Everything seemed to be going smoothly, except that she had run into Director Gao a bit more frequently these past few days. This puzzled her somewhat. Whenever she noticed his probing gaze and looked back, he would immediately avert his eyes.
This behavior felt more like investigation and scrutiny.
The more it happened, the more she dared not let her guard down. At work, she wished she could muster every ounce of focus to get things done.
After enduring this for a week, the unit remained calm, and the family finally received the good news about moving.
On Friday evening, Meng Suling was bustling about, packing their belongings. Seeing Miao Yunwei return from work, she quickly pulled her into the room. “Hurry, start packing your things. Tomorrow is an auspicious day—we’ll move to the new house right after midnight tonight. Let Old Three, Old Four, and Old Five carry the quilts and clothes. You just need to… grab a plastic basin or carry a bucket, whatever’s easy. Your dad and I will handle the rest.”
Old Three, Miao Lingwei, had been quite happy at first, but upon hearing her mother’s arrangement, she immediately glared in dissatisfaction. “Mom! You’re so biased! You’re giving all the heavy stuff to us, while Second Sister just carries a basin? Is that fair?”
Meng Suling rolled her eyes at her. “What are you shouting about? Your second sister works so hard—what’s wrong with letting her take it easy after work? We owe this new house to her efforts. You’re just benefiting from it, so what’s the big deal about doing a little more work? If you’re not happy, you can stay here by yourself!”
Miao Lingwei hung her head and didn’t dare say another word.
Miao Yunwei glanced at the sky outside and couldn’t help but laugh. “Mom, it’s probably not even eight o’clock yet. We’re moving after midnight—if you pack up everything on the bed, where are we going to sleep?”
Meng Suling waved it off. “Sleep? I can’t sleep anyway. Besides, we’re off tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter if we stay up tonight. Oh, right—Old Three, Old Four, Old Five, hurry up and finish your weekend homework first, so you can help out later.”
The two mischievous boys, who had been excited about the move, instantly deflated.
Meng Suling ignored them and turned back to her calculations.
By ten o’clock that night, when Miao Jianguo returned from work, Meng Suling was the first to rush out, pulling him into the room and saying excitedly, “We’ve decided to move at midnight.”
Miao Jianguo was stunned. “Wife, you’re moving fast! Perfect timing—I’m off tomorrow, so I can help.”
Meng Suling shot him a look. “If all three of us weren’t off tomorrow, would I have picked this day?”
Miao Lingwei protested angrily, “Mom! So you didn’t even consider me, Old Four, and Old Five?”
Meng Suling lowered her eyelids, thoroughly annoyed. “You’re always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. When the house was being built, why didn’t you offer to help after school? Now that it’s time to move, you’re suddenly speaking up? How much have you had to drink? You’re so drunk you don’t even know your own limits.”
Miao Lingwei fell silent again, her face flushed red with anger as she turned her head away.
But Meng Suling wasn’t entirely wrong about her. During this time, Miao Lingwei hadn’t visited the Hekou Community even once, afraid she’d be dragged into doing manual labor—something she simply couldn’t handle.
Meng Suling knew her third daughter’s nature all too well. After dismissing her with a few words, she began discussing matters with Miao Jianguo.
When midnight arrived.
Miao Dashan and Huang Caiying, dressed in new clothes, came knocking. The entire family mobilized, some carrying shoulder poles, others holding buckets, marching out of the staff compound in a grand procession.
The door of the eldest son’s house remained shut the entire time.
Meng Suling was in a good mood and didn’t dwell on it, while Miao Dashan and Huang Caiying understood the situation perfectly but didn’t bring it up.
After stepping outside the wall, Miao Jianguo set off a string of firecrackers. Holding a lantern, he led the way toward the direction of Hekou Commune.
After finally groping their way to the new house in the dark, Miao Jianguo set off another string of firecrackers. He was the first to open the door of the new house and connected the light bulb in the yard.
As the light came on, the Miao family also saw what the new house looked like.
For Miao Yunwei and the others who came to help every day, it was nothing new.
But for Miao Lingwei, Old Four, and Old Five, this was their first time here. The three of them stared at the two-story building with their mouths agape.
“Mom! Our house has two floors?”
This was completely different from what she had imagined!
When she first heard that the family was moving to the old house, she had strongly objected. How could a house in the commune compare to the apartment buildings in the workers’ compound? If her classmates found out she had moved out of the workers’ compound, she would definitely be laughed at. It was only after Meng Suling promised to arrange a separate room for her that she began to have a little expectation for this house.
After all, who wouldn’t want to have their own private room?
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect the old house to be two stories tall, and it didn’t look half bad!
Meng Suling frowned and shot her a warning glance, signaling her to keep quiet, then turned to Huang Caiying. “Mom, we need to set up the offering table next, right?”
Huang Caiying nodded slightly, looking somewhat weary. “First, turn on the light in the main hall, light the brazier, and step over it before entering.”
Meng Suling and Miao Jianguo hurriedly went to prepare.
Seeing the adults busy, Miao Lingwei quietly sidled up to Miao Yunwei and whispered, “Second Sister, why didn’t you tell me our new house is so big!”
Miao Yunwei gave her a cool glance. “If you had bothered to come take a look these past few days, you wouldn’t be asking such a question. Grandpa and Grandma are here—if they hear you, you’ll definitely get scolded again.”
Miao Lingwei was somewhat clever and did decently in school, but she was full of schemes, couldn’t endure hardship, always looked for shortcuts, and was easily fooled.
In her previous life, after Miao Yunwei went to the countryside, Miao Lingwei visited her once and was horrified by her situation. After returning, she studied hard, caught the right opportunity, and barely managed to get into a junior college.
In this era, a junior college diploma was more valuable than a doctorate thirty years later—it was almost like producing a top scholar.
Miao Lingwei finally gained some respect. She studied nursing in junior college and was assigned to work in a hospital after graduation. However, unable to endure the hardships of being a nurse, she set her sights on finding a husband and eventually married a doctor, quitting her job not long after.
It was said that her husband was not a faithful man, fooling around outside, while she constantly made a fuss over every little suspicion, turning herself into a resentful woman. She would return to her parents’ home crying every few days, ruining a perfectly good hand of cards.
Miao Lingwei glanced in her grandparents’ direction and indeed didn’t dare to say another word, quickly helping Miao Yunwei with her tasks.
Once the brazier was lit, Miao Dashan led the way, and the whole family stepped over it one by one, entering the main hall.
Inside, they saw red brick walls, red clay tiles on the floor, an oversized square table in the center with four long benches on each side, and a wooden staircase in the corner leading directly to the second floor.
Meng Suling directed Miao Lingwei, Old Three, and Old Four, “Go, take your clothes and bedding upstairs. From now on, you three will live up there.”
Wow! The three younger ones’ eyes lit up.
They hurriedly dragged their belongings upstairs.
The wooden staircase was made by an experienced craftsman and even had handrails. Aside from being a bit narrow, it was quite safe.
After the three siblings went upstairs, excited shouts soon came from the second floor.
“I want this room! This one has a big bed!”
“I’ll sleep in the inner room—this one overlooks the front yard downstairs.”
“I want to stay next to Fourth Brother! We’re boys, we don’t sleep in the same area as girls.”
…..