Living in a Siheyuan

Time soon came to the beginning of August. The decoration of Li Ping'an's house in the courtyard was almost finished.

Now, when Li Ping'an enters his home, he sees a living room of more than 20 square meters. The ceiling is covered with new wooden boards, so he will never look up to see the dark wood on the roof again. The floor is made of cement, which is smooth and flat. The enlarged windows also make the house brighter. There are two radiators on both sides.

On the left side of the living room is the master bedroom. Pushing the door open, the two enlarged windows in the front and back make the room no longer stuffy and dim. The upper part is also covered with wood and the lower part is also made of cement, which looks very clean and tidy. The radiator has also been installed, and now all that is missing is the furniture.

Inside the living room is a small room, about 10 square meters. There is also a large window at the back. It is also clean and tidy. When a small bed is put in it, it will become the child's room.

After going out, there are two newly built houses next to the back wall. The house next to the living room is the kitchen, which is only about 10 square meters in size. There is a heating boiler inside, which can be used for cooking during normal times and heating in winter.

Next door is a smaller bathroom, about 10 square meters. It has a toilet and a washbasin. There is also an iron bucket on the wall, which is filled with hot water from the boiler, so you can take a shower.

The kitchen and bathroom were both connected to running water, which was arranged by Yu Linhai. Li Pingan paid more than 30 yuan for the installation, and a water meter was installed for him.

Now Yu Linhai brought two people to replace the gate for Li Ping'an, and re-paved the bricks in the yard for Li Ping'an. A small vegetable garden was built next to the wall next to Yan Bugui's house, and a grape trellis was built just after the gate. Li Ping'an planned to dig out a grape from the space and plant it here to make a pavilion.

Looking at the newly renovated house, Li Pingan was very satisfied.

What he was even more satisfied with was the relationship between him and Yu Li. In the past half month, Li Pingan had been with Yu Li at home almost every day except for going out to complete tasks. He also improved the food in different ways every day, making the workers wish they could keep working for him.

Through his unremitting efforts, he can now secretly hold hands with Yu Li and occasionally hug her when no one is around.

Yu Linhai also saw the changes in the two, but he did not stop them. He was also very satisfied with Li Pingan, so he was happy to see their development. However, Li Pingan was only 19 years old and not old enough to get married. Yu Li was 18 years old, just the right age.

Li Pingan watched Yu Li carefully cleaning the room. He secretly looked outside and saw Yu Linhai and the others were busy.

He quickly walked over and hugged Yu Li from behind.

Yu Li said angrily: "What are you doing? Can't you see I'm busy? Let go quickly, or my dad will see it."

"It's okay, Uncle Yu can't be seen at the gate. I just miss you, and the more I see you, the more I like you." Li Ping'an replied, resting his chin on Yu Li's shoulder.

After hearing this, Yu Li turned around, hugged Li Pingan and said, "Brother Pingan, I miss you every day too. When are you going to tell my dad about us?"

Li Pingan kissed Yu Li on the forehead and said, "I'll tell you today. I'll get someone to go to your house and propose marriage."

Yu Li was shocked by Li Ping'an's boldness. She hurriedly pushed him away and said, "Humph! Get out of here! Aren't you going to buy furniture? Go quickly."

Seeing Yu Li's cautious look, Li Pingan really wanted to kiss her a few more times. But he knew that girls nowadays are shy and thin-skinned. It's enough!

When he came outside and saw that Yu Linhai and his team had replaced the front door, only some corners needed repairing. He said to Yu Linhai, "Uncle Yu, let's go buy the furniture now."

Seeing that there was not much work left, Yu Linhai arranged for the two workers and took Li Ping'an to the Trust Store to buy furniture.

The reason why he brought Yu Linhai with him was that he was a professional. Li Pingan wanted to buy some good furniture so that it could become a family heirloom in the future.

The two of them came to the Trust Store. There were a lot of good furniture in the warehouse. They all looked like they were left over from before the liberation. Li Ping'an didn't know much, so he asked Yu Linhai to help him choose.

He picked a big bed with a nice shape, two wardrobes, a desk with a chair, an eight-immortal table, two official hat chairs, a small bed and a cabinet. These things are all old wood, which can be worth a lot of money in the future. Even now, they are not cheap. Li Pingan spent more than 200 yuan.

It took three carts at the door to load all the things, and it was almost noon when we got them home.

When everyone in the courtyard saw Li Ping'an buying so many pieces of furniture at once, the third aunt came forward to touch and look at them. She said to Li Ping'an, "Ping'an, are you planning to get married by buying so many pieces of furniture?"

After half a month, everyone knew that Li Ping'an was dating Lao Yu's daughter. The girl helped Li Ping'an at home every day.

Seeing that Yu Linhai was not there at the moment, Li Pingan quickly said to Third Aunt, "Third Aunt, don't talk nonsense. I'm not old enough yet. Besides, I haven't gone to her house to propose marriage yet, so I can't let Uncle Yu hear it."

The third aunt smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? How could he not want to? Look, your house is decorated beautifully, and I heard that you got a permanent job a few days ago. Can Old Yu find someone better than you?"

Li Pingan has completed his tasks every week in the past half month. Sometimes he even brings more things to the factory, after all, he has a lot of things in his space. So starting this month, he officially became a qualified buyer, and his level was also raised to the next level. Eleventh-level clerk, 25.5 yuan per month. A few days ago, he went to Zhangjiazhuang and exchanged kilograms of coarse grains for a large stone mill. Now his space can also produce flour and corn flour.

Facing the third aunt's praise, Li Pingan said, "Third aunt, I won't chat with you anymore. I still have to watch over the moving of things in here."

When they got home, the workers brought in all the furniture and put it in place. The house finally looked presentable. Yu Li also walked around, feeling very happy. After all, everything here would be hers soon.

After seeing off the porters, Li Pingan returned to the house and saw Yu Li still touching and looking around. So he smiled and said, "What's so good about this? Wait until next year when you will be the hostess of this place, and then you can see enough."

Yu Li turned to Li Pingan and said, "You don't know, there are five people in my family, and we only have two houses. My sister and I have always been squeezed in a small room, and at that time I thought that I must have a big room of my own in the future. Brother Pingan, I really want to be with you sooner." As she said that, Yu Li threw herself into Li Pingan's arms.

Li Pingan hugged Yu Li, touched her head and said, "I also want you to accompany me every day. When I finish my work tonight, I will tell Uncle Yu about our relationship. Then I will marry you as soon as possible."

The two of them were in the room for a while, and then they heard Yu Linhai coughing outside. Yu Li was so scared that she quickly left Li Pingan's arms and ran out with a red face.

Li Ping'an also followed him outside and saw Yu Li already cooking with her head down. Yu Linhai and the others were tidying up the vegetable garden.

At noon, they had a quick bite to eat. In the afternoon, Li Ping'an had to go to the factory to hand in his assignment. Yu Linhai and his team only had to put up the grape trellis and that was it.

When he arrived at the steel mill, Li Ping'an found a bamboo basket behind his car seat. Inside it were three hares and two pheasants, as well as a dozen eggs.

Soon, he finished his task at the warehouse and went to the finance office to report the bill. His task for this week was completed. Tomorrow is Sunday again. It's just right for him to have a good rest tomorrow and buy some small things for the family.

When I returned to the purchasing department, I saw two or three people chatting inside. I sat and chatted for a while, then handed the receipt to Zhou Changming. Seeing that nothing was wrong, I rode my bike home.

Today he moved into his new home. He took out a chicken, a fish, two pounds of meat, and some vegetables from his space, planning to entertain Yu Linhai and his friends in the evening.

Because of his relationship with Yu Li, Yu Linhai was very careful when decorating the house. Some hard-to-get materials were also obtained through Yu Linhai's connections. Although it was not stated, it can be said that Yu Linhai treated him as his own son-in-law.

I took the things back home. It was already four or five o'clock. I asked Yu Li to cook, and Li Ping'an went to the yard to look around.

Yu Linhai and his team had already built the grape trellis. Now he was leading people to chop the dismantled wood and the furniture that was no longer usable into firewood. They were neatly stacked under the kitchen eaves. The grape trellis would wait for Li Ping'an to find grape seedlings to plant.

Li Pingan stepped forward and said, "Uncle Yu, I will take care of these things later. How can I trouble you?"

"It's okay. We have finished the work, so we'll do it for you. It won't look like a mess here and be an eyesore." Yu Linhai said casually.

"Uncle Yu, you see we have finished the work today. I am also moving to a new house. Why don't you call all the people who worked with you over? I will prepare some dishes for us tonight and have a drink together. It will also be a way of thanking everyone."

"Okay, then I'll go find them now. Since there's not much work to do these days, let them rest at home. It's a good opportunity to ask them to come over for a drink." Yu Linhai agreed.

Yu Linhai was asked to ride his bike to call for help, and Li Pingan returned to the kitchen to help Yu Li.

The two chatted and laughed for a while and the meal was ready. At this time, Yu Linhai also came back.

The six people who worked with them all arrived. They were still sitting at the eight-immortal table in the yard. Everyone saw meat, chicken, and fish. Everyone was very happy, as it represented the host's recognition of their work.

Li Pingan took out the wine, poured it for everyone, and said, "Thank you all for your hard work during this period. Today we have finally finished the work. Come, let's have a drink together."

Everyone finished their drinks and started eating and drinking.

After dinner, Yu Li cleared the table and served tea to everyone. Li Pingan also took out the remaining 130 yuan and gave it to Yu Linhai.

Yu Linhai quickly declined, "Ping An, we agreed that the meal would be 130 yuan, but you have been the one who bought the food and vegetables during this period. And they are all good vegetables and meat. How can we accept so much now that you are giving us?"

Li Pingan said, "It's okay, Uncle Yu. You see, although I bought the things, they were made by Yu Li. And you have worked hard during this period. Just take it, and think of it as buying a pack of cigarettes for the masters."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Yu Linhai accepted it.

Then he took out his account book and paid the wages to each person one by one.

After everyone else left, only Yu Linhai and Li Pingan were left. Yu Li was still cleaning up in the kitchen. Li Pingan handed Yu Linhai a cigarette and said, "Uncle Yu, you know about Yu Li and I. I really like Yu Li and I want to marry her. But you also know that I am the only one in my family. I don't understand many rules. I want to bring Director Wang to your house tomorrow night to discuss it with you. What do you think?"

Yu Linhai had thought about this a long time ago, and now that Li Ping'an had brought it up, he said, "Ping'an, I feel relieved to leave Lily to you. You are also a good child. You two should live a good life together in the future. I don't have any requirements on my side, just come directly tomorrow night."

"Thank you, Uncle Yu. Don't worry, I will treat Yu Li well in the future. We will also be filial to you two." Li Pingan quickly expressed his opinion.

After finishing talking about this, it was already late, so Yu Linhai took Yu Li home.

Li Pingan was sitting in the yard, feeling a little excited. This daughter-in-law had basically no chance of escaping.

Thinking about it, he took out a watermelon and a hare from the space and rode his bike to Director Wang's house. He was afraid that everyone would rest tomorrow and Director Wang would be delayed by something.

Soon we arrived at Director Wang's house. We knocked on the door and went in. Director Wang and his family were all in the yard enjoying the cool air and playing with their grandson.

Seeing Li Pingan coming, Director Wang said in surprise: "Pingan, aren't you renovating the house? Why are you here now?" After seeing what he was holding, he smiled and said: "What's wrong with you? You come to give me a gift so late at night."

Li Pingan was not polite and handed the things to his sister-in-law Li Hongjuan. After giving Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Weiguo a cigarette, he said, "Auntie Wang, I really have something to ask you this time. And it's a big deal."

Zhang Zhiyong pointed at Li Pingan and said, "Did you get into trouble?"

Director Wang also asked: "What's the big deal? Tell me quickly!"

Li Pingan did not hide anything and told the story of him and Yu Li. Finally, he said, "Auntie Wang, you see, there is no one in charge of my family. I can only rely on you."

Director Wang and Zhang Zhiyong were relieved when they heard about this. At the same time, Director Wang laughed and scolded: "You little bastard, this is a good thing. I didn't expect that someone would go to you to earn a salary and give you their daughter. Okay, leave it to me. Come to the street office to find me after get off work tomorrow, and I will go with you."

After discussing the business, Li Ping'an chatted for a while and then went home.