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

Chapter 270 Opening the Small Door
Xiao Jinlin's lips curled up slightly. "What a coincidence, I'm also moving this week."

Chen Xinyue: "?"

When the weekend came, she finally understood what Xiao Jinlin meant by moving.

"You...you...you live next door to me?" Chen Xinyue looked around in shock, only to find that the two courtyards were separated by a wall. If a small door were added, they could become one family.

Xiao Jinlin was very satisfied with his masterpiece. "I thought about this for a long time before I came up with this idea. From now on, we can go to and from get off work together, so Uncle Fang won't have to make the trip back and forth, right?"

Chen Xinyue's lips twitched violently; for a moment, she didn't know whether to praise him or criticize him.

"Aren't you afraid people in the company will gossip?" Chen Xinyue raised an eyebrow.

Xiao Jinlin curled his lips into a smile, brimming with confidence. "The company basement is for my exclusive use. Who do you think will find out?"

Chen Xinyue remained silent.

With Xiao Jinlin's help, she didn't need to put in much effort when moving, and she moved into her new house in just one day.

And you know what? Having my own independent courtyard not only made the space bigger, but also made everything much more convenient.

Because the house is a standard courtyard house, the main courtyard has been converted into a living room, with bedrooms on both sides, specially reserved for family members. If Lin Qin and her family come over, they can stay in the bedrooms on either side of the living room.

The bedroom has a separate bathroom, which is especially convenient.

The east wing was originally a large central bedroom with two smaller rooms connected to it.

Chen Xinyue had the three rooms combined into one, with her bedroom in the middle, a study on the left, and a bathroom, dressing room, and powder room on the right. The space was also rearranged so that the east wing would be enough for her when she was home alone.

In the far corner of the west wing, there is a public restroom. Beyond that is the kitchen connected to the dining room. Beyond the dining room is another room, which is temporarily used as a storage room to store tools and supplies.

The courtyard is paved with marble and is clean and tidy. There is also a swing set and a sunshade on the side. When it is not hot, it is quite comfortable to sit in the courtyard, drink tea, and read a book.

She was so excited that she couldn't sleep the first night after moving into her new home.

I get up before dawn and wander around the yard.

Soon after, someone knocked on the door.

She opened the door and was somewhat shocked to see Xiao Jinlin there. "Why are you here so early too?"

Xiao Jinlin waved the breakfast in his hand. "Freshly made, want some?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Chen Xinyue hurriedly let him in.

Xiao Jinlin entered the kitchen with practiced ease, and Chen Xinyue quickly followed to help.

After spending a few days together in Nanyu, the two worked well together and quickly put breakfast on the table.

Xiao Jinlin suggested, "I think we should simply open a small gate between the two courtyards."

Seeing Chen Xinyue glare at him, he immediately retorted, "Don't overthink it. What I mean is to open a small door. In the future, when I want to find you or when you need to find me, we can just open the small door directly, so we don't have to go around the main door and walk a long way."

In addition, I will arrange a cleaning lady. Since the place is so small, the cost for her to clean one yard or two yards won't differ much. She can do both for you, and you'll only need to pay a small fee. You should be able to do the math better than I am.”

These words really struck a chord with Chen Xinyue. The big house was great in every way, except that it was difficult to keep clean. She was busy with work during the day and didn't want to come home after a long day and have to clean until the middle of the night. She was just hesitating about whether to hire a housekeeper when she was feeling sleepy.

Seeing that Chen Xinyue was interested, Xiao Jinlin pressed on, "Besides cleaning, Auntie can also help watch the house, so she can spot any disturbances immediately. Also, Auntie is a good cook."

"Stop, stop, don't say anymore, I surrender, okay? I'll do as you say, open the door?" As soon as Chen Xinyue finished speaking, Xiao Jinlin immediately contacted Tang Ming and asked him to send someone to open the door.

Tang Ming was fast asleep when his boss called. He was instantly startled awake and answered the phone, "Boss, what are your instructions?"

Xiao Jinlin calmly instructed, "Have the construction team come over around eight o'clock in the morning to open a small gate for my yard."

"Oh?" Tang Ming's eyes widened. Seeing the other person hang up, he looked down and saw it was six in the morning! Good heavens! Was his boss even human?! Who calls employees this early?! Today was a day off!
Tang Ming felt like dying.

At eight o'clock, she appeared in front of Xiao Jinlin with the construction team, full of resentment. Before she could even speak, she was given several red bills.

Their attitude immediately underwent a complete 180-degree change.

"Boss, where do you think this door should be located and what style should it be? Also, if you have any other instructions, please let me know, and I will be at your service immediately."

Even Xiao Jinlin found her overly attentiveness a bit overwhelming.

"Be serious. I don't have any other requirements, but this door has to be a double door, so that it can be closed from both sides, right there."

Tang Ming looked in the direction Xiao Jinlin was pointing and was stunned for a moment. "Wait a minute, if I'm not mistaken, the house next door is Secretary Chen's house!"

Tang Ming, belatedly realizing something, seemed to have discovered a huge secret and jumped up, "Boss! You didn't actually take this for real, did you, with Secretary Chen?"

Xiao Jinlin shook his head.

Tang Ming was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Xiao Jinlin spoke up resentfully, "Xin Yue won't agree, what do you suggest we do?"

"Cough cough cough" Tang Ming almost choked to death on his own saliva.

After recovering from the shock, he had to accept the fact that his boss had fallen for Secretary Chen, but Secretary Chen did not reciprocate.

Tang Ming spent the entire morning in a daze.

He only realized what was happening when the construction worker came to collect his bill.

Through that small door, you could see Chen Xinyue sitting under the swing, drinking tea and reading a book.

The woman, having shed her work clothes, had long, wavy hair flowing freely. It was still a bit chilly on the spring morning. She wore a long white corduroy dress that reached her ankles, and the white fur trim around the collar made her already delicate face look like porcelain, giving her a beautiful, luminous glow.

Chen Xinyue noticed a scrutinizing gaze and looked up.

Tang Ming gave her an awkward smile and quickly greeted her.

Chen Xinyue put down her book, put on her slippers, and walked over. "Assistant Tang, what are you grinning about?"

Tang Ming: "."

After realizing his boss's intentions, Tang Ming became much more polite to Chen Xinyue and didn't dare to be as casual as before.

Without much thought, Chen Xinyue inquired about the construction costs and insisted on splitting the cost in half.

With this door, it was indeed much more convenient for the two of them to come and go. During the day, when Chen Xinyue was at work, the door would be open, and the housekeeper would come over to help clean and wash her clothes.

When I get home from get off work, I'll prepare a snack for her.

She manages everything at home perfectly, and she takes the initiative to fix things when they break, so she doesn't need to worry about anything.

She only needed to pay 3,000 yuan in salary, with Xiao Jinlin covering the bulk of the cost, making it extremely cost-effective.