Chapter 187: The Broken and Dilapidated House
Although Chu Guoan was curious about why Xu Hexiao's family moved to the capital, he had just exchanged names with someone and didn't want to ask too many details.
Xu Hexiao saw Chu Guoan coming over and added some more rice.
Chu Guoan brought them a bag of canned food, which contained meat and fruit. The prices were not cheap, and it was not difficult to see that Chu Guoan's family was well off.
However, in Chu Guoan's eyes, Xu Hexiao and Lin Qi's identities were not simple. Not to mention their outstanding clothing and temperament, the fact that they could get a truck to help them move showed that they were either rich or noble. Not to mention their four lovely children, who were delicate and plump. Without a family background, they could not be raised.
Xu Hexiao did not miss Chu Guoan's eyes and knew that the other party had misunderstood him, but he did not explain. They were not that familiar with each other.
Since we didn't have lunch, we made a more sumptuous dinner. In addition to bacon and eggs, we also killed a chicken, a hen weighing more than ten pounds.
"Aren't you going to keep it for laying eggs?" Brother Tan was a little surprised.
"There are two more hens and a rooster, that's enough." Xu Hexiao replied. In addition to the chickens, they also brought two pairs of rabbits. Nowadays, there is a limit to the number of poultry and livestock that a family can raise. More is not good.
"How did you raise this chicken? It's so big!" It was the first time that Chu Guoan saw a chicken this big.
"Just raise it casually." Xu Hexiao replied.
Brother Tan on the side twitched his mouth. It’s like raising it casually. There are grains, fruits and vegetables everywhere and you can eat them as you like.
Brother Tan thought of his family of four, who ate up every vegetable stem they took from Lin Qi, and were reluctant to throw away even the yellow leaves, while those animals trampled on them every day and ate until they were full.
Brother Tan covered his aching heart. People these days are worse than animals!
Xu Hexiao was responsible for cooking and Chu Guoan was responsible for making fire. Xu Hexiao quietly inquired about the situation in the capital, and Chu Guoan told him everything he knew, even where the management in the capital was strict and where it was loose, he almost told him where the black market was.
Xu Hexiao's eyes deepened. Chu Guoan's intention of making friends was very obvious.
Xu Hexiao was not opposed to it. On the contrary, he felt that Chu Guoan was well-spoken, generous and steady, and grateful. He was a perfect candidate for a good friend.
"He Xiao, your cooking skills are pretty good." Chu Guoan ate a piece of chicken, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"The ingredients themselves are good." Xu Hexiao did not take credit for it.
Chu Guoan thought he was being modest until he took a bite of the rice and asked, "Hey, what kind of rice is this? It's so delicious?"
"I grew it myself in the mountains. It's nothing special." Xu Hexiao remained calm.
"No, no, no, it's delicious. It's better than any other expensive rice I've ever eaten, and even better than the tribute rice from the imperial court!" Chu Guoan said, picking up another piece of bacon.
After the bacon came the eggs, mushrooms, chestnuts...even a piece of green vegetable was a delicacy he had never tasted before!
Where did these people get the ingredients!!!
This is the only special offer, right?
Several large pots of food were eaten up cleanly, not even a drop of soup was left.
After eating, several people began to pack up.
"He Xiao, sister-in-law, brother Tan, please come and see me when you settle down. I will take you around the capital, to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall." Chu Guoan was very enthusiastic.
Xu Hexiao nodded and said, "We'll go after we're settled."
In this way, everyone got into their own cars and drove towards the capital together.
But when Chu Guoan saw Lin Qi sitting in the driver's seat, his expression changed again and became more cautious.
Even women can drive, the identities of these three people must be extraordinary.
Come to think of it, with such ability, even if one's family background is average, one can still rely on one's skills to secure a good future.
Chu Guoan's car was in front, and Lin Qi was driving behind. Chu Guoan was in a hurry and drove very fast, but Lin Qi didn't fall behind because there was someone leading the way in front, so she didn't need to look at the map herself, she just had to keep up.
At twelve o'clock in the morning, two cars, one in front and one behind, entered the capital from the west.
"Brother, it's me. I'm in a hurry." Chu Guoan took out his work ID and letter of introduction.
The people guarding the checkpoint all knew Chu Guoan, so they didn't check him too much and just took a quick look before letting him pass.
"Brother, the people behind me are my friends. Please do me a favor and I will treat you to a meal later." Chu Guoan said again.
"Is he also from your machinery factory?"
"That's not the case."
"Okay, we know what's going on."
The person guarding the checkpoint waved his hand and asked Chu Guoan to drive away. Chu Guoan felt that Xu Hexiao and Lin Qi were not simple people, and did not think there would be any problem for them to pass the checkpoint. The reason he said hello was just to make the inspector's attitude better.
In fact, this was true. When Lin Qi handed over the letter of introduction, those people looked at it one by one. They looked a little strange, but they didn't ask any more questions or check it. They let her go.
Chu Guoan went to the machinery factory in the west district, while Lin Qi continued to drive towards the central area.
It was quiet at night. Lin Qi drove around the city a few times, finally drove the car into a slightly narrow alley, and finally stopped in front of a dilapidated, mottled and paint-chipped gate.
"Are we there yet?" Brother Tan woke up in a daze.
Lin Qi hummed, "Look at the house number, it's definitely here."
I didn't expect it to be such a shabby place.
Brother Tan didn't seem surprised at all. "They told you to keep a low profile. You can change the gate, but don't do any major renovations on the house. The previous owner of the house seems to be someone special—"
"Why is it not simple? He was demoted?" He would not be rehabilitated later and come back to ask for the house back, right? She didn't want to help others to maintain the house.
"The whole family was killed." Brother Tan was very secretive. "Treason - the country -"
Because the house had a special origin, many people were eyeing it. Unexpectedly, as soon as it became vacant, it fell into the hands of his brother and his wife.
If you buy a house in such a central location alone, it would cost at least 20,000 to 50,000 yuan. However, compared to the planting area, the planting area is more valuable.
Moreover, the capital is not peaceful at all. It is nowhere near as peaceful as their remote Yao County.
In Brother Tan’s opinion, Lin Qi and Xu Hexiao suffered a loss, and a big loss.
Lin Qi didn't care how dilapidated the house was. When she heard that the original owner's entire family had died and there would be no disputes about the house in the future, she felt much more relieved.
She used the key she had obtained to unlock the big lock on the door, then carried the five deer into the house, and then began to move things in. She moved everything into the house, and finally the children.
The children were sleeping soundly in the cradle. Xu Hexiao wrapped his long arms around the cradle, carried the cradle out of the car steadily, and walked towards the door holding the cradle.
The door closed again. Brother Tan looked around with a flashlight in his hand. The more he looked, the colder his heart became.
This house is so shabby!
It’s not that the house itself was dilapidated, but it was badly smashed. The carved beams and painted buildings, the green shadows, the flowers and rockery in the yard... were all destroyed.
It was estimated that the original owner's reputation for treason had spread widely, and those members of the Revolutionary Committee, those students, and even nearby residents joined in the smashing and looting.
In addition to smashing and looting, various slogans and vulgar and dirty words were sprayed on the walls.
The house has three entrances, three courtyards alone, and a pond at the back.
"Apart from the fact that the house is severely damaged, it has water and a yard, which is very suitable for you." Brother Tan said sincerely.
Lin Qi nodded. She didn’t care much about whether the house was in a bad condition or not. When the time was right, she could either repair it or rebuild it.
After a few people walked around, they found that the house was not only severely damaged, but also completely looted. Nothing was left, not even a piece of wood.
"There is a shortage of firewood in the city, so I guess everyone picks up the firewood and burns it." The main firewood burned in the city is honeycomb coal, but when the supply of honeycomb coal is insufficient, firewood is also burned.
There were no wooden boards, let alone beds. Brother Tan said, "There's not even a bed. How about we go back to the car and sleep?"
"No need, I'll make a bed for you later." Lin Qi said, turned around and walked outside.
Brother Tan didn't know what Lin Qi meant, and wanted to ask Xu Hexiao, but he saw him put the child under the corridor and was looking for something.
"What are you doing?" Brother Tan asked.
"Find a broom or something and clean the room." Xu Hexiao said.
Brother Tan shook his head, "There's not even a piece of wood, so how can there be a broom? I'll go get a rag from the car, and fetch a bucket of water to clean the room. But which room do you plan to stay in?"
There are many rooms in the house. Even though the house is damaged in many places, there are still many rooms that are intact and habitable.
It should be because it was protected in a timely manner, otherwise there would probably be only a few tiles left on the roof.
When Lin Qi came back, she found that Brother Tan was missing.
"He went to get a rag and a bucket. Didn't you meet him?" Xu Hexiao was cleaning up the pebbles in the room. "Can you get two brooms? There's not even one broom here."
"Okay. This is not a difficult problem." Lin Qi threw the vine in her hand out, and the vine flew up to the beam as if it had consciousness.
The vines continued to stretch and spread, branching out into countless tiny vines. In less than a moment, two large hammocks appeared on the left and right of the huge room. They were called beds, but in fact they were more like two nets, but the nets were so fine and dense that there was no gap in them.
A hammock is about six or seven square meters, about one meter off the ground. Xu Hexiao put his hand on it and pressed it hard, and the hammock just swayed twice. He then used his hand to carefully touch the vines that were almost as thin as silk threads, and found that they were very smooth and had a warm touch, a bit like warm jade.
How is this done?
Xu Hexiao wanted to ask, but Lin Qi put a broom made of branches in his hand and said, "Sweep it. Once it's clean, put the children on it to sleep. I'll go get the quilt."
When Brother Tan came back, he saw that the room was filled with two large hammocks and the floor had been swept clean.
"What speed is this?" he muttered.
Xu Hexiao didn't respond, and he didn't know how to explain.
Just then, Lin Qi came in with a few quilts and rabbit fur blankets, "Make way."
Brother Tan stepped aside. He looked at Lin Qi, who seemed to be holding a mountain, and was worried that she would not be able to find the door. But he saw her arrive at the door precisely.
"The quilt and blanket are too big and can't fit in." Lin Qi said.
Upon hearing this, Brother Tan and Xu Hexiao each came over and took away two quilts.
"It's getting late, just go to sleep and pack the other things tomorrow morning." Lin Qi said, going outside to bring in the children's cradles.
She hung the cradle on the beam with vines, only about 50 centimeters away from the hammock, and she and Xu Hexiao slept under the cradle.
Brother Tan was lying on another hammock. When he lay down, he still felt novel. The bed was not very soft and did not shake much, but it was surprisingly comfortable.
It's amazing.
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