Chapter 249: Chapter 236: House Money

Ling Keqin soon signed up for the driver training class and joined the first batch of trainees at the district Automobile Company.

The other trainees came to learn during working hours, but Ling Keqin lived just across the district, taking less than ten minutes to walk there. He was particularly diligent, coming over every morning and on Sundays to help the master with vehicle cleaning, even washing the tarpaulin and such.

Naturally, when the veterans repaired and maintained the vehicles, Brother Ling also assisted… Gradually, his learning speed and content surpassed that of his fellow trainees.

Brother Ling joined the Automobile Company in mid-March, and Father Ling’s health was recovering well; he could already take care of himself.

As the chill faded and the weather warmed, every noon, Father Ling leisurely walked to the district family yard, picked up Wenzhang from kindergarten, ate lunch at his daughter’s house, then took Wenzhang out, sending him to school with him before slowly strolling back to the small courtyard for a midday nap.

Everyone was busy, and time passed particularly quickly. In the blink of an eye, March was gone, and April arrived.

Ling Chengyan finally bought the two-entry courtyard. She handed it over to her cousin, Wang Lianqi, for renovation—the roof was re-done, the inner and outer walls along with doors and windows were refurbished. The little sheds haphazardly built in the yard were dismantled, and new water supply and drainage systems were installed. They also converted the corner room in the front yard to a restroom with inner and outer partitions.

Wang Lianqi, after gaining much experience in construction projects, managed to procure two sets of flushing squat toilets and bought white sanitary ceramics. The clean and odorless restroom became the first of its kind in Huicheng’s private residences.

After that, Wang Lianqi smoothly began taking on plumbing and renovation projects, with Brother Ling and the Ling Family serving as the model.

Brother Ling completed the relocation and household procedures, leading his family a thousand miles back to Eastern Province by the end of April.

By the end of April, the ice and snow in Jiang Province just started melting, while Eastern Province was already in the late spring and early summer. The sister-in-law and second sister-in-law were still fine, but the children’s eyes were wide open throughout the journey, looking at the flourishing, affluent plains and populous villages that sharply contrasted with the desolate Gobi wilderness.

Upon arrival, seeing the brand-new and tidy two-entry courtyard, not just the children, but even the worried sister-in-law and second sister-in-law finally smiled.

Two days after the sister-in-law and second sister-in-law arrived, on Sunday.

The Ling Family, their cousins, and the children came to the Ling Family to celebrate their move, doubling as a belated welcome feast.

Wang Liansheng went directly to the kitchen with groceries, only to be pushed out by the sister-in-law and second sister-in-law.

Father Ling also cheerfully beckoned him, “You don’t need to work today, come have some tea.”

Ling Chengyan didn’t need her father’s instruction; she got up and went to the kitchen. Her cooking skills weren’t great, but she assisted by cutting the chicken, wielding a knife with a practiced ease.

The sister-in-law laughed, “Heh, little sister used to be good at cooking; now she’s spoiled by her husband and forgotten how.”

Ling Chengyan laughed along, “I’m lazy, so I’m easy-going—I eat whatever is made, no fuss.”

The sister-in-law and second sister-in-law laughed, and even Zheng Xiaotian and Xiao Yu Hongling, who were helping, joined in the laughter.

The whole family joyfully enjoyed a lively and hearty housewarming dinner, dispersing only after eight in the evening.

Cousin Wang went to rest at second cousin’s house next door, and even Wang Liansheng took the children to tour the new house.

The sister-in-law and second sister-in-law wisely took the children to the backyard, leaving only Father Ling and the three siblings in the main house of the front yard.

Father Ling signaled, “Oldest, bring it over.”

Close Brother Ling acknowledged, retrieving a small wooden box from the cupboard at the foot of the kang bed and placing it on the kang table before his dad.

Father Ling reached out, touching the slightly old wooden box, with a look of nostalgia in his eyes. After a while, he took a key from his waist and unlocked the box.

When the box was brought over, Ling Chengyan guessed from its size and weight and, when Father Ling opened it, it was just as she had speculated—it really contained gold ingots, colloquially known as “small yellow fish.”

Father Ling took out five gold ingots, stacked them together, and pushed them in front of her daughter, “This is for buying the house. The rest is for your filial piety. I won’t calculate it precisely.”

Ling Chengyan didn’t move, simply said, “I didn’t spend that much…”

Father Ling smiled with satisfaction, saying, “The renovations and furniture were your expenses, I know. In total, these aren’t enough, but I decided to give you this. I’m keeping the rest for old age, no one else is getting it.”

Both Brother Ling and Second Brother laughed as they persuaded, so Ling Chengyan looked at her father and two brothers, finally smiling and nodding, “Alright, then I won’t be polite and will accept.”

As for the house property papers, she had long given them to Father Ling.

Brother Ling was delayed, missing the first driver training, but he wasn’t anxious; first, he completed the school transfer procedures for several children and went back once to the old family house.

Seeing her father, brother, and sister-in-law settled in, Ling Chengyan felt at ease.

Incidentally, the summer district-wide training and competitions were about to start, so she became busy and didn’t pay much attention to the Ling Family’s affairs anymore.

At the beginning of May, Hongling completed her remedial class exams successfully, then participated in the pre-selection exams for vocational colleges at the end of May, passing them again with good scores.

After this examination, Hongling no longer needed to attend school each day but stayed home to revise, preparing for the vocational college entrance exams at the end of June.

In mid-May, Ling Chengyan led a chosen thirty-member team to the Northern Henan Taihang Mountain Area to partake in a month-long training camp.

This training was all in the mountains, sleeping in tents and eating mainly compressed biscuits and canned food, entirely simulating battlefield instruction and training.

Upon reaching the training site, Ling Chengyan had just placed her luggage in her tent when Geng Wei, who came with her, ran over to report, “Among over eight hundred people, only seven female comrades. And you, the leader, are the only battalion-grade officer.”

Ling Chengyan raised an eyebrow at him, “I’m only here to partake in the training, not the final competitions.”

Geng Wei laughed, “That’s just the initial plan. Who knows how it’ll turn out? Maybe you’ll represent our provincial team, letting them meet our Huicheng… Sharpshooter.”

Ling Chengyan cast him a sidelong glance, got up, and exited the tent.

As if she didn’t hear, Geng Wei’s pause was definitely trying to imply ’Mother Tiger,’ wasn’t it? Hmph!

The Northern Henan Taihang Mountain Area, with its towering mountains and dangerous roads, seemed almost isolated from the outside world. The treacherous terrain and complex environment were absolutely equal to the mountain training in Jiang Province and Gui Province.

At the end of May, the weather in Eastern Province was already too warm for spring clothes, but here, it was still humid and cool, just right for wearing spring-autumn uniforms.

Ling Chengyan distributed snake medicine and first-aid supplies to everyone, and the snake venom serum she had prepared in advance was put into the medical kit to be carried along.

Once all preparations were completed, Huicheng Team set off, following behind the main force, advancing further into the mountain regions.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep