Lu Siyuan laughed so hard his stomach hurt, and he quickly explained, "Auntie, this isn’t stinky. After using the toilet, just flush, and the dirty stuff will be washed underground. This type is convenient and clean. In the future, when the countryside develops well, every house can have a toilet ."
Fearing she didn’t know how to flush, Lu Siyuan even did a demonstration. Liu Da’niang’s mouth hung open in astonishment, "Wow! The water flushes it right down; that’s really something. But how much is the water bill? Xiaocui says that city folks have to pay for water."
Housing costs money, utilities cost money; living in the city is expensive, even buying vegetables is pricey. No wonder everyone who lives in a city is rich. If you weren’t, you would starve, wouldn’t you?
The countryside is better. Once you’ve built a house, you don’t have to worry about rent, and you only have a small electricity bill each month. You can grow your own vegetables, and you can use as much water as you want for free.
"The water bill won’t amount to much each month. Anyone who can afford to live in this house won’t mind the water cost," said Lu Siyuan.
Liu Da’niang thought about it and felt he made sense. Lu Siyuan then took her to stand at the kitchen doorway for a peek inside. Seeing how small the gas flame was, she exclaimed in surprise, "Such a tiny flame, can it really cook the rice? How long would that take?"
"Auntie, don’t be fooled by its size; it cooks rice quite quickly. Though it’s small, it’s fully functional." Lu Siyuan had been curious about these things when he first came to the city, so he didn’t find Liu Da’niang’s questions annoying. Instead, he patiently explained, "It’s convenient and cleaner than burning wood. I reckon in about a decade or so, people in the village will start using it, too. But this fire costs money, so many people might be reluctant to use it."
"You have to pay for this fire too?" Liu Da’niang said, feeling the pinch, "This isn’t burning wood at all; it’s like burning money."
Anyway, she wouldn’t be willing to use it.
Lu Siyuan was amused by Liu Da’niang’s words and then took her to Xiaocui’s room, "Auntie, look how comfortable Xiaocui’s place is. You don’t have to worry about her in the city. We will all take care of her. Mianmian comes home from school every day, and they can keep each other company."
"I watched Mianmian grow up. I feel at ease with Xiaocui being with her." Although she already knew that Xiaocui was living with Mianmian and sending money home every month, she still felt somewhat worried without seeing it with her own eyes. Now that she had visited, she was completely reassured. Follow current novᴇls on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Her daughter was getting prettier and had a good job in the city, earning a salary higher than some men. She was determined to find her a good match in the future, cherry-picking from miles around.
Their voices weren’t deliberately suppressed, so Shen Mianmian and Xiaocui heard the conversation outside and couldn’t help but laugh.
Xiaocui said, "My mom’s first visit to the city is just like what I thought at first. When I had just arrived, I also wondered how much money flushing the toilet once would cost."
Shen Mianmian chuckled, "The first time I used this kind of toilet, I didn’t know how to flush because no one taught me, and I got scolded for it."
That happened at Gu Jianbin’s house, where she didn’t know how to flush and was ridiculed and verbally abused by Zhou Siyu in front of the whole family.
Back then, she felt she was in the wrong and didn’t have the confidence to talk back, but looking back now, it seems really ridiculous.
"Who was that? So unreasonable! We all grew up in the countryside; it’s normal not to know how to use these things at first." Even though she hadn’t seen it firsthand, Xiaocui could imagine how embarrassed Shen Mianmian must have felt at the time.