After all, it was Huo Yu. She quickly calmed down and asked, "Are all houses like this?"
The agent's eyes turned around the two of them several times, and her years of experience in the industry quickly made her realize that they were two cash-strapped girls.
"Can I take the liberty of asking, what is your budget for renting a house?"
the agent asked.
Huo Yu didn't hide it, and said directly: "We only have 20,000 yuan in total, and we don't have a job, so look, what kind of house can we afford within this price?"
Twenty thousand yuan....
After the agent pondered for a moment, he made a few phone calls and asked.
After making the call, she said to Huo Yu and Su Tina: "We do have a house here, but I don't know if you can like it..."
"Take us there." Huo Yu said immediately.
The agency girl got the keys from other agencies, and then took Huo Yu and Su Tina through the streets of Seoul. Not long after, they came to a very old community.
There are telephone poles standing everywhere next to the community, some of which are made of wood. The crisscrossing black lines in the sky are very depressing.
Sutina looked up at the wires. She seemed familiar with them, but they seemed to have disappeared silently from her memory. It wasn't until she came to Seoul that she suddenly realized that it seemed like she hadn't seen such things as wires in Chinese cities for a long time.
But if wires are necessary to transmit electricity, where do all the domestic wires go?
"Huo Yu...there are so many wires."
Sutina pointed to the sky and whispered.
"I saw it," Huo Yu said.
"Where have our country's wires gone?" Sutina asked in a low voice.
Huo Yu was stunned, thought for a moment and said, "It's buried underground. I remember when I started my business, someone came through the door to install underground cables."
"So..." Sutina was surprised: "Have you ever started a business!?"
"Yeah." Huo Yu nodded briefly.
"Teach me, teach me!" Sutina said excitedly.
"Don't even think about it in Korea, the time is too short." Huo Yu said.
While talking, the agent took the two of them to a very old residential building and walked to the first floor. The agent opened a door for the two of them. After they entered, they did not see the house. They only saw an extremely narrow staircase leading underground.
When the two women saw the stairs, they were stunned for a moment.
The agent explained: "This is a semi-basement room, let's take a look."
Huo Yu and Su Tina looked at each other, then carefully touched the box and walked into the semi-underground residence.
The basement is only about fifty square meters, with a living room, a bathroom, and a broken table gone. There are moldy plaques everywhere on the floor, water stains in the cracks of the floor, and even rodent gnawing marks on the wires along the walls.
Sutina raised her head, touched the damp and crumbling ceiling with her palms, and said, "This... this... this house must be a bit old."
"Well, it's been a while. I heard that in 1970, in order to prevent attacks from North Korea, the South Korean government ordered all buildings to build basements to be used as shelters in emergencies. Although later this The law was repealed, but these basements still remained. Later, as the population in South Korea increased, such basements began to be rented out.”
The agent said lightly.
But Su Tina and Huo Yu shuddered when they looked at this room.
There is only a small window in the house, which is flush with the ground. You can even see the feet of people around you coming and going, but you can only see the feet, nothing more.
An indescribable feeling of humility arose spontaneously.
"This seems like...I've seen it in a movie. This is not that kind of movie..."
Huo Yu frowned.
"Parasite," the agent reminded her, "I loved that movie."
"Oh, parasitic upper class."
Huo Yu remembered that the movie seemed to be called Parasite again.
"In reality...does anyone really...rent a place like this?"
Sutina asked softly. She had lived in XJ since she was a child and was used to seeing the endless world. When she suddenly entered such a space, she could hardly breathe.
"Yes." The agent said calmly, "There are at least more than 300,000 houses like this in Seoul, and they are basically full."
Huo Yu looked around expressionlessly and asked, "How much does a house like this cost?"
"This kind of house is not expensive, 2,500 a month is enough. And this kind of house has a short-term rental contract. If you are willing, I can apply for it for you."
Even Huo Yu couldn't stand it anymore and asked: "Just a basement that's been built for who knows how many years, and it costs 2,500 a month??"
The agent sighed and said: "Miss, I have told you many times, this is not China, it is not China, there is no comparison. If you compare China, one Chongqing is 138 times larger than Seoul, is there any comparability?"
Sutina raised her head as if she had heard some strange news and asked: "Is Chongqing that big?"
"Chongqing is not big, but Seoul is small."
The agent patiently explained: "Harbin is 88 Seoul, Kunming is 35 Seoul. BJ is 27 Seoul, and Chengdu is 23 Seoul... In short, it is pretty good to live in Seoul for 2,500 square meters with 50 square meters."
Sutina was silent.
"Actually, you can't blame Seoul for being small. It's because your funds are too small, so you can only live in a place like this temporarily. I'm thinking about it for you. You can't just rent a house and just rent a house when you haven't found a job when you first came here." You have to spend all your money, right?" The agency girl said sincerely: "We are all Chinese, and I won't bully you. To be honest, I have lived in this kind of house when I came to Korea to work. It is not easy. Wait until you make money. , it’s not too late to change to a bigger house.”
"Then let's go here first."
Huo Yu said simply and calmly, "Go back and sign the contract."
The agent was happy to get the deal, but Sutina looked worried. She whispered in Huo Yu's ear: "But this house doesn't look very safe. If it rains heavily, we won't be able to escape even if we want to." .....”
Huo Yu shook his head and said in a low voice: "It's already October, and there's not much precipitation. Besides, we're just here to work. After work, we can live anywhere. Besides, you can live in any cave in the Caribbean, Seoul." Why can’t we live in the basement?”
Sutina did not refute, but compared to the sunny Caribbean, this place was simply depressing and suffocating.
Perhaps seeing Su Tina's depression, Huo Yu consoled her: "It's true that this place is a bit broken, but it's also the result that we both share. If you think Song Wenbin is alone, God knows where he can live. "
...
...
After a day's work, Song Wenbin sat in the shop very tired. It was completely dark outside Seoul at this moment, and his fingers were aching due to work.
The landlady came out with the key and asked, "Where are you going?"
This is also an issue that Song Wenbin is very concerned about. Although he slept next to the flower bed of the Bank of China last night, this is not a problem after all. He must have a place to live.
I don't know, can you give me today's wages, otherwise I won't have a place to live. Song Wenbin said.
At this time, the boss Li Dazhong heard Song Wenbin's voice. He turned around and reprimanded loudly: "What's wrong with you kid? You need wages after working for one day, and you will be paid on one day."
Song Wenbin said: "It's true that I don't have a daily income, but I really don't have any money and I can't find a place to live when I go out."
Li Dazhong's face was full of doubt: "I said, you are a bad boy. You told me that you came to South Korea without a penny. Why don't I believe it?"
Song Wenbin was speechless. He didn't want to tell the fact that he was filming the show, so his boss might not let him film, but he really didn't have a penny in his pocket now.
So he looked at the landlady for help. The landlady looked at him and hesitated for a moment, then took out 10,000 Korean dollars from his pocket and handed it to Song Wenbin, saying: "There is really no such thing as a daily payment. You can take the fifty dollars first. I gave you."
"Hey! Smelly bitch, don't spend money lavishly!" Li Dazhong shouted dissatisfied, "Do you know where this kid comes from?"
The landlady didn't say a word, but used her eyes to signal Song Wenbin to leave quickly. Song Wenbin looked at the 10,000 Korean won in his hand and felt a little puzzled: "Can I find a place to live in Seoul with fifty dollars?"
It's definitely hard to find in a wealthy place. The landlady said: "You go to the subway station to Jiangnan District, walk towards Damushan, and go to Kowloon District. There are low-cost residences there, and you can rest there." "
"You bitch, can't you hear me talking to you!?" Li Dazhong came over angrily and said, "Did you come to Korea to do business or charity!?"
"Come on, hurry up!" The landlady pushed Song Wenbin.
Song Wenbin saw that the boss was aggressive and unkind, so he quickly ran away from Sister Li's fried noodles with his bag on his back. Soon, the quarrel between the boss and the boss’s wife came from behind.
It wasn't until the quarrel could no longer be heard that Song Wenbin slowed down and let out a long sigh. Survival is not easy, whether in Seoul or elsewhere. Although 10,000 won is a small amount, it is better than nothing.
In order to find a place to stay for the night, Song Wenbin did not take the subway. He was worried that the money would not be enough in Seoul, so he simply looked up directions on his mobile phone and walked directly to Kowloon District.
Fortunately, Seoul was not as big as he thought. After walking for about two hours, he came to a place full of lights and feasting. There are tall buildings and brightly lit buildings everywhere. People in sports cars are chatting up girls on the street, and all the handsome men and women in well-dressed clothes are coming in and out of the bar.
Song Wenbin looked at this place and then at the 10,000 Korean dollars in his hand. He has been doing outdoor live broadcasts for many years, so he naturally understands that this kind of place is a very expensive place. The boss lady is not trying to trick her. Is fifty won really enough for a place like this?
Confused, he looked at the navigation on his phone and found that he was only about one kilometer away from his destination in Kowloon.
After thinking about it, Song Wenbin started walking along the street. After walking about seven or eight meters, the feasting and feasting disappeared and were replaced by dense telephone poles.
There was a faint red light flickering in the low-rise houses on the street. Some scantily clad middle-aged women were sitting in the shops, staring hungrily at the passing creatures, assessing the residual value they might capture.
This place reminded Song Wenbin of some Chinese counties ten years ago. In fact, apart from the occasional feasting and feasting, most places in Seoul looked like domestic counties.
The accompanying photographer was very interested in the dirt and grime on the street and kept taking pictures. Song Wenbin just looked at the navigation and walked silently, looking for possible signs of accommodation as he walked.
After a few hundred meters, the traces of the county seat disappeared.
Song Wenbin looked at the end point of the navigation on his mobile phone and silently raised his head. A shack and wooden planks appeared in front of him. Under the scattered lights, the ground is strewn with garbage. The barking of wild dogs and desolate weeds in the distance made him wonder if he had left Seoul.
Taking a deep breath, Song Wenbin slowly walked along the damaged road to the shack in front of him. The ground was littered with the remains of honeycomb cinders and domestic garbage after burning. Scattered Bagua flags were flying beside the dilapidated shack. . Those shacks were even worse than the ones he saw in Nigeria. The shacks in Nigeria were made of wood and mud. Many of the shacks here were simply made of all kinds of white garbage, with all kinds of stuff stuffed in the gaps. Various plastic bags.
Is this place really liveable?
Song Wenbin couldn't help but be suspicious and looked back.
Not far away are colorful high-rise buildings. The spotlights on the roofs of the buildings shine back and forth in the clouds, showing off their power.
"Is this... still Seoul...?" He tried to ask his photographer, because he really didn't believe that this was the capital of a developed country, even if he said it was a North Korean countryside.
The photographer did not answer Song Wenbin's question.
Instead, a low whimpering sound came from the weeds nearby.
"Woo...Woo..."
Several skinny wild dogs emerged from the haystacks, baring their teeth at Song Wenbin and constantly threatening him.
It looked like they had invaded the wild dogs' territory.
Suddenly, without warning, a ferocious wild dog rushed towards Song Wenbin with a barking sound.
Song Wenbin was frightened and ran away without hesitation.
He didn't want to get a rabies vaccine here, and he only had fifty yuan on him.
The wild dogs barked and chased Song Wenbin. Song Wenbin and two photographers fled in a panic and ran all the way back to the area where the county seat was located. The wild dogs stopped chasing him.
Standing near the dilapidated county town, Song Wenbin looked at the place where he escaped in shock. There was only rich darkness without any light.
