Qi Siling led the three of them to the backyard, where three guest rooms were prepared, each fully equipped. Over the past six months, she'd earned a considerable amount of money with Xia Youyou. Not only did she sell grain to the capital, but she'd also sometimes use her empty truck after a workday to haul grain to other cities. After Grandpa was demobilized, he'd spent money to renovate the old house, giving each of the ten children rooms. However, since they didn't want to live separately, he'd prepared bunk beds. When they got married, they'd have their own rooms ready.
Xia Youyou had been to the backyard once before, but she went to Qi Siling's main courtyard. This guest courtyard should be not far from there.
"Your old house is quite big."
Qi Siling helped her place the bag on the table in the room. "Yes, it has four entrances. Your house has the same one." He quietly climbed over the wall to take a look. It was similar to the old house except a little dilapidated. Thinking of the desolate and overgrown weeds inside, he decided to let the children pull the weeds first while he went out to find someone to take care of the house.
"Have you been inside?" Xia Youyou had only come to check out the location last time, and hadn't gone in because she didn't have the key. Now she was a little curious about what it looked like inside.
"I've checked. There are quite a lot of grass and trees growing there. You can go in with the kids later and take a look. I'll ask them to pull out the grass first." He glanced at her delicate white hands and said, "Don't pull them out too." Don't cut your hands.
Cao An followed Xiao Hai to handle the household registration and the house matter. Xia Youyou held Liu Hui's arm and was taken to the house by Qi Siling.
Qi Siling picked up a stone from the ground and was about to smash it against the rusty lock, but Liu Hui hurried forward to stop him.
"Don't smash it, I can open this lock."
Xia Youyou looked at her in surprise as she took off the silver hairpin on her head and fiddled with the lock for a while. Then the copper lock opened with a click.
"Mom, how do you know how to open this lock?" She was so surprised that she took the copper lock from her hand. It was an old-fashioned lock, long and narrow, not a padlock like the ones now.
"When I was young, I often forgot to bring my keys and couldn't get into the house, so your father taught me how to unlock the door." Thinking of that man, her heart moved slightly.
Qi Siling pushed open the mottled gate. To the left was a row of back houses, and a blue brick screen wall appeared before everyone's eyes. Looking through the hole in the screen wall at the courtyard, the weeds had turned yellow after the arrival of winter, making the courtyard look even more desolate.
Crossing the threshold, the stone floor was covered with green moss. "Be careful, it's slippery." Qi Siling entered first, leading the group around the screen wall and through the hanging flower gate.
"Zi Bo, take the brothers and clear the weeds. Zi Qiu and Zi Dong, the two girls, go inside and see if the smashed tables and chairs are still usable. Clear out the ones that are."
The ten people divided the work and worked together to bypass Xia Youyou and Liu Hui and go inside.
Liu Hui couldn't bear to watch the half-grown children fight, so she stepped forward to join in. Qi Siling stopped her, "Aunt, go in and take Ziqiu and Zidong with you to see which ones are acceptable, so they can have a better idea."
Seeing that everyone was busy, Xia Youyou felt bad for being idle. Just as she was about to squat down and help pull the weeds, Qi Siling grabbed her wrist.
"Come with me."
Xia Youyou was led through the corridor to the backyard. She looked around curiously. All she saw was dead grass. Not a single spot was healthy. She couldn't help but sigh, "This is a huge project!"
When Qi Siling came in before, he couldn't even move his feet. He used a machete to clear a path out, so now he can walk more easily. He took Xia Youyou to the main courtyard. This place was similar to the main courtyard of the old house. There was also a running water pool, but it was not as clear as his home. It had not been set foot in a place for more than ten years. Leaves and dead wood were all fallen in it and no one had cleaned it up.
"What kind of tree is this?" Xia Youyou pointed to the only tall tree in the yard, on which a few red fruits were faintly hanging.
"A pomegranate tree. Planting one in the main courtyard symbolizes fertility and good fortune." He pulled out the machete from his waist and cut the dry grass on the ground to create a path to the pomegranate tree. He climbed up the tree nimbly, reached out his hand, and plucked a pomegranate before jumping down.
Xia Youyou breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him land safely.
"Come, try to see if you can eat it." After scratching it a few times with the machete, the pomegranate was full of juice, and the juice overflowed from the places where the knife cut it, and it slipped from Qi Siling's hand.
Looking at the plump, red pomegranates in his hand, Xia Youyou couldn't help but salivate. She walked closer and plucked one out with her small hand. She had never seen anything like this fruit before. The crystal-clear, rosy little fruit burst into sweet juice when she put it in her mouth. Her eyes sparkled as she tasted the sweetness in her mouth and couldn't help but reach out again.
"You can't eat the seeds inside. Suck out the juice and spit it out." Seeing her curious face, Qi Siling smiled and wanted to touch her head, but was afraid of getting her hands dirty and making her look dirty, so he gave up. He simply put the whole pomegranate in her hand and said, "Let's keep this pomegranate tree. It's good for looking at and eating."
"Yeah, I think it's good too."
"Your brother said that this main courtyard is for you. Do you have any other ideas?"
Xia Youyou looked at him in confusion, "When did my brother tell you? Shouldn't the main courtyard be given to him?" He is the male owner and will marry his sister-in-law in the future.
"Just now, he asked me to take you to the main courtyard and ask me how you want it decorated." He worked hard, clearing the dead grass on the ground so that she could enter the room.
"I don't want it. If it's not for him, then it should be given to Mom, right?"
Qi Siling was silent, only hearing her muttering softly. It didn't matter where she lived; she wouldn't necessarily live here forever.
After clearing a path, he went out to find the men who were repairing the house. He told her not to run around and to follow the cleared path back home. He urged her to be extremely careful before leaving under her impatient gaze. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, wondering when this girl would finally come to his senses. Ever since he first met her, he couldn't help but be moved. From a stranger to now a brother, he began to feel less and less satisfied, more and more greedy, just wanting to be a little closer to her. Fortunately, they could study together in the future, hoping things would change.
Xia Youyou walked into the main house, its doors stripped and the floor a mess of vandalism. She shook her head regretfully, thinking these were all good wood. The beams were fine, though. It seemed all she needed to do was clean out the house, repaint it, and give the bluestone floor a good scrub, and it would be habitable. There were side rooms to either side of the main house, but the clutter blocked their way in, preventing her from going inside to explore.
If only the Chaoshou Veranda they just passed could have planted some grapes, she could sit there in the summer and admire the moon, picking grapes right away. Also, she had seen a hydrangea the size of a bowl before, and she wanted to plant one in her own yard, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to find one.
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