I went to check out the toilet at the end of the road. The toilet was fairly clean and must be managed. It had squat toilets, just like the toilets in the school. There was also a water tap at the entrance, which was probably for washing hands. After all, it was a teacher's assigned room, so they were quite hygienic.
Yan Dongnan carried Fu Bao and circled around the bungalows, wanting to familiarize himself with the area. He was surprised to find that the area behind the school was so large, with many undeveloped plots of land.
It's estimated that the situation will improve in the future, and more houses will be built and developed here. I need to understand the situation here clearly, go back and ask Nan Nan, and listen to her advice. When Yan Dongnan arrived home with the child, Xue Mei also returned.
The daughter must be hungry, so Yan Dongnan quickly took out a blanket from his bag and put it on the ground, letting Xuemei sit on the blanket to breastfeed the baby, while he went to the school to buy food to eat.
The school food was quite delicious. While eating, the two discussed that they would rent the furniture today so they could sleep well tonight, and tomorrow they would find someone to build a coal stove frame, then buy a coal stove and coal briquettes, as well as all the kitchen supplies.
Southeast nodded, quickly finished her meal, and went to the school to rent furniture. Xuemei tied Fubao behind her back with strips of cotton cloth and then wrapped her in a blanket so that she could work while the child wouldn't get cold.
I took out the rag I brought and wiped the whole room, including the windows. I didn't wipe the outside windows, so my little girl wouldn't get cold.
There were two taps in the kitchen, probably for public use, so I went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Unfortunately, there was no hot water, and Xue Mei's hands were so cold they turned into radishes. It seems I'll have to bring a thermos and a basin next time I come.
I dried the lunchbox and spoon and placed them on the windowsill, waiting for Dongnan to return. Dongnan was quick; around noon, two people from the school brought furniture over.
Southeast instructed them to place two beds in the inner room: a large bed, about four and a half feet in size, by the window, and a bunk bed against another wall. In the middle, they placed a desk and two stools.
Two large cabinets were placed against the wall in the outer room, a square table was placed in the middle of the outer room, and two stools were placed under the table. A simple cabinet was placed in the kitchen.
After they put the makeshift cabinet in place, they realized there was no room left for the coal stove. Without any hesitation, they went to the two neighboring households and demanded that they either give up their space or throw away the things that were taking up their space.
Upon seeing that they were from the school's logistics department, the two families quickly cooperated and took their belongings back, saying kind words all the while. Xuemei secretly memorized the faces of the two people and took out two packs of Pegasus cigarettes from her luggage and put them in her pocket.
Southeast smiled at the two and said, "Comrade Zhang, Comrade Li, thank you for your hard work today. I'll treat you to a meal after I've finished fixing the house."
The two waved their hands, asking Yan Dongnan to sign. The monthly rent for the furniture was one yuan, which would be deducted directly from his salary. Yan Dongnan quickly took out a pen to sign, and his beautiful handwriting gave the two a good impression of him. Xuemei took the opportunity to slip a cigarette to Dongnan, who immediately understood and handed it over while shaking hands with the two.
The two men felt something in their hands, and were first startled, then delighted. This Yan Dongnan had asked to work at the grassroots level to avoid being sent down to the countryside, and now he had returned to the school in glory. He was so particular about renting furniture, so he seemed to be a sensible person. They could keep in touch in the future.
After Southeast saw them out, Xuemei happily picked up a rag and wiped all the furniture clean, laid out bedding, and placed some food and daily necessities she had brought on the table. She was thinking about installing curtains and buying two locks.
Southeast returned with two locks, one for the front door and one for the kitchen cabinets, along with a stack of newspapers, which he said were for pasting on the windows. Xuemei looked at Southeast in surprise, wondering how he knew about such trivial matters. Southeast smiled and said, "Xuemei, this is our new home. I'm just as excited as you are."
The next morning, someone came to make coal stove frames. The two packs of cigarettes we gave away yesterday were really worth it. They told Southeast that the frame maker had coal stoves for sale, but they were expensive. However, it was winter now, and coal stoves were hard to come by. Not only did they require money, but they also needed industrial coupons. The problem was that even if we had money and coupons, the supply and marketing cooperatives didn't have any in stock.
When the man learned that Yan Dongnan wanted two stoves, he offered twenty yuan and two loads of coal briquettes. Yan Dongnan took out the money without hesitation. The man nodded to himself, thinking that Yan Dongnan was a straightforward person. He decided to do a good job and deliver the stoves in the afternoon.
Xuemei casually asked, "Master, do you have any way to get an iron pot or something?"
The man's eyes flickered, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "You'll have to go to the market and ask."
Yan Dongnan understood immediately and quickly handed him a Flying Horse cigarette. He also casually lit one for himself, knowing he needed to learn how to smoke properly, otherwise he wouldn't be able to find common ground with people.
Sure enough, two gas stoves and two loads of coal were delivered in the afternoon. Dongnan quickly lit a fire. The stove was well-made, and the smoke was expelled from the pipes, so there was almost no smoke in the house, but it was warm.
Looking at the two loads of coal briquettes, Dongnan thought about making a simple wooden box and locking it up. Otherwise, Liujin would definitely play with the coal briquettes when he came, and the house would become as dirty as a coal mine.
The problem of meals is easy to solve; we can buy food from the school for now. But with children at home, we can't keep buying food from the school. We still need to get an iron pot.
Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve, so let's go back first. The two of them are traveling light this time. They bought a box of malted milk powder for their grandmother from the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town, some cigarettes, alcohol and pastries for their parents, and a box of face cream for Nan Nan.
Grandma Yan scolded them for wasting money, saying they had only been back for two days and were already buying things to bring back. She said, "Where do you get so much money to squander?" Dongnan smiled and said, "Grandma, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. How can we celebrate the New Year without buying things for the family?"
Grandma Yan smiled. "Children are all good. It's better not to say too much, lest we hurt their feelings."
When Xinan came back from get off work, he was carrying big bags and small bags. There weren't as many things in the town as in the county seat. Xinan had to queue for a long time to buy some relatively expensive pastries and fish, half a pound of pork, milk, and Nan Nan's nutritional supplements.
Yan Xiaonan quickly took the things from Xinan's hands. This second brother was very honest. His grandmother once said that the jujube cake in town was delicious, and he was willing to queue for an hour to buy jujube cake for his grandmother.
Southeast said to Yan Xiaonan embarrassedly, "Nannan, I don't know what's wrong with us this year, we can't even buy a box of face cream at the supply and marketing cooperative. Do you have enough? If not, your second brother will go to the county town to buy you some."
Southeast laughed: "Southwest, I bought it, but I only managed to grab one box. I don't even have milk or my mom yet."
Grandma Yan didn't understand. What was so great about the face cream? It couldn't be eaten except for applying it to the face. Then she suddenly realized what was going on.
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