RYEY -Chapter 450 Finding a Place to Stay

Li Huan would never have expected that after Xiao Dan got married, their family would also reunite—not only her mother and her third sibling, but also Ye Jun with the twins.

But the two of them were troubled about accommodations for this large family. They had already occupied the military station’s dorms, and they couldn’t let the family stay there too, which would make things difficult for Qin Daqiang.

The only available option now was the guesthouse. Of course, Qin Guoqing’s military family compound could accommodate the mother and the children, but Ye Jun definitely couldn’t stay there.

“Qiao, why don’t we rent a few rooms at the guesthouse? We can set them up so my mother and the others can stay comfortably, without squeezing into Guoqing’s small suite.”

Qin Guoqing had applied for a small suite, which was basically a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout. The inner room was a bedroom, the outer room was a living room. The suite had a kitchen and a bathroom, but no toilet.

The toilet was a public one, not far from the suite, but the environment was poor. Even if someone cleaned it regularly, it couldn’t keep up with so many people using it. This was the part military wives hated most, yet also couldn’t live without.

“Alright, my mother and the kids probably wouldn’t get used to staying at Guoqing’s place, especially Xiao Nuan. The toilet will be the part she can’t tolerate.”

Cheng Qiao imagined Xiao Nuan queuing for the toilet, with no partitions between the squat toilets, exposing bare bottoms—she would surely be terrified.

“I’ll go to the school and get a referral letter, then borrow three to five rooms at the guesthouse and set them up.”

Li Huan nodded. Seeing Cheng Qiao leave, he immediately sat in meditation. He needed to recover his health as quickly as possible so that his mother and the children wouldn’t worry.

Cheng Qiao arrived at the guesthouse with the referral letter. The staff there were already familiar with her. Sometimes if someone had a minor illness, she would prescribe two sets of herbal medicine or give two acupuncture treatments, quickly resolving the issue.

“Cheng Qiao, how come you have time to come over today?”

“Hello, Sister Zhang. Are you on duty today? My mother and the kids are coming over these days, so I’m here to borrow a few rooms.”

“Really? I know you have five kids, and I haven’t seen four of them yet. I’d love to take a good look this time. By the way, how many rooms do you need? It’s a busy period, and someone important might need rooms.”

Cheng Qiao nodded and held up three fingers, indicating she wanted three rooms. Sister Zhang shook her head—she could only spare two rooms.

“Two it is, then. The kids can sleep with my mother or master.”

Cheng Qiao knew each room had two wooden plank beds, enough for two people. If the beds were pushed together, three to four could sleep in one room.

“Two rooms are fine, but if possible, I’d like to borrow two more beds so I can push them together. This way, several kids can sleep comfortably.”

“Alright. The rooms cost two yuan per day, so two rooms are four yuan. The wooden plank beds are thirty cents per day. How many do you want?”

“I’m not sure how long we’ll stay. My mother and the kids are coming all the way here, so we’ll stay longer. I’ll give you fifty yuan for now, and add one more bed to each room.”

“Okay, I’ll make a note of it.”

Sister Zhang happily took the money. Leaders only stayed a few days, but Cheng Qiao was a big spender, so she had to take good care of her.

Sister Zhang gave her keys to two south-facing rooms on the first floor—the best rooms on that floor, close to both the tea room and the toilet.

“They’re a bit dirty. I’ll clean them later.”

Cheng Qiao glanced at the scattered trash on the floor but said nothing. Instead, she fetched a broom and mop and cleaned both rooms thoroughly.

Sister Zhang felt a bit embarrassed and had two wooden beds brought from the warehouse. Cheng Qiao wiped them clean and placed them in the sun to dry.

Sister Zhang also helped her—Cheng Qiao’s meticulous care benefited the guesthouse, and a clean environment meant guests would keep coming.

—

Two days later, Ye Jun and the twins arrived first. Li Huan and Cheng Qiao stood on the platform, anxiously scanning the train for their carriage.

“Mom, my mom, Dad, over here… look, Nuan Nuan is here…”

A familiar voice came through. Cheng Qiao didn’t need to look—she knew it was her precious daughter. She ran toward the carriage in three quick steps, with Li Huan following anxiously.

“Master, how have you been?”

“Qiao girl, with these two little rascals around, I’m fine of course. Hey, Xiao Nuan, don’t—”

Xiao Nuan was already trying to climb out the train window. Ye Jun rushed to grab her but was stopped by Ye Jing. Didn’t he see that his sister was about to cry?

Cheng Qiao quickly caught Xiao Nuan and hugged her tightly. Xiao Nuan finally couldn’t hold back her tears—she had missed her mother and was finally able to see her.

“There, there, don’t cry. Your eyes will swell and you won’t be pretty.”

“Mom, I’m very pretty! I’m not scared. Mom, I missed you. I dreamed of you holding me at night.”

Cheng Qiao looked into those clear, bright eyes, her heart aching. She wanted to keep her daughter with her this time, but quickly dismissed the thought—her father couldn’t take care of both kids, and she couldn’t manage them in the usual orderly way either.

“Come on, Mom will take you to the guesthouse.”

“Mom, why the guesthouse? Don’t we have our own home in Hexi?”

Xiao Nuan was puzzled. She had a home in Xiangyang Village, another in Xiangyang County, a big grocery shop in Chuncheng, her own courtyard in the capital, and even her grandfather’s courtyard. Why didn’t she have a home in Hexi?

“Then how about we set up a home in Hexi too?”

“Yay! We want a home as big as the medicine and health shop in the capital. We can sell medicine in the front, have a living room in the middle, and live in the back yard.”

Cheng Qiao and Li Huan exchanged a glance—they both thought it was a feasible idea. The military station’s perimeter had some empty land. They could inquire with the relevant authorities and, if possible, buy a plot of land…

Five people got on a bus together. This was also the only bus running from the train station to the military base. Originally intended to make it easier for military wives to travel back and forth, it had now become the most crowded place imaginable.

“Xiaonuan, hold onto Mom tight. Ye Jing, you hold onto your dad. Master, stick with us, don’t fall behind.”

Ye Jun rolled his eyes. Did they look down on him just because he was older? He was a skilled martial artist who could spar with two opponents without even getting winded.

To show off his strength, the moment the doors opened, Ye Jun activated his internal energy, creating a protective zone around himself that kept everyone else at a distance.

Li Huan, having trained in martial arts with Ye Jun, immediately understood what he was doing. Seizing the moment, he pushed Cheng Qiao onto the bus and, holding Ye Jing in his arms, rushed on himself.