However, the female educated youths lived in cramped conditions. There wasn't much room on the kang (heated brick bed), let alone on the floor. So Yang Wanqiu and Yang Xiaohong each chose a trunk, a straw mat for their beds, and a bamboo basket.
Meanwhile, Wang Chunni had already obtained proof of her right to reside in the warehouse from the brigade leader, and she dragged Xu Laidi along to select quite a few things.
Wang Chunni and Xu Laidi grew up together, and Xu Laidi had always taken good care of Wang Chunni, so Wang Chunni invited Xu Laidi to live with her as soon as she got the certificate.
Yang Xiaohong was extremely envious at the time, while Yang Wanqiu, standing to the side, regretted not having thought of repairing that warehouse sooner.
The male educated youth had a large enough space, and each of them, in addition to a box for clothes, chose a washbasin stand, a wooden basin for washing feet, a straw mat for the kang (heated brick bed), and a bamboo basket.
Because Chen Shuning had built a new house, he needed more furniture. So, while everyone was choosing furniture at the thatched shed, he approached Grandpa Wang and said with a smile, "Grandpa Wang, hello. I'm planning to build a small house in the educated youth compound. I'd like to have a kang cabinet, a small kang table, a wardrobe, a table on the ground, and cabinets and shelves for storing dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen. Grandpa, how long do you think it will take to make all these things?"
When Grandpa Wang heard that this was a big deal, he was immediately delighted. He tapped his pipe and thought for a moment before saying, "The materials are all ready. My three sons can help me when they come home from work in the evening. It should be finished in about three or four days. But girl, since you need a lot, you have to pay me a deposit first before I can make it for you."
Chen Shuning readily pulled out a ten-yuan note from his small satchel and handed it to the old man, saying with a smile, "Second Grandfather, my house is small. The house is five meters long and four meters wide. The living room is three meters wide, and the kitchen is two meters wide. Could you please tell me the dimensions of the furniture? Should we measure the dimensions after the house is built, or should we do it this way?"
The old man accepted the money from Chen Shuning without ceremony, and readily agreed, "As long as you have the dimensions of the house, you don't need to wait until the house is built to take measurements. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's done for you. There are some kang cabinets of your size that are readily available in the backyard. Take a look and see if the style is suitable. If it is, we can take them away today."
At this time, the structure of the house and the size of the kang (heated brick bed) were almost fixed, so for old craftsmen like Grandpa Wang, knowing the size of the house was enough.
Seeing Zhong Lingling pouting and not saying a word, Chen Shuning gently pulled her hand and asked, "Lingling, aren't you going to buy furniture?"
Zhong Lingling was angry because Wang Wenqi was laughing with the village girls. No matter how Wang Wenqi tried to coax her, she pouted and didn't say anything. When she heard Chen Shuning's question, she reluctantly said, "Buy it, Second Grandpa. My house is a bit bigger than Shuning's. It has two rooms that are two and a half meters wide and a kitchen that is two meters wide. You can just make the furniture for me."
While speaking, Zhong Lingling took out a ten-yuan note and gave it to Grandpa Wang as a deposit. Then she said, "I'm going back now," and turned to leave.
Wang Wenqi had only politely returned a smile to a girl, but the girl was also a straightforward person. Seeing that Wang Wenqi had responded to her, she stepped forward generously, introduced herself, and then asked Wang Wenqi's name.
Having grown up in a scholarly family, Wang Wenqi naturally wouldn't do anything unreasonable like ignoring people. So he said his name, which immediately made the jealous Zhong Lingling's face darken. No matter how Wang Wenqi tried to coax her, she ignored him the whole way.
Seeing the awkwardness between the two, Chen Shuning shook his head helplessly and followed Grandpa Wang to the backyard. In the backyard of Grandpa Wang's house, there was a thatched shed that was a little bigger than the front yard. Inside were large pieces of furniture such as wardrobes and kang cabinets.
Chen Shuning chose a kang cabinet made of elm wood coated with tung oil.
After buying the goods and paying, the group borrowed a cart from Grandpa Wang's yard and pushed everything back to the educated youth compound. They then went to the brigade headquarters to collect their rations.
With the help of the male educated youth, several female educated youths put away the boxes and cabinets they had bought.
Because the kang cabinet that Chen Shuning bought took up a lot of space and couldn't fit in the storeroom, and since she was going to take it away in a couple of days, she temporarily put it in the woodshed. After packing all her things into the cabinet, Chen Shuning locked the kang cabinet with the lock that her mother had given her.
When she returned to the kitchen, she saw that the water in the pot had already boiled, so she went inside to get some white sugar and made a bottle of sugar water using the thermos that the family had prepared for her.
Upon arriving at the construction site, he handed the thermos to Shen Dahe and said with a smile, "Brother Shen, I made some sugar water for everyone to quench your thirst."
Shen Dahe took it somewhat embarrassedly and said, "Chen Zhiqing, you can just boil some water, why are you making sugar water?"
"It's so hot. Everyone's been working under the scorching sun to build this house for me. It's only right that I make some sugar water. By the way, Brother Shen, I'm going to town later to mail a letter home. I'll need you to keep an eye on things here for me."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things here. If the materials can be brought back smoothly, the foundation should be almost finished today. If it's done, we might even be able to build a section of the wall."
The two exchanged a few words, and then the other new educated youths finished packing their things and came out. Chen Shuning didn't want to keep everyone waiting, so he said goodbye to Shen Dahe and left the educated youth compound with the others.
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