AWB Chapter 155 The Young Widow 6
Chapter 155 The Young Widow 6
After dinner, the family went back to their rooms to rest. Lin Ruan lay in bed, the image of the house constantly resurfacing in her mind. It was a small, independent courtyard with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was perfectly situated, right next to Lin Cuilan's old house. The combined area of the house and yard was even larger than Lin Cuilan's, at a full 60 square meters. An old locust tree, lush with branches and leaves, added a touch of tranquility and warmth to the courtyard. The house had a well-organized layout and excellent lighting. Lin Ruan fell in love with it at first sight and immediately decided to buy it, no matter what.
The next day, Lin Ruan brought the homeowner to the neighborhood office to find Lin Cuilan to handle the transfer of ownership, as agreed. Naturally, she didn't use her original image, but instead changed it to that of a dark, country-skinned man, and changed her name to Wu Ning. His household registration was checked in the system, and he was an orphan with no relatives, so no one had gone to the police to cancel his household registration after his death, so it could still be used.
Along the way, the homeowner was even more nervous than Lin Ruan. After all, private house sales were now forbidden. He claimed it was a gift between relatives, but that didn't stand up to scrutiny.
He had no other choice. He had two sons. The eldest had taken his wife's temporary job to avoid going to the countryside, but he still hadn't been hired. The younger son was also old enough to go to the countryside, so he couldn't just take over his job. He had worked so hard to raise his salary from 30 yuan to 55 yuan a month, but once the younger son took over, it would drop back to 30 yuan. What would happen then, and the whole family would starve?
Fortunately, he started work early and married late. At the time, he felt this place was too far from his workplace, an hour and a half walk, and he didn't have a bicycle, so he applied for a staff dormitory. He caught up with the first batch of housing construction, when everyone was given housing. Although he already had a house, considering the distance, he was given a 33-square-meter unit. While small, it was adequate.
The house here has never been occupied, but the house next to it, which no one knows who owns, has never been occupied. It looks run-down and is about to collapse. He was afraid that his house would become like that, so he came here every month to clean it, and that's when Lin Ruan caught his eye.
He had it all planned out. The 1,000 yuan the house would fetch would be enough to get his youngest son a part-time job. A regular job was too expensive, and he was worried his eldest son wouldn't be happy about it, as he would still have to rely on him for his retirement. The remaining money would be kept for him and his wife's retirement, which was fine.
They were afraid that the people from the street office would get to the bottom of the matter. Not only would the house not be sold, but their entire family would be sent to labor camps for the private transaction.
Arriving at the office, Lin Ruan, who had transformed into Wu Ning, saw Lin Cuilan busy at her desk. He walked over and said politely, "Hello, we are here to handle the house transfer procedures."
Lin Cuilan looked up and said calmly, "Oh, bring the relevant supporting documents." Lin Ruan and the homeowner hurriedly handed over the documents. Lin Cuilan took a look and found that it was indeed the house that Lin Ruan had told her about. Now she had an idea in her mind.
She carefully checked each document and asked for some necessary information. Lin Ruan and the homeowner handled the transfer in the capacity of grandfather and nephew. Lin Cuilan did not ask too many questions, so the homeowner had to be thankful that he had met a perfunctory clerk.
After completing the formalities, the homeowner became Wu Ning. He breathed a sigh of relief, fearing any further mishaps, and left without further comment. Before Wu Ning left, Lin Cuilan reviewed the documents once more and transferred the ownership of the house from Wu Ning to Lin Ruan.
After get off work at noon, Lin Cuilan went to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Lin Ruan and went with her to the house. Entering the courtyard again, Lin Cuilan couldn't help but sigh at how nice the house really was. Sunlight filtered through the branches of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Inside, the room was spacious and bright. While the walls were a bit worn, a clean and fresh coat of paint would surely give it a brand new look.
Lin Ruan put away the household registration booklet and house deeds that Lin Cuilan handed her and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Mom. From now on, you live in the east room and I'll live in the west room. Both rooms are of the same size, and the east room has better lighting."
Lin Cuilan looked at Lin Ruan's face full of longing, and her heart warmed. She smiled and said, "No need. You are still young, and reading and studying will strain your eyes. You can live in the east room. I am used to the small bedroom, and it is too bright and I feel uncomfortable. Besides, the west room is not dark, so I can live in the west room."
After all, this was the house bought by Lin Ruan, and Lin Cuilan didn't get a penny. How could the owner live in the west room?
The two of them carefully inspected the kitchen and bathroom, discussing how to make some simple repairs and renovations. Lin Cuilan thought to herself, even if this house wasn't fully stocked, Lin Ruan worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, so she could definitely get what she needed. Why not move in today and live a quiet life with Lin Ruan, away from those bickering kids? That would be quite relaxing.
She thought so and discussed it with Lin Ruan. Lin Ruan had long been tired of living in a room separated from Chen Jianhua by a wooden board, so she agreed with a smile.
As for the things she wanted to buy, needless to say, she had plenty of them in her space.
So after Lin Cuilan went to work in the afternoon, Lin Ruan took half a day off from the supply and marketing cooperative and came back to decorate the house.
After Lin Ruan returned to the courtyard, he took advantage of the fact that there was no one around and quickly summoned the housework robot and decoration robot in the space.
The renovation robots began work first, meticulously inspecting every corner of the house, reinforcing doors and windows, nailing down loose boards, and replacing broken tiles. Then, Lin Ruan retrieved some old newspapers from the scrap yard, and the robots carefully applied them to the walls. After all, whitewashing in this era was done with limewash, and without the newspaper, it would be a complete mess.
Lin Ruan took out a whole set of old furniture and straw mats and asked the decoration robot to arrange them in categories.
Household robots focus on cleaning, like a group of industrious bees, leaving no corner untouched. The floor is mopped spotlessly clean and the dust on the furniture is also cleaned away.
In the kitchen, Lin Ruan pulled out a carefully collected set of pots, pans, and utensils from her space. These utensils were specially purchased in the world she traveled through, and they were very characteristic of that era. There were patched iron pots, enamel basins with the porcelain chipped but still sturdy, and stoneware bowls and plates of various sizes. After they were neatly arranged one by one, the kitchen suddenly had the air of home.
Although it was a bungalow, the owner, in an effort to be an activist and support the city's sanitation and civilization efforts, had upgraded the bathroom and sewer. If it had been a dry toilet like the one in Lin Cuilan's old house, the owner wouldn't have asked for a thousand yuan.
In the bathroom, the robot cleaned the originally simple facilities, and Lin Ruan took out ordinary towels, soap boxes and other daily necessities prepared from the space and arranged them properly.
In the yard, the robot cleaned up the debris and leveled the ground.
Time passed quietly in the busyness, and soon it was almost time for Lin Cuilan to get off work. Lin Ruan quickly returned the robot to the space and carefully checked it again to make sure there were no traces of the space left.
When Lin Cuilan walked into the courtyard after get off work, she was stunned. The house, which had been somewhat run-down, now looked brand new. The walls were neatly covered with newspapers, the rooms were spotlessly clean, and the kitchen was fully equipped with pots and pans. The whole courtyard exuded a unique warmth.
Lin Cuilan looked at Lin Ruan in surprise: "Ruanruan, you finished all this in just one afternoon?"
Lin Ruan smiled and took Lin Cuilan's hand: "Mom, how can I do it so quickly by myself? When I bought newspapers and furniture at the scrap yard, I asked the old man at the scrap yard. He asked his son and daughter-in-law to come and help me clean up. I gave them an industrial ticket."
After Chen Jianguo died, the army took back all his inheritance and belongings. Lin Cuilan gave all the money and tickets to Lin Ruan, and only kept the belongings of her second son.
Lin Cuilan didn't feel bad about the industrial coupons. She nodded with satisfaction and said, "I'm glad you didn't do it. I was thinking of coming over to clean it up after get off work. This industrial coupon is worth it."
Since the house was cleaned up, Lin Cuilan did not waste any time and immediately took Lin Ruan home to pack up her things, intending to bring them over later, even if they had completely separated.
Lin Cuilan had also prepared the property deeds that had been allocated at that time today, and would give them to them just before the move. She only said that the house was rented, and all the materials were sealed in a file bag by Lin Cuilan. As long as no one saw the property deeds, no one would know that the house was already Lin Ruan's.