Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 278 For a Better Life
On this morning in early April, Lin Chaoyang was standing outside the exit of Yanjing Station, looking inside the station.

A few days ago, he wrote a letter to his parents to inform them of Tao Yushu's pregnancy. After receiving the letter, the old couple hurried to Yanjing.

This time, Lin Erchun didn't care about the land division. No matter how big the matter was, it was not as important as having a grandson.

After waiting for half an hour, Lin Chaoyang saw from a distance that Lin Erchun and Zhang Guiqin were walking out of the station like two moving shelves.

"Have you moved your entire home here?" Lin Chaoyang went forward to help the two carry their things.

Lin Erchun was sweating profusely at this moment, but he still didn't forget to scold Lin Chaoyang, "You usually call when you have nothing to do, but you wrote a letter about such a big thing as Yushu's pregnancy? Can you distinguish between the important and the urgent?"

"It's not like she's going to give birth soon. She just checked and it turned out to be just over a month old." Lin Chaoyang said heartlessly.

Zhang Guiqin asked with concern: "How is Yushu now?"

"I'm fine. My appetite has been particularly good these past two days."

"Good appetite? I'm afraid he's a man!" Zhang Guiqin said happily.

"Mom!" Lin Chaoyang shouted, "You can just say this in front of me, but aren't boys and girls the same family? We don't favor boys over girls!"

"I know, I know."

Lin Erchun snorted, "It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl."

"My father is right." Lin Chaoyang felt that Comrade Erchun's position as production team leader was not in vain, and he did have some awareness.

"If it's a girl, let him have another one." Lin Erchun continued.

What a boast!
"Dad, the country now advocates family planning, so each family is allowed to have only one child."

"What's wrong with having two children?" Lin Erchun glanced at him and asked knowingly.

"You'll be fined if you have two children, and you won't be able to keep your job."

"You are a writer now, it doesn't matter whether you have a job or not."

Lin Chaoyang didn't expect that Lin Erchun was more open-minded than him and just wanted to give up the job.

No, it should be said that the position of his eldest grandson in his heart is far more important than his son's work.

I don’t know why, but Lin Chaoyang felt a little sad when he thought about it.

After picking up the old couple and returning to Mianhua Hutong, Zhang Guiqin began to take out the things she brought back from her hometown.

This time they both brought more things than the first time they went to Beijing, most of which were prepared for Tao Yushu.

Red dates, brown sugar, black sesame, malted milk...

At first, the things the two of them took out were normal. Lin Chaoyang complained, "It's not like Yanjing doesn't have these things. Aren't you tired of carrying them all the way here?"

When Lin Erchun took out a wooden box from his bag, something seemed amiss.

"Dad, what's this?"

Lin Erchun opened the wooden box, revealing the red cloth inside. He gently peeled off the red cloth and saw a ginseng with its whiskers and tail intact lying inside.

He was surprised and asked, "Where did this ginseng come from?"

"Don't worry about where it comes from. This is wild ginseng that is more than 20 years old. It's a good thing!"

Lin Erchun looked proud. After putting the ginseng away, he reached into his bag again. This time, the thing he found did not surprise Lin Chaoyang, because Lin Erchun had already told him about it when he left last time - deer antlers.

Lin Erchun took out another mink coat.

Lin Chaoyang's expression finally couldn't be maintained any longer, "Dad, the family assets are all gone?"

Ginseng, deer antlers, and sable fur cloaks are all specialties of the Northeast, but none of them are cheap!
Before liberation, even the landlords and wealthy people could not afford it easily.

"What are you arguing about?" Lin Erchun glared at him impatiently and started to explain to him again.

"I dug this ginseng when you were a child. It has been kept for more than ten years. This time it is finally put to good use.

I bought the deer antlers through a favor from someone, it wasn’t much money.

This mink is expensive, more than 200 yuan..."

At this point, a look of heartache flashed across Lin Erchun's face.

"You are so kind!"

Lin Chaoyang understood his father's character. Spending more than 200 yuan to buy a mink coat was like asking for half his life.

But this cloak is really good, with an otter collar and sable fur. Although the style is a bit rustic, it looks elegant and luxurious at first glance, and you know it is a good thing.

As he spoke, he was about to take the mink coat to try it on, but Lin Erchun slammed his outstretched hand away.

"How beautiful! This is for Yushu! According to the date, she will give birth in winter. Cotton-padded jackets and trousers are too heavy to wear. This Diao'er is light and warm, perfect for her."

Lin Chaoyang felt helpless. With Tao Yushu's pregnancy, his position in the family was in jeopardy.

"Ginseng is a tonic. Even if you have it, you can't let Yu Shu eat it carelessly."

"You said? It's just a spare."

Lin Chaoyang smacked his lips and said, "Then the deer antler should be for me, right?"

"You're already pregnant, why are you eating deer antlers?"

Okay, okay, so among all these full baskets and boxes, there’s nothing for him, right?

In order to pick up Lin Erchun and his wife, Lin Chaoyang took a day off today. There were still two o'clock in the afternoon before getting off work, and the old couple urged him to pick up Tao Yushu.

When he brought Tao Yushu back to Mianhua Hutong, the old couple had already prepared a table full of sumptuous dishes.

"Come on, come on, Yushu, it's time to eat."

"Yushu, try this mushroom."

"Roe deer meat is delicious, Yushu, you should eat more. Chaoyang said that you have a big appetite now."

"You are newly pregnant and you need nutrition right now. You have to eat more good food. Mom will cook for you from now on."

……

The food in Tao Yushu's bowl was almost overflowing, but Zhang Guiqin was still picking up food for her. She ate faster than Zhang Guiqin. "Mom, I can't eat any more."

At the end of the meal, Tao Yushu said while burping.

"You are two people now, so you need to eat more."

Lin Chaoyang said, "Mom, I really can't eat anymore. You picked up so many dishes for her, and she eats more than me."

Zhang Guiqin then stopped picking food for Tao Yushu and said, "You must be hungry tonight. I will cook for you later."

Tao Yushu suddenly felt a heavy pressure.

Zhang Guiqin sighed again: "You are in a good time now. When I was pregnant with Chaoyang, I couldn't eat anything I wanted. Eggs were a rare thing..."

She flipped through the history book in a rambling manner, and finally concluded with one sentence: Tao Yushu needs to eat more.

After returning to the room, Tao Yushu looked distressed, "I'm dying of stuffiness!"

Lin Chaoyang teased, "Didn't you keep complaining about being hungry the past two days? Now you're all right!"

In the first few days after she found out she was pregnant, Tao Yushu would always complain of hunger in the afternoon and evening, perhaps because it was a psychological effect or because the little life in her belly took in too much nutrition.

Lin Chaoyang brought some biscuits to her office, which she could eat in the afternoon. Before going to bed at night, he also had to make a midnight snack for Tao Yushu.

"Alas! A sweet burden." Tao Yushu sighed, and then asked Lin Chaoyang worriedly: "Hey, do you think I won't become a fat man?"

"You have such a slim figure, you'll still look good even if you gain another 30 pounds. Besides, no matter how fat you are, you'll still look like a fairy in my heart."

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's sweet words, Tao Yushu couldn't help but beam with joy, "You only know how to say nice things."

“These are all true words.”

The next day was the weekend and the couple didn't have to go to work, so they got up a little late. When they got up, Zhang Guiqin had already prepared breakfast.

After dinner, seeing the two of them were about to go out, Zhang Guiqin asked, "Where are you going?"

“Look at the house.”

"Looking at a house?"

Zhang Guiqin was full of suspicion, and Lin Chaoyang said, "I'll explain it to you when I get back."

After saying this, the couple left.

The bicycle headed south. When it crossed Chang'an Avenue, Lin Chaoyang stopped the bicycle and pointed at the gate of the Cultural Bureau compound opposite.

"Look, how close is it to your unit?"

"We're just at the intersection here. How far do we have to go to get in?" Tao Yushu asked.

"It's not far, only about three or four hundred meters. You'll definitely like it after you see the yard."

Lin Chaoyang rode his bicycle, carrying Tao Yushu into Daliubukou Street, and after walking a short distance, he turned into a small alley.

The gate of the courtyard faces southeast. When you enter the courtyard, you will see the screen wall first, and then the back house. After entering the hanging flower gate, you will see the second courtyard. The courtyard is spacious and paved with stone slabs. The most conspicuous thing in the courtyard is the two sturdy French plane trees.

"This yard..." Tao Yushu looked at every plant and tree in the yard, with curiosity in his tone.

"It's different, isn't it? This is a courtyard from the Republic of China era. The second courtyard has a bit of French style, and the front and back are formal quadrangle courtyards. The east and west courtyards were also a wealthy family back then."

Tao Yushu went to the East Courtyard and took a look, and couldn't help but frowned. Compared with the West Courtyard, there was indeed a big difference.

While the couple was looking at the yard, Old Mrs. Cheng was standing under the eaves of the main house, looking at them with a smile.

That day, Lin Chaoyang asked her to discuss it with her son and grandson. She went to the telegraph building and called her son, who agreed to Lin Chaoyang's offer.

The price has been negotiated, and Mrs. Cheng discussed with Lin Chaoyang about going to the Housing Management Office on Monday to handle the formalities.

Since it was the weekend today, Lin Chaoyang brought Tao Yushu over to take a look.

"Xiao Lin is so lucky to have married such a beautiful wife. I heard she's pregnant?"

Lin Chaoyang and his wife looked around the yard and walked to the main house. Old Mrs. Cheng asked with a smile.

"Yeah, just over a month."

"Good, this house of ours will protect our descendants. We are three sisters-in-law, and we have eight children, and they are all safe and sound."

"Thank you for your good wishes!" Lin Chaoyang responded with a smile.

After chatting with Old Mrs. Cheng for a while and looking around the yard, Lin Chaoyang took Tao Yushu away.

"Feel good, right?" Lin Chaoyang asked Tao Yushu after coming out.

"That's great. How big is this yard?"

"The old lady said it was close to 2,000 square meters. I measured it with my feet that day and it should be about the same."

Tao Yushu couldn't help but be amazed when she heard this. She felt it was a bit big when she was shopping just now, but she didn't expect it to be almost 2,000 square meters.

"It's too big, isn't it? Where can we live in such a big house?"

"According to what you said, all courtyard houses should be turned into slums. There are only a few people in a family. You can't count it that way. There's nothing wrong with living in a more spacious place. Don't you like this courtyard?"

Tao Yushu nodded, "I like it very much. When I was a child, I went to Shuimu Garden. The South Courtyard there feels very similar to this courtyard. There are Western-style red-roofed houses and Chinese-style three-sided courtyards. The Chinese and the Western are next to each other."

Lin Chaoyang joked: "Then this yard can be regarded as the fulfillment of your childhood dream."

Tao Yushu's smile was filled with a bit of nostalgia for the past, and he added, "The only flaw is the East Courtyard, which is a bit shabby."

"It's also good to have a little break. Here's what I'm thinking. We can simply clean up the west yard and move in, and then slowly clean up the east yard.

Although this courtyard is nice, its hardware facilities are still far inferior to those of the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

Let's spend a little more money to clean it up so that we can live comfortably in the future."

Tao Yushu said with some distress: "It cost 15,000 to buy it. If we demolish and rebuild it, it will cost more than 20,000 yuan, right?"

“Isn’t the purpose of earning money to be spent, to live a good life?”

(End of this chapter)