Not Quite the Jeffersons

But, we are moving on up to the 16th floor...in another building...about two blocks south.

We signed the lease to the new apartment on Saturday and handed over our deposit. We're definitely happy to be moving out of this poorly built complex and into a slightly better one with a lot more space (I'll have my own office). Overall, it's almost twice the size of our current apartment for just 200 kuai more per month.

It took some time to get the whole situation sorted out with the landlord. First, he decided he didn't want to pay the real estate agency, so he lied to them about not wanting to rent to us. We didn't mind because it saves us 1700 kuai. Jia then had to thoroughly check his ID and such to make sure he does indeed own the apartment. I didn't understand everything that was being said during the conversation, but didn't sound like he really wanted to show her all the necessary documents.

Most amusing part of the conversation was the landlord assuming that I made 50,000 kuai a month and that Jia owned a company. We laughed and told him we wouldn't rent an apartment if we had that much money. Jia explained our work situations and low-balled our earnings a bit. Still, it goes to show that the stereotype of the wealthy foreigner still exists, even among the wealthy Chinese.