Chapter 11: Persuading the In-Laws

◎ The House Has Been Found! ◎

Grandma Hongjie was a straightforward person. Seeing her daughter-in-law bring a guest home, she cheerfully helped to entertain, pouring water and bringing out biscuits.

Wei Xuan felt a bit embarrassed and quickly handed over the gift she had brought. “Auntie, please don’t trouble yourself. Thank you for helping me with this.”

“It’s no trouble at all, just a matter of saying a few words. But you’re too polite—our family doesn’t lack these things, so don’t bring anything next time.” Wei Xuan was both good-looking and well-mannered, which made the elderly lady particularly fond of her.

After chatting for a while, Wei Xuan followed Grandma Hongjie out the door.

As she walked behind the elderly woman, she listened to her introduction.

“The first place we’re going to see is the closest—it’s right behind my house. It’s similar to where we live now, a section of a courtyard house that’s been split up. Each room is about fifteen square meters. If you rent it, you can partition it yourself—one part for sleeping and the other for dining and entertaining guests. It’s more than enough space.”

When they arrived, Grandma Hongjie pointed under the eaves and said, “Everyone does their cooking here. You just need to tidy it up a bit with some wooden boards.”

Wei Xuan went inside to take a look. She thought the room itself was nice, but there were too many people living in the courtyard. In just the short time she had been there, several people had already poked their heads out to take a look at her. This didn’t quite align with her reason for moving out—she preferred a place of her own.

Seeing that Wei Xuan wasn’t entirely satisfied, Grandma Hongjie took her to the next place.

The second place was about the same size as the first one, but the difference was that this one was in an apartment building.

“This place was recently allocated by a workplace unit. The young couple who owns it is currently staying with their family, so the apartment is vacant. Since it’s a building rather than a courtyard house, the rent is a bit higher—four yuan more. But if you’re interested, you might be able to negotiate the price.”

This place was slightly better than the previous one, with only three neighboring households. However, Wei Xuan still wanted to see if there was an even better option.

The last house was the farthest and also the most rundown, but strangely enough, it was the one that felt most suitable to her.

Like the previous ones, this house was also part of a divided courtyard. However, the layout of the rooms suggested that they were once used as servant quarters. Likely due to their poor condition, three rooms in a row had been left vacant. In front of the rooms was a small courtyard of about ten square meters, and within it stood a well. Wei Xuan leaned over to take a look—there was still a layer of water at the bottom. With some cleaning, it could be usable again.

More importantly, these rooms were completely separated from the rest of the courtyard. The original passageways leading to the back had been blocked off by makeshift sheds built against the walls with bricks, sealing them off tightly. Even Grandma Hongjie had to bring her in through the back door. In a way, this gave the space a sense of privacy and independence.

The only issue was that the house would need repairs before it could be livable; otherwise, it wouldn’t be fit for anyone to stay in.

Having made up her mind, Wei Xuan asked Grandma Hongjie, “Auntie, how much would it cost if I rented all these rooms together?”

Grandma Hongjie was clearly surprised that Wei Xuan had chosen the most rundown place. The first two options were in much better condition. She had only brought Wei Xuan here because she could tell that the previous two didn’t fully satisfy her. Since they had already come this far, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look, though she had been mentally prepared for the trip to be a waste of time.

So, after a brief moment of surprise, she replied, “If you’re sure about renting it, I can ask for you. But I’d guess it won’t be more than seven yuan per month. After all, this place has been vacant for so long, and if you want to live here, you’ll have to spend some money fixing it up.”

Wei Xuan nodded. That price was still within her budget. She immediately said, “I’ll check with my family first. If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to finalize it in the next couple of days. I’ll have to trouble you to come with me again then.”

“It’s no trouble at all, no trouble at all. I don’t have much to do anyway, so I’m happy to help,” Grandma Hongjie said cheerfully.

That evening, when Jiang Che heard that Wei Xuan had actually gone house hunting—and had already found a place in such a short time—he almost spat out the water he had just taken a sip of.

“Didn’t we say we’d look around a bit more?”

Wei Xuan replied impatiently, “Look around, look around—how long are we supposed to keep looking? I’ve already found a place. Are you moving in or not?”

Seeing the threatening look in her eyes, Jiang Che sighed in defeat. “Fine, fine, I’ll move, okay? But at least let me find some time to tell Mom and Dad first.”

“Alright, then you handle talking to them. I’ll go finalize the rental after work tomorrow. Once it’s rented, you’ll have to find someone to fix it up.”

“Got it. Leave that to me. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll swing by after work tomorrow to check it out.”

The next day, when Jiang Che arrived at the address, Wei Xuan had just finished speaking with the landlord. She was looking around her new home when she heard Jiang Che’s disgusted voice.

“Wei Xuan, don’t tell me this is the house you rented? Did someone scam you? Can people even live here?”

The courtyard was completely overgrown with weeds over a meter tall, and the house itself looked like it was falling apart—clearly abandoned for a long time.

Wei Xuan quickly walked to the doorway and shot him a glare. “What are you yelling about? Just get someone to clean it up! Do you think big houses like this are easy to come by?”

Seeing that his wife was unhappy, Jiang Che swallowed his complaints and coaxed her with a grin. “Hehe, I was just saying! Don’t be mad, alright? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything from here on!”

With a playful smile, he walked over and draped an arm around Wei Xuan’s shoulders. “Wife, after taking a closer look, I have to say—this place is actually pretty nice. You did a great job! Now, tell me, how do you want to fix it up?”

Wei Xuan rolled her eyes at him but didn’t bother arguing. Instead, she followed his lead and walked further inside.

The house consisted of three rooms lined up in a row, or rather, four. The room on the far end was slightly lower and smaller than the others, only about three square meters in size. Inside was a clay stove, though the cooking pot that once sat on it was long gone.

Wei Xuan planned to convert this small room into a bathroom. She would remove the stove and carve out a drainage hole, keeping renovations to a minimum.

The remaining three rooms were of equal size. The one next to the bathroom would serve as the kitchen, making water access more convenient. She would clear out the clutter, set up a stove against the wall, buy a kerosene stove for cooking, and get a fire stove for boiling water—just enough to meet their daily needs.

As for the middle room, it would be used for dining and entertaining guests, while the room on the far end would serve as the bedroom.

There was no need to set up a private bathroom since a public restroom was located not far from the house, and it was fairly clean.

The courtyard wasn’t very big, and without modern toilets, the smell in the summer would definitely be unpleasant, so there was no point in making extra work for themselves.

Jiang Che wandered around behind her, taking in the layout and forming a rough idea in his mind.

“Not bad, wife. If we fix it up the way you planned, it might actually be more comfortable than living at home.”

“Of course! Since we’re moving out, we shouldn’t be living worse than before. By the way, did you tell Mom and Dad yet?”

Jiang Che scratched his head, suddenly remembering that he had completely forgotten. “I’ll tell them when I get home tonight.”

After dinner that evening, Wei Xuan gave Jiang Che a meaningful look. Left with no choice, he braced himself and followed behind his parents as they headed into the room.

Sister-in-law Jiang’s eyes were fixed on him, and she looked like she wanted to go in and hear what her younger brother-in-law was going to say to their parents.

“Go on, what’s the matter? Did you get into trouble again?” Jiang Father asked, sitting down, blowing on the tea in his cup, taking a sip, and then looking up at Jiang Che with a stern expression.

“Hey, Dad, why are you looking at me like that? I really do have something important to discuss.”

“Heh.” Jiang Father seemed to find something amusing. “Alright, tell me then. What important matter do you have to bring up?”

Jiang Che rubbed his hands together and chuckled awkwardly before speaking. “Mom, Dad, you know, the nieces and nephews are getting older, and it’s not really good for everyone to keep sharing a room. So, I was thinking—how about my wife and I move out and let them have the room?”

“You’re moving out?” Jiang Mother interrupted Jiang Che before he could finish speaking.

Seeing that his mother was upset, Jiang Che quickly tried to appease her. “You’ve always said I haven’t grown up, right? Moving out, without the help of you two, is exactly how I’ll be able to grow. Besides, there are four rooms in the house, and if I move out, it’ll make space for the kids. Isn’t that perfect?”

“Well, you don’t have to move out…”

Jiang Father, however, thought Jiang Che had a point. He raised his hand to stop Jiang Mother from saying more and looked at Jiang Che seriously. “Are you really sure about this? Don’t go living outside for a while and then come back crying to us. If that happens, it won’t be as simple as just moving back in.”

Seeing his father softening, Jiang Che quickly promised, “Mom, Dad, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to live well, and I won’t let you down. I’ll make something of myself.”

“Alright, since you’re determined, I’ll agree to it.”

“Hey, thanks, Dad. If Mom and Dad are fine, I’ll head out now.”

Outside, when Sister-in-law Jiang saw her younger brother-in-law smiling brightly as he came out of the in-laws’ room, she was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to dust.

Inside, after Jiang Che left, Jiang’s mother angrily said, “Why did you agree to him? Don’t you know what kind of person your youngest son is? He’s the type who doesn’t think about tomorrow once today is over. If he really moves out, what can he do with his and his wife’s salary?”

“Alright, this is a good thing, why are you so angry?” Jiang’s father had a different opinion. He felt that as parents, they should be happy their son was becoming more independent!

Jiang’s mother grabbed the cup of tea from his hands: “You can still laugh, what good thing are you talking about?”

Seeing that his wife was genuinely angry, Jiang’s father didn’t dare to beat around the bush: “Think about it, Jiang Che is already married. Now that he wants to move out and establish his own household, what good can come from us constantly stopping him, other than making him resent us? A man needs to go through some hardships to grow, and only then will he understand the hardships we parents go through.

Can you protect him for his whole life? What will happen when we’re gone? At least we’re still here now. If he really can’t make it on his own, we can still give him a hand, so he won’t fall too hard. Don’t you think that’s reasonable? And do you really have so little confidence in your son? Maybe he’ll do just fine after moving out and becoming independent.”

Jiang’s mother hesitated: “But I always feel like he’s still too young…”