1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 700: We moved again!

At the end of July, Li Changhe quietly returned to the capital.

It was the hottest time of the year in the capital, but compared to later generations, Li Changhe felt he could still bear it, especially since he had a carriage.

However, when Li Changhe returned home, the house was empty and there was hardly anyone there.

Moreover, the house looks rather deserted overall.

Li Changhe curiously circled around, then went upstairs and looked into their bedroom. Sure enough, many things were missing.

Did they move?
Li Changhe then went downstairs and, sure enough, found a letter on the coffee table in the living room.

"Changhe, we've moved to No. 12 Xitiejian Hutong."

The handwriting above is clearly Zhu Lin's.

He knew the courtyard at No. 12 Xitiejian Hutong. Not that it was the twelfth in the hutong, but that it was the 12th of the courtyards that Li Changhe had bought, located in Xitiejian Hutong.

This courtyard is the one where Zhu Lin and the others used to rest; it's very close to CCTV.

So they've moved directly over there now?

Afterwards, Li Changhe put the note away, went out, got in his car, and drove towards Fuxingmen.

Xitiejian Hutong is located on the east side of Fuxingmen. A few hundred meters south is Baojia Street, which is the location of the Central Conservatory of Music.

After driving over, Li Changhe parked the car on the side of the road, then walked to the door and knocked hard.

In the courtyard, Shen Yuxiu and Liu Shuwan were sitting in the central courtyard, with a suspended crib swaying in the air. The crib was covered with a light gauze to keep mosquitoes out.

There was also an incense burner burning nearby, from which wisps of smoke were being emitted, also to repel mosquitoes.

The two of them were rocking the small bed while chatting.

"Hey, Yuxiu, I think I hear someone knocking on the door."

This is a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house). The courtyard is a bit far from the main gate, so the sound of Li Changhe knocking on the door wasn't very clear.

"I think I heard that too. I'll go check it out!"

Shen Yuxiu then got up and took a few steps forward. Sure enough, the knocking became clearer.

"Who?"

Upon hearing his mother's voice from outside the door, Li Changhe immediately said, "It's me, Mom!"

Upon hearing her son's voice, Shen Yuxiu hurriedly went to open the door.

Why did you suddenly move here?

Upon entering, Li Changhe asked curiously.

"It's just to make it easier for Linlin to get to work."

"It's close to her workplace, so she can come back every now and then to breastfeed the baby."

“If this were still in Haidian, the child wouldn’t be able to get milk all day and would only be able to drink formula. Plus, she would have to take a bus back and forth, which would be a hassle.”

“We thought about it and decided to move here since there are houses here, and they are detached houses with their own yards.”

"Linlin had someone renovate the whole yard, inside and out, and replaced all the furniture with new ones before we moved in."

As Shen Yuxiu spoke to Li Changhe, she led him into the inner courtyard.

"I knew someone would knock on the door. It really is Changhe who's back. If it were Linlin, she would have rung the doorbell."

When Liu Shuwan saw Li Changhe, she smiled and said something.

"Yes, I forgot. There's a doorbell over there. If you come back and ring it, we'll hear you."

Shen Yuxiu then said with a smile.

Li Changhe nodded: "I understand."

"You came at a bad time. The little guy just fell asleep. Otherwise, you could have played with him for a while."

Liu Shuwan pointed at Xiao Lizheng and said with a smile.

Unexpectedly, Li Zheng, who had been fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Li Changhe with curiosity.

"He's awake. You know, it's true that it's a father and son. As soon as his dad came back, he woke up on his own."

As soon as Liu Shuwan saw that her grandson was awake, she immediately smiled and joked.

"Did you pee?"

"Let me see!"

Shen Yuxiu lifted the veil and touched it; sure enough, it was wet.

"Come here, hold your son for a moment, I'll change his underwear."

Shen Yuxiu then took little Li Zheng out and placed him in Li Changhe's arms. She then skillfully removed his diaper and replaced it with a clean one.

"Play with your son for a while, your mother and I will wash his clothes."

Liu Shuwan also got up and walked to the side. They didn't use a washing machine to wash these baby diapers; they washed them by hand instead.

Li Changhe carried his son and walked around the yard. Soon, little Li Zheng fell asleep in his arms again.

He then put Li Zheng into the stroller.

Just then, a tinkling sound rang out in the courtyard.

"Go open the door for Linlin, she's back to feed the baby."

Li Changhe then walked over, opened the door, and sure enough, Zhu Lin was standing outside.

"Hey? Why are you back?"

Upon seeing Li Changhe open the door, Zhu Lin asked curiously.

"Since I have some time, I'll bring you back to see you."

"I estimate I'll be going to the US soon and won't be back for a while."

Li Changhe said with a smile at this moment.

He then walked in with Zhu Lin.

"Going to the US again?"

"Yes, the son of a wealthy family in Hong Kong Island is getting married. They sent me an invitation. They're getting married in the Stanford University chapel, and I'll have to go."

"Stanford University Chapel? Isn't that a perfect opportunity to see our eldest sister?"

Zhu Lin had already sat down in the yard, then took her son out, lifted her clothes to breastfeed him, and said with a smile.

"What? You want to see your older sister?"

Shen Yuxiu, who was drying clothes nearby, heard this and asked curiously as well.

"Mom, I did say I'm going to the US in a few days, and I'll be near Stanford University, so I can visit my older sister while I'm there."

Li Changhe explained with a smile.

Shen Yuxiu nodded at this moment: "That's perfect, let's go see her and see how the three of them are doing."

“Your older sister is alright, but I’m worried about Nannan. Chen Aiguo is a man raising a child all by himself. I don’t know how he’s doing.”

"Don't worry, I've arranged for them to work at my company, there won't be any problems."

Li Changhe's Loong Technology Computer Company has a branch in Silicon Valley, so arranging a job for Chen Aiguo would be too easy.

Of course, there were several detours in between. First, I went to San Francisco through Lin Yuan's company, and then I joined Chen Lei's mutual aid society. Through the mutual aid society's introduction, I entered [loong] technology company.

Everything appeared flawless on the surface, since the other party had come looking for a wife with his child.

"Okay, then go and see them."

Since her son had said that, Shen Yuxiu had nothing more to say.

Zhu Lin quickly fed her son, and Li Zheng, having finished eating, didn't open his eyes and continued to sleep soundly.

"I go first!"

She couldn't chat with Li Changhe anymore, since she had to come out during work hours to feed her son. Although her superiors turned a blind eye, she couldn't be away from her post for too long.

I still need to go back first during work hours.

After Zhu Lin rode away on her bicycle, Li Changhe returned to the yard and watched over Li Zheng for a while. Soon it was five o'clock in the afternoon. "Alright, Yuxiu, you and your daughter stay here. I'm leaving now!"

At this moment, Liu Shuwan stood up and spoke to Li Changhe.

"Mom, where are you going?"

"I'll go back and cook for your dad."

“Your mother and I will each stay here for a week, and the other will go back to cook. Although the school has a cafeteria, there’s no one to keep an eye on things. I don’t know how your father and father-in-law will manage.”

"They either get together to drink, so your mother and I take turns going back to look after them."

At this moment, Liu Shuwan complained to Li Changhe.

Originally, they could take care of Li Lishan and the others in Haidian. It wouldn't have taken much effort for the two of them to stroll to the villa for dinner after work.

However, once they arrived at Fuxingmen, the two of them couldn't come anymore, since it's far away.

So she and Shen Yuxiu made new arrangements.

"Shuwan, why don't you stay and wait until Changhe goes to pick up his dad and the others? We can make dumplings for dinner tonight."

"You watch the child. I'm going out to buy groceries now. After we finish eating, I'll have Changhe take you all back together!"

Shen Yuxiu then spoke to Liu Shuwan, who was about to leave.

Li Changhe is back; the family should have a meal together.

"Making dumplings? That's fine. But Changhe, you should go back a little earlier, otherwise your dad and the others will just make do with whatever they have. Your mom and I will start making them now!"

"There's minced meat in the refrigerator in the kitchen over there. You know, Linlin, we're not even staying here permanently, yet she still bought a refrigerator. She really has too much money to burn!"

Upon hearing this, Li Changhe couldn't help but smile inwardly.

These days, people have so much money they don't know what to do with it.

That evening, Li Changhe brought his two fathers over, and the family had a reunion dinner in the courtyard.

The reason we don't eat out is because Xiao Lizheng is too young, and we don't want him to walk at night.

After they finished eating, Li Changhe took the three of them home.

They then drove back to Xitiejian Hutong.

That night, in the main room on the east side, Li Changhe and Zhu Lin lay on the bed, while Xiao Lizheng slept on a small bed next to the large bed.

"Hey, now that you're here, didn't you receive Xiaoxue's call?"

"No, there are no phones here."

"I'm thinking of staying for a few months, so there's no need to install a phone. After all, we'll go back to live here when it gets cold."

They live here for convenience in the summer, but in the winter, a heated apartment building would definitely be more suitable.

"Sure, you can decide for yourselves. Do whatever is convenient for you."

Li Changhe had no objections; whatever was convenient for him was fine.

"Yes, we'll stay at the Overseas Chinese Apartments then. It's in the city center, and it's convenient to get here by bus. Our place is still too far away."

"If I had known you were taking Xiaoxue to Hong Kong Island, we wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble."

Zhu Lin then said helplessly.

Looking back, those days seem absurd.

"It's okay, what's wrong with having more houses? Besides, there probably won't be this many houses in the future."

“Like this courtyard house, I estimate that it will probably have to be demolished in ten or eight years.”

In the core urban area, such as Xitiejian Hutong, which is right next to Fuxingmen, the chances of preserving traditional courtyard houses are slim. High-rise buildings will definitely be built here in the future.

"Demolished?"

After listening, Zhu Lin looked at Li Changhe with some curiosity.

Li Changhe nodded: "Yes, urban upgrading will definitely involve real estate. Tuanjiehu is an example. I estimate that the higher-ups will definitely try to commercialize real estate."

"So, will these houses no longer be publicly owned? Will they become large-scale privately owned?"

Zhu Lin was somewhat shocked at this moment. Although she knew that the country was conducting some pilot programs, she was still surprised to hear Li Changhe say this.

After all, from childhood to adulthood, her education and understanding were based on public ownership.

"Well, there's probably nothing we can do about it. The commercialization of real estate drives economic development, which is an inevitable process for every country's development."

"However, for our country, its most important task is not just that. The most important point about real estate is that it can transform the urban-rural structure!"

“In our country, the urban and rural structural systems are clearly separated, which is very difficult to change. Moreover, our rural areas are characterized by a large population and limited land.”

"Our total arable land is not large, but our agricultural population is large. This will become a bigger problem as time goes on, as the land's output will be insufficient to support an ever-growing population."

"Therefore, at this time, the country must find a new way out for farmers. The most suitable way is to commercialize real estate and use houses to turn a large number of farmers into urban residents. This is the most direct and effective way to change the urban-rural dual structure."

After listening to Li Changhe's explanation, Zhu Lin seemed to understand but not quite; these theoretical concepts were too advanced for her.

"So, according to you, many people who move to the city and get houses become workers?"

"There aren't enough jobs available for workers even with internal allocations, so where are we going to find new positions for the farmers who come in?"

The factories are already overwhelmed with hiring returning educated youth, let alone the farmers who have been converted from real estate development, as Li Changhe mentioned.

Li Changhe nodded: "So this requires an adjustment to the country's entire economic model. If the real estate market is to be activated, then the industrial system must be activated first. The industrial system creates a large number of jobs, and then the real estate market can be activated."

"This time span is probably ten or twenty years or even longer."

"It's too early to talk about these things now. In short, many things will definitely be done step by step, and Beijing will be ahead of the rest of the country."

"Let's talk about Xiaoxue first."

"She's going to the US with me this time, as Bao Zeyang's fiancée. So before she leaves, she wants to see you and your son. Are you willing to do that?"

Li Changhe then lowered his voice and spoke to Zhu Lin.

"Why wouldn't she want to come? She can come whenever she wants. My mom even asked about it the other day, saying that since I gave birth to my son so long ago, Xiaoxue hasn't come to visit. They're all a bit unhappy about it."

"What can I say? I just bluffed it off."

"But let me tell you, it's fine for you to stay at my place, but don't even think about doing anything reckless. There are always people staying here with Mom now, so don't let them find out again."

At this moment, Zhu Lin whispered a warning to Li Changhe.

Gong Xuelai had no problem, but she couldn't bring herself to sleep with him like before.

Ever since Gong Xue left and she gave birth to a son, some of her previous absurd ideas have reverted to their original state. Her absurd behavior with Li Changhe in the past two years was indeed absurd.

We can't do that anymore.

"Don't worry, how could I not know all this? I'll call her tomorrow."

Li Changhe felt somewhat helpless; his image in his wife's eyes was starting to crumble.

"Okay, let her come on the weekend. I only have weekends off now, so I can rest then. I can't just take leave during the week."

"Especially now, the teachers have just started filming 'Journey to the West,' and the station asked them to submit a sample episode first. They are rushing to film, and I have to provide them with logistical support here in Beijing and be ready to answer the phone."

Zhu Lin then spoke to Li Changhe.

Yang Jie and her team have now been assembled and filming has officially begun. Zhu Lin works in the TV drama department, where she handles logistics and helps coordinate with various parties.

"Okay, then I'll tell Xiaoxue to come over on the weekend."

"By the way, let me guess, is the sample footage that Teacher Yang shot the episode about exorcising demons in Wuji Kingdom?"

Li Changhe asked softly at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lin looked at him curiously: "How did you know?"

"I guessed it. I figured there aren't many storylines that bring together all four of them at the same time, so this one should be quite suitable."

Li Changhe then pretended to know a lot and said.

How does he know this? Of course, he knew it in his past life.

He wondered how the film would turn out after providing so much help in this life; he was now quite looking forward to it.

(End of this chapter)