The factory where the Zhou brothers worked was not far from the station, about three kilometers away.
"Third brother is a skilled worker, it's not easy for him to take leave, so I have to take leave to come pick you up." Zhou Siming walked towards the factory with Mingyue, saying, "By the way, Third sister-in-law asked you to stay at her place for two days, and then move in after you see a house that suits you."
Mingyue naturally agreed. Apart from anything else, she would definitely go to visit her third brother and his wife when she came to the city.
The brother and sister walked and talked, and before they knew it, they reached their destination.
There was a long corridor connecting many independent rooms, and one or two rooms marked with public water rooms and toilets. The two ends of the corridor were ventilated and shaped like a tube, so this type of building is generally called a tube building.
Zhou Laosan's family lives here. This is welfare housing for state-owned enterprise employees and their spouses, and is also called the employee family building.
Meng Zhen was also at work at this time, and Baoer was being taken care of by Meng Zhen's mother. He should be taking a walk outside at this moment.
Zhou Siming knocked on the door but no one opened it. He looked around and saw that there was no one there. He took out the key from under the flowerpot at the door, smiled foolishly at Mingyue, and then went to open the door.
After entering the door, the whole situation of the house was clear at a glance. This small room was divided into two rooms by a wooden door. There was a single bed with bunk beds in each room. There was also a table with various sundries on it and several snakeskin bags filled with clothes.
Because this room is facing the sun, it is now directly exposed to the sun. The whole room is like a steamer, and even the benches are hot.
Zhou Siming was obviously used to the furnishings in the room. He quickly pulled out a stack of newspapers from the drawer and handed half to Mingyue: "Put it on the bench so that your butt won't get burned when you sit."
Mingyue didn't complain. After walking for so long, she was indeed tired and had wanted to sit down and rest for a long time.
Zhou Siming continued to explain science to Mingyue: "I will take you to the public water room and toilet later. There is only one tap on the floor. It is shared by everyone. If you want to take a shower, you have to go at a different time. Otherwise, it will take a while to get water when there are too many people."
"Also, we don't have a kitchen here. If you want to cook, just set up a coal stove on the walkway at the door and get a small wooden rack to use as a chopping board, and then you can cook."
"I heard from Third Brother that he has switched shifts with someone these days. He is on night shift, so it would be convenient for you to rest at night..."
"I understand." Mingyue nodded. It was the first time she experienced the hardships of this era.
Even Zhou Sanming and Zhou Siming, who were envied by everyone in the countryside, had to live in a small space in the city and struggle to make a living.
By noon, Zhou Sanming, Meng Zhen, Meng's mother and Baoer all came back.
The already small room now seemed a bit crowded, and even turning around seemed difficult.
But everyone has become accustomed to this situation and no one feels embarrassed.
"You must be Mingyue, what a pretty girl! You should just settle down here first. When your sister-in-law has a holiday in two days, she will take you to see a house." Mother Meng held Mingyue's hand and smiled kindly.
Mother Meng had heard her daughter talk about Mingyue a long time ago. Her preconceived opinion of Mingyue was that she was a very pitiful and ambitious girl, who had attracted such a group of jackals and tigers for no reason, but fortunately she had come out of it now.
Mingyue called out "Auntie" with a smile, and said a few polite words to express her apologies.
Meng Zhen further explained: "Those two houses belong to my colleagues, so they will only be able to take me to see them during the holidays."
Mingyue nodded to show her understanding, "This is really a bother for sister-in-law." Zhou Sanming didn't say anything polite to his younger sister, he just smiled and said, "Okay, okay, don't say these words, Mingyue rarely comes, let's go out to eat today."
Meng Zhen also smiled: "I think it's OK, otherwise with my skills, I really can't show it off."
Mingyueke followed the host's wishes and naturally had no objections.
However, after seeing her nephew peeking at her with his eyes wide open, Mingyue waved at him and said, "Bao'er, come here."
Baoer is still a little shy. He is hiding behind his father, tilting his head to look at Mingyue, who looks strange yet familiar.
Yes, children don’t remember things. After just a few days, Baoer no longer remembered his little aunt from the countryside.
Mingyue took out a jar of honey cubes from her backpack and teased Baoer, "What's the matter? Baoer, have you forgotten about your aunt?"
Meng Zhen smiled and pulled her son's arm, tapped his forehead and said, "When this guy came back a few days ago, he cried and asked for his aunt and the honey she made. Now your aunt is here and she brought you some honey. Why don't you call someone?"
Baoer blinked, looked at Tang and then at the people. He seemed to have finally confirmed something, and suddenly rushed towards Mingyue, hugged her thighs, and shouted, "Aunt."
He recognized her as his aunt who could cook lots of delicious food.
Mingyue patted his head and gave him all the candy jars: "Be good."
When Meng's mother saw this scene, she remembered what her daughter said about her daughter having two miscarriages. She felt sorry for her daughter, who obviously loved children so much, but in the end...
Zhou Sanming didn't notice anything and just called out to everyone: "Let's go, let's go, let's go out to eat, we still have to work in the afternoon."
Zhou Siming also nodded. He only asked for half a day off. Thinking of this, he turned his head and looked at his younger sister: "By the way, Mingyue, I only asked for half a day off. Can you stay home alone in the afternoon?"
When Meng's mother heard this, she immediately glared at the fourth child and said, "Look at what nonsense this child is saying. Aren't Bao'er and I at home too?"
Zhou Siming smiled innocently. He really didn't expect to come here.
The group of people chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the State-owned Hotel.
When Mingyue looked at this restaurant which looked quite grand, she felt a little regretful about coming out to eat. She originally thought she was going to eat at a cheap restaurant, but she didn't expect that her third brother would directly bring her to a big restaurant. The price of this meal was very high.
However, when Mingyue saw that there was no abnormality on other people's faces, she did not say anything.
Five adults and one child ordered four dishes and a soup. The portions were quite generous for a restaurant, but Mingyue thought the taste was just average.
Then Zhou Sanming went to pay the bill. Mingyue calculated the prices based on the menu and found that it cost about six yuan and ninety cents.
After dinner, Zhou Sanming, Zhou Siming and Meng Zhen all went to work. Zhou Ma wanted to take Baoer for a nap, while Mingyue took advantage of this time to slip out to inspect the location for the stall.
(End of this chapter)