今年春天，我来到这个南方城市工作。
Jīnnián chūntiān, wǒ lái dào zhège nánfāng chéngshì gōngzuò.
This spring I came to work in this southern city.
头一个月，我一直住在朋友家的客厅里。
Tóu yí gè yuè, wǒ yìzhí zhù zài péngyou jiā de kètīng lǐ.
For the first month I lived in a friend's living room.
我想有一个自己的房间，就开始找房子。
Wǒ xiǎng yǒu yí gè zìjǐ de fángjiān, jiù kāishǐ zhǎo fángzi.
I wanted a room of my own, so I started looking for a place.
网上的房子很多，价钱却都不低。
Wǎngshang de fángzi hěn duō, jiàqián què dōu bù dī.
There were many places online, but the prices were all high.
有一间房子很大，可惜离公司太远。
Yǒu yì jiān fángzi hěn dà, kěxī lí gōngsī tài yuǎn.
One place was big, but sadly too far from my office.
另一间离公司近，租金却是我两个月的工资。
Lìng yì jiān lí gōngsī jìn, zūjīn què shì wǒ liǎng gè yuè de gōngzī.
Another one was close to the office, but the rent was two months of my pay.
看了十几间以后，我都有点想放弃了。
Kàn le shí jǐ jiān yǐhòu, wǒ dōu yǒu diǎn xiǎng fàngqì le.
After seeing more than ten places, I almost wanted to give up.
一个星期六，我在一条老街上看到一张纸条。
Yí gè xīngqī liù, wǒ zài yì tiáo lǎo jiē shàng kàn dào yì zhāng zhǐ tiáo.
One Saturday I saw a note on an old street.
纸条上写着：小房间出租，太阳好。
Zhǐ tiáo shàng xiě zhe: xiǎo fángjiān chūzū, tàiyáng hǎo.
The note said: small room for rent, good sunlight.
我按纸条上的电话打了过去。
Wǒ àn zhǐ tiáo shàng de diànhuà dǎ le guòqù.
I called the number on the note.
接电话的是一位周阿姨，她让我下午去看房子。
Jiē diànhuà de shì yí wèi zhōu āyí, tā ràng wǒ xiàwǔ qù kàn fángzi.
The one who answered was Auntie Zhou, and she asked me to come see the room in the afternoon.
房间在六楼，没有电梯，我走上去出了很多汗。
Fángjiān zài liù lóu, méiyǒu diàntī, wǒ zǒu shàngqù chū le hěn duō hàn.
The room was on the sixth floor with no elevator, and I was sweating a lot by the time I got up.
房间真的小，只放得下一张床和一张桌子。
Fángjiān zhēn de xiǎo, zhī fàng de xià yì zhāng chuáng hé yì zhāng zhuōzi.
The room was really small, just big enough for a bed and a desk.
可是窗户朝南，太阳照进来，房间里又亮又暖和。
Kěshì chuānghu cháo nán, tàiyáng zhào jìnlái, fángjiān lǐ yòu liàng yòu nuǎnhuo.
But the window faced south, and the sun made the room bright and warm.
窗台上还放着两盆花，长得很好看。
Chuāngtái shàng hái fàng zhe liǎng pén huā, zhǎng de hěn hǎokàn.
On the windowsill were two pots of flowers, growing lovely.
周阿姨说，花是她的，我住着，她就上来浇水。
Zhōu āyí shuō, huā shì tā de, wǒ zhù zhe, tā jiù shànglái jiāo shuǐ.
Auntie Zhou said the flowers were hers, and she would come up to water them.
租金比网上便宜不少，押金也只要一个月。
Zūjīn bǐ wǎngshang piányi bù shǎo, yājīn yě zhǐyào yí gè yuè.
The rent was much cheaper than online, and the deposit was only one month.
我马上说我租了，怕晚一步就没有了。
Wǒ mǎshàng shuō wǒ zū le, pà wǎn yí bù jiù méiyǒu le.
I said I would take it right away, afraid it would be gone if I waited.
搬家那天，周阿姨帮我提东西上楼。
Bānjiā nà tiān, zhōu āyí bāng wǒ tí dōngxi shàng lóu.
On moving day, Auntie Zhou helped me carry things upstairs.
她一边走一边说，这楼她住了三十年了。
Tā yìbiān zǒu yìbiān shuō, zhè lóu tā zhù le sān shí nián le.
As we walked she said she had lived in this building for thirty years.
晚上，我坐在自己的桌子前写东西。
Wǎnshang, wǒ zuò zài zìjǐ de zhuōzi qián xiě dōngxi.
In the evening I sat at my own desk writing.
楼下有人一边放音乐一边唱，唱得不太好。
Lóu xià yǒu rén yìbiān fàng yīnyuè yìbiān chàng, chàng de bú tài hǎo.
Someone downstairs was singing along to music, not very well.
可是听着听着，我睡着了。
Kěshì tīng zhe tīng zhe, wǒ shuì zhe le.
But listening and listening, I fell asleep.
我在这个城市有家了。
Wǒ zài zhège chéngshì yǒu jiā le.
Now I had a home in this city.
HearMandarin