Chapter 12: The House of Wu (Part 2)

  These two streets are perpendicular to Dongdajie, and the street extends south to Yidaojie, which then connects to Dongmendajie. Although there are 68 households, there are only about 40-50 courtyards, with more than a dozen courtyards housing two or more families. Each family has dug a drainage ditch outside their courtyard wall to prevent flooding. The street surface is an earthen road, paved with small pieces of bluestone. Almost every courtyard has a storefront, with less than half converted into residences, and more than half operating as shops. There are many types of shops, including fruit stands, pharmacies, hat shops, restaurants, and laundry services, with hat shops being the most common. As a result, many people come to Jingdongfang to buy hats, so there are quite a few pedestrians on the street, and business seems to be doing well.

  The second street is better because every household has a thatched cottage, and the road surface does not have piles of messy feces. Not far from the front, there are two large piles of garbage on the first street, with a strong stench. But it's also an unavoidable thing, the location of the first street is better than the second street, and there are more renters. Many families filled in their original toilets and renovated new houses, relying on flush toilets for the cycle of grains. Once they missed the feces truck, they had to dump them randomly everywhere. This made Chen Xin feel that having city management wasn't so bad after all.

  "Brother Chen!" came a shout from behind.

  Chen Xin turned his head and saw it was Lu Zizhong.

  "Chuan Zong, what brings you here?" Chen Xin finally remembered Lu Chui Zi's real name.

  Lu Lu Zi twisted and turned for half a day, his face red and neck swollen, but he couldn't get out a single sentence.

  Chen Xing looked at him with a strange expression. This Lu Zi was quite arrogant when he confronted Tang Chou that day, and his words were still sharp. Who would have thought that there would be such a time?

  "Finally, 'Elder Brother Chen, the wound at Er Tun has healed. The doctor said that in a few more days, it won't need to be dressed anymore.'"

  "Hmm, is he going home then?"

  "Yes... No, he himself didn't want to go back, it was Dai Ge who forced him to go back, and Dai Ge also forced me to go back."

  "So it's like that, then you plan to listen to him?"

  "Second Master, I'll listen to what you have to say. I still want to think about it, I don't want to go back to farming. Brother Chen, you're also a big brother, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

  Chen Xin thought for a moment, then took Lu Zizi along the Second Avenue to the north. Lu Zizi came to ask his opinion, should be thinking of following Chen Xin, but now knowing that Chen Xin is just an accountant, the prospects are worrying, and a little hesitant, so he wants to probe whether Chen Xin has other plans.

  "Lu brothers, if it were a peaceful and prosperous era, I would also let you go back to farming like your elder brother. But now is not the time. You may not believe me, but the chaotic world of the Ming dynasty is imminent. When chaos comes, no one can escape, whether they are a noblewoman or a farmer. Are you willing to hide and let others decide your life and death, or do you want to seize an opportunity in the midst of chaos to determine your own fate? It's hard to say which path is better; it's not something that others can help you decide, only you yourself can."

  Lu Luozizi scratched his head: "And you, Brother Chen, how would you choose?"

  Chen Xin looked at Lu Chuanzong with a smile and said, "Big brother is now just an accountant, but I firmly believe that there will be opportunities in Tianjin, so I want to stay here and wait for the opportunity to come. Now big brother can't give you anything, not even your wages, if you are willing to stay in Tianjin, you can live with me, first find a job for yourself."

  Lu Lu Zi was even more hesitant after hearing that. Chen Xin patted him on the shoulder and said, "Think carefully about it yourself, and make a decision when you've figured it out."

  "Hmm..."

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  In the afternoon, Zhou came to Fu and brought Liu Minyou and Dai Zhenggang to buy urgently needed bedding and other items. Jiang Wang led Zhang Erhui and Wang Daxi to flush the courtyard, and Jiang Wang's wife also came to help. She was a woman in her thirties who usually helped Jiang Wang sell incense and was eloquent. Together with Wang Daxi, she personally cleaned up the stove.

  Chen Xin and Lu Ma Zi were both inept at household chores and feared tediousness, so they had to wander around outside, going on a tour of the Three Temple in the northeast, and only returned home after guessing that Liu Min should have arrived.

  As soon as they entered the courtyard, there was a hubbub of voices inside. It turned out that several families from nearby had come over. On the stone table, a pile of fabric and quilts had been stacked up, and Zhou Laifu was directing several women to help with sewing. The floor had already been washed clean, and on the stove, a large iron pot had been placed, with some coarse ceramic bowls and plates scattered around the edge. From the main room came Liu Minyou's loud voice: "Prop it up a bit higher over here, this bed is for the wounded to sleep in, tie it tightly, don't let it collapse..."

  Zhou Lai Fu saw Chen Xin coming back and busily pointed at several women's homes, saying to Chen Xin: "Master Chen is back! Look, they're all packing up. These are all neighbors from Xiaojia Street. I heard that a new family has moved in, so they've all come to help out."

  He then turned to several women and said, "See, this is Chen Gongzi, an accountant. In the future, if you need any writing or calculations done, just ask Chen Gongzi for help."

  Several women were chattering and greeting Chen Xin, but he couldn't remember the last one's name. Entering the main room, there were even more people than in the courtyard. Dai Zhenggang was sweating profusely, helping to hang a bed curtain on a bamboo pole, looking more exhausted than when he was practicing with his iron rod. Hai Gouz was supporting the pole for him. This main room was originally the middle room and didn't have a bed, but Zhou Laifu's family had an old one that they no longer used, which Liu Min had bought and set up with bedding and curtains, preparing it for Er Tun to use. In another main room, several people were also cleaning up.

  Luckily, with many hands, the task was accomplished by dinner time. The room was finally tidy, and a group of women were busy rushing home to cook dinner. Zhou Laifu and Jiang Wang also returned home, leaving only their own people behind. Wang Dai Xi cleaned up the stove, becoming a big flower face, while Dai Zheng Gang's face was covered in sweat. Others had also run around for an entire afternoon, feeling both tired and hungry, but seeing the newly tidied courtyard, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

  Liu Min was excited for a while, and let everyone gather around the stone table to start assigning rooms: "The west wing of the main house is mine, the east wing of the main house is left for the wounded soldiers from the Second Regiment. Dai Xi you live in the first wing of the west side, Hai Gouzi you three are a bit miserable, temporarily live in the door market, Dai Xiong and Lu Xiong, you two come to take care of the wounded, live in the second wing, Chen Xin is lazy today, lives in the third wing."

  Dai Zhenggang hastily declined, asking Zheng Fang to give the room to Chen Xin. Chen Xin smiled and refused, as the arrangement of the room had been discussed between the two men beforehand. The group then went to a restaurant in high spirits to eat, and after finishing their meal, Dai Zhenggang and Lu Maizi bid farewell and left the city.

  When the six of them returned to the courtyard, the sky was already almost dark. Liu Min lit two lanterns they had bought to illuminate the area. With no outsiders around, Wang Dai Xi immediately jumped up and flew about like a happy little bird, running back and forth between the various rooms. After she had looked her fill, she entered her own room and didn't come out again. Faintly, the sound of sobbing could be heard. As for Hai Gou Zi and the others, they set up a simple bed in the doorway using extra boards, roughly hanging up the bed curtains. Inside, they were laughing and shouting, making a huge racket.

  Liu Min looked at him with a smile and said calmly: "These kids are really too impatient."

  Chen Xinze took a branch and gestured back and forth beside the stone table and water vat in the courtyard, saying to Liu Min, "Later, after the Second Village people leave, I'll move into the main house. The Hai Gouzi family can live in my wing of the house. We can renovate the kitchen, tear down this stone table, and open up the courtyard for exercise and leisure. Then we can dig a well in the corner, making it more convenient to use water. What do you think?"

  Liu Min immediately expressed his agreement and specifically suggested installing a double rod and a saddle horse, and conducted a feasibility analysis. Then he accompanied Chen Xin for a while, yawned and said: "I don't know why, but today's sleepiness came particularly early, I'll go inside first." Chen Xin nodded and continued to measure the size of the stove.

  Liu Min stepped into the house, immediately closed the door and hung up the lanterns. With a swift motion, he pulled out the red contract and shook his hands as he looked at it for half a day. His mouth moved with excitement: "I finally bought a house in Tianjin! Several thousand kilograms of grain, and I can buy a house! It's a golden location, a single-family villa, no mortgage, no public housing fund, no maintenance fees, fully decorated, comes with storefront, free garden, free kitchen and bathroom, free furniture, permanent property rights... am I dreaming? Yin Qiuqiu, you think you're so great, can you afford it?"

  Finally, only Chen stood calmly in the courtyard, muttering to himself with a look of dissatisfaction: "No water, electricity, gas, TV, or broadband; no scenery, no club, no security or cleaning services, and the design is also problematic. Where will I park my future BMW?" Collect, recommend, evaluate