When Jiaojiao and Tongtong heard that the courtyard house was for sale, they tugged at Jiang Ning's clothes and looked at her with longing eyes.
That's like saying, "Buy it, buy it."
Since they moved to the courtyard house, Wang Xiufen has tidied up several courtyards, planted many flowers, and added a lot of landscaping. The two children run around wildly in the courtyard after school.
For them, even a stone or a blade of grass is novel.
Mom always says that if we find a suitable courtyard house, we should buy it.
Grandpa Ji's courtyard house is next to their own, so they can go on an adventure there again, which would be double the fun.
"Uncle Ji, why did you suddenly decide to sell the house?"
Jiang Ning stepped forward to inquire.
Grandpa Ji then told her about Ji Yang's plan to send Ji Tingting abroad.
“Tingting has become wild, and Ayang is thinking of sending her abroad for a few years to see if he can change her temper. Going abroad requires a lot of money, and his savings are not enough, so I’m thinking of selling the courtyard house.”
Jiang Ning listened without saying much, thinking she would ask Ji Yang before making a move.
She led the children to school first.
In the evening, Ji Yang came over with his briefcase and asked his father, who was sitting at the door, if anyone had come to inquire about the house price.
"There was one, but as soon as he heard it cost 15,000, he shook his head and left. I guess he was just asking for fun."
Grandpa Ji's brows furrowed into a knot.
Ji Yang patted him on the shoulder and led him into the courtyard.
"It's alright, we can't rush this. After we sell the courtyard house, I'll still need to find you a place to live."
Grandpa Ji walked slowly.
"I wish I could still stay here, even if it meant paying more rent."
When Jiang Ning returned, after sending the two children home, she saw the father and son talking together and called out to Ji Yang.
"Uncle Ji, I'd like to have a talk with you."
Ji Yang came out and walked with her to a big tree on the side, his expression somewhat somber.
Jiang Ning took a bag out of her bag and handed it to him.
"Here's ten thousand yuan, take it and use it first. It would be such a waste to sell such a nice house."
Although she really wanted to buy his yard, she didn't want to take advantage of him.
Ji Yang refused, saying that the matter of sending him abroad was still in the planning stage, and that it would take time to process passports and other things, so there was no rush.
Jiang Ning then took the money back temporarily and asked him what had happened and why he had made the plan to send Ji Tingting abroad.
Ji Yang shook his head helplessly.
“Recently, I discovered that she has been smoking and drinking, and she often goes to dance halls. She’s almost turned into a hoodlum. So Liu Juan suggested sending her abroad. It’s quite popular to go abroad to get a degree these days, maybe it will help her improve.”
Jiang Ning pursed her lips and nodded: "Uncle Ji, you have taken good care of me since I returned to the capital. If you have any difficulties, please be sure to ask."
Ji Yang smiled and agreed, his heart filled with gratitude.
Unexpectedly, just as the two finished speaking and went into the courtyard separately, Sister Hong rushed over and grabbed Ji Yang:
"Don't go, there's something I need to tell you."
Upon seeing this, Ji Yang realized it wasn't Sister Hong from the Huai family, so he quickly and politely asked her what was going on.
"Your daughter's name is Ji Tingting, right? She seduced my son, taking him to dance halls and outings everywhere. Now his grades have dropped drastically. How will he get into university?"
Ji Yang felt a pang of panic, but forced himself to remain calm and said:
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit? It's normal for kids to go out and play together."
As he was speaking, a boy who was about 1.8 meters tall but had a very youthful face ran over, grabbed Sister Hong, and tried to leave.
"Mom, stop being unreasonable. I took Tingting there to play."
Sister Hong shook him off.
"What are you saying? Why are you protecting her? You're still a minor. Whatever happened, it was her who instigated it. You have to give me an explanation today, or I'm going to sue her."
Seeing that things had come to this point, Ji Yang quickly advised:
"Boss lady, don't worry, I'll definitely teach Tingting a lesson when I get back, so she'll never come looking for your son again."
When Sister Hong heard him make a promise, the anger on her face subsided considerably, and she pulled Lu Ming away.
As they were leaving, they ran into Lin Chen and his group returning.
"What's going on?" Gao Baoliang asked curiously.
Jiang Ning winked at him, and only after they entered the courtyard and closed the gate did she speak:
"Ji Yang's daughter, Ji Tingting, was playing with Sister Hong's son and even went to a dance hall. Sister Hong was very angry and told Ji Yang to keep a close eye on his daughter."
Gao Baoliang raised an eyebrow. Are kids these days really this carefree?
He had only been to a dance hall once, when Jiang Ning took him, and hadn't been since.
He always felt that the joy he got from dancing was low-class, and that it was better to go hiking.
"I saw a 'For Sale' sign on their door, honey, didn't you ask what happened?"
Lin Chen was concerned about the house.
Gao Baoliang didn't see the notice, but he listened intently.
Jiang Ning then told them about Ji Yang's plan to send Ji Tingting abroad.
Luo Guangming washed his hands with water: "That solves the problem. Ji Tingting will go abroad and won't be looking for that other person's son anymore."
Lin Chen also washed his face with a towel.
"Going abroad isn't that easy. It costs money, and I heard you need a visa. There are long queues at the embassy every day!"
The trend of going abroad began to emerge in the 1980s, with more people being sent abroad on government scholarships and even more getting married.
At that time, the annual income in Country M reached more than ten thousand US dollars, a paradise that many Chinese people yearned for.
Ji Yang can use his connections to arrange government-sponsored overseas studies for Ji Tingting, but he will have to bear the costs himself.
The whole family returned one after another, and once everyone was there, Wang Xiufen started preparing dinner.
Seeing her children come home for meals every day makes her happy to cook a whole table of dishes.
She started preparing the dough at four o'clock in the morning to make this dinner.
Sometimes the main dish is hand-pulled noodles, sometimes it's steamed buns or mantou, sometimes it's fried pancakes or rice, and we always try to make sure the dishes are different each time.
As an outsider from Hunan Province, she has put in a lot of effort to make noodles that everyone appreciates.
While the whole family was happily eating, the atmosphere at Ji Yang's house was quite somber.
After making a simple dinner, Liu Juan finally managed to get Ji Yang back. The first thing she asked was why Tingting hadn't come back yet.
"Maybe he's working overtime," Liu Juan said irritably.
Ji Yang plopped down on the sofa, his expression unfriendly.
"Do you know what Ji Tingting has been doing outside? She actually went to a dance hall with a high school student. The student's mother even went to my dad's place to talk about it."
Luckily, she didn't know about our family, otherwise we would have been utterly disgraced.
As he spoke, Liu Juan glanced absentmindedly at her watch and said:
"It's just going out together, what's the big deal? It's because you always yell at her that she's never home."
Just then, Ji Tingting, sporting a freshly permed, messy hairstyle, blew bubbles as she entered the house.
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