In the early morning, Zhou Jiao was in a daze. She habitually touched her side and found that Zhang Guoqing had already gotten up. She was startled and immediately woke up - the family had split up and it was time for them to move.

A few days ago, the second son, Zhang Guoqiang, took advantage of his Sunday off from work and held a very simple housewarming ceremony, moving into the new courtyard. Zhou Jiao watched the whole process with envy. Simple is good, it saves a lot of trouble!

Today, it was finally Zhou Jiao's family's turn to move. Speaking of family, that meant Zhang Guoqing, Zhou Jiao, and their baby.

Yesterday, Zhang's father had agreed with the couple to come into the house at noon. Zhou Jiao guessed that Zhang Guoqing should have gone to his own yard next door to prepare.

They held banquets one after another, thinking about the chaos caused by Zhang Meili's move a while ago. This time, Zhang Guoqing and his wife refused to let Zhang's father and others inform the relatives.

For them, a meal together as a family is enough. When relatives come, they have to entertain them and urge them to drink, and then their family members have to go hungry. Isn't that stupid?

But at eight o'clock in the morning, Zhang Meili and her husband, along with Zhang Meihao and her husband, arrived. Although Zhang Guoqing repeatedly told his family not to reveal the news of his move, his two sisters had been keeping an eye on him for a long time. How could they not know?

Zhang Guoqing was actually very happy to see his two sisters. In his heart, his sisters were still family. He didn't let his parents know because he didn't want to delay their work.

At ten o'clock in the morning, after the ceremony, Zhang's father and mother brought Zhang Guoqing and his wife to the front yard again. Zhou Jiao still couldn't help laughing.

There are three main rooms, two side rooms on the left and right, and nothing in the front yard except the flat ground. It is really simple.

On a whim, Zhang Guoqing used crops of different colors to cross each other and hung strings of corn cobs, peppers and garlic under the eaves. He also hung brand new straw raincoats and bamboo hats on the walls, and pasted red paper-cuts all over the window papers, almost making it look like a newlyweds' house - now it still looks like a local folk courtyard.

Zhang Guoqing once joked that if this happened in the future, he could put up a sign and charge admission.

After several days of diligent renovation and meticulous decoration, the couple had finished the new courtyard. Of the three main rooms, the most attractive was the east room, except for the west room where Zhang Guoqing had moved all the old furniture from his previous bedroom.

The east room served as Zhang's mother's bedroom. Besides buying a brand new wardrobe, two large wooden boxes, and a kangqin (a musical instrument) at the head of the kang, the couple also prepared brand new bedding and quilts for Zhang's mother.

In the central hall, Zhang Guoqing followed local customs and erected a kang (a heated kang). A bright red Chinese knot (brought back by the old man) hung on the wall at the head of the kang. A brand new kang mat was spread on the kang. A large kang table, complete with a tea set, sat atop it. Three red plaid pillows were haphazardly piled on the kang, and Zhang Meihao was clutching one.

Not far from the back door, there was an octagonal table and four benches.

The west room served as their bedroom, and its furniture and decorations were exactly the same as before. This was the only place that seemed unchanged.

The furniture in the old courtyard's outer living room was moved to the east wing adjacent to the kitchen and turned into a study. The two west wing rooms opposite became the family's storage due to the small population.

After moving into the new house, Uncle Zhang and his family from the third branch of the Zhang family gathered in the new house. Zhou Jiao followed Zhang's mother and the others to the kitchen to prepare housewarming wine, leaving Zhang Guoqing to chat with the men in the main hall.

Father Zhang was very excited today, leading Uncle Zhang and Uncle Zhang into the east room. He remained silent, gesturing around the room with a smile on his face. Returning from the east room, Uncle Zhang patted Zhang Guoqing on the shoulder, speechless for a moment about his nephew. This was a brilliant move.

After Uncle Zhang took off his shoes and got on the kang, he said with a smile, "Xiaowu, you did a great job! You're better than all of you brothers. You should learn from me!"

Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing quickly explained, "Uncle, please don't say that. When we brothers go out, who isn't praised by everyone? Their situation is different from mine. I have selfish motives. Without my parents around, Jiaojiao and I don't know how to live."

"You little Wu, this trick of yours makes us all become unfilial sons. Brothers, beat him up. Let him show off." After Zhang Qingfeng finished speaking, a group of cousins ​​overpowered Zhang Guoqing and beat him up, playing together.

Uncle Zhang asked Father Zhang curiously, "Brother, do you want to move in? They've prepared everything. This is even more impressive than what you have in your house."

"The old house is still more comfortable. I don't want to move after getting used to it. I told the young couple that any kang in the west room would be fine. But they didn't listen. Jiaojiao said that I won't agree to live in the east room in the county town. We have to live in the east room here."

Uncle Zhang glared at me and said unhappily, "It's only two steps away from where you are, and you're just messing around. I thought you were just saying you wanted to keep a room for the children when you split up the family business, but I didn't expect you were serious."

Father Zhang smiled and said, "Brother, I have my own ideas. Regardless of whether we old couple live here or not, the children must stay with us. Why? Hehe, I have to let them remember that they have formed a small family, but parents are still parents. It's not filial piety to just throw some money and food away. Even if we live with the eldest son, we will come back at any time. Besides, what if they are displeased or bullied in the old house?"

After listening to this, Uncle Zhang pointed at him, smiled, and shook his head. He understood what his second brother meant. If he was displeased or upset, he would quit living there and go back to his other sons' homes. That was the truth, but others didn't have the confidence. Some elderly people in the village didn't live with their eldest son, and it wasn't uncommon for other sons to refuse to take them in. His second brother had the confidence because he had a younger son. Xiaowu, that bad boy, was deliberately getting himself in good shape for his two sisters-in-law to see.

In the kitchen, Zhang's mother saw that Zhou Jiao and her three sisters-in-law were getting along well. Since the elders had nothing to do there, she took her two sisters-in-law back to the east room. The three of them climbed onto the kang (kang bed), and Zhang's mother opened the drawer of the kangqin (kangqin) to see that there were indeed cakes inside. She silently cursed her daughter-in-law for being a spendthrift, but she was delighted.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, fill your stomachs first. These pastries are delicious."

"Xiao Wu prepared this for you, right? Are you staying here tonight?" Aunt Zhang took a bite and it was indeed delicious. Her little grandson had just been chewing on it in his hand, and he wouldn't eat it if it didn't taste good.

"Jiaojiao and her second sister-in-law went to the market yesterday and brought it back to me. Just like the second brother's family, we will stay for three nights." Zhang's mother didn't say that her spendthrift daughter-in-law also brought back a pair of sheepskin boots for her yesterday.

She had never worn such fine shoes in her life, and she never expected to wear them in her old age, bought by her daughter-in-law. Her daughter-in-law was truly amazing. Two days after she left confinement, she and her husband washed their old clothes and hung them in the main room, taking them back to refill them with new cotton as soon as they dried. She just casually said, "Old clothes don't stand out in the village, but they're too thin."

After drinking the house-warming wine, Zhang Guoqing and his wife saw them off, walked around the front and back yards, and returned to the bedroom.

Zhou Jiao collapsed on the kang, staring blankly at the roof. She decided to just go buy supplies and forget about cleaning up the backyard.

Zhang Guoqing burst into laughter when he saw her expression. Just now, someone had been so high-spirited, gesturing about what to plant next year, planning it like a plan.

He knew she would be disappointed the moment she saw the backyard. Even if the rubble was cleared, wasteland was still wasteland. How could it possibly be as good as the old yard and backyard without a year or two of cultivation?

"Jiaojiao, I'll take you up the mountain to find some good stuff." As soon as Zhang Guoqing finished speaking, she immediately stood up and looked at him with shining eyes. He pointed towards his son.

Zhou Jiao laughed, picked up the child and said, "Then go find your mother to come and see your son. I'll feed him and then leave." Seeing Zhang Guoqing nodded and walked out, she kissed the child excitedly.