Ning Shu paused, realizing they were right.

In this era, a Western-style home was indeed bigger than most other houses.

Only a courtyard house (siheyuan) could compare in size. “You don’t know any better because you’ve never seen bigger houses,” she said, thinking about the much larger self-built homes of the future.

“Mom, are there houses bigger than this one?” the second child asked eagerly.

“A courtyard house,” Ning Shu replied. “Someday, when we have the chance, we’ll build our own big Western-style house in our hometown, with upstairs and downstairs. That would be really comfortable.” She imagined how nice it would be to vacation back home in such a house.

Lin Guodong made a mental note that his wife liked courtyard houses.

He wasn’t sure what the price of a courtyard house was these days, but he decided to find out soon.

Honestly, this small Western-style house wasn’t that big, and there wasn’t enough space for each of the three children to have their own room.

Yes, buying a courtyard house needed to be on the agenda.

But Captain Lin, with his empty pockets, realized that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t afford it right now.

Not only did they need to buy a courtyard house, but they also had to build a large Western-style house back home.

“Then we should also build a Western-style house for Grandpa and Grandma,” the Yibao said.

Yibao and Erbao were very close to Lin’s mother.

Even though Ning Shu had woken up when they were five years old and had been very good to them since then, making them happy and content, it didn’t change their deep bond with Lin’s mother.

Hearing Yibao’s words, Erbao chimed in, “Yes, there are more of us, so we should live in the big house, and Grandma and Grandpa can live in the small house, hahaha…”

Ning Shu responded, “We could renovate and redecorate the courtyard we currently have for your grandparents to live in, and then we can build our big house right next door.”

“Huh?” Yibao and Erbao looked at their mother in surprise.

Ning Shu explained, “There are only two of them, so living in a small house would feel empty and lonely. Besides, they’re getting older, and going up and down stairs isn’t safe for them. If we build our big house next door, you can visit your grandparents anytime.”

It’s not that she was reluctant to build a small villa for Lin’s parents, but the truth is that at their age, a single-story house is more suitable.

Renovating the current house, except for not being two stories or more, wouldn’t make much difference from a small villa.

“Our neighbors are too close. We can’t build a big house,” Lin Guodong said.

“We could ask them,” Ning Shu suggested. “Their house is old, too. If they plan to build a new one, we could ask if they’re willing to sell their land. We could offer them a bit more money. If they’re not willing, we can always find another piece of land. When you write to your mother, let her know so she and your father can keep an eye out.”

Lin Guodong nodded, “Okay.”

He then took out the key that Ning Shu had given him before she left last time.

The family entered the courtyard, unlocked the door, and everything inside was just as Ning Shu had left it, with a light layer of dust. It was clear that Lin Guodong hadn’t returned home during this period.

Seeing the empty first floor, Ning Shu thought for a moment and then said, “Yibao, Erbao, Sanbao, get familiar with the house. After that, boil some hot water so we can all take baths later. Your father and I are going to the department store to buy some clothes to change into. After we bathe, we’ll head to the guesthouse.”

The tractor hadn’t arrived yet, and they had no idea when it would.

Initially, she thought they could wait until the tractor arrived, but now she realized that was a mistake.

If the tractor was delayed, they could stay at the guesthouse, but they hadn’t bathed or changed clothes in days while on the train.

If they continued like this, they’d start to smell. And bathing without changing into fresh clothes would be pointless.

So, she had to go to the department store to buy a set of clothes to change into.

Luckily, she had plenty of cloth coupons.

Before coming to the capital, she had exchanged quite a few with other family members in the family quarters.

Knowing that she was coming to the capital, they were happy to exchange with her.

Another advantage of the small house is that it had running water, making it very convenient to use.

The three children didn’t need to go to the well to fetch water to boil it, which reassured Ning Shu.

“Got it,” the three children replied as they ran upstairs, while Ning Shu and Lin Guodong headed to the department store.

The department store in the capital was known as the largest in the country, with the most complete range of goods.

Ning Shu didn’t bother being too picky and bought each of them two pairs of underwear, a set of thermal underwear, a sweater, and two pairs of socks.

She also bought herself a pair of corduroy wide-legged pants.

As for the outer pants for the three children, she didn’t buy any.

They’d be cleaning the house for the next few days, so changing clothes now would be a waste.

When they returned home, the children had already heated the water.

Ning Shu took some of the hot water and went to bathe first.

Fortunately, the small house was equipped with a water bucket, wooden basin, soap, and towels, which had been prepared during their previous visit.

Since they had also bathed here last time, these items had remained in the house.

While bathing, Ning Shu discovered she had started her period.

She had expected it around this time and had brought sanitary pads with her, so she felt even more relieved.

After bathing, everything except her cotton-padded jacket was clean, and it felt refreshing to wear.

In this era, washing cotton-padded jackets wasn’t common.

Usually, people just wiped them down and then left them out in the sun.

Washing the cotton too much could make it bunch up and lose its warmth.

Ning Shu wiped down her cotton-padded jacket and hung it out to dry.

Then she headed to the kitchen, where she found Lin Guodong boiling water instead of the children.

The three kids were nowhere to be seen. Ning Shu asked, “Where are they?”

Lin Guodong replied, “They’re in the guest room you prepared, taking a bath… I noticed the small house only has one bathroom. Should we build another one?”

“How would we do that?” Ning Shu asked, looking at the layout of the house.

Having two bathrooms would indeed be convenient since their family was large, and waiting for a turn to bathe could be troublesome.

“We could build one in the backyard,” Lin Guodong suggested. “It could be for the three kids. It’s not a problem for boys. Back in the countryside, people used to bathe in the courtyard all the time. Even in the military, many people bathe in their courtyards.”

Ning Shu thought it over and agreed, “That could work. I’ll draw up a blueprint, and we can design the bathroom with separate wet and dry areas—the wet area inside for bathing, and the dry area outside for washing clothes and changing.”

It was the first time Lin Guodong had heard of the concept of separating wet and dry areas, and he found it interesting.

He often heard Ning Shu come up with unique ideas like this and wondered how she thought of them. “Alright, draw up the plans, and then we’ll find someone to do it.”

Ning Shu said, “Aunt Zhang Cuilan next door probably knows how to find workers. I’ll ask her about it.”

Lin Guodong nodded in agreement.

After the three children finished bathing, the father and his three sons did the laundry together.

The family didn’t stay long at the small villa.

They informed the gatekeeper that if a tractor came looking for them, they were staying at the XXXX Guest House.

Afterward, they went to a state-owned restaurant for a meal.

After eating, Ning Shu returned to the guest house to rest.

She had her period and didn’t want to move anymore.

Lin Guodong, on the other hand, took the three kids to familiarize themselves with the surrounding area.

It’s unclear what the father and sons were exploring, but by the time Ning Shu woke up from her nap, they hadn’t returned yet.

It wasn’t until it was time for dinner that they came back, bringing food with them.

Ning Shu was pleased that they didn’t have to go out for dinner.

The next day, Lin Guodong went to the army.

The three kids were still exploring the capital, so they informed Ning Shu before going out to play.

Since they were already twelve years old, Ning Shu didn’t worry about where they were going, but she reminded them to find a police officer if they encountered any problems.

She also told them to explain their background clearly when seeking help from the police.

In this era, their identity was their shield, and there was no need to hide it.

In an emergency, such an identity might even save their lives.

Of course, they were not allowed to misuse their identity to cause trouble or tarnish their father’s reputation.

Not long after the three kids left, the gatekeeper of the compound came looking for Ning Shu.

It turned out that the tractor had arrived.

Although a tractor isn’t as fast as a train, it takes shortcuts while trains stick to tracks, so it arrived a day earlier than Ning Shu had expected.

She was prepared to wait a few days.

Ning Shu informed the guest house manager and quickly followed the gatekeeper to the compound. It was around 10 a.m., and like the day before, the compound was quite peaceful.

However, there were two tractors parked at the entrance, attracting the curiosity of a few onlookers.

After greeting the gatekeeper, Ning Shu led the tractors inside.

When the tractors finally stopped in front of their small villa, the onlookers were still watching from a respectful distance.

There were four people driving the two tractors, with two drivers taking turns on each tractor.

Ning Shu noticed that the four men looked quite tired, probably from the long journey.

“Masters, could you please help me move these things into the house? I’ll pay you for your labor, and then I’ll treat you to lunch,” Ning Shu suggested to them.

In later years, truck drivers were not responsible for unloading goods, and Ning Shu wasn’t sure what the rules were for these drivers.

However, as a woman, she couldn’t handle the heavy lifting herself and didn’t feel right asking them to work for free.

The four drivers exchanged glances and came to a silent agreement. “No problem. Just give each of us two yuan and tell us where to move the items,” one of the drivers said.

Having the woman take them out to eat was a relief for them as well.

“Thank you so much,” Ning Shu replied gratefully.

With the help of the four drivers, the furniture was quickly moved into the designated rooms.

By the time everything was settled, it was almost noon.

Ning Shu was about to take the drivers to the state-owned restaurant when the three kids returned.

“Mom… Mom…” Erbao called out loudly from the courtyard.

“You’re back?” Ning Shu saw that they were carrying food containers.

She hadn’t known they had brought them along when they went out since they didn’t all stay in the same room. “Did you bring food back?”

“Mom, aren’t you feeling unwell? Big Brother suggested we buy lunch and bring it back so you wouldn’t have to go out. We bought your favorite pickled vegetable and shredded pork noodles from the state-owned restaurant,” Erbao explained.

Whenever they went to the state-owned restaurant together, they often saw their mom order pickled vegetable and shredded pork noodles, so they naturally assumed it was her favorite.

Actually, Ning Shu didn’t like it that much; she only ate it when she had no appetite because it was particularly appetizing.

Hearing that the children had bought it for her, Ning Shu felt very pleased. “Thank you. Have you eaten yet?”

“We haven’t. We bought some for ourselves too, so we can eat together when we get back,” Yibao said.

“You all can eat at home. I’ll take my portion to the state-owned restaurant,” Ning Shu replied.

“Mom, how about we all go to the state-owned restaurant together?” Erbao suggested on the spur of the moment.

“Comrade, how about you give us the money and food coupons, and we’ll go to the state-owned restaurant ourselves?” one of the drivers proposed. “That way, you can stay at home and eat with your children.”

Ning Shu thought this was a good idea. “Just a moment…” She quickly took out ten yuan, a pound of meat coupons, and a pound of grain coupons. “Comrades, here you go. I won’t be joining you. If you can’t find the state-owned restaurant, just ask someone; it’s easy to find from here.”

“No problem. We’ll head out now and then go straight back,” the driver said.

“Thank you for your hard work. Goodbye,” Ning Shu said as she watched them drive away.

The four drivers parked the tractor outside the compound and discussed their plan.

The driver holding the money asked, “So, are you all planning to eat at the state-owned restaurant, or…?”

“I’m not going. I’ll take the meat coupons home and buy some meat to cook for my kids.”

“Exactly. A meal at the state-owned restaurant would be gone in a few bites, but at home, my wife can make a proper meal with fresh meat.”

The men laughed and divided the money and coupons among themselves before driving the tractor back home in a hurry.