Chapter 184: I Can’t Bear to Let the Kids Go Hungry

"But there is no other way. When you get old, don't you have to follow your son? I just came here today to pack my things. I'm afraid I won't have the chance to come back and live here in the future!"

Aunt He continued speaking as she gazed with infinite reluctance at the small courtyard where she had lived for more than 20 years.

Xia Juanjuan's heart moved. She had promised Grandma Luo before that she would be able to buy back the entire Luo residence.

Now it seems that most of the people who moved in before and after have moved out, so this should be an opportunity.

So she asked softly, "Auntie He, I want to ask you something. If you don't want to live in this house anymore, would you sell it?"

Aunt He was stunned for a moment. Buying and selling houses was still a rare thing in this era. In the countryside, the village would allocate residential land and build a house by yourself. In the city, you would wait for the unit to allocate a house.

The houses here originally belonged to the Luo family. They were allocated to the factory by the government when Aunt He's husband worked there more than 20 years ago. The factory then distributed them to the families of workers who had housing difficulties. The other families who had moved out of the yard were also workers of the former timber factory.

Seeing Aunt He's confusion, Xia Juanjuan quickly said, "Aunt He, I didn't buy this myself. Did you know that this yard wasn't originally my aunt and uncle's house? My aunt has always wanted to buy back all the houses in the front and back. Before she went to Beijing, she told me to ask if there was a chance. I saw that everyone here had moved away, and this house would soon be ruined if left alone, so I thought of using some money to buy the house back, which would also fulfill my aunt's wish."

Aunt He nodded and said, "That's right. This house originally belonged to the Luo family. Mr. Luo was generous and donated the house for free and shared it with everyone. Now everyone has moved into the new house, and this vacant house should be returned to the Luo family. It's only right."

Xia Juanjuan felt a little hopeful when she heard this, and she smiled quickly and said, "Aunt He, you say we will return it, but since my uncle donated it, it is actually our family's house. If we want it back, we must pay for it. Aunt, if you have this intention, that's great. You name a price. My aunt left me some money before she left. I will collect some money and give you the money. You just need to give me the house deed."

The property deeds here were uniformly produced and issued by the government after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Holding a property deed means that you are the owner of this house.

Of course, the past few years are quite special, and many people have been driven out of their own houses, but that does not affect the ownership of the house. After these years, whoever it is belongs to will generally return it to the original owner as long as there is a valid certificate.

Aunt He smiled and said, "We have lived in this house for more than 20 years. How much is it worth? You decide how much it should be."

Xia Juanjuan thought for a moment and said, "Then... for the two houses where you live plus part of the yard that belongs to your family, do you think one hundred and twenty yuan will be ok?"

When Aunt He heard this, she thought it wasn't a lot, but there was nothing to worry about now.

If this area was prosperous in the past, it would definitely not be enough. But now this old city has fallen into decline and no one cares about it. How many houses have become desolate and worthless two or three years after people moved out?

If they can still sell it for so much money, they must be making money. One hundred and twenty yuan can buy more than a year's worth of food, and even meat and eggs can be guaranteed to be eaten five or six times a month!

Without even discussing it with his family, he nodded and said, "Okay. After all, this is the Luo family's business, so let's just give it 120 yuan!"

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "Aunt He is still very straightforward. I didn't bring any money with me today, and I have to ask someone to buy the supplies. I also have to send a telegram to my aunt for instructions. We will hand over the money and the house deed in five days."

As she spoke, Xia Juanjuan remembered something and said, "Aunt He, I have something else to trouble you with. Do you recognize the original residence here? I see that their house has been empty for more than half a year. If they are willing to sell it, I will ask my aunt and we can buy it back together. She has the pensions for several children issued by the state, as well as the monthly subsidies, so she should be able to scrape together the money. The elderly are nostalgic. When they are old, they can no longer reunite with their families. They think that they should reunite in the house, which is also the appearance of the children when they left home..."

After hearing this, Aunt He thought of how none of Mrs. Luo's three sons and one daughter could come back after leaving home. She sighed for a while, but she naturally no longer doubted what Xia Juanjuan said and where she got so much money to buy a house. She immediately promised:

"How can you not recognize them? There are several newly moved houses, and they live in the same building as my son! Don't worry, my lady, I will go and ask for you. I'm sure they are happy with it too!"

The matter was settled. Xia Juanjuan talked for a while before returning to the house, and went directly home through the space.

Lin Yuru took the three kids to visit Aunt Wu's home. Just then, the three kids got hungry and started making noise, so they came back pushing a cart.

The dolly was made by Liezhan the same way he made a small bed for sleeping last time. It was a little smaller than the bed, and had baffles all around, covered with cloth and lined with cotton to prevent pain when bumped into.

The triplets couldn’t be carried out alone, they had to be pushed in a stroller.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw Xia Juanjuan washing red beans in the yard, and smiled, "You got up just in time. The three kids are hungry, so you should feed them quickly. You are going to use these red beans to make... glutinous rice balls, right?"

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "Yeah. The Lantern Festival is coming soon. Isn't my brother coming back? It's the same as last year. I'll make some black sesame and red bean fillings. The lard is ready. I also bought glutinous rice flour and sugar in town two days ago. I have everything."

Lin Yuru took over the job and said with a smile, "Why not? Go feed them! I'll do it."

Xia Juanjuan pushed the three kids into the house, then picked them up one by one to feed them.

It was probably because her daily diet was sufficient. Although the triplets were already three months old, her milk supply was still sufficient.

After a while, the three little guys had eaten and drunk their fill. They lay on the bed, burping and giggling at Xia Juanjuan.

Lin Yuru came in and said with a smile: "Look at how happy she is. She was crying so loudly just now that no one could comfort her!"

Xia Juanjuan picked up Yanyan and coaxed him for a while, then picked up the rattle to tease Yeye and Yaoyao, and said with a smile: "These three little guys are good in every way and don't make a lot of noise. They just don't like to drink milk powder or anything like that. They have to be fed by me. There will be trouble when they are weaned later."

Lin Yuru smiled and said, "Although the children are young, they can still distinguish good from bad. Their mother's milk tastes good, so of course they don't want to drink formula."

Xia Juanjuan didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "It's just a habit. If you starve them twice, they won't be picky anymore."

"That being said, are you willing to starve them?"

Xia Juanjuan also laughed when she heard this. She really couldn't bear to part with it.

Now whenever she goes out, she has to calculate the time and make sure she gets back quickly before the three little ones start crying for hunger.

She was delayed for a while today and she started crying like this. She was so heartbroken.