Chapter 22

As the matriarch who had managed the household for many years, Mother Lai clearly had a lot to say on the matter.

"Comrade Lin, we never expected to live like a landlord's family; we just hope you can fix up that outhouse. My old man almost fell when he went out to use it on a winter night. Our old bones can't handle a fall like that.

And that cooking area—the stove in our house is too low. My back aches terribly sometimes, and it's quite inconvenient for cooking.

..."

Although Mother Lai spoke as thoughts came to her, Lin Yilan organized everything and noted it all down in her notebook.

From Mother Lai’s words, Lin Yilan felt the weight of her years of devotion to the family. Someone who didn't use the stove daily would never have realized how its height could cause such back pain.

It was perhaps these trivial details that allowed Lin Yilan to sketch out a portrait of Mother Lai’s life, and allowed her, a stranger, to gently lift the corner of this family’s domestic reality.

After chatting with Mother Lai, Lin Yilan went to the courtyard to find Father Lai, who was smoking.

Father Lai was like most of the middle-aged men she had seen in the countryside: his face bore a weariness that far exceeded his years, his brows were perpetually furrowed with deep, indelible lines, and the tips of his middle fingers were stained a deep brownish-yellow from the cheap, hand-rolled tobacco he held.

Seeing Lin Yilan approach, he took a few deep drags before quickly stubbing it out on the ground.

Rubbing his palms together, Father Lai looked at Lin Yilan with a cautious smile. "Well, Comrade Lin, you've been worked hard today."

Lin Yilan held her notebook and shook her head politely. "Not at all. By the way, Father Lai, do you have any thoughts on your side of the house?"

Father Lai pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. She caught a glimpse of it, seeing some crooked, scrawled characters.

"Comrade Lin, I just wanted to ask if you could build a few more rooms for us? One for my eldest son, one each for my two daughters, one for my youngest son, one for me and my old woman, and one room for storage. Do you think that’s possible?"

Lin Yilan paused, and after he finished, she recorded Father Lai’s request in her notebook. "Father Lai, the house I am designing for you is based on the budget provided by Mr. Lai. As long as Mr. Lai has no objections, it will be fine."

These things had to be made clear to the Lai family in advance; otherwise, it would be bad if they thought she was causing trouble in the middle.

Father Lai was stunned for a moment, then nodded sheepishly, carefully folding the scrap of paper and putting it back in his pocket.

After learning his requirements, Lin Yilan checked her watch and went to find Sister-in-law Lai. Glancing around, she found that Sister-in-law Lai had returned to her own home to clean up the dishes.

It seemed the situation in this village was quite good; where she used to live, everyone generally had to wash dishes and clothes in the river.

Because of this, Lin Yilan had to go to the kitchen in Father Lai’s house to get information from Sister-in-law Lai.

Watching Sister-in-law Lai squatting on the ground, washing dishes in a basin, Lin Yilan crouched down beside her.

"Sister-in-law, I'm Xiao Lin. I wanted to ask if you have any thoughts about the future of the house?"

Sister-in-law Lai looked up and, seeing it was Lin Yilan, pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Comrade Lin, you're here."

"I don't have any thoughts. You should have talked to my husband before, right?" She lowered her head and continued washing the dishes. "He makes the decisions in our house. The requests he made are the ones I have."

Because the lighting was poor and it was nearly six o'clock, the entire kitchen felt dark. Lin Yilan couldn't see Sister-in-law Lai’s expression clearly, only her forehead.

"I see. But I think we women sometimes want different things than the men. The problems Father Lai sees in the house are different from the ones you discover. You can talk about what you think needs improvement."

Sister-in-law Lai shook her head and drained the water from the bowl. "I think things are fine as they are."

Lin Yilan poked her head with her pencil. She knew this sister-in-law probably wouldn't say anything more. Sighing inwardly, she stood up and moved to the side, deciding to rely on her own eyes to observe.

For the rest of the time, she remained as quiet as possible—so quiet that Sister-in-law Lai almost thought she had gone elsewhere.

She followed behind Sister-in-law Lai, observing her doing housework: from wiping the stove, washing rags, and tidying the kitchen, to leaving the kitchen, retrieving clothes from the drying line outside, and folding them. She noted everything down as she watched.

Finally, by the time the sun set, Lin Yilan finished her notes and left.

It was dark, and as agreed, Lai Chengrong came to take Lin Yilan and Lin Li back.

On the way back, because of the darkness, Lai Chengrong drove very slowly. Fortunately, the Lai family home was also in Beijing, just from the countryside to the city, so Lin Yilan dared to travel back after dark.

When getting out of the car, Lin Li frowned and reminded her, "Xiao Wu, if you go again, remember to call me. And don't stay out this late next time."

Lin Yilan felt a bit annoyed. "I know, Third Brother. I was a bit anxious today, wanting to get it done as quickly as possible, so it dragged on until now."

"We only need to go to the Lai house one more time. It's a pity Mr. Lai probably won't drive us next time; we'll have to ride our bicycles. But don't worry, Third Brother, once I land this contract, I'll pay you a salary."

Lin Li gave her a flick on the head. "Oh, you're certainly generous with your promises. You haven't even gotten the money yet, and you're already thinking about these things."

Lin Yilan swatted away his hand, shielding her head and saying indignantly, "If you bully me again, I'll deduct your salary."

She then pulled down her lower eyelids to make a face and ran quickly toward the school gate. "I'm off. You get back to school and let me know when you arrive."

Lin Li rolled his eyes, wondering who she had learned this stinginess from. Seeing her act like the boss in front of him made him stomp his feet in frustration. "She’s got a few coins in her pocket and is already acting full of herself! Wanting to make a phone call—I think you need your head examined."

Watching her figure run faster and faster, he sighed helplessly. Let it be; if he didn't let her, she’d probably squat by the phone all night.

She was extremely stingy in some places and incredibly loose with money at other times. They didn't have anyone like that in their family; who on earth did she learn it from?

Lin Li rubbed his forehead.

In the following days, apart from attending classes and studying diligently, Lin Yilan spent her free time working on the design for the house. On the days she and her third brother were both off, she visited the Lai family again.

This time, as they had expected, they rode their bicycles.

Upon arrival, Lin Yilan greeted the family and began her work.

Lin Li carefully guarded his sister, who was standing on a stool with a tape measure.

He didn't understand why she had to record the locations where the family hung their winnowing baskets. Was it necessary? When the house was rebuilt, wouldn't the Lai family just put up their own nails?

To him, Lin Yilan was simply "painting a snake and adding feet."

Lin Li muttered to himself while diligently assisting her, occasionally glancing at Father Lai, who was wandering around them.

After measuring the locations of various objects in both parts of the house, Lin Li watched her go off to measure the heights of Father Lai, Mother Lai, and Sister-in-law Lai.

Busy until the sun slanted westward, she finally finished.

Lin Yilan squatted on the ground, recording the final set of measurements in her notebook. After double-checking all the data, she stood up and tucked the notebook into her bag.

"Let’s go, Third Brother. Let's say goodbye to the Lai family and head back."

Lin Li wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Alright, it’s getting late anyway."

The two walked into the parents' room one after the other.

Upon entering, she saw Mother Lai stir-frying vegetables at the stove.

"Mother, the work is finished for today. It’s getting late, so we’ll be heading off."

Mother Lai nodded. "Alright, alright. Thank you for your hard work today, Comrade Lin."

Lin Yilan said politely, "You're too kind, Mother. It’s my job."

After all, Mr. Lai had already paid her.

After saying goodbye to Father Lai, Lin Yilan prepared to leave.

As they exited the main house and unlocked their bicycles, they suddenly heard Mother Lai’s voice from behind.

"Comrade Lin, wait—"

Lin Yilan put the lock in her bag and turned to look at Mother Lai, who was walking toward her.

"Mother, what is it? Is there something else?"

Mother Lai looked around cautiously, then grabbed Lin Yilan’s arm. "Comrade Lin, I have something I'd like to ask for your help with."

Lin Yilan quickly reviewed the two visits in her mind, maintaining a polite smile. "Please, go ahead."

"It's just... I wanted to ask how much money our youngest gave you?"

Hearing Mother Lai’s blunt inquiry, Lin Yilan said helplessly, "Mother, you’ll have to ask Mr. Lai about the exact budget for the house. I’m not sure myself."

Mother Lai looked skeptical, eyeing her sideways. "The money is already in your pocket, and you don't know how much it is? Don't try to trick us country folk by saying we're uncultured."

Lin Yilan looked at her with an innocent expression. "Mother, I really don't know. If you're going to ask, could you do me a favor and find out how much of a design fee Mr. Lai intends to pay me as well?"

Mother Lai’s eyes were already small, and with age, her eyelids had drooped further, making them appear even smaller. But at this moment, her tiny eyes held a sharp, inquisitive glint. She knew well that this was the very look that had made her invincible in the village, helping her uncover countless "truths."

She assumed this young girl was just like all the other young lasses in the village and wouldn't be able to withstand her gaze.

Yet, after staring for a long time, the girl maintained the same expression, showing no signs of panic or confusion. Mother Lai couldn't help but mutter to herself.