Xia Qingqing replied politely, "It's around five or six thousand... The whole courtyard is about 400 square meters. It's not far from our school, only about a ten-minute bike ride."

"Ah, five or six thousand!!!" Zhang Hongyan and the other two exclaimed in unison, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Was that courtyard made of gold? In the countryside, a courtyard costs at most a few hundred yuan to build, so it's unimaginable what a courtyard costing five or six thousand yuan would look like.

Xia Qingqing touched her nose and explained cautiously, "This price is really not expensive in Beijing. After all, the place is different. The courtyard I bought is quite big, with more than ten rooms in total."

There was a moment of silence; no one spoke as the three of them struggled to process the bombshell news Xia Qingqing had suddenly announced.

After regaining her composure, Zhang Hongyan asked Xia Qingqing some more details, such as where all the money came from, whether the house purchase procedures were completed, and whether she had been scammed.

Xia Qingqing answered honestly what she could, and gave vague answers to what she couldn't, trying to get by for the time being.

Then he started brainwashing Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping: "Mom and Dad, why don't you come to Beijing with me? I've already bought a house, so I was thinking of bringing you to Beijing so the whole family can reunite. That way, I won't have to go home only once every six months. Don't you miss me?"

"Moreover, the education in Beijing is much better than in our small county. If we let Gou Dan go to Beijing to study earlier, he can get into a better university in the future. Just like Mencius' mother moved three times to find the right environment for her son, we should create a better learning environment for Gou Dan so that he can have a bright future."

"Now that the market is gradually opening up, Mom and Dad, you're not that old. Do you really plan to stay in the countryside and farm for the rest of your lives? You can earn more by doing a small business in Beijing than by farming."

Every word resonated deeply with Zhang Hongyan, but such a significant matter couldn't be decided in a short time. She clutched her forehead, her head throbbing with worry.

"Don't say so much yet. I need to think about it carefully. I'll tell you after your dad and I have thought it through."

"Qingqing, now that you've finished eating, go back to your room and rest. Your mother and I need to talk alone," Xia Heping told his son to stay and clean up the table, then pulled his wife back to their room.

Dog Egg, who was left behind to work, didn't move but sat on the stool in a daze.

He already had a concept of money and knew what five or six thousand yuan meant.

One of the boys in their class had an aunt who married into the city and became a factory worker. The boy would boast every day about how good his aunt's family's living conditions were. His grandmother said that he would take over his aunt's job in the future, as a factory worker would earn more than thirty yuan a month, enough to buy lots of meat and candy.

Gou Dan gestured with his fingers on the table and soon calculated that a city worker would need to work for more than ten years without eating or drinking to earn five thousand yuan!

What does this mean? He's only 10 years old. Even if he started working as a laborer from birth, he wouldn't earn 5,000 yuan.

So how exactly did his sister earn so much money? Could she bring her dear younger brother along to make money too?

Dog Egg silently decided in his heart that he had to cling to his sister's coattails and make money by following her.

Back in her room, Zhang Hongyan looked somewhat bewildered, and her voice was dry and hoarse:

"Old Xia, am I really not dreaming? Our daughter bought a courtyard house in Beijing for five or six thousand yuan?"

"You heard me right, Qingqing really bought a house in Beijing," Xia Heping said, somewhat amused. He thought his wife was very calm, but it turned out she was just as shocked as he was.

Zhang Hongyan asked seriously, "Qingqing just said that the whole family should move to Beijing. What are your thoughts on that?"

It has to be said that Zhang Hongyan herself was somewhat tempted. Ever since Qingqing went to university, she had been thinking about her every day, fearing that she would be cold and hungry in Beijing, or that no one would take care of her if she got sick.

If the whole family goes to Beijing, even if they can't be of much help, they can at least cook and do laundry for Qingqing.

What's more, she's only 40 years old now, and she has several decades ahead of her. Before, she had no choice but to stay at home and farm, but since she learned to read and started reading newspapers, her horizons have broadened considerably, and she has developed a desire to go out and explore the world.

“You’re in charge of our family, and I’ll listen to you. Honey, have you decided to go to Beijing?” Xia Heping and Zhang Hongyan had been together for over twenty years, and he could see right through Zhang Hongyan’s thoughts.

If Xia Heping had to choose, he would definitely choose to stay at home and farm; he's not inherently the type to enjoy taking risks.

However, he knew he wasn't particularly smart, but he was obedient, so he listened to his mother when he was young, and after getting married he always listened to his wife, doing whatever she asked him to do.

“I do have this idea, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle anything if I go to Beijing, and that will be a burden to Qingqing.”

This is Zhang Hongyan's biggest dilemma. No matter how much she earns from farming at home, she can at least make enough to live on throughout the year. But if she goes to Beijing and can't find a job, she'll really be left with nothing.

Other families might worry about their elderly relatives, but this family has no such concerns. Zhang Hongyan has long since stopped contacting her family, and all that's needed from Grandma Xia is for her to receive money and food on time.

Xia Heping pondered for a moment and said, "We still have more than a thousand in savings. At worst, we can go to Beijing for a year or two. If we really can't stand it, we can come back and continue farming. We still have a house back home."

Zhang Hongyan felt a pang of heartache when the house was mentioned: "Why is Qingqing so unreliable? She didn't tell us about such a big thing as going to Beijing earlier. If she had told us earlier, we wouldn't have built this new house."

“Look at what you’re saying. After we go to Beijing, we won’t come back? This place will always be our roots.” Xia Heping values ​​the idea of ​​returning to one’s roots.

Even if the whole family moves to Beijing in the future, they still have to go back to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors during the Spring Festival.

His relationship with his parents was not close, but that did not affect his status as a descendant of the Xia family. When he passed away, he would be buried in this land.

Zhang Hongyan was just saying it casually. She herself had lived here for over 40 years, so how could she never come back? She was just thinking that if she didn't build a new house, she could save some money.

Xia Qingqing hadn't considered this point. She had long felt that the old house needed to be rebuilt, so when Zhang Hongyan proposed building a new house, she naturally supported it wholeheartedly.

Anyway, we'll have to come back to live here eventually, and it'll be more comfortable to live in a new house.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, Zhang Hongyan and her husband didn't sleep well that night. Lying in bed, they thought about what preparations they should make before going to Beijing and what plans they should make after arriving in Beijing.