Simple and straightforward, he actually thought about it.
"There shouldn't be anything else, right?"
She had lived there for over a year and actually quite liked the small room. She couldn't think of anything that needed to be changed in the short term. She did want to install an indoor bathroom, but she knew without a doubt that it was unrealistic.
However, this also reminded her that she was hungry. She had been taking care of her personal needs at the base for most of the year, and with another person around, cheating would be inconvenient, which was a real headache.
Thinking about the upcoming winter, let's quickly bring the focus back to reality.
"Uncle, it's nothing else, but let's just turn the newly taken-over room into a firewall. It's just the two of us, the child is small, and I'm also afraid of the cold, hehe!"
No problem at all, Liu Weimin readily agreed. Seeing that she had no other instructions, he didn't delay, picked up his teacup, took a few sips of water, and got up to leave.
"Alright, you can't explain it to me anyway."
"You sit down, I'll go find someone and try to get over there this afternoon. The sooner we get it done, the better. I'll fix anything that's not in order."
Huh? So you're being rejected?
Before he could even offer a simple excuse, Liu Weimin had already strode out the door and disappeared in no time.
“Let’s talk business between us. Let him find someone for you. He’ll make sure you get everything set up properly and won’t let you freeze.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m not new here and I don’t know my uncle and the villagers’ character. What I’m trying to say is that I haven’t paid the money yet.”
Upon seeing this, Wang Guihua sighed.
"Don't worry about it, just wait."
Okay, since they've already said that, I'll stop thinking about it. Anyway, I've said what I needed to say, so it's the same whether I pay them after I finish the job.
After sitting there for a while, when she went back to the Liu family to pick up the children, little Jianxin was already playing happily with Xiaohua, showing none of the reluctance and restraint she had shown that morning. She didn't disturb them, went inside, sat down next to the old lady, and sighed.
"Kids are so great, they became good friends so quickly."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spread out a kang (a heated brick bed) full of cloth and cotton, busy working without even looking up.
"What do you think? Just you wait and see, tomorrow they'll figure out how to go out together."
"Then I'll be free of worry? I won't even have to take care of the kids,"
"You're dreaming! Raising children involves a lot of things and requires a lot of worry."
Sun Xiang looked up and smoothed the loose thread.
"Mom, she's still a child herself, how could she know these things?"
"Yes, so you've settled on that house?" the old lady asked, bringing up the topic from before.
A simple nod.
"It's settled then. Uncle Weimin went to find someone for me. He said it might start this afternoon. It's getting cold, so the sooner it's done, the better."
"That's true. It's getting cold soon, and the child is so small. Now that everything's done, she can't sleep by herself, can she?"
I've thought about this simple option, but it's definitely not feasible right now. The child doesn't feel secure yet. Even if she insists on going to the base, there are other ways. There's no need to rush.
"No, that won't do. He's too small. He'll kick off the covers at night, and I won't feel at ease if I don't keep an eye on him."
I was thinking that since we were going to add another room anyway, we might as well just make the kang (heated brick bed) a little bigger.
That night, I slept with her in the east room.
The west room is newly built and damp. We'll need to cook over a fire anyway. I saw that the vegetables we planted in that trough last winter were doing quite well. I was thinking of planting some this year and putting them in the west room. That way, we can have a lot more vegetables for the two of us over the winter.
We were able to stay home and grow vegetables all winter without any problems, and then the house was even repaired.
"The child will be five years old after the New Year, right? Once spring arrives and it gets warmer, let her sleep in the west room by herself on the kang (heated brick bed), let her slumber there by herself."
As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law listened, they even stopped what they were doing.
"Last year when I saw the vegetables you planted, I wanted to ask you, how come they grew so well?"
"You finished making the trough, and we did the same thing as you. Didn't you see last winter? The vegetables didn't grow well; they were all wilted."
"How can that be? This is my first time planting it, while you've been planting it for years. How can you do that?"
She was puzzled because the animals were simply free-range. "This shouldn't be the case," she thought.
"Third Madam, I didn't see it when I came here last year? Wasn't it placed in this room?"
“No, it’s in our room,” Sun Xiang replied.
“The kids play in this room during the day, and people come and go in this room too. It’s so green, it looks fresh in winter. But what if everyone pulls it all out and leaves it bald? So we just leave it in that room.”
It becomes clear with a little thought.
"Auntie, you often stay in this room during the day, don't you?"
Sun Xiang did not deny it.
"Yes, we're all in one room during the day, so we don't need to burn any of those things. Besides, it's not cold when there are more people."
The old lady understood.
"That's right, we misunderstood. Oh no, my brain isn't working well anymore."
"I didn't say anything," Jian Dan said, glancing at the sky. It was almost noon. She got up and prepared to take Xiao Xin back.
"You guys go ahead with your work, we have to go back. They might be coming over this afternoon, so we need to go back and tidy up the yard. Otherwise, we'll have to keep busy for a while when they arrive."
The old lady glanced outside, but didn't stay.
"Okay, let's go back and cover up the house a bit."
"We don't need to completely tear down the wall between the kitchen and the west room; just make a doorway. That way, we won't have to go through the trouble of making a mess everywhere."
"Okay, I understand."
Jian Dan was almost at the door when Sun Xiang called out to her again.
"If anything happens, just send Tiger back to call me."
Jian Dan waved goodbye from afar and led Jian Xin back. The little girl had a lot of fun, her face was rosy, and she was hopping around. The only thing that bothered her was her short hair.
"Did you have fun?"
The little girl's eyes lit up with laughter.
"Hello, Sister Xiaohua!"
Seeing her like this, Jian Dan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, I'll come again when I have time."
Before we even reached our doorstep, the little ones came bounding towards us, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It rushed over and circled around the two of them, with Tiger following behind, panting heavily.
"Wait, wait a minute, Jixiang, you guys, you're running too fast."
Tiger led the way, followed by a string of children. They all came over in a flurry, all of them still wanting to play with the puppy. But when they got closer, they saw an unfamiliar child, and their eyes immediately turned to her.
The little girl was so frightened that she hid behind Jian Dan. Jian Dan quickly realized that these children had come on so aggressively, probably because they reminded her of those bad memories, and her heart ached.
Instead of forcing her to come out, he took out a handful of candy.
"This is my little sister, her name is Jian Xin. Can you help take care of her when we're out?"
Everyone in the village, adults and children alike, knows Jian Dan. The children especially like her because she is generous, speaks gently to the children, and never looks down on them.
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