Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 363 Where did you get this?

I was very satisfied with the meal.

The waiter cleared the table and brewed tea. The family chatted and drank tea for a while to relax before returning home.

Chen Hui and Chen Xiao had no choice but to go back to Chen Xiao's house. Xiao Hong found new quilt covers and sheets and, together with Aunt Wang, changed the entire room where Chen Hui and Chen Xiao lived. They packed all of Chen Hui and Chen Xiao's belongings into boxes, and Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang would live in that room from now on.

Xiao Hong was overjoyed, humming a tune as she ran in and out helping her parents tidy up. She felt so lonely being alone; finally, the family was together again.

Xiao Wei returned home after settling Mu Lijuan and her daughter into the power company's guesthouse. He saw Xiao Hong smiling broadly as she came out of the house carrying a basin of water. As she closed the door, she asked, "What's going on?"

Xiao Hong glanced at Xiao Wei and said, "Glad. You're all with your family in Longcheng, but I'm all alone here. Hmph, now I have someone to keep me company. I don't care about you anymore."

Xiao Wei shook his head, smiled, changed his shoes, and went inside. He asked, "Is everything packed up? We'll make do for a few days, and we'll move over once things are settled over there. Xiao Hong, have you been to the construction site yet?"

Xiao Hong's expression immediately fell, and she glared at Xiao Wei, saying, "Do I know where it is? Have you ever taken me there?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment, and realized that he really hadn't taken Xiao Hong there before. He chuckled a few times, scratched his head, and said, "I forgot. Let's go tomorrow, tomorrow. Let's all go and take a look. I've only been there once."

Xiao Hong pouted, snorted, and walked past Xiao Wei into the house, with Xiao Wei following behind. Aunt Wang was putting the clothes she had brought into the closet, while Uncle Wang was making the bed, saying, "All arranged? There's a child in there, don't mess things up."

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay. It's actually more comfortable over there than at home. She'll feel more at ease there. If she really stayed at our place, she probably wouldn't feel comfortable either, since we're not familiar with each other."

Uncle Wang nodded and asked, "What time will we go tomorrow morning?"

Xiaowei said, "Let's go check on our house after breakfast, then come back and go to Uncle Chen's. It's not appropriate to go there too early since he starts work at 8:30, in case he has something to do. I guess Chen Hui will call later; I forgot to tell him earlier."

Xiao Hong rolled her eyes at Xiao Wei, snorted, and turned her head away.

Uncle Wang nodded and said, "That's fine. It's not good to go too early, it's like blocking the door. To be honest, this cadre is too high-ranking, and I feel a lot of pressure. I feel uneasy and like I'm floating around."

Aunt Wang rolled her eyes at Uncle Wang and said, "You good-for-nothing, just keep gloating. You're benefiting from my eldest daughter's fame."

Uncle Wang laughed and said, "Isn't that my daughter? She's all yours?" He happily took out a cigarette, but Aunt Wang spat and said, "Go outside to smoke, don't make the room full of smoke."

Uncle Wang held the cigarette to his nose and smelled it, saying, "This house is bigger than ours, but there are fewer rooms."

Aunt Wang looked around and said, "It is a bit big, more than a meter bigger."

Xiao Hong knelt on the bed and asked Xiao Wei, "Brother Guizi, are the houses built over there this big?"

Aunt Wang patted Xiao Hong's bottom and said, "How old are you? Still calling me by my nickname? You can't do that outside, you hear me? Xiao Wei is a big boss now, so watch your step." Xiao Hong covered her face and fell onto the bed, pretending to cry.

Xiao Wei said, "It's a bit bigger than this, and each room has a large balcony. I saw on the blueprints that the balcony is about two meters wide."

Xiao Hong looked up and asked, "How many rooms? One for the two of us, one for your grandparents, one for my parents, one for Xiao Bing, and one for Chen Hui. Who would stay in one of those rooms? Oh dear, we'd need five or six rooms."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Can't you think a little bigger? Do you really have to live in a bungalow?"

Aunt Wang laughed and said, "The building Xiaowei built is big enough for you to live in."

Xiao Hong suddenly sat up and looked at Xiao Wei, saying, "Really? Building a house? How many floors? No, no, how many rooms per floor? No, no, oh dear, I don't know how to ask, Mom, our house has two families per floor, right? Six rooms, two kitchens, two toilets. This floor has three families, eight rooms, three kitchens, three toilets. How big is our house?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's just live in our own family. Why are you dividing it into so many families? There's only one family in the whole three-story building."

Xiao Hong was confused: "Huh? What's that like? Aren't most buildings built with several families per floor?"

Aunt Wang laughed and said, "Why don't you go and see for yourself tomorrow? Why is this girl so impatient?"

Xiao Hong twisted her body and looked at Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei gestured and said, "There is a big door on the first floor. As soon as you enter, there is a large living room, a kitchen, a dining room, a toilet, and four rooms. Then, there are stairs next to the living room to the second floor, where there is another living room, which is a little smaller than the first floor. After that, there are five rooms. The third floor has an even smaller living room and five rooms. The upper half floor only has two rooms, a living room, and a toilet. Outside is a terrace, which is a rooftop garden."

Little Hong counted on her fingers, then looked up after a while and said, "My goodness, sixteen rooms? Won't they all be empty?"

Xiao Wei said, "There's more than enough room. Can't you use it for something else? Like storing clothes, a study, or a few guest rooms?"

Aunt Wang smoothed her hair and said, "It's big enough, so why do you need two more?"

Xiao Wei said, "The annex should be smaller. Anyway, the land is so big, so let's just build it there. Xiao Bing can move in when he grows up."

Uncle Wang said, "Xiao Wei is right. What's the point of leaving such a big piece of land idle? We can build something on it and leave it there. Building a house is better than leaving it empty. You two go back to your rooms and go to sleep. We'll see what's going on tomorrow morning."

Aunt Wang said, "What are we going to do with it? Let's move into the smaller one first. How many years will it take for Xiaobing to grow up? Are we going to leave it empty forever? Nonsense, go to sleep, you two can get out of here." Xiaohong pouted and slowly shuffled off the bed. Actually, she had been alone for several months and really wanted to stay with her mother today, but she also wanted to stay with Xiaowei. She was quite conflicted.

Back inside, Xiao Hong clung to Xiao Wei, all lovey-dovey. As soon as the door closed, her emotions flared. "Who's Mom?" she asked. "Mmm..."

After lingering for a while, Xiaowei said, "Put your things away first, I have something in my bag."

Xiao Hong hugged Xiao Wei's neck and turned to look at his bag. This bag was usually left outside, so she was surprised to see it brought inside today. She asked, "What's this? Money?"

Xiaowei half-carried, half-carried Xiaohong over, took her bag, and said, "Let me tell you, keep this safe. Don't tell anyone, not even our parents, understand?"

Xiao Hong paused for a moment, then loosened her grip, smoothed her hair, and said, "What?"

Xiao Wei opened the bag and took out the gold bars, cash, ration coupons, and watch, placing them on the bed. Xiao Hong looked at them suspiciously and asked, "What's this? Ration coupons? Where did you get all this old money? And this... US dollars? Jaeger-LeCoultre, Memovox? The Sound of Memory... This is a Swiss watch. Hey, this watch looks like it has an alarm clock. Where did you get all this?"

(End of this chapter)