"Mom, you're being too formal. We're family, why are you talking about owing each other anything?" Ye Weiwei closed the box. "Keep these for yourself. Huo Xiao and I don't need them."

Liu Guilan quickly waved her hand: "I'm already so old, what would I need these for? You should put them away quickly, we still have three young children to raise."

Ye Weiwei's attitude was firm: "Huo Xiao and I are still young, and we both have jobs and income, so supporting a family is not a problem at all."

Huo Xiao also said, "Weiwei is right, you should keep these."

Liu Guilan still refused: "This was left for you by the young lady..."

Huo Xiao interrupted her, "Since they were left for us, then these are ours now. Consider them a gift from us to you."

Liu Guilan: "I'm so old, what am I going to do with all this... I..."

Ye Weiwei took Liu Guilan's arm and said, "Mom, let me tell you, these things are very useful. Look at all the little ones in the family, they're all almost of school age. Whoever does well in school and is successful, you, as their grandma, will support their education. When they grow up and become successful, you, as their grandma, will be proud of them, right? Won't they be even more filial to you, their grandma? And to put it bluntly, if something happens that requires money, these things will give you confidence. What's that saying again? 'With money in hand, one has peace of mind.'"

Liu Guilan's expression softened.

Putting everything else aside, all her grandchildren are her precious treasures. As their grandmother, she hopes and dreams more than anyone else that her children will be successful.

Especially the children Xiaoshan and Xiaochuan have learned a lot of cultural knowledge from Weiwei during this period. Even the youngest Xiaoqiu can recite "uh uh uh" and "bent neck towards the sky". Not to mention Xiaochun, whom Weiwei has always praised.

Then there are the three youngest in the family. With parents like Huo Xiao and Weiwei, they're bound to be successful, and there will be plenty of expenses in the future.

As long as these children are willing to improve themselves, she will do anything to support their education, even if it means selling everything she owns.

A person still needs to be literate and have some knowledge; otherwise, they won't feel insecure when they go out into the world.

Just look at the third son and the eldest and second sons and you'll know.

The third brother is now appreciated even by high-ranking leaders in the military. He speaks and acts with great confidence. As for the eldest and second brothers, they don't even dare to raise their voices when they go to the state-run restaurant in town to buy steamed buns!

Although she was not as knowledgeable as her mistress, she always kept in mind what her mistress had told her: reading makes one understand principles, and one should read more books. The more one knows, the more tactful one will be in speaking and acting, and the more confident one will be.

Huo Xiao didn't give Liu Guilan another chance to refuse, and directly shoved the box into her arms, saying, "Take it back."

Liu Guilan hesitated for a moment but still accepted it. "Then I'll keep it for now. If you need anything, be sure to tell me. I'll use this money on these children, but I can't take credit for it. I'll tell them it was sponsored by you two."

Ye Weiwei was helpless; her mother-in-law was just too reasonable.

Huo Xiao said, "I've already told you, you can do whatever you want with it."

He used to think his mother was being open-minded, but now he felt like he was being treated differently.

Why should we be so calculating with him?

Seeing that Huo Xiao was unhappy, Liu Guilan stopped talking.

Every country has its laws, and every family has its rules. When it comes to money, it's best to make things clear to avoid future conflicts and family unrest.

She has always done this for many years, so her children have always lived in harmony, without the petty scheming and messy affairs that other families have.

"There's one more thing." Huo Xiao frowned at Liu Guilan. "Stop calling her 'Miss' all the time. Since you're telling everyone she's my aunt, she's your sister from now on."

Liu Guilan objected: "How can this be! A young lady is a young lady! She was forced into this situation back then... Now that everything has been explained, we can't break the rules."

In her eyes, the young lady was someone she should be loyal to and respect for her entire life.

Seeing that Huo Xiao's face was a little dark, Ye Weiwei smiled and said, "Mom, you can't do this. Putting aside the fact that your way of addressing him will cause trouble if outsiders hear it, the fact that Huo Xiao's biological mother entrusted him to you on her deathbed is enough to show that in her heart, you are a family member she can trust and rely on. She doesn't treat you like a servant. Think about it carefully, isn't that right?"

Liu Guilan nodded with a hint of nostalgia on her face, "Miss was indeed very good to me, unlike the other servants in the house."

Ye Weiwei clapped her hands: "Isn't that right? If you keep calling her 'Miss,' isn't that just making things awkward between you? I think she would be upset if she knew you were doing that."

Liu Guilan was completely led by Ye Weiwei's train of thought, and murmured, "Then I won't say anything more, I won't say anything more."

When Ye Weiwei saw Liu Guilan agree, she and Huo Xiao exchanged a glance, both of them smiling.

Since that day, the house has returned to its usual state.

Huo Hai and Huo Jiang at the old house don't know about this yet. Liu Guilan only told Old Man Huo about it. The old couple are both tight-lipped, and things at home are still the same as before.

As for Old Master Huo, after experiencing a storm, it took him a long time to calm down.

When he and Grandpa Du visited the child again, his attitude seemed no different from before. However, he became somewhat cautious when he saw Huo Xiao. Ye Weiwei saw that he tried to talk to Huo Xiao several times, but was forced back by Huo Xiao's cold face, so she had no choice but to shut her mouth.

Grandpa Qin did send out distress signals to Ye Weiwei, but Ye Weiwei deliberately pretended not to see them.

She wouldn't meddle in the affairs between the father and son; after all, they were both adults and knew how to handle things.

Moreover, Old Master Qin hasn't explained what exactly happened back then; he still owes Huo Xiao and Liu Qingxue an explanation.

Old Master Qin knew all this, and besides sighing, he did nothing else.

However, in recent days, some villagers have discovered will-o'-the-wisps in the cemetery at night, some who walk at night have heard ghostly cries, and others have said they saw ghostly shadows floating around in the middle of the night. The news has spread throughout the village, scaring people so much that they dare not go near that area.

Aunt Zhou and Zhao Yue'e both mentioned this matter when they came to visit. Ye Weiwei and Liu Guilan knew what it was about as soon as they heard it, but they tacitly kept quiet and just listened to it as gossip.

These past few days, Ye Weiwei had been counting down the days until her parents and her three older brothers could return to Beijing, but instead of receiving any news from them, she was greeted by an uninvited guest.