"Brother Zhou, thank you, you saved me again."
Seeing an old friend from her hometown, who was also her savior, Xiao Jing was extremely excited.
If it weren't already past lunchtime, she would definitely have invited Zhou Xueyi to dinner.
"What a coincidence! I never expected to see you here," Zhou Xueyi said with a smile. "You weren't hurt, were you?"
"No, no." Xiaojing quickly waved her hand: "Luckily you appeared in time and pulled me out of danger, otherwise I would have been in real trouble today."
Zhou Xueyi bought two bottles of orange soda from the newsstand next door, handed one to Xiao Jing, and asked, "Cheng Jing, what are you doing here today? I remember you applied to a textile university, right?"
"Do you know which school I got into?" Xiaojing asked in surprise.
Xiao Jing remembered that Zhou Xueyi didn't come when her family held a celebration for students graduating from high school.
“My aunt told me later,” Zhou Xueyi explained. “When you got into university, my grandfather passed away, and I was too embarrassed to visit him.”
"I'm sorry." Xiaojing hadn't expected this to happen; her mother hadn't told her about it.
“It’s nothing. Getting old, sick, and dying are common occurrences. You don’t need to apologize.” Zhou Xueyi gently changed the subject: “You still haven’t told me why you came here today? I remember that the Textile University isn’t exactly close to here.”
"My sister-in-law studies at Renmin University. I mistakenly put her notebook in the wrong bag and brought it to her." Xiaojing asked, "What about you?"
"My younger sister also got into university this year, and I've come to see her off." Zhou Xueyi pointed to Renmin University behind him, his expression filled with pride.
"Oh, okay." Xiao Jing nodded, then asked, "I remember that freshmen at Renmin University started school at the end of August. Haven't you gone home this past month?"
Zhou Xueyi shook his head: "There's no one left at home, so there's no point in going back. I might as well stay in Beijing and keep my sister company."
"Where do you live now?" Xiaojing asked with concern.
Rent in Beijing is quite high. Zhou Xueyi and his sister depend on each other for survival and probably have no savings. It's hard to know how they will make a living.
Zhou Xueyi: "I found a job where the boss provides food and lodging."
Xiao Jing felt a little relieved. She glanced at her watch and realized it was almost time to meet Shen Ailan. She quickly said, "Brother Zhou, where do you work? Give me your address. I have some things to do today, I'll treat you to dinner another day."
As Xiaojing raised her wrist, Zhou Xueyi noticed the watch she was wearing.
He recognized the watch; it was an imported Longines, which cost over three hundred yuan.
He met her when he accompanied his sister to a department store to buy a watch when he first came to Beijing.
Zhou Xueyi felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water. The excitement of meeting an old friend in a foreign land subsided, and a sense of inferiority belatedly welled up in his heart.
Zhou Xueyi pursed his lips and said somewhat awkwardly, "I... I work as a mover at a freight company in Xiguan, and I live in the shop."
He told Xiaojing the address of the freight company, which she remembered. She then said to him, "I'm a third-year student majoring in fashion design at the Textile University. You can bring your sister to visit me when you have time. I'm at school except for Sundays. Brother Zhou, I'll be going now. See you another day."
See you another day.
Zhou Xueyi watched Xiao Jing's departing figure; the red skirt swayed beautifully, and her long, curly hair swayed back and forth, almost touching his heart.
Zhou Xueyi clutched his chest, feeling that his heart was beating abnormally.
…
Cheng Baidong teaches at Renmin University, and the university allocated him an apartment.
Right behind Renmin University, there are three rows of five-story residential buildings for family members.
Although it's only a one-bedroom apartment, it's enough for the couple as a temporary place to stay.
Cheng Baidong only stayed at the school for two days a week when he came to teach; the rest of the time he returned to Heshan Compound.
Fang Qiao completed the procedures for commuting to school, and only stayed in the family building for a few nights when she was busy with her studies. The rest of the time she returned to Heshan Compound.
There is a direct bus from here to Heshan, and the one-way trip takes only about half an hour. Compared to the one-hour commute every day, Fang Qiao feels that being able to see her child every day is better than anything else.
The garment factory has made a lot of money in the past two years, and Fang Qiao is already thinking about buying a house near the university, preferably a big one that can accommodate her family of six.
Sweetie is in fifth grade this year and will be going to middle school next year. An'an is in elementary school, and the two younger ones are in kindergarten and will also be starting elementary school next year. Heshan is still not very convenient, so we should buy a house sooner rather than later so they can all transfer to schools in the University Town next year. The elementary and middle schools in the University Town are all schools for the children of employees, and the teaching quality is much better than in Heshan.
Heshan today, to put it nicely, is a suburb of Beijing; to put it bluntly, it's still a rural area. The quality of education is only so-so, except that Tian Tian and An An are diligent and hardworking, consistently ranking at the top of their class in exams.
Fang Qiao had been chatting with Jiang Ling, who also planned to send Chen Yan to junior high school in the city. The college entrance exam scores are getting higher every year, and the competition among students is getting fiercer. Getting him into a good school in the city sooner would be beneficial for him.
As luck would have it, just as Fang Qiao was preparing to buy a house, Cheng Baidong encountered a perfect opportunity.
A couple of retired professors from Renmin University had a son who went to the United States for further studies on a government scholarship a few years ago. After graduating with his doctorate, he married an American woman and never returned. This year, they wanted to bring their parents to live in the United States. Considering their advanced age and the fact that they probably wouldn't have the chance to return in their lifetime, the professors decided to sell all their houses in China.
The old professor's family lived in a very nice house, located on a street not far from Renmin University. It consisted of four two-story shops along the street, and a large courtyard with two sections inside.
The shops were rented to two families: two to a grocery store and two to a pastry shop. The small courtyard behind the shops was used by the tenants, but for their privacy, the middle door was locked, and they had opened another door in the alley behind the shops.
Entering through another gate in the alley, Fang Qiao saw the second courtyard where the old professor's family lived.
The yard is very well maintained, with flowers, vegetables, and several fruit and flowering trees.
The main room was where the old professor and his wife lived. The west and east wings were empty, and a nanny lived in the back room at the front.
The old professor explained, “This courtyard house was allocated to about ten families by the government during the years we were sent to the countryside. It was only returned to us a few years ago after we were exonerated. My wife and I are old and don’t have the energy to take care of it. We only renovated the main room properly. The west and east wings have hardly been touched. They are still the same as they were before. Some of the tiles are broken, so they leak when it rains heavily. The plaster on the walls inside has also fallen off. If you buy it, you should do a major renovation.”
The elderly couple had experienced being denounced, sent to the countryside, and then rehabilitated, so their feelings towards this house were very complicated. They hesitated for several years, but it was only this time, when their son invited them to live in the United States, that they finally made up their minds to sell the house and leave this place of sorrow.
They were in a hurry to sell the house and go abroad, so their asking price was very reasonable. At 58,000, buying a two-courtyard house with four shops was definitely a great deal.
You should know that the two small bungalows that Xiaojing bought in the suburbs last year cost more than 6,000 yuan each.
If Cheng Baidong hadn't also worked at Renmin University and been their colleague, they wouldn't have had the chance to pick up this bargain.
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