After finishing lunch, Ning Shu took the luggage from the guesthouse and brought it home.

She then started getting busy with the three kids.

“Yibao, Erbao, Sanbao, start cleaning. First, tidy up the rooms, then clean the common areas, and finally wash all the kitchen utensils and put them back in the kitchen.”

“Got it, Mom.”

The children were thrilled to be able to move into the small house.

Compared to the guesthouse, they preferred being at home.

Besides, the furniture in their rooms was specially ordered by their mom, and they had seen it when it was being made.

They really liked the design of the bunk beds with a desk underneath, where each of them could quietly do their homework and have their own private space.

Of course, despite having their own space, they still preferred being together as brothers most of the time.

“Mom, you’re not feeling well these days, so you shouldn’t be cleaning. Go rest, and we’ll take care of it,” Yibao said.

Ning Shu had planned on doing just that.

However, being sweetly reminded and cared for by her child put her in a very good mood. “Alright, you go ahead and get busy. I’ll tidy up the room for your dad and me. You focus on the rest of the house.”

“Yes, Ms. Ning,” the three kids playfully responded before getting to work.

They had been doing chores since they were five years old, for seven years now, and were quite adept at organizing and cleaning.

As Ning Shu often said, if this were the future, they could make a career out of being organizers or storage specialists.

The three kids worked enthusiastically, and Ning Shu started tidying up the master bedroom.

The new furniture had been left to air out for a couple of months.

In this era, furniture didn’t have formaldehyde, so it was safe to use even without airing out.

Ning Shu was very satisfied with the brand-new wooden furniture set.

The small house had been well-maintained.

……

As Lu Yaozu had mentioned, Mrs. Lu was the daughter of a capitalist and had higher living standards than most people of that time.

Because of this, the house had been well-maintained—no signs of mold, and the walls were free of random scribbles or marks, which Ning Shu appreciated the most.

Ning Shu was a bit of a perfectionist, so if the walls had been damaged, she would have felt compelled to fix them.

After tidying up the room, she put some simple clothing in the wardrobe, and the rest of the clothes were prepared to be stored in the walk-in closet.

Next, Ning Shu took out some paper and a pen to draw the blueprint for the backyard bathroom.

Following modern standards, she quickly sketched out a design for separating wet and dry areas.

The inside room would be the bathroom, and the outside area would have two countertops, each with a storage basket—one for clean clothes and one for clothes that had been changed out of.

After finishing the drawing, Ning Shu left the room.

By this time, the three kids had already cleaned their rooms, their father’s study, the walk-in closet, the tea area, and were now working on the hallway.

She was impressed; kids really do get things done quickly.

“You all take your time; I’m going to ask the neighbors about hiring workers,” Ning Shu said to the three kids as she greeted them.

In the afternoon, the courtyard was quiet again.

As Ning Shu stepped outside, she could see into the neighbor’s courtyard from her own.

Although the small house had a high fence, it wasn’t a wooden fence.

There were large gaps between the wooden beams, so it was easy to see into the neighbor’s yard.

At this time, Ning Shu noticed several women in the neighboring yard, the same ones who had come over to help her clean before.

They were sitting together, sewing.

Ning Shu took her blueprint and walked over.

Seeing someone approaching, the women, who were sitting and enjoying the sun while working, looked toward the entrance.

“It’s Comrade Ning,” Zhang Cuilan stood up to greet her.

Zhang Cuilan had already heard from Yu He about the Lin family’s situation.

Apparently, Yu He and Lin Guodong knew each other, and Lin Guodong and the eldest son of the Ling family were college classmates at the military academy, which was quite impressive.

Even Old Yu and Little Qin, after hearing about this, told Zhang Cuilan that if the Lin family needed any help, they should lend a hand.

The “Old Yu” Zhang Cuilan referred to was the Deputy Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, Yu He’s father.

“Little Qin” was Old Yu’s wife, Yu He’s mother.

Zhang Cuilan called them Old Yu and Little Qin because she was a distant relative of the Yu family, older than the Deputy Director, and since titles like “master” or “madam” were no longer in use—being seen as capitalist behavior—she called them by these names instead.

“Aunt Zhang, hello, and hello to all of you,” Ning Shu greeted everyone.

Although some might look down on the jobs these women had as housemaids, Ning Shu knew they were often the best sources of information.

They were usually well-informed about what was happening in each household.

So, Ning Shu was happy to maintain a good relationship with them. “Aunt Zhang, I wanted to ask if you know how to hire workers around here. We want to build two rooms in our backyard.”

“Huh?” Zhang Cuilan said, “I know, I know, but your backyard has quite a few flowers. Although winter is almost over, no one has been taking care of them, so some have withered. But when they bloom, they look really beautiful. When Commander Lü and his wife used to live here, she took care of those flowers like they were her grandchildren.”

As Zhang Cuilan said this, the other maids laughed.

In the minds of many, treating flowers with such care was seen as a capitalist behavior, something people would secretly laugh at.

Ning Shu thought to herself, “The backyard has a considerable area. I did see a few small trees, but they were all withered, and I didn’t really consider them flowers.”

Now that Aunt Zhang mentioned it, Ning Shu wondered if she should check with the Lü family to see if they still wanted those plants.

“It’s better to build a house than to grow flowers and plants.” Although life is her own to live, comfortable living arrangements are more important than dealing with flowers and plants right now.

“I know how to find someone to build the house,” Zhang Cuilan said. “Whenever there’s a problem at our place, whether it’s fixing something or anything else, I’m the one who finds the workers. If you need someone, I can look for one.”

As a competent housekeeper, Zhang Cuilan was responsible for all the household chores at the Yu family, including repairing electrical fixtures.

Of course, as a rural woman, she didn’t know how to do these things herself, so she would always find someone to do them.

After coming to work as a housekeeper for the Yu family, she had learned to handle many things on her own.

“That would be wonderful! Thank you, Aunt Zhang. If you could help me find someone, I’ll just leave this task to one person. How they arrange it will be up to them,” Ning Shu said, bringing up the topic of the flowers and plants. “Auntie, I still need to visit the Lu family to ask if they still want those withered flowers and plants. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be right for me to handle them myself. I’ll be off now.” As for thanking Zhang Cuilan, Ning Shu would do that later.

Zhang Cuilan replied, “Okay, go ahead and ask them. I’ll go find someone for you later.”

As soon as Ning Shu left, the maids in the courtyard started asking Zhang Cuilan questions.

“Is she planning to build a house in her backyard? From what I see, that place could be used to build a house or grow vegetables.”

“Exactly. Building a couple of rooms for the maids to live in would be quite nice.”

Indeed, some families in the compound had built maid rooms in their backyards.

Some people didn’t like living with the maids, and others had large families with no extra rooms for the maids.

But as far as the maids were concerned, they also didn’t like living with their employers.

It didn’t feel comfortable.

If they had a house built in the backyard, it would be just like their own home once the door was closed, which would be quite pleasant.

Zhang Cuilan said, “She wants to build a house, but their backyard used to have flowers and plants. She said she needs to go ask the previous owners, Commander Lu’s family, if they still want those flowers and plants. She’s quite particular about this.”

“Why be so particular? Just pull them out. If the previous owners didn’t take them, they probably don’t want them,” one maid said.

“Such a meticulous person must be difficult to deal with, right?” another maid asked.

“Well, last time we cleaned her house, she was quite easy to deal with. Not only did she pay us, but she also gave us some sweets.”

“Oh, right, Sister Cuilan, is she building a house in the backyard to hire a maid?” This maid asked, already thinking of recommending someone.

“I’m not sure about that,” Zhang Cuilan said, fully aware of her intention. “But I did mention to Comrade Ning that I have a sister back in my hometown who wants to work as a maid. She said she’d let me know if she needed someone.”

Everyone was sharp enough to understand what Zhang Cuilan meant, so the maid didn’t bring it up again.

Zhang Cuilan then said, “You all sit here for a while. I’m going to find the construction worker Comrade Ning asked for.”

“No need to sit, we’ll be leaving.”

“Let’s get together some other time.”

“You go ahead and take care of your work.”

With Zhang Cuilan gone, the maids didn’t feel comfortable sitting in someone else’s courtyard.

If someone from the Yu family came back, they wouldn’t know what to do.

Even though they seemed to talk casually among themselves, as if they were very bold, they were still quite timid when it came to dealing with other people in the compound.

This was likely due to the difference in social status.

Meanwhile, Ning Shu returned to the house to greet her three children before heading to Lu Qingshan’s courtyard.

At the same time, Lu Yaozu in the courtyard was feeling very conflicted.

After hearing about the situation from Ning Shu, he followed the address she gave and managed to find the place.

The courtyard house was rented by their family, consisting of two rooms.

The kitchen was either shared or they could build their own stove.

Originally, after his father got into trouble, their small house was taken back.

His father was able to retire safely, but not without pulling a lot of strings.

When the person involved was sent down, although his father didn’t do anything wrong, he was on the opposing side.

Now that the person had returned, his father was implicated as well.

After leaving the small house, they moved to this courtyard.

They had two rooms: one for their parents and one for his eldest brother’s family. Before the incident, his eldest brother’s family had also lived in the small house.

The house was found in a hurry and wasn’t easy to come by.

As for buying a house, while they lived in the small house, they seemed to be doing well, but his mother’s dowry had been mostly spent.

Moreover, after his father got into trouble, most of the family savings were used up.

Originally, his father’s monthly salary of over a hundred yuan, plus his elder brother and sister-in-law’s income, allowed the family to live comfortably.

After all, his father’s salary only needed to be spent on his mother and to cover the family’s daily meals.

But now that his father no longer had a salary, his elder brother and sister-in-law had to support their parents’ daily meals as well.

As for his mother, she lost her job at the youth center.

She was dismissed when his father was taken in for questioning.

That job had been more of a pastime for his mother; she hadn’t really taken it seriously. Now, the tables had turned, and they didn’t want her anymore.

His parents were happy about his return to the city, and his elder brother welcomed him as well, though he subtly hinted that they couldn’t afford to support him.

Although his sister-in-law didn’t say anything, her expression made it clear.

Fortunately, when they found out he had returned because he got into university, his sister-in-law breathed a sigh of relief and finally smiled.

After all, in her eyes, a university student had a future, and perhaps he could take on some of the responsibility of supporting his parents.

At this moment, a voice came from outside: “Is Comrade Lu Qingshan here?”

That voice… Lu Yaozu recognized it.

They had spent several days together on the train, so it wasn’t possible to forget the person’s voice so quickly. “It sounds like Comrade Ning. Is she here to see you, Dad?” Lu Yaozu got up.

“Comrade Ning?” Mrs. Lu asked, puzzled.

At that time, only the three of them were at home. Lu’s elder brother’s family had gone to work or school.

“She’s the one we met on the train,” Lu Yaozu explained.

Upon hearing that it was Comrade Ning, Lu Qingshan and his wife’s expressions became awkward.

They hadn’t expected their son to have such a connection with that family.

Considering the small favors they had stored up, the couple felt a bit embarrassed.

However, they couldn’t afford to feel awkward for long since Ning Shu had already arrived at their door.

They had no choice but to go out and greet her.

They were a little nervous, unsure of what this visit might be about.

They still remembered the grand gesture from last time.

“Comrade Ning…” Lu Yaozu was the first to walk out, and sure enough, it was Ning Shu.

He greeted her warmly, “Comrade Ning, what brings you here? Please…” He was about to say, “Please come inside,” but given their current situation, he felt it was inappropriate to invite her in. “I was actually planning to visit your family once we settled in.”

He had already learned from his parents about the furniture situation.

According to his mother, there wasn’t enough space in their current home to accommodate all the furniture, so they planned to leave it behind and sell it to the next occupants.

However, this made Lu Yaozu feel embarrassed, and he didn’t know how to bring it up.

“Comrade Lu, hello. I came to ask you or your parents about the flowers and plants in the backyard of the small house. Do you still want them? If so, you’ll need to come and dig them up. If not, I’ll take care of them. I need to clear out the backyard for other purposes,” Ning Shu explained.

She came to ask because she didn’t want to deal with any trouble later on.

If she removed the plants and the Lu family came back claiming some of them were valuable, it would be a hassle.

Lu Qingshan: “…”

Mrs. Lu: “…”

Lu Yaozu: “…”

He felt that the previous situation with the furniture had left a deep impression, so much so that Ning Shu was worried they might even try to sell the flowers and plants.