Chapter 50.1

In mid-April, the new house was finished with renovations. On Saturday, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao took some time to clean it up, bringing An An along. Zhou Jian also came over with some cleaning supplies. Jiang Rou prepared everything, including hats and aprons for herself and An An.

As soon as An An entered the new house, the child joyfully ran around and played hide-and-seek with Jiang Rou, hiding by the door and calling out “Mommy,” full of energy.

The new house was somewhat different from what Jiang Rou had imagined. The floor wasn’t pure white but a matte gray-white, a cooler tone than what she wanted. However, the walls were painted a warm white, which was acceptable.

The wardrobe and doors were also white, but for smaller items, like door handles and lighting fixtures, Jiang Rou chose black. She also planned to pick black for the sofa and dining table.

While Li Xiao was cleaning, he kept muttering that everything was too plain and bland, not understanding what was appealing about it.

Jiang Rou ignored him, first sweeping the dust off the floor with a broom, then dampening the mop to clean the floor.

Li Xiao, on the other hand, was using a cloth to wipe the windows and cabinets.

An An followed them around, running everywhere. Before long, An An’s small hands were covered in dirt. The child accidentally left dirty handprints on Li Xiao’s pants, seemingly finding it amusing. An An even crouched down to use the hands to wipe the floor and then stamped the dirty hands on her father’s pants.

By the time Li Xiao noticed, there were countless handprints on his pants.

An An looked up at him with an innocent expression, then pointed at the handprints on his pants and said, “Daddy, dirty.”

Li Xiao was speechless. “You know it’s dirty, yet you still pressed your hands on me?”

An An smiled with squinted eyes.

After a whole morning of cleaning, they managed to fill two sacks with garbage. The result was noticeable—the entire house had become clean and bright.

Jiang Rou also moved the pots of flowers and plants, which had been left at the door, into the house.

Li Xiao looked at them and nodded, “It does look pretty good like this.”

Jiang Rou smiled, “Right?”

She then pointed to various areas of the living room. “Place the rug and sofa there, and put a painting above them. This spot is for the dining table; we can hang a clock on the wall here, and that’s where the TV will go…”

She roughly introduced the layout to him.

Li Xiao picked up the two sacks of garbage and said, “Let’s go. I’ll go to the mall to look at furniture in a few days.”

Jiang Rou quickly added, “I’ll go too.”

She was worried that he might pick out unattractive furniture.

Li Xiao picked up on her underlying concern and gave her a look of mild annoyance.

Since the renovation began, he had gradually realized that Jiang Rou seemed worried about his taste and had been paying close attention.

He had bought her clothes before that she had never worn. Though she always said she couldn’t bear to wear them, he suspected it was because she thought they were ugly.

As they were leaving, Zhou Jian, who lived next door, had also finished cleaning, though not as thoroughly as Jiang Rou and Li Xiao. He had only swept the floor and planned to do more once his mother and wife arrived.

Jiang Rou asked him for a spare key, “We can’t move in right away. There’s formaldehyde and other harmful substances in the new house. When I come by to ventilate, I’ll also air out your place.”

“Alright, then I’ll have to trouble you, sister-in-law.”

Zhou Jian quickly handed her a spare key from his own set.

In the following period, Jiang Rou frequently made trips to the new house to ventilate it. She even bought two old fans to blow air towards the windows and placed several bowls of water around the house.

The furniture gradually became complete, with additions like a bed, sofa, dining table, and cookware.

By June, the new house was almost ready to move into, with everything needed in place.

Zhou Jian, seeing what Jiang Rou bought, followed suit. Initially, he shared Li Xiao’s opinion that the new house seemed too white and empty. However, after adding the furniture, he found the house truly beautiful. When sunlight streamed in, the entire space was warm and bright, resembling a painting that was indescribably lovely.

Sometimes, he would stand at the door and not dare to enter, feeling he didn’t deserve to live in such a beautiful house.

Once, Zhu Qiang visited the new house with Zhou Jian and learned that the house would cost 700,000 to 800,000 if bought. However, Zhou Jian had only spent 300,000. Zhu Qiang quickly asked if Zhou Jian could help him get a similar deal.

Zhou Jian did not hide anything. “The situation was special back then. I happened to be working in a real estate company, and since I had a favor to return to that boss, I was able to get an internal price. But now, with me no longer there, my relationship with that boss has cooled. If you want to buy, it’ll have to be at market price.”

“I took out a loan of 280,000 from the bank, and most of my savings went into this house. If you really want to buy, I suggest you consider a property near the factory. It’s cheaper over there.”

Zhu Qiang remained silent. He knew that properties near the factory were cheaper, but they were desolate and less populated compared to his hometown. Even if it was cheaper, it would still be expensive for him.

Zhu Qiang had worked here for so long and for the first time felt so powerless.

Every day was exhausting, yet there seemed to be no end in sight.

He had regretted more than once that if his relationship with Li Xiao hadn’t deteriorated and he had come south with the others, Zhou Jian’s house might have been his.

Zhu Qiang remained silent for a long time. A few days later, he said goodbye to Li Xiao, stating that he couldn’t endure the hardships here and planned to return to his hometown.

Before he left, Li Xiao and Zhou Jian took him out for a meal at a restaurant and personally saw him off to the train station.

Li Xiao had treated him well. Besides his 5,000 yuan salary, Li Xiao had also given him an additional 10,000 yuan. As he patted Zhu Qiang on the shoulder, he said, “Use this money to open a restaurant when you get back. Your cooking skills are good; you should be able to make a decent profit.”

Zhu Qiang was the only one who believed this. Zhou Jian rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking that Zhu Qiang’s cooking skills were not even half as good as his uncle’s. He had really squandered a good opportunity.

Zhu Qiang nodded, looking at Li Xiao and Zhou Jian with gratitude. “Alright.”

He hadn’t expected that despite how he had treated Li Xiao and Zhou Jian before, they would still treat him so well.

He couldn’t help but say, “I wish you both continued success in your careers and all the best. May your snack business become more and more prosperous.”

He waved at them, picked up his bag, and turned toward the train. As he boarded, he glanced back at Li Xiao and Zhou Jian, who were still standing behind. “Go back.”

There was a pang of bitterness in his heart. He knew that today, by leaving, he and they would no longer belong to the same world.

Once Zhu Qiang was out of sight, Zhou Jian said with irritation, “Why give him so much money? It’s really a waste.”

He had long since lost his good opinion of Zhu Qiang. No matter what Zhu Qiang did now, he felt no favor towards him.

Li Xiao turned and walked away, his expression calm as he said, “We’ve come this far; why not handle things more gracefully? It’s better for everyone.”

Then he turned to Zhou Jian and said, “Your mother, your wife, and your mother-in-law are all in the county. If he goes back and says something, it could affect your family. If a little money can solve the problem, it’s not a loss.”

Sometimes, even a small ant can shake a big tree. This is why people in higher positions often appear more approachable.

It’s not that they have no temper; rather, they understand how to restrain their sharp edges and minimize unnecessary harm.

Someone like Chang Yong would eventually suffer a great loss.

Shortly after Zhu Qiang left, Li Xin arrived after finishing her middle school exams, bringing her results with her. She had done exceptionally well, ranking third in the county. Fourth Middle School awarded her a 1,000 yuan scholarship, and a teacher from First Middle School had even come to find her at school.

When Jiang Rou heard this news, she was overjoyed and took Li Xin to the market to buy a lot of vegetables.

During dinner, Li Xin, showing her understanding, said, “Sister, it’s fine if I attend high school in the county. I’ll still be in the same school as you.”

Li Xin was worried about causing trouble for her sister and brother-in-law, especially since she would be staying at school often after starting high school. Even though Aunt Wangn was very kind, and they only shared one dinner, Li Xin still felt constrained and as though she owed her something.

It was different with her sister. Every time she thought about how they shared the same blood, she felt a deep sense of security.

After Li Xin arrived, An An no longer had to go out with her father every day. The weather in the south was hot, and within a few days, An An had gotten quite sunburned. There was also a bruise on her forehead from bumping into something a few days ago.

While Jiang Rou focused on reviewing for her exams, Li Xin helped take care of the child. She fed An An in the mornings and braided her hair. When An An needed to go out to explore, Li Xin took her to the university campus to play. An An was particularly energetic, and never tired from roaming around, mainly because the campus was bustling.

The university’s first canteen even had a supermarket. Li Xin remembered that Jiang Rou had brought her here before. As soon as they entered the canteen, An An tugged on her aunt’s clothes and headed towards the supermarket, muttering “Buy candy.”

She even understood the concept of spending money.

Li Xin bought her a lollipop.

They then sat at a table in the canteen, waiting for Jiang Rou to arrive.

An An was particularly considerate. When she saw her mother coming, she took the unfinished lollipop out of her mouth and offered it to Jiang Rou.

The lollipop was covered in a layer of saliva.

Jiang Rou found it both amusing and touching. She patted An An’s little head and said, “You eat it yourself.”

An An wasn’t satisfied and continued to offer the lollipop to Jiang Rou’s mouth.

Jiang Rou had no choice but to lean down and pretend to take a bite. “It’s really delicious, thank you, An An, little treasure.”

An An was pleased and happily put the lollipop back in her own mouth.

Li Xin, who had bought the candy, didn’t receive the same treatment.

After Jiang Rou finished her exams, she took Li Xin to see the new house. Li Xin’s room had been decorated by Jiang Rou, featuring a princess-style white iron bed with beige curtains draped over it. The bed wasn’t made yet, but there were several decorative pillows at the head of the bed.

The room was equipped with a wardrobe, a dressing table, and a desk by the window, all designed in a youthful style.

Li Xin immediately fell in love with it when she saw it. “Is this my room?”

“Yes,” Jiang Rou replied.

An An, still holding her aunt’s hand, wanted her to see her own room.

An An’s room was even cuter. On the wall behind the bed was a large colorful lollipop and several bows. The bed was low and designed in a tatami style, making it easy for her to climb onto.

The room was larger, with a carpet and a small sofa near the window, and a bookshelf embedded in the wall.

She could sit on the sofa and play with her toys.

Jiang Rou planned to remodel the room when An An was a bit older.

An An particularly liked the small sofa and could sit on it comfortably.

Li Xin looked at it and smiled, “It’s so cute.”

Thinking that Li Xin liked it, An An pulled her over to sit with her.

—o—o—o—