Chapter 20: How about having a son for you?

During the meal, everyone had different thoughts, and many dishes on the table were hardly touched.

Of course, although Su Jinyan was affected, she still ate quite a bit. During the meal, she peeled a few shrimps for Zhao Qi and served her some squirrel fish as well; the little one ate a lot.

Such delicious food was something she had eaten in her previous life, but it wasn’t something she had every day.

In this era, there was no concept of waste; if you couldn’t finish, you simply packed it up.

After the meal, everyone moved upstairs to the room of Zhao Zhengjun and his wife, Sun.

This room was large, with a double bed and a small sitting room for receiving guests, complete with a sofa and coffee table.

Su Jinyan called the front desk, asking them to send a pot of chrysanthemum tea and six cups, and everyone fell silent.

A few minutes later, after the waiter brought the items and served everyone, he exited the room.

Zhao Yuan watched Su Jinyan, who had suddenly transformed since returning to the capital. His heart sank further.

Sure enough, she was a phoenix belonging to this land.

Only here did she seem confident, proud, walking as if she was in the wind.

Su Jinyan: I didn’t!

“Zhao Yuan, what are your plans for the future?” Xin Huimin was the first to break the silence.

She had prepared a house for her daughter and could support her education, even help raise her child, but if this man wanted to live off her, he had miscalculated.

“I plan to rent a house near Yan Yan’s school. My parents can help watch the child while Yan Yan and I go to school. But don’t worry, I will find a way in terms of living expenses; I won’t let Yan Yan and the children suffer with me.”

Su Jinyan opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

This was Xin Huimin testing Zhao Yuan, all for her daughter’s good; she couldn’t sabotage it.

Xin Huimin lifted her right leg and placed it over her lap, tapping her knee absentmindedly in silence, creating immense pressure on Zhao Yuan.

After a long pause, Xin Huimin said solemnly, “It’s not easy to find a house right now. There’s a place near Peking University where Yan Yan lives; you can move there.”

It wasn’t a question; it was a decision.

No one said a word, and Zhao Yuan felt he had no courage to rebut in front of his mother-in-law.

“Move there first; you can see what you might need to add later.”

“I know an old Chinese doctor. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have the driver take you two to see him about your legs and eyes.”

Xin Huimin honestly didn’t know how to address these two in-laws and didn’t want to acknowledge them as such.

Zhao Zhengjun stayed silent for a moment before nodding, “Okay, thank you.”

Both Zhao Yuan and Zhao Zhengjun breathed a sigh of relief at the same time; as long as they didn’t mention Zhao Yuan and Su Jinyan getting a divorce, everything else was manageable. As for Sun, she was now a bundle of nerves, scared and her mind blank.

At this moment, the usually silent Su Chengguo squinted and asked Zhao Yuan in a low voice, “The university you got into is the Capital Medical University? Which department?” Without waiting for Zhao Yuan’s answer, he continued, “Have you considered joining the military?”

The son was missing and likely gone; with so many resources at hand, how could there be no successor?

Moreover, with his physique, wouldn’t it be great to be a soldier?
Xin Huimin raised her eyes to look at Su Chengguo, saying nothing, and Su Chengguo quickly yielded, “Haha, I’m just saying; being a doctor is great, just stick to being a doctor!”

Su Jinyan chuckled, surprised to see that Su Chengguo was under his wife’s thumb.

“Hey, Dad, why don’t you train Qi Qi well? Let him be your successor? After all, you’re still young and have time.”

Su Chengguo’s eyes suddenly brightened, and he turned to Zhao Qi, who was sitting on the bed coaxing her sister, saying with a smile, “You little girl, you finally said something right; this kid has great potential!”

The corners of Su Jinyan’s mouth twitched, “Wow, you’re really impressive; you could see this at such a young age?!”

Su Chengguo ignored Su Jinyan’s teasing and walked to the bed, picking up Zhao Qi, “Come here, let grandpa take a look.”

As he spoke, he examined her from left to right, checking her fingers, the back of her head, and he kept smiling, “Good, good, not bad, not bad!” Everyone in the room was left bewildered, and Xin Huimin was left with a headache, feeling quite speechless.

This was a military fan!

After joking around for a bit, they took the limited luggage to the courtyard Xin Huimin mentioned.

The family had assumed it would just be a slightly better brick house courtyard like those in their village but was surprised to find they were all baffled upon seeing the courtyard.

Situated in the middle of the alley was a standard courtyard, facing south, with three main rooms and two side rooms on either side. The southern rooms included one turned into a bathroom.
The previous tenants had also cherished the courtyard. Upon entering, they found a 1.5-meter-wide path paved with blue bricks, and both sides were well-cultivated plots where vegetables could be grown in the summer.

There was a well and an apple tree in the courtyard.

The windows and doors had all been painted a bright red, and the smell was still strong; it seemed the Su family had known she was coming back and repainted the house after reclaiming it.

“You all returned suddenly; for now, just three main rooms and two east side rooms are ready. How you choose to live here is up to you.”

After Xin Huimin spoke, she turned to Su Chengguo’s driver, Xiao Li, and said, “Xiao Li, bring the packed food over for Qi Qi’s grandparents for dinner.”

Afterward, she looked at Su Jinyan and asked calmly, “Yan Yan, are you staying here tonight or going home?”

Su Jinyan perked up, “Mom~! I haven’t been back for several years; I’d like to spend more time with you.”

This mother of hers had a mind like a sieve; if she wanted her to stay here, she wouldn’t have asked, right?

Xin Huimin couldn’t help but smile slightly, nodding, “Okay, bring the kids along.”

“Yuan Yi, stay here to take care of your parents; they’re new here and unfamiliar.”

“First, have your parents see a doctor. In a few days, Yan Yan will take you around to see the sights.”

Zhao Yuan nodded, “Okay, thank you.”
On the way back to the courtyard, Su Chengguo, holding Zhao Qi, constantly looked around and liked everything he saw. Su Jinyan laughed and said, “Dad, how about I have a few more kids and give you a whole bunch?”

“Pfft—”

Xin Huimin’s calm demeanor finally broke; she laughed out loud.

This was the first time she had laughed like this since her son passed away; even she was momentarily stunned.

Su Chengguo’s heart tightened slightly; he sighed and said, “You don’t have that ability. If you really could have a whole bunch, I would definitely train each one to be a great soldier!”

Xin Huimin was unwilling to let the family send more people to the military; that pain left her feeling suffocated every midnight. But her husband loved that uniform, and it was only when he wore it that he radiated a dazzling glow.

After their son’s passing, she fell into a deep depression; she didn’t want him to continue in the military, but she also didn’t want him to lose his shine, to lose his smile.

Upon entering, they registered.

Once home, the family chatted for a while in the living room, and then Su Jinyan started cooking.

Xin Huimin was generally not good at cooking; she didn’t enjoy the kitchen but preferred the laboratory.

Yesterday, on her return, Xin Huimin had Aunt Liu buy a lot of meat, which was frozen outside the window.

Su Jinyan noticed lamb, large shrimp, ribbon fish, pig’s trotters, and five-spice pork. There was tofu in the cupboard and potatoes and radishes in a box on the floor.

She simmered lamb and radish soup and kneaded a large dough, planning to make lamb knife-cut noodles.

Knife-cut noodles were something she loved in her previous life and had learned to make from her father.

For the main dish of knife-cut noodles, she also prepared spicy and sour shredded potatoes, cold tossed tofu, and stir-fried shrimp.

As soon as Su Chengguo had a mouthful of knife-cut noodles, he felt warm all over. “Hmm, this dish isn’t as good as a chef’s, but it’s almost there.”

Xin Huimin held Zhao Hua and urged Su Jinyan to eat quickly, “When did you learn to make knife-cut noodles?”

That skill wasn’t something just anyone could master.

Su Jinyan swallowed the delicious knife-cut noodles, narrowed her eyes, and smiled, saying, “There’s an old chef from Shanxi in a restaurant in town. After I ate there a few times, I liked it, so I spent thirty bucks for him to teach me, and I learned a few simple stir-fry dishes too.”

“My mother-in-law doesn’t cook well and doesn’t like using much oil, so I occasionally got cravings and cooked for myself.”

This explanation was very reasonable, and even though Xin Huimin felt pained, she no longer questioned it.

Su Jinyan quickly finished eating, took the child back, and urged Xin Huimin to eat quickly.

The universal parental instinct is to let their children eat first.

From this small detail, Su Jinyan accepted her original mother a bit more.