Chapter 180 Should I change my surname?
Xia Shuangshan said, "Your mother and I are saving money. Your sister gave us a hundred dollars the other day. We will tear down the house and rebuild it in the spring of next year. We will build a brick and tile house with three proper rooms in the north and a courtyard wall! Then, when you come back to live here, you won't have to worry about having no place to live."
Lin Yuru also added: "When the new house is built, when you get married and bring her home to show me and your father, you won't have to worry about our house being shabby."
Yan Haotian couldn't help blushing, but luckily he had thick skin and it wasn't noticeable, so he just responded vaguely.
Then he took out two hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to Xia Shuangshan.
"Dad, this is the money I saved from my military allowance. It's about two hundred. You and mom can keep it and use it to build a house."
Twenty large groups were stacked together, thick.
Xia Shuangshan took one look and immediately pushed back: "How can that be possible! We have money! You take your own money!"
Lin Yuru also said quickly: "Yes, Xiaotian, your father and I have lost you and haven't compensated you yet. How can we ask for your money again! You will need a lot of money to marry a wife in the future! I'm afraid your father and I can't help either..."
Yan Haotian forcefully stuffed the money into Xia Shuangshan's hand and said, "Take it! Don't worry, I have my own money. This is specially given for the renovation of the house. There won't be so much in the future. Or, you are willing to take the money from the daughter, but not the money from the son?"
Xia Juanjuan interrupted and said with a smile: "That's because my parents worked so hard to help me take care of the children. I persuaded them and threatened them that if they didn't, I would not let my mother help take care of the children anymore. Only then did they accept it!"
Yan Haotian laughed and said, "That's the same. This is given to you in advance. Dad, Mom, if you don't accept it today, then when I get married and have children, I won't let Mom take care of our children!"
After hearing this, Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru finally put it down, and couldn't help but secretly raised their hands to wipe away their tears.
As parents, they should have protected and cared for their two children, but they did not stand up for themselves.
Now that they have finally gotten back on their feet, their children no longer need their protection, but are instead feeding them, making them feel even more guilty.
Yan Haotian continued:
"There is one more thing. It's about my last name. I know that this is something that is taken very seriously in our village. My adoptive parents passed away two years ago. Before they died, they told me that if I found my biological parents, they would let me change back to my original last name and not care about them. However, after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to keep the last name Yan for now. My adoptive parents don't have any other children, so they only raised me. If I find my biological parents, I will throw away their last names, as if they had never existed. I would feel guilty about that. This is what I think. Before I get married and have children, my last name will still be Yan. When I have a child in the future, half of the child will be surnamed Xia and the other half will be surnamed Yan. After the surname Yan continues, I will change back to Xia. I hope you, Mom and Dad, will agree to this."
Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru were very excited when they heard this, and they nodded immediately, saying, "They have raised our son so well, what else can we expect? Besides, whether your last name is Xia or Yan, you are still our son, right?"
Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru discussed Yan Haotian's name privately several times.
Country people care a lot about incense.
If their own son took someone else's surname instead of theirs, they would definitely be laughed at by others.
Although they were grateful to their adoptive parents who rescued and raised Yan Haotian, they could not get over it psychologically.
Originally, I had planned to talk to Yan Haotian about changing his surname back to Xia the next time he returned to Xia Village to trace his roots.
They didn't know what to say, so they went to discuss it with Xia Juanjuan.
Xia Juanjuan heard this and said:
"Dad, Mom, I don't agree with you about this. You want to force him to change his surname, but where do you put my brother's adoptive parents? They didn't buy my brother back, but saved him from the hands of traffickers! To put it bluntly, their kindness to my brother is no less than the kindness you, mom and dad, have shown me in giving birth to and raising him. I heard from my brother that they don't have any other children. If my brother didn't have the surname Yan, they would have been extinct.
In my opinion, my brother is still my brother no matter what his surname is, right? Besides, how did Li Cuihua and the other members of the Xia family bully you? The elders of Xia Village are from the same clan, but they didn't come out to speak for you, right? The surname is important, but it's not as important as family ties, right? Don't let this matter cause a rift with the son you finally recognized.
Besides, I think my brother must have his own considerations, so you should respect his ideas."
Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru couldn't understand it at first, but they were finally convinced.
The two finally decided not to force Yan Haotian to change his surname back!
Wasn't it because they were obsessed with not having descendants and no one to take care of them in their old age that they tolerated everything in the first half of their lives, causing their daughter to suffer so much?
Now, God has sent their son, whom they thought was dead, back to them unharmed. If they continue to be greedy and want more, God will punish them for their greed!
Therefore, Yan Haotian's decision was much better than what they had expected!
Once my son has children, he can change his surname back to theirs!
Yan Haotian was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru to agree so straightforwardly!
He had already prepared himself to argue with them and not give an inch, but in the end...none of his prepared words came into play.
"So... you agree?" Yan Haotian stared at the two of them and asked hesitantly.
Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru were also confused by the question. They looked at each other, and then Xia Shuangshan asked hesitantly, "Is it... not better to agree?"
Xia Juanjuan, who was standing by, burst out laughing.
"Dad, of course you agree! I told you my brother would definitely consider it thoroughly."
When Yan Haotian heard this, he knew that Xia Juanjuan must have persuaded Xia Shuangshan and Lin Yuru behind the scenes, and he couldn't help but look at her with gratitude.
The change of surname was settled.
After dinner, Xia Juanjuan and Lin Yuru returned to Qingshui Village. Yan Haotian and Xia Shuangshan sent them and the six children back and then returned to Xia Village.
That night, Yan Haotian really stayed there.
There was nothing much to do on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so Xia Shuangshan took Yan Haotian to visit every household in Xia Village except Xia Dazhuang and Xia Sanxi's homes, which was considered as a formal introduction to Yan Haotian.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xia Juanjuan took her children back to her parents' home again, bringing candy, pork gifts, etc., as part of the customary visit to relatives.
Yan Haotian stayed for a few days and was going back on the fifth day of the New Year. During these few days, he also learned that Xia Fangfang had replaced his sister to attend the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. He was so angry that he immediately sent a telegram to his friends in Beijing to report the situation to the school.
However, Xia Juanjuan stopped him in time and said, "I have already written a letter about this matter. There should be some news soon."