Chapter 9: Tidying Up – The Daily Life of the Frail Sister-in-law in the Large Courtyard

Chapter 9: Tidying Up - The Daily Life of the Frail Sister-in-law in the Large Courtyard

"You're back already? Did you finish handing out the wedding candies?" Lin Qing's mother turned around and asked the couple when she saw them come back.

"There are still two households left; they haven't come back from work yet."

"Alright!"

Lin Qing's mother then remembered the moment they had entered the courtyard. She recalled the cold expression of Mother Jiang. "Is everyone in this courtyard easy to get along with?"

"We've only just arrived and had a brief encounter; how can we tell so soon?" said Lin Qing, slightly furrowing her brows.

Lin Qing's mother nodded in agreement but still warned them about Mother Jiang. "The woman wearing the blue patched shirt, Mother Jiang, probably isn't easy to get along with. It's best to stay away from her."

Both Cen Xi and Lin Qing knew exactly who she was describing, and they exchanged a glance: it was indeed the same person they felt was difficult to deal with.

"Yes, we understand."

Lin Qing's mother still felt uneasy and continued to advise, "In this courtyard, there are many people and prying eyes. You should observe carefully who is easy to get along with and who isn't. But I see that the manager of the courtyard is quite straightforward. You should interact with her more often and feel free to ask for her help when needed."

"Yes, we understand."

……

Of course, Zhang Mei and Lin Shu had followed along as well. Before, they had thought that being assigned to this large courtyard meant they would have to endure worse conditions compared to the tube-shaped buildings.

But upon seeing these two spacious main rooms, they couldn't help but feel dissatisfied. Why does this sister-in-law have such good luck?

Getting two spacious main rooms right away—it seems the machinery factory is quite generous to this brother-in-law.

The more they thought about it, the worse their expressions became. The generosity of the machinery factory toward this new son-in-law was quite telling. He must hold a fairly high position in the factory; otherwise, they wouldn't have been assigned two such spacious main rooms right away.

"Why does this sister-in-law have such good luck? Your father hasn't even been assigned a house yet! If he had, we wouldn't have to live with the two elders! We wouldn't be cramped in a small two-bedroom apartment!" Zhang Mei couldn't help but mutter.

Lin Shu also felt quite uncomfortable. She was going to marry into the large courtyard along with her sister-in-law. Although they didn't know the situation on the Jiang family's side yet, they knew that the Jiang family lived together as a large household and hadn't divided the family yet. It was easy to imagine that the space the couple would live in wouldn't be very large. This thought made her even more jealous.

How could all the good things go to this sister-in-law?

The others were quite satisfied with the two rooms. They hadn't expected these two main rooms to be so spacious. Even if they had children in the future, there would still be enough space.

Now, one of these rooms was used as a bedroom, with a bookshelf, a dressing table, a desk, and a chair placed inside. It served as a combination of a study and a bedroom.

Cen Xi and Lin Qing planned to place the bookshelf between the bed and the outer room to create a partition, so it wouldn't be possible to see directly into the bedroom from the door. The desk would also be placed outside.

The other room was similarly divided into inner and outer sections. The inner part was used as a storage room, and Cen Xi had half of it converted into a small bathing area. He thought that since his wife's health was weak, it would be best to have an enclosed space for bathing to retain warmth, so he had someone build a small enclosure that was two meters long and two meters wide.

When Lin Qing's mother cleaned the room, she immediately noticed the small bathing area as soon as she entered.

This room was originally used as a kitchen, with a stove built by the previous tenants. The inner room might have been used as a bedroom, but after they moved out, the bed was sold for scrap by Cen Xi, leaving the empty room. With the newly built bathing area, it naturally stood out.

When she saw this small bathing area, Lin Qing's mother was very pleased. This was a testament to how much her son-in-law cared for her daughter!

"This small bathing area is for showering, right? Very good, indeed!"

"Mother, you have excellent eyesight! You immediately saw what I had in mind," Cen Xi praised his mother-in-law effusively.

"But with this bathing area built, how will you manage when you have children in the future?" Lin Qing's mother was happy but still thought ahead.

"Qingqing and I aren't planning to have children so soon. Even if we do have a child, it won't be living alone right away! It will need to be older, which will take many years. It's not something to worry about now. It's more important to have this small bathing area. And even if the child does live separately, the outer room can still accommodate people!"

Lin Mother nodded, acknowledging that it was true.

"Alright, as long as you have a plan in mind." Lin Mother ultimately didn’t say more. After all, this was the business of the young couple. She had already spoken out of turn by offering a reminder; if she said more, she might just annoy them.

Zhang Mei pouted, thinking to herself: Showing off, aren't they? Building a small separate room? What's so impressive about that?

Aunt Li, who was standing nearby, praised Lin Mother for finding such a good son-in-law. "Sister-in-law, you’ve really found a great son-in-law! Look how he clearly has Nuan'nuan in his heart."

Lin Mother was feeling quite proud herself. She was very happy to have such a good son-in-law, and the best part was that she didn’t even have to look for him—he came to them.

Lin Shu felt a little envious seeing this. She wondered if Jiang Yang would treat her just as well in the future.

He definitely will, she thought. She wouldn’t have a worse life than her aunt did.

Lin Shu couldn’t help but repeat these thoughts in her mind, hoping that by saying them enough, they would come true.

Lin Qing, feeling embarrassed, had already fled to the other room to tidy up the bedroom.

This room already had the large furniture moved in by her father and brother. Her mother and aunt had also given it a preliminary cleaning. Now, all she needed to do was make the bed and organize her clothes.

Father Lin and Brother Lin were also in the kitchen area, waiting to help out.

After working half the afternoon, they finally finished setting up the two rooms. After finishing, Lin Mother and the others didn’t leave immediately but instead began preparing a warming pot meal.

Since they had just moved in, a warming pot meal was essential. When they helped move the luggage earlier, they made sure to bring some food supplies. Lin Mother was worried that the young couple might run out of food before the beginning of the next month.

Cen Xi had also gone out specifically to buy groceries. Though he didn’t get anything particularly fresh, he still brought back a few items. It wasn’t a wasted trip.

"Tsk, buying so much food! Aren't you worried you’ll overeat?" Lin Mother muttered, spitting at the entrance.

She was about to start cooking when she saw Cen Xi come in with a bunch of groceries. She even spotted a piece of meat, which made her swallow involuntarily.

"Eat, eat, eat—that’s all you ever do. Why don’t you send some over to our place?" Lin Mother muttered quietly.

Cen Xi bustled into the house, completely oblivious to her thoughts.