"The newly built family apartments at the back are suites. However, they won’t be available until next fall. Many leaders have their eyes on those units; initially, I wanted to apply for one of those apartments, but there are more people than rooms available. According to the leaders, if we don’t get one, they’ll focus on placing us in one of the three front buildings. Honestly, I don’t really like living in those kinds of places." Han Yi smiled, carrying a bundle, leading Lin Wan into the house.
As soon as they entered the house, a wave of warmth immediately enveloped them, "So warm!"
"I heated the kang in advance before picking you up. I’ve tidied up here a bit. If there’s anything you aren’t satisfied with, we can change it."
"The house is very clean. It’s quite nice this way." The indoor furniture is also complete, with a two-door wardrobe, a writing desk, and a kang table. These must be uniformly distributed to families by the military. They’re all the same color.
"You warm yourself in the room while I move the stuff down; the car is borrowed from the team and needs to be returned quickly."
Despite only having two or three packages, once unpacked, they don’t look inconspicuous: two quilts, homemade curtains, bed sheets and quilt covers prepared by Mom, along with the oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar prepared by Grandma and Aunt Jin.
In the kitchen, right by the bedroom wall as you enter, there are two pots, one large and one small. Opposite them is a cupboard, followed by a chopping board, with a sink next to it. It’s right beneath the window; the sink is new and still the old-fashioned kind made of cement. The water pipes directly penetrate through the rear wall—likely newly installed by the army for family members living in flat houses. The exposed pipes are wrapped in thick windproof cotton, filled with plenty of sawdust—presumably for frost prevention.
After Han Yi brought the items back, Lin Wan dragged a sack full of food into the kitchen. She added some water to the large pot before sorting through everything.
Since the military base is in the mountains, some things are hard to purchase; before Lin Wan arrived, she thought of everything needed and brought along whatever could be bought, especially food from the markets.
Taking an old towel out of the sack, she melted some soap in warm water. After using the soapy water to clean the kitchen anew, she arranged the items properly.
The wife of Director Zhang must be a cleanliness-loving person, for apart from some dust accumulated from a long vacancy, the place was still quite clean.
Oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, plates, chopsticks, two enamel basins, one for foot washing and one for face washing, two smaller enamel basins for washing vegetables, freshly steamed meat buns, assorted grain buns, and the filling for pork and cabbage dumplings. There was also fried chicken, crispy meat, and dried beef brought by Mom.
Raw ribs and raw pork, even sprouts sent by Mom, were brought along. Besides these, Aunt Jin also brought them many snacks and melon seeds.
One must admit, the love parents have for their children is indeed great. After tidying up the kitchen, Lin Wan cleaned the room once more before laying out the kang blankets. Once that was done, Lin Wan folded them back up because the walls were brick without plaster on them, and the dust between the brick seams wasn’t very clean.
Thinking it over, Lin Wan took out some pink, gently floral fabric she had bought at the market—bought with the intention of making cleaning cloths. Judging by the length, it was just enough to make wall protectors. She cut thirty-centimeter-wide strips and used them to shield the kang from the mud walls, effectively preventing the blankets from brushing against the walls during sleep.
Only after finishing this did Lin Wan feel relieved enough to lay the kang blankets down.