Tian Guihua was stunned by his plan. "How could you have such a thought? We have children and grandchildren, why would we want to live in his house?"

Hua Guangzong said, "Without elders to help them, I don't know if they can even manage to live a decent life."

We're not saying we'll move in permanently. We'll stay for a while, until they can live comfortably, and then we'll move back.

Tian Guihua also thought of this. Although Jiang Yi can cook and do housework, she didn't know if he would be able to take care of the child in the future.

Without any elderly relatives to help out, there will definitely be a period of the most difficult time.

From childhood to adulthood, Xiangyun rarely did housework except for studying. Suddenly, she might not be able to handle both domestic and external affairs.

Tian Guihua quickly shook her head. How did the conversation veer off to this point? Aren't we talking about Zhi'an right now?

“We’ll talk about these things later. We’ll help them out when they really need it. What do you suggest we do now? Let’s go out and hear what people outside are saying.”

Whenever Tian Guihua thought of these rumors, she wished she could drag Hua Zhian back from work and give him a good beating.

If you're just asking for lodging, why do you have to be so talkative?

Knowing full well that his family was trying to cover things up, he still went outside and made it all clear.

"What can we do? Give her more compensation and a sum of money as a dowry. With a large dowry, she can still find a suitable partner."

Tian Guihua said, "That's one way, but can you be sure the other party is sincere? What if they're after money with ill intentions? Wouldn't we be ruining Lanqiao's life?"

Having lived for decades, they had seen all sorts of people, and Tian Guihua dared not gamble on people's hearts.

They settled it with a sum of money, but Xie Lanqiao might have to pay for her entire life. The culprit behind all of this is Hua Zhian.

Hua Guangzong didn't know what was going on outside, so he wanted to go out and find out. He said he would come back later and they would discuss how to resolve the issue.

When he returned after another round, he immediately decided to let Hua Zhian and Xie Lanqiao get married.

They've lived honest and upright lives, and they don't want to ruin a perfectly good girl's life.

“If I hadn’t taken the medicine and prepared myself mentally, I would have died from anger,” Hua Guangzong said after calming down. “That kid Zhi’an caused the trouble himself, so he should take responsibility for it. Why did he have to go to the Zhuo family across the street to stay at someone else’s house?”

"They're the most talkative in their family; they'll embellish things and turn something that was originally nothing into something."

I just overheard some people outside saying that the two have already held a banquet in the countryside, and some even say that the baby has been born. This time, the mother came to find her husband first... In short, all sorts of exaggerated versions.

Overnight, the whole city knew about it. No one knew if the family hadn't slept at all, as they were spreading rumors everywhere.

Tian Guihua said, "What's the use of talking about this now? Let's figure out how to solve this."

Go to the factory now and ask Zhi'an for half a day off. This matter can't be delayed.

"By the way, where is Comrade Xie?" Hua Guangzong finally remembered the other protagonist of this incident. Logically speaking, with such a big commotion, it was impossible for him to still be in the room.

"I think you've lost your mind in anger. Lijuan, take Lanqiao to the supply and marketing cooperative and ask her older sister if there are any defective products." They've come all this way, so they should bring some things home. These things don't require coupons, so this is a rare opportunity.

"Let's talk to them properly later. If they agree, let's get married as soon as possible." Hua Guangzong no longer cared about whether it was suitable or not; he just wanted to salvage his reputation as quickly as possible.

Tian Guihua snorted, "Agreeing now is probably too late. I don't think Lan Qiao wants to stay here anymore."

Do you really think Zhi'an is some kind of hot commodity? His performance yesterday was already disheartening enough.

If this happened to me, I would have turned around and left on the spot.

It's only because the young girl was naive and easily deceived, and blinded by the allure of love, that she didn't even have to come.

The elderly couple looked at each other, realizing that Zhian really bore a great deal of responsibility in this matter.

They could have easily let this go, but he brought it up himself. Now we'll see how this ends.

Before Hua Guangzong had even left the house, Hua Zhian had already jogged back, his head covered in sweat, showing that he hadn't stopped at all on the way.

He dared not stop, as everyone along the way was an acquaintance; if he dared to stop, they would grab him and question him.

He now deeply regrets believing Zhuo Tianhe's words. He just went to the post office to question him, and Zhuo Tianhe actually told him that he hadn't told anyone else, only his mother.

This is even more outrageous than him going out to deliver the message himself. Doesn't he know the character of his family?

He was still fuming when he got home, and he was immediately subjected to a series of beatings by Tian Guihua. Before he could even wipe his sweat, he was already trying to escape Tian Guihua's sticks.

"All you do is cause trouble for the family all day long. Did you swallow the things I told you to do yesterday?"

Why don't you use your brain before doing anything? I've never seen you this stupid before. What's wrong with your brain now? Did it get filled with water?

If Hua Xiangyun were here, she would see that this is because the male lead's halo has been lost, and some hidden selfish flaws have been revealed.

"Zhuo Tianhe assured me, how was I supposed to know he would tell his mother?" Hua Zhian felt wronged; he was the biggest victim.

"So what do you suggest we do now? You came back at this time probably because you heard those rumors, right?"

"I don't know either. My director told me to come back and take care of things at home first. What should I do?" Hua Zhian looked to his parents for help, a feeling that he didn't want to get married. He felt that Xie Lanqiao shouldn't be his partner.

He really had no problem with Xie Lanqiao; he had always considered her as a potential partner back in the village.

But for some reason, his feelings for her seemed to fade after he came back. He was unwilling to settle down with her, feeling that she shouldn't be his wife.

But Xie Lanqiao is innocent, and now he doesn't know what to do, so he can only go home and ask his elders for help.

"Let's get the marriage arranged," Hua Guangzong thought to himself, having no other options. He couldn't just ruin such a fine young woman's life.

"What you said yesterday hurt Comrade Xie. Go apologize properly later, and the two of you can discuss it further. From now on, it's the two of you who will be living together, so let's start from this incident."

Hua Zhian was somewhat resistant; he didn't want to do it, always feeling that he would miss out on something.

“This time it’s not up to you,” Tian Guihua said, her hands itching again as she saw him still hesitating. “Lan Qiao might not even be interested in you. If this matter isn’t resolved, you’ll be branded as an exile.”

Since things have already escalated to this point, we have no choice but to swallow our pride and go to Jiang Yi, asking him to send you back to Kaoshantun for rural work. We can wait until everyone has forgotten about you before you return.”

This was the solution she had just come up with; she should have known better than to keep the kid around in the first place.