Lu Yuan went to the address Qian Mao had given him and saw Jin Jinxiu and Qian Duoduo throwing out some unused items inside the house. He immediately went up to them and said, "Auntie, you're here! Come on, come on, I'll do this. I'm good at this kind of physical work!"
Qian Duoduo laughed when she saw Lu Yuan fawning over Jin Jinxiu. Sometimes this guy was very calm, and sometimes he was like a little kid. What a contradictory combination!
Jin Jinxiu watched as Lu Yuan took the board from her hand, then went to the kitchen next door to check if she could get water from the faucet. After trying for a long time, the faucet wouldn't budge. She immediately called out, "Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan, come and take a look. Is the faucet broken?"
Lu Yuan was moving out the cabinet that Qian Duoduo didn't want when he heard Jin Jinxiu's words. He immediately ran over and saw the rusty faucet, saying, "Auntie, this faucet is rusty. I guess it will need to be replaced even if you turn it on."
Jin Jinxiu frowned and said, "I heard this house has been uninhabited for two years, so cleaning it up now will be quite a hassle."
Lu Yuan said, "It's okay, we'll stay here as usual once we've packed up."
Jin Jinxiu nodded and said, "I was thinking of fetching some water to dust the floor so it won't get dusty."
Lu Yuan said, "Auntie, I think you shouldn't bother cleaning like this. No one has lived in this house for more than two years. The kang (heated brick bed) is probably blocked up. Anyway, we should clean it up now. Find someone to rebuild the kang in the east and west rooms and fix the floor. Look how uneven it is. If you live here, you'll be walking on your tiptoes when it gets dark."
Also, look, although this wall is made of brick, the plaster inside is made of loess, and some parts are even peeling off. This won't do. Anyway, this will be our own home from now on, so a thorough cleaning is much easier than cleaning it little by little later.”
Jin Jinxiu also thought Lu Yuan's words made sense, but she said with some concern for the money, "This is too expensive."
Seeing the two of them standing there talking, Qian Duoduo walked over. Hearing Lu Yuan's words and understanding Jin Jinxiu's thoughts, she said, "Mom, I think Lu Yuan makes sense. There are indeed many places in this house that need repair. We haven't moved in yet, so let's get the major things sorted out, and then we can put away the smaller things!"
When Jin Jinxiu heard Qian Duoduo say this, she said, "We don't know anyone here, and we don't know how to fix the kang (heated brick bed), the floor, or the walls!"
Lu Yuan said, "I know someone who has two or three people who often help people with these houses. Duoduo, what do you think?"
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "I think it's a good idea. I don't think these cabinets and stuff are good anymore. We'll chop them up and use them as firewood. After all, firewood is still quite necessary in winter."
Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Then I'll go find someone first. You guys take care of the things first, don't move the heavy ones, wait for me to come back." After saying that, he rode away.
Qian Duoduo and Jin Jinxiu were not idle either. They chatted while working. Qian Duoduo said, "Mom, as you know, I am preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination at school. It's almost time for spring planting. I got some seeds. When you go back to plant, take them with you."
Jin Jinxiu said, "We've already saved the seeds, so you don't need to bring them back."
Qian Duoduo: "These are all new varieties that I got at school. Why don't you try planting them and see how the yield compares to previous years?"
Jin Jinxiu was taken aback. She hesitated and said, "Every household has to pay quota grain. Can you manage this?"
Qian Duoduo said, "I talked to my dad about it during the Spring Festival, and he agreed."
Jin Jinxiu: "Did your father agree?"
Qian Duoduo nodded: "Also, I got some vegetable seeds. Our school may not have much else, but this kind of land is truly the best in the province!"
Jin Jinxiu laughed and said, "Now that you mention it, I remember that greenhouse of vegetables you made when you came home for winter vacation. Hehe, it made our family quite famous in the village."
Qian Duoduo laughed and said, "This is what you, my dear daughter, are studying. My current mentor is an expert in rice cultivation. The rice I grow has been tested by the school and external testing agencies. This is our family's rice. If it were an outsider, the professor might not have agreed to give it to them."
Jin Jinxiu thought that since the old man had agreed, she nodded and said, "Once you've finished cleaning up this house, I think I'll go home."
Qian Duoduo said, "Okay, then I'll go and apply to the professor tomorrow."
Jin Jinxiu nodded. This kind of rice needs to be cultivated in greenhouses first. In the past, the seedlings did not emerge well. She wondered if this rice variety would work this time.
Lu Yuan was very efficient. He found four people to help tidy up the courtyard. Two of them rebuilt the kang (heated brick bed), and two others cleaned the walls inside the house.
Qian Duoduo walked over and said, "I asked someone to buy some cement. Do you think it's possible to plaster the kang (heated brick bed) and the walls with cement?"
Zhang Qiang, who was dismantling the kang (a heated brick bed), said, "Okay, should we do both of these kangs? And the entire wall in the room too?"
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "I noticed that some of the bricks on the back wall are uneven. Could you check if you could fix those too?"
Zhang Qiang was stunned. Goodness, cement is usually used for plastering walls, but it's rare to see it used for plastering kang beds. If it's used on the outside too, how much cement will that take? Just as he was still surprised, he heard Qian Duoduo say, "Also, plaster the entire floor of the house, and plaster the area around the house as well, so it will be easier to walk around."
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