As Xu Ningyan left, the Xu family members couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, finally getting rid of this troublemaker.
Xu Jinlai smiled and invited the brigade leader and the party secretary to stay for dinner.
The brigade leader and the party secretary felt uneasy and had no desire to stay for dinner. They got up, said goodbye, and went home.
Once outside, I could see Xu Ningyan, a little girl, with her thin frame, carrying two pitiful bags of food, taking a few steps and then resting. It was hard not to feel sorry for her.
The captain sighed, "What a mess!"
The village secretary glanced at him, quickened his pace, caught up with Xu Ningyan, and took a bag of food rations from her. "Siya, now that the family has separated, where will you live from now on? Have you thought about it?"
Xu Ningyan had already thought it through. Now that she had been separated from the group and was going to try to curry favor with the big boss, she would definitely take advantage of the situation and live as close to the big boss as possible.
Not far from the cowshed near the mountain, there is an abandoned house where the guards used to live when wild animals came down from the mountain in winter and had nothing to eat.
In recent years, people have often gone into the mountains to gather wild produce and hunt in order to fill their stomachs. Wild animals have retreated to the deep mountains and rarely come down.
The house was then abandoned.
Although the house is in a remote location, it is in a good position, on high ground, and is built entirely of stone, making it very sturdy.
It can be moved in after some repairs.
When Xu Ningyan showed interest in that room, the Party Secretary thought for a moment and said, "Have you thought this through? That area is a cowshed, where people who have been sent down to the 'five black categories' live. Aren't you afraid?"
Xu Ningyan was not afraid at all. In fact, she was eager to get started.
Seeing that Xu Ningyan had made up her mind, and that there was indeed no suitable place for her to stay in the brigade, the Party Secretary had no choice but to agree.
“That house was built by the brigade. Although it has been abandoned for many years, if we let you live there for free, people might gossip. How about this, you pay five yuan, and the house is yours.”
Xu Ningyan understood that the Party Secretary was already taking care of her, so she thanked him and made an appointment to go to the brigade headquarters to pay the money the next day.
The Party Secretary saw that Xu Ningyan was a sensible person and did not come to him to complain about being poor or miserable.
Instead, she felt a pang of pity and offered a few more words of advice: "However, that house still needs renovation before anyone can live there. For the next few days, you'll stay at Aunt Xie's house to keep her company. As for the house renovation, the brigade headquarters will arrange it for you!"
Xu Ningyan was taken aback, but quickly recovered and thanked the Party Secretary and the brigade leader who followed behind her again and again.
The Party Secretary waved his hand and said, "You're a good kid. You're just going to suffer a little now, but the good days are yet to come!"
As they were talking, they arrived at Aunt Xie's house, knocked on the door, and explained the situation to her in a few words.
Aunt Xie is of a higher generation than the Party Secretary, and she is also quite old. She now lives alone.
After listening to the Party Secretary's words, and looking at the thin and frail Xu Ningyan following behind, his expression was not very good, but he still made way for him with a stern face and let him into the courtyard.
In front of the brigade leader and the party secretary, he said directly: "You can stay at my house for two days. You can pay for your own food, firewood, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vegetables. The rent is two cents a day. If you can accept it, stay. If not, hurry up and find another place."
The brigade leader and the party secretary didn't look too happy, and they wanted to say a few more words of advice.
Xu Ningyan readily agreed: "I'll stay!"
He then took out two cents and handed them to Aunt Xie: "Aunt, I don't know how many days I'll be staying. I'll pay for the food and rent every day. Is that alright?"
She likes dealing with people like that, where money and goods are exchanged cleanly, and she doesn't have to owe anyone favors.
Aunt Xie took the money and pointed to the room next to hers, saying, "Clean up that room yourself."
Xu Ningyan didn't say much. She pushed open the door to look around, then came out and found a broom and rag to start cleaning.
The brigade leader and the party secretary were no longer needed to stand there, so after giving a few words of advice, they went home.
When Xu Ningyan finished tidying up the room and came out, Aunt Xie had already prepared dinner.
Two kinds of rice were served: Xu Ningyan had broken rice and sweet potato rice, while Aunt Xie had broken rice and potato rice. A large bowl of boiled red amaranth and a dish of pickled vegetables were also served, which was their dinner.
After finishing the meal, Xu Ningyan took the initiative to wash the dishes and waited for her to come out.
Aunt Xie brought out a quilt from her room and handed it to Xu Ningyan: "You can sleep in it for a few days; it's included in the room rate."
Xu Ningyan thanked Aunt Xie and went inside to spread the bedding on the bed.
The weather was neither too hot nor too cold. She was alone and petite, so this quilt was enough for her to use half as a mattress and half as a cover.
In the countryside, everyone goes to bed as soon as it gets dark to save on lamp oil.
Xu Ningyan had experienced too much since she woke up that day. In addition, her high fever had just subsided. She quickly washed up and fell asleep in bed.
When I woke up again, it was already broad daylight.
It was quiet outside.
When I came out, I saw that breakfast was still warm in the kitchen. Aunt Xie was not at home; she must have gone to work.
Xu Ningyan put the breakfast into her spatial storage, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and took out hot soy milk and red bean buns to eat. These two things didn't have much flavor, so she wasn't worried about being discovered as a culprit.
After finishing his meal, he rinsed his mouth before heading out to the brigade headquarters.
It was already agreed yesterday that Xu Ningyan had just woken up from a high fever after falling into the water, and since they had just separated from the family, there were many things to do.
The brigade leader and the party secretary were worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the work and that someone might die, which would be terrible.
I simply granted her a few days off so she could finish up her business before returning to work.
Xu Ningyan has many things to do. She needs to get a certificate to transfer her household registration separately from the commune, and she needs to buy household items for her small family. Now, the most important thing is to go to the brigade headquarters and buy that small house.
In the brigade headquarters, in addition to the brigade leader and the party secretary, the brigade accountant was also present.
Seeing Xu Ningyan arrive, I knew she was there to buy a small house.
The items were already prepared, and Xu Ningyan gave five yuan to the brigade accountant.
Once the brigade accountant registered and stamped the document, the small house belonged to Xu Ningyan.
The household registration transfer certificate has also been issued, and it's just a matter of waiting for Xu Ningyan to have some free time to go to the commune to complete the process.
As for the renovation of the small house, Xu Ningyan didn't need to worry about it; the brigade leader had already made arrangements.
He and the Party Secretary had already sent someone to check on that small house early this morning. Although it had been abandoned for many years, it wouldn't be difficult to renovate.
Once the roof beams are replaced, and straw is laid back on, the windows and doors are repaired, and a small shed is built for cooking, then it can be lived in.
The land clearing work will be finished tomorrow. We'll call a few more people, and it should be repaired in two or three days.
In the past, it would be cheaper if the homeowner provided three meals a day when repairing houses.
Xu Ningyan was young and was staying at someone else's house. She didn't even have pots and pans, so how could she possibly take care of herself?
The brigade leader and the village secretary simply told the villagers that they wouldn't provide meals, but they could pay them later.
As for the money for repairing the house, the brigade leader also said that if they didn't have the money right away, the brigade headquarters would advance the funds first, and it would be deducted when the work points were settled at the end of the year.
Xu Ningyan knew that the brigade leader and the party secretary had tried to smooth things over when dividing the family property, but their concern and care for her at this moment were genuine.
I will remember the kindness shown by the brigade leader and the party secretary.
Since Xu Ningyan didn't have to work today, she went straight to the end of the village after leaving the brigade headquarters.
To get to your newly-born home, you have to pass through the cowshed.
The door to the small shed where Gu Zhiyuan lived was closed, but the cows in the cowshed were still there.
Xu Ningyan tiptoed and peered into the cowshed. Two cows were leisurely chewing on fresh, dewy grass piled up in front of them, but Gu Zhiyuan was nowhere to be seen.
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