Chapter 432

Wanqing was highly regarded by the elders, and Zhou Nan wanted her to stay a few more days, but she politely declined.

Zhou Nan wanted to persuade her, but An JingZhi spoke up, "Wanqing has just returned. You should let her spend some time with her mother and daughter. What's the rush?"

Zhou Nan glanced at Zhi Xia and quickly said to Wanqing, "I didn't consider it thoroughly. You should stay at home and accompany your mother for a few days. Grandma will make delicious food for you when you come to her place later."

Wanqing nodded and said, "Okay, as long as Grandma doesn't find me annoying by then."

Everyone started discussing other topics, diverting the conversation from this one.

Su Ying thought for a moment and said, "Grandma, Dad, Mom, since everyone is here today, I want to discuss something with you."

"Go ahead." Seeing her serious expression, An JingZhi knew it must be something important.

"Well, the Hulan Yayuan residential area on Central Street has been completed. I've bought a house there, and we're currently arranging for renovations. We should be able to move in shortly after the Chinese New Year. The house we're currently living in belongs to Grandma, and I thought it would be best to inform you in advance."

It wouldn't look good if we only told them after the renovations were done and we were ready to move.

"Aren't you living there just fine? And it's close to Zhi Xia, so you have someone to look after you. Why suddenly buy a house and plan to move?" Zhou Nan wasn't quite supportive. Although he knew Su Ying owned several properties herself, a married daughter should live with her in-laws; otherwise, it would seem like her son-in-law was marrying into their family.

"I also want to move. Hulan Yayuan is owned by Sheng An Group. Our family has too many children now, and they've all grown up. It's too crowded to live in the old house. The children don't even have their own rooms. Moving there will provide more space, and Si-Sao heard that I wanted to move, so she also considered it. It just so happens that we'll be neighbors when we move there. Plus, the community is well-managed, with security guards ensuring safety." Zhi Xia explained.

Su Ying thought that living in her own house would give her more legitimacy, so she wouldn't have to feel like she was taking advantage of Grandma every time she came here.

In fact, she had never really considered Grandma's house as her own. If she really wanted to claim that house as her own, she wouldn't have chosen to move. After all, with her and the children living there, no one could kick her out.

"So both of you want to move. That's fine too. I'm not against you moving. As long as the living environment is safe, I don't mind." Zhou Nan said.

"Hulan Yayuan..." An ZhiXian pondered, "Is that the upscale residential area you mentioned before?"

"Yes, that's the one." Because she had previously discussed the plan to move the hospital from Ping'an Road to Central Street with An ZhiXian, with her providing the funds for the house and the hospital only needing to relocate, she said, "Third Brother, when the hospital moves, you'll be working on Central Street. Shouldn't you consider buying a place there too? It will be convenient for you to come home."

Although Zhi Xia seemed to be joking, she was actually sincerely advising him.

At this moment, making a purchase would definitely be a profitable move. She was confident that in just two or three years, the housing prices here would double. Her initial investment of 500,000 yuan would turn into 1 million yuan. Considering his current salary of only two to three hundred yuan per month, even if his salary gradually increased in the future, it would still take him several decades to accumulate that amount without any expenses.

Zhi Xia wasn't worried about him not being able to afford the money. Although she hadn't participated in the division of the family assets, judging from the value of the things left to her by her grandmother, her brothers wouldn't have received a small portion of the inheritance.

And even if it wasn't enough, considering their close sibling relationship, she could consider letting him owe her for now.

Currently, I don't know about abroad, but in China, there is no concept of a mortgage, so the sales of commercial housing are difficult because wealthy people are still a minority.

However, in the past two years, the number of people who can afford to buy a house has clearly increased.

Lake Blue Elegant Garden is a place that only wealthy people can afford, and it's where she wants to live, so she specifically planned this area. "You're quite shrewd with your ideas. You've taken over your third brother's business," the old lady joked with a trembling voice. "But our family doesn't lack places to live. Your sister-in-law is moving out again. Third son, you should also consider your lifelong matters. When you get married, if you want to move out, you can move out. We won't bother you at home."

Hearing the old lady's intentions, An ZhiXian immediately refused, "No, Grandma, please don't worry about my matters. I'm busy all day long, and I don't even have time to come home and have a meal. If I bring a wife back, won't it make me uncomfortable?"

"As soon as I mention it, this is how you react. You should go out and take a look. Besides those poor and unattractive men who can't find a wife, which man doesn't get married and start a family? It's disgraceful!" The old lady had no other worries now, only this grandson who refused to get married, which made her really worried. She couldn't even rest in peace and couldn't close her eyes.

An ZhiXian didn't dare to argue with the old lady, after all, she was the matriarch of their family. But if he went along with it, he was certain that as soon as he loosened his stance today, he would be bombarded with a bunch of blind dates tomorrow.

He could only shift his gaze to Zhi Xia and discuss the matter of the house with her again. They made a decision at the dining table and booked another unit for himself at the same price as Su Ying's.

Seeing him like this, the old lady sighed in distress.

After finishing the meal, Zhi Xia helped the old lady back to her room and playfully asked, "Grandma, Third Brother wants to buy a house. You seem so worried. Are you afraid that I'll make more money than him?"

"You mischievous child, you're talking nonsense again. I don't interfere in the matters between you siblings. As long as he is willing, he can spend all his money on you. I don't mind. I'm just worried about his marriage. I don't know if I'll be able to see him get married before I close my eyes." The shops under An ZhiXian's name were always used by Zhi Xia, and she didn't know whether the rent was being paid or not. She never inquired about it.

Similarly, the shop under the name of the eldest son, Zhi Qing, had always been run by the daughter-in-law of the Liu family's youngest son. Although she knew about it, she never asked about it.

Anyway, since the things have been divided among them, how they use them is their own business. Even if someone else takes them in the end, or if they squander them all, they can only blame themselves for not being capable enough, not others.

As elders, they can only do so much.

Zhi Xia comforted the old lady for a few more words, and seeing that it was getting late, Su Ying called her from outside, so she went out.

An JingZhi, out of habit, lay on the bed reading a book. Zhou Nan snatched the book from him and complained, "All you do is read. Haven't you noticed that something is not right in our family atmosphere?"

"Children grow up and form their own families, just like trees branching out. The atmosphere is not right because you've been meddling too much. If you really want peace, then stop interfering in anything. We two can live separately with Mom, and I guarantee there won't be any conflicts." An JingZhi had already mentioned this issue before. It was Zhou Nan's constant worrying and fussing over everything that created the current situation.

The human heart is an abyss, and when it encounters someone who is never satisfied, no matter how much you try to fill it, it will never be enough.

An JingZhi was quite open-minded about this.

He couldn't persuade Zhou Nan, so he simply turned a blind eye. She was a person who exhausted herself with worries, so what could he say?

In fact, he himself was someone who longed for freedom and felt restless amidst this tangle of contradictions.

In this regard, An ZhiXian was very much like him.

The difference was that An JingZhi was pressured into marriage by the old patriarch. After marriage, Zhou Nan was relatively easy to get along with, so they managed to live together for most of their lives.

An ZhiXian, on the other hand, witnessed the conflicts between brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, as well as the discrepancy between parents' words and intentions. That's why he was particularly firm in matters of marriage. No matter what anyone said, it wouldn't work.

He believed that being alone was more freeing, without having to bear any responsibilities. Even if he ended up old and lonely, at least he had been free and unburdened in his youth, and he wouldn't think about being old.

Moreover, he had a bunch of nephews and nieces, and Zhi Xia alone had given birth to six children. Although they weren't his own, they were still close relatives by blood. It wouldn't come to the point where there would be no one to take care of his funeral, right?

"As soon as I mention it, you just go on like this, splitting up the family..."

Originally, they were reluctant to live separately because they were worried about Liu Ling raising the child alone, and also because the third son hadn't gotten married yet. They couldn't just kick him out and leave the house empty, or he wouldn't even have a warm meal to come back to.

But now, Wen Qing, the eldest, was already eighteen or nineteen years old and had grown into a young man. Moreover, he hadn't gone away like Chen Ye, so safety wasn't much of a concern anymore.

As for the third son, judging by his tone today, he had directly made arrangements with Zhi Xia to rent a house for 500,000 yuan, without even blinking. I guess once the renovation is done, he won't come back to live.

This kid had always been cold-hearted, and no one could control him after the second son left. If you said too much to him, he would get annoyed and simply wouldn't come home. It could drive a person crazy.

"Lao San rarely comes home, and Lao Er and his wife haven't returned in two years. The only ones living with us now are Liu Ling and her brother Wen Qing. How can we divide this family? Liu Ling has never had the thought of moving out. As long as we live together, we can't just ignore them, right?" Therefore, as long as we still eat together and such, it is destined that we cannot separate. An JingZhi saw that Liu Ling truly had the intention of splitting the family this time, so he seized the opportunity and said, "Let's divide these two houses. You and I will move with Mom to the other side. The layouts of both houses are similar. This house will belong to Lao Da and Lao Er. Whoever is willing to take it can compensate the other based on the market price. If neither of them wants it, we can sell the house and divide the money among them. As for their future residence, they can arrange it themselves. The house on the other side will belong to Lao San and Lao Si. Lao San doesn't have a wife, so he can manage it himself, and Lao Si's wife is not someone who fusses about trivial matters. They won't have any objections to us living there."

In reality, the houses here can't compare to the newly constructed buildings over at Zhi Xia's place. They aren't worth much, just around six or seven thousand yuan. After all, they are old houses, and the annual maintenance alone requires a lot of effort.

When dividing the family property for their sons, no one knows how much money An JingZhi has better than him. There is no shortage of gold alone, not to mention the antique jade and other things.

Lao San could easily come up with 500,000 yuan without even blinking. The other three sons also have sufficient money. An JingZhi estimated that Lao Da hadn't told Liu Ling the specific amount, otherwise, she wouldn't be so concerned about a small sum.

Lao Da is similar in this aspect. Zhou Nan only discovered after the liberalization that their family had quite a bit of property. Before that, he only thought their situation was slightly better than others.

But Zhou Nan and Liu Ling are different; at least they can distinguish who is closer.

In her whole life, she has always been devoted to her son and has helped the Zhou family, but within his tolerance. And every time, she would seek his opinion. He isn't so stingy about small amounts of money, like three or five yuan.

Liu Ling trusts the Liu family more than the An family, which is something that An JingZhi is somewhat dissatisfied with.

The Liu family is a good family and they treat Liu Ling, their married daughter, with care. But they still have two sons in their family, and the hairpins worn by Liu Ling's two sisters-in-law are their own things, and An JingZhi knows them.

Although the things are given to their sons, how they handle it is their own business, but no one likes to overly subsidize their daughter-in-law's family.

Moreover, the things that were preserved during the chaotic times, even if they are just some accessories from a daughter's family, each one is a valuable item.

Gold in chaotic times, antiques in prosperous times.

The current value of these things is not to be mentioned for now, but they have great collection value, which will only increase over time.

Fortunately, Lao Da still has some foresight, and most of the things are still stored in the cellar of the old house over there. There aren't many things given to Liu Ling in total, so An JingZhi doesn't mind.

Zhou Nan pondered for a while, still worried. "So, how do we broach this matter with Liu Ling?"

Despite having served her for so many years, it's possible that even a single word could be misunderstood, jeopardizing all the credit earned over the years and inviting resentment instead.

Zhou Nan was inherently weak-willed, always inclined to endure whatever came his way. This tendency to internalize his struggles often backfired, allowing others to take advantage of him.

"Tell the patriarch that each family should handle their own affairs. After supporting them for all these years, it's unreasonable for them to still make mistakes." In comparison, An JingZhi was someone who stuck to his decisions. He wouldn't meddle in his son's approach to resolving the situation.

Thankfully, the patriarch was seldom home. It wouldn't be appropriate to say anything once he assumed the role of the family's elder.

Otherwise, someone like Liu Ling would have been driven away long ago.

Reflecting on the past, Liu Ling would never have dared to cause so much trouble. It was all because she had been indulged in recent years.

Taking advantage of her child growing up, she became increasingly audacious.

The scene earlier today left An JingZhi feeling uneasy. While he and Zhou Nan were present, his daughter-in-law had the audacity to show a cold face to her sister-in-law. When his fourth son's wife arrived, she barely uttered a word. Who gave her such audacity?

Even if Zhi Xia had grown close to his fourth son's wife, it was entirely their own choice, indicating that she was a good person.

She, on the other hand, walked around with a sour face all day. Did she expect everyone to fawn over her?

That would only happen in her dreams.

"Well then, you go and talk to her. I'm done with this matter. I've served others just like serving an old mother for all these years. I've had enough of it. I hope for nothing more than to live my own life, just like anyone else."

That's why you shouldn't push people too far. No one is foolish; just because they don't speak up doesn't mean they can't see. When emotional bonds are consumed to a certain extent, there won't be any left.