Chapter 56

West."

Shanhu echoed this sentiment.

His face looked exceptionally good today, as if he were happy, or perhaps because he had drunk too much.

Liang Ying laughed and said, "You all call him brother now, it would be too formal of you not to accept this bracelet. We only have a few brothers in Jin Shui, and today is your wedding day with Xiao Lin. If he doesn't give something in return, I'll have to scold him."

"That's right, did you hear what your sister-in-law said? Hurry up and accept it."

Without saying a word, Gu Jinshui shoved the box into Shanhu's hands.

Shanhu and Lin Lu exchanged a glance, then both lowered their heads shyly and thanked him.

Douzi and his friends also came to give gifts. Douzi gave a bicycle voucher, saying, "Shanhu, you're such a big guy, it's fine for you to walk all the time, but you can't let your wife suffer when she gets married. This bicycle voucher is for your sister-in-law."

"I won't..." Shanhu was about to refuse when Douzi patted him on the chest. "What's wrong? You think it's too little? If you don't accept it, you're not a brother."

Since Douzi had said so, Shanhu had no choice but to accept it. If he had accepted Douzi's gifts, he naturally couldn't refuse the gifts from the other brothers either.

Lin Lu's aunts and uncles were all stunned.

These days, the monetary gifts for weddings and funerals are usually only two or three yuan, which is already considered very generous. Who else is as generous as Shanhu and his brothers, giving out gold bracelets and train tickets?

After the wedding banquet, the young couples went to play pranks on each other in the bridal chamber.

Lin Lu and her aunts helped clean up the leftover food. These were all good things, and there was no reason to throw them away. They would either keep them to eat in the next few days or share them with relatives, so as to share in the joy.

Shanhu wasn't stingy; he knew that Lin Lu's aunts and their families were all struggling financially. Otherwise, he wouldn't have refrained from helping Lin Lu and her two daughters much over the years, as he himself was barely making ends meet.

Today, several of her aunts and uncles came over to help clean up and cook, so she offered to give the leftovers to these relatives.

"Are you really giving us all of these?"

Aunt Lin Lu stared at the braised pork knuckle in the lunchbox, her face filled with disbelief. "Sister, don't just think of us. You'll still have to rely on this son-in-law in the future. I... we..."

She wanted to say that her family didn't need to, but the words just wouldn't come out. The last time the children ate meat was during the Lunar New Year when they ate dumplings that had a bit of meat on them. If they took this much meat back and ate it sparingly, it would last them at least seven or eight days.

"These are what my son-in-law told you to give them to. He said that you elders came over early this morning to help out and were busy with all sorts of things, so he felt really bad and asked me to share them with you."

Lin's mother then lifted the lid of the steamer, revealing soft, fluffy white steamed buns inside, each with a red dot on it. "These steamed buns were specially made for the children. I've calculated that six buns per family will be enough for the children."

The white steamed buns smelled wonderful; the subtle aroma of wheat seemed to linger in everyone's mouths.

Unable to refuse, the group blushed and accepted the gifts.

Third Aunt's husband said, "We were worried before that Shanhu's men were few in number, but today we see that he has quite a few brothers. You don't need to be afraid if anything happens to your family in the future."

"That's right," Lin's mother's smile hadn't faded all day. "I thought this child was good from the beginning, and I even thought it was a pity that he was with someone else. I never expected that he would end up with our daughter."

The front yard was bustling with activity, but no one dared to come out from Uncle Qi's house in the back.

Uncle Qi stopped smoking, smelling the aroma of food wafting from the front and hearing the cheerful laughter, and felt a surge of resentment in his heart.

After helping Shanhu's family clean up the dishes, the Gu Family Members went back home.

Upon returning home, Gu Jinshui immediately told Gu Yinxing to close the door. He then entered the house carrying a nylon bag and said, "Come in, all of you."

"What? Why are you taking this bag of cotton in?"

Gu Yinxing yawned and walked into the East Room.

Liang Ying closed the window. Gu Yousi blinked and noticed that the bag seemed quite heavy; it probably contained more than just cotton.

Gu Jinshui gave his daughter an approving look; his daughter was indeed clever.

He took out the cotton from the top, and then pulled out the contents one stack at a time.

The expressions on Gu Yinxing and the others went from surprise to shock, and then to disbelief.

The kang (a heated brick bed) was gradually covered with RMB banknotes. He Chunlian rubbed her eyes, unable to believe it, "So much money?"

She had already lowered her voice, but quickly covered her mouth.

Gu Jinshui nodded and said, "How many do you think it is?"

"Fifty thousand, brother, you've struck it rich!" Gu Yinxing's eyes were practically shining. She stroked the lovely banknotes and suddenly realized how charming this little house was.

"That must be around 70,000."

Although Liang Ying was pleasantly surprised, she had seen a lot before and wasn't too shocked by such a large sum of money; she was simply happy for Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui gave Liang Ying a thumbs up, "My wife is so smart, it's only seventy thousand."

"My God, son, are you robbing a bank?"

He Chunlian closed her jaw and looked at Gu Jinshui with concern. "Although our family isn't extremely wealthy, we're not short of money either."

"Mom, do you think your son is stupid? Your son doesn't need to rob a bank to make big money."

Seeing his family's delighted reaction, Gu Jinshui felt extremely gratified.

He gave one stack of Gu Yinxing and one stack to He Chunlian, saying, "Here's some pocket money for you. This money is clean and honest; it's what I earned selling antiques."

Gu Yinxing clutched the banknotes in her hand, looking at Gu Jinshui with admiration. "Brother, you're amazing! I think you're even more handsome than Ken Takakura!"

"Comparing me to the Japan? You should take your money back." Gu Jinshui pretended to be angry and demanded his money back.

Gu Yinxing quickly corrected herself. "No, no, I misspoke. You are the most handsome and intelligent man in the country!"

He Chunlian, listening from the side, found it hard to believe that her daughter would say such things. She looked at Gu Jinshui and shook her head. This shameless person who wanted to be flattered was actually her own son.

Chapter 64 The Sixty-Fourth Day of Being Eavesdropped On

"I think you should keep the rest of the money in the bank. It's safer. Keeping so much money at home makes me anxious, even if you don't feel at ease."

He Chunlian looked at the money scattered all over the kang (a heated brick bed), feeling both happy and somewhat worried.

These days, everyone's monthly salary is only a few dozen yuan. If word gets out that my son has suddenly earned so much money, won't people be envious?

Despite the crackdowns in the past two years, petty theft has never stopped.

There's no other way; too many people are returning to the city, and there are only so many job opportunities there. It's not enough to support oneself, so people have no choice but to sneak around.

The situation in this Compound Courtyard is considered good; at least each household can make a living. And if the children want to earn some money to buy candy, they can collect recyclables and coal scraps. With Gu Jinshui around, they can earn more money selling recyclables.

"Mom, I'm planning to buy a house."

Gu Jinshui's face flushed red, unable to contain his excitement as he spoke.

"What do you think about buying one of those Courtyard House?"

"Courtyard House, like Uncle Lan's?" Gu Yinxing immediately perked up, clapping her hands and saying, "Great! I definitely support you, brother. You have to save me a room when the time comes!"

Gu Yousi even patted her father's hand, a rare occurrence for her, and held up her chubby little finger. "Buy, buy!"

I never knew her father was so farsighted.

We must buy this Courtyard House.

Seventy thousand yuan is valuable now; it can buy Courtyard House. But in ten or twenty years, that amount of money might not even be enough to buy a proper outhouse in a Courtyard House.

"Then let's buy it." He Chunlian agreed without hesitation.

So the whole family unanimously agreed to buy a house.

Gu Jinshui was a man of action, and he immediately decided to call the lady at the Housing Reform Bureau the next day. But in the morning, he went out to see the Old Master, and before leaving, he took an enamel mug with him and bought green beans, fried Youtiao and sesame cakes near the Old Master's house.

The Old Master has recently developed a fondness for fried Youtiao sandwiched in sesame flatbread, and I must say, it actually tastes quite delicious.

Old Master Xi opened the door, glanced at the breakfast in his apprentice's hand, nodded, and went inside with his hands behind his back.

Gu Jinshui carried the things and followed the Old Master into the house.

He put the things down, served the Old Master breakfast, and then said with a smile, "Master, I wasn't here yesterday, and no one has cleaned your room. Let me sweep the floor for you."

Old Master Xi glanced at him and said, "Just say what you want to say. Don't be so eager to please."

Gu Jinshui wasn't embarrassed at all. Seeing that the Old Master wanted to read the newspaper, he quickly went to get his reading glasses. "Oh, you understand me best, old man. It's like this, I heard from Uncle Chen that Xi'an has been quite lively lately."

The Old Master opened the newspaper, took the glasses, and said, "It's bustling. Foreigners and Overseas Chinese have gone over there to buy antiques."

Gu Jinshui understood immediately upon hearing this.

Foreigners and Overseas Chinese are wealthy. With so many people going there, it's like a big fish falling into a pond. It's bound to attract many people to go there for profit.

In China a few years ago, it was practically impossible for anyone to buy or sell antiques. Even if someone had antiques at home, they had to find a place to hide them to avoid being criticized or vandalized.

With these wealthy people coming, those with antiques at home are naturally eager to buy them. As a result, it's like a big market in the countryside—the more people there are, the more lively it gets, and the more lively it gets, the more people there are.

"Master, then..."

Gu Jinshui chuckled and went over to massage the Old Master's shoulders.

Old Master Xi said calmly, "You're too late. Those people have already left."

"They went?" Gu Jinshui had already guessed, so he wasn't too disappointed. He simply asked, "Where are they staying, Master? Do you know?"

The Old Master looked up at him, a slight smile creeping onto his lips. "You, you... what can I say? You really are..."

He found it increasingly amusing as he spoke, shook his head, and took a slip of paper from the pile of books on the nearby table, handing it to Gu Jinshui. "They called and said they're staying at this Guesthouse. If you want to go, go ahead. I won't say anything more; you're a grown man, you know what you need to know."

"Thank you, Master."

Gu Jinshui knew perfectly well that the old man was all bark and no bite, and that he had deliberately written down the other party's address for him.

He was thinking of going back to Xi'an to find some good things for his Old Master. His Old Master was indifferent to everything now, but he did like those ancient books.

Take this purchasing station for example. They specially set aside a small room, which looked like it was filled with newspapers and books, but actually it secretly housed many rare books that the Old Master had collected privately over the years.

"Oh my, ma'am, why are you still waiting outside? It's so sunny here."

Seeing the older woman standing at the door, Gu Jinshui rushed forward. The older woman, who seemed worried he wouldn't come, smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just came out myself. You know, it's a really nice day today. The weather is great for looking at houses; it's so bright you can see everything clearly."

"That's it, that's it."

Gu Jinshui chimed in, handing the fruit he had brought to his elder sister, "Elder sister, this is just a small token of my appreciation. Please take it home and enjoy it with the children."

The older sister had already spotted the things, and her face lit up with a smile. "I can't accept this! These are bananas, right? They're quite expensive. Take them home for your child."

"Hey, my child has some, this is for your child. You're being so polite with me over such a small thing, you don't consider me one of your own."

Gu Jinshui said.

Upon hearing this, the eldest sister felt it difficult to refuse, so she accepted the gift, took it back and put it away, and then led Gu Jinshui to see the apartment.

It was the same house next to Tsinghua University Gu Jinshui had only glanced at it briefly last time, but this time he looked at it more carefully. It had two courtyards, and the front house was kept very clean. The courtyard was lush with flowers and plants, and birds would occasionally fly by, leaving behind a few clear bird songs.

"How is it? Isn't this yard nice?"

The older sister said as she walked, "Don't even mention you liking it, I like it too, but I just can't afford it. Otherwise, such a nice house, the whole family could live together, how comfortable that would be! We could use this land to grow vegetables, and the whole family wouldn't have to buy any vegetables for a whole year."

The older sister gestured with her hand to the open space next to the Chinese Pagoda Tree.

This place is now covered with wildflowers, but it probably used to be a flower garden, because it was surrounded by bricks and tiles.

"It's good, but can't you lower the price a bit more from 60,000?"

Gu Jinshui asked tentatively.

The older sister looked at him