Chapter 18 018 Tidying Up

Before receiving the keys, Guan Yuehe had only seen the front of the house; she had no idea what the other walls and interior were like.

The house had been vacant for two months, and when we opened it, it was covered in dust.

The two rooms are very square. Upon entering, you're in the living room, and to the left of the living room is a door connecting to the bedroom. Like my own home, the kitchen is behind the living room.

The half-room was built next to the living room; it was actually the open space between the main courtyard and the left wing.

A kang (heated brick bed) was built in the bedroom, which is connected to the stove, making it very warm in winter. It also saved us the money of buying a bed.

Ma Ersao repeatedly assured that although the house was somewhat old, the walls, doors, and windows were sturdy.

That's true. But the wall is so dirty!

Guan Canghai didn't think it was a big deal. "Tomorrow I'll replace some cement, patch it up, and then paint it white again. The house will be bright and clean. I'll also buy a new lock and replace the lock on the door later."

Jiang Guiying pointed to the half-room that had been built outside and said, "That half-room outside is almost four square meters. It's a waste to use it all as a bathroom. Dividing it in half would be perfect—one bathroom and one storage room. The one against the wall would be better for drainage..."

With just a few words exchanged, Guan Yuehe didn't have to worry; Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying had already planned out the house renovation for her.

Guan Jianguo put his hands on his hips and turned around. "I'll go borrow a ladder. There's a crack in the corner. Do you have any roof tiles left?"

"Yes, it's next to the sauerkraut jar. You can also get a few pieces of cloth..." Lin Yufeng changed her mind and said, "Never mind, I'll go back with you to find it."

After saying that, the couple walked out and went to find their own things.

Xu Cheng and Lin Sitian also said they would go home to get brooms and buckets. Guan Aiguo stood there looking left and right, and finally looked at Guan Yuehua next to him, "Big sister, what should we do?"

Although he doesn't like to work, everyone else is busy while he's the only one idle, which is a bit awkward.

Guan Yuehua breathed a sigh of relief and directed him to move out the clutter piled up in the outer half of the room. When her sister-in-law brought over some unwanted rags, she rolled up her sleeves and began wiping the windowsill.

As soon as things started getting busy, the residents of Courtyard No. 2 began to arrive one after another.

First, there was Grandpa Chang and Grandma Zhao, an elderly couple who lived in the main courtyard. They were also an elderly couple in courtyard number two.

In the two months since they agreed to move, Guan Yuehe has been going home much more often, just to find out what kind of people her new neighbors are like.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will not panic in a fight.

Grandpa Chang is a level 6 fitter at a car factory, and Grandma Zhao is a recycler at a scrap yard. They have two sons and a daughter. The eldest son got a company-provided apartment and lives there with his wife and children. The eldest daughter is married and lives elsewhere. Only the youngest son, who is about to graduate from high school, lives at home.

Their family was the largest household in the No. 2 courtyard.

Grandpa Chang and Grandma Zhao came over to say hello and chatted with Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying for a few minutes.

The second person to arrive was Sister Cai Ying, the wife of Officer Song, who lived in the opposite right-hand room. They had two children, a ten-year-old son named Song Xibei and a five-year-old daughter named Song Xinan.

Cai Yingjie said that the two children were born in the Northwest and Southwest respectively, and that's how they got their names.

Guan Yuehe remembered it immediately.

The two neighbors in the backyard both seem to be friendly people. They are doing well and both have jobs, so the chances of them causing trouble are slim.

Two families lived in the back annex, the Chen family and the Kang family, both of whom were her father's old colleagues. Otherwise, if a young girl like her moved in, the couple wouldn't have bothered to come and greet her. It was all out of respect for her father.

Her father whispered to her, "It's just a wall away. If you need anything, just call out and we'll come right over. If they dare to bully you, I'll shave their heads!"

"Okay, okay, I'll call you again if I can't handle it." Guan Yuehe thought for a moment and advised, "Shaving your head is fine, but be careful you won't be eligible for the year-end award."

Being advanced is very important. If he maintains this record for another two years, he will have been advanced for ten consecutive years!

He shut his mouth, no longer daring to boast.

The neighbors from the front yard also came.

The Zhang family lived in the west wing of the front yard. Grandpa Zhang was among the first batch of workers recruited when the car factory was built. He was a veteran, so he was elected as the second grandpa of the second courtyard. His wife was Grandma Kong, but she didn't like being called Grandma Kong; she had to be called Second Grandma.

Grandpa Zhang and his wife only have two daughters. Their eldest daughter is married and living elsewhere, while their younger daughter, Zhang Chaonan, was admitted to a car factory this year. The elderly couple plans to have her live with them in the family after marriage.

That's right, there's an old man and an old woman in courtyard number two, as well as an old man and an old woman of two ages.

There are fewer people than in Courtyard No. 3, but there are actually two more people in charge!

But when Guan Yuehe thought of the Sun and Zhou families in the east wing of the front yard, she felt that it was only right for there to be several stewards in the front yard.

The first room in the east wing was occupied by the Zhou family. Zhou's eldest sister-in-law was a widow living with her three daughters. Zhou's eldest sister-in-law's real name was Luo Guifang. After her husband passed away, she always asked others to call her "Zhou's eldest sister-in-law," for fear that people would think she was single and try to introduce her to potential partners.

Sister-in-law Zhou has three daughters. The eldest is twelve years old and named Baoyu. The other two are twins who are only six years old and named Baoan and Baoning respectively.

The Sun family, who lived in the second room of the east wing, were a notorious troublemaker and scoundrel in Ginkgo Alley.

Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun were ostracized by the other old men and women in the alley because they were the most likely to cause trouble, and everyone was afraid of being extorted by them.

Aside from those like Aunt Hu who aren't afraid, if you're really angry, just beat them up.

But the most annoying member of the Sun family was actually Sun Dashan, who often leered at the women. He was also a car factory worker, and the whole family depended on his salary, so he wanted to divorce his wife Wu Erni and marry Zhou Dasao instead, so that there would be two workers and an extra room in the house.

Wu Erni was completely suppressed by Sun Dashan and his parents, and had no right to speak. Even her eight-year-old son, Sun Jiawang, looked down on her.

The Zhou family's door was locked; they must have gone out. There were people at the Sun family's house, but no one came to the backyard.

Guan Yuehe wished her family wouldn't come.

Finally, the Bai family, who lived in the rear house, arrived. Their situation was very similar to that of the Ding family in courtyard number three.

Aunt Bai is also a woman who raised several children, but the difference is that Aunt Bai raised her children after her divorce, and the children all have her surname, Bai.

Aunt Bai works in the logistics department of the automobile factory. She has two daughters and two sons; her eldest daughter and eldest son are both married. Her eldest son, Bai Hongjun, is also a worker at the automobile factory, and he and his wife, Wu Lanxiang, have only one daughter, Jinhua. Her second son, Bai Yuejin, and youngest daughter, Bai Xianghong, are sixteen and fifteen years old, respectively.

Neither Bai Yuejin nor Bai Xianghong passed the car factory's recruitment exam this year. Aunt Bai made numerous trips to the Guan family's house to inquire about job openings at the garment factory. But it turned out the garment factory wasn't recruiting either...

The couple who lived in the gatehouse, Lu Chang and Lu Yan, were in their thirties and still didn't have any children. They were both employees of the car factory, and their food had never been neglected.

Logically, since both of them work, they should be able to get a more spacious house, but they are quite satisfied. They said that since they don't have any children, it's enough for the two of them, so they didn't apply for a bigger house.

In general, the two families in the back building can just treat each other as ordinary neighbors, the two families in the backyard can interact more, and of the five families in the front yard, except for the Sun family, the other four families should be able to get along.

The laughter and chatter in the backyard never stopped, with Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun pressing their ears against the window.

"Should we go take a look too?" Grandma Sun didn't want to go, but all the other families in the courtyard had gone. The Zhou family, who had already left, didn't count.

"Hmph! I'm not going!" Old Sun muttered, hands behind his back, inside the house. "A little brat like her, daring to occupy a big room, may lightning strike the left side room first!"

They feel heartbroken whenever the left atrium is mentioned.

If they had a two-and-a-half-room house, would they still need three generations of five people crammed into one room?

After cursing Guan Yuehe, he then cursed his old neighbor, Grandpa Ma, who had moved away. As he continued cursing, he even started cursing the Ma family, the director of the neighborhood committee. He was so angry that he even considered putting up big-character posters.

But the idea was quickly suppressed by Sun Dashan's disapproving look. The son was in charge of the household; they still had to rely on his son, a worker, for food, and he, as the father, had to listen to his son's arrangements.

Sun Dashan told them to behave themselves, put on their coats, and headed to the backyard.

Everyone else went, so he had to show up.

But to his surprise, besides the Guan family, every household in courtyard number three had people present, several of them watching him as if to prevent him from doing anything wrong. Sun Dashan smiled on the outside, but inwardly he was so angry that he cursed them all.

The Guan family was numerous and powerful, and Sun Dashan knew he was not well received, so he quickly left after saying goodbye.

The people from each household in Courtyard No. 3 came with Xu Chengcai and Lin Sitian.

They knew that Guan Yuehe was drawing lots to get a house today, so they guessed that the Guan family would start tidying up the left wing of the No. 2 courtyard, but they didn't expect them to do it so quickly.

Despite the constant friction and minor conflicts among the people, when it comes to important matters, everyone spontaneously brings rags and brooms from home to help without needing to be asked.

Guan Canghai didn't even need to worry about cement or whitewash; Liu Axiu said that relatives could get them, so she immediately asked Xie Zhenhua to take Guan Jianguo to find relatives.

Zhou Hongqi laughed and said, "We have plenty of young and strong people in our courtyard, so we can finish painting the walls today. Yuehe, you can move in on a good day."

Aunt Xie and Aunt Ding, who were teasing each other a few days ago, huddled together chatting, as close as old sisters.

With many hands making light work, the house was cleaned in less than an hour. Guan Jianguo climbed onto the roof to check it over, patching up any missing tiles and replacing the broken ones as well.

At noon, everyone went home for lunch. In the afternoon, a man from each family came to help. They filled the potholes with cement, painted the grayish-yellow walls white, and divided the outer half of the room in two with half bricks and half wooden boards. They also made two wooden boards as doors.

The bricks and planks were obtained by exchanging them with the neighbors in the alley; each family contributed a little, which was just enough.

I was busy until after 6 p.m. before I finished. But these two and a half rooms are already quite nice.

Jiang Guiying and Lin Yufeng went home to prepare dinner. Guan Canghai and Guan Jianguo escorted the neighbors who came to help back to Courtyard No. 3, and repeatedly emphasized: "We'll invite everyone over for dinner after we've finished cleaning up the house."

This means they're going to host a few tables in courtyard number two to invite their old neighbors. Thinking they could get a nice meal, everyone said, "We'll definitely come!"

Guan Yuehe took out a notebook to write down the furniture she wanted to order and the household items she needed to buy, filling two whole pages.

Several of her friends had clearly stated what they wanted to give her, so she crossed out a few of them.

Looking at the clean and tidy house that she could move into anytime, Guan Yuehe felt completely satisfied, as if she had finally found a place where she could take root in this vast world.

A brand new, hopeful day was rushing toward her.