Chapter 4 Misunderstanding: Their House
"Divorce? You want a divorce?" Song Fenglan's eyes widened.
"No, it's not about getting a divorce," Qin Yizhou emphasized.
“I didn’t want a divorce, so why are you talking about divorce?” Song Fenglan said.
"..." Qin Yizhou hesitated for a moment, "Zihang wants to change his father."
"You believe what a child says?" Song Fenglan raised an eyebrow. "If you, his own father, can't treat him well, how can you expect his stepfather to be good to him? Do you think someone else would raise him for nothing?"
It's not that Song Fenglan is deliberately criticizing others, but many men desire to have children of their own and have no desire to have them raised by others.
child.
"If we were getting a divorce, would I have brought the child all this way?" Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou. "You want a divorce, and I've ruined your future. You should..."
"No, no, no," Qin Yizhou said, afraid that Song Fenglan would be unhappy. "No."
"If there's nothing wrong, why bring this up?" Song Fenglan said. "It's so late, go home early, the child is still asleep. Pay more attention to the family compound matters, you should get a single-story house. I'm not asking for a single-story house just for appearances, a single-story house with its own yard is good, simple and convenient, and there's less trouble."
"Okay," Qin Yizhou said. "I'll go back first and come over early tomorrow morning. Perfect timing, I can take some time off recently. I'll apply for the family housing permit first tomorrow, and then come over."
"Remember to bring some food," Song Fenglan said. "Don't come empty-handed, or Zihang will think you don't like him."
Song Fenglan was extremely concerned about her son's situation. She was determined to make him feel loved by his parents, rather than letting him think that his parents were getting a divorce. She didn't want him to become a pitiful little thing.
"I've written it all down," Qin Yizhou said. "That..."
"Hmm?" Song Fenglan tilted her head slightly to look at Qin Yizhou. She yawned; she was truly exhausted. Traveling such a long train journey alone with a child, Song Fenglan couldn't afford to leave the child unattended.
"It's alright, I'll apply tomorrow. I'll head back now," Qin Yizhou said.
Qin Yizhou was reluctant to leave. He also thought that they could live together later, and he would spend more time with his wife, unlike before when he would only think of her through her photos. After leaving the guesthouse, Qin Yizhou hurried back to his residence. He needed to get something to eat and wash up, as he had to apply for a family housing unit first thing tomorrow morning.
The news that Qin Yizhou's wife and children had come to join the army spread that very evening, and Political Commissar Zhao already knew about it.
The next morning, Qin Yizhou went to the canteen early to eat breakfast with Political Commissar Zhao. Political Commissar Zhao often ate breakfast at the canteen instead of at home. His wife had also joined him in the army, but she was in poor health and sometimes didn't cook breakfast or cooked it late, so Political Commissar Zhao would eat at the canteen.
Qin Yizhou submitted the application to Political Commissar Zhao, but Political Commissar Zhao did not read the application and placed it aside.
"We'll give you one of the newly built apartments..."
"No, no need," Qin Yizhou said.
"No need?" Political Commissar Zhao frowned, puzzled. "Didn't we apply for the family compound? Does that mean your wife is going to take the child back again?"
"No, she said she just wants a single-story house, not a tenement building," Qin Yizhou said. "A single-story house with a yard, where the kids can play and there's more space."
"Did she really say that?" Political Commissar Zhao was still not quite sure. "So many people are thinking about living in the newly built apartment buildings. Those who used to live in bungalows are all applying to move to new apartments."
The list hasn't been finalized yet. Political Commissar Zhao is considering arranging for Qin Yizhou's wife and children to come. Qin Yizhou's wife and children originally lived in the capital. Political Commissar Zhao thinks that Song Fenglan and her son probably wouldn't like living in a single-story house, so he'll arrange for them to live in a tenement building. Although many people have already applied, and there are more applicants than available houses, it's not a first-come, first-served system. There is an application period, and Qin Yizhou can still apply now.
As for merits and such, it's no big deal that Qin Yizhou wants to apply for newly built buildings; they should be allocated to him.
But while Political Commissar Zhao may think this way, others may not.
"She said it," Qin Yizhou said. "If she likes living in a tenement building, I will apply for it too."
“Then we’ll take the bungalow,” Political Commissar Zhao said. “The house next to Zhang Chenghai’s is vacant, so you can move there. You can go and pack your things today, and I’ll take care of all the paperwork.”
Political Commissar Zhao ate breakfast at the military region's canteen, not the canteen in the family compound. Although there were no family members nearby, others still overheard Political Commissar Zhao and Qin Yizhou's conversation. Due to the distance, the others couldn't hear very clearly, leading some to believe that Qin Yizhou and his wife were going to live in a tenement building. Some people were inevitably disappointed; losing one apartment meant it would be even harder for others to apply for a tenement building.
Qin Yizhou was unaware of what these people were thinking. He was on vacation starting today. He would first buy some food and send it to the guesthouse, and then he would tidy up the house.
Upon arriving at the guesthouse, Qin Yizhou placed all the food on the table. He bought meat buns, steamed buns, boiled eggs, and some soy milk.
"Haven't you eaten yet?" Song Fenglan looked at all the food on the table; she and her son couldn't possibly eat that much.
"Not yet," Qin Yizhou replied. "I ran into the political commissar at the canteen and he booked the house. I'll go over and get ready in a bit."
"Where?" Song Fenglan said, "Perfect timing. Zihang and I have nothing to do here, let's go together. Let's get ready as soon as possible and move in. The weather is warm, we can sleep on straw mats and blankets."
The guesthouses at that time were not as convenient as the hotels of later generations, and Song Fenglan did not intend to stay in hotels indefinitely.
"Are you going to stay in our own home?" Qin Zihang asked, holding a steamed bun in one hand and a cup of soy milk in the other. "Our own home?"
“Yes, it’s our own.” Song Fenglan nodded.
They had been living at Song Fenglan's aunt's house, and being dependent on others was still a uncomfortable experience. Children are quite sensitive and easily sense changes in other people's emotions. Although Song Fenglan's aunt treated them very well, the other members of her household treated them much worse, and some even said unpleasant things in front of Song Fenglan and her son.
We paid rent and food expenses, but that wasn't enough. People kept saying they were eating and living there for free.
Song Fenglan felt sorry for her son. The reason she wanted to join the army at this time was not only because she had regained her memories of her past life, but also because she couldn't bear to see her child suffer. If a child suffers when he is young, he will remember it when he grows up, and no matter what they do then, it will be useless and they will not be able to make up for it.
Qin Yizhou was in the army, and his time back home was short, so he didn't know much. Besides, those people wouldn't act badly towards Song Fenglan and her son in front of Qin Yizhou; they were good at putting on an act. Especially Qin Yizhou's sister-in-law, who pretended to give Song Fenglan and her son some things when Qin Yizhou returned, and even said that Song Fenglan was a capitalist's daughter and that she looked down on those things.
"Can I run? Can I jump?" Qin Zihang blinked at Song Fenglan. "Can I hang my clothes outside?"
"Yes, all of them are possible." Song Fenglan nodded.
"You weren't allowed to hang your clothes outside before?" Qin Yizhou asked.
“It’s not that we can’t hang them, it’s just that sometimes there are too many clothes and it’s hard to hang them,” Song Fenglan said. “It’s not just our clothes, there are also…some people feel that each person’s clothes have their own scent and don’t want to hang them too close to ours.”
"I had no idea..."
“I didn’t tell you before, but now you know.” Song Fenglan really didn’t want to say these things before; she didn’t like others thinking she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Song Fenglan also believed that adults' clothes contained more bacteria, and children's clothes were not suitable to be hung together with adults' clothes. But what could she do? She and her son were living under someone else's roof, and Song Fenglan's family background was considered bad, so the neighbors looked down on her.
It's possible that because Song Fenglan is still living at her aunt's house even after getting married, the neighbors all feel that the Qin family is not satisfied with her, and that Qin Yizhou will divorce her sooner or later.
Previously, Song Fenglan was a bit stubborn and didn't want others to think she was too weak. But now, Song Fenglan doesn't want to be like that anymore. She can't let others think she is a weak and easily bullied person, she can't let her son become timid and submissive, and she can't ruin her son's life.
“We still need to have a home of our own,” Song Fenglan said, wiping her son’s mouth with a handkerchief.
Children are bound to be a bit lively and like to jump around. It's a single-story house, not a tenement building. Song Fenglan's aunt lives in a large courtyard. Jumping around in a single-story house shouldn't disturb the people downstairs, but some people will still say something.
Children forget things easily; if they're told off once, they'll do it again. But what if it happens too often? A three-year-old isn't that young anymore; they're probably old enough to remember things. If they're still being scolded, they'll eventually go astray.
Song Fenglan had previously asked her aunt to help take care of the child while she went to work. Even if she didn't work, Song Fenglan could live off the money Qin Yizhou gave her; the main problem was that she had been too strong-willed before.
"us……"
"Our home, our home." Just as Qin Yizhou was about to express his feelings, a warm feeling filled his heart—their home. Then, Qin Zihang jumped up and down, shouting, "Our home!"
"..." Qin Yizhou looked at his son. Couldn't his son wait a moment before speaking? Did his son have to speak at this moment?
"Mommy, Mommy, will anyone still steal my candy in our house?" Qin Zihang asked. "Will anyone still steal the toys I hide under the bed? Mommy, can you please not put the potty under the bed? The potty is smelly."
"You know it smells bad, yet you still hide your toys under the bed?" Song Fenglan said, amused.
"They don't have noses, they can't smell anything, and they still steal my toys." Qin Zihang pouted, "That's from my pee."
Qin Zihang wasn't afraid of the smell since he peed himself.
When Song Fenglan's cousin brought her child over, the child liked to rummage through everything. If Song Fenglan didn't lock the door, the child would...
The child ran inside and rummaged through things, hiding them and taking them away without the consent of Song Fenglan and her son.
Because of this, Song Fenglan even had an argument with her cousin. Her cousin said that Song Fenglan was living at her parents' house and that she shouldn't be so stingy with such small things.
Qin Zihang thought that if he put the chamber pot under the bed, no one would touch it, but someone still did.
The toilet in the courtyard of Song Fenglan's aunt's house wasn't particularly far, but it wasn't exactly close either. At night, Song Fenglan couldn't easily take the child out to use the toilet, so she would keep a chamber pot in the room for Qin Zihang to urinate, and then empty the chamber pot during the day.
"Mom, in our own house, can we not use a potty?" Qin Zihang stood up and gestured a couple of times. "I'm already this tall, very tall, very tall!"
Qin Zihang gestured a couple of times, stood on tiptoe, and still felt it wasn't enough, so he jumped a couple more times. He almost knocked over the cup of soy milk, but luckily Qin Yizhou caught him in time.
"Very tall, very tall." Qin Zihang looked at his father, "Dad, am I right? I'm very tall, very tall!"
"Yes, yes, yes, you're very tall now." Qin Yizhou had a sudden inspiration. "You're a little man now, not only can you not use a potty anymore, but you can also sleep in a room by yourself, right?"
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