Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Lin Qin didn't care; her current goal was the college entrance examination, and she couldn't worry about anyone else before that.

Because he was so focused on his studies, the house was extended in the blink of an eye, and even the exterior was covered with marble tiles.

When the shelves were taken down, Lin Qin almost didn't recognize her own home.

"My God! Dad! The outside of this house is covered in marble? Wenjun's idea?"

Lin Yi grinned from ear to ear, nodding vigorously, "That's right! He didn't even discuss it with me, he just secretly got it done. I only found out about it when the materials were delivered. What could I do? It still had to be used! Tsk tsk tsk, they say clothes make the man and a saddle makes the horse, and the same goes for houses."

"After tiling, it instantly looks more upscale, like a wealthy family's mansion in the city—truly impressive!"

Lin Qin nodded repeatedly, staring at the house for a long time, unable to come to her senses. "That's right! After all this renovation, this house will never be out of style, even half a century from now! Is the third floor finished yet?"

"No! The scaffolding outside was just taken down today. The house renovation will start after that. The tiles have all been ordered. Once the tiles are laid and the walls are painted, it will be almost done. You don't need to worry about the furniture and curtains. Wenjun has already talked to Gao Lei about it. He will get the latest models directly from Guangdong Province. He said they are particularly gorgeous and beautiful. We've never seen them before."

Lin Yi was incredibly excited.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qin immediately stopped caring.

"Dad! Thank you for your help. I'll help you after my college entrance exam."

Lin Yi waved his hand dismissively, "Go do whatever you need to do. Shao Jun and Wen Jun are in the shop. I'll go over and lend a hand from time to time. Yue Zhen and I are in charge of the farm work at home. All four kids are quite self-disciplined, especially A Jian and A Kang. I heard from your sister that they weren't very willing to study back in their hometown, but their attitude is completely different now that they've come to the city."

Every morning, the four children recite texts and read English. After school at noon, they eat lunch, do their homework for a while, and then play. After school in the afternoon, they do their homework first, then eat dinner, read for an hour, and then play ball.

The schedule was so well organized that Yuezhen was envious. She even said that if her children weren't all grown up, she would like to send them here to be exposed to the local culture, hahaha.

Lin Qin smiled and, mimicking the children's diligence, went back to her room and completed two more worksheets.

The four children were already under her control, and seeing how hard Lin Qin was working, they were too embarrassed to play, so they extended their study time by another half hour.

Busy as she was, another half month passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Yi suddenly told her that the house was all renovated.

Lin Qin quickly went up to take a look.

The layout of the third floor was similar to that of the second floor, with a large hall, four rooms, one public bathroom, and two private bathrooms. Perhaps because of the higher floor and the emptiness inside, Lin Qin always felt that the view and lighting on the third floor were better than on the second floor.

Go up the stairs and you'll reach the fourth floor.

Half of the fourth floor is a house, and the other half is a platform paved with non-slip tiles. There are three bedrooms, one public bathroom, and two private bathrooms. The platform is about 60 square meters, which is neither too big nor too small. It is more than enough to sleep on the floor at night in the summer.

The addition of seven rooms made Lin Qin extremely happy.

He hurriedly went downstairs and said to Lin Yi, "Dad, I was thinking of having A-Jian and A-Kang move to the third floor. They can each have their own room, and it will be quieter for the children to study. Also, there's my cousin-in-law. Let's see if she's willing to move up there. The two rooms on the first floor can be empty."

Lin Yi agreed and went to discuss with Huang Yuezhen. "I'll live on the first floor from now on. I get up early and make a lot of noise. You all should sleep upstairs. It's quiet upstairs. I'm also worried about A-Jian and A-Kang living on the third floor. I'll feel more at ease if you live with them."

Huang Yuezhen couldn't bring herself to refuse and could only agree.

When the four children came home from school, Lin Yi told his two grandsons the news. Xu Jian and Xu Kang were overjoyed, calling him "good grandpa" repeatedly, which made Lin Yi feel completely flattered.

After the matter was settled, the furniture and curtains that Chen Wenjun had ordered from Gao Lei were delivered.

Once everything was in place, the third and fourth floors instantly looked different. However, the newly purchased furniture still needs to be left out for a week or two before it can be used.

Everyone had no choice but to wait patiently for half a month.

It wasn't until Lin Yi chose an auspicious day that Xu Jian, Xu Kang, and Huang Yuezhen moved to the third floor.

After finishing up the new house, Lin Qingxiang hurriedly followed the craftsman to renovate Lin Ying's house.

The house is located on Zhongshan Road, an area full of old streets. The house itself is quite old, and to be honest, even after renovation, it would still be a dangerous building. After the contractor's assessment, the final recommendation was to rebuild it.

However, the houses in this area are all connected, so it's not easy to demolish them, and the people wouldn't agree to it.

In the end, a compromise was chosen: reinforce the structure with steel and cement, build a three-story building, and keep the exterior facade in a consistent style.

This will cost another ten thousand yuan.

Fortunately, Xu Dahai and Lin Ying had earned quite a bit in the past year or so, and since the house here would be their home in the city, they weren't too worried about the cost.

During the construction, Lin Qin took a break from her busy schedule to go and take a look. She was quite satisfied with the workers and thought that her house could also be renovated.

After all, Zhongshan Road is close to the Experimental Primary School, and it's within walking distance. Renovating this area might come in handy in the future.

Lin Qin shared this idea with Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun agreed without hesitation.

Lin Qin joked, "Don't you think I'm spending money recklessly these days? Buying a house one minute, decorating the next, almost all our family's money is going towards these things!"

Chen Wenjun scoffed, “What’s the point of making money if you don’t spend it? Besides, you’re buying and renovating a house for our family’s future. It’s better to build and renovate now. In ten or twenty years, the construction will be shoddy, and the workers won’t be honest. Who knows, the house built in twenty or thirty years might not be as sturdy and solid as the one we have now!”

Lin Qin thought about it and realized that it made sense, so she stopped worrying about it.

With everyone so busy at home, time flew by. As soon as it got hot and everyone started preparing to eat popsicles, the college entrance exams arrived.

Lin Qin was going through a second round of training, and while she might not have been as experienced, she certainly wasn't as nervous or flustered as she was the first time.

Lin Yi tried to prepare this and that for her, but she stopped him, saying, "Dad, let's just take it easy. I've had a lot of exams this year, so let's treat them like any other exams. Being too nervous is not good."

Lin Yi didn't understand either, and fearing it would affect Lin Qin, he went along with her wishes.

Knowing that Lin Qin was going to take an exam, the four children didn't dare to cause any trouble. Every day after finishing their extracurricular classes, they would obediently do their homework.

As soon as the three-day college entrance examination ended, Lin Qin felt completely relaxed.

Nanyu is now filled with the joyful laughter of children.

Just then, Lin Qingxiang and Huang Yuzhen arrived with gifts.

Lin Qin, who didn't have to go to school, was relaxing at home to escape the summer heat when she saw those things. Her eyes widened instantly. "Uncle, Aunt, what are you doing here on a holiday?" (End of Chapter)