When Gu Xiaoyu returned to her little courtyard after getting off work at noon and saw Li Long waiting at the gate, she was surprised at first, then greeted him with a happy smile. "Brother-in-law, why didn't you call me... when did you get here? Come on, I'll open the gate. Let's go inside."
Li Long stood aside and watched her unlock the gate, saying casually, "I only got here a little while ago. I figured you were about to get off work, so I waited here."
"What if you hadn't caught me? What if I hadn't come back today?" Gu Xiaoxia had opened the courtyard gate and led Li Long inside, talking as she walked. "You should have called my workplace."
"I just went to take a look at the Second-Courtyard Compound," Li Long explained as he followed her in. "The renovations looked good, and when I came out, I thought I'd come find you first. It wasn't far, and your place was easy to find."
Li Long had never been to this courtyard. Gu Xiaoyu had told Gu Xiaoxia about it over the phone, and that was how Li Long had learned the address and asked his way here.
"I figured if I didn't catch you after work, I'd go to the Beijing Office first, then visit your workplace this afternoon."
He could tell that this courtyard had been renovated too. It was noticeably different from the other little courtyards in the same row.
The house and courtyard were fairly small, but in present-day Yanjing, they were quite suitable for a family of two or three. The living conditions were far better than those of Zhang Damin's family.
After reform and opening up began, large numbers of educated youths returned to the cities. Ordinary families with several returning