Chapter 14 Chapter 14 I'm moving out tomorrow
Song Ruan was not aware of their conversation, but she is very satisfied after seeing the house.
It is a rare blue brick and tile house of this era, with a total of four rooms, divided symmetrically. The middle is the main room and the kitchen, and the two bedrooms are opposite each other on the left and right. The wall extends out along the side of the bedrooms, more than two meters high, tightly surrounding the entire house.
Although the room on the right was uninhabited as the captain said, there was no dust on it and all the things were neatly arranged. It can be seen that the owner of this house is a very clean person.
The captain took her to the main room, pointed to the door connected to the kitchen on the left and said, "When the time comes, I'll help you seal this door, build a stove for you, and move a pot from the kitchen. The big items like boxes, cabinets, and stools are all in the room, so you don't need to buy them anymore. The more you can save, the better."
Ning Yuan pulled his clothes and reminded him in a low and urgent voice: "Door, door."
The captain took a deep breath.
"I'll build a wall around it, and the gate will be yours. I'll also help you make a vegetable patch on the side and build a firewood shed and toilet. You can also plant some radishes and cabbages before winter. I'll also transplant some vegetable seedlings for you. I'll help you find labor and materials. It will be ready in two or three days."
It sounded like there was nothing missing, and Song Ruan had no objection.
"As for the rent," the captain thought for a moment, "just give six dollars a year."
Song Ruan did the math. It was now 1975, and the college entrance examination was not resumed until the end of 1977. Taking into account the time it would take to release the results and send out the admission letters, she might as well rent for three years. Although renting for two and a half years would be the most economical, the timing was a bit too coincidental. She had money now, so there was no need to cause speculation over a few dollars.
Originally, Song Ruan was going to pay an extra five yuan for the labor and material costs for building the wall, but the team leader waved his hands and said that it was not necessary, that adobe bricks were easy to make, and that stones were everywhere, and that his three sons were free and it was a good opportunity for them to move around, so after some negotiation, they finally settled on two yuan.
In other words, Song Ruan only spent 20 yuan to rent this house, which was less than the original owner's previous monthly salary, so it was considered a good deal.
She gave the money readily, but when signing the agreement, she added one more thing - the house could only be rented to her within three years.
The captain agreed very readily and wrote it down. In his mind, there was no one else stupid enough and rich enough to do this.
As for Ning Yuan, who had been a silent background, although he still did not speak when she made this request, his approval was about to overflow from his eyes.
As soon as the agreement was signed, Ning Yuan rushed into the house.
Having solved a big problem, Song Ruan put away the agreement and said goodbye to the captain in a very good mood.
But it is said that the village's intelligence organization is comparable to the KGB. When Song Ruan went to work in the afternoon, he was caught by villagers who were asking for information.
Their work in the afternoon was still pulling weeds, but the workload was half more than in the morning. As soon as she squatted down, Xu Daya came over.
"Hey, Xiao Song, how come you're moving out of the educated youth camp? What's going on? Did someone bully you?" Her eyes were gleaming with excitement, and she was eagerly looking forward to first-hand information. "Tell me, and I'll give you some advice."
There must be something wrong, otherwise why would she move out to live alone because she has so much money? I heard that he gave 20 yuan as rent!
Wow, that’s twenty dollars!
Xu Daya judged others by himself and felt that if it were him, no one, even the Lord, could ask her to spend such a large sum of money!
The old ladies in the field next door all put down their work at the same time, looked over with their ears perked up, and slowly came over.
The bustle of the city people!
Song Ruan knew from her shining eyes that she was not asking sincerely. Although she had a general impression of the educated youth center, she would not let rumors spread from her mouth. She just laughed it off and said, "That's not true."
"You are such a dishonest girl." Xu Daya clicked his tongue and shook his head. He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "I heard that you live in the room with the captain's nephew?"
Song Ruan saw through her thoughts immediately and interrupted her: "Build a wall in the middle to divide it into two small courtyards, and use neither door through the same one."
Xu Daya suddenly realized: "Indeed, his house is indeed big."
She looked around and saw the team leader looking at other fields. She asked stealthily, "Do you know why he lives alone in such a big house?"
Since it concerns her future house, Song Ruan certainly wants to hear it.
She blinked, touched a piece of fruit candy and handed it over.
"You are such an open-minded kid!" Xu Daya gave him a thumbs up. "Ning Yuan was driven here by his stepmother!"
"That house was left behind by his mother!"
"Also, didn't you realize that although Ning Yuan is the captain's nephew, he doesn't have the same surname?"
"ah?"
One critical hit after another, it sounds like a big deal.
Song Ruan unconsciously moved closer to Xu Daya.
The system in her head also took out melon seeds.
Seeing that he had shocked the city people, Xu Daya put his hands on his hips with great pride.
"Ningyuan's mother and her family came here to escape the war, but they have a great skill in making tofu," she smacked her lips as if she was recalling the delicious taste of tofu, but soon continued to gossip, "They settled down and built two rooms, and later added two more."
"But I don't know if she was injured during the escape. Ning Yuan's mother is the only daughter in her family. After the two elders died, her mother wanted to find a son-in-law to continue the family line."
"But Ning Yuan's mother was very beautiful, and she was fascinated by Ning Yuan's father, the captain's brother, who came back from the army to visit his family. Although he did not marry into her family, he promised that the first child would take her surname, so Ning Yuan's mother agreed. The main reason was that she had four rooms at the time, and some people questioned her background, so she looked for a backer."
"As a result, Ning Yuan's mother died of illness when he was four or five years old, and his father remarried not long after. How many good stepmothers can there be? It is said that if there is a stepmother, there will be a stepfather. Later, she gave birth to twins, both of whom took his father's surname. Ning Yuan was even less welcomed, and was thrown back when he was in his teens. How pitiful he was."
"I don't know what that damned woman did to me. She made me like a rat. I won't see anyone. The captain let me live alone in that room until now."
Song Ruan felt a little sad when she heard this.
Xu Daya wanted to continue making some sharp comments, but suddenly a voice came from behind:
"Xu Daya, what are you doing there?"
Xu Daya raised his head with great vigor and was ready to fight, but when he saw the team leader looking at him with a dark face, he pulled out two handfuls of grass.
After a while, she didn't give up and continued to open her mouth: "Xiao Song, look at the captain's nephew, he is so pitiful, he looks okay..."
Song Ruan heard something was wrong and pointed at a bunch of brown grass with red roots. She pulled it out in surprise and said, "Aunt, we have Houttuynia cordata here too."
Xu Daya was interrupted from casting a spell. He smacked his lips in dissatisfaction and glanced at the grass in her hand: "What roots? Isn't this a stinky old man? What's the use of this thing?"
Although this thing doesn't grow as much here as the dandelions that grow all over the mountains, it's not rare either - mainly because it has a rotten and smelly smell, and no one is willing to pull it out, which gives it room to grow.
"It's delicious." Song Ruan said confidently.
Xu Daya approached with doubt, but was stabbed by the familiar smell and came back to his senses: "Don't lie to me, how do you eat this?"
"Eat it cold." Song Ruan shook off the dirt on it and put it aside. He also gave her some scientific knowledge, "This is called Houttuynia cordata. Not only can it be eaten, it also has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxification, anti-inflammatory and dehumidification, and can improve the body's immunity."
"What's the use of chicken power?" Xu Daya felt dizzy after hearing what he said.
"It means eating it will keep you healthy and less likely to get sick."
Now Xu Daya understood: "Then this is still a good thing."
"That's why people say you city people are more knowledgeable." Xu Daya nodded as he listened, and pulled out the Houttuynia cordata in her row, put it aside, and planned to take it back with him after work.
It still stinks. Never mind. Give it to her grandson. Children need a lot of strength to grow, but she doesn't need that.
The other aunts who were listening to their conversation attentively also followed and found two clusters, and frowned at the stench.
Perhaps because they gossiped together and conducted "Houttuynia diplomacy", Xu Daya discovered that city people were not so arrogant after all. They also ate wild vegetables and loved to gossip like them. She became much closer to Song Ruan and taught her some of the types of wild vegetables they commonly ate.
Xu Daya was their leader and needed to check on the new educated youth from time to time to see if there was anything wrong with them, so she was not assigned many tasks. She was also an experienced hand at farm work and finished her work early. Most of the time, she squatted beside Song Ruan and chatted.
But when the team leader came, she had to grab a few to pretend, or pretend to demonstrate to Song Ruan, and accidentally helped her do a lot of work.
So when the other educated youth were exhausted after work, she still had the energy to take a walk around her future house.
The team leader and his three sons were enthusiastically helping her build the wall. Perhaps it was the effect of the two dollars, the four of them were in high spirits and full of energy.
The wall on the ground was already half a meter high, like a winding mud dragon, dividing the yard into two halves. But because the gate was allocated to her, the area on her side seemed larger at a glance, making Ning Yuan seem like a tenant.
Song Ruan: How should I put it? I feel a little embarrassed, but not much.
Enjoy your personal space happily!
Seeing her coming, the team leader smiled and stuck the shovel into the ground: "This wall will be fixed tomorrow, and the toilet in the woodshed will be fixed the day after tomorrow. But I have asked Xiaoyuan to help you clean up the house, so you can move your things in and move in tomorrow."
It's only twenty dollars. You'd lose money if you stay one day less. The captain thought.
Song Ruan smiled and thanked him: "When the time comes, I will cook and treat you to a meal!"
"No, no!" The captain refused repeatedly, but with a bright smile on his face.
When I got back, the educated youth were cooking. It was still watery corn porridge and each person had a wild vegetable dumpling - after all, they didn't have to work at night, so wouldn't it be a waste of food to eat so much?
Song Ruan's face turned green from eating so much, and she swallowed the dumpling with difficulty. She was thinking about whether to find an excuse, but she was no longer in the mood: "I'll tell everyone that I'm moving out tomorrow, so you don't have to cook for me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
