Chapter 63
Over the course of two days, Han Shuo suffered from severe motion sickness to the point of near collapse, while Meng Yuxiu and the two parents were also on tenterhooks for two days.
When the driver announced that they had arrived at Hecheng Bus Station, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Han Shuo was too weak to even walk, so Meng's father immediately found a small hotel near the bus station. After checking in and returning to the station, he saw Han Shuo slumped against the snakeskin bag and asked Meng Yuxiu to carry him on his back.
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuxiu was about to squat down.
Han Hong hurriedly said, "Xiao Shuo's belly is big now, don't carry him on your back."
Meng's father and Meng Yuxiu realized what was happening. (Sen*wan*organized*)
Father Meng: "Then carry Xiao Shuo away."
Meng Yuxiu immediately squatted down and put his hands under Han Shuo's legs.
Although Han Shuo was completely exhausted at this moment, he still felt a little awkward being carried like a princess in the bustling bus station.
So he said to Meng Yuxiu, "No, you should help me walk."
Han Shuo refused, so Meng Yuxiu could only help him up from the snakeskin bag, let him wrap one arm around his neck, and then support him as he walked.
Meng's father and Han Hong then moved all their luggage and bicycles to the small hotel.
Meng's father had originally considered booking two rooms, but Han Hong thought it was unnecessary. They would only stay for a few days and leave once they found a place to stay. Booking an extra room would be a waste of money, and it would be better to use the money to provide more living expenses for the two children.
So Mencius' father booked a double room.
Han Shuo was still recovering from the car ride for two whole days. Even in the hotel, he could still smell the stench from the car when he closed his eyes.
Fortunately, there were two parents present. If it had just been the young couple, Meng Yuxiu would have had to find a place to live and take care of Han Shuo, and probably wouldn't even have time to go to the bathroom.
Meng's father and Han Hong were unfamiliar with Hecheng, so they went out early every morning and didn't return until evening. After searching like this for four days, they finally managed to find a place.
Han Shuo recovered, and the next morning the whole family checked out of the hotel, called a pickup truck, and then moved their belongings to their newly rented house.
The two parents handled things very well, taking into account both the distance to their children's school and the convenience of the surrounding area when choosing a new rental.
Fortunately, Jinhua University and Hecheng University were in the same direction, so Meng's father and Han Hong found a place near a vegetable market and a public bathhouse. Although the environment was a bit lacking in the bustling city of Hecheng, it was convenient and lively, and the rent was also affordable.
The area I found was a three-story building, similar to an urban village. The landlords lived in the upper floors themselves or rented them out to migrant workers, while the lower floors were rented out to run small restaurants, noodle shops, and various small workshops that did OEM manufacturing.
The pickup truck was parked at the entrance of the alley and could not enter. After paying the fare, Meng Yuxiu and the two parents carried away the large and heavy luggage, while Han Shuo carried the small and light luggage.
The landlady, a woman in her fifties surnamed Zhang, was already waiting downstairs with a bunch of keys.
Seeing the family's large bags of luggage, she reminded them that the upstairs corridor was narrow and it would be best to clean the room before moving their belongings in.
"Okay then," Han Hong said to the others, "Let's go upstairs and clean up first, and leave the luggage downstairs."
He looked around the bustling alley and asked Sister Zhang, "Is it okay to leave the luggage downstairs?"
Sister Zhang: "It's alright. Keep your valuables with you, and leave the rest by the door. I'll be in the workshop next door and keep an eye on things for you."
"Thank you!"
Before going upstairs, Meng's father paid three months' rent plus one month's deposit to Sister Zhang. Sister Zhang counted the money and gave him the room key.
Sister Zhang led her family into the first floor. The room at the entrance was about 40 or 50 square meters. The four walls were surrounded by a cement sink with dozens of faucets above it.
In addition to giving the key to Meng's father, she also gave him a key to a water tap.
"This is your family's faucet." She said to Meng's father with a smile, "When you're not using the water, take the key off the faucet so that other people don't use it. You'll wash vegetables and clothes here from now on."
After she finished speaking, she led her family up the stairs to the third floor.
Han Shuo had seen similar houses in TV dramas, and sure enough, the real one was no different. There was a corridor with seven or eight rooms on each side. The corridor was messy and crowded, and there were either a few shoes piled up or children's toys scattered at the door of each room.
Even with the door closed, you can hear the neighbors chatting or the children crying noisily.
But the Meng and Han families were just ordinary families from a small county town, and in a big city like Hecheng, they could only make do with renting a room in an urban village.
Their room was the first one at the top of the stairs. The room was small, about ten square meters. There was a 1.5-meter wooden bed against the wall, and a folding square dining table at the foot of the bed next to the wall and window.
Fortunately, although the room was small, it had a balcony.
Han Hong smiled and said to Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu, "The room is a bit small, but the balcony is quite nice. You two can hang out your laundry and cook on the balcony. When the sun shines in winter, Xiao Shuo, you can even stand here and bask in the sun."
Han Shuo understood what his brother meant; his brother was worried that they were uncomfortable in the small room and was trying to comfort him.
In truth, Han Shuo had no reason to complain. After arriving in this world, his home in Xiaoshi Village was small, not to mention his high school dormitory, which was like a pig farm with more than twenty people sharing one room. Apart from having more spacious accommodations at the Meng family's house, everything else was the same for him.
He laughed nonchalantly at his brother and said, "I think it's fine! We're at school all day anyway, so we just sleep at night."
Han Hong nodded and smiled, "Alright then, let's clean up."
Sister Zhang is a nice person; she lent me a bucket, broom, mop, and rag.
Han Hong and Meng's father swept the balcony and room carefully twice with brooms. Meng Yuxiu went downstairs to fetch a bucket of water and then used a rag to wipe the walls, railings, and windows.
Han Shuo also grabbed a rag and wiped everything.
However, the room was too dirty and dusty, so Han Hong told him to go downstairs quickly and wait for them to clean it before coming upstairs.
Now Han Shuo is the darling of the whole family. As soon as he saw him start working, Meng's father urged him to come downstairs quickly.
Han Shuo had no choice but to go downstairs and stand there.
He looked up and saw Meng Yuxiu wiping the railing.
Meng Yuxiu was cleaning diligently, but when he saw Han Shuo looking up downstairs, he couldn't help but call out Han Shuo's name from upstairs.
Han Shuo chuckled and said, "Silly girl, hurry up and wipe yours!"
Only after receiving Han Shuo's response did Meng Yuxiu happily continue wiping the railing.
Han Shuo stood there for a while and then got bored, so he wandered over to the small workshop next door. There were seven or eight middle-aged women working in the small workshop, which was only a few dozen square meters in size. Han Shuo went in and watched for a while as Sister Zhang worked.
It turns out they were attaching black plastic eyes to dolls and other toys.
Han Shuo asked Sister Zhang curiously, "Does this workshop specialize in producing dolls?"
"This is an order sent by the factory because they're too busy. Our little workshop takes all sorts of orders. Sometimes it's nailing eyes into dolls, sometimes it's stringing beads for bracelets, we do all kinds," Sister Zhang replied to Han Shuo while her hands continued working cleanly and efficiently.
"Is this difficult?" Han Shuo asked again.
The others said, "It's not difficult; most of what we get from the factory are finished products."
Han Shuo's main purpose in coming to Hecheng, besides attending university, was to earn some money during his semester there. Therefore, he was very interested in anything that could make money.
He asked Sister Zhang, "Sister, is this paid monthly or how is it calculated? How much money can I earn doing this?"
Sister Zhang: "It's calculated per item, one cent per item."
"One cent?" Han Shuo frowned. "So little?"
The others laughed and said, "Little by little, it adds up. If you can sew fifty dolls and string fifty bracelets a day, that'll be five yuan."
Han Shuo did the math in his head, then nodded hesitantly and said, "If it's five yuan a day, then I can make one hundred and fifty yuan a month."
Sister Zhang asked Han Shuo, "Hey young man, do you all live here as a family?"
Han Shuo casually told her, "It's just my husband and me living here. My dad and brother are going back to their hometown, so they're just helping us move our luggage over."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the small workshop began to scrutinize Han Shuo.
There's no way around it; the main problem is that Han Shuo in this world looks too young. Although he's tall, his face still looks immature.
Sister Zhang: "Oh my, you're married? You look pretty young, don't you?"
"Haha." Han Shuo said awkwardly, "I'm eighteen."
Others asked, "So, did you and your husband come to Hecheng to work, or..."
Han Shuo said that he and Meng Yuxiu came to university.
When Sister Zhang heard that two college students were living in her rented house, she started asking Han Shuo all sorts of questions. She was even happier to learn that the young man's husband was from Tianjin University. She joked with the others that her house had become much more impressive.
Han Hong was calling Han Shuo upstairs. After greeting the people in the workshop, Han Shuo went upstairs.
The room had been cleaned very thoroughly. In order to make the two children comfortable, Meng's father and Han Hong, two grown men, had put in a lot of effort and hadn't missed a single corner.
"Xiao Shuo, look, where's still dirty? Let me wipe it again."
When I first entered the room, there were still a few cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling and some patches of peeling paint on the walls. Now, apart from the room being shabby, it can be described as extremely clean.
Standing in the small room, Han Shuo couldn't smell a trace of dust; all he could smell was the fresh scent of the floor after it had been mopped several times. Looking at the balcony, he saw that Meng Yuxiu had probably polished the concrete railings until they were almost smooth.
Han Hong found an old desk from somewhere, which he had cleaned and placed on the balcony. He instructed Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu: "Put the bowls, chopsticks and seasonings in the drawer and on the table. Don't bring the coal stove into the room to burn, or you'll get poisoned. Hang the clothes here to dry."
Han Shuo glanced over and saw that there was a wire hanging outside the railing, and all the clothes in the houses were hung on the wire with hangers.
"I understand, brother."
After Han Hong and Meng's father finished cleaning up for the young couple, they said they had to go home in the afternoon.
Upon hearing this, Han Shuo frowned and said, "Why the rush? Can't you stay another night?"
Han Hong: "I can't stay here anymore. School starts the day after tomorrow. Tingting has to go to class, and Teacher Meng and the others also have to go to class. Besides, it will take two days to get back."
That makes sense, but Han Shuo felt sad and reluctant to part with Han Hong and Meng's father, who had been busy these past few days, so he said he would take them to the station.
Han Hong didn't let his younger brother see him off. He smiled and said that he and Meng's father would just take the bus from the roadside. It would be a waste of bus fare for Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu to go.
Han Shuo couldn't refuse his brother, so he had to agree to take them to the roadside to catch the bus.
Before leaving, Han Hong took some money out of his pocket and stuffed it into Han Shuo's pocket.
Han Shuo hurriedly refused, "I don't want it, I have some! You keep it for Tingting!"
"Listen to me," Han Hong said. "You're pregnant now, so buy yourself some more food."
"I have it, I really have it!" Han Shuo covered his pocket and refused to accept the money. If he accepted Han Hong's money again, he would feel even worse. "Meng Yuxiu made some money selling crayfish during the summer vacation, which is enough for us."
Han Hong had no choice but to put the money back into his own pocket.
Meanwhile, Meng's father was also giving his son instructions.
Study hard.
Meng Yuxiu: "I understand, Dad."
"Let Xiao Shuo study hard too."
"good."
Meng's father added, "You and Xiaoshuo will have to stay here until the New Year before you can go home. Xiaoshuo is pregnant now, so you'll have to cook and do laundry after school."
Meng Yuxiu said, "Dad, I will."
"Be frugal with money, but don't skimp on the cost of three meals a day. Xiao Shuo needs to get more nutrition now."
"I know, don't worry."
Mencius' father nodded in satisfaction.
This was his son's first time renting a place outside, and as a father, he had many worries. He stood by the roadside waiting for the bus, still thinking about what was lacking in the young couple's rented room, so he could tell his son about it before getting on the bus.
However, after thinking it over, he felt he should tell his son the most important thing.
Meng's father lowered his voice: "From now on, it will just be the two of you living together, and no one will be there to supervise you. But you have to take care of yourself and not let yourself get carried away and do anything reckless."
Meng Yuxiu roughly understood what his father meant. Giving such instructions in broad daylight, with Han Hong present, made his ears burn.
He nodded repeatedly and mumbled, "I won't do anything reckless..."
But Meng's father still felt it wasn't enough. As the bus slowly approached, he quickly added, "You're not a child anymore, you need to be more sensible. Xiao Shuo might be accommodating, but she's pregnant now, so you need to think things through before you do anything."
"If you mess things up again," Meng's father glanced at the two brothers chatting beside him, then turned to his son and warned sternly, "I'll beat you to death!"
After Meng's father finished speaking, he quietly extended his hand. He didn't even feint; his son immediately shrank back and turned his face away.
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