"Yu Yao, this is something Xiao Zhang from the post office asked me to bring for you. It was sent from Guangdong Province." Su Meihua took a letter out of her pocket.
Yu Yao took it and looked at it. "It was sent by Mom. Thank you, Sister-in-law Meihua."
Su Meihua waved her hand, noticing that the two had changed their clothes, and asked, "Are you two going out?"
Yu Yao nodded, "After the New Year, Commander Gao and Chief of Staff Wang will be transferred, leaving two old courtyards vacant. We plan to go and take a look."
Her husband, Lao Lei, had also mentioned this matter. However, like most of the other family members in the compound, she had never lived in an apartment building before and wanted to wait until the buildings were completed before being allocated to her.
"I see. Okay, you two go ahead with your work, I won't bother you any longer." Su Meihua said and went into her own courtyard.
Yu Yao opened Hu Lingyu's letter, quickly glanced through it, and frowned.
Lu Ze asked, "What did the letter say?"
"Mom said that Director Yu of Baihe Brigade called the Lu family and said that Mu Hehe had performed well and made contributions at the quarry, so she was released early. After her release, Mu Hehe got a letter of introduction from the brigade office and came to Guangdong Province."
Did Mom say what she came to Guangdong for?
Yu Yao shook her head. "After Mom found out, she tried to contact Haishi. They said that Mu Hehe had gone home once and then came to Guangdong Province, saying that she wanted to find Lu Yunqi."
Whether she came to see Lu Yunqi or not, as long as she didn't come to her face and cause trouble, Yu Yao didn't care at all.
"Oh, right, Mom also said that she and Dad want to come to the island to celebrate the Lantern Festival and see my parents."
After Yu Yao found her family, Wu Wanying and Cui Zhizhou immediately called the Lu family's old house to tell Grandpa Lu and Hu Lingyu about it.
At the time, because the Lu family had just published a notice in the newspaper severing ties, in order to avoid the limelight, Old Master Lu and Hu Lingyu did not come to the island immediately.
This delay dragged on until this year. This year, the Guangdong Provincial Military Region changed its leadership. The new leader is an old comrade-in-arms of Mr. Lu, so the Lu family no longer needs to avoid suspicion.
Hu Lingyu thought she would take advantage of the Lantern Festival to visit the island.
The old courtyard is near the beach, about one or two kilometers away. Standing on the stone path outside, you can see the blue sky, white clouds, coconut groves, and sea in the distance.
Isn't this the sea-view room that Yu Yao longed to live in in later generations?
The scenery alone is breathtaking.
The two old courtyards are located at the very back of the compound, next to each other, only a few dozen meters apart.
The nearest yard is several hundred meters away, and there are large open spaces in front and behind, with private plots directly in the backyard.
Upon arriving at the old courtyard, Yu Yao and Lu Ze first visited the two leaders, presenting them with their homemade specialties: pickled bamboo shoots and yellow lantern chili sauce.
Comparing the two courtyards, Yu Yao preferred Commander Gao's courtyard.
The courtyard is surrounded by a tall mud wall, providing ample privacy. Fruit trees are planted on the left, right, and back, growing very well and laden with various seasonal fruits.
Commander Gao and his wife, Aunt Chen, were both veteran revolutionaries who had made contributions and shed blood for the liberation of the new China. They were kind and approachable.
"You came all this way, why did you bring gifts?" Aunt Chen had jet-black hair, styled in a neat short cut. Apart from the wrinkles around her eyes, she didn't look fifty at all.
Aunt Chen invited Yu Yao and Lu Ze into the courtyard.
Yu Yao handed over the items: "These are all snacks I made myself. The chili peppers are from my own garden, and the bamboo shoots were picked from the back mountain. They're not worth much. I apologize for disturbing you and the leader by looking after the yard this time."
"What trouble? We're overjoyed that you're here. Come on in!"
Yu Yao entered Commander Gao's old courtyard.
The yard was kept very clean. Some roses or Chinese roses were planted in the corner, but now all the leaves had fallen, leaving only the thorny stems.
Seeing her interest, Aunt Chen smiled and said, "I've planted roses and Chinese roses in the corner of the wall. They've been there for seven or eight years. Every summer they bloom in clusters, crowding the wall. I've also sown some flower seeds in the black soil at the base of the wall. They were sent to me by a friend who was a sent-down youth in Yunnan. I just sowed them this year, and they should be very beautiful by summer."
Just by listening to Aunt Chen's description, Yu Yao could imagine how beautiful next summer would be.
In her past life, she had seen Li Ziqi's rose wall. With so many rose branches, she would ask Lu Ze to help prune the branches and fix them to the wall. When they bloomed, they would be especially beautiful.
As Aunt Chen led them around, she introduced the courtyard to them, saying, "This courtyard used to belong to a local tyrant. The houses are made of the finest bluestone and have good beams. Even though this house is over thirty years old, you can live here for another fifty or sixty years without any problem."
She had lived in this house for seven or eight years, and she had grown attached to every brick, tile, and tree. If it weren't for the fact that Lao Gao wouldn't be coming back after his promotion, she wouldn't have been willing to move away.
If we can find a good owner for the courtyard, it won't be in vain that the old courtyard head has sheltered her and Lao Gao from the wind and rain all these years.
She knew Commander Lu; he was a responsible and excellent comrade. She didn't know Yu Yao well, but she'd heard from Zhu Dan that she was also a good girl.
Aunt Chen explained things very carefully, and Yu Yao could feel it.
She really liked this courtyard.
The land was twice the size of the courtyard where she and Lu Ze currently lived, and it had many more houses.
The main room is in the middle, with two side rooms on each side. The woodshed and kitchen are also built separately. Although they are just sheds, they are more spacious to live in.
If guests come over or if she and Lu Ze have a child in the future, they won't have to worry about not having enough room. If they do, there's open space on both sides, so they can easily add a few more rooms, making it very flexible.
The backyard is not far from the mountain, making it convenient to go up the mountain or down to the sea.
"This is a good courtyard. Aunt Chen's courtyard is arguably the best in this compound besides the multi-story buildings. Of course, Aunt Chen can't lie to you. This courtyard is good, but it also has some drawbacks."
"First of all, water is inconvenient in the courtyard. The nearest old well is a five or six-minute walk away, making it troublesome to fetch water. Secondly, it's too close to the sea, so it's more affected by typhoons than other courtyards. We've lived here for many years and we know this best. We've reinforced the entire house to minimize the impact, but it certainly can't be completely eliminated. If you're considering choosing this place, you should think it over carefully."
Aunt Chen was truly open and honest with her, and Yu Yao sincerely thanked her: "Thank you, Aunt Chen, we will think about it carefully."
Actually, she already had the answer in her heart.
These issues are not irreconcilable. As for typhoons, if the typhoon is small and the house is sturdy enough, there will be no damage.
If a major typhoon hits, the entire military compound will be affected, and no matter where they live, they will be affected.
After viewing the house, Yu Yao and Lu Ze thanked Aunt Chen and Commander Gao and hurried home.
"Lu Ze, Commander Gao's yard is quite nice. I'm thinking of moving here. What do you think?"
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