The moment Yun Yixuan heard this, her eyes instantly lit up. She excitedly turned toward Li Meiling, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Li Meiling immediately understood what she was thinking. The corners of her lips lifted into a smile as she gently nodded.
After receiving her approval, Yun Yixuan turned back to the captain’s wife with a bright smile, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.
“That sounds wonderful! With Uncle Captain and Auntie nearby, we’ll have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“It’s just that there’s nothing inside the house yet. It’s completely empty. I’m afraid you two girls will have to put up with some inconvenience.”
The captain’s wife looked at them apologetically, a trace of concern on her face.
“That’s all right, Auntie. We already have the basic necessities we need,” Li Meiling quickly replied with a cheerful smile. “As for furniture, we can slowly buy what we need later. It’s not a problem.”
Yun Yixuan wanted to settle the matter as soon as possible, so she eagerly suggested, “Uncle, Auntie, would it be convenient for us to take a look at the house now? We’d like to have a place of our own as soon as possible. It would put our minds at ease.”
Hearing this, the captain’s wife smiled even more brightly. She immediately stood up and began removing her apron.
“Of course it’s convenient! I’ll go get the key right now.”
With that, she hurried into the inner room.
Before long, she returned carrying a ring of keys. They jingled crisply as they swung from her hand.
“Come on. Let’s go take a look. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”
Yun Yixuan, Wei Jianguo, and Li Meiling followed the captain’s wife out of the courtyard. After walking only a short distance, they arrived at the small courtyard next door.
The captain’s wife skillfully unlocked the padlock hanging from the gate and gently pushed the wooden door open.
Creak—
The wooden gate slowly swung inward, and the four of them entered the courtyard.
The courtyard had been swept spotlessly clean, without a trace of clutter on the ground. A neat stack of firewood sat against one corner of the wall, making it obvious that someone regularly came over to maintain the place.
In the right-hand corner of the courtyard was a simple but clean toilet.
The captain’s wife walked to the main house and unlocked the door.
When Yun Yixuan and Li Meiling stepped inside, they found themselves facing a main room of approximately forty square meters.
There were two doors on the right side of the room, one toward the front and the other toward the back. There was no need to guess—they were most likely the bedrooms.
Between the two doors stood a brick cooking stove with two openings, allowing two cooking pots to be placed on it. Beside the stove was another neatly stacked pile of dry firewood, along with a large water vat.
Unable to contain her excitement, Yun Yixuan immediately pushed open one of the bedroom doors.
A large heated brick bed, or kang, occupied much of the room. A clean reed mat covered its surface, but other than that, the room was completely empty.
She walked over to inspect the other bedroom and found that its layout was exactly the same.
However, the stove had one major advantage.
Whenever a fire was lit for cooking, the heat could travel through the flues and warm the kangs in both bedrooms at the same time.
In the freezing winters of the north, such a setup was incredibly practical.
Yun Yixuan and Li Meiling exchanged a glance.
Both immediately saw satisfaction in each other’s eyes.
Although the house had no furniture, its layout and location suited them perfectly. They could always buy furniture little by little later.
“Auntie, wasn’t this house built for your son to use after he gets married? Would it really be appropriate for us to live here first?”
Yun Yixuan genuinely loved the house, but she still had some concerns, so she asked cautiously.
The captain’s wife immediately waved her hand dismissively.
“What’s inappropriate about it? My third son doesn’t even have a girlfriend yet. Who knows how many years it’ll be before he gets married? Besides, even if he does get married, we can just buy him new furniture when the time comes. It won’t interfere with anything. You two can live here without worrying.”
Yun Yixuan smiled at her.
“Then, Auntie, how much do you think the rent should be? We can’t take advantage of you. We should pay a fair price.”
Hearing this, the captain’s wife wasn’t quite sure what to charge and instinctively looked toward Brigade Captain Wei Jianguo.
Wei Jianguo picked up his long tobacco pipe, reached into the tobacco pouch hanging at his side, filled the pipe, and lit it.
After taking a deep puff, he hesitated briefly before saying, “There’s nothing inside the house, so you two will still have to spend money buying furniture and other things. I won’t charge you too much. How about fifty yuan a year? That’s already a very reasonable price in the village, especially considering things aren’t easy for you educated youths either.”
Yun Yixuan lowered her head and thought about it.
In an era when an average monthly salary was only twenty or thirty yuan, fifty yuan for an entire year’s rent really wasn’t expensive.
Besides, she was satisfied with almost everything about the house.
It would be a shame to let such a good opportunity slip away.
“Then it’s settled, Uncle Captain. We’re planning to move in tomorrow.”
As she spoke, Yun Yixuan took five ten-yuan notes from her pocket and handed them to Wei Jianguo with both hands.
“Good! Then it’s settled. Don’t worry about anything.”
Wei Jianguo accepted the money and carefully counted it before turning toward his wife.
“Give the key to our two educated youth comrades.”
The captain’s wife nodded repeatedly with a smile and handed the key to Yun Yixuan.
Inside, she was already thinking happily about the additional income.
With this extra money, there would be more food for her grandchildren in the future, and she wouldn’t have to worry as much about them going hungry.
After agreeing on a time to move the following day, Yun Yixuan and Li Meiling locked the house and said goodbye to the captain and his wife.
The two walked side by side toward the educated youth compound.
They chatted and laughed along the way, imagining what their new life in the little house would be like.
Watching their cheerful figures walk away, the captain’s wife gently nudged Wei Jianguo and lowered her voice.
“Old man, what do you think of that educated youth Yun Yixuan? She’s pretty and educated. Wouldn’t she be perfect as our third daughter-in-law?”
Wei Jianguo glanced at his wife and replied irritably, “You worry too much. No matter how much you like a girl, that brat isn’t even home, so what’s the use? It’s his marriage. He has to make his own decision.”
The captain’s wife’s face immediately fell, and she sighed.
“Ah, that third son of ours… Who knows when he’ll come home? He’s always busy, busy, busy. He doesn’t care about his own marriage at all. I think Educated Youth Li is pretty good too.”
Their conversation gradually drifted away with the gentle night breeze, disappearing beneath the twinkling stars as though the darkness itself had quietly swallowed their words.
Moonlight flowed like water, gently spilling across the roof and windowsills of the educated youth compound.
Yun Yixuan lay on her narrow kang, the corners of her lips unconsciously lifting into a smile.
Her mind was filled with images of the little courtyard.
The warm kang.
The spacious, bright rooms.
Everything seemed so cozy and full of hope.
Carrying that happiness with her, Yun Yixuan quickly drifted into a peaceful sleep and didn’t dream once throughout the night.
The next morning, the sky had barely begun to brighten.
The first rays of dawn hadn’t even fully penetrated the paper-covered windows when Yun Yixuan suddenly sprang out of bed.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she immediately began packing her belongings with quick, efficient movements.
First, she folded her bedding neatly. Then she carefully tied the quilt tightly with hemp rope, making every knot secure and tidy.
Next, she wiped her washbasin and thermos clean before placing them one by one into a large cardboard box.
She carefully folded her clothes as well and placed them inside the small cabinet she had bought when she first arrived.
She didn’t own very many things, but every single item was something she relied on while living in this unfamiliar countryside.
For that reason, she packed everything with exceptional care.
At the same time, Li Meiling quietly packed her own belongings.
Unlike Yun Yixuan’s energetic movements, Li Meiling worked steadily and methodically, sorting everything into categories before placing each item into her luggage.
Occasionally, she would raise her head and meet Yun Yixuan’s gaze.
The two would exchange knowing smiles, their eyes filled with anticipation for the new life awaiting them.
Most of the other educated youths sharing their room were still asleep.
However, the noise of Yun Yixuan and Li Meiling packing eventually woke them.
One after another, they opened their sleepy eyes and stared indifferently at the two busy women, their expressions filled with confusion.
Cui Yinyin, the leader of the female educated youths, rubbed her eyes and sat up on the kang.
She looked at them uncertainly before asking,
“Are you two moving out?”
“Mm. We found a house in the village to rent.”
Li Meiling gave a simple reply while continuing to fold the clothes in her hands without pausing.