Grandpa Xiao had heard these words countless times recently, but they still filled him with immense pride.

"An'an, are you free this afternoon? My best friend is making steamed buns at home this afternoon, let's go eat together."

As soon as Grandma Xiao got home, she extended an invitation to Gu An'an, and Gu An'an couldn't bear to refuse her expectant look.

Before he could even speak, Old Master Xiao interrupted with dissatisfaction, "I'm taking An'an to play chess this afternoon."

"Why play chess? An'an doesn't like playing chess."

Grandma Xiao directly refuted her husband's suggestion.

How do you know An'an doesn't like playing chess?

Grandpa Xiao was still afraid of his wife, so he sounded a little less confident when he said that.

"I knew it. Xiaoyu, An'an, and the child came with me this afternoon."

After scolding her husband, Old Mrs. Xiao turned to look at Gu An'an and the others with a completely different look, full of tenderness. "Children, do you want to come? There will be steamed buns and pastries. There are also older brothers and sisters at Grandma's house. You can play together too."

Da Bao and Er Bao were quite interested, only glancing at Gu An An.

Faced with the faces of the old man and the two children, Gu An'an had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, go play for a while, but you have to behave."

"An'an, are you going? Just for a little while, and you can come back if you don't like it."

Gu An'an understood the old lady's thoughts. In fact, she was no different from Grandpa Xiao; she was just an old child at heart.

She didn't refuse even for such a small thing; after all, the old lady had said that if she didn't like it, she could come back.

Grandma Xiao was satisfied. As she led the children out, she gave the old man a smug look, as if to say, "Hey! Old Deng! You lost."

The afternoon trip was quite enjoyable; the host prepared a lot of food, and the two little ones ate to their hearts' content.

Gu An'an was surrounded by a group of elderly women. They asked her all sorts of questions, but everyone was kind and made her feel comfortable.

"An'an, I heard from your grandma that you're going to buy a house? Have you found one you like?"

Gu An'an shook her head, "We want to buy a house close to here, a detached house with a courtyard, since we have two children, but it's not easy to find this kind of house."

There were big houses she wanted, but most of them were either owned by the original owners who didn't want to sell, or they had been distributed to many families over the years. It was really hard to find one that suited her taste.

“I have a friend who owns an apartment on the next street, close to both his home and your school. However, it was occupied before and the apartment is a bit messy. I don’t know if you would like it.”

Upon hearing this, Gu An'an's eyes lit up instantly. "Grandma Liu, can you tell me about that house?"

The story is actually very simple and tragic. It's about a person who was forced to leave home for many years and no longer wants to face the past. He wants to sell his property and find another place to retire.

"Grandma Liu, when can we go and take a look?"

The old lady smiled and nodded, "You can go see it now. He left the key with me. Take a look first, and we can talk about other things if you like it."

The houses are indeed very close, it only took a little over two minutes to walk there, and it's probably only five minutes to the old house, so it's very convenient to move around.

“The houses were divided among seven or eight families before, and none of them took good care of them. There were nails all over the walls, and the houses were ruined.”

The signs of damage were quite obvious, and there were many stains in the kitchen area, making it look dirty.

The house has a very good layout, and now that all the residents have moved out, it is indeed the best choice for Gu An'an at present, although it may cost more to renovate.

"This house has only one advantage: there have been no disputes with either the previous residents or the landlord himself, so you can live here with peace of mind after buying it."

"She used to grow flowers in the front yard, and there's also this fish pond. With a little renovation, you can raise fish there. There's also a plot of land in the back yard where you can grow some vegetables if you're interested."

The longer Gu An'an looked at the house, the more she felt about it, and she began to plan the renovation in her mind.

Since she was interested, Gu An'an didn't hesitate any longer. "Grandma Liu, is the homeowner in Beijing? Could we talk to him?"

"Okay, are you free tomorrow? My friend is also in a hurry to get out, so it would be best if we could get it done tomorrow."

"OK."

As soon as she got home, Xiao's mother knocked on Gu An'an's door with a bankbook in hand.

“An’an, you need money to buy a house here. This is a small token of our appreciation from your father and me.”

"No need, Mom, we've already saved enough money to buy a house."

Xiao's mother smiled and said, "I know that, but this is what your father and I mean. Please accept it. We haven't been able to help much over the years, so why can't we lend a hand in such an important matter?"

Seeing the other party's unyielding expression, Gu An'an had no choice but to accept it. After opening and reading it, she wanted to push the passbook back.

"Eight thousand yuan! Mom, did you give us all your money? We can't accept so much."

"Why can't we take it? We definitely have more on us. You can't take money with you when you die, so who else would we give it to if not you! Take it now! Otherwise, I'll get angry."

After Aunt Xiao left, Grandma Xiao came in again.

"An'an, this is a small token of our appreciation from Grandpa and Grandma. Please take it."

Grandma Xiao took the cash directly, which looked to be about two thousand yuan.

"Grandma, no need. We have more than enough money to buy a house. You and Grandpa can keep this money for yourselves. Eat and drink as you please, and take good care of your health so you can stay with us longer."

Grandma Xiao was delighted by her sweet talk and was even more determined to give her the money.

"We two old folks have money. Besides, if we didn't have money, would you and Ah Heng abandon us?"

"That's definitely not possible!"

Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, and Gu An'an really likes the current atmosphere.

"Then take it, otherwise I'll be unhappy."

When Xiao Yuheng came in after taking a shower, he saw his wife grinning foolishly at the bankbook and cash.

"You're so happy about buying a house?"

"Yes, my grandparents and parents gave us 10,000 yuan, and even though I said we had the money, we didn't refuse it."

Xiao Yuheng raised an eyebrow. "They didn't even give me the money. It seems quite obvious who's the head of our family."

"Of course."

“We’ll keep the money for Grandpa and Grandma for now, and later we’ll find something nice they like to do. As for Mom and Dad, I want to use the money to buy them a house.”

Eight thousand might seem insignificant in later generations, but in modern times it could buy an apartment in Beijing, though perhaps not even enough to buy one in the surrounding area.

"Buy a house? Didn't you say the house we're buying tomorrow is very big? Or do you not want to live with Mom and Dad?"

Gu An'an slapped Xiao Yuheng's arm, "What nonsense are you talking about!"