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nAfter discussing the distribution of the reward money, Chen Shaojie quickly left.

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nChen Yiming entered the living room from the courtyard and asked Father Chen about the matter of finding a house.

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n“Dad, what’s the situation regarding the houses that you and Mum went to look at?”

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nChen Yiming saw several fliers advertising housing on the table. He picked one up at random and glanced at it.

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n“One of your cousins took your mother and I around all the buildings downtown with units for sale. She took down most of the prices for us. We can’t decide on one, why don’t you take a look?”

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nFather Chen took out a piece of paper filled with information about the various properties and handed it to Chen Yiming.

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nChen Yiming took the paper and started reading through the information.

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nSkyline New City, Building 3, Room 402. The floor area was 125 square meters, and the cost was 78,000 yuan per square meter.

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nDragon Light Century City, Building 8, Room 1411. The floor area was 113 square meters, and the cost was 82,000 yuan per square meter.

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nStarry Sky Garden, Building 4, Room 803. The floor area was 186 square meters, and the cost was 67,000 yuan per square meter.

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n…

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n“Why did the prices increase so much?”

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nChen Yiming asked in disbelief.

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nHe remembered that when he had just transmigrated, Mother Chen had mentioned in a conversation with Father Chen that she wanted to buy a house in the city for him to live in after he got married.

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nAt that time, the price mentioned was only slightly over 10,000 yuan. It had only been a few months since then and the prices had already increased by seven or eight times. The level of inflation in housing prices was way too high.

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n“I miscalculated. If it was a few months ago, I would have gritted my teeth and paid the down payment. Now, it seems like the price fluctuates by the day, and loans are not accepted anymore. They are only accepting full payment upfront. Our family’s savings can’t even afford a toilet.”

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nFather Chen shook his head, obviously very regretful.

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nSuch a price was completely out of the reach of ordinary households, and the speed at which one could earn money could not keep up with the rate at which house prices were rising.

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nChen Yiming made a calculation of the amount he could earn every month.

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nWorking as a part-time teacher at the Power-doubling Martial Arts Training Center paid him a total of 180,000 yuan for one month’s basic salary and tuition fees.

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nThere were a total of 25 students in the swordsmanship class that he was teaching. There was still more than enough space in the arena, so it shouldn’t be a problem to double the number of students. He could earn an additional 100,000 yuan or more.

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nOn his cousin’s side, the reward for the task of verifying the household register would not be less than his salary from the Power-doubling Martial Arts Training Center. After all, it might involve a fight at the level of the disciple realm.

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nWith just these two sources of income, he could earn between 500,000 to 1,000,000 yuan a month. In the short term, he would not be able to earn enough money to buy a house, so he could only consider renting one.

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n“What about the cost of renting a house in the residential district?” Chen Yiming asked Father Chen once he understood the current prices for purchasing a house.

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n“The cost of renting has increased even more than the housing prices. The monthly rent has already increased to more than ten times the previous amount, and they don’t accept annual payment. The rent is charged monthly and adjusted according to the market price each month.”

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nAfter saying that, Father Chen looked distressed. He couldn’t accept the high cost of renting.

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nIt was hard to find a house in the city center, and renting a house was even less worth it than buying a house, since they would be paying the rent at peak prices.

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nHearing this, Chen Yiming quietly calculated the monthly rent.

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nAccording to the previous estimates, a three-bedroom apartment cost about 5,000 yuan a month. The monthly rent should now be between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan, which was still within his means.

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n“Then, let’s rent a house in the residential district as soon as possible. I’ll think of a way to buy a house later. I can earn at least a few hundred thousand yuan a month, so it won’t be a problem to pay for the rent.”

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nChen Yiming didn’t think too much about which neighborhood had a better price point and just told Father Chen his decision.

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nFrom the information he got from Father Chen, the city center and the suburbs were two completely different worlds. The city center had naturally become the only safe area in East Lake City.

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nIt was not just property prices, but the living costs had also risen exponentially.

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nHe had no choice but to move to the city center for the safety of his family. He had to fork out the money no matter how expensive it was.

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n…

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nIn the evening, after the afternoon cultivation class ended, Chen Yiming headed to a teahouse in the south of the city to meet up with Chen Shaojie’s team.

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nIt was said that the teahouse was opened by a relative of some big shot, so it could still operate normally even under such circumstances.

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nAs soon as he entered the teahouse, he discovered that there were quite a few customers inside. It was clear that their business was quite good.

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nChen Yiming found his cousin’s table and sat down.

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nOther than Chen Shaojie, Zhong Chaofeng, and Lin Yongxin, there was also a female team member. Altogether, there were a total of four members.

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n“This is my cousin, Chen Yiming, Consultant Chen, an expert who has undergone the first transformation. This is He Chunping, the only female member in the team.”

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nChen Shaojie introduced He Chunping and Chen Yiming, who had never met before, to each other.

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nChen Yiming was helping the team and was assigned the role of a consultant.

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n“Hello, Consultant Chen. Please take care of me in the future.”

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nHe Chunping smiled as she stood up and took the initiative to shake hands.

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nChen Yiming sized up He Chunping, who had not attended the previous gathering.

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nShe was dressed in a dark blue tight-fitting uniform and black leather boots, accentuating her curvaceous figure. She looked exactly like the person in the pictures of policewoman one would expect to see on the Internet in his previous world.

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n“Hello, I’m Chen Yiming.”

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nChen Yiming shook her hand lightly and quickly let go.

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nThe skin on her hand was very soft, completely unlike his impression of what a member of the city patrol team should be like.

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nAfter the introductions, everyone sat down. Chen Shaojie poured tea for each of them.

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n“Cousin, this is the area we will be checking later.”

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nChen Shaojie took out a map from his bag and placed it on the tea table.

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nHe had addressed Chen Yiming as his cousin instead of Consultant Chen, deliberately hinting repeatedly that they were related.

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nChen Yiming glanced at where Chen Shaojie was pointing.

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nThe area that they were about to check had already been marked in red on the map. It was very eye-catching and could be understood at a glance.

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nHe was a little surprised. His cousin, Chen Shaojie, seemed like he knew more than just using his name to get things done. He did not know if Chen Shaojie had come up with this himself or if he was following the instructions of someone behind the scenes.

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n“This is my plan. Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin will guard the intersection and end of the street. Cousin, He Chunping, and I will be responsible for checking every house.”

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nChen Shaojie waited for Chen Yiming to take a look at the map before continuing with his plan.

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nIn this plan, Chen Shaojie had schemed to get the other team members to do the risky work. He had Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin guard the entrance and end of the street. Then, he had arranged for He Chunping and Chen Yiming to follow him.

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nIf they found people who could not be verified, and were too strong and could not be restrained in time, the team members guarding the ends of the street might face life-threatening danger if they stepped up to block the way.

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nIf he stayed by Chen Yiming’s side, even if there were any emergency situations, Chen Yiming would be able to quickly protect him.

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nHe Chunping was the only female member in the team. She was young and pretty, so it would be enjoyable to work with her.

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nThis was his second uncle, Chen Zhipeng’s, arrangement.

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