At this time, many people were watching them.

In the bustling capital, people were naturally drawn to those in military uniforms.

However, Xiao Hou quickly led Lin Guodong and Ning Shu out of the train station.

A vehicle was waiting outside, and once they were in the car, Xiao Hou respectfully said, “Regiment Leader, sister-in-law, the housing and the residence are in different locations. I have the address and keys for the house. Would you like to go to the residence first or check out the house?”

Lin Guodong looked at Ning Shu.

After some discussion, Lin Guodong said to Xiao Hou, “First, take my wife to the assigned house, and then bring me to the residence.”

“Alright.” Xiao Hou stepped on the gas, and the car sped away.

Although the capital was large, the train station was centrally located, and traffic jams were rare at that time, so half an hour later, they arrived at the community assigned to Lin Guodong.

At the entrance of the community, there were two guards on duty.

It was clear that this was not a place anyone could enter.

The car was stopped at the gate, and when the guards approached, Xiao Hou rolled down the window.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar person in military uniform inside, the guard asked nervously, “May I ask who you are?”

Xiao Hou said, “Hello, Comrade. I’ve been here before. This is our Regiment Leader Lin, and I’m the Regiment Leader’s security officer, Hou Caihua. The house assigned to our Regiment Leader by the organization is here, at Building 11.”

Building 11?

The guard knew about Building 11.

It had previously been occupied by a high-ranking officer who had retired and moved out recently.

There had been rumors about people eyeing the property, so it was surprising to see someone new moving in.

“Please proceed.” The guard didn’t ask for further details and immediately let them through.

At this point, he had a vague recollection of Xiao Hou.

Xiao Hou had been here before to clean the house.

As a security officer, he needed to be familiar with where his Regiment Leader would live, as the security officer also served as the Regiment Leader’s “living assistant.”

Since it was daytime, and early in the morning, even though the area housed people of some status, the presence of a military vehicle drew attention.

Especially since the vehicle had an unfamiliar license plate.

As the car stopped in front of Building 11, more and more people began to watch.

Ning Shu looked out of the car and was delighted to see that the area was filled with detached houses. ‘Oh my God, we’re going to live in one of these beautiful houses in the capital? I’ve always longed for a little house like this in my past life! To think this is a house in the capital, which will be worth a fortune in the future, or even impossible to buy in this location no matter how rich one is.’

Unable to contain her excitement, Ning Shu asked, “Comrade Hou, will we be the only ones living in this house in the future?”

“Yes, sister-in-law,” Xiao Hou replied. “Each house here is assigned to one family. The people living here have some status and there are confidential matters involved, so each house is allocated to one family to prevent any potential leaks.”

As they spoke, the three of them got out of the car.

Lin Guodong noticed how pleased his wife was with the house, but he understood that this house was assigned by the military and was not their property.

It looked like he needed to work hard to earn enough to buy a similar house in the capital.

As the three of them exited the car, a few curious onlookers watched them.

In such a large compound, encountering high-ranking officials was not unusual, so people were merely curious about who had been assigned to this particular house.

After all, many had their eyes on this property.

The crowd wondered, “What rank are they?”

“They were brought here by a military vehicle, so they must hold a high rank.”

“Looking at their youth, how high could their rank be? Maybe it’s their parents in the military who hold higher ranks.”

“Ah, there are quite a few people interested in this house, and some people from other places also want it. Now, here comes an outsider.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. This is an arrangement from above. Who dares to make a fuss?”

The crowd murmured among themselves.

Ning Shu and the others, naturally, did not hear this as they had already entered the house.

The small Western-style house was a bit old and showed signs of wear, but it was clear that it had been well maintained by its previous occupants.

What surprised them the most was that the furniture was still there.

This…

Actually, Ning Shu didn’t like this furniture.

No matter the cost, she disliked using things that had been used by others.

A wooden plank bed from the military would be fine if wiped clean, as it wouldn’t leave other traces.

But the furniture here was clearly not like that.

Looking at the sofa in the living room, and the television, refrigerator, and so on…

Ning Shu couldn’t help but look at Lin Guodong: “The stuff in this house hasn’t been moved out. It seems we might have trouble living here. What’s the deal with the previous occupants?”

Lin Guodong didn’t know either, so he asked Xiao Hou: “What about the previous occupants of this house?”

Xiao Hou replied, “I inquired about it. The previous occupant, a cadre, retired for some reason and moved out, so the house became vacant.”

As for the reasons, they were certainly related to issues left over from the ten years of hardship.

“Since the previous occupant retired, it means they’re still around. But why hasn’t the furniture been moved? What should we do with these things?” Ning Shu asked.

She then said to Lin Guodong, “How should we handle this? If we don’t deal with these things, we can’t add anything ourselves.”

Lin Guodong was also at a loss.

The furniture was not small and couldn’t be sorted into one room.

But throwing it away wasn’t a solution either.

For a moment, even Lin Guodong, who was experienced in battle, didn’t know how to handle it.

He could handle a fight, but dealing with this was truly beyond him.

“I’ll go back to the military and ask about the situation here, see if I can contact the previous occupant. If they still need the furniture, they can come and move it immediately. If not, we’ll discuss it further.”

Ning Shu was inexplicably annoyed.

She had come here happily, but now the house was cluttered with someone else’s belongings, which was hardly pleasing.

She wasn’t a very patient person: “Alright, go ask. And also check with the military about whether we have the right to handle these items ourselves.”

“If they don’t want the things, we’ll handle it ourselves. If we can’t handle it, we’ll donate them to the welfare institute,” Ning Shu said.

Lin Guodong had no objections. “Alright, I’ll report to the station first. You rest here for now.”

“Okay.”

As the three of them came out, the crowd that had gathered outside was still there.

Lin Guodong and Xiao Hou left in the car, leaving Ning Shu behind.

Ning Shu looked at the curious onlookers and smiled. “Hello, comrades. We just moved in today. Please take care of us in the future.”

Ning Shu was naturally charming and only 28 years old.

She had fair skin and dressed well. It was early November, a time that was neither too cold nor too warm.

She wore black wide-legged pants, a white shirt, and a bright red wool cardigan.

With her handmade black backpack, she exuded a sense of style and sophistication uncommon for the era.

Originally, people had been speculating about her background based on her appearance.

Although everyone in this area had some status, their backgrounds varied greatly.

It was only this generation that looked better, and the older generation’s status was less clear.

Given Ning Shu’s appearance, people wondered if she came from a wealthy family.

As she took the initiative to speak and seemed easy to approach, the onlookers were more open to engaging with her.

One woman took the lead, greeting her warmly. “Comrade, are you with the military? Is this house assigned to you by the authorities?”

“Miss, was that your husband earlier?”

“Where are you from?”

Many questions revolved around their identity.

Ning Shu smiled and didn’t hide anything.

After all, they would all get to know eventually. “Yes, this house was assigned to my husband by the military. He was transferred here from another post. By the way, do you know who lived here before us? There are still things left behind. Do you know if they’re planning to take them?”

“I know,” an older woman spoke up. “The previous occupant was Regiment Leader Lu and his family. Since Regiment Leader Lu retired, the house was reclaimed, and they moved elsewhere. The new place is smaller, so they left these things behind. I heard Regiment Leader Lu’s wife plans to sell them to the new occupants. If you want to buy them, you can contact her.”

“Yes, those things are quite valuable. They were bought with coupons and were quite expensive. They should be cheaper now.”

Ning Shu was taken aback.

She realized that the items had deliberately been left behind.

However, she wasn’t interested in them. “Do you know how to contact them? We don’t want these things. We’ll bring our own items, and if these aren’t moved, we won’t have space for ours.”

“I know where they live now,” another woman said. “They’re renting a courtyard house not far from here. If you want, I can take you there.”

Visit them?

Ning Shu wasn’t keen on going over to deal with this.

She smiled at the woman. “I’ll discuss it with my husband when he returns. Auntie, where do you live? I’ll come find you later.”

“Oh, I live right next door.”