The old lady's house is a traditional courtyard house in southern China.
It is 36 meters wide and 16 meters deep, with blue bricks and black tiles. Because of its profound historical background, it is not so glamorous to the naked eye, but it reveals the simplicity of Chinese architecture and the solemnity of a large house.
The layout is a horizontal three-span courtyard with three classic four-water return hall patios.
Entering the house in the center, the three courtyards correspond to three entrance doors, with the main door in the middle.
There are side doors on both sides.
The house is large, with more than 20 rooms in the three courtyards in total.
I can't live here at all.
How to do it?
The second elder couldn't bear to take a trip, so the child took his cat and the second elder to live in the main courtyard.
Jian Yuelan and his wife live in the courtyard on the right.
The space is large and the privacy is strong. Once the courtyard door is locked, it becomes a large independent space.
The old man also thoughtfully arranged for two rooms to be set up in the couple's courtyard, one for Jian Yuelan's workshop and one for Ye Linxing's study.
There is also a study room in the main courtyard, which Doudou and his elders share.
In the words of the old man, if a mother does not seek to make progress, his great-great-grandson cannot imitate her.
Therefore, the old man and his wife decided to take over the children's education.
Jian Yuelan agreed with this with both hands. The two elders were both from big families, and their academic background was really nothing to say.
Accept new things quickly.
But these are not the main point. The main point is that the two elders have walked with this country.
What they have seen and heard in the past, the level of contact, the way they see things, the pattern, etc., are things that the couple will not be able to learn in their lifetime.
Having two parents to educate children can only do good things for them and cannot cause any harm.
Therefore, Jian Yuelan has no reason to disagree.
Bai Ye, who was busy cleaning, wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn't help but sigh, "I used to think that a big house was good, but today I realized that living in a big house is both painful and happy."
Jian Yuelan, who came in carrying a long solid wood table, heard what he said and wondered, "What do you mean?"
"We need to do some hygiene."
Bai Ye said seriously, "We have been doing this for more than three hours, and we haven't even finished half of it. I finally understand why those wealthy families in ancient times had to support so many servants."
This is impossible without raising people. In such a big house, if the owner does not support the servants and just relies on the owner to do the work, the people will be exhausted to death.
Before Jian Yuelan could do anything, Ye Linxing complained, "You are so careless. My wife has done all the physical work, and the three of us just have to wash and dry. You are tired of this, and you are still a man?!"
Bai Ye, "??? I'm just sighing, why is it related to someone who is not a man?"
Liu Chengqi chuckled, "Xiaoye thinks you talk too much, I hope you talk less and do more."
"Tsk."
Bai Ye shook his head, went up the ladder with a rag, wiped the dust, and said to Jian Yuelan, "Brothers and sisters, for the sake of us being cleaners today, you have to prepare something delicious for us tonight."
"must."
Jian Yuelan put the table against the wall and patted the dust on her hands. "I have placed all the heavy objects. You are responsible for the rest of the cleaning work. I will go shopping and come back to cook."
"Okay."
Then, Jian Yuelan went to Doudou and the others and asked if she wanted to go shopping with them.
"go."
The child was leading Daji and the others around on the territory. Hearing the clattering sound, the child ran over and hugged her legs. He raised his little face and asked cutely, "Mom, take Daji and the others with you."
"no."
She smiled and refused, "Mom went shopping to find coolies, not to do coolies herself, do you understand?"
"clear."
Mom wanted him to help carry the vegetables, but she didn't want to carry them.
"Then I won't go."
He let go, stepped back, waved his little hand towards Jian Yuelan, and said with a bright smile, "Mom, please send some. Daji and I will stay at home and won't burden you."
Oh, this little idea is getting clearer and clearer.
"Okay, then mom has gone."
"Go and come back quickly!"
"Know."
She turned around to leave. The old lady stood up from her chair with a smile and said, "I'll go with you."
"In case you are unfamiliar with the place and can't find the place."
"good."
So, Jian Yuelan took the old lady's arm and carried the basket out the door.
The old lady grew up in this area, and she had no idea where to go shopping.
When you stay in an old house on the first day and entertain guests, meat is definitely an essential dish.
But the old lady didn't take her to the food station. Instead, she led her around and around to the free market.
"In the pilot camp, you don't need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative vegetable station to buy food from now on. You can come here directly."
Yes, as one of the first two provinces and cities to open up to the outside world during the reform and opening up, Anseong has already seen the emergence of free markets, small vendors and self-employed businesses.
The free market is officially run and quite lively.
There are not many small vendors and self-employed people, and most of them are in a wait-and-see mode.
As for those stationed in the free market, except for some official stalls, the rest are random vendors.
Most of them are villagers who bring with them the vegetables they can't finish, eggs and duck eggs they can't bear to eat, in exchange for some money.
Jian Yuelan and the others were very lucky. When they arrived at the free market, they caught up with the official stall selling meat.
What came out first was pork, but what came out last was sheep.
Like beef, mutton is also a rarity.
Jian Yuelan had a sharp eye and took a good position to buy half a sheep.
The main reason why I can buy half of one at a time is that mutton does not require meat stamps, but the price is higher than pork.
In addition, sheep has a fishy smell. Many people can't stand the taste. At the same time, they are not sure how to make mutton delicious, so they all choose pork.
In this way, Jian Yuelan made a mistake.
But on the contrary, the good pork was gone, and all that was left were scraps and a few pieces of meat.
She has no interest in the leftovers, the meat is so bad, and using the leftovers to entertain guests is really not good-looking at all.
So I ordered two sets of water and prepared to work all night to stew it.
Tomorrow, it will be soaked overnight and the flavor will be just right. The day after tomorrow, Ye Linxing and the others can take the braised pork to school to add a meal to themselves.
Once you enter school, you won't be able to come out except during holidays.
The food in the school cafeteria is not much different given today's poor conditions. It is impossible to say how good it is.
Therefore, it is right to carry more food on their backs.
In the evening, the whole family sat together to eat. Following Liu Chengqi, who had been busy all day, he looked at the rich dishes on the table, and then looked at the meals Jian Yuelan specially cooked for the elderly and children. He felt that his heart could be completely relieved.
You can also go back to meet your parents.
As careful as the Ye family siblings are, not to mention that she is not a biological granddaughter-in-law, even a biological granddaughter-in-law may not be able to do this to the elderly in the family.
Looking at the two elders and children who were happily eating, he took a sip of the wine in his glass, took Ye Linxing's hand and said, "Xiaoye, you have married a good wife."