Chapter 340 - 337: Brave New World (Finale)

"That's even better. We won't have to worry about communication, and life will be much easier." Chen Yanxiu glanced at the time, realizing it was already three-thirty in the afternoon.

He turned and asked, "Jingcai, why don't we have dinner together tonight?"

"No, thanks. You two must be busy unpacking tonight," Zhao Jingcai said, shaking his head. "I'll treat you to dinner next week."

Chen Yanxiu was feeling tired himself, so he was glad for the excuse. "Alright, let's set something up for next week. Oh, right, let's exchange numbers and emails…"

The two exchanged their cell phone numbers, Ye Mei IDs, and email addresses.

After seeing Zhao Jingcai out, Chen Yanxiu got to work tidying up the house.

Opening the master bedroom closet, he found brand-new quilts, sheets, and pillows inside. He hung up his everyday clothes, pulled the dust covers off the furniture, and made the bed.

An hour and a half later, the house was finally in order.

Exhausted in both body and mind, Chen Yanxiu went to soak in the large bathtub.

Meanwhile, Liu Meizhu, who was watching the children, grabbed a few small stools from the storage room. She and the two kids then went to rest on the balcony.

Liu Meizhu scrolled through her phone. In her employee account, she found this month's salary and comprehensive benefits, totaling 650 Jin.

Homo Sapiens Company's salary was paid in two parts.

The first part, consisting of the base salary and comprehensive benefits, was paid on the first of the month.

The second part, which included overtime pay, performance wages, and bonuses, was paid at the end of the month.

Liu Meizhu had been hired as a nail technician, starting at the Ding-4 tier.

Chen Yanxiu, on the other hand, was a chip wafer inspector and started at the Bing-4 tier.

She looked at the line item for "Joint Family Assets" in the employee account. The couple currently had a balance of 3,800 Jin.

Liu Meizhu was a meticulous budgeter; she had always managed their family's finances. Now that they were living in Kampung City, she needed to draw up a new plan for their income and expenses.

The employee account had a ledger function. She opened it and began listing their various expenses.

As she listed their expenses, she asked the system assistant for some information.

Housing Rent: 120/month

Water & Electricity (100 cubic meters of water, 1,000 kWh of electricity per month): 30/month

Gas (1,000 cubic meters per month): 10/month

Communications Fee (two phones): 20/month

Internet (including landline): 5/month

These were their fixed expenses, totaling 185 Jin.

Of course, if they felt the fixed utility package wasn't a good deal, they could also opt for pay-per-use billing.

Typically, tap water cost 0.07 per cubic meter, residential electricity was 0.03 per kilowatt-hour, and gas was 0.02 per cubic meter.

Pay-per-use was more cost-effective for those who didn't often cook, shower, or spend much time at home.

But Liu Meizhu figured her family would definitely be cooking often, so the fixed-rate plan would be more economical.

As for other expenses—transportation, groceries, daily necessities, cosmetics, clothes, formula, and diapers—she carefully calculated those based on local prices as well.

Even when she chose higher-quality food and daily necessities, the family of four's total monthly expenses still came to around 670 Jin.

That meant their family would have a monthly surplus of around 3,130 Jin.

'The cost of living is ridiculously cheap. It looks like we can afford some other expenses.' Liu Meizhu felt their surplus was quite large, which meant they could consider other things.

'Buy a car? Probably not necessary. We can rent cars here, and there are subways, buses, and taxis.'

'A house? Hmm... There aren't any private properties for sale here. Oh…'

Although Liu Meizhu didn't find any property for sale, she did find a premium renovation service. It offered custom furniture and appliances, as well as specialized balcony designs. Glancing at their own bare balcony, she was instantly tempted.

She'd have to discuss any renovations with her husband, though.

Liu Meizhu continued her planning. With such a healthy surplus, they could consider things like gym memberships, beauty treatments, travel, entertainment, and hobbies.

After daydreaming for a while, Liu Meizhu discovered that having too many choices was its own kind of problem—a happy problem she was more than willing to indulge in.

Watching the sun dip below the horizon, Liu Meizhu stretched and exclaimed with a sigh:

"This is amazing! This is the life I've always wanted!"

Chen Yanxiu, just out of the bath, looked at his ecstatic wife in surprise. "What are you so happy about?"

"I was just thinking about our wonderful new life!"