"Uncle Zhang, there's still rice and meat. Do you want some to take with you? Don't forget the meeting time and not have anything to eat."
"Hehe, daughters are still the best, but I won't bring them anymore, otherwise those old fogies will be drooling with envy."
Zhang Xingguo and his son went back home. Zhang Hongmei picked up the key to the house next door and went to take a look. She originally wanted to wait for Liu Jingze to come with her, but then she thought that her house was renovated and cleaned by others, so she decided to take a look instead.
The layout is the same, except the toilets are in different directions. The house is clean and the furniture is decent. The master bedroom has an old elm wood bed and wardrobe. One downside is that the wardrobe is made of wood panels instead of a standing type, so we'll have to build a standing one to hang some clothes.
The other two rooms also have beds, and one room even has two beds; this is the room for two boys, and there's only a wardrobe.
The girl's room also has a desk.
There were two large vats and one small vat in the warehouse.
The kitchen is quite spacious, with two pots. The dining room is small, and the table is very old. This dining table needs to be replaced, and we also need to add some chairs.
There was no need for cleaning; everything was meticulously cleaned before they left, and the windows were freshly wiped clean. This family must have been very reluctant to leave. They wouldn't have left unless they were forced into it, and besides, the man hasn't been sentenced yet. Such a departure leaves much to the speculation.
I locked the door and left. It was almost three o'clock when I got home. I decided to just read a book and didn't want to go out anymore.
Liu Jingze returned even later that evening. Zhang Hongmei had cooked herself some fried rice with eggs, without waiting for Liu Jingze.
I didn't get back until after 10 o'clock, and I had already eaten out.
The next day, Zhang Hongmei made fried rice with eggs again, and Liu Jingze left in a hurry after finishing his meal.
School starts tomorrow, so Zhang Hongmei prepared her admission notice, pens, notebooks, and other supplies. She checked her pens one last time before heading to the building to get more, since she was out of ink and notebooks.
Zhang Hongmei bought ten notebooks on the second floor, as well as a few leather ones. She also bought two bottles of blue and black fountain pen ink, a bottle of red ink, and a fountain pen.
I wandered around and bought two dozen sheets of stationery to write the letter tonight. I can't write it right away when Huang Zhong comes tomorrow, can I?
Remembering that Liu Jingze's house didn't have curtains or door curtains, I went up to the third floor. They did have some floral polyester fabric, and I could buy more, but I didn't know how to sew them. At the very least, I'd have to finish the edges, right? Just imagining myself sewing by hand sent a chill down my spine.
"Comrade, may I ask if there's a tailor shop nearby?"
"Yes, there is. It's a tailor shop right at the corner of Xidan."
"Thank you, comrade."
Zhang Hongmei felt she should go to the tailor shop to ask, then go back to take her measurements, and finally come back to buy the fabric.
I found a tailor shop and explained my purpose: "Master, is this alright?"
"Okay, are you preparing the fabric yourself?"
"It would be even better if you had some fabric here; I think the polyester is too thin."
"Mine here is also made of Dacron."
"Master, do you think we can use denim? Curtains are for blocking light and wind, right? I think a thicker fabric would be better."
"Sure. You can make whatever you want. I have three colors here: black, blue, and khaki."
"Then I'll have the blue one. But I can't get the measurements right. Could you come to my house to take them? I'd also like to have a sheet made."
"I'll send my apprentice. Just tell him what color you want, and he'll remember it."
"Okay, thank you, master."
Zhang Hongmei led the tailor to her home and had another blue curtain made for her room and door curtain. This way, she'd feel more secure entering the space. She also made the same curtains for Zhang Xingguo and his son's room. They all looked nice; she really couldn't appreciate the polyester floral curtains.
I also had the carpenter measure the bed and make blue sheets.
Then we went next door. There's a lot more to do here, at least in the master bedroom.
I don't know how Liu Jingze plans to arrange things yet, but I imagine he'll prepare a study. I'll wait until I confirm with Liu Jingze before making a decision.
In the end, it cost forty-eight yuan. I paid half upfront and left a receipt with Zhang Hongmei. We agreed to pick it up next Saturday.
After seeing the tailor off, he started writing letters, and planned to have a writing desk made for himself in his bedroom when the carpenter arrived.
I wrote one letter to Liu Maocai, one to the old lady, one to the former principal, and one to my high school homeroom teacher. That was it. After writing the letters, I realized I hadn't bought any glue, so I went back to the building and bought some.
I didn't even bother to put on the stamps. I thought that wouldn't be right. I figured Huang Zhong wouldn't accept money again this time. So I went to the storeroom and filled it with 20 kilograms of rice. That should be enough as a thank-you gift.
Put the gifts for both families into bags, including the letters, then tie them up and write their names on the outside so they won't get mixed up.
The old principal's letter can be given directly.
We can't trouble Huang Zhong to deliver it to the village anymore, so let's send a letter to Er Ya and ask her to deliver it back on Saturday or Sunday.
Then I thought of Song Zigan again and wrote another letter. That's enough; there are no more letters to write.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"
"I am Xiao Li."
Zhang Hongmei opened the door. "Xiao Li, is something the matter?"
"The Party Secretary asked me to tell you that there has been no milk supply lately, so he sent me to deliver imported milk powder instead."
"Okay, I understand." Zhang Hongmei took the two bags of milk powder.
"I'll take my leave now."
Zhang Hongmei wondered, "Why didn't they say they'd deliver the milk the next day? It's been several days." It turned out the supply had been cut off. Even the second-in-command had cut off the supply—what was going on?
I'm craving noodles with soybean paste for dinner. But I still have a lot of leftover rice. I thought I'd have fried rice for breakfast tomorrow. There's also leftover braised pork and braised fish, and not much stir-fry left, but I can't waste it. Oh well, I'll just eat the leftovers tonight. I wish I had a dog. I'll definitely remember to tell Wang Xiaoshun next time I see him.
Since we're just eating leftovers, there's no rush to cook.
Back inside, I continued reading until it got dark before turning on the lights.
I wonder what time Liu Jingze will be back today? When will the food be ready?
It'll be fine the day after tomorrow; then I'll be free to do whatever I want.
Let's boil some water first. Actually, Zhang Hongmei dislikes using a rice cooker to boil water the most. It always has a burnt smell, and she can't light the stove properly. It always produces a lot of smoke, which makes it hard to open her eyes.
By the time Zhang Hongmei boiled the water, Liu Jingze had also returned, placing a steamer basket on the pot. Rice, braised pork, and braised fish were all put in. As for the stir-fried dishes, they would be reheated later.
The two ate and chatted at the same time.
"I didn't eat lunch, I'm just waiting to eat dinner."
"I'm glad you don't mind that it's leftovers."
How could that be?
"Brother Jingze, how are you planning to renovate the yard? Will it be the same as this yard?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com