Chapter 1374: Chapter 1373: Ling Fei’s Home

Ling Zhengwei was really worried about dirtying Ye Qiu’s car. When he heard Ye Qiu say that, he finally got into the back seat.

This might be the first time in his forty-plus years that he’s ever sat in such a luxury car.

While in the car, Ling Zhengwei suddenly wondered if his unexpected promotion to team leader was due to Ye Qiu. After all, he had no money or connections, so how could he suddenly get promoted?

At this point, Ling Zhengwei knew he needed to ask Ling Fei about it.

Following Ling Fei’s directions, Ye Qiu drove towards the urban village where Ling Zhengwei currently lived.

Ling Zhengwei, like Liu Lingxiu, was a local and had his own house here, but it was very old, similar to the old house in the urban village where Ling Zhengwei lived—left to him by his parents.

Now Ye Qiu parked the car on a street outside the urban village since cars couldn’t go in there. He found a suitable spot near the village basketball court to temporarily park.

As Ye Qiu, Ling Fei, and Ling Zhengwei got out of the car, Ling Fei asked, “Dad, do you want to eat at a food stall nearby or should we cook on our own?”

“Dr. Ye, where would you like to eat?”

“Let’s cook ourselves. I want to try Ling Fei’s cooking.”

Actually, Ling Fei had been helping cook at Peach Blossom Spring Villa for the past couple of days. She made a few dishes for Ye Qiu to try, and the results were quite decent.

While Ling Fei went to the nearby market to buy groceries, Ye Qiu followed Ling Zhengwei to his place.

It was in a small alley, a two-story old house with an area of less than eighty square meters. It looked at least thirty years old, and the exterior wall was seriously peeling.

“Dr. Ye, it’s a bit simple here.”

“That’s alright. I used to live in an old neighborhood with my parents too. They worked at a textile factory in Jiangbei.”

Now that they’ve entered the first floor, there’s one room, a kitchen, and a dining area. The room used to be where Ling Fei’s grandparents stayed, but after they both passed away, it’s now vacant and only used for lunch.

Perhaps because it’s surrounded by taller buildings, the two-story house of Ling Zhengwei gets completely blocked from sunlight.

During the day, there’s little sunlight here, and now at around six p.m., it’s as dark as dawn, without any light, so they have to turn on the lights.

Living long-term in such an environment is uncomfortable. After all, water and light are essentials no one can do without.

“I work at the printing factory during the day and come back only at night, so I’m used to it.”

Ling Zhengwei said a bit embarrassed.

Although having a house like this in the big city is a fortune to many, this was left by his parents.

Ling Zhengwei knew that he hadn’t earned much working in the printing factory over the years. Otherwise, with money, he would have long demolished and rebuilt it into four or five floors. Living in at least five floors would definitely be more comfortable.

But there’s just no money, and added to the constant issues with his ex-wife Zhou Xiaolan, he had no mood to think about these.

That’s the situation on the first floor. Going up the stairs, Ye Qiu found it very dim, even with the stair lights on, it was still uncomfortable.

On the second floor, there are three rooms. Previously, before Ling Zhengwei and Zhou Xiaolan divorced, each had their own room, and the other belonged to Ling Fei.

After the divorce, Zhou Xiaolan moved out and rented a place.

Hence, the second floor felt like something was missing, and it wasn’t as clean as before. Zhou Xiaolan used to tidy up when she returned from work, but with Ling Zhengwei as a single man now, working hard daily, he came back mostly to sleep, watch TV, or have a beer—just like that.

“Dr. Ye, it hasn’t been tidied here for some time, let me clean up a bit.”

“Uncle Ling, wait for Ling Fei to help. We men can’t clean thoroughly.”

Feeling a bit awkward, Ling Zhengwei sat on the worn-out sofa and turned on the TV with the remote.

Remembering Ye Qiu as a first-time guest, Ling Zhengwei went to boil a kettle of water, planning to serve Ye a cup.

“Uncle Ling, did Ling Fei’s mother move out?”

Ye Qiu asked.

Ling Zhengwei thought his daughter had told Ye Qiu and was surprised Ye didn’t seem to know.

“We divorced, and she moved out the next day, otherwise there would be more things here.”

“How did you split the house?”

The house?

By normal procedure, a divorce would mean splitting assets equally.

No doubt, the most valuable asset between them was this building.

This building was left by Ling Zhengwei’s parents, thus belonging to him personally. However, if it went to court, Zhou Xiaolan would get a share because she was married here for many years.

“We didn’t split the house; Zhou Xiaolan knew this was left by my parents. I also said it would be left to Ling Fei, regardless of possible future demolition.”

“So, you guys divorced and didn’t divide anything?”

“Nothing to divide. All along, Zhou Xiaolan and I have been financially independent. She handled the grocery and cooking expenses, while the fees for Ling Fei’s school were split: I paid for tuition, Zhou Xiaolan for miscellaneous fees.”

Financial independence?

No wonder, this intrigued Ye Qiu.

After all, for a married couple, being completely financially independent is unusual. Otherwise, what feelings could they share staying together?

“What do you think of Ling Fei’s mother?”

Ye Qiu asked again.

“I don’t know.”

Ling Zhengwei truly didn’t know what kind of person his ex-wife was. They were set up by others, got married without much affection, and then had Ling Fei.

However, after marriage, the gossips about Zhou Xiaolan at the printing factory often reached him, making him uncomfortable, which led to various conflicts over time.

Seeing Ling Zhengwei seemed to be in pain, Ye Qiu refrained from asking more, as he walked around, feeling that the current state and decor of the place was really oppressive.

But if it were rebuilt into four or five floors, styled like high-story villas, and decorated with money, it would be quite different.

“Uncle Ling, I’ll look around.”

“Be careful.”

Ye Qiu went up to the rooftop by himself and found it quite simple, with even the railing being low. Looking around, it was blocked by taller buildings, all at least four stories high, up to seven stories—possibly built for rental or waiting for future demolition.

Further away, outside the urban village, were all new developments, with those buildings even higher, twenty to thirty stories were normal, so even in broad daylight, they blocked all sunlight here.