After making the phone call on Saturday night, Xiao Jiu went to Liuxiang to find the old men and women.
To my surprise, perhaps because I arrived too late, the door was locked.
Just as she was about to go back, she saw an old woman pulling a cart at the entrance of the alley, struggling to come this way.
Upon closer inspection, weren't they the two people in the shack?
She quickly ran forward to help, carrying a bamboo basket on her back: "Grandma, what are you and Grandpa doing here?"
“We just got back from the hospital. We didn’t know you were coming over tonight. We were discharged today, and we just got the last bottle of medicine. We only came back after it was finished. How long have you been waiting?”
"No, I just got here too. Has my uncle been discharged from the hospital? Is he feeling better?"
The old lady was very happy. "Yes, I took the pneumonia medication for a week and I'm almost better. The doctor said I could go home to rest and prescribed some medicine. That's why I came back. I was so scared. I thought it was tuberculosis. Luckily, I was brought here in time. I have so much to thank you for this!"
The old man next to her chimed in, "Little girl, you've saved my life."
"Oh dear, don't say that. Let's hurry back. Here, let me help you. You should stand over there and rest for a while."
Xiao Jiu took the rope from the old woman, put it on his own shoulder, and dragged the cart deeper into the alley.
About ten minutes later, they finally helped the old man to bed, and Grandma Weng returned the cart to him.
When the old lady returned, Xiao Jiu quickly lit the stove.
"It's fortunate that your place is relatively remote, so burning firewood doesn't produce smoke. Although this shack is rather simple, at least it's sturdy and doesn't let in any wind or rain. Plus, it's low, so it's warmer in winter, and it's easy to come and go. The yard behind this house is quite large."
The old lady glanced at Xiao Jiu and then said...
“This big house belongs to my family. We’re both getting old and don’t have much income, so we tidied up the house and rented it out. We tore down half a wall at the entrance and connected it to a small open space in the house to build this little shack. There’s also a door at the back so it’s convenient for us to go in and get water and use the toilet.”
So that's how it is. I was wondering how they usually make a living, and it turns out it's from rent!
The house behind is a fairly large courtyard house, but its location is not very good. It is at the very end of the alley, where there is a very old persimmon tree. In addition, there are many trees planted in this row, and the houses in front are all taller than this row, making this alley even more secluded.
"There are trees all around the house. How many leaves and branches must fall in winter? It must be very cool in summer."
"It's alright, having more leaves is good. They can be used to start a fire, which is very convenient. They're cool in the summer, but there are more mosquitoes."
After helping them settle in, the old lady started cooking rice, and Xiao Jiu also brought out about ten pumpkin buns she had steamed herself for the elderly couple as an extra meal.
I took out the things I brought today while I was cooking.
Three pounds of eggs, two pounds of meat, ten pounds of mixed grains, two pumpkins, more than half a winter melon, plus a 2.5L bottle of blended oil without its packaging.
Now, the old man and woman were no longer calm. They looked at the items over and over, touching them repeatedly, and then stared at her with an indescribable look. Xiao Jiu pretended not to understand their gaze, took out all the items, and then packed up her basket, intending to leave.
The old man silently got up and left. A little while later, he brought her five small goldfish. Just as she was carefully examining the goldfish, which weighed about one or two ounces, the old man stuffed a handful of Yuan Shikai silver dollars into her hand.
"Is this... enough?"
Xiao Jiu nodded, "That's enough, whatever you give me is enough. I'll be on winter break soon, and I'll come back to deliver more before I leave. Please eat these and take good care of yourselves."
"How are the residents in the houses behind yours? Are they easy to get along with?"
I've heard that many people who live here eventually come to consider it their own home.
Especially in those years, it was practically kicking someone when they were down and taking advantage of their misfortune.
Upon hearing this, the elderly couple wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "Back then, we donated almost everything we had, but it still couldn't save our two sons' lives."
If we hadn't gotten our daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter out first, I'm afraid even they wouldn't have escaped.
Because our once happy family has fallen apart, all that's left are the two of us old geezers barely clinging to life.
We were fortunate to have a leader who wasn't too ruthless, and he took the initiative to transfer this house, which was practically worthless and in a poor location, to us.
We have all the necessary paperwork, and no one on the street is giving us any trouble. We also found all the tenants ourselves.
Your uncle has been in business for most of his life, so he's pretty good at judging people.
Eight families lived behind this place, each with their own room, and they paid us two yuan a month. They never shortchanged us.
There's still one room vacant; the tenant just moved out last month and hasn't found a new one yet.
After Xiao Jiu understood the situation, he carried the bamboo basket and walked out.
Suddenly, he stopped, transferred the gold bars into his spatial storage, and turned around to take two packets of biscuits out of his bag.
"Oh, and this too, I almost forgot. This is the kind of biscuit that isn't too sweet, which is suitable for you older folks."
After the wine was delivered and they left, the elderly couple stared at the things in front of them for a long time before finally managing to utter a complete sentence.
"We're lucky to have run into such a good kid!"
The old lady nodded. "This child is kind. This bag of biscuits weighs two pounds, and she gave us two bags at once. I think she didn't intend to give them to us at first, but she took them out because you gave her so many gold bars. She is a good child who doesn't like to take advantage of others."
"We should support the child as much as possible in the future. Who knows, we might live a few more years thanks to this child. Those material possessions are just a hindrance to us. It's better to give them to the child. Only when the child eats them is there true safety."
...
If Xiao Jiu knew that she had been unwittingly taken for a good person, she would definitely say something very awkward.
"Where can you find them? Even without considering their future value, they are worth exchanging for so many things right now!"
I didn't take advantage of you in the slightest. It was a mutually agreeable and pleasant collaboration.
That night, she went to a secluded place to enter the space, picked up the silver dollars the old man had given her, and counted them. There were ten in total, which was quite a lot.
According to later collector prices, the Yuan Shikai silver dollar is actually not worth much money, but it has collectible value; two packs of biscuits are enough to exchange for it.
——
Tang Cuiju arrived in J City at nine o'clock on the earliest bus, and Xiao Jiu personally rode her bicycle to the bus station to pick her up.
Tang Cuiju was initially worried about how to find Xiaojiu, but she didn't expect this younger sister to be so understanding and even come to pick her up.
"Huh? Where did this bicycle come from?"
"Sis, I borrowed it. Come on, I'll take you to find someone. Have you brought everything?"
Tang Cuiju had been nervously watching over her belongings the whole way, and upon hearing this, she nodded quickly.
"Yes, I brought them all. It's Sunday today, are people working?"
"There are staff on duty. The post office is busiest on Sundays, and it's all done in shifts."
Tang Cuiju breathed a sigh of relief. Xiaojiu asked her to take her on her bicycle, and the two sisters arrived at the post office's residential compound in about forty minutes.
They went straight to Ye Zhen's house; of course, you have to bring something when you visit someone's home.
The small bottle contained two packs of biscuits, a bag of apples, and a jar of canned yellow peaches.
Uncle Ye and Aunt Ye were also at home. When they saw the things the two sisters were carrying, they couldn't help but glare at Xiao Jiu.
"You silly child, I told you to treat this place like your own home, why are you taking things back to your own home?"
Xiao Jiu chuckled, "Uncle, isn't this the way it should be? If it weren't for you guys, my second sister wouldn't have been so lucky to find a permanent job!"
Ye Zhen finished getting ready and came out. "Mom and Dad, please take care of Sister Cuiju for a moment. Xiao Jiu and I will go find Aunt Cao!"
As soon as they stepped outside, Ye Zhen pulled Xiao Jiu aside and said, "Things have changed. Isn't your household registration a bit complicated?"
They won't charge extra, but of those 100 jin of grain, 50 jin must be refined grain—any kind of refined grain will do.
As she spoke, she glanced worriedly at Xiao Jiu: "Look at this, she only came over last night to talk about it, I didn't even have time to tell you."
I guess it's because she's taking it to her daughter-in-law who's about to give birth; new mothers need nutrition during their postpartum period, which is understandable.
After all, if their family didn't have connections in the Public Security Bureau, it would be extremely difficult to change their rural household registration to an urban one.
After hearing this, Xiao Jiu nodded, "It's alright, I understand. But what about the grain?"
"No rush, we can transfer your household registration to a collective household today."
After obtaining urban residency, I will go to the factory tomorrow to hand over my work.
Once the work is done, I'll go to the Public Security Bureau in the afternoon to transfer my household registration to my workplace, and then it will become my workplace's household registration.
It's a bit of a hassle, but not a single step of the procedure can be omitted.
You can give them the money first, and then give them the grain after everything is done.
They were also worried that if things suddenly changed, you wouldn't be able to get the food, and given our family's connections, they trusted us completely.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief and then went with Ye Zhen to Aunt Cao's house.
After going through the details again and finalizing the procedures, they went to the Ye family together.
More than an hour later, the four of them came out of the police station. Looking at the newly printed collective household registration page, the two sisters simultaneously smiled.
"Okay, that's all for today. Tomorrow morning at 8:30, I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of our post office to complete the handover."
The money for the job was given to Aunt Cao back when she was still at the Ye family home, in the presence of the Ye family members.
Aunt Cao is clearly a straightforward person; she demonstrates the principle of trusting those she employs and not employing those she doesn't trust.
At noon, Xiao Jiu treated everyone to shredded pork noodles at a state-run restaurant. After the meal, Ye Zhen and Aunt Cao left.
"Sister, it's cold today, and I don't have any extra blankets in my dorm, so please stay at the guesthouse for the night."
Let's book a room now, and then go see the house.
Tang Cuiju was taken aback. "Looking at houses? You mean renting a house?"
Xiao Jiu nodded. "Although Sister Zhen said she would help you find a dormitory, we're new to the company, and it's not good to bother her to pull strings. Even if we're permanent employees, we still have to wait in line, right? Luckily, I know an old lady who has a spare room. Why don't we go take a look?"
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