Chapter 9 Settling Down

Upon hearing his younger sister’s words, Zhao Changlin said, “Chunli, stop coming up with bad ideas. It’s late now, you and your husband should go home early. You have to go to work tomorrow.”

Zhao Chunli replied, “I’m doing this for Luo Qiao’s good. Can a young girl like her manage to support herself alone? If things really work out, our second brother’s family can have an extra source of income.”

Zhao Changlin responded, “What goes around comes around. You should do fewer harmful things. Since today we’ve already announced in front of the whole village that we have nothing to do with each other in the future, don’t think about unnecessary things.”

After saying this, Zhao Changlin called his wife to leave. He didn’t like his younger brother’s wife’s temperament. Today, their whole family went to the commune to handle affairs, and when they returned, they found out how decisively their younger brother’s family had handled things.

Now that the matter was settled, they couldn’t meddle anymore. After all, they had divided the family assets.

At night, after Luo Qiao waited for Lu Yichen to return to his room and closed the door before she entered the space.

Inside the space, she walked towards the valley and saw various fruit trees planted on both sides. There weren’t many in number or variety, but this still delighted Luo Qiao. In these times, having fruits to eat wasn’t easy.

Not far from the waterfall, there was a pond fed by the terrain, with a small patch of lotus flowers in it.

Luo Qiao looked up at the mountains where tall trees grew, many of which she didn’t recognize.

After taking a look around, she realized there were no living creatures in this space besides herself. It seemed she would have to go up the mountain another day to conduct some experiments once her health improved.

The next day, Luo Qiao woke up early feeling much better than the day before. She planned to go to the Youth Courtyard today to choose a room. This way, she could move out earlier, as it wasn’t appropriate to disturb Lu Yichen’s family too often.

Although her body was still frail, being a young woman alone with a man was not good to be said. Moreover, yesterday she already heard the Captain say that the Youth Courtyard was not far from Lu Yichen’s yard.

Possibly due to drinking water from the well in the space yesterday, Luo Qiao felt much better today. It was early spring morning with fluctuating temperatures. Luo Qiao went into the yard to find a basin and fetched water from the tub near the kitchen door.

Just as she was about to wash her face, Lu Yichen came out from the kitchen with a ladle of hot water in hand and said, “It’s chilly. Use some hot water to wash up.”

By the time Luo Qiao looked up, Lu Yichen had already turned and left. He was truly a man with a tough exterior but a soft heart.

She had already told Aunt Gao last night not to come over today. She could take care of herself and shouldn’t always trouble others.

After tidying herself up, Luo Qiao also prepared breakfast for Lu Yichen. They finished eating and arrived at the Youth Courtyard just as the Captain and a few strong men from the village had arrived.

The Captain said to Luo Qiao, “No one has been living in this Youth Courtyard lately. Choose whichever room you like and they will help you clean it up.”

In the end, Luo Qiao chose a room on the edge, conveniently close to the kitchen.

The room had been vacant since before the New Year, and there wasn’t much that needed fixing. They tidied it up perfectly in just one morning. However, now that the room was clean, there was nothing in it except for a kang bed.

Apart from a small bundle of clothes for changing, which the original owner had carried with her, there was nothing else.

The Captain went back home and had his wife bring over an old quilt, two sets of bowls and chopsticks, about twenty catties of cornmeal, and some seasoning. Fortunately, there were pots and a water tub in the Youth Courtyard’s kitchen.

There was also some firewood stacked in the backyard, or else they wouldn’t be able to cook meals in the future.

Luo Qiao gratefully said, “Thank you, Auntie, I consider these items borrowed. Once I have enough, I’ll definitely return them to you.”

The Captain’s wife replied, “I’m glad you don’t mind. Things will get better in the future.”