stjorthotic Chapter 22 New Home
Chapter 22 New Home
"Of course!" Leo Harrison's voice rose slightly as he saw Lucius take the bait.
"The house is at 6 Bank Street, which is close to the Upper East Side. It's less than a two-minute walk to the carriage rental station."
After he finished speaking, he led Lucius toward Bank Street.
The two walked for about 10 minutes, crossed the intersection of Prince Avenue and Bank Street, and arrived in front of a row of adjacent red brick apartment buildings.
These apartment buildings share a completely identical architectural style, are two stories high, and the streets in front of them are clean and tidy, with a gas street lamp every few steps.
Lucius noticed that many of the townhouses around had been converted into shops, and there was a bookstore called "Moran Bookstore" right next to the left of townhouse number 6.
He looked away, and Leo Harrison pulled a large handful of keys strung together with wire from the inside pocket of his vest—at least thirty or forty of them.
After carefully examining it, he found a copper key, stepped over the two stone steps in front of the door, inserted the key into the lock, and pushed open the dark green door.
Upon entering, there is a foyer, and on the right is a downward staircase leading to a well-lit basement.
Lucius followed Leo Harrison up the 17 steps. At the end of the stairs was a mahogany door, which was the real entrance to the first floor.
Leo Harrison pushed open the door, stepped aside to let Lucius go in first, and then introduced him from behind:
"Mr. Lucius, the living room is right inside the door, and the dining room and kitchen are to the left..."
Lucius followed Leo Harrison's directions, crossed the threshold, and looked around after standing inside the doorway.
The living room was larger than he had imagined, at least four times the size of his original single room. There was a fireplace embedded in the wall directly opposite, a red carpet underfoot, and a large chandelier overhead.
"Some of these are pieces of furniture that were installed by previous customers. They couldn't take them with them, so they sold them to me cheaply."
Leo Harrison spoke as he walked to the right:
"This is the washroom, which has hot and cold water pipes, and the bathtub is separate."
The original guest bedroom has been converted into a study. The bookshelves inside are still very sturdy; they were taken directly from the previous guest and are ready to use.
Lucius listened without making any comment, only glancing at the bathroom and study, and giving a slight nod to signal Leo Harrison to continue.
Leo Harrison felt the deal hadn't appealed to Lucius, so he led him upstairs:
"The upstairs is the most outstanding part of this house."
He opened the door to the second-floor room, his voice even more enthusiastic than when he was introducing the first-floor room:
"Upon entering, there is a living room, with bedrooms on the left and right sides respectively. The master bedroom faces south, and the sun shines from morning to afternoon, so it can keep warm all day without needing to burn extra coal in winter."
The second bedroom is a bit smaller, but it can be used as a children's room. Hehe, even if you marry a beautiful noblewoman and have a little angel, it won't feel cramped.
Lucius saw that Leo Harrison was going on and on about how he was going to marry a noblewoman and a little angel. If he let the landlord continue to ramble on, he figured he might even bring up the topic of his grandchildren.
"Ahem, Mr. Leo, let's talk about the rent."
"Oh, right, right, rent." Leo Harrison immediately became shrewd and serious when money was mentioned.
"Mr. Lucius, a house like this is worth 18 shillings and 6 pence a week."
This price includes water, gas, furniture usage, and maintenance of common areas.
Furthermore, we can only sign a one-year lease agreement at most. As prices continue to rise, the price may need to be adjusted upwards after one year.
18 shillings and 6 pence. Lucius's expression remained unchanged, his tone like that of a picky customer who wasn't particularly interested but only refrained from leaving out of politeness:
"Mr. Harrison, you see, the house was renovated too much by the previous guest, and the layout doesn't quite suit my lifestyle."
The washroom is nice, but unfortunately there's only one, which will be inconvenient if friends need to stay there in the future.
In addition, the surrounding shops, such as the bookstore on the left, have a lot of people who disturb my rest.
Moreover, living among shops is probably not the best choice for someone who hopes to maintain a certain level of social standing in the future.
He shook his head in disappointment, showing no interest in renting it.
Leo Harrison cursed inwardly, thinking that the kid was even more cunning than he had been three years ago.
But having been a landlord on this street for decades, his experience of meeting countless people meant he always had some intelligence that others didn't have.
Leo Harrison cleared his throat and lowered his voice to offer his explanation:
"Mr. Lucius, you don't need to worry about the bookstore on the left disturbing your rest; it's practically deserted."
He moved closer, as if sharing a trivial yet intriguing secret:
"Its owner is an oddball. He prices every book in the bookstore at 1 gold pound and prints them in words I can't understand."
I bet that boss is either a crazy man squandering his inheritance or a money launderer.
…………
After a 10-minute tug-of-war, Lucius finally convinced Leo Harrison to change the weekly rent to 15 shillings.
Without wasting any time, the two returned to Leo Harrison's room and drafted a new one-year lease agreement.
During this time, Lucius also managed to get his two pence back from Harrison.
His previous contract had not yet expired, and Leo Harrison had no right to renovate the single room, so he gritted his teeth and paid Lucius two pennies.
Lucius stuffed two pence into his coat pocket, got up, and went upstairs. He didn't have much to carry.
Two sets of clothes to change into, a few books, and a usable quilt were all taken in just two trips.
He glanced at his pocket watch; it was 4:40 PM. Then he hurriedly left.
The nearby meat and vegetable market closes at 5 p.m., and Lucius prefers the cuisine of his past life to the stews and fried dishes common in this era.
He spent 1 shilling at the meat and vegetable market to buy 1.5 pounds of pork belly with skin, along with scallions, ginger, garlic, and sugar.
What pained him the most was the spices.
The stall owner opened a row of sealed tin cans and weighed out a small amount of star anise, cinnamon, and a few bay leaves for him, but the price was shockingly high.
Despite the development of Hull's local shipping industry, the price of spices has not yet been reduced to a level that makes them affordable for every citizen.
Lucius paid for the spices and bought a bag of bread, a pound of potatoes, and a few plump quail eggs as a side dish.
All the ingredients, including the spices, cost him a total of 3 shillings and 6 pence.
He walked out of the market carrying a pile of ingredients packaged in oil paper and cloth bags, a brief but intense debate between will and desire echoing in his mind.
One side felt it was outrageous to squander one's salary on the very first day after receiving an advance, while the other side felt they hadn't had a proper meal since last night.
Ultimately, the one who prevailed was the one who learned to use "this is a practice of cup-making" in the restaurant to rationalize their expenses.
Lucius carried a large pile of ingredients back along Bank Street. When he passed the Moran Bookstore, he had to slow down and push the spice bag that was about to slip off back into his arms.
Just then, he suddenly remembered Harrison saying that he didn't recognize the words in Moran's bookstore.
"Could it be a language of cryptanalysis or some other language? And the price of one gold pound is because it contains occult knowledge!"
Lucius thought about it more and more and felt that this was the case, so he quickened his pace and piled all the ingredients on the kitchen counter as soon as he entered the new apartment.
He straightened his shirt collar, went downstairs, and pushed open the door of Moran Bookstore with the calm gait of an ordinary customer.