Chen Lan and the other two waited for about fifteen minutes. Jia Yao, his two brothers, and Jia Hui finally emerged from the state-run restaurant, carrying a large cloth bag.
Chen Lan reached out and took the cloth bag from them, instantly storing it in the system warehouse. She then informed the four children of the afternoon's arrangements.
The four children also felt that having their own place to live sooner would make everything more convenient. Unlike living in a hotel now, not only was eating inconvenient, but so were washing up in the morning and evening. Most importantly, the issue of using the restroom daily was even more unacceptable.
Therefore, without a second word, the four unanimously decided not to accompany the couple to the scrap recycling station. Instead, they chose to return to the dilapidated house to clean it up while waiting for Zhao Hongmei and Old Zhang Tou, and to discuss with Zhao Hongmei about having her director arrange a vehicle.
The children had grown up and had their own opinions and ideas. Chen Lan did not force them. After clarifying their tasks, she had the children keep watch for her and then took out cleaning tools from the system warehouse – five brooms, ten rags, three mops, two dustpans, and so on. After some thought, she also retrieved three shovels and three sickles from the system warehouse.
Then, the group parted ways at the entrance of the state-run restaurant. The four children, carrying the cleaning tools, returned to the dilapidated house, while Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and Er Zhuang walked to the scrap recycling station.
Since the three of them had visited in the morning, the old man on duty, who was eating, did not ask many questions and, without a word, opened the gate to let them in.
Chen Lan glanced at the large enamel mug the old man was using for his meal, which likely was lunch sent by his family. This reminded her of the flatbreads and donkey burgers the children had bought in a cloth bag.
Chen Lan opened the system warehouse with her mind and took out two flatbreads and two donkey burgers from the cloth bag. Wrapped in oil paper, she placed them on the old man's mug while he wasn't paying attention.
The three first went to the warehouse storing old furniture. It was true that with the system's cheat-like enhancement, Chen Lan indeed found many good items, all of which were naturally stored in the system warehouse.
After the vehicle sent by the housing management office had taken away the items they needed, Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and Er Zhuang moved their focus to the outside. Their current target was the piles of unorganized scrap metal.
Needless to say, with the system at their disposal, the haul this time was naturally very substantial.
Although the day's harvest was plentiful, the three of them had spent nearly the entire day sifting through scrap. Naturally, everyone was filthy. The children were likely not much cleaner after their cleaning efforts. Therefore, after a discussion, the three decided to stop searching. Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and Er Zhuang agreed to all go to the public bathhouse for a soak that afternoon.
The three carried their items to the front counter of the shop to pay, then waved goodbye to the old man guarding the back gate.
When they returned to the front of the dilapidated house, they saw the children and the people brought by Sister Zhao working with great enthusiasm. The people brought by Old Zhang Tou were also diligently working, while Sister Zhao and Old Zhang Tou were helping on the side.
All the windows and doors of the rooms had been removed and were piled in a cleared space that had just been tidied up.
Chen Lan quickly took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to them and stood behind Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang. She took out the cloth bag containing the flatbreads from the system warehouse and then called out, "Everyone, take a break! Come over and have something to eat."
Sister Zhao and Old Zhang Tou saw that the couple and Er Zhuang had returned together. They understood their character and knew they were sincere, so they didn't stand on ceremony. They immediately called for the workers to wash their hands and come to eat.
After eating, everyone, without needing to be urged, returned to their respective tasks.
Chen Lan could only sigh, lamenting that people nowadays truly worked diligently and honestly, never slacking off.
By 5:30 PM, Chen Lan knew that Sister Zhao had to rush home to cook for her family. So, Chen Lan called out, "You've all worked hard today! Everyone, stop what you're doing! We'll stop here for today. We'll continue tomorrow." Su Dan Novel Network
After sending off Sister Zhao and the workers she brought, only Chen Lan's family and the people brought by Old Zhang Tou remained busy in the dilapidated house.
Xu Mingxuan walked over to Old Zhang Tou and said, "Brother Zhang, shall we call it a day? Everyone has been busy all day. Do you want to go to the bathhouse with us for a soak later?"
Old Zhang Tou repeatedly waved his hands and said, "You go as a family. We plan to take advantage of the good weather these days and work a little longer each day so your family can move in sooner."
Hearing Old Zhang Tou's words, Chen Lan and her husband were truly touched. They felt very fortunate to have met such good people and thus agreed to their decision. Xu Mingxuan simply said, "Brother Zhang, then we'll have to trouble you. We'll bring dinner back for everyone later."
The group arrived at Jianmin Bathhouse, located on Fendou Road in Nangang District. The bathhouse was a two-story building. As they entered the front door, they saw a large slogan: "Serve the People."
It was the children's first time bathing in a public bathhouse, and they looked around like they were seeing a foreign spectacle, peeking here and there. Chen Lan didn't restrain them; after all, she had brought them out to broaden their horizons.
Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and Er Zhuang quickly queued up to buy tickets. Since Chen Lan still wasn't accustomed to having to queue for everything, she decided that since they were queuing once, they might as well buy more bath tickets to save them from queuing every time they came to bathe. The tickets were cheap anyway, only two mao each.
Fortunately, it wasn't a Sunday, and many units were not on holiday. The crowd buying bath tickets wasn't large; most of them were welfare bath tickets issued by various units. They could exchange these welfare tickets directly with the attendant for tickets.
The first-floor lobby where people were queuing was exceptionally lively. Here, people were lining up to buy bath tickets, and there, people were waiting for the attendant to call out numbers.
The attendant's calls continued: "Next one, coming right up! Don't worry, the ones behind. It'll be your turn soon."
As the calls stopped, a middle-aged woman stepped forward and was handed a locker key with a string attached, along with a communal towel. The towel was white with red stripes and bore the name of the bathhouse – Jianmin Bathhouse.
Finally, she was given a small piece of yellow soap, about half the size of a mahjong tile.