Although they had some rice and flour at home, He Dongchuan also asked someone to buy an old coal stove and placed it in the rented house. This time when they came, they also brought dozens of coal briquettes from home.

But these were prepared mainly for emergencies. Coal briquettes had to be used to boil water, so after getting up in the morning, the He family did not light the fire and still bought breakfast from outside.

After breakfast, there was some noise downstairs. Su Ting heard the noise and went out. She saw Professor Zhou leading Duan Xiaolan and her husband as they walked in and introduced the house. She called out, "Teacher Zhou, Duan, and Lu, are you here?"

The three men raised their heads when they heard the voice, greeted her with a smile, and then walked in one after another.

After watching their figures disappear downstairs, Su Ting also turned around and went into the house. The man sitting in the living room asked curiously, "Mom, who's here?"

Su Ting replied: "The landlord and the uncle and aunt I met yesterday came over."

"Are they going to live here too?" He Yan asked.

"Not sure. We'll know after they finish looking at the house."

He Yan: “Oh.”

As the family was talking, they heard footsteps outside. Su Ting thought that they were acquainted with others, and if Duan Xiaolan and Lu Zheng chose the house and moved in, they would be neighbors in the future and would definitely have a lot of contact, so she opened the door to the living room and walked out.

The house has three floors, divided into six units. There is a kitchen and a small living room downstairs, so the rooms are a bit smaller, two single rooms. However, one of the rooms has a small living room inside so that you can't see the bed as soon as you open the door.

The second and third floors are relatively spacious, with a two-bedroom apartment facing a three-bedroom apartment, and a narrow corridor in the middle leading to the stairs.

Duan Xiaolan and Lu Zheng wanted to rent two rooms, so Professor Zhou was going to take them directly to the third floor. However, before they went up, they saw Su Ting coming out, so they stopped and exchanged a few words. The main topic was how big a house Duan and Lu wanted to rent.

After the greetings, Su Ting did not go upstairs. Just saying hello and some politeness would have been enough. Being too enthusiastic would only make people think too much.

This house is indeed good. First of all, there are few tenants. Although other rooms will not be empty all the time, from the many information they asked about Professor Zhou after they contacted him, it can be confirmed that he has requirements for tenants and will not rent to just anyone. Even if all six households live here, the tenants' character can be guaranteed.

Secondly, the house is close to the school, and it only takes ten minutes to walk to the school. There is a breakfast shop at the entrance of the alley, so it is convenient to go out and take a bus. Moreover, there are state-owned factory workshops here, so there are not many messy people coming and going, and it is quite quiet.

Thirdly, although the house has a shared kitchen, the layout of the two-bedroom apartment on the third floor is similar to the one that Su Ting rented, and the balcony can be used for cooking. Of course, they don’t really need to cook for themselves, as the school provides food subsidies, so it’s cheaper.

There is also a bathroom inside, which is convenient for taking a shower. Although they have to figure out the coal stove and briquettes themselves, it is not difficult for Lu Zheng. It is just a matter of spending a little more money.

After a brief discussion, Duan Xiaolan and Lu Zheng decided to rent the house.

Renting a house is not that troublesome these days. At least there is no contract. Once you find a house you like, you just hand over the money and the key, and then go to the street office to register.

When they were about to leave, Duan Xiaolan went to the second floor and knocked on the door. The landlord was introduced by Su Ting, so they had to go and say hello before leaving.

The door opened after less than three knocks. Su Ting and her two children stood at the door and asked with a smile, "How do you like the house?"

"We decided to rent a two-bedroom apartment on the third floor, just above yours." Duan Xiaolan said, and then greeted the two children.

"Hello, Auntie," the two children shouted, and then saw Professor Zhou and Lu Zheng standing behind them, and continued to shout, "Hello, Uncle, Hello, Grandpa."

Su Ting's face froze: "You can't call me grandpa, call me uncle."

Although Professor Zhou's hair is a little gray, you can tell from his face that he is not that old. He is in his forties, definitely no more than fifty.

Seriously speaking, it is okay to call someone "grandpa" at this age, but everyone wants to be called younger. For example, when she lives in a compound and meets a military wife who is older than her, no matter if she is 40 or 50 years old, she will call her "sister" instead of "comrade".

Not only her, but all the military wives in their compound called her that, which also led to some confusion in the way they addressed each other in their compound, just like she called Meng Xiuzhen "sister" and Jiang Ya called her "sister".

But no matter how confusing the name is, it is better than offending people.

To be fair, if Jiang Ya followed Meng Xiuzhen's way and called Su Ting Auntie, even if she wouldn't get angry, she would still look in the mirror a few more times behind her back.

She felt that she was still young, so how could she become the aunt of a young girl of 18 or 19?

Su Ting corrected the two children's way of addressing him. Professor Zhou was very friendly and said with a smile: "It's okay. It doesn't matter what you call me. You can call me grandpa."

Although he said so, the brother and sister still listened to Su Ting and changed their address to "Uncle."

While they were talking, He Dongchuan also came over and greeted the three of them.

Su Ting and He Dongchuan came to see the house together, so Professor Zhou knew him, and people of that era naturally showed respect to soldiers.

When Professor Zhou saw him, he smiled even more than before. He took the initiative to shake his hand and said, "When I came in, I saw the car parked at the door, and I wondered if it was Comrade He who came over."

"I brought Xiao Su here to register." He Dongchuan said, "Do you have anything else to do? Why don't you come in and sit for a while?"

Professor Zhou was willing to talk more with He Dongchuan, but he didn't agree immediately because he was concerned about Duan Xiaolan and Lu Zheng. The two noticed the look in his eyes and said, "It's okay, but will this be too much of a bother?"

"Don't disturb me. We are neighbors from now on. We should visit each other more often." Su Ting smiled and invited everyone to come in and sit down.

This is a rented house, and Su Ting and her family have just moved in. The conditions are certainly not as good as their home in the compound. At least there are no sofas or coffee tables in the living room, and the stools are hard to put together.

No, they didn’t put them together because there were not enough stools. The brother and sister were rushed into the room by Su Ting to play.

The tea sets were complete, as they had plenty of them at home, and the thermos was also brought directly from home. But there was no cupboard, just a small square table against the wall in the living room, which could be used for both storage and eating.

There's no other way. We just moved in and have to make do with many things.

Su Ting poured tea into the upside-down glass, while He Dongchuan took the thermos and poured hot water into it. After that, they brought the cups to each other. There was no tea table, so they had to sit around the dining table.

After being used to living at home, they always felt that something was missing here and it was not very convenient. However, in the eyes of the three of them, they had already tidied the house very well.

Professor Zhou took the teacup and said, "You have done a good job of cleaning up."

He Dongchuan said: "Most of the cleaning was done by Xiao Su."

This is the truth. He was busy with work before the New Year and only came to the city twice. Once to look at a house and once to go to the flea market with Su Ting to buy this dining table and five stools. Su Ting basically does all the cleaning at home.

Lu Zheng also noticed the table and chairs and asked, "Did you move these furniture from home?"

"No, I bought it at a flea market." He Dongchuan thought about them moving in and asked, "Do you want to buy furniture too?"

Lu Zheng said, "I have this idea." No one wants to move every now and then. Since you want to live here permanently, it won't be enough to have only a bed and a closet at home. You have to add some furniture.

Before He Dongchuan could speak, Professor Zhou said, "If you want to buy furniture, go to the flea market. If you don't find it there, go to the recycling station. If you're lucky, you might find something good."

Professor Zhou is very experienced in furniture shopping. After all, his house is divided into six units. If he wants to rent it out, it will not work if he has nothing in it. Apart from other things, he needs to prepare a bed and a wardrobe.

Some people like Su Ting who are raising children and don't want to live with a large family and don't want the trouble will ask him to prepare an extra bed. Although he pays for this, the rent will also increase by a few cents, after all, the wool comes from the sheep.

Professor Zhou certainly couldn't go directly to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy so many beds and wardrobes. Even if he was willing to spend money, he didn't have so many tickets. It wasn't easy to find someone to buy them. He couldn't pay hundreds of dollars before receiving the rent.

So he bought these beds and wardrobes from these two places. After repairing them, he had them cleaned and repainted, so they look almost new.

Lu Zheng said, "Okay, let's go take a look in the next two days."

"We're also going to the flea market later."

Professor Zhou asked, "Do you want to add anything else?"

"I want to see if there are any fighting cabinets." He Dongchuan said, and he also wanted to see if there was any other furniture that was needed.

Although Duan Xiaolan and Lu Zheng also wanted to go and take a look, they did not suggest going with He Dongchuan. They also saw the car parked at the door before coming in and guessed that he drove it.

Since they have a car, they will probably drive to the flea market. Now that they want to go together, it seems like they are taking advantage of the situation.

Besides, they had to go to the street to register, and then go back to the guesthouse to move all the luggage and clean up the house. Compared with these things, buying furniture was the least urgent thing.

After sitting for about ten minutes, the three of them said goodbye. After all, although they knew each other, they were not very familiar with each other, and there were only so many topics they could talk about.

Anyway, we will have plenty of time to deal with each other in the future, so there is no need to rush today. Besides, everyone is busy and we don’t have that much time to sit and stare at each other.

Not long after the three left, Su Ting and He Dongchuan also took the brother and sister out, and the four of them went straight to the flea market.

…

The second-hand goods market here is quite large, with two floors, each floor is about 200 to 300 square meters. However, there is no need to go upstairs, because the things have been there for years and no one wants them. Downstairs, you can occasionally find good things, especially furniture, which is basically displayed downstairs.

However, whether you can find good furniture depends entirely on your luck. Su Ting and her friends were lucky enough that they just happened to see the staff bringing back a truckload of furniture when they went there, and all of them were semi-new.

I heard from the staff that the owner of the furniture was transferred to another city for work and could not take the furniture with him, and his neighbors all had enough, so he sold it at a discount to the second-hand market.

Just by hearing this, you can tell how rare it is. Nowadays, every family has furniture. Some poor people would take a smooth piece of wood home and use it when they see it on the street.

The only places that have no shortage of furniture are the family compounds of government agencies.

Another reason why Su Ting and her friends were lucky was that today was not Sunday, so there were not many people shopping at the flea market. Including their family of four, there were only a handful of people.

Another customer was a woman in her forties, her clothes were washed so white that you could tell her family was in a tough time. Come to think of it, if a family is in a good time, few people would come to the flea market.

The main reason why Su Ting and her family came to the flea market was because they rented a house and she was thinking about buying one, but she didn't know how long she could live here.

Although even if she were to buy a house, she would try to buy one that was close to her home so that she could move the furniture there. But if it was her own house, she would definitely consider whether the size of the furniture matched. If it was too big or too small, it would affect the appearance, and it would be too much of a loss to sell it at a discount.

When comparing, it is more cost-effective to buy used furniture. You won’t feel bad if you sell it at a discount at the flea market after moving out.

Therefore, when the lady saw the unloaded furniture, although she was somewhat tempted, she restrained her desire to come over and take a closer look. On the other hand, Su Ting did not think so much and quickly picked a cabinet and asked the staff about the price.

In addition to the wardrobe, they also dragged in a dressing table, a desk, a sofa, and a coffee table. After the staff quoted the price, He Dongchuan asked, "Do you want to buy them all?"

Su Ting was shocked when she heard this: "Buy them all?"

He Dongchuan nodded: "Anyway, these can be used in daily life."

In fact, they already have all these furniture at home, but He Dongchuan and He Yan are still living at home, and Su Ting has to go back to live there during the winter and summer vacations, so they didn't consider moving the furniture to the city.

Of course, there was a more practical reason: the house they rented was not big enough to accommodate so much furniture.

Su Ting thought about it and shook her head, saying, "How can the house we rent accommodate so many furniture?"

He Dongchuan thought, "If we don't want the dressing table, why not buy the desk? Ask if the sofa can be sold separately. If so, buy one and the coffee table together. This way, when guests come to our house in the future, we won't have nowhere to sit."

Su Ting is a creative person and uses the desk frequently. Even if they didn't come across one at the flea market today, they would definitely find a way to buy one or ask someone to make one for them.

In comparison, it doesn't matter whether you have a dressing table or not. You can just buy a mirror and put it on the desk. Su Ting doesn't care much about this.

The same goes for sofas and coffee tables. If he hadn't come across them, He Dongchuan wouldn't have thought about buying them. But when he did and there was room for them in the living room, he thought it was a good idea to buy one and take it home to try.

Su Ting was a little tempted: "...I wonder if they are willing to sell them separately."

Seeing that she agreed, He Dongchuan said, "I'll ask someone, comrade." He raised his hand and called a staff member over.

If ordinary people waved, the staff might not answer them, but who asked He Dongchuan to wear a military uniform? It's not that they are afraid of them, most people are more polite to public officials.

So not only did he come, he also spoke politely: "Comrade, what do you want?"

"How much do you sell this chest of drawers, desk, and coffee table for?" He Dongchuan said, pointing at several pieces of furniture.

The staff member asked in surprise: "Do you want to buy all of them?"

"Yes, we just moved and we need them."

"Then please wait a moment, I'll ask the price." After saying that, the other party went to the back to look for someone.

He is an old employee. Normally, he knows the prices of things in the second-hand market. But this truckload of furniture had just been unloaded. He really didn't know how to sell it and had to ask his leader.

After a while, a middle-aged man in a black Mao suit came out. After he walked up to them, he extended his hand and greeted He Dongchuan: "Hello, comrade. I'm the director here. I heard you wanted furniture?"

"Hello, we do want to buy some furniture." He Dongchuan said, pointed at the things he wanted, and asked, "I also want to ask if you can sell the sofa separately?"

The middle-aged man frowned: "Open it?"

He Dongchuan said, "Well, our house is relatively small, and I'm afraid that if we buy all the sofas, they won't fit in. If they can be disassembled, I'll take both the coffee table and the sofa."

The sofa that had just been unloaded was a little different from the ones in their house. The sofas in their house were more Chinese style. The main sofa was very large and could seat three people, and there was a single chair next to it.

This sofa is more western-style, with a cushion on top and a sofa cloth on the outside, which makes it more comfortable to sit on, but it is relatively small and can only accommodate two people at most. However, in addition to the main sofa, it also has two single chairs, so it can also accommodate four people.

"This is a flea market, and few people here would choose sofas in sets. I'll buy the main sofa and coffee table, and you can sell the remaining two single sofas as a set," He Dongchuan paused and added, "Of course, if you have other plans, forget it."

This "other arrangement" means that someone has reserved this sofa, and the middle-aged man wants to use this sofa as a favor and wants to keep the whole set.

When the middle-aged man saw the sofa, his eyes really lit up and he had considered this matter.

But he soon realized that he had no use for the sofa.

After all, he is a director. The families he can ask for help are of high status and have better family conditions. They don't lack sofas or tea tables. Even if he really wants to give a sofa to someone, he must give a new one, not a second-hand one? Giving it away would probably offend people.

As for whether there are relatives at home who need a sofa, there certainly are, but few are willing to spend money on it. After hearing the news, they might think of giving it away for free, or asking them to set a very low price and give it away half way.

He was not just thinking too much, some of his relatives had really thought of this.

Many people think that the things in the flea market are unwanted or of unknown origin, and that they do not require cash to buy them, so they are reluctant to spend money on them.

It’s fine for those who have no relationship with him in the family, but for those who do, like some of his relatives, they think he should give the things to them for free.

Yes, he admitted that during the Great Movement, many of their things were brought here after the houses were confiscated, and they did not spend any money, so the prices were relatively low. But they also have regulations, things can be sold at a low price, but giving them away for free? Absolutely not.

Even if he is the director, there will be problems if he does this.

What's more, now that the big movement is over, the new things they brought back were basically bought by them. If they sell them at really low prices, how can they balance their accounts?

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man felt that He Dongchuan’s suggestion was good.

People who come to their flea market to buy things are not rich people. He wants to sell it as a set, so this sofa is likely to be hard to sell. It is better to disassemble it and sell the main sofa and coffee table today, and the remaining two sofa chairs will be easier to sell.

So the middle-aged man said, "You can sell it, but the main sofa is a little more expensive than the two sofa chairs."

"how much?"

The middle-aged man quoted a price. Compared with ordinary second-hand goods, the sofa was not cheap, but compared with a new sofa, it was very worthwhile.

This is true not only for sofas, but also for several other types of furniture.

He Dongchuan and Su Ting had a brief discussion and decided to buy the furniture. Before paying, he seemed to have just remembered to ask, "By the way, our car can't fit so much furniture. Can your company help deliver the goods? We will pay for the delivery fee separately."

If they don't pay, the middle-aged men will definitely not be willing to arrange for someone to deliver the goods to them. This is a second-hand goods market, not a department store.

Moreover, even department stores rarely provide delivery services.

But who can make people generous enough to spend money?

The middle-aged man immediately agreed and arranged for two people to load the furniture that had just been unloaded back into the car, and followed the military jeep driven by He Dongchuan to the house they rented.

Although Su Ting and her friends seemed to be shopping quickly, the trip actually took a lot of time. By the time they got home, Xiaolan and Lu Zheng had already returned with their luggage and were tidying upstairs.

Hearing some noise downstairs, Duan Xiaolan walked to the balcony and looked down. She saw a truck parked at the door, and He Dongchuan and the deliveryman were moving furniture downstairs. She couldn't help but ask, "Student Su, did you buy furniture?"

Su Ting has always been very self-aware and did not get involved in the hard work. She stood in the yard with her two children and watched. When she heard the sound, she raised her head and said, "Yes, we are lucky. When we arrived at the flea market, we happened to see them dragging furniture back."

Hearing this, Duan Xiaolan hurriedly asked: "Are you free now?"

"Yes, I have."

"Wait a minute, I'll come down to see you now." After saying that, Duan Xiaolan turned and went into the house, and told Lu Zheng about the furniture that came to the flea market. "I want to ask Su Ting if there is anything we need. If there is, shall we go to the flea market later?"

Although buying furniture is not the most important thing for them at the moment, but if you think about it carefully, other things can be done slowly, but this matter cannot be delayed, after all, if you miss it, you will never get it again.

When Lu Zheng heard this, he said, "I'll go down and see if there's anything I can help with." He went downstairs with Duan Xiaolan.

When they got downstairs, Lu Zheng helped move the furniture, while Duan Xiaolan asked Su Ting about the furniture.

Su Ting had a good memory, and they had left the flea market less than an hour ago, so she knew exactly what was in the remaining furniture. She told Duan Xiaolan everything and asked, "Are you going to the flea market now?"

"We want to go there, but we're afraid that the furniture will be sold if we're too late." Duan Xiaolan said honestly.

Su Ting said, "It's okay to go. The master should be going back soon. When he comes down, I will ask him if he can give you a ride."

"Thank you."

Su Ting smiled and said, "You're welcome. We are neighbors, and classmate Lu also helped us."

Moving furniture is hard work, and all she does is to help out and give a word. Whether it can be done or not depends on the driver's personal wishes.

Of course the driver was willing. Su Ting and her friends were big customers, and buying furniture was just like buying vegetables. Duan Xiaolan lived in the same building with them, and she went there for the furniture. Maybe the furniture they had just dragged back in the morning could be sold out immediately.

Although they all have iron rice bowls and get paid the same whether the products are sold or not, when business is good, the leaders are in a good mood, and when the leaders are in a good mood, life is easier for their subordinates.

Overall, he is looking forward to their flea market business being prosperous.

So when the driver left, Duan Xiaolan and Lu Zheng followed him.

Su Ting and her friends went home to clean the furniture. Although the furniture had just been dragged back from the sellers to the flea market and looked clean on the surface, she still felt weird about using the furniture right after it was brought back.

But the furniture was not dirty at all. Even if I wiped it back and forth three times, it would be done very quickly, only about ten minutes.

After ensuring hygiene, Su Ting and He Dongchuan took their two children to school.

Although there are three days for reporting, most people don't report on the last day. Most people will arrive on the first day and then organize a class meeting.

There were no mobile phones in those days, let alone WeChat, Penguin and other communication methods. All news was passed on by word of mouth.

If you live in the school dormitory, you can always receive the news even if it is a little late, and you won't be delayed. But Su Ting doesn't live in the school, and they came back yesterday after reporting. So far, she has only seen the counselor, and doesn't know any classmates in the class. If something happens, others may not know who she is when they want to notify her.

Of course, even if she made friends with new classmates, if they were not close, no one might be willing to come all the way to inform her of the news.

Su Ting didn't plan to rely on others, but was afraid of delaying things, so she had to go to school twice more in the next two days.

Although Fudan University is not as famous as the two universities in the capital, it is also a well-known university in the country. It was established in the early years of the Republic of China and has a long history. The campus scenery is also very nice. He Dongchuan also wants to take his children to visit the school.

Well, he went there mainly to see the scenery and let his two children experience the atmosphere of a prestigious university so that they would have goals to strive for in the future, rather than to show up in front of Su Ting and assert his sovereignty.

…

Although the number of people reporting on the second day was not as high as on the first day, the welcome point at the school gate was still there, and the number of people in charge of the welcome was even more than doubled compared to yesterday. The newcomers were basically freshmen, and no matter how old they were, they all looked very energetic and high-spirited.

After Wang Zhen introduced her, Su Ting learned that three of them were her classmates, so she asked them, "Do you know when our class meeting will be held?"

"Yes, it will be held tonight," said a female student named Ma Yan. "Didn't you receive the notice?"

"I don't live on campus. I went back yesterday after I registered." Su Ting explained and asked, "Where will I move back?"

Ma Yan told the location, and another girl named Ding Mei asked: "Where do you live if you don't live in school?"

“I rented a house outside the school.”

"Rent a house? That's so expensive."

"There's nothing we can do. My child has no one to take care of her. If I take her to live in the school dormitory, it will cause trouble to the classmates." Su Ting said, pointing at He Dongchuan and the two children.

Ding Mei had already seen He Dongchuan and the other three, but she still looked in the direction Su Ting pointed and asked curiously, "Is your husband a soldier?"

"Um."

"Where is he serving? What kind of soldier is he? His clothes are different from the ones I've seen before? Is he going to live in the army, or with you?"

"He is a marine, and his uniform is different from the army. His unit is stationed in the county town below, which is quite a distance away. He is busy with work and has no time to take care of the children, so the children will live with me in the city while they are studying." Su Ting smiled and said, "May I ask if you have any other questions?"

Ding Mei was young and could not quite understand the expressions on the faces, so she did not feel that she was asking too many questions. However, Su Ting was already unhappy and was about to continue asking questions.

But before she could finish her words, Ma Yan stopped her and said, "Okay, we are all classmates. If you have anything to ask, you can ask it later. What are your plans for the future?"

Facing Ma Yan, Su Ting's smile was more genuine: "This is our first time to come to Fudan University. We didn't have time yesterday, so we left after registering. Today I want to take the children around the school."

Ma Yan said, "Then hurry up and come to the orientation center if you have anything to do. We will be here for the next few days."

"Okay, thank you."

After saying thank you, Su Ting walked over to the three grandparents and said to the two children, "Hurry up and say goodbye to your brothers and sisters."

He Yanhe waved and said, "Goodbye, brother! Goodbye, sister!"

The people at the welcoming point said goodbye to them with smiles, but Ding Mei was the only one who was not very happy. After the family of four walked away, she asked, "Did she take advantage of us just now?"

Ma Yan asked in confusion: "How did she take advantage of you?"

"She asked her children to call us brother and sister. Didn't you hear that? Her children call us brother and sister. Doesn't that mean she is a generation older than us?" The more Ding Mei thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case. "We are all freshmen. Why are we a generation younger than her?"

Ma Yan asked sincerely, "Have you never worked before?"

The topic changed so quickly that Ding Mei was stunned for a moment before nodding: "Yes, what's wrong?"

Ma Yan smiled: "Nothing, just asking."

She just felt that people who have worked before generally wouldn't ask such stupid questions.