Chapter 20: Clean Up
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Sun Wang saw the stalemate and was about to suggest drawing lots.
Yu Bing stood up and said emotionally, “Village Chief, since we can’t stay in the dormitory anymore, Yu Yan can stay in the dormitory if she wants. Then can Jiang Chun and I stay alone? It’s mainly because we don’t want to cause trouble for the villagers.”
Sun Wang scratched his bald head. “Little Yu, your idea is good, but there’s no room in the village.” ...
A few days ago, Yu Bing found out that Jiang Chun’s team leader, Li Ping, had always advised Jiang Chun to stay in her house on the grounds that she didn’t have a daughter. Yu Bing had been worried that Jiang Chun would agree.
In her previous life, because there weren’t enough beds, Jiang Chun stayed in Li Ping’s house. Later, for some reason, she married Li Ping’s son. At that time, Yu Bing was framed by Yu Yan and was sentenced to go to another farm to undergo labor reform. She couldn’t take care of Jiang Chun. Later, when she returned to the He Mountain Brigade, she realized that Jiang Chun, who was in her early twenties, looked like she was in her thirties.
Yu Bing was worried that Yu Yan would enter the dormitory this time, so she had prepared a backup plan in advance. A few days ago, she had been deliberately asking about the empty rooms in the village, and she found out there really was one. It was quite close to Xiao Sheng’s house. Today, when she returned from the Xiao family’s house, she specifically went to take a few glances. “Village Chief, isn’t there an empty place at the end of the village? Jiang Chun and I will both have company.”
Sun Wang knew that most of the villagers didn’t like to accept these young people who came to build the countryside to live together. They felt that the people in the city had many bad habits and looked down on them, unless they had other intentions. However…
Sun Wang advised again, “Little Yu, that place is too dilapidated. No one has lived in it for more than ten years. It probably leaks on rainy days.”
Jiang Chun was also worried about Yu Bing living alone. It was best if the two of them could take care of each other, so she also advised, “Village Chief, can you find a few people to help us repair it? If it’s repaired, it’s still the village’s collective property. If there’s an empty space in the dormitory in the future, Yu Bing and I will go over to stay. It’s good if this house can be vacated for the village.”
In the end, Yu Yan and the three boys stayed in the dormitory while Jiang Chun and Yu Bing stayed alone in the empty place at the end of the village.
Yu Bing and Jiang Chun took advantage of their break to clean the house in the afternoon. When Xiao Lin, who was passing by, found out that they were moving in next door, he was so happy that he insisted on helping.
The village chief arranged for five young men who were good at making mud tiles to help. The boys in the dormitory also came to help. Although Yu Yan was unwilling, she still had to put on a show. This was also beneficial for her in establishing the image of being beautiful and kind.
One of the young men who knew how to build houses looked at the house and determined that the framework of the house was fine. It was just that the walls had fallen in a few places and the roof was leaking. It was livable after repair.
Yu Yan looked at the three rooms in the courtyard in front of her. To be precise, there was one room and one living room. There was a small kitchen on the right and a toilet by the kitchen. It was even more shabby than the toilet in the dormitory. She felt that Yu Bing was crazy to take the initiative to stay here.
Three young men were in charge of repairing the courtyard wall and two were in charge of repairing the leaking roof.
Liu Ming, Qian Hao, and Li Zhen planned to turn the ground in the courtyard upside down so that it would be convenient for Yu Bing and Jiang Chun to plant vegetables in the future. Xiao Lin helped clean the kitchen while Yu Bing and Jiang Chun cleaned the house.
Only Yu Yan strolled around the room and commented on how dilapidated this place was from time to time.
Yu Bing was in a hurry to tidy up the house and wanted to move in tomorrow, so she endured her anger and ignored her.
Yu Yan watched as Yu Bing threw the mat on the bed onto the ground and prepared to burn it. Her heart ached. “This mat is quite good. It’s just a little gray. It can still be used after washing it. Yu Bing, you can’t throw things around after buying a new mat. It’s too wasteful to throw it away.”
Yu Bing revealed a faint smile. “Yu Yan, I already have a new mat. I remember that you haven’t had the time to buy one, right? I’ll spread it on your bed later.”
Yu Yan had fought with Yu Bing so many times that she knew that Yu Bing really dared to throw it on her bed. Hence, she immediately said, “This mat has been there for so many years. Even if you wash it, it probably won’t be used. Just throw it away.”
Yu Bing couldn’t help but roll her eyes when she heard this. She didn’t understand Yu Yan’s persistence. Yu Bing suspected that she would feel uncomfortable if she wasn’t snubbed.
There was strength in numbers. In the afternoon, the house was almost cleaned up, and only the walls and roof outside were left.
Yu Bing boiled hot water in the kitchen that had just been tidied up. The honey that Jiang Chun and the other boys had picked on the mountain in the morning had already been evenly distributed. Jiang Chun took out his share and poured some out. After filling it with water, he made some honey water for the people who came to help.
The young men, who had some complaints about being assigned to work on their day off, felt better.
The sky gradually darkened. After discussing, everyone decided to clean up the rest tomorrow.