As dusk fell, two cars stopped in an alley. Xia Mian, holding Xiao Feng, looked up at the vermilion gate in front of them and murmured, "Sister Ning, is this the shabby little courtyard you were talking about?"
Ning Shaoyun chuckled, "This is all the old courtyard, just renovated. And mine isn't very big, it has two entrances."
"This was my tenth birthday present," she said, pointing to a nearby courtyard. "That's Xiaobai's. It has three entrances."
Xia Mian suddenly looked at Ning Shaobai. He was indeed a future big shot. He already owned a three-story courtyard house so early!
Ning Shaobai felt that the way Xia Mian looked at him was like a dog seeing a meat bun, which was really creepy.
Xia Mian asked with starry eyes, "Do you have many yards like this?"
Ning Shaoyun laughed. "Not really. The Ning family's ancestors all lived here, and those who branched out gradually lived nearby. Some have sold their homes in recent years, but the two courtyards my father was given were given to my sister and me, one for each of us."
"That three-story house is actually our ancestral home," Ning Shaoyun said. "But villas are popular nowadays and more convenient, so Dad and his family moved in two years ago."
Ning Shaoyun couldn't help but laugh when she saw Xia Mian's eager look. "You like this kind of yard?"
The hibernating chick nodded like pecking at rice, "I like it, I like it very much."
This is a quadrangle courtyard! A courtyard that she couldn't even imagine in her previous life!
Because of her preconceived notions, she never dared to dream of a Siheyuan. She only thought of buying a few houses in the urban village and waiting for them to be demolished. However, she did not expect that in the 1990s when the economy had just begun to develop, people had not yet realized the value of the Siheyuan!
The price is even cheaper than a building! How can you miss this opportunity?
"I'll buy a yard like this!" Xia Mian emphasized again, "I'll buy a few more!"
Then he turned to Xia Wenyue, who had been following him silently, and said, "Second Aunt, you should also buy a yard like this, and we can live next to each other!"
Xia Mian was just getting excited when he suddenly heard a mocking laugh, "Greedy snake swallowing an elephant, how dare you think that."
Xia Mian turned around and saw a young woman standing at the gate of the opposite yard. She looked to be in her twenties, wearing a long floral dress with big wavy hair draped over her shoulders.
The dim sky made it difficult to see the facial features, but Xia Mian always felt that the style was somewhat familiar. When she glanced at Ning Shaoyun, she suddenly realized why this person looked so similar to Ning Shaoyun.
Ning Shaoyun frowned, a rare occurrence, and said in a slightly cold voice, "Zhou Qianqian? Why are you here?"
The girl named Zhou Qianqian walked over, and her movements showed that she was completely different. However, she was clearly imitating Ning Shaoyun's behavior. Although it was not as exaggerated as Dong Shi Xiou Pin, it was still quite uncomfortable.
As the other person came closer, Xia Mian finally saw her appearance clearly. Her appearance could be rated seven points, and with some makeup it could be rated nine points. However, because of the ugly and hostile look she showed to them, Xia Mian decided to give her a zero.
Miss Zhou Qianqian, who scored zero points, crossed her arms and pretended to be elegant as she walked up to Ning Shaoyun. She smiled smugly and said, "The house that Brother Xuewen bought for me will take another two months to renovate, so Aunt Huo gave me the key to this yard and asked me to stay here temporarily."
"I just didn't expect that you would come back to live here, Xiaoyun."
"Why didn't you go back to the Huo family?" Zhou Qianqian said, "You should have called Brother Xuewen earlier. He just finished moving for me and left. If you had called earlier, Brother Xuewen might have been waiting for you. Maybe you could have met him."
After hearing this bitch's words, Xia Mian couldn't help but ask Ning Shaoyun, "Who is this? Mr. Huo's concubine?"
Zhou Qianqian frowned, "How can you talk like that? Who is the concubine?"
Ning Shaoyun's emotions had calmed down, and she clearly didn't want to pay attention to her. She said to Xia Mian calmly, "She's just an insignificant person. Leave her alone. Let's go."
Seeing that she didn't want to talk, Xia Mian stopped asking. However, she seemed unwilling to give up and wanted to catch up and say something, "Ning Shaoyun...ah!"
A scream was accompanied by a "bang" sound of someone falling to the ground. Xia Mian turned around and saw Zhou Qianqian lying on the ground in a mess, with her face hitting the ground. Xia Mian thought, this is great, the zero points are going to become negative points.
Ning Shaobai stood beside her and sneered, "Not only is her brain not good, her coordination is also poor, and her face is barely presentable, so you'd better be careful, otherwise you won't be able to see anyone if you fall and get banged up."
aestivation:……
With this comparison, she felt that Ning Shaobai's harshness towards her was nothing. Listen to what he said, why did it sound so nice!
Zhou Qianqian had obviously fallen quite hard. She took a long time to get up. She touched her sore nose and looked up at Ning Shaobai and said, "Ning Shaobai, you did it on purpose!"
Ning Shaobai said calmly, "Yeah, you came here on purpose. Wouldn't it be unfair to you if I didn't do it on purpose?"
He sneered, "Zhou Qianqian, I'm warning you, this is not the Huo family, you can't be so presumptuous. Do you really think there's no one in our Ning family?"
Zhou Qianqian didn't dare to have any expectations of Ning Shaobai's demeanor, but she was unwilling to give up. She bit her lower lip and said to Ning Shaoyun, "Anyway, I have to thank you very much. Director Luo likes the painting you drew very much. Brother Xuewen's project has been approved."
Ning Shaoyun suddenly stopped, turned around and kicked Zhou Qianqian hard on the leg as she just got up.
Ning Shaoyun was wearing a pair of pointed leather shoes. She used so much force that Xia Mian subconsciously closed his eyes and let out a hiss.
"Ah!" Zhou Qianqian screamed in pain, probably because she was stunned by the pain.
Xia Mian also saw the surprise in Ning Shaobai's eyes. She didn't expect that the gentle and quiet Ning Shaoyun would actually do it herself. It was obvious that this girl must have done something that was infuriating.
The two chatted while admiring Zhou Qianqian who was jumping up and down with her hands covering her legs.
Ning Shaobai asked Xia Mian, "Do you like this kind of yard?"
Xia Mian nodded vigorously, "I like it very much."
Ning Shaobai glanced at the row of people opposite, including the courtyard where Zhou Qianqian came out, and said, "These are all from the Huo family. Which one do you like?"
Xia Mian's eyes widened. "How many courtyards does the Huo family have?"
"Well, our two families were neighbors in our ancestors, so we are old friends." Ning Shaobai explained the origins to her, "Before the Huo family was sent down, they were very wealthy. Their descendants separated and lived in this row. Later, only Old Master Huo returned, so these four courtyards in this row all became the Huo family's."
"Look, the one with three courtyards in the middle is considered the old house, but the old lady of the Huo family prefers villas and buildings, so these courtyards are almost vacant and no one takes care of them. If you like it, we can buy it back."
Xia Mian opened his mouth and said "Wow", then said, "What to choose? Only children make choices. Adults, of course, want them all!"
Ning Shaobai was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "The one with three entrances is not okay, it belongs to Chenchen, the others are fine."
“Wow!”
Zhou Qianqian, who had just recovered, heard the girl's crisp voice, as if she had already regarded these courtyards as her possessions, "Then let's take this one first. After all, we are in a hurry to move in, so we've packed up this one."
Zhou Qianqian covered her legs with her hands, her eyes red as she sneered at Xia Mian, "You country girl, how shameless! This is the Huo family's yard. Don't say you don't have money. Even if you do have money, don't even think about buying it!"
Xia Mian looked at Ning Shaobai in confusion, "Who is she anyway? Why is she so arrogant? Why does it feel like she has the final say in the Huo family?"
Ning Shaobai was about to speak when he saw the vermilion door of Ning Shaoyun's house across the street open, and a woman in her forties walked out. Seeing Ning Shaoyun and Ning Shaobai, she said happily, "I said I heard some noise outside, and it turns out you're back!"
"Aunt Wei." Ning Shaoyun smiled and waved towards Xia Mian, asking her to come over. Then she introduced her, "This is Xia Mian and Xiao Feng I mentioned to you. This is Xia Mian's second aunt and her family."
Then he said to Xia Mian, "This is Aunt Wei, who has taken care of Xiaobai and me since we were young."
Xia Mian and Xia Wenyue hurriedly greeted them, and Aunt Wei also said warmly, "Hurry up and go into the house. You must be exhausted from the journey. The meal is ready and we are waiting for you."
She looked up at Zhou Qianqian standing in the middle of the alley and shook her head. "She's like a dog-skin plaster, haunting me. Xiaoyun, ignore her. She's just a troublemaker."
Ning Shaoyun nodded indifferently and said to Xia Mian, "Ignore her. She's a spoiler."
To force the mild-tempered Ning Shaoyun to say such words, it seems that Zhou Qianqian is also a remarkable person.
Everyone knew what was going on and stopped mentioning her, and followed Aunt Wei into the house one after another.
The Huo family's driver behind him hesitated and said, "Madam..."
Ning Shaoyun seemed to have just remembered him, turned around and said with a smile, "Xiao Li, it's Xiao Li, right? You should go back quickly. Your boss Huo is so busy, he must need you. This has delayed you for two days."
Xiao Li rubbed his hands and said, "Madam, Mr. Huo told me that he is waiting for you at home."
Ning Shaoyun laughed, "Don't I know him? He must be very busy. We will only cause trouble for him if we go back. We will live here from now on and let Mr. Huo concentrate on his work."
"Alas!" The driver was about to say something, but Aunt Wei said with a smile, "Then I won't keep you here, Xiao Li. You've been driving all day and you must be tired. Go back and rest."
Then the door slammed shut, leaving driver Li with a helpless look on his face.
Zhou Qianqian rubbed her legs and smiled at him, "Brother Li, you are really exhausted. If they ask you to go back, just go back and rest."
The helpless expression on the driver Xiao Li's face had disappeared, and he gave Zhou Qianqian a slightly flattering smile, "The old lady really loves you, she actually gave you such a big yard."
Zhou Qianqian didn't care. "This yard is not worth anything at all. That building is beautiful."
Xiao Li said enviously, "You're really amazing. I think the young mistress is really angry this time."
Zhou Qianqian smiled complacently, "Let her be angry, Brother Xuewen is busy, he doesn't have time to care about her."
Those who entered the yard were unaware of the conspiracy outside, or simply didn't care.
Only Chenchen asked, "Mom, aren't we going home?"
Ning Shaoyun tilted her head and said, "You want to go back? Then we will go back, but Brother Xiaofeng lives here, so you won't be able to play with Brother Xiaofeng when you go back."
"Can we not go back?" Chenchen said happily, "I like it here, let's live here, I want to play with my brother Xiaofeng."
Xia Mian was a little curious. The eldest grandson of the family, who should have been loved, didn't seem to care about his grandparents at all. How cold-hearted must the Huo family be.
But then again, if I wasn't so cold, I wouldn't have given up on Chenchen when he was in the most difficult time in my previous life.
Ning Shaoyun didn't want to mention it, so everyone avoided talking about it. Besides, after sitting in the car for a whole day, Xia Mian's mind was only on going to bed.
Aunt Wei's professionalism is definitely up to par as she has been able to take care of the Ning siblings since they were young. The table full of simple but sumptuous meals whetted everyone's appetite.
After dinner, the hot water for washing was ready. After taking a shower, I felt exhausted all over and it was time to take a rest.
Xia Mian and Ning Shaoyun each led a little child out of the side room that served as a bathroom. Both little ones rubbed their eyes at the same time.
There was a knock on the door outside. Aunt Wei came out, glanced at Ning Shaoyun, and ran to open the door.
After a while, Aunt Wei came in with a tall and handsome man and said to Ning Shaoyun with a smile, "Xiaoyun, your son-in-law is here."
Chenchen, who had been rubbing his eyes, suddenly woke up and shouted happily to the person who came, "Dad!"
Huo Xuewen's cold expression softened a little. He took a few quick steps forward and picked up Chenchen.
Chenchen was a little surprised, "Dad?"
Dad doesn’t usually hug him, but Chenchen was very happy. He put his arms around Huo Xuewen’s neck and kept calling him dad.
Huo Xuewen stroked his back, feeling slightly moved. His solemn voice softened, "Are you happy living at your great-grandmother's house?"
As he asked this, he looked at Ning Shaoyun, but Ning Shaoyun's expression was still distant and cold. "Are you here?"
Huo Xuewen nodded and said softly, "A major problem was found with the materials on the Chengbei project yesterday. I really can't leave. Sorry."
Ning Shaoyun said, "I understand, it's okay."
Then Huo Xuewen really stopped talking.
aestivation:……
She couldn't tell for a moment whether this guy came to apologize and pick someone up or to vent his anger on behalf of Zhou Qianqian who lived next door.
Xia Mian couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Huo, have you been across the street this afternoon?"
"Across the street?" Huo Xuewen was puzzled. "Why would I go across the street? I've been at the construction site all day."
He looked at Ning Shaoyun and said, "I finished all my work quickly and returned home in the evening." At this point, he said softly, "I thought you had gone home."
It didn't look like she was lying. Xia Mian was more inclined to believe that Zhou Qianqian was the one instigating it.
However, Ning Shaoyun seemed to not care at all. She didn't care whether what Huo Xuewen said was true or not.
Xia Mian felt that Huo Xuewen was a pill.
However, this terminally ill man was unaware of it. Ning Shaoyun didn't say anything, and he didn't say anything either. He just stared at her silently.
Xia Mian felt embarrassed for him and was about to leave when she saw the other party glance at her. He finally found a topic to talk about.
"This is Xia Mian and Xiao Feng, right?" Huo Xuewen said sincerely, "Thank you very much for Chenchen. When I went to Ming City before, you went back to your hometown. I'm sorry I didn't see you."
"I'll book a banquet at the Azure Pavilion some other day as a token of my gratitude."
"Mr. Huo, you're too polite." Xia Mian smiled. "No one would sit idly by in that situation."
Ning Shaoyun also spoke up, "You don't have to worry about this matter," she said softly, "You're so busy, how can you take care of it? I can do it."
A trace of helplessness flashed in Huo Xuewen's eyes, "Xiao Yun, Chenchen is also my son..."
Xia Mian hurriedly took Xiao Feng back to the room, and the couple settled their own affairs.
The traffic conditions in this era are really tiring. Xia Mian fell asleep almost immediately after lying down with Xiao Feng in his arms.
She had a dreamless night and when she woke up it was already bright. Xiao Feng was curled up beside her and sleeping soundly. It was a rare opportunity for her not to wake up early.
The yard has become lively.
"You are a guest, how can you do these things?" It was Aunt Wei's voice.
"Oh," Xia Wenyue's voice was clear and crisp, "We've already troubled you enough. It's just sweeping the yard, how can you not do it?"
"Sister Wei, you still have to cook, right? Go ahead and cook, and I'll take care of this." Then she called to her daughter, "Huimei, go help your Aunt Wei pick the vegetables! My daughter can't sit still either, so please give her some work."
Xia Mian had experienced Xia Wenyue's dominance in this regard, and sure enough, Aunt Wei was defeated in a short while. "Ah, you are such a stubborn girl."
But his tone was smiling. People with good eyesight and hard work are liked wherever they go.
When Xia Mian was getting dressed, Xiao Feng moved and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing that he still looked sleepy, Xia Mian patted his back and wanted him to continue sleeping.
The child suddenly sat up with a big smile, and said, "Auntie, Yan City!"
Xia Mian laughed and went over to help him get dressed. "Yes, we're in Yan City now."
Xiao Feng tugged at his little yellow duck short-sleeve and reminded Xia Mian, "Buy a house."
"Okay, I got it. How about we live across from your Aunt Ning?" Xia Mian said with a smile.
She still had confidence in Ning Shaobai. After all, in the original book, he was the big boss behind the scenes who would never let go of any grudge and would always keep his word.
In the original book, after the Huo family gave up Chenchen, they quickly began to go downhill. By the time Chenchen grew up, the Huo family was already struggling to survive and was trying to maintain its dignity.
Xia Mian suspected that if she hadn't waited for Chenchen to deal with the Huo family himself, the Huo family wouldn't have lasted more than a decade.
As for Huo Xuewen, Xia Mian couldn't remember the details. She only remembered that he seemed to have left the Huo family for some unknown reason and started his own business. In his later years, he did quite a lot of business, but in the end he left it all to the male protagonist Huo Yuchen, and he died alone.
Xia Mian once felt sorry for the relationship between Huo Yuchen's parents, but now that she saw it with her own eyes, she felt that Huo Xuewen might really deserve it.
Now Ning Shaoyun has obviously been bullied by the Huo family. Ning Shaobai will not punish the Huo family as he did in his previous life, but he will definitely trick them.
Xiao Feng was very satisfied with the yard opposite, "Old house."
Xia Mian laughed. "The old house is an old house, but this one won't be demolished. But don't worry, it will appreciate a lot in the future."
When Xiao Feng heard that there was money, he stopped worrying. Xia Mian carried him off the bed and said, "Look at the house. We also need to look at schools. It's time for you to go to kindergarten!"
"Go to kindergarten with brother Chenchen." Xiao Feng said. The two brothers seemed to have discussed it in the car yesterday.
Xia Mian patted his head and said, "Okay, wait until your Aunt Ning is settled, and then we'll take you to kindergarten together."
When she took Xiaofeng out, Chenchen also woke up, and Huo Xuewen took his hand to wash up.
The two little guys stood in front of the basin, and Chenchen suddenly splashed the water in his hand towards Xiaofeng.
Xiao Feng was startled, and after reacting, he also swung it towards Chenchen.
I learned this from Qiangqiang. I have to say that guy is very contagious. Chenchen, who used to be a very serious little gentleman, now seems to be letting himself go.
But the two children were not as wild as Qiangqiang, they just flicked water droplets at each other.
Huo Xuewen was a little surprised and coughed lightly, "Chenchen."
Chenchen froze and immediately washed up properly. Xiaofeng glanced at Huo Xuewen and leaned quietly on Xia Mian.
Xia Mian touched his head and raised her hand to help him wash his face. "Auntie will go out and buy you water guns later so you can have a water fight and have fun as much as you want."
Chenchen's eyes lit up, "Water gun?!"
"Yes." Xia Mian said, "Didn't you see it on the roadside yesterday? I bought it for you."
Chenchen was immediately happy. He washed his hands and wiped his face excitedly and stood facing Huo Xuewen.
Huo Xuewen seemed to want to say something, but out of courtesy, he wiped Chenchen's face and took the child away.
Xia Mian made a face at his back.
In the main room, Huimei and Huilan set up a large round table that could seat more than a dozen people.
Breakfasts such as fried dough sticks, buns, millet porridge and tofu pudding are placed on the table, making people's mouths water.
Ning Shaobai, dressed in a casual T-shirt and jeans, walked in leisurely from the door. He had returned to the yard next door after dinner yesterday, and someone was left there to take care of the yard.
When Xia Mian saw him, she couldn't help but be curious, "Aren't you afraid of living alone in such a big yard?"
Ning Shaobai chuckled, "As long as you're not here, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Xia Mian rolled his eyes, then rolled his eyes and smirked, "Well, I was wrong. There should be quite a lot of people over there. It is said that these old houses are full of people on the roofs and under the beds."
Ning Shaobai's face froze slightly. Ning Shaoyun came out from the main room and said, "Xia Mian, don't scare him..."
"Sister." Ning Shaobai hurriedly stopped her, but Ning Shaoyun had already said the next sentence, "...He is really afraid of ghosts."
Sure enough, Xia Mian's eyes lit up, and his face clearly showed "Oh, there is such a good thing."
Ning Shaobai felt that the protection level against hibernation should be raised to the highest level recently.
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