Su Yi chatted with Li Yueniang for a while before taking out a set of keys from his pocket and handing them over.
"This is the house you asked me to find."
“It’s inside Liuhuai Lane, number 21. It’s the next shop up the hill. I thought it would be easier for you to get around since Changzhi and Changqing live nearby.”
Li Yueniang's eyes lit up, and her expression immediately softened.
"You got it done so quickly? It's so kind of you to put in the effort."
Seeing Li Yueniang's expression, Su Yi felt relieved.
"Whenever you asked me to do something, I did it with my best effort."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper, handing them to Li Yueniang. "The name written on them is Changzhi."
“I don’t have much money on me right now. Here’s a hundred yuan and some tickets. Don’t think it’s too little. Use it to buy them some things and let them move in first.”
"Changqing will probably be back soon. By then, your courtyard will be too small. It's not easy for the two brothers to be reunited. We can't let anything happen that could affect our relationship because of overcrowding."
"Well, about the medical expenses, you can get treatment first. I'll send you the money later when I get it."
Li Yueniang pursed her lips and looked at Su Yi with a complicated expression. "This house must be expensive, right? Where did you get so much money?"
Su Yi straightened his back instantly. "Don't worry about the money. I have my own way of handling it."
Li Yueniang rarely gave him a kind look, "Look at your droopy eyes, haven't you slept well for days? Take care of yourself, you still have to support the children."
"If something happens to you, what will happen to all those children?"
Su Yi's eyes lit up, like a child who had done something wrong and was anxiously preparing to be scolded by his mother, but suddenly received praise.
"I know, don't worry, I understand perfectly."
Li Yueniang stuffed the house deed, keys, and money into her pocket. "Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll go downstairs. You go ahead with your work."
"Hey, hey, sister," Su Yi tugged at Li Yueniang's sleeve.
"Um, when can I go see the children? I mean, see them in person, not secretly."
"Hey, just wait and see. I'll see how things go and find an opportunity to talk to Changzhi."
"Okay, okay, you talk to him first."
Li Yueniang got out of the car and prepared to wait for Liao Fengmei at the door.
Xiao Liu got out of the driver's seat. "Sister Li, let me give you a ride."
Li Yueniang glanced at him sideways. "What's wrong? Came here to put in a good word for your commander?"
Xiao Liu smiled and said, "Sister Li, I wasn't sent by the division commander. I genuinely care about him. You don't know, but this time, to buy this house, the division commander even sold his samurai sword to Political Commissar Xu."
Li Yueniang was taken aback. "Then the Japanese samurai sword that he brought back from the battlefield and kept hidden away like a precious gem for decades?"
"right."
"Didn't he and that old Xu not get along? Why did he sell it to him?"
"Political Commissar Xu offered more money, but Division Commander Su still eagerly went to his door with a knife in hand."
"I've looked much more haggard lately, and I've lost my appetite..."
Li Yueniang paused, "What do you want to say?"
Xiao Liu met Li Yueniang's eyes and said weakly, "Sister, please be nicer to Commander Su."
Li Yueniang said irritably, "I'm already this old, do you think I can still take care of him?"
"Hurry back, my wife is coming out, or I'll go beat up your commander again!"
Liao Fengmei, carrying a large amount of things, ran excitedly outside.
"Mother, mother."
Li Yueniang knew the matter was settled just by looking at the work clothes in her arms.
"Let's go home."
"Why."
"Mom, look, I got a set of clothes, a towel and a hat, and shoes too. Oh, and gloves too."
"The staff inside are very welcoming. They told me to come over first thing tomorrow morning and get to know them better."
Liao Fengmei, who is usually quiet, had a blush on her dark face, and even her eyes, which had been dulled by life, regained their light.
She has a job now, and it's a permanent one!
Song Jingzhou's vacation has arrived. After being persuaded by Su Qingci, he returned to the team yesterday. Today is the agreed-upon day to take back the house.
Su Qingci felt that things would be much more convenient for her if Song Jingzhou wasn't around.
When it's time to decorate the house, she can bring many things directly from the farm.
When we arrived at the entrance of Jiaxi Hutong, Dachang was already waiting there.
"Sis, you're here!"
Su Qingci stopped her bicycle by slicing the ground. "Is everything moved inside?"
"The move is almost done, sis. Go take a look. That old man Zhang has some things that are hard to move and he wants to ask if you want them. If you do, he'll sell them to you at a discount. If not, he'll find someone to sell them to."
"What kind of things are there? Let's go and take a look."
When Zhang Yanxu saw Su Qingci enter, he clapped his hands and walked over, saying, "Comrade Su, you're here."
"Comrade Su, we have a lot of things here that are hard to move. Do you want them? If you do, I'll transfer them to you so you don't have to buy them again. I'm too lazy to move them myself."
Su Qingci followed Zhang Yanxu and looked around. There were several large water vats in the courtyard, as well as jars of various sizes in the kitchen. There were still a lot of coal briquettes left in the coal shed, and some large cabinets that couldn't be moved.
"Uncle Zhang, shouldn't these coal briquettes be exchanged for coal coupons? You don't want them anymore?"
Zhang Yanxu shook his head. "As you know, I sold this house to divide the property among my four sons. Whether it was rented or bought, the land isn't this big anymore. Now the eldest and third sons have moved to a tenement building. The place is small. Before, our family was large, so we stockpiled a lot of coal. Now they've already taken a lot of it away. This is what's left."
"We can't move those big items either; there's not enough space."
Zhang Yanxu patted the wardrobe reluctantly, "This was made when my eldest brother got married. It was made of the best camphor wood. And this big table, when it was made, we thought we had a lot of people in the family, so we made it as big as possible. It could seat more than a dozen people. What a pity."
"If you don't want it, I'll have to find someone to take it to the recycling center. The kids are all grown up now, they have their own ideas, sigh~"
Su Qingci followed Zhang Yanxu around and saw solid wood armchairs, grand master chairs, a large dining table with twelve chairs, three large wardrobes, several footstools, low stools, a large white porcelain vat with water plants in the yard, a large water tank, fifty or sixty catties of coal briquettes, and some small household items.
"Uncle Zhang, it's a waste to take these things to the recycling station. I'll keep them for myself. How much do you want to sell them for?"
Hearing Su Qingci's reply, Zhang Yanxu's worried expression eased somewhat.
"Give me whatever you think is appropriate," Zhang Yanxu said with an awkward smile. "Don't laugh at me, but the night the house was sold, my four unfilial sons divided the money among themselves and didn't leave us two old folks any money for ourselves. Otherwise, given our connection, it would have been only right to give it to you."
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