Street containing joys and sorrows of renting

(Baonghean) - After so many years in the city, I always considered myself a 'country kid coming to the city' and 'living in the city' to learn how to grow up, mature, to live with people, with life...

I have a friend who is very talented but eccentric. He is from Dien Chau. He and his wife went to Hanoi to start a business. The business was quite big but then collapsed. I don't want to ask why, because when I met him, his wife and children had already moved to Vinh.

The assets he brought with him were a jumble of cameras, big and small, brand new and some that he had dug up from junkyards. Yet he cherished, preserved, and took care of them, sometimes even more than his wife. A man's passion sometimes makes women feel jealous.

Children playing in the boarding house on Nguyen Duy Trinh street. Photo: Nguyen Book

The whole family rented a house year after year, while friends bought land, built houses, or bought apartments... Asked him, why not find a house to live in, if you don't have enough money then borrow, at least you have your own house. He laughed: I prefer renting a house, living in an apartment, every time I go home I have to park and get my car, it's annoying! I rent a house, when I'm old I go back to the countryside, that's it! She didn't complain either, the children were still young, or they were influenced by their parents' personalities, as long as they had a place to play, a place to study, a place to eat and sleep, they would be happy.

But strangely, the eccentric and crazy things are “contagious”. Somehow, he “lured” two friends, one from the capital, one from the countryside, both with jobs, houses, wives and children, to Vinh to stay right next door.

Actually, these two men have to go back and forth to Vinh city a lot for work. Before, every time they came to work, they only rented a hotel for a few days. When they finished, they went back home. But now they rent a house for a month. When their wives and children get impatient and come to “check”, they also get happy. So, they leave the two husbands alone in Vinh, so that the mother and children can come visit occasionally. It is really confusing.

He was still acting crazy, telling me: Why don't you move to this neighborhood and live there forever! I denied everything, afraid that I would also be infected with the same crazy, strange things...

A row of rented rooms in Hung Dung ward, Vinh city. Photo: QL

Occasionally, I was still called to that “happiest” boarding house in Vinh city to gather for a drink and a meal. The life that made me work hard, unstable, and not settled as many people said, still passed by peacefully. I also knew that under each roof, there was a story full of hardships and worries about food, clothing, and money.

You, your friend and I too. But I saw that small house still open to welcome so many relatives from the countryside, so many friends from far away to stay. In that same house, you took care of and raised a sworn brother for months, when he was down on his luck, penniless… Big house or small house, rented house or “owner’s” house, it’s all a human heart, right?

I also rented a place, but on the contrary, I changed places constantly. I have the right, I have the choice! Every place I went, I didn’t talk, didn’t make friends, didn’t care much about my neighbors. A typical example of a life of indifference, selfishness and indifference to everything around me. Then I started walking on roads from strange to familiar. I remembered every street corner, every coffee shop, every alley, every nook and cranny with… delicious food. But when I started to feel a little familiar, I quietly ran away.

Actually, I am afraid. I am afraid of any attachment, even the smallest one, I am afraid of becoming attached to a place called a rented room. Like someone who is always ready to leave the country, not wanting to endure any pain of separation. But every time I go to a new rented room, I can’t sleep for weeks. And I still remember…

I remember the feeling of the first day I rented a room, the day I left the bamboo fence of the village to go to the city. After enrolling in school, my brother finished his task of checking the accommodation, paid the tuition for my children, then went to the bus station to go home. I stood there waving my hand, smiling broadly, telling him to go home quickly, I have friends here. But then I went back to my room, turned my face to the wall and cried.

I can never forget the days I walked alone in the rain from school to my boarding house. Surrounded by bustling people and vehicles, the street lights and city lights were still bright and sparkling, but I felt so lonely and lost, wondering where I belonged. The room was just a temporary place, with a superficial relationship: renting and renting.

I remember the crying of the woman in the next room, and the angry husband slamming the door and leaving in the middle of the night. At those times, I was also restless and couldn’t sleep. Then her husband came home reeking of alcohol, with dishes clattering. The whole neighborhood was shocked and turned on their lights to come over and try to stop him and console him.

I remember long business trips, going to the clouds, staying in the mountains, sleeping in the forest… Returning home, dazed and staring at the street, wanting only to close the bedroom door and bury myself in it, I was woken up by my neighbor to come over for dinner. My mother didn’t like me renting a house, but wanted me to live in a boarding house or a collective house because of that. She said, “In case something happens at night, there will be someone to call.”

One day, after a long, tiring day, I walked back to my rented room and sat down at the door, not bothering to open the door or turn on the light. Suddenly, the landlady walked up the stairs, holding more than a dozen roses wrapped in newspaper, and said: "I see you like to arrange flowers, today is the first day of the month, I bought some flowers to arrange, there are too many flowers, so I brought them up for you"! Just that alone moved me beyond words, and I suddenly felt motivated to stand up.

Much later, when I gradually got used to the life of renting, when the hustle and bustle of life swept away many of the wandering thoughts in my mind, I found a feeling of relief when I returned to my rented room. So that at that time I was alone, freely crying and laughing, without having to hide my emotions, without having to hide my worries and difficulties from my relatives. And even though I was alone, I was still assured that on the other side of the wall there were other people. Not necessarily close, but if anything happened, I was ready to knock on the door and ask for help. People can live alone, but no one can live alone.

My friend comes from a well-off family, lives in the city, and is a good student. But after graduating from university, she packed her bags and asked her parents for permission to move out and rent a room. Her parents covered their faces and cried out, “You have a house but don’t live there, your parents feed you but you spend money to rent a room outside,” but they couldn’t stop their stubborn daughter. They had no choice but to agree, along with a threat: “Your parents have eyes and ears, if you go out and do something bad, you’ll be dragged back right away, understand?”

Helping dad with vegetables (photo taken at the boarding house on Nguyen Duy Trinh street.

He went to work, earned money, struggled to make ends meet. On weekends, he went home to visit his parents. When his parents gave him rice, meat, and fish, he took them with him, but he refused to take any money. If he needed it, he borrowed it from friends.

He just smiled and said: “My parents let me go to school until I have a job. At home, I just rely on someone to take care of me and I can’t grow up. I also wanted to go out and see how you guys live. Once I got out, I realized that it was really free, but the price I had to pay was also very high. I didn’t have much money, and I had to skip meals one day and skip meals the next.

Then just be confident that you are responsible for your work and everyone else, then you will live well. But in the end, you are the most irresponsible to yourself. So you live in a rented house to learn how to support yourself, then you can support others"!

After so many years in the city, I still consider myself a “country kid coming to the city” even though in truth, the scent of the countryside has all but disappeared. Maybe I am less fortunate than my city friends, having to leave my family and fend for myself, but renting is also a way for me to grow up and mature. To learn how to get along with people, how to live, how to care, how to love each other just enough.

Quynh Luong