After sending Ding's mother, Ding Qiunan, and the two children back, Li Chu didn't stay long and returned with Zhang Meng.
When he returned home and saw the deserted house, Li Chu almost turned around to go pick up his wife and children. He just couldn't get used to it.
He didn't want to stay home alone, so he planned to go to the courtyard house and clean the room there.
Although we don't live there now, if this kind of wooden structure house is left unoccupied for a long time and not cleaned up, it will deteriorate.
Instead of riding a bicycle, Li Chu simply led Xiao Hei over on a leisurely stroll.
It seems quite busy here at the courtyard house; there are several handcarts parked at the entrance.
Some people came to haul coal, some to haul cabbages, and some to haul radishes—all for winter storage.
"Xiao Chu, what brings you here today?"
Li Chu was looking at what was being carried on the carts at the door when an old man led his son out of the yard.
"Uncle, I just came by today because I had nothing to do, and I'm going to tidy up my house a bit."
Li Chu squatted down and clapped his hands at the old man's son: "Ping An, come here and let your big brother give you a hug."
The old man's son is not very old, but he is of a high generation.
Even when Yi Ping'an was still a baby, he was particularly close to Li Chu. For some reason, he would cry uncontrollably whenever anyone else in the yard held him.
As long as Li Chu hugs him, he doesn't even want his mother anymore.
Just as Li Chu clapped his hands, Yi Ping'an broke free from the old man's hand, ran over, and jumped into his arms.
"Is Qiu Nan at home with the child?"
Li Chu stood up, holding Yi Ping'an: "I'm not home. I just took the child back to my parents' house. I'm planning to stay here for a few days."
"Grandpa, what are you planning to do with Ping An?"
“You old lady went to line up to buy cabbage, I’m going over to help you bring it back.”
"Then you should hurry up and go, don't keep this old lady waiting too long."
After saying that, Li Chu put Yi Ping'an on the ground and patted his head: "Go with your dad to help your mom. Come back and play with your brother."
Then he took a piece of candy out of his pocket and put it in his hand.
Yi Zhonghai walked over and took his son's hand: "Quickly thank your brother and say goodbye to him."
Yi Ping'an looked at the candy in his hand, licked his lips, and looked up at Li Chu, saying, "Thank you, brother. Goodbye, brother."
"Goodbye, Xiao Ping'an!" Li Chu waved to him, and only prepared to enter the courtyard after watching the old man lead the child away.
Just as they reached the door, Yan Bugui led his three sons out again, with Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiekuang each carrying a large wooden plank.
"Little Chu, you're here!" Yan Bugui's three sons called out to him from behind.
"Uncle, what are you and your whole family planning to do?"
“We’re not going anywhere.” Yan Bugui pointed to a cart loaded with coal at the door: “We just bought it and are about to unload it in the yard.”
He then directed Jie Cheng and Jie Kuang to prop up the wooden planks they were holding at the threshold.
Then Jie Kuang and Jie Fang each stood behind a wooden plank and braced themselves with their feet.
Yan Bugui tied the rope on the cart to his shoulder and untied it so he could stand behind the cart and push it.
Seeing this, Li Chu went up to lend a hand and helped push it in from behind.
Several families in the courtyard who were buying coal briquettes and vegetables were preparing to move their carts in slowly when they saw the wooden planks that Yan Bugui had set up. They quickly pulled and pushed the planks to get their carts into the courtyard as well.
Yan Bugui was heartbroken: "Slow down, be careful not to break my board."
As he spoke, he glared fiercely at his two sons. Their own car had already come in, why weren't they hurrying up and taking down the planks instead of standing there like idiots?
Turning to Li Chu, who had just helped push the cart, he said, "Thank you, Xiao Chu. Come inside and have some water."
Li Chu was walking towards his house when he waved his hand and said, "No, Uncle, I'm just here to tidy up my place. You go ahead with your work, don't worry about me."
Li Chu took out his key from his pocket and opened the door. As he did so, dust was kicked up from the floor, making him cough.
Instead of going in directly, Li Chu stood at the entrance for a while.
People coming in and out of the courtyard would come over to greet him and chat for a few minutes whenever they saw him.
Even Liu Haizhong took the initiative to come over and greet him.
Liu Haizhong had known for a long time that Li Chu's sister had become the director of the subdistrict office, and had been trying to build a relationship with Li Chu but had not been able to find an opportunity.
When Ding Qiunan had just given birth, he went to her house with an old man.
Unfortunately, neither Li Chu nor Li Qin were home when he arrived.
When they met Li Chu in person today, they were incredibly enthusiastic. Upon hearing that he needed help cleaning the house, they even planned to have his son come over to help Li Chu.
"Second Uncle, there's really no need to trouble yourself. I'll just do a quick cleaning."
Just kidding, the person Li Chu least wants to deal with in this courtyard is Liu Haizhong; this guy is a bit out of touch with reality.
It's normal for anyone to want to be an official, but Liu Haizhong's desire to become an official wasn't about serving the people; it was about being able to swagger around and show off his power.
This set of values is very problematic.
He acts like a domineering old man in the courtyard, constantly pointing fingers at his neighbors.
In the factory, he would constantly scold his apprentices like they were his grandchildren.
If such a person were to actually become an official, that would be a disaster for the common people.
In the original drama, he apparently hooked up with Deputy Factory Director Li during the Great Era, even becoming some minor official, and harmed many people.
Li Chu planned to send some of Liu Haizhong's favorite medicine to Deputy Factory Director Li, cutting off his escape route and preventing him from harming others later.
After exchanging a few awkward words with Liu Haizhong, Liu Haizhong, seeing that he had no other choice, reluctantly left.
Upon entering the house, Li Chu filled a basin with water and began cleaning.
First, clean the second floor, wipe the tables and cabinets, sweep and mop the floor, and only come down after the second floor is clean.
I was sweeping the kitchen when I heard Little Black Woof barking outside the door.
Someone must want to come inside, otherwise Xiao Hei wouldn't be barking like that.
Li Chu came out of the kitchen, and to his surprise, the person who came over was Qin Huairu.
"Dr. Li, are you cleaning?" Qin Huairu was so startled by Xiao Hei's barking that she stood there motionless, only relaxing when she saw Li Chu come out.
When Xiao Hei saw its owner come out, it stopped barking and lay down on the ground again.
"I didn't have anything to do today, so I just came over to tidy up the house. Sister-in-law, did you come to see me for something?"
“It’s like this,” Qin Huairu said, taking out a few coupons from the pocket of her work clothes. “I borrowed five industrial coupons from Qiu Nan back then, but I didn’t have time to go over. Now that I’ve seen you, I thought it would be the same to return them to you.”
As she spoke, Qin Huairu handed over the tickets in her hand.
Li Chu didn't pretend to refuse; it was just a loan from them, so returning it was normal. He accepted it directly.
"How's it going? Are you able to get any work from the neighborhood committee?" Li Chu asked with concern.
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