Chapter 105 The Acceptance Letter Arrives
On Sunday, Yue did not sleep in during the day off and got up early in the morning.
Qu Chong told him that they would move today and he would have to go over and take care of it.
Shi Yue took his daughter and set off early, but when they arrived, they found that Qu Chong and Uncle Qu had already packed their things and were saying goodbye to the neighbors in the yard.
Because they knew that Lao Qutou was going abroad this time and probably would never come back, the neighbors in the yard came out to see him off. Among these neighbors, there were some who had talked to Shi Yue before, like the round-faced aunt, and looked at him as familiar, while there were also some who had never seen Shi Yue before.
Looking at the unfamiliar neighbor, Shi Yue asked curiously, "Hey, young man, who are you..."
Before Shi Yue could say anything, the round-faced woman on the side spoke first: "This is the young man who bought the house from Old Qu's family."
"Oh, that's him..."
Shi Yue smiled and nodded: "Yes, I am the one who bought Uncle Qu's house. My name is Shi Yue, Auntie, you can just call me Xiao Shi."
"Hey, Shi Yue." The round-faced woman came over and whispered to Shi Yue, "Let me ask you, are you planning to live in this house yourself, or rent it out?"
Shi Yue laughed it off and said, "I'm not planning on moving in right now, but I haven't thought about renting it out either."
The round-faced woman was anxious: "You don't live here yourself, and you don't plan to rent it out. Are you planning to just leave the house empty?"
She looked at Shi Yue in surprise and said, "You spent tens of thousands of dollars to buy this house, and you're just leaving it empty here. It's such a waste. Listen to my advice. If you don't plan to move in now, then rent it out. Your house has three rooms. According to the market price, you can get 60 or 70 yuan a month."
Shi Yue's eyes flashed, and he said half-truthfully, "But renting it out is too troublesome. I have to find a tenant, and I don't even know who I can rent this house to."
The round-faced woman said, "What's the problem? There are many people who want to rent the house. If you are willing to rent it out, I..."
The round-faced aunt was interrupted by Qu Chong's voice before she could finish her words.
"Okay, okay, everyone, please stop seeing me off. The moving truck I booked has arrived. My dad and I should leave now."
Qu Chong picked up his luggage and was about to go out, but old Qu looked at the yard reluctantly.
The people around him were reluctant to leave when they saw this scene. Shi Yue wiped away a tear at a gray-haired old man who was about the same age as Old Qu. However, he said, "Hey, old stubborn man, what are you doing? Are you still reluctant to leave? If you really can't bear to leave this yard and us, why don't you just stay?"
Old Qu rolled his eyes at him and said, "That won't do. My eldest grandson is waiting for me in the United States."
"That's it, isn't it? Since your eldest grandson is still waiting for you, just go."
Lao Qutou: "Let's go, let's go now."
As he spoke, he turned around and looked deeply at the yard, as if he wanted to remember the yard deeply in his heart.
Then he turned around and said to Qu Chong, "Let's go."
Qu Chong nodded, carrying his luggage bag and followed Old Qutou out. The car Qu Chong had arranged was already waiting at the door. Qu Chong came out, opened the back door, and said to Old Qutou, "Dad, get in the car."
Lao Qu nodded and sat in the back seat.
When the time of parting really came, everyone in the compound felt reluctant to leave, and they all waved and talked to Lao Qutou.
"Old stubborn man, you have to take care of yourself when you go abroad!"
"Old stubborn man, I know you have money. If you feel uncomfortable staying in the United States, just buy a ticket and come back. I will take you in when you come back."
"Uncle Qu, if you miss us in the future, just call us."
"Yes, Uncle Qu, you must call us..."
Everyone gathered around Old Qu and talked to him for a long time until the driver spoke up and urged them to stop.
The van carrying Old Qu Tou and Qu Chong gradually went away under everyone's reluctant gaze. Until the van disappeared from sight, everyone turned around and walked into the yard. Shi Yue led his daughter and everyone else into the yard.
He took Shi Qiu Shui straight into the backyard that belonged to them, father and daughter.
The backyard now is completely different from the one when Shi Yue came to see the house before. All the messy things piled in the yard before were sold as scrap by Old Qutou, and those that could not be sold were thrown away by Old Qutou. So when Shi Yue looks at it now, he feels that the yard is empty, but it seems even bigger.
The lock of the house was still left by Old Qutou. Shi Yue took the key given to him by Old Qutou and walked forward to open the door.
The house was as empty as the yard. All the daily necessities of Old Qutou's family had been cleared away, leaving only the set of mahogany furniture that Old Qutou said he would give to Shi Yue.
Shi Yue took Shi Qiu Shui around the house, thinking about how he should decorate it.
To be honest, he doesn't plan to do a major renovation. After all, he won't live in the house in the short term and may only rent it out. There's no need to decorate it particularly well if it's rented to someone else.
In fact, when Shi Yue came here before, he had roughly looked at this house several times. Old Qutou still cherishes the place he lives in. These three houses are still in good condition overall after so many years. There are no problems with the walls and floors, and there is no problem moving in with just a suitcase.
But if you're a bit picky, you can find a lot of problems. For example, the walls of the house have turned a little yellow, and some corners have started to chip and dust. And the floor of the house is not even a cement floor, but a brick floor that has been paved for who knows how many years. Some places are already bumpy and uneven. And...
After Shi Yue walked around, he already had an idea in his mind.
Shi Qiu Shui, who was standing next to her, had no idea what her father was thinking and poked her face out of boredom.
She asked, "Dad, what are you looking at?"
Shi Yue woke up from his thoughts and said, "I was just thinking about how to decorate the house."
He told Shi Qiushui about his idea: "Here's what I think. Since this house is going to be rented out anyway, there's no need for a particularly nice renovation. I just want to simply lay the floor, paint the walls, and tidy up the kitchen outside, and that'll be enough."
Shi Qiushui nodded in agreement with Shi Yue's idea.
Shi Yue: "Okay, that's it."
He took Shi Qiu Shui's hand and prepared to leave. Taking advantage of today's day off, he planned to go to the building materials market to look for a decorator.
Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui out of the house and locked the door. He took off the lock left by Lao Qutou from the door and replaced it with a new lock he brought from home. After locking the door, he installed the key and was about to leave when he heard the voice of the round-faced aunt behind him.
"Little girl, are you and your daughter leaving now?"
Shi Yue turned around and said, "Oh, yes, I'm going to take my daughter away. I plan to go to the building materials market with her and see if I can find a decorator."
The round-faced woman said, "Decorator? This house is in good condition, why are you looking for a decorator?"
Shi Yue: "Oh, I want to simply paint the walls and then lay the floor."
The round-faced woman said, "Oh, I see. Yes, flooring has become popular in the past two years. This old red brick floor is outdated."
Shi Yue: "Well, it's not about whether it's popular or not, it's mainly because wooden floors are smoother. My child can't sit still and loves to run around and jump around at home. The gaps between the red bricks in the house are quite large and she might trip easily. Although we don't plan to move in yet, we still have to lay the floor first."
The round-faced woman nodded: "Well, what you said is also..."
She paused and said, "Well, what do you think about what I just told you?"
Shi Yue: "You told me?"
He thought for a while and said, "Oh, Auntie, you mean renting out the house? I haven't thought about it yet. After all, even if I rent it out, I have to renovate the house first. I haven't renovated it yet."
The round-faced aunt pursed her lips and said, "Well, Shi Yue, you see, you and I are already acquaintances, so I won't beat around the bush with you. I'll tell you the truth. I asked you if you want to rent a house because I want to rent your house. But don't worry, I'm not saying this to force you to rent the house to me. I just want to tell you that when you finish decorating, if you want to rent a house, I hope you can consider my house first. Is that okay with you?"
Shi Yue's eyes flashed, and then he smiled and nodded.
"Okay, don't worry, Auntie. If I rent this house out, I will definitely contact you first."
The round-faced auntie smiled brightly. "Okay, okay. When you want to rent a house, just let me know. You know which door my house is, right? It's the second door to the west of the second courtyard. If you don't see me in the courtyard, come find me at my house. By the way, my last name is Luo. If you're looking for me, you can just ask the people in the courtyard where I am."
She gave Shi Yue detailed instructions, fearing that Shi Yue would not be able to find her when the time comes.
Shi Yue nodded quickly: "Okay, okay, Aunt Luo, I've taken note of what you said."
"Oh, okay." Aunt Luo knew when to stop, and when she heard Shi Yue say that he had written down her information, she stopped pestering Shi Yue.
After all, it was she who begged Shi Yue to rent a house to her, and she was still afraid of making Shi Yue impatient.
She smiled and said, "Okay, then I won't bother you. You still want to go to the building materials market, right? Then go ahead, go ahead."
Shi Yue nodded and said goodbye to her politely: "Then Aunt Luo, we will be leaving first."
He lowered his head and said to Shi Qiushui, "Come, Xiaoqiu, say goodbye to Grandma Luo."
Shi Qiushui obediently called out, "Goodbye, Grandma Luo~"
"Oh, this child is so cute." Aunt Luo sighed, and took out a handful of fruit candies from her pocket and stuffed them into Shi Qiushui's pocket: "Xiao Qiu*, you should call her Xiao Qiu, right? Here, Grandma Luo will give you some candy."
Shi Qiu Shui looked up at Shi Yue, and only after getting Shi Yue's permission did he reach out and take the candy from Aunt Luo.
"Thank you, Grandma Luo."
Although Shi Qiu Shui hadn't eaten the candy yet, her baby voice was so sweet that to Aunt Luo it felt like eating dragon beard candy during the Chinese New Year, sweet and soft.
Aunt Luo couldn't help herself and rubbed Shi Qiushui's little head. Then she said to Shi Yue, "Xiao Shi, your daughter is so well-behaved. I am so happy just looking at her."
Shi Yue smiled and laughed it off on the surface, but he was actually complaining in his heart. His daughter only looked well-behaved on the surface, but in fact, she was very naughty, skipping classes and fighting. He didn't do these things until he was fifteen or sixteen, but his daughter started doing them when she was still a little kid.
Thinking of this, a strange sentence popped up in Shi Yue's mind: The disciple surpasses the master.
I have to say that if we compare the two in terms of mischief, Shi Qiu Shui is indeed better than his teacher.
Shi Qiushui had no idea that her father was complaining about her in his heart. After saying goodbye to Aunt Luo and walking out of the yard, she generously stretched out her hand and said, "Here, Dad, this is for you."
She just noticed that her father had been staring at the candy for a long time.
Shi Yue didn't bother to be polite with Shi Qiu Shui. He took a piece of yellow candy wrapped in plastic from Shi Qiu Shui's hand. He opened the package and put it in his mouth. He smacked the taste and said, "Hmm! It tastes like banana!"
Shi Qiushui also picked up a piece of fruit candy and ate it. Hers was also yellow. Although they were both yellow, the taste of her piece was different from Shi Yue's. She said, "Mine tastes like pineapple!"
Shi Yue: "Huh? There's also pineapple flavor?"
Shi Qiushui: "Yes, Dad, if you want to eat it, I'll find you another piece of pineapple..."
The father and daughter walked towards the building materials market while eating candy.
When he walked near the building materials market, before he even entered, Shi Yue saw many decorators squatting on the curb waiting for work.
Seeing the father-daughter pairing of Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui, some of those waiting for work curled their lips and did not move, but some stood up and came over.
"Boss, are you renovating? What are you renovating? What kind of workers are you looking for? Plasterers, painters? Or tilers? We are a renovation team, and we have all kinds of workers..."
"Boss, do you want to demolish the old buildings? I can demolish anything, including walls, heating systems, doors and windows, and old floor tiles. And my prices are cheap, boss..."
"Boss, do you want carpentry? Furniture, flooring, I can do it..."
Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui were surrounded by these people and couldn't move forward.
Shi Yue said loudly: "We want to do some simple renovations at home. We need someone who can paint the walls and someone who can lay the floors."
After hearing Shi Yue's request, several masters who had nothing to do with the job immediately turned around and left, but there were still several masters left around him.
"Boss, I've been a painter for three years. I can paint walls and have good skills!"
"Boss, I've been a carpenter for most of my life. If you ask me to lay the floor, I'll definitely be able to do it!"
"Boss, we have a whole renovation team that can do all kinds of things, and we provide both the labor and the materials, so it's much easier for you to come to us!"
When Shi Yue heard the last big brother's words, his eyes lit up instantly. He looked at the big brother and asked, "Can you provide the labor and materials?"
"Yes, we provide both the labor and the materials, and I guarantee that only the materials are of high quality."
Shi Yue waved at him and said, "Brother, come here, let's talk alone."
When others saw this, they knew that they would not get the job, so they immediately dispersed and waited for the next customer.
The only one left in front of Shi Yue was the big brother who had said he would provide all the materials and labor. He came up and introduced himself to Shi Yue: "Hello, boss. I'm the captain of the Kangshun decoration team. My name is Wang Wei, and this is my business card."
As he spoke, he took out a small square from his jacket pocket and handed it to Shi Yue.
Shi Yue took it and took a look at it, then said, "Oh, Kangshun Decoration Team. Your name for this decoration team is quite good, and it has a good meaning."
Hearing Shi Yue say this, Wang Wei grinned happily and said, "I chose this name myself. I'm not well educated and didn't know what to name it. But I thought that people in our line of work hope for good health and success, so I thought, let's call our decoration team Kangshun."
Shi Yue: "Kangshun is a good name. It sounds nice, is easy to pronounce, and has a good meaning."
Wang Wei rubbed his head and smiled, then got back to the point. "By the way, Boss, you want to paint the walls and lay the floor, right? Could you please tell me the approximate area of your walls and the flooring?"
Shi Yue: "Oh, so, I need the walls of three rooms in total, and the floor also needs to be laid for three rooms. The rooms are probably..."
Shi Yue roughly told Wang Wei about his needs. Wang Wei thought about it and said, "Boss, your house is not small. If we install it according to your requirements, we will charge you about 1,000 yuan for the labor and materials. But don't worry, if there are any materials left after the installation, I will definitely refund you."
Shi Yue nodded, this was probably the price in his mind.
He thought for a moment and said, "Oh, I also have a small kitchen that needs to be installed."
Wang Wei: "Well, then tell me how you want to decorate your small kitchen."
Shi Yue: "A small kitchen, maybe? I want to build a new one, and then tile the whole place, otherwise it will be hard to clean up if there's too much smoke. Also..."
After hearing Shi Yue's request, Wang Wei frowned and said, "We can indeed install it as you requested, but it will be quite expensive. Just a small kitchen like this will probably cost over a thousand. Boss, is that acceptable to you?"
A kitchen costs more than a thousand yuan, which is a bit expensive to be honest.
Shi Yue hesitated for a moment, but still nodded: "Just pretend like this!"
Although he will not move his daughter there in the short term, no one can predict what will happen in the future, so it would be easier to install it all in one go.
Besides, he is not short of money now. Even if he spends one thousand to renovate the kitchen and one thousand to renovate the three main rooms, he will still have two hundred left from the agency fee that Yao Dazui gave him a few days ago!
Wang Wei showed a surprised expression. Shi Yue's order was already one of the larger orders their decoration team had ever taken on.
He nodded hurriedly and said, "Okay, then we'll install it as you say. I'll go call the people from our decoration team right away. Once I call them, we can go over and start work right away."
Shi Yue: "Okay."
Soon, Wang Wei brought other workers from his decoration team to Shi Yue, and Shi Yue led them to the newly purchased house.
This group of workers were really hard-working. As soon as Shi Yue brought them to the place, they rolled up their sleeves and started working.
One by one, some were swinging sledgehammers, some were applying plaster, working enthusiastically. Shi Yue originally wanted to stay to supervise, but seeing how motivated these workers were, he felt that it didn't matter whether he supervised them or not.
So, after giving the money for buying materials to Wang Wei, he took Shi Qiu Shui home.
"bell--"
Just as Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui into Ping'an Hutong, he heard a sharp and piercing bicycle bell behind him. He frowned and turned around. Just as he was about to ask who was so crazy and why was he ringing the bell for no reason, he saw a man riding a bicycle behind him wearing a green postal worker's uniform.
It turns out he was delivering mail.
Shi Yue relaxed his frown and watched the postman's bicycle parked in front of their gate.
"Niu Xiaobei! Is Niu Xiaobei here? There's a letter for you!"
The postman jumped off his bicycle and walked into the yard, shouting loudly.
Shi Qiushui: "Is this a letter from Brother Xiaobei?"
Shi Yue nodded, feeling somewhat curious. Who would send a letter to a little kid like Niu Xiaobei?
If you're going to send a letter, it should be to Aunt Ma or Uncle Niu, right?
That’s right!
Shi Yue slapped his thigh and said, "Maybe it's your brother Xiaobei's admission letter!"
He pulled Shi Qiushui and said, "Come on, let's go over and take a look!"
When Shi Yue dragged Shi Qiu Shui to the gate of their courtyard, Niu Xiaobei, who heard the postman's voice, also came out.
He touched the back of his head in confusion and asked the postman, "Comrade, were you calling me just now?"
Postman: "Are you Niu Xiaobei?"
Niu Xiaobei nodded: "Yes, I am Niu Xiaobei."
Shi Yue also nodded and said, "He is Niu Xiaobei."
Postman: "Oh, then I'm calling you, Comrade Niu Xiaobei. Your notice has arrived."
He took out a brown paper envelope from the mail bag slung across his body and handed it to Niu Xiaobei.
Niu Xiaobei was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted. He held up the envelope that the postman had just handed him and said ecstatically, "Ahhh! Mom! Dad! Come out quickly! My acceptance letter has arrived! Mom, Dad! Brother! Sister-in-law!"
"What? Xiaobei, did your acceptance letter arrive?"
The first person Niu Xiaobei called out wasn't a member of the Niu family, but Guo Pozi, who was closest to the door. Then came the couple Da Liu and Xiao Liu, and then Ma Yulan and Old Niutou...
Soon, everyone in the hospital pushed the door open and came out, staring at Niu Xiaobei and asking questions.
"Xiaobei, which university were you admitted to?"
"Yes, Xiaobei, which university?"
Ma Yulan said anxiously: "Hey, kid, you should speak up. Which university did you get admitted to?!"
Niu Xiaobei smiled innocently and said, "Ah, I don't know either. I haven't opened it yet."
Ma Yulan: "Then you should tear it down quickly!"
"If you don't want to take it apart, give it to me and let me take it apart!" She was so anxious that she wanted to do it herself.
Niu Xiaobei: "No, no, Mom, I can take it apart myself."
He quickly opened the envelope, revealing the admission notice inside. He glanced at it quickly and said ecstatically, "Mom, it's the Industrial University! Our local Industrial University!"
Ma Yulan excitedly shouted "good" several times.
For her, it was a good thing for Niu Xiaobei to be admitted to a university, and it was an even better thing for him to be admitted to a local university, not to mention that the University of Technology was one of the top schools in Niu Xiaobei's application list.
Ma Yulan was so happy that she waved her hand and said immediately, "To celebrate my son's admission to university, I'm holding a graduation banquet at the school next Sunday. Everyone come and have a feast! I'm treating you all, so don't give any money! Even if you do, I won't accept it!"
With such a good thing happening, why wouldn’t everyone respond? They immediately cheered and responded.
Shi Qiu Shui was also one of the people who raised his hand and said "yes".
There will be a feast next week!
So happy!
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