In the narrow corridor, Xu Ning held a laptop in one hand and some fruits in the other, while also paying attention to the items piled up by each household near the stairs.
After graduating from university, Xu Ning found a job in this city, working as an HR in a small company. The work was leisurely and he went on business trips occasionally. Xu Ning rented an apartment on the fifth floor of an old residential complex. There was no elevator, but the rent was cheap and it was close to his workplace, only a ten-minute walk away.
I took the key out of my bag, opened the door, and put the computer on the table first.
He took the grapes to the kitchen to wash. Today's grapes looked very fresh, so Xu Ning bought a few more pounds, washed them all, left a bunch to eat later, and put the rest in the space.
Yes, Xu Ning has a space house.
Xu Ning grew up with her grandparents. Her mother died of complications during childbirth. When her mother passed away, she lived with her father and grandparents for a while.
When Xu Ning was two years old, her father remarried. The following year, her mother gave birth to a son. Coupled with her grandparents who were always patriarchal, she felt even less present in the family.
Dad and stepmother are both teachers, and they are civilized people. They don’t beat or scold her, they just ignore her. Grandpa and grandma also laugh when they amuse their grandchildren every day, and they just say to her, Xiaoning, you have to be obedient and take care of your younger brother.
My grandparents, father and stepmother are all teachers in the same school. After so long, how can they not tell the difference? Her grandparents wanted to take Xu Ning back home to take care of her, but her father was afraid that his colleagues at school would gossip about her and refused. So Xu Ning's aunt went to his house and argued with him several times before she took her back.
Since then, she has lived with her grandparents.
But Xu Ning asked her father for every penny of her living expenses and tuition fees. She asked him for money on time every month. There were a few times when her father did not give or gave less, so Xu Ning went to his office to ask for it. Since then, her father has never defaulted on her living expenses and tuition fees.
After Xu Ning took the college entrance examination, his grandparents transferred their 70-square-meter two-bedroom, one-living-room house in the old city to Xu Ning's name with the consent of his aunt.
Xu Ning's grandfather passed away when she was a freshman in college, and her grandmother also passed away when she was a sophomore.
When she was a junior in college, her aunt called her and told her that the old city was going to be demolished, and the house her grandparents left her was right within the demolition area, so she asked her to take a few days off and go back.
She had just started her internship at the company and it was not convenient for her to take such a long leave, so she took the train back on Sunday, completed the formalities on Monday, and returned by train in the evening.
The next morning, they arrived in Anshi at seven o'clock. Xu Ning's hometown is a small county town under Anshi. As soon as she walked to the exit, she saw her aunt waving at her and shouting, "Ningning, this way."
Xu Ning walked up to her aunt and gave her a big hug, and said to her aunt, "I miss you so much, where are my uncle and Xiaojian?" Xu Ning grew up with her grandparents and aunt. The last time they met was when Xu Ning graduated from university and came back. It has been almost a year since she last saw her aunt.
Wang Lu smiled at her gently and said, "Ningning, your aunt misses you too. Your uncle-in-law and Xiaojian have returned to their hometown in the countryside. Xiaojian's grandmother is sick. I also came from the countryside. You came back in a hurry this time, so your uncle-in-law and Xiaojian can't come back to accompany you. Your uncle-in-law asked you to come back early during the Chinese New Year, and then he will make delicious food for you and Xiaojian every day."
Xu Ning followed his aunt to the car while asking about Xiaojian's grandmother's condition.
My aunt said, "Nothing serious, just old." My aunt knew that she had to go back to work today, so she talked about the house. "Ningning, your uncle-in-law and I think you should ask for money. It will be difficult for our small county to develop in the future. You will definitely stay in a big city to work after you graduate from college. This money can make your life easier in a big city. When you come back, you can live directly in my house. The house is spacious and there will always be a place for you to live."
Xu Ning nodded with red eyes and said, "Aunt, I know you and uncle are very good to me."
In fact, Xu Ning also planned so. Although this was where she grew up and there were many good memories of her and her grandparents here, her grandparents were gone and the old house was going to be demolished. Everything had changed a lot and even if she came back in the future, her opportunities would be limited. After all, her aunt had her own family. Although her aunt and uncle-in-law were very good to her, she couldn't always disturb their lives.
The aunt took her directly to the demolition office. Her classmate worked there, so it was done quickly. Xu Ning told her aunt that she wanted to go and see the old house, and her aunt wanted to drive her there. Xu Ning wanted to walk around, so she let her aunt go home first.
Walking into the community, most of the residents had already moved out, and a small number were also moving. The community was in a mess. Xu Ning walked to the third floor, opened the door and looked at the place where he had lived for more than ten years. The house had been almost cleaned up by his aunt, with only a few old pieces of furniture left in it that had not been moved out yet.
Xu Ning opened the small room on the right. Her small bed and desk were still there, but the books and clothes on them had been packed up by her aunt and taken back.
I opened my grandparents' room again and found that everything inside was clean except the bed and the wardrobe.
Xu Ning walked around the house, recalling the happy times she had with her grandparents here, and tears flowed down her face unknowingly.
The ringing of the cell phone pulled Xu Ning out of her memories. It was her aunt calling, asking her to go back for dinner. Xu Ning looked back again, closed and locked the door, just like every time she went out before. She hurried downstairs, clutching the old brass key tightly in her hand. When she reached the stairs, she kicked something and couldn't stop. She fell forward, kneeling on her knees, her hands rubbing against the concrete floor, bleeding from both hands. The brass key suddenly disappeared from her hands.
Xu Ning was completely stunned. He blinked and stared at her hand with wide eyes. Nothing, nothing.
At this time, the cell phone rang again, scaring her so much that she jumped up and grabbed the phone and ran out of the community. She didn't stop until she saw some residents who had not moved out. Then she picked up the ringing phone. It was her aunt calling. Her aunt said she was coming to pick her up and her car was at the entrance of the community. When she walked out of the community, she saw her aunt's car parked across the street.
When her aunt saw her miserable appearance, she asked what happened.
Xu Ning said, "It's okay, I accidentally fell down when I was going downstairs."
Even when he was on the train back to school, Xu Ning still found it unbelievable that the key had disappeared just like that.
One month after Xu Ning returned to school, her aunt called and said that the demolition compensation had arrived and asked her to go to the bank to check whether it had been received. I also told her that the street in the old city had been completely demolished.
Lying on the bed in the dormitory at night, Xu Ning was still thinking about the phone call from her aunt just now. The old city area had been demolished, and the home where she and her grandparents once lived was gone. Tears were still welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, she moved to another place. This... Isn't this the home where she and her grandparents once lived? Why is she here?
Xu Ning walked around the house. Yes, this was her home, but what was going on?
She tried to open the door and get out, but it wouldn't open. No matter how hard she pulled, the door wouldn't budge.
She tried to open the window again, but it wouldn't move. She could move around the room freely, but she couldn't go out or see outside.
So how is she going to get out? Just as she had this thought, she fell on her bed in the dormitory again. She was so shocked that she didn't care about being sad anymore. She tried to talk about the old house again. The scene immediately changed to the old house again. She was crying and laughing in the old house. Maybe God saw that she was too obsessed with this house and left this house for her.
Since she had this space house, she put things that she rarely used in it. Things would remain the same when they were put in and taken out, for example, boiling water would remain boiling water when put in and ice would remain ice when put in and taken out. But she could go in again and the time when she entered was synchronized with the time outside. She also once tried to put a live chicken in, but it had no reaction, as if it was frozen. But it was still alive when she took it out.
She uses this space very carefully. She basically doesn't use it outside. If she puts anything in it, she buys it and brings it home before closing the door and curtains.
It has been a year since Xu Ning graduated from university. Her life has been very peaceful. However, she has been having the same dream for a while. In the dream, there is an eight or nine-year-old boy crying and shouting, "Sister, wake up, sister, wake up."
The boy was dressed in rags and was as thin as a little monkey. His big toes were exposed from his shoes and he was crying miserably.
It happened once or twice and Xu Ning didn't think anything of it, but he had the same dream for half a month, and the little boy cried more and more miserably.
Considering that she had read so many novels, she felt it necessary to prepare. She counted the supplies in her space. Many of them were professional books from her university, a small amount of food and some clothes that she seldom wore.
The whole space was empty. Xu Ning lost his composure and felt very nervous.
She thought about what dynasty her dream was like. The little boy in the dream seemed to have short hair, and the clothes he wore didn’t look like those in ancient times. He seemed to be wearing shorts and was skinny. The clothes worn by the men and women surrounding him seemed to be from the 1960s and 1970s.
Xu Ning thought about it and decided to make some preparations. If he really traveled back to that era, life would be really difficult.
Xu Ning's demolition compensation has not been used yet. He had been planning to save money for another two years so that he could make a down payment. It seems that this plan will have to be put on hold for now. He should prepare some supplies first. Even if he is really overthinking it, food and daily necessities will not be wasted. Anyway, the space and the house can be preserved and will not go bad.
It happens to be a short holiday on October 1st, so I plan what I want to buy first. If it really is the 1960s and 1970s, food will definitely be the most important thing.
I rented a small truck first. I wanted to rent a larger truck, but I didn’t have a driver’s license. I could drive a small truck with a C license and drove directly to a grain, oil and fresh produce wholesale market in the suburbs.
5,000 kilograms of flour, 5,000 kilograms of rice, 5,000 kilograms of corn flour, 100 kilograms of mung beans, 100 kilograms of red beans, 100 kilograms of soybeans, 1,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes, 1,000 kilograms of potatoes, 50 kilograms of dried black fungus, 50 kilograms of dried shiitake mushrooms, 50 kilograms of red dates, 200 kilograms of salt, 200 kilograms of brown sugar, 100 kilograms of white sugar, 100 kilograms of rock sugar, 200 kilograms of White Rabbit milk candy, 100 kilograms of various fruit candies, 400 kilograms of peanut oil, 100 kilograms of milk powder, 10 boxes of various biscuits, 100 kilograms of egg cakes, 200 kilograms of various pastries, 50 kilograms of the store's own liquor, 20 boxes of Meilin canned pork, a few boxes of each kind of canned fruit, and several boxes of various seasonings.
It took three trips to pull all these things. It was already dark when I put them into the space for the last trip. I will just buy these today.
He had the same dream again after falling asleep at night. This time when he woke up, he felt even more anxious. Xu Ning got up at six o'clock and drove a small truck to the fresh grain and oil wholesale market yesterday.
This time I went directly to the fresh food area and bought 10 pigs, 100 local chickens, 100 local ducks, 20 geese, 10 sheep, 100 kilograms of beef, 1,000 kilograms of local eggs, and 500 kilograms of local duck eggs.
After buying these, I immediately went to another clothing and knitwear wholesale market.
20 quilts weighing ten kilograms, 50 kilograms of cotton, 50 sets of sheets and quilt covers that were very vintage. It happened that the store had more than 500 old-fashioned sheets, which the store was selling at ten yuan each, so I bought all of them. I also bought 50 military coats, 20 sets of handmade cotton-padded jackets and trousers for adults, ten sets for teenagers, and ten sets for children aged eight or nine. I also bought a lot of down jackets and various thermal underwear, cotton shoes, socks, hats, scarves, underwear, socks, and gloves of various sizes, all in gray colors and old and simple styles. I also bought a lot of various old-fashioned fabrics and cotton cloth, 50 thermos bottles and military kettles each, 5 old-fashioned iron pots, five kitchen knives, and five machetes.
I happened to see the daily necessities section next to it, so I bought 20 boxes of sanitary napkins for day and night use, 50 boxes of paper towels, 10 boxes of soap, 200 yuan of soap, 20 bottles of shampoo I often use, skin care products I often use, lip balm, baby cream, a little bit of everything
After buying these, another day passed. I put all the things in the space and parked the pickup truck downstairs. I went to the steamed bun shop next door to order some steamed buns. Because I live in the north, where pasta is the staple food, there are many steamed bun shops. I went to the ones I often eat at and ordered 500 steamed buns from each shop. I didn't dare to order from just one shop, so I ordered 2,000 from all four shops. Then I went to a shop that specializes in steamed buns, fried dough sticks and pancakes, and ordered 500 steamed buns, 50 kilograms of fried dough sticks and 50 kilograms of pancakes. I paid a deposit and agreed to pick them up the next morning.
I went home and lay on the bed, thinking about what I would buy tomorrow. I was planning to go to the fruit wholesale market tomorrow, but suddenly I remembered that I hadn't bought any medicine yet, so I took my bag and put on my shoes and went to the nearby pharmacy. I bought some cold medicine, fever-reducing medicine, and medicine for diarrhea. I didn't dare to buy so much in one pharmacy, so I went to all the nearby pharmacies and bought some from each one.
He had the same dream again at night. The next day, Xu Ning went to the fruit wholesale market earlier than the day before. He sold 500 kilograms of apples, bought 500 kilograms of pears, 300 kilograms of bananas, and two boxes of grapes, about 100 kilograms. He didn't dare to buy expensive fruits because his money was almost gone.
After returning, I put the steamed buns, steamed buns, fried dough sticks and cakes that I ordered yesterday on the small truck, drove it to a deserted place, put it in the space, and then returned the rented small truck.
On the way home, I passed by the small supermarket downstairs and saw jars at the door, so I bought a few and asked the boss to help me deliver them upstairs. I thought about the lard in the space and wanted to boil it out.
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