Chapter 175: Lein Ge

Chapter 175: Lein Ge

Su Zhaozhao stood at the entrance of Lein Ge, looking like a statue caught in the wind, her hair disheveled.

"So this is Lein Ge..."

Despite their elegant-sounding names, Lein Ge and Wenhui Hall were nearly identical. They were both two-story buildings, equally old and remote.

Lein Ge was even smaller. Although it had two floors, the second floor resembled more of an attic, while the first floor appeared more spacious.

It didn’t seem like a dormitory but rather a family residence.

And the kind that hadn’t been lived in for a long time.

She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up.

It was impressive that Sea City University could even find these two buildings to house them.

Su Zhaozhao and Gu Heng exchanged a glance. "The girls are staying upstairs. I’ll go up alone, so you can head back if you want."

Gu Heng said, "Let’s bring the stuff up first."

They climbed the stairs together. There were only two rooms on the second floor, one on the left and one on the right, with a small hall in between and a balcony outside.

The door to the room on the right was partially open, with a room number plate reading 201. Voices could be heard from inside—probably comrades who had arrived earlier.

Su Zhaozhao knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

The door was pulled open from the inside.

Su Zhaozhao smiled. "Hello, I’m staying in this dormitory too."

A female comrade, around twenty years old with a round face and two long braids, opened the door. "Hello, come on in. We just arrived a little while ago and are still tidying up. The place is really dusty—there’s a thick layer of it on the beds and floor."

Another female comrade, who seemed even younger, was wiping the bed with a cloth. She smiled when she saw Su Zhaozhao.

"No one’s claimed the beds yet, so just pick one."

Su Zhaozhao nodded with a smile and walked a few steps inside. Gu Heng followed her in.

The two female comrades realized that Su Zhaozhao had someone with her, and he was a military officer!

Su Zhaozhao introduced him to them. "This is my husband."

"Hello, comrades," Gu Heng greeted them with a nod.

"Hello, hello."

After the greetings, they quickly buried themselves in tidying their own beds.

Gu Heng asked, "You’re taking the bed by the window?"

Su Zhaozhao nodded. "The lower bunk."

The room wasn’t too big or too small. Four sets of bunk beds lined the walls, with a passageway in between. A long table was set in the middle of the passageway. The others had already taken the bunks by the window.

The two of them seemed to be acquaintances.

Gu Heng placed his luggage on the long table and took out a rag from his bag. This was something Gu Heng insisted on bringing, but Su Zhaozhao had originally refused, thinking it wasn’t necessary.

It seemed she was still too young, with little experience.

The round-faced comrade reminded, "The water room is downstairs. This building has a bathroom and a kitchen, both on the first floor."

It really was a residential building.

Gu Heng went downstairs to get water.

Once he left, the round-faced comrade asked Su Zhaozhao, "What position does your partner hold in the military? The rank on his shoulders clearly indicates a high-ranking officer!"

Anyone familiar with military uniforms would recognize the 55-style uniform by its shoulder ranks and service branch collar tabs. Gu Heng usually wore casual clothes when coming to the city with his family, but today, because he was attending a meeting, he wore his olive-green military uniform.

Su Zhaozhao smiled. "He’s not a high-ranking officer; he’s just one of the people’s soldiers."

Satisfied with the answer, the round-faced girl smiled and said, "My name is Yuan Yuan, and I’m an employee at the department store."

"My name is Su Zhaozhao, and I’m from the supply cooperative."

The other comrade also said, "My name is Xie Xiaomei, and I’m also from the department store."

The three women then shared their ages. Su Zhaozhao was the oldest, while Xie Xiaomei was only seventeen.

That’s how the three women became acquainted.

Once Gu Heng returned, Su Zhaozhao said, "You should go now, don’t be late. I can handle this."

Gu Heng glanced at the layer of dust on the bed frame, "Let me wipe it first."

Su Zhaozhao refused, "Don’t worry about getting your clothes dirty; I can take care of it."

She pushed him out as she spoke.

Gu Heng didn’t insist further, and once outside, he said, "I checked downstairs—there’s only one bathroom and one washbasin. The men are living downstairs, so it’s inconvenient for you to wash up, and there’s no hot water."

Su Zhaozhao sighed, "I brought a thermos, so there must be somewhere to get hot water, and the school has a bathhouse. As for the rest, we’ll just have to deal with it."

Gu Heng frowned, "If you need to go to the bathroom at night, it’s best to bring a roommate along."

Su Zhaozhao nodded. "I know. Don’t worry, I’m not a child anymore."

"Alright, I’m going then."

Su Zhaozhao waved him off, "Go, go."

Gu Heng thought to himself, ...Ungrateful brat, not a bit of reluctance.

After watching Gu Heng head down the stairs, Su Zhaozhao returned to the dormitory.

As soon as she entered, Yuan Yuan smiled, "Sister Su, your partner is really good to you!"

Can you really tell that much in such a short time?

"Don’t let appearances fool you, young lady."

Su Zhaozhao smiled but didn't respond.

The three of them began cleaning their respective areas.

Xie Xiaomei finished making the bed quickly, then rushed downstairs to grab a mop and start mopping.

"Where did you get the mop?"

"There's a small storage room in the stairwell. The men aren't bothering to clean; they're busy treasure hunting downstairs. I spotted it and grabbed it before they did. There's only one mop, so let's use it before they try to snatch it from us."

Yuan Yuan asked, "How many people have arrived downstairs?"

"Quite a few. There seem to be five or six rooms down there, and there are way more men than women." After saying this, Xie Xiaomei muttered, "It's not fair at all."

Yuan Yuan said, "There are only two rooms upstairs, each holding up to eight people. I wonder if it'll just be the three of us in this room?"

"Who knows."

At first, no one noticed how much dust was on the floor, but as the mop passed over with water, the pattern on the floor tiles began to show.

"These floor tiles are actually pretty nice," Yuan Yuan said.

"They're also easy to mop, much easier than cement floors," Xie Xiaomei added, as the areas she mopped became clearer.

The floor was paved with red and white snowflake-patterned cement tiles, which were popular during the Republic of China period and often used by wealthy families in Chinese-Western hybrid architecture.

Su Zhaozhao changed the water several times and cleaned the bed thoroughly. After cleaning, she didn't rush to make the bed but waited for the moisture to dry.

She placed her luggage on the bed board and went downstairs with the basin to fetch more water.

The washbasin was outside the bathroom on the first floor. She was already dreading the idea of so many people sharing this one bathroom and sink.

And it’s shared by everyone, regardless of gender.

Except for the hassle of getting up at night, other times she could use the school's public toilet.

"Comrade Su."

Su Zhaozhao turned around and smiled. "It's you, Comrade Feng."

Feng An smiled. "It's me. They said ten of us came from the supply co-op. I was sure you'd be one of them."