Chapter 193: I Told You So, She's Just Pretending

The eldest branch was quiet now, but the elderly couple of the Liu family living in the main house wore faces full of worry.

There was no other reason: when the family divided its property earlier, the house they lived in was assigned to the eldest branch, so naturally they were to live there until they passed away.

But who could have imagined that not long after, the eldest branch had also divided its property, and under the pressure of the Qu family, the eldest son had taken charge and assigned a main room to his eldest grandson.

Originally this would have meant nothing, but now that they were still alive, what if the daughter-in-law of the grandson returned and insisted on living in the main room? What then? Were they to be forced to live in the east wing?

If the eldest and the third had not divided their property, they could have lived in the central hall, but after the two brothers split, the central hall belonged to the third branch. If they had occupied that room from the start, it would have been one thing, but now wanting to move in, they feared it would spark another quarrel.

Old Liu now truly regretted it to the point of turning his intestines green; after scheming all his life, he ended up with no place to call his own, truly pitiful.

Old Lady Liu had naturally overheard the conversation next door: "Old man, how about after the second son moves, we move into their room?"

Old Liu glanced sideways at his old wife: "Do you think the second son is still the same second son? Even if the second son agrees, do you think that dead girl Chuxue would agree?"

And the person they were talking about was being blocked by several educated youths: "Comrade Chuxue, I am the newly arrived educated youth Ding Surong."

Chuxue sized up this female protagonist from the book from head to toe; the tragic fate of the second branch's family was partly due to this heroine, and as someone occupying the original owner's body, she naturally would not let her off, speaking lightly: "What do you want?"

Ding Surong coughed lightly: "It's like this, I just came to the countryside and am a bit unaccustomed to country life, especially sleeping in a large communal bed. I heard your new house will be finished soon, so I wanted to ask if, once your old house is empty, I could borrow it to live in."

Hearing her say 'borrow', Chuxue's expression grew even colder: "Sorry, I never thought of lending it out; I plan to sell it."

Originally she had thought the third branch would definitely buy it, but seeing Ding Surong, she changed her mind.

Now that Liu Jiandong had lost his job, would Ding Surong still take a fancy to him?

Hearing that Chuxue wanted to sell the house, Ding Surong was somewhat reluctant; after all, her parents had said that going to the countryside was only forced by the situation and they would find a way to get her back to the city soon.

If she bought a house, wouldn't that mean spending unnecessary money?

She had heard from other educated youths in the village that if one built or bought a house, unless someone took it over before leaving, it would be confiscated by the state.

For a moment she was unsure what to do: "Then I'll think about it some more. Sorry to disturb you."

Zhang Yijia, standing not far away, heard their conversation, pouted, and said: "See, I told you so, she's just putting on an act."

Seeing Ding Surong and the others approach, Shu Yulan, also an educated youth, said somewhat displeased: "Whether they move or not has little to do with us; say less."

Zhang Yijia spoke loudly enough that Ding Surong naturally heard it, but she pretended not to hear and walked straight past the group: Zhang Yijia, just you wait.

But after walking a few steps, she stopped.

Chu Mingrui, following close behind her, almost bumped into her: "Why did you stop?"

Thinking she would have to live with those troublemakers, Ding Surong felt annoyed: "I'm going to settle on the house."

Chu Mingrui, who had arrived in the same batch as her, somewhat disagreed: "I asked around before; although that house belongs to the second branch of the Liu family, they still live in the same courtyard. If you really buy that house, it will be like living in the same courtyard with them. You're a girl; it's not safe."

(End of this chapter)