Chapter 77, Chapter 77 Family
Chen Yao'an thought about it carefully and had an answer in her heart, but she hesitated. After all, her thoughts were all driven by selfish motives, and he was not her first priority.
Seeing that she remained silent, Xu Jialan urged her, "Have you thought it through?"
"You really want to hear my true thoughts? Don't get angry when I tell you."
"I promise I won't be angry." Xu Jialan believed he knew her well enough that he could roughly guess what she was thinking.
"Actually, I still want to live here, so it will be easier to take care of my grandma and my mom..."
After Chen Yaoan finished speaking, she looked at him, wanting to see his reaction.
Xu Jialan had already anticipated her answer, so she simply nodded.
Chen Yao'an didn't expect him to be so calm. "Don't you have any thoughts?"
"I don't have any particular thoughts." He put his arm around her waist. "I'll do whatever you say."
Chen Yao'an, however, did not think so. He must have his own thoughts, but he was just considering her family situation and did not want to say them.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, you must have your own thoughts. Tell me."
Xu Jialan thought for a moment before saying, "I don't have any other requests. I just hope that we can have our own private space."
When he looked at her, his gaze was so clingy and insipid that Chen Yao'an immediately misunderstood and couldn't help but punch him. "Can't you be serious for once?"
He clutched his chest and chuckled, "How am I being indecent? This isn't a normal need between husband and wife."
He spoke as if it were perfectly natural.
Chen Yao'an felt that what he said made sense, but the problem was how to balance the two of their ideas, since her grandmother and mother both liked living here.
“How about this,” Xu Jialan said, “we’ll buy this house I’m living in, and after we get married we’ll live here. It’s just a wall away, and then all the problems will be solved.”
"Hmm... that's a pretty good idea, but the Zheng family might not sell this house."
"Why?"
“You don’t understand what our old house means to people like us. Uncle Zheng and the others have lived here for most of their lives.”
Xu Jialan genuinely didn't understand. "What does it mean?"
Chen Yaoan thought for a moment, "It's probably because of the roots, the place you can't sever ties with for a lifetime, like your hometown, so it's not that easy."
After hearing her description, Xu Jialan understood somewhat, "That is indeed not easy."
But he will try his best to achieve it.
"If we buy this courtyard, how would you like to decorate it?"
"But buying it isn't that easy."
"Just imagine, what if we were to actually be able to buy it?"
Chen Yao'an then began to think seriously, and after a long while, she said, "If we live here in the future, I hope we can plant a lot of flowers in the yard, and I also want to build a gazebo in the yard, so that in the summer we can drink tea and enjoy the flowers in the yard. What do you think?"
Xu Jialan nodded, "I think it's great, but I also want to dig a fish pond in the yard so we can raise fish in it."
"OK."
The dream was wonderful, but it was not so easy to realize. Xu Jialan was rejected the first time she tried to contact Uncle Zheng's family.
However, he didn't mention this to Chen Yao'an.
A few days later, Xu Jialan said he was going on a business trip. Chen Yaoan didn't think much of it and just assumed he was going to work.
Unexpectedly, the day he returned from his business trip gave her a huge surprise.
Chen Yao'an didn't go to pick him up, and he didn't ask her to come either. He just told her to wait for him at his house, saying he had something to tell her.
In the evening, Xu Jialan entered the house carrying her luggage. Chen Yaoan greeted her. She missed him a little after not seeing him for a few days and gave him a big hug.
Xu Jialan couldn't wait to say, "I have something to show you."
She let go of him. "What?"
He took a contract out of his bag and held it up in front of her. Before she could even read the words on the paper, he said impatiently, "I'm buying this house. Here's the contract."
Chen Yao'an's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?"
Xu Jialan was equally pleased, "Of course it's true."
Chen Yaoan took the contract from his hand, flipped it open, and glanced at it. Xu Jialan's name was clearly signed on it.
"Once the transfer of ownership is completed, this courtyard will completely belong to us."
Chen Yao'an belatedly realized something, "So, you didn't go on a business trip this time, you went to see Uncle Zheng and his family?"
"Um."
Chen Yaoan tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek.
Just as she was about to pull away, Xu Jialan wrapped her arms around her waist and said, "Now that the new house is ready, can we start planning our wedding?"
Chen Yaoan blinked. "We have a house now, but didn't you say you wanted to renovate it?"
"Don't forget what your husband does. This house may be a bit old, but the main structure is still in good condition. It doesn't need major renovations; a little repair will suffice. What do you think?"
Chen Yao'an genuinely didn't know anything about this, saying, "You're the professional, I'll listen to you."
"So when are we going to see Grandma and bring up the topic of marriage?"
Speaking of this, Chen Yao'an was still a little embarrassed, "Are you in such a hurry?"
"Of course I'm in a hurry, I can't wait to marry you."
A warm breeze blew by, as if urging the earth to quickly bloom with flowers everywhere.
Chen Yao'an naturally understood his eagerness and chuckled, "Alright, then let's go see Grandma instead."
He laughed and said, "Then I'll get the renovation on the agenda as soon as possible."
—
Xu Jialan made ample preparations for meeting Yan Shumei, selecting thoughtful gifts for both her and Zhou Yao.
On the day she went to see Yan Shumei, Xu Jialan was still very nervous and apprehensive, repeatedly asking her questions.
What if Grandma doesn't agree?
Chen Yaoan thought for a moment, "It's possible that Grandma won't agree. We'll figure out a solution then."
Xu Jialan stopped what she was doing and looked at her. "What idea do you have?"
This was the first time he had felt so uncertain when doing something.
Chen Yaoan patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm here to mediate. If my grandma didn't agree to our marriage, she would never have agreed to us being together back then."
Hearing her say that, Xu Jialan finally felt a little relieved.
Yan Shumei already knew they were going, but she didn't know they were going to talk about marriage.
So when she saw them enter so solemnly, Yan Shumei was stunned for a moment, and she already had a premonition.
What are you trying to do?
"Grandma, we have something to tell you."
Yan Shumei was silent for a moment before saying, "Let's talk inside."
The group sat down in the living room, with the gifts piled up to one side. Yan Shumei said, "Let's get straight to the point."
Xu Jialan then spoke up: "Grandma, Yao'an and I are planning to get married."
Yan Shumei wasn't surprised at all by their words. "How long have you two been talking? Have you made up your minds already?"
The two looked at each other and said in unison, "We've made up our minds."
"Hmm." She pondered for a moment, "Since you've made your own decision, I have no objections. You can decide for yourselves."
Both of them were surprised that Yan Shumei agreed so readily. They exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, Yan Shumei asked Xu Jialan, "Do your parents know about this?"
Xu Jialan paused for a moment, "Grandma, my mother passed away a long time ago, and as for my father, he doesn't really care about my affairs."
Yan Shumei disagreed, saying, "Even if we don't interfere, marriage is a major event that both families should discuss."
"Grandma, I can make my own decisions about my marriage."
Yan Shumei shook her head, sticking to her old ways, "This is not in accordance with the rules."
“Grandma, those were your old rules. Besides, Xu Jialan’s father is not in good health and can’t meet with you.”
“Grandma, I’m in charge of all the family matters now. My dad is recuperating and resting. Besides, he’s met Yao’an before and has no objections to our relationship. As for the bride price, I’ve already prepared everything.”
Chen Yao'an had indeed told her before that she was going to Beijing to meet Xu Jialan's parents. Since that was the case, she would just let them be. She was getting old and couldn't worry about so much anymore.
Finally, she waved her hand and said, "Whatever."
She then looked at Xu Jialan and asked, "How much dowry are you planning to give to Yao'an of our family?"
"Of course, we'll do it according to your rules."
Yan Shumei nodded in satisfaction. "What about the house?"
Chen Yao'an chimed in, "Grandma, Xu Jialan bought the house next door to us. We'll live next door from now on, so it'll be easier for us to take care of you and Mom."
Yan Shumei looked surprised. "You bought Old Man Zheng's house? That house is so dilapidated, what's the point of buying it?"
“Grandma, we’ve already signed the contract. Besides, it’s not that you and Mom don’t want to move to another place, but where would we live? We made this decision with your sake in mind.”
Yan Shumei was speechless for a moment, so she simply stopped talking. Besides, she knew in her heart that this was the best arrangement for her.
Otherwise, she would have lived here for most of her life, only to cause trouble at the very end.
"Whatever you want. I'm getting old. You can handle the rest yourselves." She wasn't looking for a grand or extravagant affair; as long as it was presentable, that was fine.
"Okay, Grandma, we'll see what we can do."
As soon as they left the Chen family home, Xu Jialan couldn't wait to pull her into his arms, unable to hide his joy. "Chen Yao'an, you will soon be my rightful wife."
Chen Yao'an couldn't help but laugh, "Are you that happy?"
She regretted asking the question as soon as it left her mouth.
Sure enough, the next second, Xu Jialan grabbed her by the back of the neck, "Aren't you happy?"
"Happy, of course I'm happy."
"That's more like it."
Next, Xu Jialan began to busy herself with organizing and decorating the house. The renovation progressed quickly, and the house was completely organized in less than two months.
The pond and pavilion in the yard have been built, and Xu Jialan has also specially reserved flower beds in the yard.
The two of them went to the flower and bird market on their day off and picked out a few fish and a lot of flowers.
After returning home, the two of them put the fish into the pond together, and then planted all the flowers in the flower bed.
Looking at the fruits of their labor that afternoon, Xu Jialan felt that happiness was fully embodied at this moment.
So he couldn't wait.
"Chen Yao'an, let's go get our marriage certificate first."
"Oh, so suddenly?" Chen Yao'an didn't react for a moment.
"Is it sudden? We're both planning to get married; isn't getting the marriage certificate just a matter of time?"
"That's what they say..."
"Just tell me if you dare or not."
"Of course I dare, what's there to be afraid of?"
"Then it's settled."
Chen Yao'an: "..."
Both of them felt that they should choose an auspicious day to get their marriage certificate, so they flipped through the calendar for several days and finally decided on August 8th.
Because Chen Yao'an felt that the date had a very auspicious meaning.
After deciding to get their marriage certificate first, the two of them asked Yan Shumei for her opinion, and Yan Shumei ultimately did not object.
However, some unexpected events always catch people off guard.
Two days before they were to register their marriage, Xu Jialan received a document from Xu Qingbang, along with a rather unpleasant phone call.
Over the phone, Liu Minggan said that Xu Qingbang was seriously ill and was currently in the hospital, and that Xu Qingbang wanted to see him.
Chen Yao'an also read that document.
It was a document signed by Xu Qingbang and Lan Wangshu before their deaths. In the document, Lan Wangshu agreed not to divorce Xu Qingbang on the condition that Xu Jialan inherit the company.
Therefore, despite the complete breakdown of their relationship, Lan Wangshu maintained the marriage until the end of her life.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
