The next day, Zhou Hongyu took Chang Shuying to the train station. Seeing her teammates surrounding her and chatting happily, she left with peace of mind.
After dropping her child off, she rushed back to work.
During lunch, an unexpected person came to the office.
"mom?"
It was quite rare for Granny Chang to come to her workplace.
Zhou Hongyu was startled, and a sense of fear welled up inside her. She was afraid that something had happened to Meiying at school!
Granny Chang smiled slightly: "Hongyu, I happened to have some free time today, so I came to see you!"
Zhou Hongyu breathed a sigh of relief; if she could still smile, then it seemed like nothing serious had happened.
But why did my mother-in-law come?
Granny Chang took out the prepared lunch from the basket she was carrying, placed it in front of Zhou Hongyu, and thoughtfully opened the lid.
Stir-fried pork with scallions, braised tofu.
Zhou Hongyu suppressed the craving in her stomach and asked, "Mom, you came all this way just to bring me food?"
Although her mother-in-law was good, she wasn't that good. There's always a reason behind everything, and Zhou Hongyu was quite certain that her mother-in-law couldn't hide her thoughts.
Granny Chang looked at it, then put the lid back on: "Hongyu, you guessed it. I came here to talk to you about something. Let's find a place where we can talk first!"
Zhou Hongyu led the person to an office.
"Mom, go ahead and tell me!"
"Hongyu, you're lucky this time to get a house. You must get a big house so you can live comfortably. Shuying and Meiying can't be wronged. Don't worry about the money!"
Zhou Hongyu was suspicious. Her mother-in-law had been acting strangely lately. Could it be because she doted on Meiying so much that she was planning to steal the old couple's savings for their funerals to subsidize her?
She can't accept it!
Zhou Hongyu politely declined Granny Chang's offer: "Mom, you and Dad are both at the age of retirement. It would be a sin to cause you so much worry about such a large sum of money. So, don't think about it. We young people will find a way to solve it ourselves!"
Granny Chang was a little agitated: "Xingwang's salary is high, but it's been more than enough to support four children all these years. Your salary isn't even enough for yourself. Your father also said that you shouldn't ask your family for money if you can avoid it. Hongyu, Mom will help you!"
How can I help?
Zhou Hongyu felt increasingly that her mother-in-law was acting very strangely; it was as if she could give the money herself!
Zhou Hongyu couldn't help but probe, "Mom, so you're planning to contribute your secret savings?"
Granny Chang smiled broadly as she unbuttoned her clothes and took out a small bag.
Zhou Hongyu took it and placed it in her palm.
It is very lightweight.
Zhou Hongyu subconsciously guessed what was inside: "Is this gold?"
Granny Chang said proudly, "That's right!"
Zhou Hongyu was greatly surprised. After living together for decades, this was the first time she had seen her mother-in-law's true colors. The old lady, whom everyone in the neighborhood praised, had actually hidden away a stash of gold!
Where did this gold come from?
Zhou Hongyu had heard stories about the Chang family from her mother. The Chang family used to be very poor, running a small workshop to make a living, and also having to support Chang's aunt to study at a modern girls' school. They were all show and no substance, but they lived a very frugal life.
Gold is always a hard currency, so how could my mother-in-law have hidden gold? I never would have guessed!
Fearing that she wouldn't accept it, Granny Chang half-jokingly revealed, "Hongyu, this doesn't belong to the Chang family, it belongs to my family. I can give it to whomever I want. If you need it now, just take it and use it!"
Not only is the gold hers, but the Chang family's courtyard is also hers!
Those who know Granny Chang's background will sigh that she had a bad life, born a young lady but with the fate of a maid.
Granny Chang's family only had two daughters. She was the second oldest, only two years younger than her eldest sister, but their treatment at home was worlds apart.
Her parents doted on her eldest sister, hoping she would become successful. After the family's fortunes declined, she became a maid to serve the family. In order to raise money to send her eldest sister to the general's mansion for a better future, her parents sold her. Her life was very hard.
Fortunately, they met Old Man Chang, who still had some conscience, and gradually began to live a normal life in the Chang family.
The large courtyard of the Chang family was the former home of Granny Chang.
After liberation, she suddenly had an idea. She found the organization to prove her identity and tried to get the house back to improve her living conditions. At that time, her parents-in-law died in another place because they ran away to find her eloped sister. The mountain that was weighing on her head was gone. In the end, because she was an oppressed class in the old society, she negotiated for a long time and got the house back from her parents' home.
The source of the gold was also quite coincidental. One day after she moved in, she suddenly remembered the place where her parents hid money when she was a child. She tried to look for it and sure enough, she found a small piece of gold that had been overlooked.
Granny Chang kept instructing, "When the time comes, pick a good house, don't make Shuying and Meiying feel wronged!"
Zhou Hongyu held it in her hand for the time being and asked curiously, "Mother-in-law, are these things from your family?"
I knew from previous inquiries that Granny Chang's family must have been extremely poor, because Granny Chang had been a child bride sold into servitude.
Granny Chang had bad memories of her family, so she nodded haphazardly, her expression clearly indicating that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Zhou Hongyu is wealthy, and she doesn't need the savings Chang Pozi gave her for the time being, but she doesn't plan to return them.
Who knows which bastard will benefit from this secret stash of money after it's returned!
In the dream, Granny Chang passed away. When her family sorted through her belongings, they couldn't find anything she had left behind. She left the world all alone.
But clearly, Granny Chang still had this small bag of gold as her private stash.
Granny Chang finished her task for the day and went home satisfied. When she got home, Old Man Chang was just returning from fishing.
Old Man Chang noticed that she couldn't hide her joy, and he frowned. Was she possessed?
Granny Chang stopped Old Man Chang and asked about something else: "How's the four-courtyard house coming along? We should find a buyer as soon as possible and sell the house to raise money. None of the children are short of money!"
Old Man Chang was annoyed: "You make it sound so simple. We old folks can't help at all. It's all up to our third son to handle from beginning to end. He's also busy with his studies. If we can find a buyer in the next few months and sell it to make some money, that would be good enough!"
After saying that, he sighed, "If only the second son had stayed in Beijing to work back then. The second son is very good at handling this matter. The third son is just a university professor, and the eldest son is dull and only knows how to do work-related things. The second son is still the most suitable!"
Granny Chang offered her suggestion again: "How about letting Hongyu do it?"
Old Man Chang immediately rejected the idea: "Don't try to test people's hearts with money. Not everyone is like you. Xingwang's wife is already quite playful. Xingwang is away from home most of the year. If you let her know that the family can come up with so much money, do you still want your son's family?"
Grandma Chang was so frightened that she dared not speak. She didn't know whether her son's family was safe or not, and she felt sad if she didn't see her little darling Meiying for a day.
"You two can discuss it. I'm just worried because my children's families are all in need of money, and we can't delay!"
Old Chang clutched his chest in distress. Indeed, in order to sell the four-courtyard house for a good price, the old couple had even used up their savings for their coffins.
Then, Xingwang's wife's workplace allocated welfare housing, and she urgently needed money.
Old Man Chang was irritable and said, "I told you not to rush. Didn't Third Brother say that there aren't many rich people? We'll have to wait to find a suitable buyer!"
Granny Chang: "Sigh..."
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