A pleasant life in a courtyard

Chapter 529 The Third Suite
"100 pings?"

The screams of the three aunts made the birds under the eaves chirp.

"Oh, why are you yelling? Can you please understand what I am saying?" Aunt Wang was envious, but she looked down on the third aunt's jumpy attitude.

"Auntie, what we just said was that ordinary clerks get 100 pings, and leaders like Li Xiang get 150 pings." Qin Huairu repeated what Li's mother had said in a soft voice.

"Oh my goodness, how big must it be?" Auntie imagined the size of the house in her mind.

"Oh, it just sounds scary. How big can it be? At most it's two or three times the size of Zhuzi's house." Li's mother waved her hands in a Versailles manner, as if it was no big deal.

But if that were the case, she wouldn't have to publicize it like that.

Although Li's mother usually looks very low-key, whenever her children are praised by the country and the unit, don't blame her for becoming a crazy show-off for her children.

"I heard that the house this time is different from the tube-shaped building?" Sister Tang asked curiously.

"It is said that the toilet and laundry room have been moved home. From now on, each family will go to their own place to avoid queuing." Mother Li replied based on the information she heard from her daughter-in-law.

"Wow, that's really great. I don't know if we will have the luck to live in a building in this lifetime." The second aunt sighed.

People nowadays are really fed up with living in these slums.

If I had a choice, I would rather live in that tube-shaped building than stay here.

It’s a pity that the steel mill has only built one building over the years due to housing problems.

The profits were mainly distributed among technical staff and management, with no share for the workers at all.

Following the second aunt's sigh, several other elderly people also sighed.

Not knowing what the future holds for them, they all feel that living in a building is a pipe dream.

In order to avoid making the atmosphere more depressing, the aunt quickly changed the subject and asked about Li's mother.

"Now that the houses have been distributed here, do these people have to return the houses they originally lived in?" Her question perked up others.

Although if the house is returned, they will not have a share in it, but people are always a little curious about such changes.

Mother Li shook her head and replied, "I don't think I've heard that you have to pay it back."

When she said this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

This person takes up two sets. Isn't that a bit greedy?

Nowadays, many families with more than a dozen people are crammed into one or two rooms and cannot move.

Everyone is waiting for redistribution, hoping to live in a more spacious place.

This behavior of one person occupying multiple sets is actually quite hateful.

Faced with this situation, Li's mother had already prepared for it.

"People like them who have made great contributions to the country, how can they be treated the same as us? They earn money for us to spend. What's wrong with living better? What's wrong with having an extra room? It's not like they're just sitting there empty. There are other people in the family, right?"

If what Li's mother said was about other families, then it would be reasonable and well-founded.

But if it is placed on Li Xiang, it doesn't quite fit.

This is the third house he has bought since he was in school and now he is working.

Li Xiang, his wife and children are only three of them. His old mother has her own house, his eldest sister is married, and his youngest brother is still in school. Judging from their development, they may not need this room in the slum in the future.

So, based on the population of the Li family, their housing is surplus no matter how you calculate it.

But there is no way, who dares to use this as an excuse? The house in Li's compound was bought with money, and Li Xiang's two existing houses and the one to be issued soon were all state awards.

These all have official sources, and there is nothing said above. If others use this to make trouble, they will only make themselves uncomfortable.

If Li's mother were to say it herself, based on her daughter-in-law's level, she would have been able to get a house in the unit long ago.

The couple has been considering others by refusing.

In response to Li's mother's remarks, other neighbors in the yard could only nod in agreement.

I feel a little envious and jealous, but I am far from being hateful enough.

We should be reasonable, right? If other people's children are successful, it's their own ability. How can we argue with them over this?

After everyone dispersed, they waited for those who worked outside to return in the evening, and each family discussed the current situation of the Li family again.

He Yuzhu heard from Sister Tang that the Li family had bought another house, so he picked up a glass of white wine, drank it, and said to his wife while picking up fried peanuts with his chopsticks:
"That's their ability. I don't envy them. Besides, we have two houses now, which is enough."

Sister Tang glanced at him and said angrily, "Who said I was envious? I was just telling you about this matter. How come you turned the good words into offensive words after you said them once?"

He Yuzhu knew that he had said the wrong thing, so he slapped himself on the mouth a few times in front of his wife and children.

The mother and daughter were already accustomed to the lack of authority of the pillar of the family, so they looked at each other and put this little episode behind them.

At this time, there was another conversation going on at his neighbor Qin Huairu's house.

"This Jingru has learned to play tricks on me. The last time she came, she didn't mention a word about the Li family's plan to divide the houses." Qin Huairu picked up some food for Xu Laosan and complained to him.

"That's because you, as her elder sister, taught her well. Keeping her mouth shut will only do good for her." Xu Laosan said, looking outside. There were still few children outside the door.

"That's true, but if you really have to be on guard against me, I'll feel uncomfortable." Qin Huairu followed his gaze and looked outside. After just one glance, she understood the man's thoughts.

"What are you looking at? I told you this morning that you wouldn't be coming back for dinner." She tapped the plate with her chopsticks to bring Xu Laosan back to his senses.

Xu Laosan looked away reluctantly, then pointed at the food on the table and said to her, "You too, the children are not at home, why did you cook so many meat dishes? We can't eat all of them."

Qin Huairu glared at him unhappily as her kindness was taken for granted.

"I made it for you because I'm not at home. Usually when the children are around, I wouldn't even let you pick up your chopsticks to eat. Don't leave any piece left tonight." Qin Huairu said as she put two more pieces of the braised pork into the man's bowl.

"Oh, I can't finish all of this. Leave it there. The kids will be hungry after watching the movie and can eat some more when they come back." Xu Laosan picked up the bowl and moved aside, unwilling to take it.

His action made Qin Huairu so angry that she put down her chopsticks and started cursing.

"Save, save, save. That's all you know how to do. You're not destined to enjoy a good life."

Xu Laosan was not angry even when being scolded. Instead, he picked up a piece of meat from the bowl and put it back into Qin Huairu's bowl, smiling at her foolishly.

Qin Huairu's depression was quickly dispelled by his actions.

She picked up the chopsticks swiftly and put a few chunks of meat into his bowl as if she was angry.

As she picked up some food, Xu Laosan transferred it to her bowl.

After a few bites, the meat on the plate was empty, but the bowls on both sides were piled up.

Seeing this, the couple smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.

In the end, Qin Huairu smiled and said, "Eat it, don't give in."

Only then did the two of them pick up the bowls steadily.

(End of this chapter)