As soon as Li Muwu finished speaking, everyone started laughing. Old Lady Li looked at Li Muwu unhappily, not knowing what to say to him: "What else can I do to you? You are a few months away from retirement. Don't delay. Go and complete the retirement procedures in advance and let Mingguang from the third family take over your job. It would be best if he can get into college in the future. If not, he can still get a decent job."
Li Musen scratched his head and smiled at Li Muwu a little embarrassedly: "Well, I would like to thank the fourth brother on behalf of my second son."
Li Muwu hadn't come back to his senses yet: "So I'm quitting now?"
"I don't want to do it anymore." Zhen Zhen immediately said with a smile: "Just follow your daughter to the imperial capital to enjoy life."
Li Muwen and his family were surprised by a family of college students when they arrived home and had not even mentioned the courtyard house. Li Muwen kept saying good things and looked as excited as if he had been admitted to a university. University, especially the National University and Imperial University, is the childhood dream of most Chinese people.
Li Muwen had a hard life when he was a child and never went to school. He learned a few words from the political commissar during the war. After liberation, he went to night school and then to a military academy.
During the war, there was no difference between educated and uneducated people. It was not until he entered the military academy and studied military research and strategic research that Li Muwen realized the difference. Therefore, when he returned to his hometown, in order to have more talented people in the family, he directly transferred Mingxi to the best high school in Bingcheng, just so that he could be admitted to the military engineering school. Li Muwen's own two sons are also college graduates from military academies. They have already held positions at a young age and have a bright future in the army.
Li Muwen's two sons, Mingjun and Mingji, were born after the liberation. At that time, Li Muwen's position was not low, so Mingjun and Mingji had a better living and education environment since childhood. Li Muwen felt that the environment and school that Li Muwu's five children grew up in were definitely not as good as Mingjun and Mingji. Under such circumstances, Li Muwu's five children were admitted to university, which shows how hard these children worked when they were in school.
Li Muwen asked Mingjun to bring out the Maotai he had brought: "This is the biggest happy event for our Li family. We must celebrate today. After the New Year, when we return to the capital, mother will bring my third brother and his family to live in my house, and I will be filial to you."
Li Muwen's wife Xue Wenhua frowned slightly when she heard this but said nothing. It's not that she dislikes the people in her hometown, but there are six or seven people in the house, young and old, and it's hard to say whether the house can be crowded. It would be really chaotic if they really lived together.
Although Old Lady Li didn't see Xue Wenhua's expression, she refused outright: "No need. We have a big family, young and old. Living in your house will not only make Wenhua tired, but also make us uncomfortable. When you came back during the Chinese New Year last year, Zhenzhen gave you two large yellow croakers dug from the mountains and asked you to buy a house. Did you buy it?"
When Mrs. Li and her family arrived in the capital, they would definitely settle down in a courtyard house first. Mrs. Li simply made it clear so that everyone knew it was Zhenzhen's house, to avoid any other thoughts over time.
Before Li Muwen could say anything, the whole family was in an uproar again: "Big yellow croaker? Big yellow croaker is a gold bar, right?" Li Musen was stunned and asked: "We have only heard of this thing but never seen it. Why didn't you show us what it looks like before?"
"What does it look like? It's just yellow. What's so good about it?" Old Lady Li said back, "Besides, this was dug by Zhenzhen. What does it have to do with you? I'm saying this today. This big yellow croaker has asked the boss to exchange money to buy a house, and it's directly in Zhenzhen's name. Don't have any bad ideas, otherwise don't blame me for being merciless."
Zhang Chunhua looked at Old Lady Li's stern eyes, her lips moved, wanting to swallow her words but unwilling to do so: "How old is she? If she picked up a yellow croaker, shouldn't she be the family's? Can we really give her a child?"
"What can we do if we really give it to her!" Old Lady Li looked at her and sneered: "If you are not convinced, you can also dig on the mountain. Whatever you dig is yours, and we won't share it with you."
Looking at Zhang Chunhua's gloomy face, Wang Xinwen happily followed up with a noodle in her arms: "Mingbei, go find a shovel and a basket for Auntie. She's going to the mountain to dig for gold later."
Li Mulin glared at Zhang Chunhua and quickly said with a smile, "Mom, you know Mingshu's mother is like this, don't bother with her."
Zhen Zhen saw that Fourth Uncle was a little embarrassed, so she quickly changed the subject: "Uncle, is the house you bought for me a quadrangle?"
"Yes, it's by a lake in the imperial capital, and it's quite big." Li Muwen said, "I've asked someone to clean it up, but I didn't expect you to move in so soon, so I only asked someone to clean it up, and haven't bought any furniture or bedding yet."
Zhen Zhen was so excited when she heard this, she quickly pulled Old Lady Li and asked, "Grandma, when are we going?"
Old Mrs. Li thought about it. Zhenzhen would start school in March, so she had to clean up the house before then. She asked Mingdong to bring a calendar and looked at the date. After thinking for a while, she said, "Let's leave early, on the tenth day, so as not to delay Zhenzhen's schooling."
On the tenth day, the Li family packed out more than a dozen large sacks. They had to take rice, noodles, and oil with them. After all, the food supply was in their hometown, and they couldn't buy food in the imperial capital. Each person had to carry a set of bedding rolls. There were no ready-made quilts and mattresses for sale. Although Zhenzhen felt a headache looking at the large and small bags, she didn't dare to help put them into the space rashly. After all, there were too many people and it would be easy to see the flaws. Although everyone might not be able to guess what the space was, they could not guarantee that they would think about it.
The whole family carried their belongings on the train, even Mingjun and Mingji helped carry a sack of food each. When they arrived in the imperial capital, Mingxi took Mingbei, Wang Xinwen and Noodles to her home, while Old Lady Li took Li Muwu, Wang Sufen and Zhenzhen to stay temporarily at Li Muwen's home.
Knowing that Li Muwu and the others were only staying at his house temporarily, Xue Wenhua regained his enthusiasm. As soon as he got home, he asked the orderly to help put the things in the basement, and he took them to the bathhouse in the compound to take a bath.
After a short rest for a day, Zhenzhen couldn't wait to see her own courtyard house. Thinking about how she could only squat at the door of her courtyard house and drool in her previous life, she actually owned one in this life. It was like a dream.
The military compound and Houyang were not far away. Li Muwen led Mrs. Li, Li Muwu and his family to Houyang. It was still the first month of the lunar year and the weather was cold, so not many people visited Houyang. Mrs. Li looked at the beautiful lake and smacked her lips: "It's much narrower than our Nan Da River and doesn't look deep. Can there be fish in it?"
Li Muwen laughed dumbly and said, "Our Yongcui River can eventually merge with the Heijiang River. There is no comparison between the two."
Mrs. Li sighed in disappointment: "My daughter Zhenzhen has no other hobbies, she just likes to go up the mountains and down the rivers. I see that the mountains in the imperial capital are not high and the water is deep. What will we do if she has no place to play in the future?"
Zhenzhen held onto Grandma Li's arm somewhat embarrassedly: "Grandma, I want to go to school properly from now on, and I can't always skip school and run around like before."
"Look, I let it slip. I knew you used to play truant." Old Lady Li laughed as if she had caught Zhenzhen's little pigtail: "One time I went to your school and leaned against the window and didn't see you."
Zhenzhen smiled awkwardly and quickly pretended to be very curious about everything around her: "Uncle, where is that courtyard?"
Li Muwen pointed ahead: "That's the one."
Old Lady Li looked at the tall gate and opened her mouth wide: "Oh, such a big gate, there must be four or five rooms inside."
Li Muwen smiled as he opened the door with the key, and then handed the key to Zhenzhen, saying with a smile, "You have to add another zero at the end. This courtyard used to be part of a prince's mansion. Now there are four houses in the middle and a small garden in the back."
When Mrs. Li heard this, her legs went weak: "Oh my, this is the former palace of the king? Can we live here?" She looked around vigilantly and asked Li Muwen in a low voice: "Will we be criticized/struggled against?"
"No, mother." Li Muwen helped her walk into the hanging flower gate and said, "That time has passed. There will be no such bad things anymore. You can live here. You will have a good life in the future."
Mrs. Li was relieved, and she took Zhenzhen's hand and walked through the corridor. The palace had not been damaged, and everything inside was well preserved. Even the patterns on the top of the corridor were still clearly visible. Although the wooden pillars on both sides were faded, they still looked very majestic.
Pushing open the door to the main courtyard, the antique display case and the bedstead inside had been wiped clean. Zhenzhen immediately pounced on them, touching the exquisite patterns on the bedstead and staring at them: "This is a genuine antique."
Li Muwen immediately laughed: "Zhenzhen knows a lot even though she is young. She even knows about antiques."
Zhenzhen smiled shyly: "I sold a lot of books from the scrap collection station before, and I mentioned this above. Uncle, are there furniture in each room?"
Li Muwen shook his head. "The bunk bed in the main room is the most magnificent. The other rooms are basically empty. There is a back room at the back that also has a bunk bed. It's more exquisite, but not as big as this one. I guess it's a boudoir for girls."
Li Muwu stood inside, feeling a bit helpless: "There are too many rooms in this compound. We need to light several stoves in winter. There is no mountain to get firewood. Do we need to buy coal?"
Wang Sufen, who was originally looking around excitedly, calmed down immediately after hearing this: "What should we do? We can't get the coal ticket."
Li Muwen smiled and said, "I was just about to tell you about this. Some of the courtyard houses in this area were requisitioned by the state, and some were allocated to individuals. Because this area is quite special, we issued a document before the New Year to solicit opinions, asking if you are willing to install radiators uniformly. After the installation, you don't need to burn coal or heat the kang in winter, and the room will be very warm. However, we have many houses, so I'm afraid the heating fee will be expensive."
Before Mrs. Li could make up her mind, she heard Zhenzhen agree immediately: "Install it in every room. I wonder how much it will cost?"
"You don't have to pay for the pipe installation, but you'll have to pay for the heating later." Li Muwenshu: "I still have some money left from buying the house, I'll give it to you later."
The family toured the mansion from beginning to end. When Zhenzhen saw that the rockery made of Taihu stones in the garden was still intact, she was so happy that she didn't know what to say: "Uncle, what you bought is not just a courtyard house, it's a mansion."
Li Muwen was amused by Zhenzhen: "Anyway, this was the only good one left, and you just happened to arrive at the right time."
After leaving the courtyard, Mrs. Li was anxious to move out and asked Li Muwen, "Is there a carpenter who can make furniture? It would be best if he doesn't need a ticket or anything?"
Li Muwen had just come to the capital for two years and was not very familiar with the area. He turned around and asked the orderly, who shook his head and said, "They are all bought in shopping malls and supply and marketing cooperatives." After hearing this, Mrs. Li felt disappointed, as neither of these two places would work without tickets.
Zhen Zhen rolled her eyes, walked beside Old Lady Li and discussed with her: "I'll go around and see if there are any scrap markets selling old furniture or something."
When Old Lady Li heard this, she quickly grabbed her hand and said, "That won't do. What if you get lost when you go out for the first time in the capital?"
"Grandma, I'm already a college student, and I'll have to go to school alone in the future. It's a good opportunity for me to get familiar with the capital so I can take you around in the future." Zhenzhen said with a smile, "Besides, if you ask around in my uncle's house, everyone knows the place, so I won't get lost."
Li Muwen said a few words to the orderly, and several orderly soldiers and guards took out some big unity from their pockets and handed them to Li Muwen. Li Muwen counted and found about 500 yuan, and gave it directly to Zhenzhen: "You are an adult, and you are the top scorer in the college entrance examination in Heilongjiang Province. I believe in you. You can go around by yourself and treat it as exercise. If you really can't buy it, I will find a way for you."
Zhenzhen took the money with surprise and saluted Li Muwen playfully: "I guarantee to complete the task." Li Muwen smiled, left an orderly to lead the way for Zhenzhen, and then left with the others.
After watching Li Muwen and his group walk away, Zhenzhen began to think about the furnishings of the courtyard house. Such a real ancient house must be matched with antique furniture. However, considering her own financial situation, it would be too eye-catching if she really put out those perfect huanghuali, nanmu, and red sandalwood furniture in the space. It would be better to buy some from the scrap collection station first and worry about the rest later.
She scanned several scrap collection stations and found a few places with furniture. She pretended not to know and asked the orderly next to her: "Where is the nearest scrap collection station?"
The orderly honestly pointed in a direction, which was exactly where Zhenzhen had looked before.
The two spent a day going around the nearby scrap collection stations. Zhenzhen hadn't been to the capital for two years because of the college entrance examination, but she found a lot of good things. At the end of the day, Zhenzhen bought five chairs with broken legs, some made of nanmu, some made of huanghuali, and some red sandalwood and nanmu wood that seemed to have fallen from somewhere, and she also bought them home.
Originally she thought she could only find something like this, but to her surprise, she actually saw a dark purple copper stove among a pile of wood. Whether it was the color, the pattern on the bottom, or the details, it looked like a Xuande stove.
Among the Bai family's collection that Zhenzhen bought in Bingcheng, there was a Xuande furnace, but that one was only dark brown, while this one was only dark purple. Carefully wiping the dirt off with her sleeve, Zhenzhen's eyes were bright as if they would glow: "Comrade, I've chosen it."
After running around the streets all day, the orderly accompanied Zhenzhen back to Li's house in the evening and reported to Li Muwen: "We only bought some broken tables, broken chairs and a bunch of useless junk."
"Useless junk?" Li Muwen leaned back in his chair and asked, "What kind of thing is it?"
"The dirty copper stove, broken pieces of wood, some messy seals, inkstones and so on, luckily they were all bought from the scrap collection station and are not worth much." The orderly said honestly.
Li Muwen smiled softly: "Just make sure she's safe, don't worry about anything else."
Li Muwen had a good idea, but Zhenzhen dumped the orderly the next day. In the words of the orderly, she ran faster than a rabbit and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Zhenzhen wandered the streets and alleys of the imperial capital for seven or eight days, and finally tidied up the main house and the east and west wing rooms of the main courtyard. The bunk bed on the east side of the main house was given to Old Lady Li, and the west room was where Li Muwu and Wang Sufen lived. Zhenzhen put out a red wooden bed from the Republic of China period in the western-style building, which looked generous and unobtrusive. There were many red wooden boxes in the western-style building, and they were all moved out, with two placed in each room.
Zhenzhen prepared the east wing for Mingbei's family to live in. It was equipped with the western-style bed that Su Weiran and his family had used for ten years in the mountain cave. Because of the age, the bed looked a little old, but in fact, these were imported goods bought from overseas by capitalists in Ice City. They were soft and comfortable to lie on.
Zhenzhen lived in the west wing. She didn't put anything in there except a shelf and two boxes. She planned to find someone to move the bunk bed in the back room to her own room.
Hearing that Zhenzhen had cleaned up the house by herself, the whole family couldn't wait to come over. When Mrs. Li saw that the bed and boxes were ready, she immediately made the decision: "Bring all the bedding and food over. We'll live here today."
Li Muwen quickly advised her when he heard this: "Mom, you have only lived in my house for less than ten days and you have to have one. If outsiders knew about this, they would think I was unfilial. You have to stay for at least another month."
"But I don't feel comfortable living there." Old Mrs. Li spoke very frankly and honestly: "Although your house has a small yard, it's only the size of a palm and I can't even grow vegetables there. I don't like living there. Look how good this place is. There's such a large piece of land at the back. I'll plant vegetables there in the spring."
Zhenzhen imagined a pile of cabbages surrounding the Taihu stone and silently covered her eyes.
Li Muwen was so impressed that his mother said, "Our family has vegetables delivered to them, so we don't have to buy them."
Old Mrs. Li curled her lips and said, "The ones I grow myself are delicious."
Actually, Mrs. Li didn't really care about eating the vegetables she grew, but she and her eldest daughter-in-law had only met a few times, and she felt very awkward living together and being polite to each other. Wang Sufen was different. The two had lived together for a lifetime, adapted to each other, had similar personalities and tastes, and had a good relationship like that of a real mother and daughter.
Seeing that Old Lady Li insisted on moving in, Li Muwen had to ask someone to use a cart to pull bedding and food over. He also brought gas stoves, pots and pans, thermos bottles, enamel pots, stoves and other daily necessities. He also asked someone to bring a few bags of coal and some vegetables.
That night, Mrs. Li lay on the big bed covered with a thick quilt, and she was so excited that she couldn't sleep. When she got up the next day, she couldn't open her eyes. "I'm so excited that I can't sleep when I think about sleeping in the prince's bed. Well, Zhenzhen, why don't we move this bed and find someone to build a kang for me."
Zhen Zhen: “…”
***
The family was settled, and the school was about to start. Mingbei, Wang Xinwen, and Zhenzhen went to school together. There were trams in the capital, and the place where they lived and the school were both famous places, with stops, so it was very convenient to travel.
The west gate of National University and the east gate of Imperial University are opposite to each other, so Mingbei is not in a hurry to go to school, and decides to go to help Zhenzhen and Wang Xinwen with the formalities first. Walking on the campus, Zhenzhen curiously looked at everything around her. The Imperial University now looks much more vicissitudes than when Zhenzhen visited it in her previous life, but it also looks more charming.
Zhenzhen and Wang Xinwen were not in the same department, so their dormitories were not on the same floor. Zhenzhen's dormitory was 201, a south-facing room. It was noon, and the warm sunlight poured in, making her feel warm all over.
Zhenzhen chose the lower bunk by the window, fetched a basin of water and wiped the bed clean. While no one was in the room, she took out a goose feather mattress from the space and spread it underneath, then spread her own mattress on top, and finally spread a plain bed sheet. The fresh color looked simple and generous.
After making the bed, Zhenzhen found a pink and floral bed sheet from the space and turned it into a curtain, which she used to surround her bed. This way she could draw it shut when she went to bed at night, making whatever she did more private.
Zhenzhen cleaned up the room, and Wang Xinwen had also cleaned up. The three of them met on the stairwell and prepared to go to NUS to have a look. Not long after they left the dormitory area, a boy wearing a Zhongshan suit and carrying a bag hurried over: "Classmate, can I ask which way to report to the Law Department?"
Wang Xinwen smiled immediately: "We are from the same department. I just finished reporting. If you go over here and turn towards the lake, you will see the registration office."
"Thank you, classmate." After thanking him, the boy hurried away with his luggage.
Wang Xinwen and Mingbei walked a few steps and suddenly realized that Zhenzhen hadn't caught up with them: "Hurry up, what are you thinking about?"
Zhenzhen swallowed her saliva and trembled a little: "I suddenly remembered that most of our students will become great people in the future." Looking at the blank eyes of Mingbei and the others, Zhenzhen muttered silently in her heart: "Even the future second-in-command is my classmate, what do I have to be afraid of?"
It was not until the three of them entered the west gate of NUS and before they reached the registration location that a more familiar-looking person caught Zhenzhen's eye. Zhenzhen couldn't help but start to fantasize: Maybe in the future I will become someone just as awesome.
The author has something to say: How else do you want to be so awesome
Haha, there are so many amazing people among that group of students, but the male protagonist hasn’t appeared yet, so don’t worry.