Time Extension

While giving Anji a tour of the place, Assistant Hu apologised for the unsightly miscellaneous items that piled up, such as books, notes, brushes and ink slabs. Some of the shelves had thick layers of dust collected. However, the other chores, such as sweeping the floor, throwing the trash, washing the bathroom and making the bed, were taken care of by Assistant Hu daily. There was hardly anything else for Anji to do. They had brick flooring for the front and backyard. There was nothing to weed, and unless Anji wanted to help repaint the faded walls, everything else was relatively well-maintained outside.

"Keke threw out many things when she took over this place. It used to be more cluttered, but we organised it and decided not to do more than the bare minimum. With only two people buried neck-deep in research work, we could not afford the other luxuries, such as a garden or a pond that some other researchers have."