Chapter 80

Xi Rong then turned around and, after Zhao Donglai agreed to give Song Mei twenty yuan every month.

When He Chunlian returned from buying soy milk and fried dough sticks, she saw Huang Xirong smiling as he saw Song Mei and Zhao Donglai out of the house.

Auntie Sun was boiling water when she quipped sarcastically, "Oh, what brings your daughter and son-in-law here so early in the morning?"

Huang Xirong smiled and patted Song Mei's hand, "It's just that my girl is so girly. You know, even after getting married, she still misses home. She ran back early this morning, and Donglai came back with her."

"Yes, yes," Zhao Donglai replied, affectionately taking Song Mei's other hand.

Song Mei kept a straight face and her head down.

He Chunlian couldn't bear to watch, nodded, and went inside with the breakfast.

Everyone should sweep the snow from their own doorstep and not worry about the frost on someone else's roof.

Gu Yinxing didn't mention their family's affairs while eating breakfast, fearing that someone might overhear and spread the word, which would only cause trouble for them.

They had already reminded them several times, but the other person just thought they were being nosy.

Gu Yinxing wasn't working today, and Yan Ren came over to pick her up to go to Grandpa grandparents' house. Liang Ying had to work, so Gu Jinshui was in charge of looking after the children. Around noon, the lady from the Housing Reform Bureau called, saying that the people at the three-courtyard house seemed to have agreed to move, and asked Gu Jinshui to go there as soon as possible.

Gu Jinshui hurriedly entrusted the child to Chen Liying, took some money, and rushed out.

Upon arriving at the location, Gu Jinshui glanced at the three elderly people, all leaning on canes, and looked at the eldest sister, "Is it them?"

The older sister nodded, pulled Gu Jinshui aside, and whispered, "I talked to them for ages before they finally agreed. Everyone else has to go to work, but they only have a few elders left. If we can resolve this by spending a little money, then we'll settle it."

"That's what I was thinking too. Thank you for your hard work, big sister."

Gu Jinshui.

The older woman laughed and said, "Don't mention it, I was just saying a few words."

Even so, they still put in a lot of effort; otherwise, this wasn't even part of their job responsibilities, and they could have easily just washed their hands of it.

"Are you the one who bought the house?" An old man with a white beard, dark complexion, and wrinkles stared at Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui smiled and said, "Yes, my surname is Gu. May I ask your name, sir?"

"Don't be so polite, we're not friends. Let's get down to business. I heard the house was sold to you, but we don't acknowledge that." The old man coughed, spat on the ground, and looked Gu Jinshui up and down rather rudely.

"Hey sir, that's not what we said before." The woman was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized she'd been tricked. She pointed at the old man and said, "Didn't you say you'd move in if we gave you some extra money to find a place to stay?"

"That's what we said, it's about adding money to buy a house."

An old woman in a coarse cloth overcoat spoke up, a smug smile on her face, "He's so rich, what's wrong with him buying us a house?"

"Aren't you trying to extort money from me?"

The older sister was stunned by her shamelessness, and her voice trembled slightly.

The old lady chuckled and said, "Who's trying to scam us? We don't want much, just a thousand. Give us a thousand and we'll leave."

"No, it has to be two thousand. Our two families now have two courtyards, and each courtyard is worth a thousand!"

The old man's voice was thunderous, very loud, and full of righteous indignation.

One thousand at a time?

Gu Jinshui looked at them and said, "That's not very fair of you. This house isn't even yours. You've been living here for free all these years. I'll give each of you one hundred yuan, and you can move out. That'll settle things."

"One hundred? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?!"

The old man spat and said, "Our two families have lived here for so many years and are doing just fine. If you hadn't insisted on buying it, this house would be ours."

Look.

Judging from her tone, she seems to feel wronged.

Gu Jinshui looked at them. "So you mean you're not willing to move?"

"Yes, we absolutely won't move unless we're paid." The old man stuck out his neck, his eyes filled with disdain as he looked at Gu Jinshui.

"Alright, you can stay here then." Gu Jinshui nodded and said to the woman, "Things didn't go through today, let's go."

The woman felt quite embarrassed and apologized to Gu Jinshui as she left, saying, "They were talking so well this morning, I never expected this..."

"Hey, don't overthink it, this isn't your fault."

To be honest, Gu Jinshui wasn't too surprised. What kind of good people would occupy someone else's house with their whole family for free? The previous homeowner must have thought about giving them a little money to get rid of them, but that didn't work, which means the people living here have big appetites.

"What about this house?" the older woman sighed. "Someone has already inquired about renting your two-courtyard house, but if we don't kick them out, we really won't be able to rent this one out. We can't keep it a secret from people; who wants to live with a bunch of scoundrels?"

Gu Jinshui was still thinking of a solution when she heard her elder sister's words. She paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Elder sister, don't bother yourself with this. I have a way."

The woman paused for a moment, then said, "You... what's your plan? Let's not act rashly in a fit of anger."

Gu Jinshui smiled, "Don't worry about that, I guarantee it won't break the law."

That made the older woman even more worried.

Gu Jinshui didn't think the matter of the courtyard was a big deal. He found Douzi, whispered a few words to him, and Douzi patted his chest and assured him, "Brother, don't worry, they're all hoping for something like this."

"You have to tell them that we don't do anything reckless or illegal."

Gu Jinshui confessed.

Douzi said, "Don't worry about that, we brothers aren't stupid."

Once the matter was explained, Gu Jinshui stopped worrying about it. When he got home, he simply mentioned that the three-courtyard house wouldn't be available for rent for a while, and no one paid much attention to it.

Gu Jinshui looked around the house. "Yin Xing hasn't returned yet?"

"She said she needs to ask her grandma for help with her homework today and will be home later." He Chunlian said, picking vegetables, "It's great to have found a boyfriend like this; now she even has someone to help her with her studies."

That's exactly what Gu Yinxing thought.

She recently borrowed a calculus textbook, intending to preview it, but she didn't expect it to be much more difficult than high school math. Since there are no college students around, it's not easy to find someone to ask for help.

But none of these problems apply to Grandma Yan.

Grandma Yan understood those inequalities and limits of sequences at a glance and explained them clearly. Gu Yinxing's half-day here was equivalent to three days of her usual study.

She looked at Grandma Yan with great admiration, "Grandma, you're amazing! You're so much better than our previous teachers. With just a little guidance from you, I understand everything."

Grandma Yan was all smiles as she was coaxed. She said with a grin, "It's because our Yin Xing is so smart that she understood this so quickly. If you'd like, come often. Anyway, I don't have much to do right now, so it's convenient for me to tutor you."

Gu Yinxing said, "Really, I really mean it. Don't find me annoying later. I won't bother you for nothing. My mom is making chive dumplings these days, and I'll bring some over as a token of my gratitude."

Grandpa Yan, who was listening to their conversation, couldn't help but interject, "These chive dumplings aren't as fragrant as fennel dumplings."

Grandma Yan couldn't help but glare at him. The little girl eats whatever she's given, and now she's being picky?

Gu Yinxing wasn't annoyed at all, and even laughed, "You really know how to eat! These fennel dumplings are so fragrant, especially with lots of oil and meat, and a touch of vinegar. The taste is simply divine."

Aunt Liu, who was listening nearby, laughed and said, "If you like it so much, why don't I go out and buy some fennel? How about we make dumplings tonight?"

"I think it's a good idea." Yan Ren pursed his lips and stood up. "Otherwise, someone will be so hungry tonight that they won't be able to sleep."

Gu Yinxing was annoyed. When she was about to make dumplings, she pretended to wash her hands, but secretly pinched Yan Ren's hand and glared at Yan Ren.

Yan Ren: "Tit for kindness?"

Gu Yinxing: "This is my revenge." She watched her Grandpa making dumplings outside, and while washing her hands, she whispered, "You're making up stories about me being greedy. I'm only being lenient by pinching you."

"Isn't it true that you're greedy?" Yan Ren didn't feel any pain from being pinched; instead, he felt a tingling sensation there, especially with Gu Yinxing's little eye roll, which he found rather amusing.

Gu Yinxing glanced at him sideways, "Yan Ren, are you asking for a beating?"

Before she could say anything, the doorbell rang. Aunt Liu said, "I'll go answer the door," and ran over. A moment later, the sound of high heels clicking on the floor approached. "Dad, Mom, Chengzhi's dad and I came to see you. Oh my, are you making dumplings?"

Just as Gu Yinxing was about to peek to see if it was the two people she had guessed, she saw Yan Ren's face darken.

"Yan Ren, Yin Xing, your dad and Aunt Liu are here."

When Grandma Yan saw Liu Yulan, her expression wasn't very pleasant, but she still had to maintain appearances, so she called Yan Ren and the others out.

Yan Ren Gu Yinxing out of the kitchen.

Liu Yulan seemed to only then realize that Gu Yinxing was also there, and said with a smile, "Oh, Xiao Gu is here too. What brings you here today, Xiao Gu? Has that case at your hospital been resolved?"

As she said this, she turned to her Yan's Father and said, "Old Yan, you have no idea how much trouble Xiao Gu has run into lately. He prescribed the wrong medicine. Sigh, these kinds of things..."

"Aunt Liu!" Yan Ren interrupted Liu Yulan, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Your information isn't very good. Yin Xing Hospital has already determined that the patient wronged Yin Xing. You're so concerned about this matter, how come you don't know that Yin Xing was framed?"

Liu Yulan's smile froze, and her expression turned somewhat awkward.

The Yan's Father had a very stern appearance; his skin was dark, and he had a scar near his eye, making him look quite intimidating. "Why are you talking to your Aunt Liu like that!"

Yan Ren lowered his eyes slightly, his hands in his pockets. "Father, I was just correcting her, I didn't mean anything else, to prevent her from spreading the wrong message and tarnishing my partner's reputation."

"Are you saying she did it on purpose?!"

The Yan's Father's forehead veins bulged as he glared angrily at Yan Ren.

Gu Yinxing tugged at Yan Ren's sleeve and Yan Ren at him, signaling him to look at Grandpa grandparents' expressions.

Grandpa Grandma Yan both looked somewhat embarrassed and helpless. Yan Ren pursed his lips, turned his head to the side, and his straight nose resembled the silhouette of a distant mountain.

Gu Yinxing smiled and smoothed things over, "Uncle Yan, Yan Ren is just joking. You've come at the right time; we were just about to make dumplings."

"Yes, you like fennel and pork dumplings too." Grandma Yan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smoothed things over, "We just finished making them, why don't you stay and have a meal?"

The Yan's Father said, "Alright, I have something to say to Yan Ren after we finish eating."

Grandma Yan's heart skipped a beat. She gave her husband a look and said to Gu Yinxing, "Yin Xing, let's go into the kitchen and make dumplings. Let them watch TV here for a while."

Gu Yinxing readily agreed and followed Grandma Yan to the kitchen.

Aunt Liu took care of the kitchen work, Grandma Yan pulled Gu Yinxing aside and whispered, "Yin Xing, Grandma has something to ask you."

"Just tell me what's wrong, don't be so polite with me." Gu Yinxing was a little worried, but she didn't show it and replied with a smile.

"Grandma knows you're a good boy. If Yan Ren's father says anything unpleasant later, don't pay any attention to him. We haven't raised this son well," Grandma Yan sighed, feeling embarrassed to talk about her family. "Just believe that we're all on your side."

Grandma Yan took a jade bracelet off her wrist and insisted on putting it on Gu Yinxing's wrist, saying, "You can only be our granddaughter-in-law. This bracelet is for you!"

Although Gu Yinxing had never studied how to appraise jade, her older brother frequently brought home nice things, so she naturally had some knowledge of jade. How could she not tell that this bracelet was an antique? "Grandma Yan, I can't accept this. You should take it back."

"Sure, just wear it. I'll get angry if you don't accept it."

Grandma Yan deliberately put on an angry look.

Seeing that Aunt Liu was looking this way, Gu Yinxing, fearing that the argument might escalate, said, "Then I'll accept it first."

She planned to secretly give it to Yan Ren as she turned to leave.