NOVPUBChapter 274: Chapter 274 Arrangement
Chapter 274 -274 Arrangement
Having arrived at Bai Xiao’s dorm, since it was a one-room, one-living-room setup, it indeed felt a bit cramped for six people. Bai Xiao knew she had acted impulsively—she hadn’t done a good job preparing logistics. With the weather being what it was, sleeping on the floor was clearly impractical. The ground was rather cool.
But there was only one large bed at home, and they needed to separate the men from the women, which was going to be a problem when it came to finding a place for everyone to sleep.
An Zhiyuan looked around the dorm, “Otherwise, my brother-in-law and three nephews could come with me. I’ll arrange a place for them. Let’s just make do for tonight, and as soon as it gets light tomorrow, I’ll contact a friend. There is actually an apartment with three rooms and a kitchen; the price isn’t right! It’s just that it’s quite a distance from the hospital, about ten bus stops away, and nearby there is a commercial street, a pedestrian street, and a night market. The location is good, perfect for doing business.” He shared his thoughts, understanding that Bai Xiao had a single-occupancy dorm and even having a one-room setup was a favor; accommodating six people all of a sudden was really asking too much.
The moment Bai Yue heard this, her eyes lit up, “Xiao An, then please take care of arranging your brother-in-law and the rest to stay over tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll go look at the house. I know we can’t make do here at Bai Xiao’s place.”
Bai Xiao thought for a moment, “Alright! Brother-in-law, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go with Instructor An. Come back here for breakfast tomorrow.” Truly, a good cook can’t do much without rice, and she hadn’t anticipated such a dilemma before the New Year.
Wang Yan nodded, “Okay, anything works! If all else fails, the four of us can sleep on the floor in the living room!” As newcomers, they expected to endure some hardship. He had been determined to follow Bai Yue in leaving Liupan Village and had already considered the difficulties. This situation was nothing in comparison.
Li Haiping, Li Hai’an, and Li Haishun also nodded their heads, showing their well-behaved and sensible natures. The living conditions here were better than at home, even though there were no heated brick beds. But home still felt warm and cozy, and sleeping on the floor wouldn’t bother them; they were kids used to hardship and didn’t find it difficult.
Bai Yue hesitated, “Or maybe not, it’s just for one night. Let’s make do, since we’re going to look at houses tomorrow anyway. Let’s not trouble Xiao An any further.” She really didn’t want her sons to be away from her! After all, they were strangers in a strange land, and it felt like her children were suddenly millions of miles away.
She felt uncomfortable with the situation.
Bai Xiao knew her older sister’s thoughts, “Otherwise, let them sleep here. I’ll figure out a way to go borrow some quilts later. If we layer the floor thickly, it shouldn’t be too cold.”
An Zhiyuan agreed! It was their family affair, and he couldn’t force others to accept his goodwill.
“Then I’ll go borrow the bedding for you. You guys start tidying up your things.” He looked at his watch; it was already five thirty. “The cafeteria is still open, so you take them there and sort out dinner. I’ll go borrow the bedding and then bring it back. We can get everything arranged for the night.”
“That’s fine, make it quick. I’ll save some food for you,” Bai Xiao replied. Having a man’s help was much better than asking for help herself, especially since their network within the Traditional Chinese Medicine department—among doctors and nurses—was somewhat limited.
An Zhiyuan hurried out the door.
Bai Xiao and Bai Yue meanwhile began packing up their things, putting clothes in wardrobes and on top of tables, and sorting out the foodstuffs. Watching Bai Xiao store all the meatballs and roasted meat in one cupboard, Bai Yue was amazed.
“Xiao, what is this cabinet thing? Why do I feel a chill coming from inside?” As soon as she opened the fridge door, Bai Yue sneezed several times.
“Big sister, this is a fridge, and it’s very useful. When the weather is hot, you can put leftovers, like veggies or other foods, in here so they don’t spoil. Up top, this part is called the refrigerator compartment, which means things inside won’t freeze but are kept very cold to stay fresh. In the bottom, the warmer drawer is where you can freeze meat, fish, chicken, and such. 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
Whenever you want to eat something, you just take it out to thaw, so you don’t have to do what we do at home—salting the pork to preserve it if we can’t eat it all at once.”
She explained the functions of various things one by one and also described how washing machines and televisions work. When they heard that people actually move and speak within that box, it was simply too novel for them. There wasn’t a single person in their village who owned a television.
Wang Yan had seen a TV in another village, but he knew it was an expensive item. It seemed that his niece, Bai Xiao, was incredibly capable to have so many things provided for free in her assigned house; it indicated that his niece had great abilities. Otherwise, why would they give her anything?
After Bai Xiao finished tidying up, she led everyone to the canteen for a meal and even brought food containers to pack meals for An Zhiyuan.
Bai Yue felt somewhat hesitant; as soon as he heard about eating out, all he could think about was the additional cost. Just the traveling expenses had already taken a toll, not to mention how much more it would be if they had to eat out for every meal.
“Xiao, let’s not eat out. We can just stay at home. We brought so much with us. Just warm up some steamed buns and cook a little dish. That’ll do,” he said.
Wang Yan also feared Bai Xiao would spend too much money. With their whole family imposing on their niece, it would be terrible to make her spend even more.
Bai Xiao laughed and reassured them, “Sister, you needn’t worry about us going to a canteen, not a restaurant, and that’s where I usually eat when I’m at work. It’s a special place in our hospital for the staff, and outsiders aren’t even allowed to eat there.
Moreover, I don’t have to pay for my meals; I get quite a few meal tickets every month that I can never finish—all leftovers—so now that you are here, let’s use them up. Otherwise, I always end up with extra at the end of the month that go to waste because they expire, which really upsets me. Your arrival is perfect timing, especially since this month is the Chinese New Year and I’ve been home for so many days that I have more meal tickets than usual. Eating in the canteen is economical and practical, plus we don’t have to cook or wash dishes. And after a whole day of traveling by train and all the to-and-fro, everybody’s tired.” She wasn’t joking or boasting; she really couldn’t finish her meal tickets.
Half believing and half doubting, Bai Yue asked, “Really? There’s such a good thing as eating in the canteen without spending money? How come it’s still like the old communal dining hall here?” In the past, the village had communal dining, where no family cooked and everyone ate at the communal hall instead.
Laughing, Bai Xiao nudged Bai Yue towards the door, “Let’s go. What you’re talking about and our canteen are different. Once you’re there, you’ll understand. Hurry, hurry, or the head chef will be off work and there’ll be no one to cook.”
Wang Yan and the three kids followed, watching Bai Xiao close the door forcefully, which then locked by itself, leaving them astonished by the novelty of the city—everything was different from their village.
Everything felt extraordinary and new to them, leaving them amazed by all they saw.
