bank Street.
If there's one person in Hull who knows the area's housing market best, it's him.
Lucius thought for a moment, then pulled a bright green gold pound from his pocket.
He held the banknote between his thumb and forefinger, casually waved it in front of Leo, and smiled:
"Mr. Harrison, I landed a pretty good job today and even got an advance on next week's pay. Now I'm all cash in my pocket and just wondering what to do with it."
Leo Harrison's eyes widened instantly, and he only reluctantly looked away after Lucius folded the banknotes back and put them back in his coat pocket.
Upon hearing Lucius's frustration about not knowing how to spend money, he immediately adopted an extremely enthusiastic demeanor:
"Mr. Lucius! I knew from the first time I met you three years ago that the students of East York University would one day get out of their temporary predicament and move towards a truly decent life."
I lost a lot of money because of this. As you know, with the current market, I could have earned at least double the rent by renting this room to someone else, but I still gritted my teeth and rented this single room to you long-term.
Now that's settled, you haven't let me down. You deserve a better house, a really good house.
He pointed his index finger toward Bank Street:
"Well, it's quite a coincidence. I just found a vacant townhouse on Bank Street this morning. I haven't even had a chance to put up the sign yet. It must be fate."
Lucius didn't expose Leo's nonsense about "losing a lot of money" and "fate," but simply followed up by asking:
"Mr. Leo, could you tell me more about that townhouse?"