Chapter 973

Looking at Wu Lan, who was about to argue further, Seventh Cousin-Grandpa shook his head: "You all shouldn't say this yet; I probably really can't count on this son of mine. He already agreed to the house matter back then."

"But isn't he coming back..."

It was agreed back then that Song Tan would provide for his old age, which is why the house was given.

Nowadays, Seventh Cousin-Grandpa is a super important figure in their family, and it hasn't even reached the stage of providing for his old age yet; why can't this house matter be dropped?

Wu Lan couldn't understand.

When they were poor at the beginning, who wouldn't covet a big house given for free? It had to be worth at least a million or so.

But now, selling this and that, and with things constantly in short supply at 20 per jin, a million in turnover really doesn't count for much to Wu Lan.

Since they aren't short of money, she naturally doesn't view these worldly possessions as heavily as before.

And what she is saying now is also a fact—

They haven't even started providing for his old age, so how can they talk about the ownership of the house!

Seventh Cousin-Grandpa, however, shook his head.

"This son of mine hasn't been close to me since he was a child, and now it seems there really is a lack of fate between us."

He originally thought that him not coming back was because the frontier was vast, and traveling back and forth by car for several days was truly troublesome; since he was dragging his family along over there, he might as well not come back.

"But he called two days ago, asking about the children's schooling here..."

Once he said this, Old Mrs. Tang understood.

"He wants the children to study here and return to their hometown for the college entrance exam, right?"

Seventh Cousin-Grandpa nodded: "Yes, that's exactly what he meant. He said that in recent years, people in areas where exams are difficult have been finding ways to move their household registrations there."

But even if people move their household registrations, their learning ability and the education they receive are still in the famous high-competition regions.

By comparison, their local children are actually worse off, and when it comes to the college entrance exam, they might not necessarily have a chance.

So, he's preparing to bring the children back to study!

Old Mrs. Tang, however, frowned: "Then why go back to Yuncheng? Although education in a small city like Yuncheng is better than where they are, it can't compare to a provincial capital, right?"

Seventh Cousin-Grandpa let out a "humph."

"Well, that's because I'm incompetent and don't have a house in the provincial capital."

Once this was said, everyone fell silent.

It wasn't because of the house, but because of this sparse father-son affection. When people get old, if their children don't think of them, how heartbreaking it is to think about.

Seventh Cousin-Grandpa, on the contrary, was carefree.

He suffered a lot when he was young, caught up in a time of material scarcity, his child going away and not returning, and encountering an ungrateful apprentice... Now, instead, his heart is clear and his eyes are bright.

"As parents, worrying about the children is natural; he is my own son, so I can't drive him away."

"They have also saved some money over the years, so they won't be entirely counting on me when they come back. I'm just telling you all so that you won't be too surprised if he comes back one day."

Song Sancheng thought for a moment, then suddenly became happy again: "Surprised by what? Seventh Cousin-Grandpa, if you didn't tell us in advance, who would recognize what he looks like?"

That is indeed true.

However, Seventh Cousin-Grandpa mentioning this tonight also had another intention:

"But I don't want to give that house to Tan Tan in the future."

Everyone looked over curiously—he had just said he wanted to give it to them, so why is he contradicting himself now?

They saw Seventh Cousin-Grandpa sigh: "Tan Tan is capable and can earn money herself, so she won't be lacking this house in the future. But if she starts a family in the future and you all are old, what will happen to Qiaoqiao?"

In the quiet room, there was only the sound of slight burning from the stove, and Seventh Cousin-Grandpa said in a low voice: "I'm thinking, why don't I take Qiaoqiao to transfer the house title in these two days."

He spoke earnestly:

"To tell you the truth, my son is coming over with his wife and children, and I can't possibly make them rent a house outside. But I'm not happy about just letting them have this house like that."

"So I'm thinking, let's transfer it to Qiaoqiao first."

"When the children are in school, let his family live there first. When Tan Tan gets married, it won't be convenient for Qiaoqiao to follow her every day, so we'll sell that house and use the money to build another one here."

Seventh Cousin-Grandpa planned thoroughly: "My old house will have to be torn down sooner or later, so I'll just apply for another homestead for him."

Oh my! The Song family absolutely cannot agree to this.

Not to mention anything else, is their family lacking the money to buy a house for Qiaoqiao? It was agreed not to take it; neither the older sister nor the younger brother wants it.

Wu Lan even said directly: "I have money saved for both of them."

Besides, Seventh Cousin-Grandpa feels that it might be inconvenient for Tan Tan to take care of Qiaoqiao after she gets married, but just looking at how she calls Qiaoqiao and bosses him around, one knows that the things Seventh Cousin-Grandpa is worrying about are absolutely impossible!

Having said that, the reason he agreed in the first place was because he saw that Tan Tan kept her word and trusted her. Now, for Qiaoqiao, a half-way apprentice, he's dragging things out and pulling in so much...

And so, Seventh Cousin-Grandpa fussed for a long time, but not a single person relented.

But Seventh Cousin-Grandpa is truly unwilling to leave the house to his son.

He has money saved, and that money will definitely belong to his child after he passes away; after all, he is his own flesh and blood, and he can't bring himself to turn a blind eye.

But the child has been unfilial for so many years, so how could he not have resentment in his heart? Therefore, while he is alive, he doesn't want to give him the house no matter what.

But now that the Song family refuses to take it, he...

Just as he was struggling, he suddenly heard Zhang Yanping ask cautiously:

"Um... Aunt, do you really not want that house?"

Wu Lan was stunned: "You..."

She saw Zhang Yanping lean over: "Aunt, I don't want to take advantage of your family; I just want to take this opportunity to ask if it's feasible—Seventh Cousin-Grandpa, if you sold your house to me..."

"I'm not selling!" Seventh Cousin-Grandpa was annoyed.

Zhang Yanping waved his hand: "No, no, let me finish."

He looked at everyone, his expression extremely sincere:

"I really don't want to go back to the city anymore. I'm especially happy living here, and I want to keep doing this in the future. But just as Seventh Cousin-Grandpa said, Tan Tan will start a family sooner or later, and as a cousin, I can't just freeload here forever, and I don't want to stay in the dormitory forever either."

"Then... Seventh Cousin-Grandpa, let's write an agreement; I'll buy your house for a lower price, for example, if it's valued at 1 million, I'll pay 200,000—don't think it's too little, and I won't transfer the title."

He emphasized: "You use your name to help me apply for a homestead in the village... is that okay?"

Whether this agreement violates regulations is another matter, but Zhang Yanping only dared to say this to Seventh Cousin-Grandpa. If it were someone else, he wouldn't have dared to say it even if it killed him. Because as long as the other party goes back on their word, he would lose both money and property at the very least...

But now that he said this, even Xin Jun became excited: "Can I join in?!"

The restrictions on homestead applications in poor mountain villages like Yunqiao Village are not great, and everyone has a large share.

And Zhang Yanping alone wouldn't build a big villa, so if he contributes money together later and lets Seventh Cousin-Grandpa apply for more, and they each take half, that should be okay, right?