ah?
Huang Xiaofu straightened up, wanting to speak up and try to persuade her, but Old Lady Wu had already turned and left, her back view exuding a sense of pride and arrogance.
Take a deep breath, bend over, and start to speed up.
Back inside, Grandma Wu saw that the pile of dust she had swept up had been cleaned up, and gave Gu Qing a thumbs up.
Gu Qing smiled shyly, "Aunt Wu, there are other rooms on either side of this room."
"Yeah?"
The front and back doors of the house were wide open, allowing a clear view. With such a large yard, there couldn't possibly be only a few rooms. They were currently hidden by weeds, but once they were cleared away, we would be able to see them clearly.
"Let's get to work, this is no easy task."
Grandma Wu was full of energy, and Gu Qing was also full of energy.
In one morning, the two brothers, Huang Xiaofu and Huang Xiaoqiang, finally managed to clear all the weeds from the backyard.
They were lying back to back on the ground, panting heavily. "Oh my god, this is really inhuman. It's almost like I've pulled up all the grass I've ever grown in my lifetime."
Huang Xiaofu raised his limp arm, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and complained bitterly, "If I had known it would be this tiring..."
"What's wrong with being so tired?"
Huang Xiaofu interrupted, looking at Old Lady Wu above him with a smile, "If I had known it would be so tiring, I would have definitely dragged those two over to help you with the work, so you could have an easier time."
Grandma Wu rolled her eyes at him and dismissed the question, saying, "Alright, it's noon, take a break before you continue."
Damn! Cough cough cough... Huang Xiaofu choked on his saliva, coughing until his face turned red.
"Mom, isn't it all cleaned up?"
Huang Xiaoqiang felt okay. He was used to weeding every year at the start of the school year when he was in school.
Grandma Wu pointed to the broken window, the door with peeling paint, and the weeds piled up in the yard.
"This, this, this, there's a lot of work to be done."
“I just took a look. There are three main rooms in the front yard, two rooms on the left (kitchen and woodshed), and a vegetable garden on the right.”
"There are two rooms on each side of the backyard, a small vegetable garden and a well. Apart from these, there is still a lot of empty space."
"Gu Qing and I have just finished sweeping the front yard houses, all that's left is to empty the dust."
"You two clean the four rooms in the backyard."
Huang Xiaofu gave a numb "oh," and then gurgled...
"Mom, should we eat first and then talk about it? No, let's do it later."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Gou Cuifen's voice rang out from outside the door, "Mingxia, come and eat, I've brought your food."
Huang Xiaofu jumped up, with Old Lady Wu following behind.
Upon seeing them, Gou Cuifen put the basket on the ground and said, "Mingxia, the vegetables are good today, there's meat in them."
Grandma Wu dusted herself off before approaching. "Sister Cuifen has really gone to a lot of trouble today. She even brought us food from so far away."
Gou Cuifen pretended to be angry and slapped her, saying, "You're being too formal. We're from the same village."
Grandma Wu was taken aback for a moment, then realized what she meant and laughed, "Sister Cuifen is right. We're from the same village, so I won't stand on ceremony."
"Don't mention it, eat up."
Grandma Wu lifted the cloth covering the food, revealing a clay pot of stew and six dark-colored steamed buns.
Quite a lot.
Huang Xiaofu grabbed the chopsticks, scooped the food into his bowl, and began to wolf it down.
After they finished eating, Gou Cuihua cleared away the dishes and left.
"Mom, Aunt Cuifen is so kind."
Huang Xiaofu suddenly blurted out this sentence, and Old Lady Wu glanced at him and said, "Then hurry up and get to work, so you won't have to bother others tonight."
After a full meal, Huang Xiaofu's hands were no longer sore, and he felt more energetic.
Full of energy, he went into the house and started working hard.
When Gou Cuifen returned home, she glanced at the village secretary sitting inside smoking and remarked, "That place is really big."
The village party secretary took the short, thick cigarette from his mouth, examined it closely, and only realized what was happening when a spark burned his fingertip. He then hurriedly and painfully stubbed it out.
"Is it really necessary? It's just cigarettes. You smoke a lot anyway."
The village secretary stroked his beard and glared at her. "What do you know? I usually smoke hookah, how can it be the same as this?"
cut!
Gou Cuifen rolled her eyes and placed the basket on the table.
"It's been delivered?" The village secretary picked up his pipe and started puffing away.
"It's been delivered. I peeked into the yard from afar, and it was indeed quite nice."
Gou Cuifen said regretfully, "If it weren't for the ghost story, I would have bought it no matter what."
"You'll buy it? With what will you buy it? It's easier said than done."
The village secretary put the cigarettes away and gave her a few words of advice: "Since you two get along so well, you should visit each other more often."
"You tell me."
The village secretary stared blankly at his wife, with whom he had spent most of his life, thinking, "She's getting more and more picky as she gets older."
With the village secretary's instructions, Gou Cuifen worried that Old Lady Wu would be too tired to come after a long day of tidying up, so she prepared a meal early, handed the work over to the women in the village, and headed to Old Lady Wu's house with her basket.
After a day of cleaning, the entire yard was transformed, though not exactly brand new, it was like a flower turning into a beautiful woman, undergoing a significant change.
Gou Cuifen stood at the gate, looked inside, and slowly opened her eyes wide. Was this still the haunted courtyard?
Old Mrs. Wu had just finished watering the entire house and dusting it off when she went outside. She saw Gou Cuifen at the front door, put down her things, and walked towards her.
"Sister Cuifen, what brings you here?"
Coming to her senses, Gou Cuifen picked up the basket in her hand and said, "I've come to bring you food."
"I can't accept this. I'm almost done here. Just go get your own food."
Gou Cuifen didn't hold back either, "You too, when it comes to giving gifts, just say so if you need anything in the future, and I'll lend a hand if I can."
Old Mrs. Wu thought of the cigarettes, alcohol, and brown sugar she had secretly left behind when she left this morning.
"I see, isn't this because I'm new here?"
"What? A grasshopper?"
Grandma Wu chuckled and changed her tune, "I'm new here and don't know anyone. I'll be troubling Sister Cuifen a lot in the future, and right now there's someone I need to ask you for help with."
Gou Cuifen, who had just picked up the screw, was immediately diverted by her, "What? Tell me!"
"This house is nice, but it's empty and has nothing in it. I'd like to get some furniture made."
"Hey, that's easy. I'll take you to the village carpenter in a bit."
Grandma Wu nodded in agreement, then considered inviting them inside, but then changed her mind.
There isn't even a stool; standing there is worse than being at the main entrance.
Grandma Wu and the other three sat on the steps at the front door and finished their dinner.
There was nothing inside, so we had to sleep on the floor for now.
Fortunately, they brought everything; otherwise, Grandma Wu and the others would have been lying helplessly on the ground.
Huang Xiaofu silently gave Grandma Wu a thumbs up in his heart.
His mother was right; if this had happened to Huang Mancang...
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