Chapter 950: Grandfather Made a Concession

But he didn't think that much; whatever the reason, as long as it can help Zhou Tong, that's fine.

He went outside, called Zhou Tong in, and whispered to him: "Later, be more resolute, declare that you will not marry anyone but Song Linlin, and then my elder uncle and I will speak properly to Grandfather on your behalf. If it fails this time, I'll be powerless to help, but I think the problem shouldn't be big."

But Zhou Tong had previously been thoroughly dealt with by Grandfather, and now he still can't let it go. He said, "Is that okay? If Grandfather gets angry again, I'll truly have no hope afterward."

Su Yang said, "Look at your meager ambition. If he gets angry again, then just as you said, turn around and go back to the troops, never return. If he can't see you, his precious great‑grandson, he'll surely regret it."

That also served to ease Zhou Tong's tension a bit. A moment later, the three of them entered Grandfather's room. Grandfather had been in an especially good mood these past two days; he was perusing internal reports and, upon seeing the Zhou Family's future hope entering, he immediately smiled and said, "Why are you all here today? Do you have some good news to tell me?"

Su Yang said, "Zhou Weiguo, you need to make proper deployment arrangements. Some matters are easier for you to accomplish from your current position than for me, and if I intervene it would upset the balance and give some old players something to complain about. Moreover, it must be done unobtrusively, so no one thinks we are acting deliberately."

Zhou Weiguo replied, "I've already made the relevant arrangements, and I was just about to discuss this with you."

Grandfather glanced at Zhou Tong and asked, "What, do you intend to have Zhou Tong transfer to a civilian post and then follow Su Yang all the way?"

Zhou Weiguo said, "Zhou Tong will continue to develop within the troops; the original plan remains unchanged, and we can't disappoint what was promised to the second elder and the others."

"You have spent your whole life in the troops; we still need to keep someone there, at least so you can constantly feel the troops' ongoing digital transformation."

"The main purpose of this visit is Zhou Tong's marriage. As we previously thought, it should be an alliance marriage like other families, whose fundamental aim is to consolidate the family's interests and ensure its lasting prosperity."

"But in recent years I've increasingly felt that sacrificing the younger generation's happiness to preserve the family's development is truly unnecessary."

"Even if we truly marry into another family, it merely sustains a temporary false prosperity; real development still depends on us."

"If none of the younger generation can step forward, then no matter how well we maintain things, it's useless; the third generation will inevitably reveal its true nature."

"Therefore, regarding Zhou Tong's personal situation, we should handle it according to his wishes. We cannot pin our hopes for the family on an alliance marriage, nor sacrifice their own happiness."

"You say that eventually making them live a gloomy life isn't what you, old man, would want to see. And regarding Su Yang, indeed someone needs to support him all the way; I have already arranged a person, namely Sun Chengjun, who came this time to attend Su Yang's wedding and served as best man."

"That comrade is excellent, with solid basic qualities and, crucially, genuine loyalty and righteousness; he could sacrifice his life for Su Yang, braving fire and water. But a single person like that is far insufficient; more arrangements are needed."

He stopped there. Grandfather, hearing this, clearly seemed surprised; it truly exceeded his expectations. He looked at Zhou Weiguo, then at Zhou Tong, and asked, "What do you mean? If you're not letting Zhou Tong transfer to a civilian post, how do you plan to arrange it?"

At that moment Su Yang said, "Grandfather, my matters are minor; I don't believe that under the bright sky those people would act without limits against me."

"Don't they fear Party discipline and state law? So you don't need to worry about my affairs; the main issue is Zhou Tong's, and I also think he should be allowed to love freely."

"Let him marry whomever he likes, if the other party consents, even if they're children of ordinary common people. Moreover, aren't the top leaders now hoping that great families like ours forge ties with the grassroots? That also gives ordinary grassroots some upward opportunities."

"Otherwise, in a few years or a decade, many industries will become monopolized. Then many people won't even be able to keep their jobs, and the path of taking civil service exams will be blocked by those in power; ordinary people's opportunities will keep dwindling."

"It would even deepen internal conflicts among the people; precisely, this is the conflict between the common folk at the bottom and our leadership tier. So I think the great families of Jingcheng should discard these bad habits, connect and interact more with the grassroots, so that everyone can see hope."

Grandfather, after hearing this, fell into thought, offering no comment and not rejecting Su Yang's view.

Su Yang then looked at Zhou Tong, who immediately understood, and said, "Grandfather, as I said before, I don't want to marry into another family; such politically driven marriages are fundamentally unhappy."

"The older generation, or my parents' generation, due to information blockage and limited exposure, naturally accepted it. But in our generation, look at how far technology and information have developed; this feudal mindset is completely unacceptable."

At this point, feeling perhaps he'd gone too far, he quickly retracted, "What I mean is I hope for a bit of room to act on my own. When I was in the troops, my old squad leader once shielded a bullet for me; he's essentially my lifesaver. Without him, you wouldn't have seen me two years ago."

"He was severely injured at the time, so his sister came to the troops to visit him, and that's when I took a liking to her. Back then they didn't know my identity, so we've been in contact over the past few years."

"It's you who keep objecting, so I could only keep this matter to myself. Of course, I think my brother‑in‑law's words are especially reasonable. Song Linlin may be an ordinary girl, but her brother is my old squad leader, now serving as Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau in Lieshan Xian."

"He may lack political acumen and be somewhat blunt, but in terms of professional military quality he's one of the best I've seen in the troops."

"You also said that my brother‑in‑law may face greater risks and challenges in the future, and some people might even poison him. One Sun Chengjun alone isn't enough; we can't move him wherever my brother‑in‑law goes, and other families wouldn't allow that. The organization also forbids it."

"But if Song Linlin and I can be together, we'd at least share some familial ties."

"When necessary, my old squad leader can be transferred to my brother‑in‑law's side; with his individual combat ability that's no problem at all, so I ask Grandfather to grant me this opportunity."