Chapter 18 Chapter 18 New Home

Seeing that the child hadn't finished speaking, Shi Xiangming didn't respond. Instead, he touched his head and continued to persuade him.

"No other impression?"

"Will my sister and I sleep on this bed from now on?"

"Auntie Wang hired a carpenter to make the bed, the desk outside, and the closet..." Shi Xiangming turned around, patted the closet, and opened the door: "From now on, put your clothes here, and your sister's clothes on the right."

Shi Shuwen's eyes became brighter and brighter. He half-stuck his body out of the bed and looked at an empty cabinet with great interest.

"If she continues to be nice to me and my sister, I'd like her to be our mother!"

Wang Nian is very strong, but he is also very good-looking and smells very good.

And...and he really likes a soft bed. It's so warm to sleep in the quilt, just like sleeping on...a pile of cotton.

When he and his sister slept at the foot of the bed at his uncle's wife's house, not only was the quilt leaking, but they also had to smell their grandfather's stinky feet at night.

Now he not only has his own bed, but it is also big and clean.

Based on this point alone, Shi Shuwen felt that this stepmother was not bad.

"This will be our home from now on!" Shi Xiangming smiled.

Shi Shuwen held the quilt with half of his face exposed. Hearing this, his eyes narrowed and were finally filled with smiles.

"Sleep a little longer. I'll find some clean clothes and put them on the stairs."

Shi Shuwen nodded, huddled into the quilt, and came out with the woolen coat after a while.

"Dad, can I study like Jun in the future?"

Shi Jun is my uncle’s cousin, a few months older than Shi Shuwen, and has been in primary school for half a year.

"You will go to preschool for half a year before going to elementary school, and your sister will go to kindergarten."

I told my parents two years ago to send my child to school, but when I got home I found out that not only did he not go to kindergarten, but he also didn't seem to be ready to register for elementary school when he was old enough.

Shi Xiangming was very glad that he had taken the two children back at that critical juncture. Now he only needed to let the eldest child attend preschool for a few months to lay the basics so that he would not lag behind his peers too much.

"I can read and write now!"

The bed was very comfortable, the room was beautiful, and he could learn to read and write soon. Everything made Shi Shuwen very happy.

He rolled around in bed wrapped in a quilt, laughing foolishly to himself.

Shi Xiangming said nothing more. He tucked the quilt in for Shi Wan, closed the door, and walked out.

The first day when the child comes home starts with a smile!

***

No. 43 Family Courtyard.

The sky was still gray and the rain had formed small puddles on the embankment. A few sparse muddy footprints were left by Wang Nian's family when they returned.

Shi Xiangming found two rags and twisted them into a rope to divert rainwater from the wall to the outside of the corridor.

"Chief Engineer Shi, are you doing the laundry?"

Zhang Guiqiang's family walked into the corridor one after another, and Liu Chaoxian saw Shi Xiangming sitting at the door of his house washing clothes.

A big basin, a washboard, and the tall man was trying to bend over and it seemed a bit strenuous.

"I just washed the clothes the two children had just changed." Shi Xiangming smiled.

Liu Chaoxian glanced back at her husband, who was full of surprise, and almost laughed out loud in her heart: "Your eldest child is about the same age as my family in starting a business. Let the two children play together in the future."

"Come to my house for dinner later, it's a good opportunity for the children to get acquainted with each other."

While speaking, Shi Xiangming did not stop his actions. He turned around and picked up the two pairs of rubber shoes standing at the corner and put them into the water.

One could tell from the size of the shoes that one of them belonged to Wang Nian, but Shi Xiangming's expression did not change at all.

"You should not only learn from Mr. Shi in work, but also in life!"

If he had just been enjoying the excitement, now Liu Chaoxian was filled with envy and turned around to glare at Zhang Guiqiang.

I have been married to Zhang Guiqiang for eight years. Not only do I have to wash his shoes, I even have to wash my hair during the days before giving birth.

Zhang Guiqiang's mother, Granny Hu, had lived a traditional life all her life. When she heard her daughter-in-law complain like that, she immediately curled her lips.

However...the daughter-in-law's words carry weight at home, so she dared not show off her power in front of her.

Out of sight, out of mind. He simply turned around, took Zhang Liye's hand and led his grandson into the house.

Don't bring bad luck to your grandson...

"I'm not going back." Zhang Liye didn't leave, twisting his body and running towards Shi Xiangming: "I want to go find Aunt Wang Nian."

"Auntie Wang Nian has gone out to buy groceries." Liu Chaoxian grabbed his son and said with a smile, "You must wish you were Comrade Wang Nian's biological son!"

"Auntie Wang's cooking is delicious." Zhang Liye replied confidently, his eyes rolling, "I'll go pick her up at the food station."

"Go back to your room and do your homework!" Zhang Guiqiang kicked Zhang Liye lightly, "You won't be allowed to eat tonight if you don't finish your homework."

"General Manager Shi, you don't know..."

In just seven days, Liu Chaoxian really saw Wang Nian's ability. She could even make something out of a broken bowl.

Shi Xiangming had only seen a part of it. There were many more that he had not had time to look at carefully. Only after hearing what Liu Chaoxian said did he turn his gaze towards the stove.

The originally cement surface of the stove was covered with broken tiles in various colors and shapes, some square and some round.

"Comrade Wang worked all day. I saw with my own eyes how she polished the pieces into sizes that could fit together."

Wang Nian went to the store several times and bought back almost all the broken vegetable plates.

First lay the large pieces on the cement, then grind the remaining small gaps a little bit and then fit them in. It can't be done without some patience.

Not to mention... it's quite easy to clean like this, unlike a cement stovetop which can't be cleaned even with oil after being used for a long time.

"You also need to learn from Comrade Xiao Wang."

Zhang Guiqiang immediately interrupted when he found the opportunity, and then he ran into his house in a flash.

"You're so good, Zhang Guiqiang. It's only been a few years and you already look down on me..." Liu Chaoxian chased into the house.

Only Shi Xiangming was left staring at the stove. It took him a long while to come back to his senses from his confused thoughts.

"What are you looking at?"

At this time, Wang Nian also returned home after buying groceries.

"I don't know how long the rain will last, so we can't delay putting up the shed." Shi Xiangming avoided the subject, not wanting to say that he was so moved that his eyes and nose were sore.

"That's true."

The weather this year is also strange. It has rained so much even after the beginning of autumn. If it continues like this, it will definitely affect the vegetables in the fields.

I have to invite people to dinner in the evening, so the stove matter really can’t be delayed.

"You go to the warehouse and take a look. I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay!" Shi Xiangming stood up, glanced at the vegetable basket, and asked, "How about I use the ticket to exchange for some eggs?"

"A few days ago, my aunt sent me 20 eggs and a chicken..."

Before Wang Nian's clothes were made, Aunt Wu Ying came home with some eggs. Seeing that Wang Nian was doing well, she left in a hurry without even eating.

Wang Nian was so reluctant to eat the eggs that he wondered how long his family had saved to have so many.

"Keep the one that Auntie gave you. I'll go buy some more." Shi Xiangming smiled, as if he understood Wang Nian's thoughts: "Next week we have a day off. Let's take the kids to visit Grandpa and Auntie."

"Okay." Wang Nian smiled: "Then bring back ten more eggs."

Watching Shi Xiangming open the umbrella, Liu Chaoxian, who had been listening in the house for a while, hurried out.

"Chief Engineer Shi, wait for my Guiqiang, he's going too!"

Zhang Guiqiang was pushed out unwillingly, with half a dried sweet potato in his mouth.

After the two walked away, Liu Chaoxian immediately moved a small stool to sit at the door of his house, and took out a dried sweet potato to signal Wang Nian. After shaking her head, she immediately stuffed it into her mouth.

"Your comrade Shi is really good, he has a lot of skills!"

"Doesn't Brother Zhang help with household chores?"

Zhang Guiqiang is a bit lazy, but he is afraid of his wife, so no matter what Liu Chaoxian tells him to do, he will still do it reluctantly.

Sometimes... being afraid can be an advantage!

"If he could get the same salary as Comrade Shi every month, I would support him."

The salary levels for workers are transparent, but the specific salaries for administrative officials are kept confidential. Even Zhang Guiqiang doesn't know how much Shi Xiangming earns.

But...it's definitely higher than the workers' wages.

Liu Chaoxian actually just wanted to get some truth out of Wang Nian, so he deliberately turned the conversation to Shi Xiangming.

But Wang Nian didn't respond at all, he just sighed and said: "We are all comrades from the workers and peasants, we are all the same."

Liu Chaoxian knew Wang Nian didn't want to talk about it, so he immediately changed the subject: "Guess where Wang Wenfang took the girl that day?"

Six days had passed since Wang Nian saw Zhou Shanxiu appear at Factory 431, and he never expected that Liu Chaoxian still remembered to inquire about the news.

"What a coincidence..."

Wang Nian picked up the wooden basin and went to the bathroom on the second floor. Liu Chaoxian followed behind and continued talking.

At that time, Zhou Shanxiu and her friends went to Wang Wenfang's house, so the two of them didn't see anything. Who would have thought that they would meet Zhou Shanxiu in the office after several days.

"They use marriage reports to help women apply for jobs."

One of the union's tasks is to apply for jobs for officers and their families.

However, there are only so many job positions, and if there are no vacancies or new positions, it is basically difficult to apply successfully.

In addition, Zhou Shanxiu did not even graduate from junior high school, so there was almost no possibility of success for him.

Of course... this is not the main topic of the conversation.

"The person Zhou Shanxiu married is Deputy Section Chief Yang of the Security Department of our factory's second plant..."

Deputy Section Chief Yang is 35 years old this year. His ex-wife is a senior intellectual. The two divorced at the beginning of the year due to emotional discord. All three children are with the man.

I didn't expect that I would get married again with Zhou Shanxiu so soon.

That’s not all. The most important thing is that they are also applying for a house recently, and if things go well, they will move into the second batch of new houses.

Deputy Section Chief Yang is also a cadre, and there are only a few family buildings for cadres. It is possible that he will be assigned to Family Building No. 43.

"But please don't come to our building..."

From now on, I won’t see him if I look up, but I will see him if I look down... Liu Chaoxian feels uncomfortable just thinking about it.

Wang Nian, who also didn't want Zhou Shanxiu to be his neighbor, smiled helplessly: "Whatever the factory decides, our say doesn't count."

It wouldn't be a big deal if she had been asked to go on a blind date, but whenever Wang Nian saw Zhou Shanxiu, he would think of the scene of the two of them having an affair in the haystack.

"You're right. Why don't you think about what to eat tonight...what delicious food should you prepare tonight?"

Liu Chaoxian wanted to try out her cooking skills, which were praised so highly by her son.