Seeing that Xu Da and Wang Dayou were almost brothers, Liu Rong reminded:
"Let's go, I'll take you to your new residence."
"By the way, you and your family remember to come to the county government office tomorrow. Those who do not cultivate the fields must come to the government office to serve for one month every February and October. However, this year, the victims who have settled in the disaster area are exempted from the corvee for one year. I will ask you to come tomorrow.
I asked you to come and get food.”
Xu Da clasped his fists: "Thank you, Mr. Liu Cha, for reminding me. We will be here on time tomorrow."
Liu Rong nodded and walked at the front, leading the two families through the busiest streets, and then turned a few small alleys, and finally arrived at the most rundown part of the city in the north.
There is a very popular name here - slum.
On the muddy black soil road, chickens, ducks, geese and other livestock were running all over the street, and all kinds of life smells mixed with shit and urine came to the face.
A long street is more than 500 meters long from beginning to end. A stinking ditch runs through the whole street. All domestic wastewater is poured into this ditch and left along the outermost moat.
The whole thing is a mess!
When they saw that the dilapidated hut assigned to them by the government, even the thatched roof, had been lifted up by their neighbors to protect them from wind and rain, Xu Yue's family regretted for a moment.
I regret staying in the county town and not going to the small countryside with fresh air.
However, this irrational thought just passed by in a flash, because there are no tall city walls in the countryside, and it is impossible to walk to the bustling county street just by turning a corner.
It is true that the surrounding environment cannot be changed, but Xu Yue believes that with the strength of her family, they will move out of this slum sooner or later.
"Very good, very good..." The family of five nodded and murmured.
I don’t know if I’m really satisfied, or if I’m just using this method to give myself deeper psychological hints.
The house of Wang Dayou's family is diagonally opposite the Xu family's house. It is different from the layout of the Xu family's left and right neighbors. Their house is at the end of the street and the corner. The house is smaller and more shabby. The one facing the street to the east
The wall has collapsed and only an adobe foundation remains.
The Xu family's side is much better. Although the walls are peeling off, the adobe walls are still strong.
The yard is about ten square meters, and there are four bright rooms in a row. Well... there is no roof, so it is bright and spacious.
Liu Rong observed the expressions of Xu Yue's family, seeing that they were a little shocked at first, but soon accepted it calmly. Suddenly, he felt that this family was quite practical, not as pretentious as the nobles from a poor family, and it looked inexplicably comfortable.
Not only was it pleasing to the eye, but he also took other people's money, so he didn't mind helping them beat the little thieves around.
I saw Liu Rong shouting in the street, and the people nearby who had already looked gossipy and curious immediately gathered around.
"This is Xu Da's family and Wang Da's family who escaped from Yanzhou. They will be your neighbors in the future. Neighbors help each other. If you call me Mr. Cha, I know which of you will cause trouble and bully outsiders, ruining our Jizhou.
You have a good reputation, please tell me carefully and I will put you in jail!"
After knocking for a while, Liu Rong handed the keys to Xu Da and Wang Dayou, returned to his usual cold face, and strode away.
It was time for dinner. Seeing Liu Rong leaving, everyone did not disperse. Each family brought out food and gathered in front of the two new families to watch the fun.
Mrs. Wang frowned irritably, opened the door with the key and led the children into their new home, leaving Xu Da outside Zhou Xuan. Anyway, Xu Da could always handle this kind of ineffective social interaction that she was tired of.
However, Xu Da was annoyed when he saw these people. He didn't have much patience to make friends with these people. He just bowed his hands as a courtesy, nodded to Wang Dayou, and went back to his home.
As soon as the musty wooden door was closed, those curious eyes were blocked from outside.
When I got inside, I saw that the new home was even more dilapidated than I imagined.
"It seems that just repairing the house will cost a lot of money." Xu Yue looked up at the sky above her head and said sadly.
Xu walked in with a big smile, "With daddy and mommy here, this isn't something you little kids should worry about."
"Go ahead, you three tidy up the room on the west side first. At least it still has half of the roof. It won't rain tonight, so we'll make do with it for one night."
"What about dad?" Xu Yue asked curiously.
Xu Dayi raised his eyebrows and walked towards Mr. Wang who was inspecting the walls and beams. "While there is still light, ask where someone is repairing the roof and build the roof as soon as possible."
Mrs. Wang clapped her hands and said, "Let's go. I don't think this wall is very strong. It needs to be strengthened. Otherwise, if it snows heavily, our family will have to bury ourselves here."
Is it so scary?
Xu Yue looked around at this bare-walled home. She wanted to listen to her father and not worry, but she still couldn't help but worry.
Xu Erniang had already walked around the courtyard and house, and said in disdain:
"In this shabby house, the government still has the nerve to collect rent from us. I will curse them severely!"
"Sister, please keep your voice down!" Xu Yue hurriedly ran over, pulled Xu Erniang, and pointed to the door.
Those neighbors didn't leave, they were still squatting in front of their houses chatting.
If someone heard this, I'm afraid it would cause trouble.
Xu Erniang rolled her eyes and felt even more distressed, "Forget it, call Xu Dalang and let's go clean the room."
Then, he gave Xu Yue a mysterious wink, "I'll show you how a magician cleans the house."
"Really?" Xu Yue was surprised and happy, her big eyes widened. Xu Erniang's heart melted when she saw it. She took her sister's little hand and led her to the small house on the west side.
Mrs. Wang told the three brothers and sisters in the west room: "Mom and dad are going out. Don't go out. Just stay at home."
"Yeah, I understand!" Xu Yue responded on behalf of her brothers and sisters.
There was the sound of the door opening and closing in the courtyard, and the couple had already left.
Xu Yue hurriedly urged Xu Erniang, who was standing in front of her, to signal that she could start performing.
Xu Erniang smiled playfully and picked up a small "magic wand" from somewhere. She chanted a spell in her mouth, waved the small wooden stick in her hand, and a little white light suddenly bloomed, lighting up the whole room!
Xu Yue only felt a "swish" sound, and all the stains seemed to be purified, revealing their original appearance.
The dilapidated window lattice took on a new look, the mottled walls returned to their original smoothness, the dark beams also revealed their original wood color, and the old cobwebs in the corners disappeared.
There is also dirt on the ground, a lame desk, a loose bed frame...etc.
However, even magic cannot repair the broken parts. The window lattice is clean, but the crossbar is still broken.
The floor is also clean, but the places that should be concave are still uneven.
How can I put it, it doesn't feel as magical as I imagined.
Xu Erniang narrowed her eyes dangerously, "Xu Youniang, what's your expression?"
Xu Yue immediately made a gesture of holding her heart with both hands, "Sister, you are so awesome!" This was an expression of admiration on my part.
Xu Erniang pinched Xu Yue's little face proudly and said, "My lovely girl, the goddess of luck will always look after you."
