Several seconds later, he reached out and patted Xu Yan's head, saying, "You!"

“As I said before, our situation isn’t really suitable for having children right now,” Xu Yan said, leaning against Chen Lihua and feeling her touch. “We’ll consider it again once things have settled down.”

"You don't want it, and Xie Zhuo doesn't want it either?" Chen Lihua asked.

After asking the question, before Xu Yan could answer, he added, "He's almost thirty by now."

Xu Yan paused, "Even in the countryside, people don't calculate age by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. According to his birth date, he's only twenty-six years old this year."

“That’s not young anymore,” Chen Lihua said. “Your brother and sister-in-law had their child late, and their daughter is already four years old. Other families with many children have children who are six or seven years old.”

“Besides,” Chen Lihua lowered her voice a little, “once you go to school, there will be tons of female students. If something happens, with your careless attitude, you’ll have nowhere to cry.”

"Of course, I'm not doubting Xie Zhuo's character. He really is a good young man, impeccable in every way. The more like that he is, the more girls like him."

"You should pay more attention to this as well."

Xu Yan thought that if he really fell for another woman, it would be better if they didn't have children, otherwise the children would suffer.

Besides, a relationship that relies on children to maintain itself is better off without.

But she couldn't say that, or her own mother would nag her for another half hour.

After giving perfunctory "uh-huh" responses for most of the day, Xu Yan and Chen Lihua finally ended the topic, but then the conversation turned to Da Bao and his kids.

Chen Lihua also wanted to persuade her to let them take care of the child, saying that this would make things easier for Xu Yan and Xie Zhuo.

“Then you and Dad will have to work hard,” Xu Yan said, holding Chen Lihua’s arm and looking at her with her big, bright eyes. “Why should we hand over the work that Xie Zhuo and I took on ourselves to you and Dad?”

“You silly child,” Chen Lihua patted her hand, “no matter how tired we are, we’ve raised you and your brother. Besides, we haven’t been as busy as before these past few years.”

“That’s even worse,” Xu Yan said seriously. “You and Dad have worked hard your whole lives, and you finally get to rest. If you still have to help us take care of the children, the uncles and aunts in the compound will scold me for being inconsiderate.”

Chen Lihua was stunned by what she said.

After a while, he reached out and pinched her cheek, saying, "You're getting better and better at talking."

Xu Yan chuckled as she pinched him. "Besides, none of the three children feel secure. What will they do if we abandon them again? They won't be able to fully trust any adults anymore."

Hearing her say that, Chen Lihua also felt some sympathy for the three children's experience.

Finally, this was shown when Xu Yan and the others moved to the courtyard house, she prepared a bunch of snacks for the children.

Xu Cangsong originally planned to let Xu Yan and the others stay at his house for a few days before moving, but since they had many children and there was only one empty room in the house, it was impossible for them all to live there. So he decided to move over before dark that day.

Fortunately, they didn't bring much, and the room had been cleaned early on, so there was no problem moving in.

Chen Lihua's aunt was an elderly woman in her seventies. Although she was old and her hair was completely white, she was very healthy. She was happy to see Xu Yan and the others and showed them their rooms and such.

This courtyard house is quite large, housing three families, one of whom occupies one side of the house.

My great-aunt's family has always lived directly opposite the main gate, facing south. There are four rooms in total. My great-aunt lives alone in the leftmost room, the room next to it is for the three children, the room next to that is for Xu Yan and Xie Zhuo, and the last room is a bathroom.

“This was modified by your great-uncle when I was young,” my great-aunt said. “He was a particular man and didn’t like going to public bathhouses. If you want to use it, you can fix it up when you have time.”

Xie Zhuo nodded quickly, "Grandma, I'll pack it tomorrow morning."

The old lady thought there was no need to rush, as the weather wasn't hot yet and she didn't need to bathe so often.

But when he glanced at his beautiful and eye-catching niece and nephew next to him, he didn't say what he was about to say.

never mind.

Young people, do whatever you want.

She has no say in it, nor does she want to.

The reason they were allowed to stay here was partly because Chen Lihua had asked, and partly because she was getting old and had been lonely for half her life; in her final years, she wanted to have a more lively life.

When she heard that they were bringing three children, she agreed almost without hesitation.

Chen Lihua offered her money, but she replied, "What would I need so much money for, an old woman who might be buried any day now?"

The stoves in this courtyard house are all located in the courtyard.

About two or three steps away from my house, there was a board that had been installed over the roof, covered with a layer of waterproof tarpaulin. The space wasn't big, but it could hold everything I needed.

The group explored the house inside and out, greeted the two families living in the same courtyard, and then saw Chen Lihua and the others off before washing up and getting ready for bed.

Xu Yan and Xie Zhuo were worried that the three kids would not be able to adapt to the new environment and would have trouble sleeping, but to their surprise, they fell asleep within minutes of lying in bed.

"I'm tired," Xu Yan tucked the blanket around Lin Dong. "You've been up all day."

"Hmm," Xie Zhu checked to make sure the window was closed properly.

By the time the two of them got back to their room and lay down on the bed, it was almost ten o'clock. Xie Zhuo then pulled Xu Yan into his arms, hugged her, and kissed her on the corner of her lips. "I'm tired too."

Xu Yan brushed a stray hair from his forehead and looked at him, saying, "You get tired too? When you went to serve the dishes today, I thought you weren't tired."

Xie Zhuo hugged her even tighter, burying his head in her neck, his warm, moist breath gently brushing against her skin. "It was my first time visiting your home, I was so nervous, I was afraid I would do something wrong and be disliked by your parents, brother and sister-in-law."

To be honest, Xu Yan didn't notice Xie Zhuo's nervousness at all; she just felt that he was smiling more than usual today.

I have this urge to grin at the corner of the living room table.

I didn't expect him to be nervous.

“Not only do I not dislike it, I love it to death,” Xu Yan said, ruffling Xie Zhuo’s stiff, prickly hair. “My mom dislikes me, though.”

"What do you dislike about me?" Xie Zhuo's voice was close to his skin, and it sounded a little muffled.

"You complain that I'm lazy, that I'm not as good at handling things as you," Xu Yan said, "but I'm afraid that one day you'll fall for someone better than me..."

Xu Yan was interrupted by Xie Zhuo's sudden kiss before she could finish speaking.

He kissed her forcefully, and when Xu Yan felt some pain, he seemed to sense her emotions and slowly licked her with his warm, wet tongue to soothe her.

"You're so wonderful, how could I bear to look away from someone else..."