Chapter 40: Grandpa’s Gift

Seeing Qian Xiaolan’s confusion, Gu Yanqing explained with a smile, “Mom and Dad gave us a hundred yuan for the dowry, and I contributed three hundred. When my three brothers and sisters-in-law got married, they gave a hundred yuan for the dowry and built a new house for them. Even though it was a mud brick house, it still cost a few dozen yuan. Mom and Dad felt they owed us, so they wanted to compensate us a little.” Qian Xiaolan suddenly understood. It turned out that Gu Yanqing had paid for most of their wedding. Next, they opened the red envelopes from the four elders of the Qian family, the  given to Gu Yanqing, and the envelope from the two old men.

Qian Jingming and Rong Qian each gave fifty yuan, and the two old men each gave a hundred yuan. Seeing Gu Yanqing holding the money with a strange expression, Qian Xiaolan clenched her fist and held it up to his mouth, “The mystery is about to be revealed. Gu Lao Ba, please tell us how you’re feeling right now.”

Gu Yanqing put the red envelopes aside and cooperated with a smile, “I’m feeling super, super excited right now. I didn’t expect that I would accidentally find a granddaughter from a high-ranking official’s family, and from now on, I’ll be able to achieve the ultimate human desire—to lie flat.” “Haha, you’re so witty. Quickly see what Grandpa and your father-in-law sent you. Why are you being so mysterious about it?” Gu Yanqing opened the envelope, and it turned out to be a property certificate. Moreover, it was for a village near his military unit.

This was a big surprise! Gu Yanqing excitedly hugged Qian Xiaolan, “Wife, I love this gift so much. This time, when I go back to the military unit, you can come with me.” Originally, the old family housing building in their military unit was full, and the new one was still under construction. For new officers like him, if their family members were to join them in the military, there was no temporary housing arrangement. They could only find villagers in the nearest village to borrow a house. The problem was that they had to investigate the villagers’ character, which would take a lot of effort. Now, his grandfather and father-in-law had directly solved this problem.

Qian Xiaolan was also happy. This way, she wouldn’t have to stay in the village and work anymore. To be honest, working in the fields only had one advantage for her: she didn’t have to use her brain. Otherwise, it was just tiring every day. Gu Yanqing happily took the property certificate to find his parents. Hu Guifen was speechless, “Xiaolan’s family is so good to her. They just said they would buy… cough, said they would exchange this house.

 Now it’s good. My husband and I were worried that you wouldn’t have a place to live there, and Xiaolan would have to be separated from you.” “You stinky boy, I really found you a good wife. They solved all your problems for you. I warn you, you must treat Xiaolan well. Don’t think that her family is rich and powerful, so you feel embarrassed, wronged, or restrained. If you have this kind of thought, I’ll be the first to beat you to death.” Hu Guifen warned sternly with her eyes wide open. Gu Changshun nodded vigorously beside her. “Yes, yes, your mother is right. Your grandfather said he won’t interfere in any of your affairs in the military unit. Your promotion still depends on your own efforts. Don’t let others say a few sour words, and then you come home and give Xiaolan a cold shoulder. That’s not what a man does.” Gu Yanqing: “…”

 “Mom and Dad, what are you thinking? I’ve been in the military for many years, and I’ve climbed to my current position through my own hard work. Have I heard fewer sour words? Don’t worry, I really like Xiaolan, and I won’t hold a grudge against her for any random reason.

” Gu Yanqing suddenly whispered, “To be honest, I like to eat soft rice. Besides this house, I also received three hundred yuan yesterday.

Hehehe. Xiaolan said Grandpa and her father-in-law also sent her two houses, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai! Hehehe, I married a good wife. I’m going to get rich!” After Gu Yanqing finished speaking, he saw that his parents were stunned. He chuckled, ignored them, and went back to his room to keep his wife company. Qian Xiaolan tidied up the gifts and money, then took out her own money and tickets and counted them. The twenty thousand yuan her father gave her was deposited in Beijing, so she couldn’t withdraw it for now.

 The thousand yuan her mother gave her was deposited in the An City Credit Union, and she could go withdraw it when she had time in a few days. She had earned over two thousand yuan from running the black market these past few times. After deducting the four hundred yuan she spent on buying a bicycle and school supplies, she had two thousand yuan left. Plus the four hundred yuan she took from Qian Changcai’s house, that made it three thousand four hundred yuan. The red envelopes and “改口费” she received yesterday totaled three hundred thirty yuan and fifty cents. Oh right, Gu Yanqing’s savings book still had eleven hundred yuan in it.

Adding it all up, she had a total of four thousand eight hundred thirty yuan and fifty cents. Just as she finished counting, she heard Gu Yanqing’s footsteps. Qian Xiaolan immediately put away two thousand yuan. This money was earned from the black market, so she couldn’t expose it for now. “Wow, wife, you have so much money! Can I retire from the military and come home to eat soft rice?” Qian Xiaolan glared at him, annoyed, “You’re so ambitious. If people knew that a dignified Gu family CEO said that over two thousand yuan was a lot of money, they’d laugh at you.” Gu Yanqing wrapped his arms around her and acted spoiled, “I don’t care, I don’t care. I’m just a poor soldier now. I’m not capable. I need to rely on my wife to support me. I want to eat soft rice.”

Hu Guifen, who had just reached the door, was speechless!!! She stood there for a while, digesting what she had just heard, before she coughed heavily, “Xiaolan, Lao Si, come out here. Your father has something to say.” Hearing the sound, Gu Yanqing froze, not daring to move. Qian Xiaolan suppressed her laughter and replied, “Mom, we’ll be right out.” When Hu Guifen was far away, Gu Yanqing buried his entire head in Qian Xiaolan’s arms, “Waaa, wife, do you think Mom heard me just now? Did I make a fool of myself?” “Hahaha…”

 Qian Xiaolan couldn’t hold back anymore. She picked up his head and kissed it, then hid in his arms and laughed uncontrollably. When the two of them had calmed down and went out, the main hall was already full of people. Oh, right, they had finished most of the work in the fields, and the captain had given everyone in the team a day off today. The reason they hadn’t seen the three brothers and sisters-in-law and the children this morning was because they had taken advantage of the day off to go back to their wives’ families. They took the leftovers from the banquet and the wild boar meat they received yesterday. Now they were back, sitting at the table waiting for the couple. Qian Xiaolan called out to each of them with a little embarrassment.

 Gu Changshun waved his hand, asking them to sit down, and then said, “I called you here to tell you something. Your mother and I have said before that after all four of you brothers get married, we’ll split the family.” “Now that you’ve gotten married, we’ll divide the family property. It’s not good for such a big family to live together. It’s easy to cause conflicts.”

The four brothers looked at each other, their eyes filled with reluctance, but they didn’t say anything. The three sisters-in-law looked at Qian Xiaolan at the same time, their eyes shining brightly. Qian Xiaolan blinked and smiled back at them.

She thought that the three sisters-in-law probably wanted to be in charge of their own households, but since there weren’t any major conflicts in the family, they were always too embarrassed to bring it up. Now, because of their marriage, this opportunity had come, so they were grateful to her? Qian Xiaolan was lost in thought for a while, and then she heard Gu Changshun say to Hu Guifen, “Go get our family’s account book.”