"You also bought a house?" Zou Yinghua noticed the key point in Li Hongjun's words belatedly.

What kind of people can afford to buy a house these days...

"Yes, look, it's the building opposite, on the second floor." Li Hongjun told his girlfriend, with whom he had just been dating for less than a month, that he had bought a house without hesitation.

After buying the house, he became a poor man with no savings, just like Xu Haizhou. He cannot afford the renovation fee at the moment. After spending money on the renovation, Qiao Lu's savings are only enough for daily expenses. She plans to make a fortune from the first wave of new models in autumn, so she can't be careless.

"That's amazing." Not only can he afford to buy a house, but it's in Nanhu Home!

What an amazing person Sister Liu introduced to her!

Zou Yinghua, who already admired Li Hongjun, looked at Li Hongjun with envy and admiration in his eyes.

Li Hongjun suppressed his smug smile and put his elbow on Xu Haizhou's shoulder: "When are you two going to move? If you don't have enough manpower, I have a few buddies over there."

Qiao Lu smiled and replied: "Not yet. We have only put in the big furniture like sofas, wardrobes and beds. The small tables, stools and other miscellaneous items have not been moved in yet."

"Then let's move quickly. The sooner we move, the sooner we can move in." If funds were not limited, he would have started the renovation as well.

"We have someone to help us. I am just thinking about how to match them, so there is no rush."

Li Hongjun raised his eyebrows and looked at Qiao Lu with admiration: "Great! You are already beautiful enough. How else do you want to match it?"

Qiao Lu laughed: "After all, this is the first house Haizhou and I bought, so of course we have to be serious about it."

"Are all the furniture new?" He muttered, "No wonder it cost so much."

He was reluctant to spend money, so he just painted the walls white and put some furniture in there. Why bother with so much? It would get messy after a while anyway, and he wouldn't have the time to clean it up... By the way, if he could get a wife, wouldn't there be someone to help with the work?

Li Hongjun turned his head and looked at Zou Yinghua, who had the character of a perfect wife and loving mother... However, he had no intention of getting married for the time being, as it was too early. He would wait and see.

"The furniture in the compound is too old and doesn't match the decoration of the new house. Let's just leave it there."

If one were to calculate more precisely, the furniture in the large compound house did not actually belong to Xu Haizhou, but rather to the Li family, even though the house legally belonged to Xu Haizhou.

After careful consideration, it is better to buy a brand new set of furniture that is completely their own.

Money is something you can earn when you lose it. No matter how expensive furniture is now, will it be as expensive as it will be in 30 years? If you buy it, you earn it!

"Okay, you two rich guys, ignore what I just said."

This is the first time I met Li Hongjun's partner. After all, we are old friends for many years, so I have to treat him to a meal.

As they were discussing new products for the fall, they invited the couple to have dinner at the Grand Courtyard.

Turning around, Qiao Lu suddenly said to Li Hongjun: "Hongjun, please go and call Yu Fan over."

"Ah?" Hearing the familiar name, Li Hongjun's heart trembled, and he confirmed, "Who?"

"Yu Fan, I'm just discussing the new products for the clothing store with her."

He exhaled inexplicably: "What does the new arrival in our clothing store have to do with Yu Fan?"

Li Hongjun was puzzled.

Qiao Lu explained: "I went to Baiyun Street yesterday and heard her talking about the recent bad business. It just so happened that her boyfriend was going to Lukou City to attend university, and she said she wanted to save money to visit her. I wondered if she was preparing to make new models, and suddenly I thought of a way to cooperate with her."

Xu Haizhou was also present at the time. In fact, the plan was not thought up by her, but by Xu Haizhou.

After years of experience in the business world and being coached by Qiao Lu for a while, he can now subconsciously think of marketing methods for anything.

Here it is, the opportunity has arrived.

"Isn't she a silk seller? Can our two families still cooperate?" Li Hongjun curled his lips and said speechlessly.

"Of course, go ahead, you should know where her home is, right?" I even took her home last time we drank together.

The couple played dumb and refused to tell Li Hongjun what the cooperation was about.

Li Hongjun scratched his head and said helplessly: "Okay, I'll go get someone."

After cleaning the house one last time, the group headed to Xu Haizhou's courtyard.

While Li Hongjun was riding a bicycle to call Yu Fan, Qiao Lu took the opportunity to inquire about Zou Yinghua's situation.

The girl is a real girl, not pretending to be young. She is only 19 years old this year.

He has only graduated from junior high school and now works in a tobacco factory, earning 40 yuan a month. He has two older brothers and his family is one of the best off compared to other families in the area within a dozen miles.

After 1985, the phenomenon of looking down on businessmen in society has become less and less, especially in the big compound where Haizhou is located. With the precedent of the couple, no one looks down on street vendors anymore.

After all, Liu Xiaohong has been a matchmaker for more than ten years. With Li Hongjun's financial situation, she must find a slightly "wealthy" and well-matched female comrade for him.

The girl is an honest girl with a good personality. She is gentle and speaks softly. When you see her for the first time, the feeling she gives you can be described in one word - "virtuous wife and loving mother".

To be precise, she is the type of person who will become a good wife and mother in the future.

Everything was fine, except for one thing that even Qiao An found strange.

"Mom, why is this sister always shy? Her face turns red when I talk to her." Qiao An asked her mother in a low voice.

Qiao Lu laughed and stroked his head: "I don't know, maybe this is her personality."

He went to the well to pump water and washed all the vegetables, and then sent Xu Haizhou to the market to bring back three more dishes, otherwise there would not be enough for so many people.

About twenty minutes later, Xu Haizhou had just returned home from buying vegetables when Li Hongjun came into the yard with Yu Fan.

I heard his voice before I saw him.

"What's the weather like today? Li Hongjun actually came to my house in person to invite me, saying that you two were going to treat me to a meal."

The two of them walked in chatting and laughing, and the neighbors in the large compound looked at her curiously.

This was not the first time Yu Fan came here. He came here once last time to find Qiao Lu to go to the police station, but it was very hurried. This time he came again, he had no impression of the exact location of Qiao Lu's house.

Now I walked slowly inside and looked at the scenery, and found that this yard was cleaner and tidier than her place. It was not bad, really not bad.

Living in a large compound can still make some difference, but comparing yourself with others will only make you angry.

Entering the inner courtyard, Yu Fan felt that the courtyard looked more and more familiar.

Qiao Lu finished washing the vegetables and stood up. The moment she picked up the vegetable basket, Liu Xiaohong from opposite door came out holding the vegetable basin.

"Done? Then I'm coming."

"Okay, come here, auntie."

While speaking, Yu Fan turned his head and found that Liu Xiaohong's profile looked familiar. He took a closer look - was that... Fang Youwei's mother?

My heart suddenly skipped two beats.

It turns out that Qiao Lu and Fang Youwei are neighbors!

What a coincidence!

I don't know if she knows that I'm dating Fang Youwei...

Thinking of this, he felt a little uneasy, and covered his face as he hurriedly walked past Liu Xiaohong.

"Hey! You're walking so fast, you must be in a hurry to be reincarnated!"

Hearing the voice, Zou Yinghua came out to greet him in surprise.

"Yu Fan! Here, here!" Qiao Lu waved and called people.

She quite likes this carefree and straightforward lesbian.

Yu Fan ran into the house in two or three steps, Li Hongjun followed closely behind her, and Zou Yinghua happily stuck to her like a little bird.

"Red Army, drink some water." I don't know when Zou Yinghua poured the water. He is so thoughtful.

This reminds Qiao Lu of her own husband, who is also a considerate person. It seems like this couple is truly in love?

"Come on, take a seat." Qiao Lu retracted her gaze and quickly asked the three of them to sit down.

"Hey, Qiao Lu, you put on makeup today?" Yu Fan noticed the change in Qiao Lu at first sight and pulled her to take a closer look: "It's really beautiful, did you put it on yourself?"

The makeup skills are really good. Her eyes seem to be bigger and brighter than before. Her eyebrows are long and curved like willow leaves. Her mouth is small and bright red. I want to take a bite of it. Not to mention her cheeks, which are white and tender after applying duck egg powder, like a baby's.

Qiao Lu teased her, "Who else can help me paint besides myself? Do you mean Haizhou?"

As he spoke, he poured her a cup of tea.

Xu Haizhou found his wife teasing him and felt funny, so he went up to her and pinched her shoulders.

Yu Fan took the water cup and gulped down the water: "Forget it, no man would wear makeup."

As he spoke, his eyes never left Qiao Lu's face. He kept looking at her and exclaimed: "She is so beautiful. Her face is so delicate. She doesn't look like a child, but like a college student who has just entered the society!"

"Sister-in-law is beautiful even without makeup." Li Hongjun interrupted and praised.

The two of them sang in unison, which made Qiao Lu feel shy.

I have been praised by Haizhou father and son before, and I thought I was numb to it. I didn’t expect that I would still be so excited when being praised again. It’s really great.

"Alright, stop praising me." He turned to look for his son and quickly waved to him, "An An, where are your snacks? Take some out and share with everyone."

"Okay, Mommy~" She put down the small ball and ran to the bedroom, bouncing back and forth.

He opened the cabinet door and took out the treasure box at the bottom of the cabinet. There was a large box of snacks in it. It was a bit heavy and he was panting with fatigue.

Yu Fan quickly took two steps forward and took it. After opening it, he was stunned.

"Are all these snacks for your son? That's too extravagant!" After flipping through the boxes, there were biscuits, candies, cakes, dried fruits...all kinds of small snacks that were easy to preserve!

Comparing yourself to others will only make you feel miserable. She never received such treatment when she was a child!

The child is only five years old, but she lives a more luxurious life than she did when she was in her twenties! Sigh... what a difference.

"My dad and mom bought it for me." The young man added fuel to the fire.

Yu Fan gritted his teeth and pinched his tender face.

"Envy, jealousy and hatred!"

Qiao An didn't understand what Yu Fan meant by this, so she pushed her hand away, opened a bag of dried figs, climbed onto the bench, and placed the figs in the middle of the table: "Here are some for you to eat."

Qiao Lu smiled, lifted her son off the bench, and rubbed his shoulders: "An An is very self-aware. Even if we move the canteen back home for him, the amount of snacks he eats every day will not exceed the limit. Sometimes he doesn't eat the same thing all day."

"Why? You don't buy it for children to eat, you are unreasonable." Li Hongjun didn't understand what she meant, so he twisted a fig shred and threw it into his mouth. It was sour and sweet, so appetizing.

Xu Haizhou explained: "Qiao Lu meant that An An has strong self-control and is only allowed to eat three things a day, so he limits himself to three packs and won't secretly take more."

Eating too many snacks is not good for children's development, so Qiaolu has limits.

I wanted to find a lock before, but my good son is very self-conscious, so I thought it was unnecessary.

"So that's how it is." Everyone looked at Qiao An with a little more admiration in their eyes.

He is so obedient and sensible at such a young age, no wonder the couple loves him so much.

After joking for a while, Yu Fan finally noticed Zou Yinghua. She didn't say a word from beginning to end and her presence was very low.

Please forgive Yu Fan for being so careless and never paying much attention to her.

"Who is this?"

"Her name is Zou Yinghua, and she is Hongjun's girlfriend." Qiao Lu explained.

Yu Fan stared in astonishment, pointing at Li Hongjun in disbelief: "You have a girlfriend?"

"Hmm." Li Hongjun raised his eyebrows and put his hand on Zou Yinghua's shoulder: "You can have a boyfriend, why can't I, such a handsome guy, have a girlfriend?"

Zou Yinghua shrank a little into Li Hongjun's arms shyly.

Yu Fan chuckled: "Of course, of course, but it's a bit surprising. I don't think I've heard you say that before."

"It's just a love affair, there's nothing to publicize about it." Li Hongjun put his hands in his pockets, curled his lips and said disdainfully.

Yu Fan looked at him sideways and smiled: "This is not your style."

"Tsk - I'm too lazy to tell you." Li Hongjun rolled his eyes.

After the two women exchanged a few pleasantries, Qiao Lu sent the two men into the kitchen to cook.

Li Hongjun wailed for a while, but finally went. He took the initiative to ask to be the chef, saying that he wanted to show off his cooking skills to everyone, and Xu Haizhou was responsible for assisting him.

There were three women and one child here, and they started a conversation around Zou Yinghua.

"How did you get to know Li Hongjun?" Yu Fan asked while eating melon seeds.

Amid the clacking sound, Zou Yinghua smiled shyly and said, "I met him through the matchmaker."

"Matchmaker?" Yu Fan was surprised: "Oh, I see. So you two are going there to get married?"

Even a matchmaker has been sent out, so the purpose must be more than just a simple love affair.

Zou Yinghua smiled sweetly and did not deny it: "Well... count it, count it as such."

Yu Fan nodded and spat out a mouthful of melon seed shells: "That's great. You can get married in a year or so, and then have children. Li Hongjun will make money, and your family will definitely live a happy life like Qiao Lu's family in the future."

After saying this, Zou Yinghua's face turned red, and then he was too embarrassed to speak. His voice became smaller and smaller, and by the end of the question, it was almost silent...

Yu Fan had never been with such a cuddly woman before, and the women around him were all lesbians with similar personalities to her, so when they got along, he felt weird and unnatural all over.

They asked one question after another, and gradually the conversation became boring, so they started to bring the topic to Qiao Lu.

"Oh, by the way, Qiao Lu, I have a friend in Hong Kong who comes to the mainland frequently. I'll ask him to bring you some cosmetics from there. They're really useful." Then he added, "You're not short of money anyway."

Qiao Lu's eyes lit up immediately: "Okay, of course, I've always been worried that department stores don't have enough variety of cosmetics."

Even Zou Yinghua looked at Yu Fan in astonishment.

Hong Kong? This woman may not look very old, but she is quite capable.

My God, who are the Red Army’s friends? Each one is more powerful than the other!

I felt even more grateful to Liu Xiaohong for introducing me to such a good partner.

After chatting for a while, Qiao Lu noticed that the hour hand of the wall clock had pointed to 6.

"An An, it's six o'clock. Turn on the TV for your two sisters to watch."

"Okay~" the kid clicked his tongue and turned on the TV very skillfully.

With a click, like a spell symbol, it instantly cast a spell on the children at the door.

Almost at the same time, several children ran in: "Have you watched TV? Joan, we're here!"

The children sat in a row. The adults wanted to come too, but when they saw that there were guests at Qiaolu's house, they gave up. This showed that they had good eyesight.

From the small kitchen outside the house, there was a strong aroma of meat, causing several women in the house to take a deep breath without leaving any trace.

Qiao Lu smiled and shouted, "Haizhou, learn this and make it for me in the future!"

Then Xu Haizhou responded loudly: "Good!"

After laughing a few times, Qiao Lu withdrew her gaze.

"You don't have so many children coming to your house to watch TV every day, right?" Yu Fan curled his lips and drank a bowl of tea.

"Yeah, it's lively here because there are so many people. They are all An An's friends." Qiao Lu said with a smile.

"Tsk, you two really dote on him."

If it were Yu Fan, she would not be happy to have so many children come to her house to watch TV. She hates noisy children the most and they give her a headache.

Fortunately, the TV program at that time was a cartoon, an imported cartoon called "Mickey Mouse". The children watched it with gusto and did not want to miss a single frame, so there was no room for quarreling.

After watching an episode of cartoon, it was time for dinner. The children were reluctant to leave, so they tacitly took their small stools and moved away from the dining table, sitting at the door and watching from the side so as not to disturb Qiao Lu while they were eating.

Qiao An sat at the dining table, holding the bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, her eyes and hands very busy.

In fact, Qiao Lu never lets her children eat while watching TV, but today she will make an exception.

After all, Mickey Mouse can only be broadcast every Saturday...

The author has something to say:

Finally I'm done with my work. I should have some free time next time, so I'll try to update more! Then I found that many cute little ones in the comment section are gold ingots, which makes me very happy. I'll update more around the 30th. Thank you! Muah~