Chapter 71: Moving House

  On the fifth day of the new year, Gu Xiang had just returned home when grandma's phone call came.

  They specially spent the New Year in the county this year, just to make it easier for Gu Xiang to come over and have New Year's dinner together.

  The new clothes on Gu Xiang's body were a small cotton-padded jacket that her father had bought for her when he picked her up from school that time.

  Afterwards, Gu's father saw her new clothes and asked him why he didn't buy new clothes for Chinese New Year.

  Grandma heard that her granddaughter didn't even buy new clothes for the New Year, and she scolded her mother, Gu, again, telling her father to take her shopping immediately.

  Gu Xiang thought the clothes on her body were quite good, anyway she hadn't worn them before, and it didn't matter if they were bought for New Year's or not.

  But the old man didn't think so, and grandma said she had lost weight from studying hard, and insisted on buying it for her.

  Originally just went back to eat, and ended up buying two sets of clothes back.

  Her dad took her shopping for clothes and thought both this one and that one were good.

  He didn't say which one he wanted, so he let the salesgirl help him choose. Then she picked out a suitable size for Gu Xiang to try on, and after trying it on, he bought it.

  And clothes after the New Year are indeed cheaper, all discounted at 30% or 50% off.

  Later, Gu Xiang picked out two more sweaters for herself. She had always wanted to wear a pure white high-necked sweater, thinking it was particularly elegant.

  But before that she was too fat, white made her look even fatter, she was afraid that her temperament couldn't be shown off, and she ended up looking like a big white bear.

  Now she has no meat on her shoulders and belly, and doesn't have to worry about having a hunched back and a big waist. She picked two high-necked shirts, one white and one light blue.

  Later, she saw a white down-filled sweater and was slightly moved. However, thinking that her mother would have to work hard to wash it later, she gave up the idea.

  So it has to be said that shopping is a fatal attraction for women of any age.

  At first, Gu Xiang kept saying no to this and no to that.

  Later, under her father's instigation and the salesgirl's enthusiastic praise, Gu Xiang herself began to pick out various things.

  Unintentionally, I bought five windbreakers. There are also two sweaters, two pairs of boots and a plaid scarf.

  Gu's father held a full bag in his hand and was teasing Gu Xiang about whether she wanted this or that.

  Gu Xiang hurriedly braked and pulled her dad back home.

  Mr. Gu drove the car to the bottom of their building, and Gu Xiang's hands were full of things that were not easy to carry. Thinking that her mother was also busy in the store at this time, she asked her father to help carry them up.

  "Your father was walking in the corridor and looking around, 'There are no lights in your corridors, how did you see when you came up?'"

  This residential area is still very old-fashioned, and induction lamps are not very common throughout the county. Let alone here.

  Gu Xiang's keychain had a small flashlight attached to it, which she relied on for entering and exiting.

  After entering the house, Gu Xiang helped her father change into slippers. Her father looked around and said, "This house is really small, I've heard it's a one-bedroom apartment, how can the living room be so small?"

  Gu Xiang has gotten used to living there and doesn't think much of it usually.

  But this house is really small, I don't know if it's even 50 square meters in total.

  Gu Xiang poured tea for her father and took her clothes into the room herself.

  The more Gu's father looked at it, the more heart-wrenching it was. The house where these two girls lived wasn't even as big as his new home's living room.

  Gu Xiang grabbed some melon seeds and peanuts from home and put them on a fruit plate, then took it out to give to her dad.

  "Yaya, in two days your grandparents and I will move into the city. Otherwise, you can move in after the New Year. If not, it'll be a long time and you'll have to clean again."

  Gu Xiang said: "This still has to listen to my mother, see when she wants to move."

  "Waiting for your mom to make a decision is difficult. Your mom's personality you also know, she likes to be strong,"

  "Then I'll ask her again," said Gu Xiang thoughtfully. "We have to renew the lease after the Spring Festival anyway."

  When Dad left, he was still saying: "Ya Ya, Dad only has you as a child, everything belongs to you. Don't mention the old house being left there is also dusty, take good care of your mom."

  After Gu's father left, Gu Xiang cleaned up the house a bit.

  They haven't lived at home for more than half a month, and a lot of dust has accumulated. The faucet in the kitchen started to leak slightly, so she put a bucket underneath first.

  After discovering a problem, there are actually many problems at home. For example, the floorboards by the bed have loosened and creak when stepped on.

  The toilet's flushing hole is getting smaller and smaller, and the showerhead should be replaced too.

  Although they are small things, if you want to finish them one by one, it's still a bit troublesome.

  But after all, it's an old house for many years, and the landlord didn't take care of it with heart.

  In the evening, Gu's mother came back and saw that there were so many more things in the room. She asked Gu Xiang: "How did you buy so much? How much money does it take to buy so many clothes?"

  "It's not very expensive, it's on sale today." Gu Xiang said, also a bit out of breath, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

  "This kind of coat can't be folded, it should be hung up." Mrs. Gu helped her sort and put away the clothes, while Gu Xiang stood beside her, struggling to find a way to tell her mother about moving house.

  She followed Mrs. Gu around in circles several times, her little tail wagging behind her, until finally Mrs. Gu couldn't help but laugh: "Come on, come on, what do you want to do? You're following me around like a little dog."

  "Mom, our house is too old."

  Gu's mother nodded: "It's really old, many supermarkets nearby have been demolished, and it's not convenient to buy things. After the Spring Festival, I'll take a look at other houses."

  "My dad said they're moving out in two days, so if we move in, we won't even need to clean."

  Gu's mom still felt it would be a bit awkward living in the past.

  "My dad lives on the second floor, we don't live there. There are several rooms on the first floor, we just won't go upstairs."

  Mother Gu said think again.

  Before the Lantern Festival, the landlord called first. The meaning is very simple, that is to say, want to raise the rent.

  And it's going up by 200 yuan per month.

  Gu's mom didn't want to rent it anymore, originally just because it was cheap. Now the only advantage is gone.

  Gu Xiang hastily nudged her mother again.

  The two of them agreed to go to grandma's old house the next day to take a look.

  Gu Xiang had already called her grandmother and knew that they would all go to the city on New Year's Eve. Moreover, Grandma heard that Gu Xiang might come to live with them, so she specially found a housekeeping company to clean up the house.

  Gu Xiang and her mother took a look around, the room had been cleared of all personal items except for furniture. Moreover, except for grandpa and grandma's room which was preserved, other rooms that could be slept in were rearranged.

  Gu Xiang ran upstairs to take a look, and the bed in her father's master bedroom had been removed and turned into a study. Moreover, it was obviously prepared for Gu Xiang, with a desk, bookcase and other things that little girls liked, all in a European princess style.

  Their room has a large floor-to-ceiling window with a balcony outside, making it an excellent study room with great natural light. Gu Xiang was so moved that she almost died of envy.

  That Gu's mom looked around downstairs for a while and felt that the house had been carefully rearranged. And at a glance, it was clear that they would not be coming back to live there again.

  It's just like moving in with your luggage.

  The only inconvenience is that Gu Xiang found a good tutoring place last year, which is a bit far from Grandma's house.

  She will arrive twenty minutes earlier if she rides her bike.

  But this is an obstacle that can be overcome.

  When Gu's mother was hesitant, her younger sister-in-law also advised her after hearing about the matter. Originally, when they got divorced, she didn't take anything and raised her daughter by herself, so this house should have been hers in the first place.

  Can't help but say that Little Aunt's persuasive power is still very strong, at least Gu Xiang had been persuading her mother for several months and couldn't get it done, while Little Aunt settled it with just two phone calls.

  The first weekend after school started, Gu Xiang didn't go to supplementary classes. She stayed at home with her mom and packed everything up. Then in the afternoon, she called a moving company to move everything over.

  Things seem to be a lot, but when moving into the car, it's found that only clothes and some hot water bottles take up space, and other miscellaneous items that can be thrown away are all thrown away.

  Gu Xiang felt that she had a deep affection for her grandmother's home.

  She spent her childhood here as far back as she can remember.

  Downstairs, apart from Grandpa and Grandma's room, there are two bedrooms right next to each other.

  Gu Xiang and Gu's mother each have their own room.

  Although Gu Xiang liked living with her mother in winter, she has grown up now and the two of them sleeping on a 1.5-meter-wide bed is still cramped.

  And when she reviews her lessons, sometimes it gets quite late, and even if her mother lies down in bed, she can't fall asleep.

  Several times she went out of the room to pour water, and saw her mother leaning on the sofa asleep.

  Gu Xiang really likes the study her father set up for her.

  She used to recite and memorize books, but the sound insulation in her previous place was very poor. Even if she made a slightly louder noise, the neighbors could hear it clearly. Now she can shout as loudly as she wants without anyone hearing her.

  Moreover, the wallpaper was newly pasted, and at first glance it looked almost the same as the original one, with horizontal straight lines, but upon closer inspection, you could discover a subtle pattern of small golden flowers.

  Later, her father and grandmother were very happy to hear that they had moved in. Her father even said that if she wanted to replace any furniture, just let him know and he would arrange for someone to do it.

  Gu Xiang wanted to put that kind of lazy sofa next to the floor-to-ceiling window, the kind that can wrap a person inside.

  At that time, it was just a casual mention, but over the weekend, Dad Gu bought one from the city and drove back to deliver it.

  Gu Xiang was truly delighted, she really felt that her dad had been getting better and better to her over the past six months. In fact, this type of sofa has already become popular in the county, and furniture stores are selling them.

  It's understandable, after all, they live so far apart now, and Gu Xiang's attitude towards him isn't particularly enthusiastic. If he doesn't get anxious about his daughter, the relationship between the two will really become more and more distant.

  Mr. Gu came with the household registration book, and asked Gu Xiang to bring the 50,000 yuan deposit slip as well. They went to the bank together and withdrew all the money in cash. He told her to take it back and use it to buy whatever furniture they needed first.

  At that time, they didn't even know where the POS machine was here, and everything was paid in cash.

  He figured it out, that deposit slip was given almost a year ago, he didn't mention it, his daughter doesn't need to use it.

  Gu Xiang was carrying a bag of money and still felt anxious.

  Her father drove her all the way home and watched her go in before leaving.

  A savings book is easy to hide, but 500,000 yuan in cash is hard to hide.

  Gu Xiang put the money in her own room's closet first.

  Waiting for her mother to come back at night, she pulled her into the room.

  Gu's mother was still smiling and said she was sneaky, at home she was like a thief.

  When Gu Xiang put the five thousand yuan in front of her, Gu's mother could no longer hold back a smile on her face.

  "Where did the money come from?"

  "My dad gave it to me."

  Her mother was really angry, with her hands on her hips and pointing at her: "You're getting bolder and bolder, you even dare to take so much money? Didn't you say your dad is sending a sofa for you today?"

  "It's for delivering the sofa...... This money was given a long time ago, but I never took it out. My dad was worried that we would need to buy something after just moving in, so he told me to use this money to make the purchase first."

  Mother Gu is so angry that she's dizzy, and it was given to her a long time ago! It seems like they're hiding it from her!

  Gu Xiang felt that she had poured her mother a glass of water and pulled her down to sit, "Mom, actually this money is nothing in my dad's eyes. You know, many houses around here are bought by him."

  "Did he also buy a house nearby?"

  "It's not like that, my dad said the houses around here will at least double in value in the future. He really doesn't care about this 50,000 yuan. And we don't necessarily need to use it now either, when I take the high school or college entrance exams, there will definitely be a time when it comes in handy."

  Gu's mother thought for a moment and then scolded her from head to toe, saying that she was getting more and more disobedient and didn't listen at all.

  Gu Xiang obediently listened without responding. Her mom at least didn't mention returning the money again.