Chapter 18 New House

As soon as Ji Duo and Lin Qiao left, Ji Jun put down his bowl and chopsticks and stood up.

Old Master Ji knew that his eldest son was in trouble, so he was in no mood to eat. He glanced at him and asked, "You know everything?"

"Yeah." Ji Jun's voice was muffled, and he lowered his head and did not dare to look at his old man.

He was like this when he was little. When other children made mistakes, they would cry and beg for forgiveness, but he would just stand there quietly waiting to be punished. Many times, if Xu Li hadn't reminded him, the old man would have forgotten that he had a good son standing there for punishment.

Later, when I grew up, I learned to defend my daughter-in-law, which made my grandfather even angrier.

Old Master Ji sighed, "Your wife is a very thoughtful person. You should control her and not let her do whatever she wants. I have told you this too many times. I guess you are tired of hearing it, and I am too lazy to say it again. If you know, just keep your mouth shut. Don't let your second son clean up your mess for nothing."

Upon hearing this, Ji Jun lowered his head in shame, "It's all my fault for not handling things properly and causing trouble for the family..."

"What's the point of just knowing you're wrong? Next time she cries, won't you still be helpless?"

Old Master Ji looked at him deeply and said, "You are already in your forties. It's time for you to have some ideas. With my current health, I don't know how many more years I can help you."

Ji Jun was anxious when he heard this, "Dad, you are in good health, you will definitely live a long life!"

In fact, this incident was a lesson for Ji Ze, and it was also a lesson for Ji Jun.

If he hadn't been so soft-hearted and blindly protected his daughter-in-law, Ye Minshu wouldn't have become more and more courageous and dared to do anything. When Ye Minshu first entered the family, she was very cautious, fearing that she would make a wrong move and displease her in-laws.

Master Ji arranged the marriage without even notifying Ji Jun, just to give him a good beating.

It doesn't matter that he is easily influenced, but he wants his younger brother to spend his entire life to clean up his mess. As long as he sees Lin Qiao for one day, he will never forget this matter.

And as long as he remembers this, it may not be so easy for Ye Minshu to do anything in the future.

The old man is old, and Xu Li's status cannot suppress Ye Minshu. We can't wait until he dies and let the second son take care of the affairs of the old family, right?

The second brother has become more restrained. He was not such a gentle person before.

In fact, Ji Duo doesn't seem to be very gentle at the moment. At least along the way, Lin Qiao always feels that he is not as calm as he appears to be on the surface.

Of course, he has always had an icy face, and it is hard to tell whether he is calm or not.

The two of them didn't talk much on the way until they reached the nearby morning market, when Ji Duo asked her, "What do you want to eat?"

There is a row of snack stalls at the entrance to the morning market. The aroma of various snacks wafts over with the light coolness of the early morning, and a fresh and real smell of fireworks.

Lin Qiao has always felt that a city's morning and night markets best represent the lives of local people, showing the simple ways of eating, wearing and using. Even Ji Duo, standing in this bustling snack stall, has become much more down-to-earth.

She asked the man directly: "Do you have any recommendations?" Then she quickly added: "No soy milk."

"You even know this?" The man looked at her.

Lin Qiao immediately wrinkled her nose. "Aunt Zhang bought some for me to try a few days ago. The taste was..."

I would rather not have sex in my life than have soy milk not appear on my table.

Perhaps because he heard her prayer, Ji Duo had no intention of buying it, nor was he prepared to drink it in front of her.

He bought fried dough sticks, baked cakes, and fried cakes along the way, and finally stopped in front of a brined food stall. "Boss, give me some brined food."

The stall owner was a middle-aged man wearing glasses. The lenses were covered with mist due to the heat. He could only lower his head to look at people. His eyes were visible from above the frames, so he could only see a vague shadow. "You brought your niece to eat again?"

Lin Qiao can guarantee that Ji Duo's expression definitely froze for a second. I don't know if he remembered the age difference between the two of them, or if he felt that he was being called old.

She was a little amused, "Uncle, did he often bring his niece to dinner?"

When the boss heard the wrong voice, he quickly took off his glasses and wiped them with his apron. Then he saw clearly, "No, I was wondering when Xiaoling got so tall."

All the men in the Ji family are tall, except Ji Jun. Ji Ling doesn't know if she looks like her father, she is petite and has a baby face.

Seeing the man start to order food skillfully, Lin Qiao found a bench next to the stall and sat down.

While the boss was helping Ji Duo dress, he couldn't help looking over here, "This is you..."

Lin Qiao wanted to say "another niece", but Ji Duo said calmly: "The target."

"Have you found a date?" The boss couldn't help but look at Lin Qiao again in surprise, "I was wondering why he is so handsome."

Lin Qiao didn't expect him to admit it so naturally, so she looked up at the man.

Ji Duo's expression remained unchanged, but the boss was obviously very familiar with him and gave them a few more pieces of lung. "Uncle gave it to you."

Lin Qiao watched Ji Duo bring the food over and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "I see uncle already knows you. Do you come here often?"

"I used to come here with my older brother when I was little."

The stall owner set up a low table. As soon as Ji Duo sat down on the bench, his long legs immediately looked a little awkward, as if he had nowhere to put them.

However, he looked normal, and he even rinsed the chopsticks and handed them back to Lin Qiao.

"I'm not asking you to rinse my chopsticks for me."

Lin Qiao is not that spoiled.

Ji Duo said "hmm", but it was unclear whether he heard it or not.

Lin Qiao always felt that he was not paying attention to the meal, and he said that when he was a child, he often came with his elder brother, instead of following his previous words and saying that he often brought Ji Ling with him...

Lin Qiao thought of Ji Jun just now.

Ji Jun's thoughts are much easier to guess than Ji Duo's. Not to mention that they are all written all over his face, but if you observe carefully, you can always spot some clues.

He came to the Ji family so early, and he looked guilty, hesitant to speak, most likely he did something to apologize to his father. And this mistake was probably related to Ye Minshu, otherwise Ye Minshu should have come with him to help her husband speak well in front of her parents-in-law.

Lin Qiao casually brought up the topic, "I've sent the letter to my mother three days ago. It should have arrived today."

After the marriage between the two was decided, Master Ji and Xu Li asked her to write a letter to Liu Yulan to inform her of the event and invite her to attend the wedding.

Regardless of whether Liu Yulan came or not, the Ji family gave her enough respect and did not neglect her because she was a farmer. It just so happened that Lin Qiao had promised to write to Liu Yulan once she settled down, but she had never written to her because she was only staying temporarily in the Ji family. Now she was finally settled down.

Ji Duo was indeed a little absent-minded, and he just said "hmm" casually when he heard it.

Lin Qiao sighed, "I don't know if my cousin will be beaten for helping me escape this time. Actually, I have a pretty good relationship with him."

These words finally made Ji Duo react, and he looked over with some inquiry.

This man is always very quick to react, with deep eyes. When he stares at you quietly, you will feel that all your little thoughts have been seen through.

However, Lin Qiao had no bad intentions and was not afraid of him seeing it. "Is it unbelievable? But he and I were indeed both raised by my grandmother. We even slept in the same bed when we were little. He is actually closer to me than to Lin Hui. When I was little, Lin Hui bullied me and threw jobs for me to do. Many of them were done by him secretly, and Lin Hui didn't even know."

"You are still being bullied." Ji Duo did not comment.

Just like Ji Jun, whether Ji Jun wanted it or not, what was going to happen happened.

There was a hint of sarcasm in his words, an emotion that rarely escaped his cold and restrained appearance.

Ji Duo is a man of few words but with a strong aura, so he seems difficult to get along with, but in fact he is always very stable. It was only when he was separated from the hospital by the rain that he accidentally showed a little bit of his emotions.

It is difficult to get along with such a person. It is indeed difficult for you to get into his heart, let alone influence him.

But from another perspective, it is better to be with a stable person than an unstable one, right? Moreover, he is very responsible.

Lin Qiao took a bite of the pancake and thought that the other party was quite good at buying things. The whole bite was crispy and fragrant. "It's because he doesn't have the ability, not because he doesn't want to. Besides, what can he do to them? After all, they are his family. They are not good to me, but they are not bad to him."

There is only black and white in the world of children, but adults know that there are many things that are unavoidable and imperfect in this world.

If you care about each and every one of them, will you still be able to live?

But she said this because she saw that although Master Ji and Ji Duo were disappointed, they were not disappointed to the point of giving up. She mentioned it casually, and Ji Duo would listen if he could, but if he couldn't...

I couldn't hear her talking about Lin Wei. What does it have to do with the Ji family?

Lin Qiao stopped ordering and started to concentrate on eating. "Mm, this brine is delicious."

The food was well cooked and had a good taste, unlike the one she had visited in her previous life, where there was nothing left except a signboard of an old brand.

The little girl took another bite of the fried cake, her mouth was stained with oil, and she didn't even bother to say anything.

Ji Duo looked at it, and the anger that had been blocking his chest inexplicably dissipated a lot.

After all, the eldest brother is no longer the one who would bring him to eat brined food and carry him on his shoulders. The eldest sister-in-law and Ozawa are also relatives of the eldest brother, and in some ways they are closer than them.

He either couldn't figure it out, or he thought it through clearly, but when the time came, it wasn't so easy for him to accept it.

Ji Duo closed his eyes and continued to eat, "Where do you want to go later?"

"Ah?" Lin Qiao was eating seriously, and was stunned for a moment, apparently not expecting him to ask this suddenly.

"After dinner, do you want to go to the Forbidden City, Yiheyuan, or watch a movie or listen to a concert?"

It turns out that he took Xu Li's words to heart...

Lin Qiao felt that it was unnecessary. They were just partners and there was no need for such formality. Besides, she had been to the Forbidden City in her previous life.

But she still asked out of curiosity, "How much is a ticket to the Forbidden City now?"

"Three."

Ji Duo thought she asked because she wanted to go, but she muttered in her heart, "This is much more conscientious than the increase in house prices," and said, "Didn't they say that the house has been allocated? Are you going to see it?"

He actually looked like he had no interest at all.

Ji Duo paused while picking up food, "I haven't been there yet."

"That's perfect for us." Lin Qiao said, then remembered something and asked, "Or do you want to go shopping?"

Ji Duo certainly had no interest, but in the past when someone came to visit, Xu Li would always arrange for a visit to these places. At that time, he just felt annoyed and mostly tried to refuse, but he didn't expect that this time when he had to accompany Lin Qiao, Lin Qiao actually refused to go.

As if she had read something from his face, Lin Qiao added, "I want to wait until my mother comes before going."

Ji Duo didn't say whether he believed it or not. When he saw her finish eating, he stood up and paid the bill. "Then let's go to the new room."

When they got on the bus to the military district, Lin Qiao finally understood why the man had scolded her when she asked him about it just now.

Xiao Fang always drove back to Shahe Village before. There were a lot of things to do when he came back, so it was rare to have a rest. Ji Duo gave Xiao Fang two days off and he can only come back tomorrow.

But in this day and age it’s good to have a bus, why do you need a bicycle?

Lin Qiao had nothing to complain about, just sitting side by side with Ji Duo. Every time four or five people got on, there would always be one person who would take a second look at them. When there were more people on the bus, Ji Duo stood up and gave his seat to an old man, and more people looked at them.

In fact, before Ji Duo got promoted, he would also take the bus home on weekends.

He is tall and good-looking. People who often take this bus know him. Many people know him. Of course, they have heard that he is almost 30 and still has no partner. Today, he brought a girl here for the first time. Who wouldn't be curious if they knew about him?

As soon as the car stopped at the military area, someone couldn't help but say to others: "Guess who I met on the bus today? Captain Ji, he brought a young girl with him. I think they are dating. This is really rare..."

Lin Qiao didn't know all this, she just found that the military district where Ji Duo was located was a bit big.

As the bus drove further in, we saw canteens, shops, schools and even hospitals. It looked like a small town with a population of at least tens of thousands.

Ji Duo's apartment has a living area of ​​90 square meters, and he was allocated a small second floor.

There are two bedrooms on the upper two floors, a living room and kitchen on the lower floor, and a small courtyard in front, separated by a brick wall. It sounds not very big, but this 90 square meters has no public stall area, and the stairs are also installed outside, which is definitely enough.

People in Yandu like to plant jujube trees in their yards, believing that "jujube" sounds like "early", which means early, and has auspicious meanings. From a distance, Lin Qiao even saw a few jujube tree branches secretly peeking out of the wall.

All in all, the first impression was very good. After taking a closer look at the floors, I was quite satisfied.

Because there was enough money when the house was built, the stairs of this small two-story building were made of cement. Unlike those that Lin Qiao saw on the street, which were made of iron welded into a tripod with wooden or iron plates on top, making a thumping sound when walking on it.

Lin Qiao brushed off the dust on his hands when he went upstairs and said, "I think it's pretty good. Is this the one we're going to buy?"

"Then let's decide on this one." Ji Duo had no objection.

The two quickly reached an agreement, thinking that since they were already here, they couldn't just take a look and then go back, so they simply went to the store to buy tools and started packing.

Unexpectedly, Ji Duo was not only very decisive in saving people, but also very good at doing housework. The two of them each had a broom and a mop. As soon as Lin Qiao cleaned up the downstairs, the man had already finished cleaning upstairs, and also cleaned the corridor and the stairs outside.

Lin Qiao looked at the living room, which finally had room to move, and said, "This wall needs to be repainted."

Ji Duo deserves to be straightforward,

I'm looking for someone."

"This staircase also needs to be re-plastered. The cement has fallen off in some places."

"I'll go buy it."

Lin Qiao looked around and only thought of these for the time being, "Then you go ahead, I'll tear down the couplet and the blessing character."

The military area is still a bit far from Yandu, so Master Ji and Xu Li discussed it with them and decided to set up the wedding room in the old house, Ji Duo's original room.

However, even though the wedding is not held here, the wedding couplets still need to be posted, and they must be cleaned before. Tear off what can be torn off, and if it cannot be torn off, soak it with a wet rag and shovel it off with a shovel.

Lin Qiao is organized and when he came out he thought about cleaning up the new house and took his schoolbag with him.

There were a lot of things to buy, so she simply tore off a page from the notebook Ji Duo gave her, wrote it, and handed it to the man.

This reminded Ji Duo of when Xu Li was a child, she would do the same thing when she occasionally asked her grandfather to help her carry things. This saved her grandfather from buying something on a whim that he thought was good, but Xu Li would only want to frown when she saw it.

Ji Duo folded the paper and put it in his pocket. "What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll go to the cafeteria."

Lin Qiao had no idea what they had in the cafeteria. "You can buy whatever you like. I'm fine with anything." After thinking about it, he added, "Don't buy too much. I'm a bit full in the morning."

Ji Duo nodded, bought what he needed first, and even bought an extra lunch box before taking it to the cafeteria.

The canteen in the military district is similar to a state-owned hotel. If the family members of the troops do not have time to cook, they can come here to get food with a ticket. When Ji Duo went in, he found that Brigade Commander Liang from the same division was also there, standing in front of him, with more lunch boxes in his hands than he did.

He greeted the other party and said, "Sister-in-law is not home?"

"No, my eldest daughter gave birth and I'm here to take care of her after she's been sick."

Brigade Commander Liang was not tall, half a head shorter than Ji Duo. He was middle-aged and his hair volume was a bit worrying, so he simply shaved his head. Seeing the two lunch boxes in Ji Duo's hands, he smiled knowingly, "You really brought the target here? I didn't believe it when I heard it at first."

He spoke in a loud voice, and as soon as he said this, several people looked over at him.

Ji Duo did not deny it, so Brigade Commander Liang showed some curiosity. "I heard that you applied for a separate room. Didn't you not choose the right person before? Are you getting married now?"

"My family arranged it." Ji Duo said concisely.

These old men have been in the army for years, so they don't have many opportunities to meet the opposite sex. Many of them are arranged by their families and get married after just a few meetings. Brigade Commander Liang was not surprised, "You are already this age, your family should be worried."

Then he laughed teasingly, "You didn't meet them when you came, did you? When Xiao Ding and the others heard that you brought your partner, they all ran to ask where you were assigned."

If it were someone else, people might not be so curious, but Ji Duo is known for being a stubborn person.

And the people who heard this said that the girl he brought was very pretty. Everyone wanted to know how pretty she was to win over Ji Duo.

Brigade Commander Liang wanted to see if this notoriously stubborn man would rush back to protect his future wife when he heard that the gang was going to see her. After all, the barracks were full of big bosses, and they were more or less a bunch of rascals when they got into trouble. If someone was a little more thin-skinned, he might be scared by the scene.

As a result, Ji Duo's expression did not change at all, and he reminded him, "It's your turn."

Brigade Commander Liang responded, quickly handed over the lunch box, ordered a few dishes, and couldn't help but look back, "Are you really not going back to take a look?"

Maybe he is not satisfied with the partner his family arranged for him, so he doesn't care whether the other person is scared or not, right?

Coincidentally, the house that Ji Duo was assigned was next to that of Brigade Commander Liang. The two of them left the cafeteria and walked towards their residence together.

Brigadier General Liang had both his hands full and was bending over to feed chicken soup to people. "That's how life is. It's the same even if you turn off the lights. Look at your sister-in-law. I had never met her at first. I just wrote a letter and exchanged a photo. Then she came to me with a bag. It's been so many years."

The elder brother said earnestly, "We are all busy, how can we have time? The family is good, at least we can make a living."

Ji Duo glanced at him from the side, but his eyes were hard to describe, and he didn't say anything anyway.

Ji Duo was a well-known young man who was both capable and difficult to deal with. If someone really fell into his hands, he would not give face to anyone. Those who were caught by him at the beginning typically asked for mercy. He punished the one who jumped the most and the rest behaved themselves.

Brigade Commander Liang was wondering if he had said too much when he looked up and saw several familiar faces sneaking around the door next door, staring at the girl.

The girl had a good figure and was pretty. When she noticed them turning around, she smiled at them without any concealment.

Brigade Commander Liang was so angry that he laughed, "These brats, aren't they afraid of scaring others?"

Just as she was about to call a few people to ask them to calm down, the girl put down the rag in her hand and asked, "Are you Ji Duo's colleagues?" Her voice was crisp and quite pleasant.

Brigade Commander Liang was a little surprised to find that the other party was not scared at all and did not even show any shame on his face.

Which pretty girl hasn't been stared at before? Lin Qiao was used to it and even smiled at them, "It's okay, just look openly, no need to hide it."

Now it was the seniors who were embarrassed. Some even coughed to cover up their mistake and said, "We were just passing by."

"Yes, I was just passing by. I didn't expect that someone would suddenly live here."

So he passed by three times in ten minutes? And he made faces in front of her, like he had a collective eye cramp?

Lin Qiao didn't expose them, pointing to the high places on both sides of the door that he couldn't reach, "Then just help me, I won't go to the next door to borrow a stool."

So Brigade Commander Liang watched helplessly as a few brats who had come over to join in the fun were arrested, then he rolled up his sleeves and started helping to scrape the couplets, while Lin Qiao stood by with his hands on his hips, directing the work.

He couldn't help but look back at Ji Duo, "I said why aren't you in a hurry?"

It turns out that this boy is going to marry such a girl, with a hot temper. Many wives who have been married for several years are not as graceful and elegant as her.

After the group returned, there were several more rumors about Ji Duo's partner. When people met Ji Duo again, they didn't know whether to say he was lucky or to sympathize with him.

Lin Qiao didn't know about this. When she returned home that night, she found a large cardboard box in her house.

Old Master Ji didn't know what he talked about with Ji Jun. He pointed at the box and said, "Your eldest brother bought it for you. He said it was a wedding present."

Lin Qiao knew at first glance that it was an imported color TV, and it was probably quite large.

A 12-inch black-and-white TV costs more than four hundred yuan, and this one must cost at least several thousand yuan. Isn't Ji Jun, the future uncle, too open-minded?

Unexpectedly, a few days later, Lin Qiao finally realized what a big deal was.

In addition to the color TV, the Ji family also bought them electric rice cookers, washing machines, and even refrigerators, which were considered luxury items in that era, filling up half of the empty room. The ordered furniture was also delivered one after another, all made of top-quality solid wood, and they would all be moved there once the new house was painted.

Just then, Ye Minshu arrived, looking dusty and dirty.