People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

Zhuang Chaoying breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stood up: "Ah Ling, wait here for me, I'll go greet her!"

After saying that, he quickly walked towards them.

"Uncle Liu, Quan, you've finally arrived."

Uncle Liu, slightly out of breath, said, "Xiao Zhuang, I'm sorry, my old arms and legs are weak and I walk slowly. I'm sure I kept you waiting."

Zhuang Chaoying quickly waved her hand: "It's alright, Uncle Liu, it's good that you're here!"

The three of them walked to the door together, and Zhuang Chaoying pointed to Huang Ling and introduced her: "Ah Ling, this is Uncle Liu, the landlord."

Huang Ling: "Hello, Uncle Liu!"

Uncle Liu looked Zhuang Chaoying and Huang Ling carefully: "Little Zhuang is so lucky, your wife is very beautiful."

Zhuang Chaoying smiled and nodded: "It is indeed my good fortune to have found such a good wife as Ah Ling."

Afterwards, the group walked into the service hall together.

Several people waited in the service hall, while people came and went around them.

Ah Quan stood to the side, rubbing his hands nervously, his eyes darting between Zhuang Chaoying and Uncle Liu. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Brother Zhuang, I trust you, but Uncle Liu is worried about not seeing the money. Why don't you show it to us, just once, so that Uncle Liu can feel at ease?"

Huang Ling instinctively gripped her bag tighter and turned to look at Zhuang Chaoying.

Zhuang Chaoying nodded slightly.

Huang Ling then opened the bag a crack, moving very cautiously while constantly observing her surroundings.

Ah Quan's eyes lit up immediately, and he spotted stacks of 100-yuan bills neatly arranged in the bag.

Ah Quan quickly turned around and nodded to Uncle Liu.

Soon it was their turn to complete the formalities.

The staff member looked up and scanned the group of people: "What's your relationship?"

Uncle Liu cleared his throat and said calmly, "This is my distant cousin. I have no children, and they will take care of me in my old age and see me off in my final days, so I will give this house to them."

Both parties handed over all their documents, including their household registration books and marriage certificates, which were placed in front of the staff.

The staff carefully examined the documents, their fingers lightly tracing the paper, occasionally making notes on the forms.

Without looking up, the staff member asked, "Whose name is on the property certificate?"

Zhuang Chaoying held Huang Ling's hand tightly from below: "Write Huang Ling's name!"

It's better to be safe than sorry. If I really leave, at least Ah Ling will have some security.

Upon hearing this, Huang Ling immediately refused: "Chao Ying, write both of our names. This is our shared home, how can you only write my name?"

Zhuang Chaoying turned her head: "Ah Ling, listen to me, we are husband and wife, this house is our joint property no matter whose name is on it, it doesn't matter!"

"Comrade, write Huang Ling."

The staff handled the various procedures in an orderly manner.

Half an hour later, two brand-new property ownership certificates, land use certificates, and tax receipts were handed to Zhuang Chaoying by the staff.

Zhuang Chaoying took the documents, examined them carefully, and after confirming that they were correct, said, "Ah Ling, pack them up!"

The four walked out of the housing bureau. Zhuang Chaoying looked up at the sky; the sunlight was a bit dazzling.

"Uncle Liu, let's go to your place, I'll give you the money. It's not safe here with so many people around."

Uncle Liu nodded: "Alright, now the house is yours. I was worried you'd run away. Let's go to the yard."

Zhuang Chaoying pushed her bicycle, following behind Uncle Liu.

After walking for more than half an hour, we finally arrived at Uncle Liu's yard.

Upon entering the courtyard, A-Quan quickly went over, closed the door, and bolted it shut.

Huang Ling looked around warily, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, she took out a stack of 1,000 yuan notes wrapped in newspaper from her bag, nine stacks in total, and neatly placed them on the table.

Huang Ling. "Uncle Liu, please count it out. Once you've counted it, write a receipt, and then we'll sign an agreement. That way, everyone will feel at ease."

Ah Quan and Uncle Liu sat down and began to carefully count the money.

Their fingers moved rapidly across the banknotes as they muttered incantations.

It took a full twenty minutes to finish ordering.

Ah Quan looked up; it was so hot, his forehead was covered in sweat. "Uncle Liu, my five thousand is correct!"

Uncle Liu also breathed a sigh of relief. "My four thousand was not wrong either."

Uncle Liu nodded: "Xiao Zhuang, the money is correct. I'll write a receipt right away." As he spoke, he took out paper and pen from the drawer and began to write carefully, stroke by stroke.

Both parties signed their names and pressed their fingerprints.

Huang Ling took the receipt and agreement, carefully looked at the contents, put them in her bag, and then took out 100 yuan from her wallet and handed it to A Quan.

Huang Ling said with a smile, "Thank you, Quan. One hundred yuan, you agreed on this beforehand."

Ah Quan took the bill, moistened it with saliva, counted it, and then put it in his pants pocket: "Sister-in-law, Brother Zhuang, this is exactly one hundred yuan. If you need anything in the future, come to Ah Quan again. I, Ah Quan, keep my word, you can rest assured!"

After the transaction was completed, Zhuang Chaoying looked at her watch; it was already past eleven o'clock.

Uncle Liu handed the keys to the two houses to Zhuang Chaoying: "Little Zhuang, these houses are yours now. I have a favor to ask you. Could you let me stay here for a few more days? I still have some things to take care of. If things go smoothly, I'll be leaving in early August, or at the latest, by the end of August."

Zhuang Chaoying turned her head and looked at Huang Ling.

Huang Ling nodded slightly.

Zhuang Chaoying: "Uncle Liu, don't worry, there's no rush."

Uncle Liu replied, "Thank you so much, Xiao Zhuang and A Ling, you are both good people!"

Huang Ling: "Uncle Liu, please don't say that. There's really no rush. We won't be moving here right away. If you're leaving, just take the key to the cotton mill's gatehouse and tell the gatekeeper to pass on the message to us."

"Thank you so much, Xiao Huang, Xiao Zhuang, Uncle Liu really doesn't know how to thank you. The house next door has been uninhabited for a long time, and it's quite dirty with thick layers of dust. If you move in, you'll have to clean it up."

Huang Ling nodded slightly: "Uncle Liu, we still have to go to work, and it's getting late, so we'll be leaving now."

Zhuang Chaoying pushed her bicycle and walked out of the courtyard with Huang Ling to the entrance of the alley.

Zhuang Chaoying stopped in her tracks, unable to contain her joy: "Ah Ling, we have a house now!"

Huang Ling beamed from ear to ear: "Yes, we have a house now! Do we still need the houses from our cotton mill?"

Zhuang Chaoying patted the back seat of the bicycle, gesturing for Huang Ling to sit on it. Then, as she got on the bike, she replied, "Sure, Ling, you think you have too many houses? Let's stay there for now. We just bought this house, so we still need to settle in. As for when to move here, we can discuss that later."

"Okay, Chaoying, I'll do whatever you say!" Huang Ling said, then raised her wrist to check her watch. "Chaoying, it's already noon. Let's eat lunch before going to work. It's been a while since we've been to Songhelou. How about we get some noodles there?"

"it is good!"

Zhuang Chaoying rode the bicycle steadily, with Huang Ling sitting on the back seat, her arms gently around Chaoying's waist.

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling their hair and the hems of their clothes.

Huang Ling felt exceptionally cheerful and unconsciously began to hum softly: "Our hometown is on the fields of hope... We have lived on these fields for generations, for its prosperity and its flourishing..."

Zhuang Chaoying listened to Huang Ling's singing and started humming along.

Their voices mingled together, drifting through the alley.

Their figures walked further and further away in the sunlight, gradually disappearing at the end of the alley.