Chapter 11

The next day, with no particular plans, Ye Xiaoyu had some free time. She took Lele to the bustling North District Market, which had not yet been demolished.

There were many different kinds of goods available here.

There were food items like cakes, fruits, spices, snacks, dried goods, rice, flour, and oil; daily necessities like clothes, shoes, bed covers, and decorations; as well as things for use and fun, ranging from needles to bicycles. Some items were locally produced, while others came from the south, where the products varied every day.

Many of the goods were directly priced and quite affordable, but you had to buy in bulk, such as 100 health pants for 500 yuan, with a different price for individual purchases. Bargaining was allowed, and good negotiation skills could save a lot of money.

The quality was also good, though there were counterfeit goods, but the fakes were not as sophisticated as in later years, and there were still noticeable flaws. Some shopkeepers even had a tendency to “talk themselves into a corner.”

Ye Xiaoyu had no interest in the popular butterfly shirts, health pants, or bell-bottomed trousers. She casually bought two plain white cotton t-shirts, two pairs of oversized sweatpants, some underwear, several pairs of woolen and cotton socks, and a pair of sneakers and a pair of indoor slippers.

Everything look good on LeLe, no matter what he wears.

But the weather is cold now, and there’s no heating in the shops, let alone in the small stalls. People just hang up a bed sheet to change clothes inside. So, Ye Xiaoyu didn’t turn this into a fashion show for LeLe.
She bought LeLe some essential clothing—underwear, sweaters, woolen pants, cotton pants, a down jacket, socks, sneakers, and slippers.

But the main goal today was to buy bedding and daily necessities—duvet covers, sheets, towels, cups, bowls, and chopsticks. At first glance, these might not seem like much, but when added together, it was quite a lot. It was impossible for one person to carry everything, so there were delivery services nearby. If you bought enough, the shopkeeper would even send it straight to your door.

Ye Xiaoyu didn’t buy that much. She just wanted to take a look around. She listened to others haggling and inquired about the prices of many things, but didn’t end up purchasing much.

At most, she bought LeLe a toy gun. This wasn’t one of those fancy future toys. It was made from bicycle chains, rubber bands, and iron wire—simple but realistic, able to shoot small wooden sticks. It was hard to believe that the usually quiet LeLe would be so excited about a toy like this.

She also bought herself a jump rope and a board game that she and LeLe could play together.

In the afternoon, when Ye Xiaoyu returned home, bags full of items, Ye Ermei sighed. She was about to say something when Ye Xiaoyu casually mentioned the low prices of the clothes and shoes.

“So cheap?”

“Yeah, I got a lot of dirty looks from the shopkeepers for haggling,” Ye Xiaoyu laughed.
The next day, Ye Xiaoyu and LeLe moved into their new apartment.

Her brother-in-law, Zhao Qing, couldn’t come because he was working, but her second sister, Ye Ermei, insisted on helping. She swapped shifts with a colleague and came over, bringing her daughter, TianNiu, to check out the new place.

When they arrived at the Flower Garden community, Ye Xiaoyu and her sister walked around the three-bedroom apartment, checking every corner.
TianNiu was impressed: “Auntie, you and LeLe each have your own room, and there’s still another room left. The living room here is bigger than our two rooms at home.”

Ye Ermei thought it was a bit wasteful.

Ye Xiaoyu answered first: “It’s a good environment. It’s actually easier to rent a three-bedroom place than a two-bedroom one.”
And that was the truth.

There were plenty of two-bedroom apartments available, but most of them were old or cramped, often with more people living in them. Most commercial and welfare housing complexes were three-bedroom apartments. A good family-friendly two-bedroom apartment was hard to find.

Moreover, Flower Garden was in a prime location, near the city center, with banks, restaurants, markets, and schools nearby. Even the security was top-notch, with surveillance cameras at the entrances, making it one of the safest places to rent.

Ye Xiaoyu valued the neighborhood, but didn’t go into all those details with her sister right away. She just left it for now.

It wasn’t that Ye Xiaoyu wasn’t careful with money. She knew her finances were tight, but this decision was made after careful thought. Some expenses, like this one, couldn’t be avoided.

Ye Xiaoyu always felt that her sister’s family, with two working adults, didn’t need to be so frugal, but such views couldn’t change overnight. At least they needed to understand that “it’s better to increase income than to save.”

And Ye Xiaoyu herself hadn’t managed to do this yet, so saying much about it would be pointless. Instead, she just said, “In the future, when you and TianNiu come to stay, you’ll have a place to stay overnight.”

“You’re so stubborn,” Ye Ermei muttered. She knew her younger sister had become even more principled, so she just let her be.

The conversation shifted, but Ye Xiaoyu hadn’t mentioned that she was keeping track of her finances—not just in her head, but in an income and expenditure spreadsheet. She wasn’t yet ready to share it with her sister, especially since it was quite unbalanced.
Although Teacher Li’s apartment was neat and clean, they still did a bit of deep cleaning, with even LeLe helping by wiping the surfaces.

Ye Ermei laughed: “Why bother making him do this? Just let him play.”

Ye Xiaoyu disagreed: “TianNiu can help, so can he. They’ve been a big help. They’re great.”

Ye Xiaoyu encouraged LeLe to take on tasks and help her whenever he could.

LeLe nodded seriously and got to work. Even though he was slow at wiping down tables and chairs, everything was very clean in the end.

It didn’t take long before Ye Ermei realized that her own daughter, TianNiu, wasn’t very good at housework. She did it carelessly, whether it was wiping a cabinet or sweeping the floor. At home, her parents had always told her that as long as her studies were good, she didn’t need to worry about chores. Her parents cleaned her room for her.

Now, it seemed that approach wasn’t quite right. TianNiu struggled more than a kindergartner when it came to helping out.

Ye Xiaoyu believed children should learn to help with housework, both to understand the hard work of their parents and to build skills for independent living. At the very least, they should clean their own rooms—not perfectly, but not to the point of a mess either.
For someone like TianNiu, who was a good child at heart, it would be easy to guide her through this. Once she learned, it would be beneficial for her future studies and even her career.

Ye Xiaoyu briefly brought this up when she and her sister were preparing for a warming pot feast in the kitchen.

They invited Mrs. Yang from downstairs, who brought her granddaughter, Yang Zhirou. Zhirou was a quiet high school student with delicate features and glasses, giving off an artistic vibe.

TianNiu, with her outgoing nature, quickly became friends with Zhirou, even though they were a few years apart. They chatted about school and cousins.
LeLe? Well, he just observed quietly.

TianNiu proudly showed off her real porcelain doll cousin, lamenting that she couldn’t dress him in skirts or braid his hair because he was a boy. Zhirou, on the other hand, had a cousin named Haohao, a chubby, cute but mischievous boy who loved to climb on roofs.

The Warming Pot Feast Was Very Luxurious

Ye Xiaoyu praised without reservation, “Grandma Yang, Zhirou, you’re in for a treat today! My second sister’s cooking skills are amazing, not any worse than the chefs at state-run restaurants.”

“Stop bragging!” Ye Ermei, flustered by the praise, blushed slightly. She placed the dishes on the dining table and, using her free hand, playfully slapped Ye Xiaoyu. Then, she turned to Grandma Yang with a warm smile, “Don’t listen to her nonsense. These are just home-cooked dishes, nothing special. You can make do with what we have.”

Yang Zhirou softly said, “Thank you,” while Grandma Yang chuckled, “You two sisters have such a great relationship.” Then she added, “So many dishes—there’s hardly any space left on the table! And the smell is amazing. Xiaomei’s cooking is really good.”

Indeed, Ye Ermei’s stir-fried shredded pork with Beijing sauce, braised pork knuckles, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, and fried tofu with sesame seeds were all far beyond the typical home-cooked meal. The chefs at state-run restaurants couldn’t compare, but they were better than what some small eateries served.

Ye Xiaoyu couldn’t resist sneaking a taste while she was in the kitchen.

Her favorite was the stir-fried pig’s internal organs—this dish was usually hard to get right. But this one had no strange odor, it was crispy, tender, spicy, and delicious, making her want to eat more. It went perfectly with steamed buns, too.

However, making the dish required more complex material preparation. Stir-fried pork slices and fried tofu were easier, while making vinegar-based dishes like sweet-and-sour cabbage or sweet-and-sour ribs was difficult. Ye Xiaoyu just didn’t have the talent for cooking.

The only dishes on the table that were made by Ye Xiaoyu herself were the stir-fried greens and scrambled eggs with tomatoes—two of her best dishes, perfected through years of trial and error. At least LeLe was a big fan, always saying his mom’s food was the best. He really loved the sweet and sour scrambled eggs, which were a crowd-pleaser.

Even Grandma Yang praised their cooking. Being compared to her second sister and getting such compliments was Ye Xiaoyu’s peak culinary moment. She gleefully winked at Ye Ermei.

The atmosphere was delightful.