After Naruse laid out the mirror cakes and came out, Naoko finally made the decision to let him hang the shurien ornaments and the shurien rope together on the lintel.
This is true for both families.
"It's time to clean up next," Shangzi said.
Seeing Naruse sigh, she smiled and said, "The two of us can finish the cleaning in no time."
Is it soon...
He didn't think so, but he didn't say anything and let her decide how to clean.
"Since you want to clean thoroughly, let's start from the areas that are rarely cleaned first..."
Shangzi directly arranged the order of cleaning various parts of the house, as if there was a planned schedule in front of him.
First the Naruse family, then the Hana family, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, not sparing a single corner.
"Every place must be cleaned thoroughly." Naoko emphasized while wrapping a scarf around Naruse and tying a knot in the back.
"Do you want to change your clothes?" She asked again.
"Just wear this suit. You've been wearing it for several days anyway, so it's time to change."
"Okay."
The first place the two of them had to clean was another empty room on the second floor of Naruse's house.
This is also a guest room, but the Naruse family has not had many guests in recent years, and there is also an empty guest room downstairs. Over time, this place has become completely idle.
After the change in nature, this place is more like a temporary warehouse. Anything that is not used but does not want to be thrown away will be stuffed into this room.
After standing at the door and looking at it for a while, Naruse's eyes swept across the various things placed inside. Naruse still felt like he didn't know where to start.
Shangzi looked at him from the side and said, "Shall we start cleaning?"
"Wait a minute." Naruse took a deep breath, "Let's get rid of some things first."
"Process?"
"Just throw it away. If you keep some things, you won't use them in the future, so it's better to throw them away."
Shangzi glanced inside but said nothing.
After picking and choosing, the two of them moved out all the items that were no longer needed and did not have much commemorative significance. They temporarily placed them in the yard and then sent them to the garbage room in batches.
The room was a little emptier, and they started cleaning it.
It took almost an hour to sweep, mop, and wipe the doors, windows, floors, and everything else in the room. It took almost an hour to tidy up a room completely.
"Just a little wipe here is enough..."
"No, New Year's cleaning means thoroughness."
"But..."
"Thorough!"
"Okay."
The next thing to clean up is Naruse’s own room.
But since I usually clean a lot, it’s a little easier to clean up here.
But it’s just a little more relaxed.
At Shangzi's request, all the books on the bookshelf were taken down, wiped spotless, and then put back on again;
There was nothing under the bed, but every corner was cleaned;
In addition, it took more than half an hour to clean up the gaps in the back of the wardrobe and the bars above the windows and other corners.
The second floor of Naruse's house was finally solved. Both of them were already disgraced and sat on the stairs to rest for a while.
"Yeah." Shangzi nodded, and then thought about it, "No, maybe at night."
"..."
He took a slow breath and straightened his eyes.
After a while, he opened his mouth and said:
"When I was in Tokyo, every time at the end of the year, I would ask someone from a housekeeping company to clean the house."
Shangzi was startled, then smiled again.
She had heard him mention this matter before, and she didn't mind hearing him say it again now.
“We can’t hire anyone from the housekeeping company here.”
"I know."
Naruse sighed, "It's just too laborious to clean it thoroughly."
Shangzi hugged his knees and turned to look at him, "It's only once a year."
He was in a daze for a while.
"Hmm... Is there a saying that cleaning too clean will sweep away good luck?"
"No."
"I think so..."
Naruse just complained, rested for a while, and then took Naoko downstairs to continue cleaning.
Following the principle of "prioritize cleaning of places that are not usually cleaned or used frequently", the two men took the tools and pushed open the door of the guest room on the first floor.
There is no clutter in the guest room downstairs, so cleaning is relatively easy.
Naruse stood on the chair and was wiping the top of the wardrobe. Naoko picked up the turbid water basin and said, "I'm going to change the water in the basin."
"Yeah."
And not long after she left, she hurried in again, holding his mobile phone and a clean cloth in her hand.
"Auntie's phone number."
After wiping his hands, Naruse took the phone and answered Matsu Qianqiu's call.
"Hello."
"I finally picked it up. Is Harumi still playing outside?"
"No, I'll be back at noon."
Naruse said, getting down from the chair, and at the same time motioning Naoko to take a break with his eyes, "I don't have my phone on me, I'm doing year-end cleaning."
"Year-end cleaning..."
Song Qianqiu smiled and said, "I really miss it."
"Say it like you did."
"How rude! Before I debuted, I would still help with housework at home."
"It actually goes back so long."
"That's not true. When I retired at home and became a housewife, of course I had to do spring cleaning every year, but my mood was different."
"What's different? Did you enjoy cleaning before?" Naruse asked.
Song Qianqiu smiled again.
"I'm so happy - reluctantly, but happy and nostalgic at the same time."
He curled his lips and didn't say much. Instead, he asked, "I'm calling you at this time. Is the filming over?"
"No. There was a small problem on set and the filming was suspended. I just called and asked about Harumi's situation." Song Qianqiu said.
"The director fell down again?"
"No, it's a problem with the props... don't be so talkative!"
Shangzi smiled silently.
Naruse turned on the speakerphone just now, and she could hear Matsu Chiaki's words.
"Tomorrow...what day is today, twenty-eight?...Then the filming for this year will not end until the afternoon of tomorrow."
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Song Qianqiu continued: "After that, there will be a year-end party, and there will probably be a second party and a third party. The next day, I will sober up and pack my things, and I will not be able to come back until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."
This has been the case for the past few years, and Naruse was not surprised, "I know."
"Do you need anything else to prepare for the New Year? Mom can bring it back from Tokyo." Matsu Chiaki asked.
Naruse looked at Naoko.
She thought for a while and shook her head.
"There's nothing you need to bring."
"Okay."
Song Qianqiu just asked casually. She didn't have time to buy anything.
"Cleaning is hard~ but with Shangzi's help, it won't be too hard."
Naruse glanced at Naoko who was smiling and said, "There is still her house that needs to be cleaned."
"Ah, that's right... Mr. Toka and the others haven't come back yet."
"It's probably not until the 31st."
"Hmm...where's the starfish?"
Matsu Qianqiu suddenly asked, "Mr. Seiichiro won't have to do the general cleaning until the last few days of the end of the year, right? If that child is free, let her help."
"It's strange that she agreed."
"Just say I miss her."
"...Tell her yourself."
Song Qianqiu smiled and wanted to say something else, but his speaking speed suddenly increased.
"Ah, the problem seems to have been solved. I'll go back and continue shooting. Haruhai can figure it out by himself. Remember to say hello to Naoko and Haixing for me and bye! Du——"
"..."
Naruse put down his phone and shook his head.
Shangzi smiled, looked at him again and asked, "Do you want Haixing to help?"
Naruse thought for a while and then glanced at the guest room where he had just started cleaning.
After cleaning here, there are still studies, Matsu Qianqiu's room, kitchen, bathroom and living room that need to be cleaned, and then Shangzi's house...
"Let me ask."
Shangzi responded.
Buzz——
Haixing lay on the bed and glanced at the message he had just received.