The woman acted quickly, closing the door behind her and coming out. “Brigade Commander Lu and his family live in a nearby courtyard. It takes about twenty minutes to walk there. I don’t know if they’re home right now. By the way, I’m Zhang Cuilan. May I ask how you’re addressed?”

Her attitude was warm and straightforward, leaving a good impression.

Ning Shu replied, “I’m Ning Shu. This is my husband, Lin Guodong, and this is my husband’s comrade, Comrade Hou.”

Comrade Hou asked, “Brigade Commander, Madam, should we take a car over there?” He was pleased to be referred to as a comrade of the brigade commander’s.

Ning Shu considered for a moment and said, “Since it’s only twenty minutes, let’s walk. It’s a good way to get familiar with the area.” She then asked Zhang Cuilan, “Aunt Zhang, is that alright?”

Zhang Cuilan quickly said, “Of course, it’s only about twenty minutes. No need to drive. I walk to the market every day, and it takes me half an hour. Oh, and if you need to go to the market, I can show you around. I’m very familiar with this area. By the way, I’m free every morning between nine and ten-thirty and every afternoon between one-thirty and three-thirty.”

“Thank you, Aunt Zhang,” Ning Shu said, appreciating Zhang Cuilan’s friendliness.

Zhang Cuilan wasn’t so warm with everyone.

Although her nature was brisk, she was friendly to Ning Shu for two reasons: first, people living in this courtyard weren’t ordinary, and having good relations with them would be advantageous; second, Ning Shu was a neighbor, and as the saying goes, “a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor,” so it was important to be friendly with neighbors.

Along the way, Zhang Cuilan introduced Ning Shu to the surroundings.

As she had said, it took about twenty minutes, and they arrived at their destination.

The courtyard here was somewhat old, but the location was indeed good.

“Brigade Commander Lu’s family lives here,” Zhang Cuilan said as she knocked on the courtyard gate.

Knock, knock, knock…

The sound echoed for a while before they heard movement from inside.

“Who is it?” A rough male voice asked from within.

After a short while, the door opened, revealing a middle-aged man in his fifties.

He had an aura distinct from ordinary people.

Seeing the people at the door, he was momentarily surprised and then nervously asked, “Is this the military looking for me?”

He looked at Lin Guodong and inquired.

Seeing Lin Guodong in military uniform, Brigade Commander Lu instinctively thought it was the military seeking him.

This worried him—was the issue from before still unresolved?

Or were they here to seek revenge?

“Brigade Commander Lu, these are comrades from the courtyard, and they’re here about the house you used to live in,” Zhang Cuilan said to Brigade Commander Lu.

In a tense moment, someone spoke up.

Hearing Zhang Cuilan’s words, Commander Lu looked at her.

He recognized Zhang Cuilan; she was publicly known as a distant relative of the deputy director of the local police station, but in reality, she was also their family’s housekeeper.

In the courtyard, almost every household had a housekeeper, usually living there as distant relatives.

When he heard it was a comrade now living in their old house, Commander Lu didn’t relax because the person was in military uniform.

He assumed it was the military looking for him.

“Hello, comrade. How can I help you?” Lu Qingshan said with a smile, though he was cautious inside.

Lin Guodong spoke up: “Hello, Comrade Lu. The higher-ups have assigned your old house to me, but your things are still there. What do you plan to do with them?”

Lu Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was just about this.

However, he remembered what his wife had said: they moved in a hurry and couldn’t find a suitable place.

The courtyard was a temporary rental with several families.

The furniture from the old house didn’t fit or couldn’t be accommodated here.

His wife had suggested that if the new tenants needed furniture, they could sell it to them.

If they didn’t need it…

Lu Qingshan remembered his wife’s less-than-pleasant advice: if they didn’t want it, just leave it.

Since their rented place couldn’t accommodate it anyway, if the new tenants threw it out, they’d have to compensate.

People moving into the courtyard were surely respectable families, so they wouldn’t throw it out without compensation.

Lu Qingshan found it difficult to handle such matters but knew they couldn’t accommodate the furniture.

After some thought, he awkwardly said, “Comrade, are there any pieces of furniture you would like? If so, we can sell them to you.” He felt a bit embarrassed.

Since he joined the army, his wife had found him, and he had never felt this awkward again.

His wife came from a capitalist family, and they lived well before the capitalists fell from grace.

When they were liquidated, his wife severed ties with her in-laws, and he wasn’t affected.

The furniture was all part of the dowry from her parents.

Sigh…

Lu Qingshan sighed, having thought he’d retire from the military, but now…

“Sorry, we already have furniture and don’t plan to buy any right now,” Lin Guodong said.

Lu Qingshan replied, “Well… we can’t accommodate it either. We only rented two rooms. You see…” He stepped aside to show the situation inside.

Ning Shu said, “We can’t fit our own furniture either; we need to move our furniture in…”

Ning Shu was quite direct with her request. “Since your furniture is still here, we have no place to put our own. I see that the courtyard here is shared by several households. If we set up a shed in the courtyard, it would definitely be problematic. How about renting another place just for the furniture? Can you sort it out today? My husband needs to report tomorrow, and if we can’t get things settled, it will be difficult for him to focus on his duties.”

Lu Qingshan realized that Ning Shu’s remarks were not very polite but understood the underlying message.

He looked at the courtyard, which was shared among several families, and knew that setting up a shed would not be feasible without causing issues.

Ning Shu added, “It’s not feasible for us to handle your things. If anything gets damaged, it will cause trouble. The previous occupants’ belongings should be sorted by the current occupants, not the new ones.”

Lu Qingshan’s expression soured at Ning Shu’s bluntness, but he had no choice but to accept her terms. “Can you give us one more day? I need to discuss with my wife about either setting up a shed or finding another place to store the furniture. We will need some time.”

“That’s fine. We can wait until tomorrow, but if by 3 PM the furniture isn’t moved out, I will have to report it to the authorities,” Ning Shu said firmly.

She wanted to make sure there was a clear deadline to avoid any further complications.

Lu Qingshan thought Ning Shu was rather difficult to deal with and found it odd that Lin Guodong seemed to defer to her so much.

He muttered to himself that it must be challenging for Lin Guodong to have such a wife.

After settling things with Lu Qingshan, Ning Shu and her group parted ways with Zhang Cuilan and returned to the compound.

“Let’s stay at a guesthouse tonight. Once they’ve moved the furniture tomorrow, we’ll clean the house and see what we need to buy. If we can’t find it here, we can order it from the production team at Moon Bay when we return. We’ll need a car for that anyway,” Ning Shu planned.

She was pragmatic about the situation and wanted to ensure everything was in order before Lin Guodong’s report the next day.

Ning Shu said, “We’ll also need to bring our things.”

Once the semester ends for the three children, it will take some time.

By then, the Moon Bay Production Team should be able to handle the orders, and we can transport everything back to the capital with one truckload.

“Alright, you decide,” Lin Guodong said. Although he had no objections, he listened carefully to Ning Shu’s words.

So, the couple and Xiao Hou went to the guesthouse.

After registering their room, Lin Guodong asked Xiao Hou to leave and arranged for him to come back the next day to pick him up.

They had dinner at a state-run restaurant, then went to their new home to freshen up before returning to the guesthouse to sleep.

Before going to bed, Lin Guodong told Ning Shu about some people he knew in the capital.

Ning Shu thought for a moment and said, “Let’s not entertain them this time or visit them. After Comrade Lv moves their furniture out, I’ll clean up and then go back. I’m not comfortable leaving the three treasures at home. We’ll formally meet your friends once we’re fully moved in.”

“Alright, let’s do that,” Lin Guodong agreed. He added, “I won’t be around tomorrow. If there are any verbal conflicts with them, try to stay calm. You might get taken advantage of if you’re alone. We can discuss any issues when I’m back from work.” He knew his wife’s personality and was worried she might argue with others.

He was concerned because, as a woman, she could be more easily mistreated.

Ning Shu chuckled, “I’m not foolish. Don’t worry.”

Even though she said this, she appreciated Lin Guodong’s concern and felt happy.

“Oh, and I haven’t told my family about your transfer to the capital. I’ll write them a letter once we return and update them on your situation,” Ning Shu suddenly remembered.

“Okay. You write the letter to them, and I won’t send a separate one.”

They didn’t talk much more.

They were both exhausted after just arriving by train and fell asleep almost immediately.