He quickly found an excuse for himself by reasoning—yes, won have always been in the kitchen, and with his mother-in-law and Niu Hong nowhere to be found, it was only Old Man Niu left, who obviously wouldn’t cook.
With that, he cald down.
Seeing Wen Juan still looking miserable, he couldn’t help but nudge the tip of her shoe with his foot.
And he gave her a comforting look:
"Go ahead and eat, your sister-in-law’s family is having such a hard ti, we can’t afford to waste food."
Old Man Niu noticed this, and his eyebrows furrowed.
Seeing Wen Juan reluctantly holding a bowl and starting to pick up so pickled vegetables, Chen Jian Country then asked:
"By the way, where are my mom and Da Hong? I haven’t seen them for so long?"
He glanced at his watch; it was already past 3 PM.
Old Man Niu still wore the sa indifferent expression, like a silent old father-in-law:
"They went to Da Hong’s grandmother’s place for a visit and should be back by evening."
Da Hong’s grandmother’s place?
Chen Jian Country vaguely rembered Niu Hong ntioning that her grandmother was kind to her... but couldn’t recall the details.
So he pretended to be very understanding, nodding repeatedly, and exchanged a glance with Wen Juan.
They hadn’t finished discussing things earlier, but they couldn’t stand the hunger.
Since the mother and daughter wouldn’t be back until evening, they needed to figure out the remaining matters.
After eating, Old Man Niu didn’t clean up the tableware, and neither of them took the initiative to help.
Chen Jian Country did stand up and pretended to pick up an empty bowl, but Old Man Niu quickly said:
"It’s okay, just leave it there."
"It’s okay, Dad, let help you with sothing," Chen Jian Country said with a grin.
But although he said this, he placed the items back down and awkwardly added, "But Dad, I’m not familiar with this place..."
anwhile, Wen Juan sat stably in her seat, not moving an inch.
Seeing this situation, Old Man Niu felt even more annoyed.
But he had to ask his wife and Da Hong’s opinions, so he could only hold back and casually told Chen Jian Country to leave the tableware.
...
With no family mbers around and Old Man Niu busy outside, Chen Jian Country soon pulled Wen Juan into the room.
They had been busy with the college entrance exam before, and hadn’t been affectionate for a long ti. Now, even if they didn’t do anything, they could at least chat intimately, right?
What’s more...
Inside the room, Wen Juan asked:
"Brother Jian Country, I don’t want to live like this... why are we still drinking porridge?"
Chen Jian Country imdiately comforted her: "It’s okay, there’s no food because no one cooked. The als will definitely be better in the evening."
Wen Juan’s eyes shifted: "Brother Jian Country, living here long-term isn’t suitable, and it’s even inconvenient to eat well. How much money does Niu Hong actually have? Why don’t we buy a house ourselves!"
Take the money, let Niu Hong do the house chores, and preferably she would go house hunting with Chen Jian Country, then the house would be in their nas.
If possible, it would be even better to have it solely in her own na!
Wen Juan rembered the current housing prices weren’t much; buying even a shabby place would an endless wealth in the future, wouldn’t it? No need to worry then.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have much money.
Chen Jian Country really didn’t know—
He didn’t bring money ho and knew he hadn’t contributed much to his family, usually appearing indifferent about money. Anyway, even if soone loses, Niu Hong wouldn’t let him lose out.
Besides, they only went over the finances when they got married, but Niu Hong never ntioned having the money Aunt Niu got from selling her job.
Over the years of marriage, he had saved so private funds, and Niu Hong kept that money distinct.
But Chen Jian Country recalled the family assets they calculated when marrying, and estimating the household expenses now, he could only dryly say:
"Still around a hundred or two hundred..."
What?
Wen Juan’s eyes widened!
You’re a grown man, marrying such a capable woman, and you’ve only saved a hundred or two hundred bucks over the years?!
You can’t even be a good sugar baby, so pathetic!
Even if money was worth more back then, you couldn’t buy a house in Beijing with just a hundred or two hundred, could you?
Didn’t people say even village houses cost a thousand bucks?
Wen Juan was practically furious.
At that mont, she couldn’t help but regret—why hadn’t she been more discerning to consider other options back then?
But actually, being able to find Chen Jian Country was probably the best option available at the ti.
The issue of status lood overhead, potentially subject to review at any mont, requiring labor wherever she went... whereas with Chen Jian Country, her status issues gradually resolved without working, having soone serve her...
Wen Juan was dissatisfied now, simply because she felt these two had no future.
"Brother Jian Country, with just this little money, how do we buy a house and move out?"
Chen Jian Country’s eyes bulged.
"Are you stupid?"
Why move out?
"Niu Hong’s brother and sister live in the company-assigned family housing, so doesn’t that leave just the two old folks in this old house?"
"I’m bringing Niu Hong and two daughters, and you are living here; after 10 or 8 years of wearing them down, if I don’t move, would her brother and sister really kick us out?"
In essence, he wanted to get a house for free.
Niu Hong kept saying males and females were equal at ho, not agreeing with his desire for a son.
Since males and females are equal, the family job went to the eldest, the family housing to the eldest, then the old house and savings could go to their daughter... makes sense, right?
As the son-in-law, he naturally was considered part of the family.
Wen Juan: ...
She didn’t find this thought malicious, rather it seed quite natural. Just, living here for another 10 or 8 years, with the country’s reforms, she’d be over 30; was she really going to stay and rely on others’ houses?
Besides, she had long been fed up sneaking around with Chen Jian Country. Failing to break away sooner, how could she pursue her own bright future?
But with no news from universities, she could only stiffen her face a bit and squeeze out a vague smile:
"Oh."
Chen Jian Country didn’t notice her perfunctory response at all, instead looking around the small room—this house was worth a thousand or so, with a big yard. When graduating and assigned a job, if money was tight, he could still make it work...
Regardless, dreams were beautiful.
In his mind, this house was already his.
Outside in the yard, Old Man Niu was tending to his garden by the wall, when he saw Da Dan waving at him from a distance:
"Uncle, co over for a bit."
Entering, he saw Aunt Niu and Niu Hong pushing the car with their foreheads sweating. Seeing him, they were quite happy:
"Just in ti, old man, let tell you, I went shopping with Da Hong today and bought two sets of..."
Before finishing, Old Man Niu’s expression turned grim:
"Wife, you take Da Hong ho for a look; why do I feel our son-in-law and his sister aren’t just ordinary?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Niu’s face imdiately dropped.
Even Da Dan was speechless—wow, that’s a lot to process!
Only Niu Hong glanced around and finally laughed it off as if reconciling the situation: "Right, they grew up together, very close, hahaha..."
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