Chapter 349: Chapter 349: Moving
When Cheng Wenhui got home from work, she saw Tan Lin squatting by the well, washing clothes. Tan Lin himself wasn’t exactly diligent; he wouldn’t lift a finger for chores. ’What’s gotten into him today?’
After a quick glance at Tan Lin, Cheng Wenhui went to her room. She first peeked into the small partitioned-off room to check on Tan You and Tan Yue. Tan Yue was already fast asleep, letting out soft snores, while Tan You was at the dining table, studying under the lamplight.
Just as Cheng Wenhui pushed the door open, Tan You put down her pen. "You’re back?"
"Yeah," Cheng Wenhui nodded. After a moment of thought, she said, "I was thinking of having your dad go to town tomorrow to clean up the house. If things go well, we could even stay there tomorrow night. That way, you won’t have to keep living in this little partitioned room."
Tan You couldn’t have been happier to hear it. "Sounds good. We’ll go help clean up tomorrow."
Cheng Wenhui looked a little apologetic. "I won’t take the day off from work, so I’ll have to leave things over there to you."
Tan You was unconcerned. "I’ll mostly just be supervising. Don’t expect me to do any heavy lifting."
She might have softened toward Cheng Wenhui and Tan Lin just a little, but that didn’t mean she was going to slave away for them. Tan You wanted to make that clear from the start. ’People get spoiled easily, and that’s not something I want to see happen.’
Cheng Wenhui was a sharp woman; she naturally understood what Tan You meant. Honestly, her feelings were complicated. Tan You had done so much for them, yet Cheng Wenhui felt an immense distance between them.
In the past, Tan You would answer almost any question she asked. But things were different now. Tan You had armored herself so completely that Cheng Wenhui had no idea how to even begin a conversation with her own daughter.
"Are you studying?" Running out of things to say, Cheng Wenhui latched onto the topic of school, but she noticed the books didn’t look like high school textbooks.
"Just browsing," Tan You said, raising an eyebrow. "It’s an old workbook I dug up. Pretty interesting."
Cheng Wenhui wanted to tell Tan You to focus on her schoolwork, but she didn’t know how to say it. In the end, all she could manage was a dry, "Well, I’m going to wash up. You should get to bed soon."
Tan You gestured for her to go ahead. ’If I hadn’t encountered the Beauty System, I might still have had those kinds of mother-daughter talks with Cheng Wenhui. But I’ve long since matured. Those conversations are impossible now.’
The next day, the entire Tan family, young and old, pitched in. Of course, Tan Lin was the main workforce. Wang Hunv helped with the smaller tasks, and after a full day of hard work, they finally had the house in order.
The house came with everything—furniture, decorations, the works. All they needed to bring were their own appliances. Once they finished cleaning, they could move right in.
Tan Lin’s favorite part was the bathroom. He was long sick of taking sponge baths from a basin in the village. Now that he could take a hot shower in his own home, he wished he could move in that very night.
As it happened, Tan You had the same idea. She pulled a backpack out of Tan Deming’s motor tricycle. "I packed a couple of changes of clothes and some toiletries for you. You guys should just stay here tonight."
"We’ll do the official move tomorrow."
Tan Lin’s face lit up. "Awesome! But before we officially move in, we need to get a few things for the kitchen."
He glanced at Tan You. "We’ll pay for it ourselves; you don’t need to. We’ll cover the cost of the appliances. We can’t keep letting you pay for everything."
’Huh, so Tan Lin does have some sense of responsibility?’ Tan You thought. Of course, she wasn’t about to jump in and offer to pay.
"Alright, let’s go take a look now then. I should at least see you get settled and on your feet."
Tan Lin mulled over her words, then broke into a wide grin. "You know, Tan You, I’m starting to realize you worry a lot. My old man never fussed over me this much."
Tan You replied coolly, "Aren’t you always calling me your benefactor? If I’m going to bear that title, I might as well plan things out for you. Let’s go. We can get everything sorted out now."
When Cheng Wenhui got off work that day, she came straight to the new house in town. The clothing factory was closer to town than to the village, which made things much more convenient. After wheeling her electric scooter under the eaves, Cheng Wenhui entered the living room.
The small, three-story building was near the town’s main road, with the elementary school to the east and the middle school to the west. Both were about the same distance away, so it would be convenient for Tan Yue to get to and from school in the future.
It wasn’t one of those buildings on the main road with a shop on the ground floor and living quarters above, but a simple residential house. Because it wasn’t directly on the main thoroughfare, it was actually very peaceful.
Each house had its own surrounding wall. With the main gate closed, no one could know what you were doing inside, which guaranteed a high degree of privacy.
When Cheng Wenhui came inside, she saw Tan Lin busy cooking in the kitchen. Tan Deming and Wang Hunv were on the living room sofa, having tea and snacks—though Wang Hunv was the one doing most of the eating.
Meanwhile, Tan You was in another small room making clothes for Tan Yue; from time to time, the whir of a sewing machine could be heard.
Hearing Cheng Wenhui arrive, Tan Lin turned his head and smiled. "You’re off work? Dinner’s almost ready."
Cheng Wenhui nodded. "Wow, you bought so many things for the house?"
Tan Lin tried to suppress a smile but couldn’t. He leaned in and whispered to Cheng Wenhui, "I bought the gas stove, microwave, and rice cooker. I was going to buy a semi-automatic washing machine, but Tan You wouldn’t let me."
"She gave us a front-loading washing machine. A fully automatic one." Then, as if to justify accepting it, Tan Lin added, "She said it was to celebrate us getting our own place. What do you call it... a housewarming gift."
Cheng Wenhui sighed in resignation. "She’s already spent so much money. It’s not like we couldn’t have afforded that."
Tan Lin had his own logic. "I didn’t ask her for it. Besides, if she offers, I’m going to accept. At worst... at worst, I’ll just make more trips back to the old family home and work extra hard, you know?"
Cheng Wenhui didn’t press the issue. In truth, she was happy Tan You had given them so many things. In her entire life, from her youth to her middle-aged years, Tan You was the only person who had ever spent so much money on her.
A person’s money follows their heart. Having grown weary of hardship, Cheng Wenhui understood this all too well. As she thought about it, a bittersweet feeling washed over her.
Parents were supposed to be the ones providing for their children, but now it was her eldest daughter running around taking care of them.
"My sister made me a dress! Isn’t it pretty?" Cheng Wenhui’s thoughts were interrupted by Tan Yue’s cheerful cry. Tan Yue darted out of the room like a little bird and twirled in front of Cheng Wenhui, her eyes sparkling. She was clearly delighted with her new dress.
"It’s beautiful," Cheng Wenhui said, glancing over. "Your sister knows how to sew?"
Tan Deming chuckled. "She just figured it out on her own. She probably picked it up from watching others back when she’d go with me to eat at our neighbors’ houses. We just never had a sewing machine at home, so you never knew."
Tan You came out as well, having overheard the excuse Tan Deming had come up with for her. ’And you know what,’ she thought, ’it actually sounds pretty plausible.’
Wang Hunv chimed in, "Tan You always did like watching other people work. I remember when you used to go out and handle people’s affairs, there were always people pedaling away at sewing machines, making mourning clothes and cloths."
