Chapter 12: Tidying Up the Family Residential Compound

In the capital, Gu Ze was busy preparing the wedding gift for Gu Ye.

On the island, Lin Baoni was also preparing to take Mother Lin to see her new home.

After breakfast, Baoni and Mother Lin walked to the entrance of the Military Unit Family Residential Compound.

This was the place where she would be living for a long time.

Looking at the large residential compound, Lin Baoni sighed inwardly—where there were many people, there would be many disputes!

Baoni first went to the guardroom. The young soldier on duty asked for her name and whom she was looking for.

After hearing Gu Ye’s name, the soldier immediately took out the registration book and asked Lin Baoni and Mother Lin to sign.

Gu Ye had already informed the guards the day before that Lin Baoni was a military spouse and would be living in the Family Residential Compound. He had her information registered to make future entries and exits more convenient.

The Military Unit Family Residential Compound consisted of uniform red brick houses, arranged neatly in rows, standing like disciplined soldiers at attention.

Because the island was a special case, family members of officers ranked company level and above were allowed to live with them. As a result, there were many houses and even more residents.

The houses at the front were for families of company and battalion-level officers, while those further back were for regiment-level officers. The generals’ homes were located at the very end.

Gu Ye, being at the full battalion level, was assigned a courtyard house with three main rooms, along with an additional room on both the east and west sides. One of these side rooms had been converted into a kitchen and bathroom, while the other served as a storage room.

Holding the key given by Gu Ye, Baoni followed the house number to locate the assigned residence. She unlocked the door and stepped into the courtyard.

Gu Ye’s house was at the far west end of the row, with four other households to the east.

The courtyard was small and completely bare, with nothing in it. It was clear that the house had been unoccupied for quite some time.

Inside, the three main rooms were empty. The center room was likely meant to be the living room, while the east and west rooms appeared to be bedrooms.

The living room was completely barren—not even a single stool was there.

Baoni pushed open the door to the eastern bedroom. Apart from a double bed, there was absolutely nothing else. She then checked the western bedroom—this time, not even a bed was present.

Unwilling to accept this reality, Lin Baoni stepped back into the courtyard and opened the doors to the side rooms. They were even more desolate—completely empty. There wasn’t even a single pot, let alone any kitchen utensils.

Even though she didn’t know how to cook and had no plans to prepare meals at home, she couldn’t accept a house with not a single piece of kitchenware!

What exactly did Gu Ye expect her to see here?

These empty bedrooms?

At this moment, Baoni seriously questioned Gu Ye’s intelligence. Was he lacking common sense, or was his ability to manage a household just nonexistent?

As Gu Ye pushed the door open and entered the courtyard, the first thing he saw was Lin Baoni, her round eyes widened in disbelief, and her slightly open mouth frozen mid-thought. What had she seen to make her this shocked?

“You’re here. How does it look? What do we need to add?” Gu Ye asked.

He wasn’t particularly skilled in household matters and had never paid much attention to such things.

“Colonel Gu, shouldn’t you be asking me what’s already in the house? Because, aside from a single bed, it lacks everything.” Lin Baoni retorted angrily.

This was beyond ridiculous.

At that moment, Mother Lin walked out. She had just inspected the bedrooms and now had a clear idea of what was missing.

Mother Lin smiled and said: “The courtyard is nice, and the bedrooms are spacious, but there’s a lot missing. There’s a bed, but the living room still needs a sofa set, a small table, and the bedrooms need wardrobes, writing desks, stools, and other essentials.”

“The kitchen is completely empty—not even a single pot.” Lin Baoni complained.

Gu Ye, for once, turned red. Though his dark complexion made it hard to tell, he could feel the heat on his face.

“Well… I don’t really know much about these things. Let’s go to logistics now. Whatever is missing, we can apply for it.” Gu Ye quickly offered as a solution.

“Then let’s go. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can arrange everything.” Lin Baoni resigned herself to the task.

There was too much to buy—it would take a while to transport everything back.

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The three of them headed to the logistics department, handed over the requisition slip, and went straight to the warehouse to pick out the items.

With two bedrooms at home but only one bed, they had to get another one. They picked out a wardrobe, a wooden sofa with chairs, a matching small tea table, a dining table, stools, and a washbasin stand…

Though Baoni wasn’t particularly skilled at home decoration, she at least knew what necessities were required.

She made selections up front, while Gu Ye followed behind, marking everything down.

Later, he would arrange for a few soldiers to help transport the items back.

After Baoni finished choosing the large furniture, Mother Lin had also picked out many smaller household essentials.

A chopping board, a rolling pin, a chopstick holder, a five-drawer cabinet, an iron pot… They selected anything they thought would be useful.

Finally, a few young soldiers helped push carts loaded with the goods back to Gu Ye’s house.

After thanking the soldiers, Gu Ye was immediately assigned a task by Baoni—buying washbasins and cleaning the bedrooms before arranging the furniture.

Gu Ye then ran to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, where he bought enamel basins, a kettle, a thermos, soap…

He grabbed everything he could think of that might be needed, carrying multiple bags back home.

Baoni was directed by her mother to start cleaning up.

Both Baoni and Gu Ye were skilled in tidying up, and in no time, even the ceiling was swept spotless.

Baoni then instructed Gu Ye to place the wardrobe in the spot she designated. She placed a table by the window, which could be used both for writing and as a dressing table—killing two birds with one stone.

A bed was also placed in the western room, but no wardrobe was added. Instead, Gu Ye chose a bookshelf and a desk, temporarily turning the room into a study.

A stove was installed in the kitchen, along with some small household items selected by Mother Lin, making the space look less empty.

The Family Residential Compound did not have running water; water had to be fetched from a well. However, this was not a challenge for Baoni. She was strong and had been used to fetching water at home, where her family also relied on well water.

“Gu Ye, won’t it be cold sleeping in a bed during winter?” Baoni recalled that in her bedroom, she had always slept on a heated brick bed (kang) rather than a regular bed. Besides, houses with seaweed roofs were warm in winter and cool in summer, making them much more comfortable than these brick houses.

“Cold? I never noticed. I always slept in a bed at the Military Camp dormitory. If you’re not used to it, I can find someone to build a kang.” Gu Ye thought for a moment.

He truly had no memory of whether sleeping in a bed during winter was cold or not. After all, they had winter training, and no matter how cold it got, he never really felt it—it was just a habit.

“Baoni, just try it first. If it gets too cold in winter, we can have your father and brother come over to build the kang.” Mother Lin said.

To her, this was no big deal. The priority now was to get the house in order so it looked like a proper home.

“Got it, Mom. I was just asking. It’s not cold right now, so we’ll see when the time comes.” Baoni replied.

She still thought that sleeping on a heated kang would be more comfortable in winter. Once she got married and things settled down, she would ask her father to build one.

“Does the Military Unit provide bedding as well?” Mother Lin asked Gu Ye.

“The logistics department has it. I’ll go pick it up with my bedding ticket.” Gu Ye said, taking the voucher from his pocket before turning around and heading to the logistics office.

“Now that we’ve tidied up, it finally looks decent. The Military Unit is really great—they provide everything.” Mother Lin sighed as she looked around at the furnished room.

Lin Baoni also thought it was quite nice. She knew that the furniture required a small annual rental fee, but it wasn’t much. It was a subsidy provided by the Military Unit for its officers and soldiers.

Before long, Gu Ye returned, carrying two sets of military-green bedding. The Military Unit-issued bedding was all single-sized.

Mother Lin looked at the bedding. The bed was a bit narrow, so two mattresses had to be placed side by side, leaving a gap in the middle. Fortunately, over the years, she had saved some cotton and fabric for Baoni. When the time came, she would make a large mattress.

Everything that needed to be organized in the house was done, except for some bedsheets, curtains, and other essentials, which had to be bought and sewn.

“Comrade Lin Baoni, take this money and ration tickets. See what else needs to be purchased. Ask Auntie to help you prepare. I don’t really know about these things. My elder brother will be arriving in a couple of days.” Gu Ye said, handing Baoni a stack of money and tickets—it looked like quite a substantial amount.

Baoni did not refuse. She reached out and took them. This was going to be their shared home from now on, and both of them needed to contribute.

There wasn’t much else to do today, so Baoni and Mother Lin planned to head home. Tomorrow, they would have to leave the island and go to the city, as some things were not available locally.

Gu Ye walked Baoni and Mother Lin out of the Military Unit’s Family Residential Compound before turning back to the Military Camp, recalling what Xiao Chaoyang had told him.