Chapter 202

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"It's me."

Lin Xiyu gave an embarrassed laugh: "Grandma, you're not asleep yet?"

"How did you get back so late? Did you eat?"

Grandma propped herself up on her elbow, wanting to sit up.

"I've eaten, don't get up."

Lin Xiyu hurried over and sat down by the edge of the bed.

"Wasn't it the morning flight?"

Grandma hadn't seen her; how could she fall asleep easily?

"Something held me up."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to worry her grandmother late at night, and casually made up a sentence.

"You look thinner since you came back this time."

Grandma's eyes weren't dim despite her age; she saw something was wrong at a glance: "Your complexion doesn't look good either. Are you sick?"

"No."

Lin Xiyu felt a bit guilty and averted her gaze.

"You children, out there making your way in the world, only report good news, never bad."

Grandma knew exactly what was going on in her heart: "Even if you were sick, you'd tough it out yourself and not tell the family..."

"Grandma, I really am fine."

Lin Xiyu made up her mind not to tell her family about the miscarriage, for fear that if they learned the truth they would resent Guben.

"You won't tell Grandma the truth?"

Grandma smiled and scolded: "You're the one Grandma raised from childhood; how could Grandma not understand you? I can see your little thoughts at a glance."

"Grandma, it's too late today; you go to sleep first."

Lin Xiyu feigned tiredness and yawned: "We can talk about anything tomorrow."

"If you don't say, Grandma won't sleep soundly."

How could Grandma be so easily fooled by her?

"Then I'll lie down and tell you..."

Lin Xiyu acted coy and cute, lying down beside Grandma and pulling a quilt over herself.

Grandma found it amusing; just as she wanted to ask a few more questions, she saw her quickly close her eyes.

Taking a plane early in the morning, then tiring herself out at the hospital for most of the day, she was truly exhausted; her head touched the pillow, and she fell asleep in no time.

Grandma smiled helplessly, tucked the quilt in for her again, then turned off the light and lay down to rest in peace.

——

Older people wake up early; Grandma went to sleep at 11 p. m. and woke up at 5 a. m. the next morning.

Lin Xiyu heard the noise and opened her eyes, climbing out of bed.

"Why are you up? Don't you want to sleep more?"

Grandma paused in the motion of getting dressed and looked at her with some surprise.

"I'll make you breakfast..."

Lin Xiyu had something on her mind, and her gaze was a bit unfocused.

"Xiyu..."

Grandma asked uneasily: "You look like you're not in good spirits since you came back this time. Did something happen?"

"No..."

Lin Xiyu subconsciously wanted to deny it, but Grandma's words cut her off.

"No? Can you even put your clothes on backwards?"

"Ah?!"

Lin Xiyu looked down and indeed found that she had put her sweater on backwards.

"Uh."

That was a bit embarrassing.

Her ears turned red; she quickly took it off, turned it around, and put it on properly again.

"Don't rush to cook first; Grandma isn't hungry."

The more Grandma looked at her, the more she felt she was hiding something: "The morning air is good; you go with Grandma for a walk around the Moat first..."

"Alright."

Lin Xiyu also wanted to find a suitable time to tell Grandma about Guben, and Grandma's words were exactly what she wanted.

"Let's go."

Grandma saw that she agreed readily, smiled knowingly, and put on her outer garment.

——

Jinan's winter was especially cold in the early morning.

Lin Xiyu was wrapped up tightly, wearing a hat and scarf, and went out with Grandma.

"Jing Daniang, you're out early today?"

"Is this your granddaughter?"

"Back from Shanghai?"

"This girl is handsome, getting prettier and prettier."

"Shanghai is different, people from big cities are so fashionable......"

There were many people exercising by the Moat in the morning; along the way, familiar neighbors often greeted Grandma, and Grandma warmly responded to them. Having a thoughtful and filial junior accompanying her made her look much more spirited.

"Has your granddaughter found a partner yet?"

"Still alone?"

"You're not young anymore, it's time to find one."

A big forest has all kinds of birds, and there are always some people who don't know their place, rushing to make themselves disliked.

Grandma stopped smiling, glanced away with dislike, and didn't want to deal with them.

"I have a partner."

Lin Xiyu didn't want Grandma to be put in a difficult position, so she said it herself.

"What did you say? You have a partner?"

Now, not only the gossipy old women, but even Grandma was surprised.

"I've had one for a long time."

Lin Xiyu pretended to be joking as she stated a shocking fact: "Guben just went abroad, we haven't broken up, we've been dating all along."

"Xiao Bin?!"

Grandma staggered and almost fell.

"Grandma, be careful."

Lin Xiyu was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and hurried to support her.

"Xiyu......"

The look in Grandma's eyes as she looked at her was somewhat hard to put into words.

"Guben is back from the United States......"

Lin Xiyu no longer hid anything, and told her everything that happened before New Year in detail.

"Sigh."

Grandma's gaze was complex: "Grandma knew that these years you've been dragging your feet, refusing to marry, just for him. That pomegranate tree in our courtyard really has become a tree of longing."

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red.

Since Guben left, she often stared blankly at the pomegranate tree, never expecting Grandma to have noticed.

"Grandma is old and can't worry about so much anymore."

Grandma saw through her thoughts and sighed dimly: "This matter, telling Grandma is useless; you have to ask if your mother agrees."

—

"I don't agree!"

That morning, Chen Xiulan heard the news and rushed back from school in a hurry, scolding her as soon as she entered the door.

"Even if you don't agree, it's useless; we've already gotten our certificate."

Lin Xiyu felt more and more stifled as she listened, and also harbored a resentment in her heart.

"You unfilial daughter, do you want to anger me to death?"

The mother and daughter argued more and more heatedly; Chen Xiulan trembled all over with anger and raised her arm to hit her.

"Speak nicely, why are you hitting the child?"

Grandma panicked in her heart, waved her hand to block the person, and almost fell herself.

"How am I unfilial?"

Lin Xiyu felt wronged in her heart, arguing with red eyes: "Just because I didn't go along with your wishes and go on blind dates with those people you found, I've become an unfilial daughter? Do you know how those people look at me? Do you know how harshly they speak? If it weren't for Wang Fan standing up for me, I would have been drowned by their spit long ago."

"Guben's mother is a bribery criminal; this has long spread throughout the Old City District......"

Chen Xiulan refused to let up: "Go ask around yourself; among the neighbors left and right, who doesn't know this? The partners Mom found for you, even if their conditions are a bit poor and their family background is clean, that they're willing to go on blind dates with you is already like burning high incense, and you're still picky?"

"What's wrong with people saying a few words? Just endure it and it'll pass. That Wang Fan flirts around everywhere and has a bad reputation himself; you're mixed up with him, what good can you get out of it?"

—

"I can't endure it!"

Lin Xiyu felt sour and miserable in her heart, and said in a fit of pique: "If you don't agree, forget it; anyway, I didn't expect you to agree. Marriage is my own business; I'll marry whoever I want. If you think it's ugly for your reputation, then I just won't come back in the future, so as not to make you lose face."

Chen Xiulan spoke without choosing her words: "You not coming back is just right; it saves me from being angry."

"Fine, I'm leaving now......"

Lin Xiyu flicked her hand and really ran out of the house.

"Hey hey, Xiyu, it's cold outside, put on more clothes......"

Grandma was anxious to the extreme, chasing out to the yard, but could no longer see her granddaughter's figure.

—

No. 1 Courtyard, Xi Gengdao Street.

"I've already prepared myself mentally; this hurdle with my mom won't be easy to get over......"

Lin Xiyu choked up and complained: "I still didn't expect her to be so unreasonable, opposing it as soon as she came, not even giving me a chance to explain."

"So you've only just realized your mom is that kind of person?"

Wu Meng handed her a cup of hot water to warm her hands: "I guessed it long ago; just from her arranging blind dates for you nonstop these years, you can tell she doesn't want you to have any involvement with Guben from the bottom of her heart."

"His mother took bribes, but he did nothing wrong."

Lin Xiyu spoke up for her beloved: "Because of this, he has already suffered so much. Why do those people still refuse to let it go?"

"Sigh."

Wu Meng sighed helplessly: "Try to look on the bright side. Reality is just this cruel. Otherwise, so many people who went abroad wouldn't be unwilling to come back. To be honest, it's really hard to get by domestically. If anyone can make it here, who would want to leave their hometown and go to the United States to be a second-class citizen?"

"If she doesn't accept Guben, I'm not going back."

Lin Xiyu pouted in anger: "I don't want Guben to see her cold face anyway. His grandfather passed away, and he was already in a bad mood..."

"Ah, his grandfather passed away? So soon?"

Wu Meng was shocked: "When did this happen? He was still fine when he came back yesterday. How could he just pass away like that?"

"It was yesterday afternoon..."

Lin Xiyu's eyes dimmed: "Guben and I went to the hospital to see him. When we left the ward, he was still conscious, and he was gone in less than an hour."

"That really fulfilled what Fu Nainai said."

Wu Meng sighed wistfully: "The old man was just waiting for Guben. Once he saw him, he had no more regrets, and his breath just left him."

"I should have been at the mourning hall keeping him company..."

Lin Xiyu thought of her mother's attitude and felt angry again: "Guben said I should go home first to see my relatives, so Grandma wouldn't worry."

"I was wondering how you could bear to leave him at a time like this and come back alone. Turns out he told you to come back."

Wu Meng suddenly understood: "Guben is more thoughtful. It's right that you told your family in advance. If you had gone without saying anything, given your mother's attitude, she might have kicked you out to your face."

"What right does she have?"

Lin Xiyu was unhappy: "That house was bought with the betrothal money Guben gave. If she won't let me marry him, the betrothal money should be returned."

"You hit the nail on the head."

Wu Meng snapped her fingers, energized: "The house was bought with betrothal money. Your mother disagrees, so let her return the money. How can someone live in the house and not recognize the son-in-law?"

"Mengmeng, what are you talking about?"

She was too emotional, her voice a bit loud. Wu's mother heard it, put down her work, lifted the curtain, and walked in from the outer room.

"Uh."

Wu Meng was embarrassed and sheepishly closed her mouth.

"We were talking about your family's house."

Lin Xiyu didn't want family matters to spread, forced herself to calm down, and changed the subject herself: "I was asking Mengmeng how you did it? How did you make those people change their minds, stop renting your house, and turn it into a restaurant?"

"We don't have that much ability."

Wu's mother looked at her daughter with a half-smile: "The subdistrict office consulted the higher-ups' Leader. To protect Guan Spring from pollution, they don't allow restaurants to open."

"I knew it..."

Lin Xiyu smiled and agreed: "To protect the spring, they don't even let people swim anymore. Why would they still allow restaurants?"

"That was my idea."

Wu Meng boasted: "Do you remember five years ago when we went to the Hui Minority Residential Area to eat mutton skewers? That was when I was chewing mutton skewers, suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if I had opened the heavenly aperture, and came up with such a good idea..."

"What direct connection does eating mutton skewers have with protecting the spring?"

Wu's mother laughed and teased her: "If you're going to make something up, at least make it believable. You could at least say it came from drinking mineral water?"

"Hehe."

Wu Meng chuckled, touched her nose, and looked stupidly happy.

"Speaking of this, it's quite a close call..."

Wu's mother saw that the two had started, so she went along with their train of thought: "At first, many people couldn't resist the temptation and rented out their houses. A courtyard on Wangfu Pool West Street was turned into a restaurant..."

"To attract people, they put tables outside the courtyard, right next to the railing. As soon as dinnertime came, leftover beer bottles were thrown everywhere, and the ground was full of oil stains and vegetable soup. The environment was dirty and messy, simply indescribable..."

"The subdistrict office received many complaints from residents, so they stepped in and banned restaurants in that place. Our courtyard also benefited. In the name of protecting the spring, we drove those people away."

"That really was a blessing..."

Lin Xiyu smiled and agreed: "You took the right step this time and saved this old house after so many years."

"It almost wasn't saved."

Wu Meng's face fell, and she continued: "Before you came, my mother was still telling me that after the housing reform, many people went to the Housing Bureau to ask if those of us living in public housing could pay to buy our houses. The Housing Bureau said no. Public housing in old courtyards in the tourist area cannot be bought, unless it was previously private property and has a property certificate..."

"If they won't sell, just buy somewhere else."

Lin Xiyu's mind stirred, and she tentatively advised: "After the housing reform, it hasn't been long, but Shanghai's house prices have already started to rise. It's almost a different price every day. There are even House Flipping Groups now. Maybe this trend will continue to Jinan. While house prices are low now, buy quickly. If you wait until prices rise, it'll be too late."

"That's what I told my mother too..."

Wu Meng nodded repeatedly: "I've seen House Flipping Groups with my own eyes. That scene was like snatching money when buying houses. Prices were raised by thousands or tens of thousands. A little scare, and the house would fall into someone else's hands."

"It really is like snatching money."

Lin Xiyu understood: "After buying a house, flipping it makes money. In their eyes, a house is a commodity, used for resale to make a profit, just like buying and selling vegetables."

Wu's mother sighed: "Houses worth tens of thousands of yuan have become cheap cabbage in their eyes?"

"In Shanghai, a house costs more than just tens of thousands of yuan..."

Wu Meng educated her mother: "There are hundreds of thousands, even millions. Despite that, those people still snatched them up. They are all from the same village, joining forces to flip houses. Wherever they go, they drive up house prices. Wherever House Flipping Groups have been, house prices will definitely rise."