Cheng Xiao Kui and her family walked ahead, while curious neighbors followed behind to look at the house.
In an era when entertainment was extremely limited, watching the excitement was the most popular form of entertainment.
If you don't watch this big show, you're a bastard!
My second aunt had just finished applying the medicated oil for her bruises in her room when she overheard what Cheng Xiaokui and the neighbors were saying in the yard.
Ignoring her own pain, she limped out the door and secretly followed Cheng Xiao Kui.
Is Cheng Xiao Kui really that rich? She had long heard that Grandma Zhang's house rent was quite expensive!
Anyway, the price was so high that it made her teeth ache just thinking about it; she couldn't afford to rent it even if you killed her!
Cheng Dongkui rarely comes out, and even though he can't see anything, his face shows an unusual expression of excitement.
He asked, "Is my older sister almost there? Is she far from our home?"
Although his eyes were open, he couldn't see anything, only a little bit of light.
All the sounds outside, and even the wind blowing in, delighted him.
Cheng Xiao Kui said, "It's not far now, it's just ahead! Qiu Kui, are you tired? Let me carry your little brother, you can rest for a while."
Cheng Qiuqiu said, "I'm not tired! I can still keep going. Those blankets and mattresses you're carrying are also very heavy."
Cotton is not as light as it looks, especially after it is made into quilts and mattresses, which weigh dozens of kilograms and weigh down on Cheng Xiaokui.
Cheng Xiaokui thought to herself that it was fortunate that she had done some work in the countryside, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to carry it.
She turned to look at the things her mother-in-law and mother were carrying; they weighed only more than she did, and by a significant amount.
She probably carried the least amount of stuff among them.
Finally, they saw the house, and everyone perked up, no matter how tired they were.
Cheng Xiao Kui walked in front, took out her key, opened the large iron lock, and led her family inside.
Before Grandma Zhang left, she gave her all the keys, including the key to the small gate in the wall between the two courtyards.
After putting the things into the room, Cheng Xiao Kui hurriedly opened the small gate in the middle of the yard.
She explained the situation to everyone: there were two courtyards, and the whole family lived in one courtyard.
This courtyard is smaller than Lin Qiuru's courtyard in her rural hometown.
But their house is a brick house, unlike the mud-brick houses back home.
Lin Qiuru smiled and touched the red bricks with her rough hands. This was a red brick house that no villager could afford in their entire life!
The two children ran back and forth between the two yards; they loved the house so much.
Song Wenhui stood in the courtyard, looking at the house in front of her.
She couldn't help but rub her eyes.
She murmured, "Will I ever be able to afford a house like this in my lifetime? Is this...is this a place I can live in?"
Cheng Xiao Kui took her mother's arm and said, "Why can't you live here? You're living here now, aren't you? Let's quickly make the bed and let your little brother lie down."
Song Wenhui then remembered that her second daughter was carrying her younger brother on her back.
She and Cheng Xiaokui quickly wiped the wooden bed clean and laid the bedding on it.
Cheng Xiao Kui helped her younger sister help her younger brother to bed.
My younger brother is so thin and weak. His arms are as thin as sticks, all skin and bones, with absolutely no flesh.
The room reeked of dust; the house hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and there was a layer of dirt everywhere.
Song Wenhui called to Cheng Qiuqiu, and the mother and daughter fetched two buckets of water from the public water tap in the alley to do cleaning.
Lin Qiuru was also very good at housework. She told the two children not to run around and did cleaning with Song Wenhui.
Cheng Xiao Kui admitted that she was not good at cleaning, so she assisted her mother-in-law and mother by washing rags for them.
The neighbors who came to watch the commotion also kindly helped Song Wenhui and Lin Qiuru with cleaning.
With many hands making light work, the cleaning was basically finished in just over an hour, as it got dark.
The remaining details can be done tomorrow morning.
Cheng Xiaokui spread out the bedding and lit the kerosene lamp in the room.
She looked at the brightly lit house, her smile even wider than AK's.
This house is so comfortable to live in! And with such a big yard, setting up an oven or something would be a piece of cake.
She thanked her neighbors and saw them off. She didn't have time to buy anything today, as the cooperative had already closed.
She was thinking of buying some candy for her neighbors tomorrow. It would definitely be the gift everyone would love to receive!
She stood at the gate of her courtyard, watching a dark figure flash by at the entrance of the alley ahead.
She could tell from their figures, even with her little toes, that they were her second aunt and grandmother.
Cheng Qiu Kui also saw the figure. She said, "Why do I see Grandma? It looks like Grandma is standing next to Second Aunt. Second Aunt must have complained to Grandma."
Cheng Xiao Kui said, "Let her complain. We rent a place and live on our own. What does it have to do with her?"
By the way, did you lock our house? Even if we don't live there, we can't let Second Auntie have it so easily.
Cheng Qiuqiu said, "I locked it, locked it very securely!"
Cheng Xiao Kui gave her sister an OK sign and said, "I'm so hungry! Is there anywhere that sells food? Let's buy something to eat. It's probably too late to cook now."
The key issue is that the stoves in the kitchens of both courtyards haven't been used in a long time. There's simply no time to clean the stoves and start cooking now.
Cheng Qiu Kui said, "Yes, there is. There's a steamed bun shop next to the cooperative. It should still be selling steamed buns now, but it'll probably close soon. Also, the steamed buns are quite expensive."
Cheng Xiao Kui said, "I'm not afraid of the price, your sister has money. Let's take out the meat coupons from home and go buy some steamed buns."
Cheng Qiuqiu nodded hurriedly and ran back to her own courtyard to ask Song Wenhui for the meat ticket.
Other families might not have enough meat coupons, but for this family, meat coupons were something they could never spend every month.
Because his family was poor, they couldn't afford to eat meat at all.
She asked her mother for meat ration coupons, and then took an aluminum basin with her sister to the steamed bun shop to buy steamed buns.
In the north, one liang (a unit of weight) is three steamed buns. One liang does not refer to the weight of the steamed buns, but rather the weight of the flour.
One pound of steamed buns contains 30 buns. For a northerner's appetite, one pound of steamed buns is enough for three people.
Cheng Xiaokui bought two jin of steamed buns, which was enough for her family and two children.
To be honest, Cheng Qiu Kui had never seen so many steamed buns in her entire life.
Throughout the year, her mother would only buy her a couple of steamed buns as a treat on her birthday.
Kind-hearted Grandma Zhang cooked a big pot of cornmeal porridge and sent a large bowl to Cheng Xiao Kui's family.
Song Wenhui set up the folding table in the room. The house was quite large, and even after putting in the folding table, it still felt empty.
There weren't any chairs available, so she borrowed a few from her neighbors.
The whole family was sitting around the round table eating. They had just finished eating the steamed buns when they heard Grandma kick the door!
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