Three or Two Things about Rebirth

As soon as he came back from Beijing, his parents asked Qiu Luming whether he had met his third brother's girlfriend.

Qiu Luming answered truthfully, "She is very beautiful, generous and optimistic, one year younger than me, and the type that my third brother likes."

She didn't mention Guan Ying's plan to study abroad. After all, it wasn't a foregone conclusion, and even if Guan Ying went to study abroad, it didn't mean they would break up. If she said it now, it would only make the two elders anxious and angry. If she really wanted to say it, it would be the third brother who would say it himself when he got back.

He Manshu was very happy to hear this, and looked forward to it happily, "Oh, they will all come back for the Spring Festival, it will be lively, we have to take a family photo! By the way, can you let your eldest brother and his family live in your new house? Let our eldest son warm up the house for you! Your third brother will live in the living room, and you and Guan Ying will live in your bedroom, okay?"

Without waiting for Qiu Luming to answer, she felt that it was inappropriate and denied it, "No! You will use this new house for your wedding in the future, you can't let them live in it first! Forget it, let your eldest brother and his family live in his father-in-law's house. Your eldest sister-in-law will definitely be happy. It's settled!"

After saying that, he clapped his hands with a smile on his face, "I have to buy a new quilt quickly. I can't let Guan Ying cover herself with our old quilt!"

Qiu Luming sighed softly.

The houses in the customs family building had been renovated a long time ago. Maroon Panpan security doors were purchased uniformly, double-layer stainless steel windows were replaced, the north balcony was enclosed, the kitchen was covered with white tiles, and a smoke exhaust hood and gas water heater were installed. The latest white radiators were also replaced in each room, even the bathroom.

Lao Bai has always been in charge of the job of supervising the renovation. He is a bit gossipy, but he is still capable. After the renovation was completed, no one could find any fault with it. He also built a kang in the north room on the first floor of his house and a big stove in the kitchen. He said there was no other way because his grandmother, who was over 80 years old, could not sleep in a bed and liked to sit on the warm kang and eat dishes cooked in a big iron pot.

Qiu Luming came back from his exams and went to see the house. Lao Bai had already moved in. The house was not very soundproof. Qiu Luming heard an old man coughing inside and an older voice saying, "Keep smoking. Smoke one more pack and you won't cough anymore!"

"Get lost!" an old lady cursed while coughing.

Going up to the second floor, Qiu Luming took out the key to open the door. Her parents and family members were standing behind her or on the stairs. When she turned the key, she had a strange feeling.

The door opened and the room was empty. There was nothing in it except the big white walls and the wooden floor.

But this is her own house, her own home!

My second sister-in-law once said that it is a very happy thing for a woman to have her own home after marriage, because she is the mistress of that house and can decorate the house as she pleases and make any decision there!

She didn't think much of it at the time, but the moment she opened the door, she understood her second sister-in-law.

Haha, you already have a house and a home, so why get married? Can’t you just live on your own?

Everyone took off their shoes and walked into the house.

"This shoe cabinet is really well designed, and there's a separate compartment next to it for leather boots!" Fang Yuan praised. "These slippers won't work, they make too much noise when you walk, and they leave footprints. I'll buy you cloth-soled slippers in Yi City later."

After that, Fang Yuan quickly looked at each house again, "I'm afraid Lu Ming is the first girl in our county to own her own house! If she finds a partner in the future, maybe she can have two houses! Hey Qiu Jiashu, when will your unit build a residential building for staff members?"

Qiu Jiashu tried the temperature of the heater and said, "Maybe in a long time. You know how many police officers there are in the Public Security Bureau, how many old police officers there are, and how poor they are. Even if we build a building, by the time it's my turn, Kuan Kuan will be in middle school!"

"You said they are all armed police. The border inspection team has built a building, but why is there no movement in our border defense team? It is so nice to live in a building. We don't have to burn coal and collect ashes every day."

"Hey, Comrade Fang Yuan, let me interview you. Have you ever carried coal or shoveled ashes in these years?"

"Hehe!" Fang Yuan quickly apologized, "I just feel sorry for you!"

In Jiayang, heating in winter is a big project for every household. Firewood and coal must be prepared in autumn. Two buckets of coal must be burned every day in winter, and then two buckets of coal ash must be carried out. Although the coal is mixed with water and is relatively clean when burned, the ash is inevitably smoky when it is removed, which adds a lot of work to the family.

Fang Yuan's parents also moved into an apartment last year. It is big and spacious. Now that they see that their sister-in-law also has an apartment, they are particularly envious.

Qiu Luming couldn't bear to see his second brother being despised, so he said, "The house is empty anyway, why don't you guys move in first? It's closer to my parents' house than walking along the main street, and Kuan Kuan won't suffer as much."

Fang Yuan waved his hands after hearing this. "No, no, no, that's not what I meant! Our family is fine, I was just saying that casually!"

Qiu Jiashu also came over and said, "Silly girl, why are you letting others live in your new house?"

"You are not others!"

"No, no, in fact, except for the convenience of heating, living in a building is not as good as a bungalow in many aspects. Look, we have a big warehouse, a vegetable garden and a large yard. Do you have it? There is only one meter of space in front of your door, and there are eight families living together. If you fart, the neighbors can hear it. If there is a naughty child upstairs, you will be hurt by him a few times."

Qiu Luming rolled his eyes at him and said, "Forget it! I don't know how to grow vegetables, and I don't have that much stuff, so why do I need a vegetable garden and a barn?"

He Manshu walked to the north balcony and said, "Oh, I forgot to mention that we should build a few partitions here, all the way to the roof. This can be used as a warehouse. It's in the shade here, so we can put grain and rice on the shelves, and freeze meat in winter."

Qiu Jiye walked around the living room and said, "Dad will buy you a large bookcase here. Put a solid wood desk and chair here. Draw a layer of gauze curtains and a layer of thick curtains on the window. When the sun is bright, you can read and write behind the gauze curtains. How comfortable it is."

Kuan Kuan held onto the wall and moved quickly like a little gecko, which made Qiu Luming laugh, and everyone else laughed too.

Seeing that everyone was paying attention to him, Kuan Kuan was very happy. He sat down on the floor and quickly crawled around. He Manshu quickly picked him up and said, "Grandson, the floor is cold. You will have diarrhea later."

Kuan Kuan stood still, with his hands spread out, and staggered towards Fang Yuan. Everyone was shocked, "Kuan Kuan is walking!"

"Five steps!"

"Hahahaha!"

Kuan Kuan, who just turned ten months old, could walk all of a sudden. The whole family was very happy and finally decided to go to the newly opened hot pot restaurant in the commercial street to eat hot pot. Qiu Jiashu ordered a big double-flavored hot pot, half of which was mutton and the other half was fish. The five big and one small kids enjoyed it very much.

As the weather grew colder, Kuan Kuan became a bit miserable having to be sent back and forth every day.

Hearing Kuan Kuan sneeze twice, He Manshu kept repeating "100 years old, 200 years old" and gently wiped away the clear snot from her grandson's nose. She said to Fang Yuan, "Don't make trouble in the future. Kuan Kuan, stay with me at night!"

Fang Yuan was a little reluctant, but she also felt sorry for the child. She looked at Qiu Jiashu in a conflicted manner. Qiu Jiashu nodded, "Mom is right. We are not afraid of any trouble. The child is really too young."

An unprecedented emotion arose from Qiu Luming's heart. She felt that she seemed a little redundant in this family. If she was not there, her second brother and his wife could bring Kuan Kuan to live in the north bedroom.

She knew very well that no one in the family disliked her, but she just couldn't control her emotions. It seemed that she had already divided the house, and it was a mistake to still stay in her parents' home.

***

After entering winter, Qin Huifang and Lu Jiaming moved back to the tax staff housing building. The heating upstairs was excellent, and they could go to the boiler room to take a shower at any time.

The Qin family moved to the county party committee staff quarters. Although the house was much bigger, it was still a bungalow. The children were still easily caught in the cold when they got up at night, and they were unwilling to wear cold clothes in the morning.

After moving back upstairs, Qin's mother would go to see the children before her daughter and son-in-law went to work. In the evening, she would go home to cook for her husband after they got off work. It was a bit tiring, but with a car to take her back and forth, it was not tiring for her.

Qin's mother is now the wife of the deputy county magistrate. Although she is a very arrogant wife, she has always taken care of her granddaughter herself and is reluctant to send her to a nursery.

Lu Jiaming's parents are now a little embarrassed. Their father-in-law was suddenly promoted to deputy county magistrate. They are happy but also nervous.

After discussing it, Lu's father and mother immediately bought a lot of good things for their granddaughter and brought them to the Qin family's door. After all, they were related by blood. Lu's mother looked at her only granddaughter and vaguely found some similarities between her and her son. She almost cried, but Qin's mother didn't give her a good face and said politely, "Bingbing in our family has everything. You can take it back and give it to your grandson!"

Father Lu used to be at the same level as his in-laws and had great power in the unit. He was usually popular and had always been somewhat dissatisfied with Father Qin. But now he couldn't do that and felt he was inferior to him. "County Magistrate Qin hasn't come back yet? I brought some good wine and was thinking of having a good drink with my in-laws!" He was furious. He had clearly called before coming. More than an hour had passed and he should have come back no matter where he was!

"Lao Qin had a county magistrate's office meeting and couldn't leave. I don't know what time it ends. He said he wouldn't be back for dinner that night."

"Oh, then we won't bother you anymore. Let Huifang take the child back to visit her more often. Her grandmother misses her child so much."

"Yeah, I miss my child." Qin's mother repeated with a smile.

Father Lu ignored Mother Qin's sarcasm and looked around, but didn't see his son and daughter-in-law.

Mother Lu asked, "Where is Jiaming?"

"They went out to eat. There was a class reunion. Bingbing has been with me since she was born. She was born for me. They don't do any work and don't contribute any money. Their son-in-law is only a half-son, but I am a full-son. Haha, Bingbing is very friendly to me. She can go wherever her parents want!"

Mother Lu's face changed several times. The situation was stronger than she was. She didn't dare to say anything more. She smiled twice and followed her husband to the door to change shoes. Finally, she said, "Tell Jiaming to come home when he is free."

"Haha, he's your own son, why are you being so polite? Just call his cell phone! It won't cost much."