The train arrived at the station at a little after four o'clock, and with the bus ride, it was already six o'clock when we finally reached the courtyard house the old lady had mentioned.
Fortunately, the days are long now, and it doesn't get completely dark until after 7 p.m., otherwise finding a place to stay would be an urgent matter.
"It's getting late, why don't we stay here?" Old Mrs. Han said as she directed Aunt Pang to open the courtyard gate.
Lu Wanqing glanced at Lin Ye, somewhat hesitant.
It wouldn't be difficult for them to find a guesthouse, so it's best not to disturb the elderly.
To everyone's surprise, when Grandma Han saw her hesitate, she rubbed her forehead and acted spoiled, "Oh dear, girl, my head is spinning again. You still need to give me some sugar water."
Auntie Pang had already stepped through the gate and hurriedly said, "Grandma, we're home now. Don't worry about not having sweet soup; I'll make you some right away..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was met with a sharp glare from Old Mrs. Han.
She just wanted to hug those little cuties, why is that so hard!
Lu Wanqing had already noticed the old lady's fondness for the three babies, so she didn't refuse and led everyone into the courtyard.
There were several women among them, along with two strong laborers, Lin Ye and Luo Chunlei. The old lady was carefree and unafraid of them, so they had no reason to be afraid either.
If there are any extra rooms here, they can rent them; they were originally planning to live in a courtyard house anyway.
Unexpectedly, the conditions here at Grandma Han's place were even better than she had imagined. Only she and her nanny lived here, and no outsiders came and went.
Even more surprisingly, they found the black stone mill next to the well in the yard.
"Grandma, where did this stone mill come from?" Lu Wanqing asked in surprise.
Seeing Lu Wanqing admiring her stone mill, Old Mrs. Han smiled, her face crinkling with wrinkles. "Isn't this stone mill nice? I had my son look for it outside. I just love these old things; they have a sense of historical weight. Speaking of my son, I don't know what's wrong with him. He clearly said he'd be coming back by train today, and I was even planning to surprise him at the train station..."
The old lady, perhaps due to her advanced age, began to ramble on and on.
Clearly, the son she was referring to was likely the same person who bought the millstone.
Thinking back carefully, the refined middle-aged man and the old lady do indeed resemble each other somewhat in their features!
Hearing the old lady say that, Lu Wanqing felt a sense of warmth and told her that she had bought the stone mill from her.
"Oh my, what a coincidence! My son has been working in X province for five years, and I never expected that we would have such a connection just before he was transferred back."
The old lady was overjoyed and couldn't hide her affection for the babies.
She insisted on hugging him herself.
Zhao Xiaolan hesitated for a moment before carefully placing Duoduo in her arms.
"Oh, look at those eyebrows, so thick, just like his father's. And that mouth, so small, like his mother's."
Although Grandma Han has two sons and two granddaughters and two grandsons, it seems she is not destined to have four generations under one roof. Her eldest grandson is already twenty-five or twenty-six years old, but he never mentions marriage. He is focused on scientific research and doesn't even look for a wife!
She has been hoping for a great-grandchild for several years!
Once some things are said and said, communication becomes much smoother.
Lu Wanqing had already asked Lin Ye to move all her things into the room, and she was ready to stay. The rent was two yuan per room, which was about the same as staying in a guesthouse.
Lin Ye and Lu Wanqing naturally shared a room, Zhao Xiaolan and Lin Xiaocui shared a room, and Luo Chunlei had his own room.
The bed wasn't big enough, so the three babies were divided into two groups, with Duoduo being carried to her own room by Zhao Xiaolan.
Aunt Pang cooked dinner. There were plenty of ingredients at home, but she complained a bit about the extra dishes.
She has several grandchildren at home, who are at a very mischievous age and are quite annoying to look at. Her enthusiasm for the children is clearly not as great as that for Grandma Han.
After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms, wanting to go to sleep as soon as possible after a long day.
Grandma Han said goodbye to the babies with reluctance, thinking that she would play with them again tomorrow.
To everyone's surprise, the eldest daughter-in-law, Wei Shufen, came over early the next morning, wearing little sheepskin shoes.
Lu Wanqing was sleeping soundly in Lin Ye's arms. The two babies woke up and crawled all over them, waking them up as they strained their ears to listen to the sounds outside.
No one knows what Wei Shufen said, but Old Mrs. Han ran to the center of the yard and started jumping up and down cursing, instantly shattering her image as a refined old lady!
"What's wrong with me living here? Who are you bothering? Why do you insist on making me live in some small building where there's no one around and I'm stuck in this house all day? I'm not going!"
"What kind of 'wives' circle' are you guys forming? I have no interest in it. You're just trying to drag me into this to show off!"
Wei Shufen sported the most fashionable hairstyle of the time, wore a bright yellow corset and skirt, and had her face heavily made up. If you didn't know her, you would think she was a celebrity.
In Beijing's elite circles, the wives of the powerful and wealthy are divided into two factions. One faction consists of the simple and pragmatic ones. Their husbands hold high positions, and they themselves are not idle either. The author's work of serving the people naturally leads to a simple appearance and so on.
The other group consists of fashionable hedonists who spend their days playing cards and buying clothes, behaving like wealthy ladies.
Of course, even hedonists wouldn't dare to be too blatant in a serious atmosphere. They wouldn't dare to wear out the many pieces of jewelry they kept at home, and would only put some effort into their hair accessories and clothes.
Judging from Wei Shufen's clothing, she should be a member of the hedonistic circle in Beijing, which is something that Old Lady Han dislikes.
However, if you leave an impression of being mean to your mother-in-law within the social circle, it will give others cause for gossip and make it difficult to get along with them.
Wei Shufen wanted to take her back simply to enhance her reputation as a filial daughter and save face for herself.
"Mom, how could you think of me like that? I was just worried that you weren't comfortable staying here! Aunt Pang said that your dizziness flared up again yesterday. If Dongfeng finds out, he'll definitely scold me!"
"Look at this yard, there's no running water or washing machine, it's inconvenient to do anything. Come back with me."
Our Russian-style house has everything – a TV, a washing machine, a refrigerator, even an oven. Whatever you want to eat, we can cook it for you. Why suffer here?
Lu Wanqing listened to her words and sighed in admiration. The housing conditions of the powerful and wealthy were indeed different. In this era, they had running water, flush toilets, and all kinds of home appliances. They were at least twenty years ahead of the rest of the country in achieving a moderately prosperous life!
Even she wanted to persuade the old lady to move there!
Unfortunately, even if you have the money, you can't live in such a house. There are very few of those houses to begin with, not even enough for ministerial-level leaders, let alone ordinary people!
The capital is indeed different. You can bump into any old lady there. She's a member of the powerful elite in Beijing, and her descendants will be able to do whatever they want in the city in the future.
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