Qin Ye could drive, so the Su family found him a truck driver, specifically a transport driver for a department store in Beijing, which made Su Lu feel extremely frustrated.
He had schemed and pulled strings to get a job in Beijing, but his brother-in-law just said one thing and he was put on the job without even an interview. He was even a team leader, his direct superior.
Seeing Su Dang's dark face, Qin Xiaoxiao leaned closer to him and whispered, "What's wrong? Didn't you buy the house?"
Su Lu breathed a sigh of relief. "No, we bought it. Our courtyard is cheaper, 1,500 yuan, no bargaining. This courtyard is more expensive, 3,500 yuan."
Qin Xiaoxiao breathed a slight sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "It's not expensive. The cheapest room in the courtyard houses costs at least 300 yuan. You can't even buy one if you want to. This big courtyard is only 3,500 yuan. It's really cheap."
Especially compared to later generations, Qin Xiaoxiao felt she had gotten a great deal, and hoped the previous owner wouldn't regret it.
Houses in Beijing with such large courtyards only cost a little over a thousand yuan. If she had the chance, Qin Xiaoxiao would like to buy ten or eight of them.
In the 1980s, a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) in Beijing cost around 8,000 to 10,000 yuan. That was the cheapest time. But people didn't have much money back then. Even the first group of people who went into business didn't think about buying a siheyuan. Who wouldn't improve their life if they had money? They would rather spend tens of thousands of yuan on a motorcycle than on a siheyuan. They had a place to live, so there was no need for it, and they didn't have the mindset of investing.
However, Qin Xiaoxiao had heard that courtyard houses in Beijing were quite expensive seven or eight years ago. She didn't know the specifics or if it was true; she only knew that if she could buy one now, she should, as it would be more economical than buying later. (The price difference between courtyard houses from 1978 and 1980s online is too great; I don't really understand how much they cost anymore.)
The Qin family's courtyard, though described as having only one courtyard, occupies a large area. Behind the main house, there is a small plot of land of about 20 square meters. The main house has five rooms, two side rooms, and two rear rooms. There are three rooms on each side of the wing rooms, and one side room on each side near the gate. The toilet and woodshed are located in the corner of the backyard, making the front yard appear very spacious.
The front yard only has a stone path, and vegetables can be planted on both sides. If you work hard, you won't need to buy vegetables outside anymore. You can even plant potatoes and sweet potatoes in the back.
Qin Xiaoxiao had no say in how the land in the front and back yards was arranged; that was up to Ma Dahua and Old Mrs. Qin. She just had to wait to eat.
Before Qin Xiaoxiao could ask any more questions, Su Lu told her about Qin Ye's work arrangements.
When Qin Xiaoxiao heard that her brother was going to work with her husband, and that he would be a team leader right away, she was speechless.
Qin Xiaoxiao looked at her husband's dark face and felt sorry for him for a minute.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. We're unfamiliar with this place, the capital. You and your brother will have someone to rely on."
I don't know about other places, but I do know that people in many places are xenophobic. In Beijing, as the capital, many locals look down on outsiders, and it's normal for them to say a few words. (Please protect yourself; I don't want to be cyberbullied.)
However, those are exceptions; there are still many locals who are very kind and hospitable.
Moreover, people are very honest and kind these days, so it's unlikely that they would mistreat newcomers.
In any case, the Qin family and Qin Xiaoxiao's family have settled down and have their own house in the capital.
Qin Xiaoxiao wasn't surprised that the Qin family had so much money. Leaving aside Qin Aiguo and Qin Feng, Qin Ye alone had a considerable amount of money from his military service, plus his wages over the years, and the money he received from selling medicinal herbs and fruits in Qinjiagou. It wasn't surprising that he had three or four thousand yuan in hand.
After the matter was settled, Su Lu and Qin Ye went to work the next day. Qin Xiaoxiao was not idle at home either. She communicated with the Su family and asked them to help hire a construction team. She also registered the project with the street office and began to work on repairing the house.
Because of the high ceilings, Qin Xiaoxiao planned to build both the main house and the side rooms into two-story villa-style buildings, which are very similar to modern styles. To this end, Qin Xiaoxiao even searched the space for a long time to find various postmodern Beijing courtyard layouts after renovation, trying to move them as high as possible, even if it meant sacrificing some front yard space.
It took a month to renovate Qin Xiaoxiao's courtyard. When Su Lu went to the courtyard again, he found that it had changed drastically.
The main house is still the same main house, the main frame is unchanged, but the inside has been completely changed. Not only has an extra floor been added, but it has also become much more spacious. The second floor has been connected, and the second floor of the main hall has been turned into a small living room. There is a large room on each side, one of which is planned to be used as a study, and the other is Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Lu's bedroom.
An extra floor was added to the side rooms on both sides, one for Qin Chenrui and one for Qin Chenxi. Downstairs was a reception room, and upstairs was a bedroom. The house wasn't big, but it had its own independent space, and the two of them could move in when they were a little older.
The kitchen and toilet were moved into the main house, which was originally the two rooms downstairs. However, both rooms were moved inward by about two meters, which expanded the main hall downstairs by another thirty or forty square meters.
The yard was a bit small because Qin Xiaoxiao had dug a big pit in the middle, intending to raise koi. However, she couldn't raise them now; she could only put in a couple of carp or crucian carp. She didn't dare plant lotus roots yet, as the pit hadn't even been cemented; it was just a small mud pond.
Su Lu felt a headache coming on the moment he saw the small mud puddle.
"Honey, are you sure this mud puddle won't smell bad in a few days?"
Qin Xiaoxiao was taken aback and stood at the edge of the mud pit, peering inside. "Really? When I watch real estate agents on TV introducing houses, they always mention mud like this in the villas... uh, it seems a bit different."
Su Lu rubbed his forehead and gritted his teeth, saying, "The other ones are all covered with cement and have a circulation system, so the fish won't die easily. They also plant aquatic plants and so on, so there's enough oxygen. If the fish don't die, the water won't smell bad. What you've done now... this is completely no good. The fish will die in a couple of days, and then the water will smell bad."
How can stagnant water not smell bad? Only flowing water won't smell bad!
Qin Xiaoxiao frowned, twisting her fingers awkwardly. "I didn't think that much about it. I was just thinking about how convenient it would be in the future."
What could Su Luneng do? He could only accept it.
He took Qin Xiaoxiao's hand and comforted her, "It's okay, you have your husband. It's just stinky water, what's the big deal? We can just drain it later."
Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly raised her head, her lips twitching. "This is it? This is your idea?"
Damn, do you think I don't know that draining it is enough? You don't need to tell me!
Su Lu nodded. "Ah, that's right, isn't this a good idea?"
Qin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "Get lost before I lose my temper."
Qin Xiaoxiao turned and left, hiding in the house and entering her spatial dimension.
After searching through the space for a long time, I finally found a fishing net in a box.
The mud pit was a meter deep, and without a net, one would have to go into the water. She really didn't have the courage to jump into the mud pit and roll around in it.
Let me explain, I'm afraid of being cyberbullied.
My hometown is a small fourth-tier city, ranked near the bottom in the country. Not to mention going to other places, even in the provincial capital, I am looked down upon by the locals. There's nothing I can do about it. Our economy isn't as strong as theirs, we don't earn as much, and we don't have as much experience. This is all normal. Many locals in big cities have this problem, so it's not a big deal. Even so, I deeply love my hometown because we don't experience major disasters here. Earthquakes, floods, mudslides—they have nothing to do with us. We're only responsible for rescue.
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