Chapter 37: Buying a House

Song Shiyan took An Xiuxiu’s hand and returned to the restaurant to pack her things. Her luggage only contained a few sets of clothes, while the rest of the items belonged to the boss.

Song Shiyan took her luggage. “Once we settle down, I’ll take you to the mall to buy some new clothes.”

“No need, I have clothes to wear,” An Xiuxiu said.

Although she had married Song Shiyan, they had only just met, and she couldn’t bring herself to feel comfortable spending his money.

“It’s necessary. You’ll also have a dowry, just like anyone else who gets married!”

Song Shiyan placed her luggage in the car and drove her to the mall.

“A Xiu, my home isn’t here; I’m from Haicheng. My grandmother lives here, and I used to be by myself, so I could live anywhere. Wherever you want to live, we’ll settle there.”

“What about your parents?” An Xiuxiu started to worry about meeting her in-laws.

“My mom passed away. Yesterday was her death anniversary. As for my dad, I don’t have one. I grew up with my grandmother. I’ll take you to meet her; she’ll definitely like you.”

Song Shiyan didn’t want her to know about the dirty secrets of his family. An Xiuxiu was innocent, and he wanted to settle down in this county, living a simple life away from Haicheng.

Song Shiyan parked by the side of the road, got out of the car with An Xiuxiu, and entered the mall, heading straight for the women’s clothing section. After losing weight, An Xiuxiu’s figure had become curvier, and her skin was pale and tender.

Song Shiyan picked out several dresses. An Xiuxiu, surprised, tried to refuse.

“There are too many clothes. I only need one.”

“Don’t worry. Your husband is wealthy. It’s just a few clothes,” Song Shiyan said.

He turned to the attendant. “Pack these clothes up.”

Song Shiyan took the bag with the clothes and held An Xiuxiu’s hand as they walked to the counter to buy a watch. An Xiuxiu gently tugged at him.

“This watch is too expensive. I don’t want it!”

“It’s fine.” Song Shiyan pointed to a women’s watch and said to the sales clerk:

“Please take this watch out for me.”

The watch was delicate, with a white chain linked to an elegant round dial. Song Shiyan took An Xiuxiu’s soft, fair hand and placed the watch on her wrist.

“It looks beautiful.”

Song Shiyan paid for it and still wanted to take An Xiuxiu around. But An Xiuxiu, scared, quickly stopped him. The clothes and the watch already cost over a hundred, and if they bought anything else, how would they live?

“Stop, stop! No more!”

“How about we take a look at a TV and a sewing machine? We could buy one of each.”

“No!” An Xiuxiu quickly realized that this person was too extravagant with money.

“Now that I’ve married you, your money is my money. You’re not allowed to spend recklessly anymore!”

Song Shiyan laughed happily. “Okay, I’ll listen to my wife. When we get home, I’ll give you all the money to manage.”

An Xiuxiu was so embarrassed. “Who wants to manage your money?”

“You’re my wife, of course, you’ll manage it!”

Song Shiyan took An Xiuxiu back to the car, and suddenly remembered something.

“Ah Xiu, I’m living at my grandmother’s house now, and I don’t have a house here. How about we buy a house in this county to settle down?”

“A house? How much would that cost?” An Xiuxiu earned only two dollars a month, and even if she didn’t eat or drink for her whole life, she couldn’t afford a house.

Song Shiyan chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry, I have money. Buying a house is no problem. Do you know where there’s a nice house here? You can choose, I’ll pay for it.”

An Xiuxiu didn’t know much about this, but she thought of Jiang Banyue, who was a local and should know where the good houses were.

“Let’s go find Sister Jiang. She should know where there are houses. She has a cake shop on the street where I work.”

“Alright, let’s go now!”

At the cake shop, Song Shiyan parked the car. An Xiuxiu jumped out and ran inside.

“Slow down, you’ll hurt yourself.” Song Shiyan followed her, shaking his head helplessly. She was like a child who never grew up.

“Sister Jiang, I’m here!” An Xiuxiu happily pushed open the door. Jiang Banyue was discussing design plans with Gu Qingci. Upon hearing the cheerful voice, she looked up.

“Xiuxiu, come over here!”

An Xiuxiu ran forward, but Gu Qingci looked surprised, glancing behind her.

“Shiyan!”

“Qingci, let me introduce you. This is my wife, An Xiuxiu.”

Song Shiyan smiled as he pointed to An Xiuxiu.

Gu Qingci was stunned. “You didn’t even have a partner, and now you have a wife?”

“We just met yesterday, and we got our marriage certificate today. Do you want to see it?” Song Shiyan turned to go back to the car to show off the marriage certificate.

Gu Qingci looked at his friend with envy. “No need, I’m not interested in your marriage certificate!”

Jiang Banyue looked at An Xiuxiu. “You’re married!”

“Yes, Sister Jiang. Shiyan wants to buy a house in the county to settle down. Do you know where there are good houses?”

Jiang Banyue thought of a row of villas on East City Street. There was a kindergarten and a school nearby. She had been eyeing those houses for a while, thinking of saving up to buy one for her future child’s schooling.

“There are some villas in East City, and there are schools nearby. If you’re interested, I can take you to have a look!”

“Villas? How much would that cost?” An Xiuxiu thought they could buy a second-hand house.

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy it!” Song Shiyan readily agreed. Jiang Banyue asked the nanny to watch the children and took Song Shiyan and his wife to look at the house.

Song Shiyan drove to the villa area. Across the street, there was a kindergarten and a school. The three-story villa had a yard, and the inside was clean with shiny tiles. It only needed some cleaning and furniture, and they could move in right away. Song Shiyan was very satisfied and immediately found the person in charge to pay in full for a villa.

Song Shiyan held An Xiuxiu’s hand as they walked inside the villa, taking a tour of the house.

“Do you like it? There’s land in the yard. You can plant whatever you like!”

“Can we plant food?” An Xiuxiu thought planting flowers was nice, but growing food would be more practical.

“Sure, anything you want. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone clean up the house, and we can go buy some furniture and move in!”

“Okay.”

After working together for a while, their home was finally set up. They arranged the sofa, bed, dining table, and chairs, little by little, until it looked like their dream home. An Xiuxiu even picked a bouquet of flowers and placed it in the center of the dining table.

Song Shiyan also handed over his passbook, and An Xiuxiu opened it to find there was 30,000 yuan in savings. They had already spent nearly 40,000 yuan on the house.

An Xiuxiu looked at him with admiration.

“What do you do for a living? You’re so rich!”

Song Shiyan laughed and tapped her forehead.

“We’ve been married for a while now, and you’re only just asking what I do?”

Song Shiyan explained his job.

“I’m a lawyer. I also invest in a friend’s factory, and I get dividends every year. So, don’t worry about spending money, you don’t have to hold back.”

“What does a lawyer do?” Forgive her, but as a girl from the countryside, she didn’t really know what a lawyer was.

“A lawyer is someone who handles lawsuits.”

“Oh!” An Xiuxiu still didn’t understand, but she didn’t want to ask further. She didn’t want to seem silly.