Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 348 - 335: Tidying Up (First Update)

Li Xianglu had secretly placed everything that needed to be placed and made the old man’s bed. She was about to call people in to sit as she prepared to cook. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But as soon as she stepped out, she saw a girl in her twenties sitting under the tree where the old man was, amusing two children.

Li Xianglu thought she was a staff member from the county, but the girl was strange. Her gaze kept wandering towards the house or staring at Hu Zi who was coming in and out. It was odd, and she didn’t even notice Li Xianglu approaching.

Li Xianglu walked up, and the old man, seeing his granddaughter, quickly asked, "How’s everything?"

Li Xianglu slapped Ba’er who was pulling at her hand and replied, "Grandpa, your room is all tidied up. Why don’t you and the kids go inside and rest for a bit? I need to start cooking."

The old man nodded and said, "That sounds good, the kids are thirsty too."

Hearing that, Li Xianglu was about to push the cart away when she heard the girl next to her ask, "Who are you?"

Li Xianglu didn’t stop her movements, pulled the cart aside, turned around, and replied, "Well, that’s a strange question. This is my home; how can you ask me who I am in my own house?"

This girl wore two braids, a floral shirt, black pants, and a pair of brand-new black strap leather shoes. This outfit was quite pretty in a small county town. However, not to mention the spirit of Li Xianglu from the twenty-first century, even her, having spent those years in the capital, was very familiar with this period’s fashion. Today, as she was tidying up the house, she wore black capris, a red puff-sleeve short shirt with a small collar, and tied a British-style long apron around her waist. Her hair had grown long, recently curled at the ends with Lu Anna, and looked especially pretty tied up.

Thus, it was clear this girl had dressed up purposefully and was looking around curiously, not knowing who she was actually watching.

Hearing Li Xianglu’s blunt words, the girl was taken aback and then widened her eyes in anger, "Hey, how can you talk like that?"

Li Xianglu snorted and continued towards the room, not intending to deal with her.

This girl was peculiar too, as she actually followed up, incessantly asking, "Who do you think you are? Do you even know whose house this is to claim it as your own?"

Li Xianglu, pushing the cart, suddenly stopped, turned around, and faced the girl following her, "Humph, that’s really funny. I said this is my house, didn’t you understand? Who are you to strut around in someone else’s home?"

The two children, extremely curious, watched with wide eyes. Ba Yi tapped the side of the cart and called out, "Mom!"

Li Xianglu thought the children were scared and quickly comforted them by petting their heads, then pushed the cart towards the house, not noticing that the girl had stopped following.

After entering the house, the old man saw that the beds and chairs were neatly arranged, and even the curtains were hung up. The bedsheet was well laid, needless to say. He quickly took off the children’s shoes and lifted them onto the bed.

The little ones were tired from sitting in the car all morning, so they lied down with their grandfather. The old man, still concerned, reassured, "That girl is probably from a family in the county, here to leverage relationships. She asked me a lot just now; don’t take it to heart." What Old Qin meant was that a husband and wife need to trust each other.

Li Xianglu smiled and nodded, "Grandpa, don’t sleep yet, just lie down for a bit. I’ll cook some noodles quickly for you and the kids to eat before sleeping."

Li Xianglu didn’t actually plan to cook at that moment, she first brought a pot of warm tea and a quilt, and filled bottles with warm water for the two children, who then hugged their bottles and started drinking.

After tidying up the kitchen, Li Xianglu brought a small basin of noodles and three small bowls into the room.

The old man didn’t seem surprised by his granddaughter’s quick actions, especially with the chicken soup noodles, and as the children were hungry, Li Xianglu placed them in their high chairs to eat.

As the old man and the two kids were eating, Li Xianglu went out to check, and saw that everything had been neatly arranged and finished. A middle-aged man in charge didn’t know who Li Xianglu was, so Hu Zi introduced her: "This is Secretary Qin’s wife, Comrade Li Xianglu."

Despite Hu Zi’s usually simple demeanor at home, he had a high education level, earning a salary comparable to that of a special assistant, fluent in two foreign languages, skillful in martial arts, and was here assisting Qin Xi, hence his eloquence was unquestionable.

The man’s eyes lit up and he quickly greeted Li Xianglu. It turned out that he was Director He from the county office, who had come to help Secretary Qin move and tidy up the house.

Director He, seeing the house nearly arranged, politely invited Li Xianglu and the old man to dine out, but Li Xianglu smiled and said: "Director He, you are too kind. I’ve already cooked some noodles. Let’s plan another day. When Old Qin returns, we should have a proper meal together. I really have to thank you."

Hearing this, Director He hurriedly mentioned it was his duty, that colleagues should help each other, proving himself a very tactful person, and quickly left with his team.

Seeing Hu Zi locking the door, Li Xianglu instructed him: "Go wash up. I’ll cook a bowl of noodles for you, and we can tidy up afterward."

Hu Zi nodded in agreement.

Li Xianglu also prepared a basin of chicken soup noodles with a poached egg for Hu Zi, who heartily devoured it.

After finishing her meal in the living room, Li Xianglu checked the old man’s room and found that the grandfather and the two naughty boys had fallen asleep, so she quietly cleared away the dishes.

After dinner, Li Xianglu directly tidied up the room next to the living room. The furniture was properly arranged, directly pulling out a mattress from the Storage Ring, already encased in a bed cover, and placed it neatly. Clothes with hangers whooshed into the closet, and the children’s beds were placed at the foot of hers, neatly made.

After tidying up, Li Xianglu went to the backyard and saw Hu Zi struggling with some furniture. She didn’t interfere, instead, she arranged Leng Qing’s room in no time.

After finishing these tasks, she saw Hu Zi covered in sweat coming from the next room. Tired, Li Xianglu advised a rest, saying they would continue tomorrow. After washing up with water, she lay down.

Li Xianglu slept deeply until she heard murmurs beside her and groggily opened her eyes, only to find two children crawling next to her.

Helplessly, Li Xianglu hugged one child on each side.

Ba’er, seeing his mother awake, happily called out, while Ba Yi just quietly lay in his mother’s embrace.

Glancing at her watch, Li Xianglu exclaimed, "My goodness, it’s already six o’clock!" She quickly got up, slipped into a set of house clothes, saw the stroller at the door, placed both children in it, and pushed them out together.