"Thank you for today, Aunt Xu. I’ll come over to hang out with you once I’m done settling in," Bai Jiu said, deliberately not inviting her inside. Her priority was to send everyone away first.
"Alright. I don’t have much to do at home anyway, so come over whenever you have free time," Aunt Xu replied with a smile. However, as she walked to the door, she paused to wait for Lin Po, who was still dawdling. "Hurry up and walk faster, will you? Does your foot hurt?" Aunt Xu said rather bluntly.
She knew exactly what kind of person Lin Po was. The old woman was the type to take advantage of every little thing—she would argue over a pile of dirt just to prove a point. She absolutely could not let Bai Jiu get entangled with someone like that, otherwise it would be near impossible to shake her off. Just look at Researcher Lv and his wife from the front yard—they didn’t even dare to come back and live here anymore. If the wife’s maiden home hadn’t been close by, who knew how much longer the couple would have had to suffer her nonsense.
Of course, Bai Jiu had no idea what Aunt Xu was thinking. Even if she did, she truly wouldn’t be afraid. If the old woman dared to try anything, Bai Jiu would show her exactly what consequences meant.
With the outsiders gone, Bai Jiu could finally start organizing the things she had brought back. The two children wanted to help, but Bai Jiu refused. There were too many miscellaneous items, and she was afraid they might get hurt. She was busy until the sky turned dark.
If one were to ask what Bai Jiu was most satisfied with about this place, it was definitely the electricity. Having power made everything so much more convenient. Today, she had specially bought ten fifty-watt lightbulbs. They were oval-shaped with transparent glass, and the tungsten filaments were clearly visible inside. She wanted to change them herself but felt a bit scared. She thought, "Forget it, I’ll just wait for Gao Zhijun to come back and do it."
She liked the house to be brightly lit. The current lightbulbs cast a dim yellow glow, and with their low wattage, one could barely see anything inside other than shadows. Of course, a higher wattage meant higher electricity consumption. Many families were reluctant to use high-wattage bulbs even if their homes were wired for electricity.
When Gao Zhijun returned, dinner was just ready. This was considered early for him.
"You’re back." A smile blossomed on Bai Jiu’s face as she saw him walk in.
"Yeah. What delicious food did you make? I could smell it from far away." He was extremely satisfied with his wife’s culinary skills.
Bai Jiu was speechless. This man must have the nose of a dog. "Zhengyang and Xiuxiu wanted to eat braised pork, so I went to the city today and bought some meat." She had stewed it today instead of stir-frying, so how could the aroma possibly travel that far?
"No wonder it smells so good." Gao Zhijun wasn’t lying; he had genuinely caught the scent. It had even made him quicken his pace on the way home.
"Alright, I think you’re just hungry." Seeing him like this made Bai Jiu feel happy. Who didn’t like receiving compliments, after all? "By the way, help me change the lightbulbs in all the rooms after dinner. I bought some high-wattage ones today," she instructed while bustling about.
"I’ll change them right now." Gao Zhijun washed his hands, noticing there was still food cooking in the pot.
Bai Jiu didn’t stand on ceremony with him. "Okay, the lightbulbs are in the living room. Go ahead."
After Gao Zhijun swapped out the bulb and turned it on, he had to admit it was incredibly bright. Once he finished changing the one in the main room, he went straight to the kitchen.
"I’ll change the one in here first so we can see clearly while eating," Gao Zhijun said as he walked in carrying a stool.
Bai Jiu glanced at the pot. She was making egg drop soup, which didn’t exactly require much light. "Alright, I’ll hold the stool for you."
The kitchen was instantly illuminated. The two little ones, who had been following their father around, immediately cheered. They had already cheered once in the living room, and they weren’t about to miss the chance to do it again.
"It’s so bright!"
"Of course it is. This is a fifty-watt lightbulb," Gao Zhijun said. It was ten times brighter than the previous ones.
Watching the clear, joyous smiles on the children’s faces, a radiant smile bloomed on Bai Jiu’s face as well. It nearly made Gao Zhijun lose his senses. He always knew his wife was beautiful, but under the bright light, she looked even more dazzling.
"I’ll go change the ones in the bedrooms too." He had also fallen in love with the brightness. It had to be said, after changing the lights, the whole house felt completely different.
When it was time for bed that night, Gao Zhijun stubbornly refused to turn off the light, claiming he wanted to admire her beauty under the illumination. Bai Jiu was powerless to refuse. The light in the master bedroom stayed on until midnight.
The next day, with the house finally in order, she began sorting out the plot of land in the backyard. Some of the vegetables needed to be cleared out, as they were already too old. The autumn harvest was no joke; seasonal crops genuinely needed to be replaced. However, when Bai Jiu saw the feces scattered across the vegetable patch, she felt the urge to cry.
"Gao Zhengyang, Gao Xiuxiu, get over here right now!" This was obviously the children’s handiwork.
The two little ones had been playing in the front yard. Upon hearing their mother yell, they immediately ran over.
"What’s wrong, Mom?"
"Did you two poop here?" Bai Jiu asked with a long face, pointing at the feces nearby.
"Yeah. It’s called ’not letting fertile water flow into an outsider’s field.’ Do you want us to help mix it into the soil, Mom?" Zhengyang and Xiuxiu looked at their mother nonchalantly, as if asking what was so strange about it.
"Go. Get out of here."
Everything about this house was great, except for the lack of a private bathroom. If they needed to use the toilet, they had to go to the public restroom in the front yard. The smell... It was even dirtier and smellier than the ones in the countryside. She absolutely could not stand it.
That night, after a vigorous workout with Gao Zhijun, Bai Jiu brought up the bathroom issue.
"I’ll go ask the logistics department tomorrow. They should have someone who knows how to build one." Knowing his wife had refined tastes, he didn’t want her to be unhappy. Building a bathroom was a small matter.
"Okay." Bai Jiu left the matter in his hands.
The next day, Gao Zhijun brought four people back with him.
"Bai Jiu, where do you want to build the bathroom?" Gao Zhijun asked the moment he stepped through the door. "These are the handymen I hired. Just point out a spot, and they can have it built in two days."
The four men standing behind him knew Gao Zhijun held a high position, so they were very cautious after entering. They didn’t even dare to let their eyes wander. However, when they caught sight of Gao Zhijun’s wife, all four were somewhat dazzled. The difference between her and the other family members in the compound was like night and day. Could Mr. Gao’s wife be a fairy descending from the heavens?
"Build it in the backyard," Bai Jiu said straightforwardly, oblivious to their thoughts. She then led the four men to the backyard via the side path. On one side was the vegetable patch, and on the other were two very rudimentary sheds for poultry. But they were sufficient for raising birds.
"Just build it next to these." Pointing at the two thatched sheds, Bai Jiu walked over to the far side, which was the furthest from the living quarters.
The four men took a look and immediately formed a plan in their minds.
"We can do that. Do you have any other requirements, Mrs. Gao?" the leader of the four asked after walking around a bit.
Of course she had requirements.
"I want to build a combined bathroom where we can shower and use the toilet." She had stayed in a guesthouse before, and they had that kind of dry toilet setup.
"We can do that," the man readily agreed. He didn’t find it difficult in the slightest. "However, we’ll need to buy some materials. Would you and Mr. Gao like to buy them yourselves, or would you prefer to leave it to us?" Since they made a living off this, they naturally had to ask clearly.
"We’ll leave it to you. Roughly how many days will it take to finish?" Bai Jiu didn’t want to run around buying things herself, and it wouldn’t cost that much altogether anyway.
Throughout the entire exchange, Gao Zhijun didn’t say a word, leaving all the decisions to his wife. He had promised that she would be in charge of this household. Seeing this, the leader immediately understood who wore the pants in the family. He completely bypassed Gao Zhijun and began finalizing the details directly with Bai Jiu.
After the plan was settled, the four men left. They would return a little later with their tools to dig the pit and the trenches.
Seeing that she had sorted everything out, Gao Zhijun went off to attend to his own business, telling her to find him if she needed anything. He was still in the preparatory phase, so he wasn’t overly busy, though there were quite a few preliminary tasks to handle. He had purposely started busying himself to avoid being sent abroad. Otherwise, he was afraid his superiors would arrange for him to leave the country.
Of course, his mentor also wanted him to produce a prototype as soon as possible. That way, his mentor could help him secure the project. Gao Zhijun was the director of the research department. Even though he wasn’t strictly required to participate in projects, someone in his position couldn’t just completely wash their hands of everything. Therefore, he still needed a project to establish his authority. Only then would his career path be secure in the long run.