Chapter 60: Certificated

After the village chief finished speaking, as if nothing had happened, he instructed Chen Wenhao to take Chen Wenzhen away, “Call an ambulance for him.”

He then stopped Zhang Meixian, whose eyes were filled with tears, “As long as I’m still breathing, those people outside won’t be able to come over. Just sit and eat in peace. Yongming, take your mom downstairs to wash her face before coming back to eat.”

Chen Yongming glanced at his dad, who was being dragged out by his uncle, then looked at his stern grandfather. Without needing anyone to remind him, he knew what to choose and immediately supported his mom to go out.

Once outside the banquet hall, Chen Yongming looked at his mother with disappointment, “With grandpa here, no matter how much trouble my dad causes, he won’t be able to turn the world upside down. You shouldn’t feel wronged at home every day. Even if you don’t do it for yourself, you should think of me and take what belongs to you.”

Zhang Meixian’s voice choked, and she looked at Chen Yongming in disbelief, “But he is still your dad!”

“If he had ever considered that I’m his son, he wouldn’t have done something like this!” Chen Yongming’s eyes turned red with anger. Finding a mistress wasn’t even the most embarrassing thing for the family; he was actually looking for his aunt! Who didn’t know about this in the maternal family? They all understood, they just didn’t say it out loud!

His mother only knew how to cry; should he really sympathize with his dad? Now that he was the only child, who could say what would happen in the future? If his dad had a brother for him, he would have nothing left.

Looking at people of similar age, like Aunt Zhou and Aunt Kexin, even if they didn’t do it for their sons, for their own sake, they shouldn’t tolerate a man’s infidelity!

“From now on, you should visit your maternal family less. It’s been decades since the founding of New China; do they still think they’re living in feudal society?”

What’s so normal about rich men taking concubines? If it weren’t for his grandparents being old, he really wanted to act like a shrew and slap him. His mother is such a fool!

His grandparents just can’t be taught. Because they only had his mother as a daughter, they always bowed to his maternal grandfather’s family, listening to everything they said, just to ensure their nephew could take care of them in their old age.

Hasn’t his mother spent all these years bringing things back to them out of filial piety? Others treat them coldly, and they still think the other party is good. They really can’t tell good from bad; their brains must be broken.

“How can you say that about your grandparents? They…”

“Enough!” Chen Yongming felt that all his patience from these years had worn away during this period. His temper had become increasingly irritable because of these distressing matters. He was really fed up with his mother’s nonsense and directly said, “If you can’t stay in the Chen family anymore, when we go back later, I’ll help you pack your things and send you back to your maternal family!”

“And you better clarify things with them. Don’t spout that feudal rubbish again and tell those cousins not to come begging! What kind of people are they, asking for favors in person but not doing anything behind your back?”

When they didn’t have so much money before, everyone was normal. Now that their family has become wealthy, all sorts of messy things have come along with it!

Do they really want to replace his mother with his aunt? Ugh, disgusting!

Chen Yongming spat fiercely. Just because he usually has a good temper doesn’t mean he’s easy to bully!

The banquet hall returned to normal. This time, the old branch secretary and Chen Wensong behaved themselves and didn’t dare to make any more fuss. Jiang Kexin and her brothers took Chen Yue around to toast each table.

The village chief said a lot of good things, encouraging Chen Yue to study hard, and told Jiang Kexin, “Although you’ll be living in Haicheng in the future, you should still come back often to keep in touch with everyone. Chen Yue is one of us from the village.”

Not to mention, just the building Jiang Kexin got in the divorce, which is now valued more due to the upcoming subway, adds a lot to her and Chen Yue’s wealth. In the future, if the village wants to start a business together, they can contribute.

While eating, Chen Jin listened to her uncle talk about how now people in Qiaoxi Village were spreading rumors that the village would definitely be relocated. Daughters who had married out wanted to move their household registration back. Surprisingly, there hadn’t been any unrest within Qiaoxi Village.

That’s not the key issue. The key issue is that some small companies are starting to eye the outskirts of Nancheng and Qiaoxi Village, each waiting to see if they can get a piece of the action.

It’s all because of Chen Wenzhen and Chen Wensong, who went out and swore that others were spreading rumors. They didn’t know what those real estate companies found out.

Her uncle took a sip of wine and said, “The news from Qiaoxi Village might have been intentionally leaked by Liu Guangman to create the illusion that the village is going to be relocated.”

“Why would he do that? Is he crazy?”

Her uncle smiled, “That old fox! He probably wants to contract the land in the village and let people come build factories. Anyway, all that land belongs to the collective. If it’s expropriated or demolished, no one gets anything. But if someone moves their factory there in anticipation of future relocation, then it’s different; it could provide jobs for people in the village.”

Now Chen Jin understood. As long as someone builds a factory there, they can negotiate in advance about how many workers to hire. Even if not, if the factory opens, the workers will need to rent houses, which could generate income for Qiaoxi Village.

All of them are old foxes.

Liu Guangman has his own little calculations, but overall, he hasn’t done less for Qiaoxi Village. Seeing the young men in the village idle in recent years due to the relocation issues making people restless, he’s now starting to take alternative paths to stabilize their minds.

He might say to outsiders that Qiaoxi Village is relocating, but internally, he’s quietly telling the villagers that there’s no relocation happening at all.

These people are so shifty; she really can’t see through them. So it’s better not to get involved.

“Has that Old man Liu stopped calling you?”

“Just a couple of days ago, he called again and said he hadn’t thought it through and told me not to take it to heart. He invited me to go home for a meal.” Chen Jin smiled, “I told them that from now on, if there’s anything, just call. If they dare to barge into my house, I will call the police. They probably won’t dare to rush over to find me anymore.”

“My grandpa wants those twins to play the emotional card with me and get them to sponsor their study abroad. I don’t know if he’s getting old and losing his mind; does he think I’m an idiot with a lot of money?” They still want her to fund their study abroad? It’s easier to dream than to achieve that.

Chen Jin remembered asking Yang Qian about the cost of studying abroad and couldn’t help but laugh. With Liu Shisheng and Jiang Zijun, it would take them more than twenty years to save enough for one of them to study abroad, let alone both!

After attending Chen Yue’s graduation banquet, the next day it was Chen Yongan’s turn.

They went to a restaurant they had been to before, and everyone from the village came. Compared to the lively scene from yesterday, today’s graduation banquet seemed plain and ordinary. Everyone happily came, ate, drank, and left happily. Chen Yongan carried a small bag, collecting red envelopes from the older brothers and sisters of their generation.

The red envelopes from the adults were, of course, given to the third uncle and third aunt. That’s just how it is; they need to be repaid later.

At the family gathering, not long after the arrival of the aunt and uncle, Gu Minmin and her boyfriend Lin Sen also came.

Everyone quietly observed the aunt’s family of three and noticed that Gu Minmin only greeted them when they met, then took Lin Sen to the table with their peers, not bothering to talk to her parents.

Others couldn’t meddle in their family matters, especially since her uncle had said he wouldn’t care anymore, so no one else would pay attention.

“Third sister, this is my classmate I mentioned to you before, Yao Rui. He got into the finance department of Nanda.” Chen Yongan specifically brought his classmate over.

Chen Jin looked up and saw a thin, dark-skinned boy with particularly bright eyes. Not understanding what Chen Yongan meant by introducing him to her, she politely said, “Then we’ll be schoolmates from now on, right? Yao Rui, make sure to study hard in university; the courses aren’t easy.”

Yao Rui nodded, shyly smiled, and said earnestly to her, “Thank you, Sister Chen.”

Could it be that he came specifically to thank her because she had bought some snacks for him a few times while giving Chen Yongan a ride back to school?

Chen Jin looked at Chen Yongan and received a confirming answer. Suddenly, she felt unworthy of the gratitude and waved her hand, saying, “No need to thank me; I didn’t really help you much.”

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jin added, “In college, it’s important to study hard; the scholarships are quite generous. Also, participating in some competitions in your field can earn you a good amount of prize money. When I was in college, the scholarships I received covered my living expenses.”

There are also work-study positions specifically for students in need, but since there were many people present, she didn’t elaborate. These things will be shared by teachers and seniors once they get to college.

Yao Rui’s eyes lit up. He had never known that scholarships existed in college. If that’s the case, if he could earn enough for his living expenses over the summer, it would be great to receive a scholarship later!

With nothing else to do, Chen Jin shared many “little experiences” of life at Nanda with Yao Rui, such as which cafeteria serves delicious food and where the aunties don’t shake when serving, how to quickly secure a seat in the library, and the benefits of building good relationships with seniors to access their notes…

Thinking back on her college life, which she felt had some regrets, Chen Jin sincerely advised, “It’s better to socialize more at school. If you don’t get along with your roommates or classmates, try to explore other clubs.”

Chen Yongxin was late picking up Zhuang Yao and heard Chen Jin giving advice to the future junior as soon as he arrived. He laughed, “Teacher Chen looks quite the part now.”

“Of course! I’m also a teacher Chen now,” she replied, realizing she would be one of those people who pass on knowledge in the future.

Yao Rui followed Chen Yongan to their table, which was the liveliest among them.

After lunch, they hadn’t dispersed yet.

Chen Jia went with her second uncle and second aunt to visit her grandmother, leaving Chen Yongan to join classmates for another student’s graduation banquet. Chen Jin, along with a few cousins and their partners, remained but found little to talk about. She wondered if she should retreat early.

Every time, it was Yang Qian who suddenly proposed a shopping outing. Today, it should be her turn to give the notice!

Her second cousin suggested that everyone go to the karaoke place across from the restaurant to relax.

The adults, including her eldest uncle, were still chatting. Upon hearing this, they urged the younger ones to hurry and go.

Siblings of this generation need to keep in touch more; otherwise, they’d all be busy with work and wouldn’t gather often, and their relationships would fade over time.

Today, her eldest uncle had drunk quite a bit and was starting to slur his words. “Youngsters today aren’t like us back then, working together in the fields every day. Later, when the land was divided among households, we farmed together too… Look at them; sigh, times have changed.”

His rambling made his wife feel a headache, and she waved her hand, telling them to go have fun.

Gu Minmin and Lin Sen exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, stood up, and raised their voices, “Uncle, Aunt, and cousins, Lin Sen and I have already obtained our marriage certificate. We plan to hold our wedding in Quanshi during the National Day, and we will send out invitations to everyone then.”

The remaining three tables were all family relatives, with one table being from the maternal side of the third aunt.

Everyone suddenly turned to look at them, surprised by the news, still trying to process it.

Chen Jin glanced at Gu Minmin and Lin Sen’s tightly clasped hands and thought to herself: Each piece of news is quite shocking!

She had expected her cousin Minmin to refuse the investment share offered by her aunt and uncle, thereby reducing their interactions. However, she did not expect Minmin to be so decisive, directly getting married and planning to leave Rong City to work and live in Quanshi.

Looking at her aunt and uncle’s expressions, they were indeed shocked, obviously unaware of anything beforehand. Chen Jin suddenly felt a subtle sense of delight.

Hmph! Let’s see how they will handle Minmin from now on!

“What’s going on? Where are you holding the wedding?” Her eldest uncle had sobered up significantly and rubbed his forehead. “How come you suddenly got married? Quanshi for the wedding? The Lin family is in Quanshi? Then let them have their wedding there; we should hold one here too. You have to invite your friends and colleagues…”

Her aunt frowned tightly. “You’ve already gotten your marriage certificate? You didn’t even tell us when you took the household registration book?”

“I already returned the household registration book. I won’t be on your family’s registration anymore,” Gu Minmin replied, looking at her. “Lin Sen and I got married. We won’t be buying a house here; I resigned from my job at the school, and we plan to work back in Lin Sen’s hometown, Quanshi, where it’s closer to his family. Buying a house will be easier too.”

“First, you secretly get married, then quit your job, and now you want to leave with a man. Do you want to make me furious?” Her aunt held her stomach with one hand and patted her chest to calm herself. Nearby, Gu Shunfa was also angry, scolding Gu Minmin for being ungrateful, wanting to abandon her parents and leave with a man at the slightest inconvenience.

“You think we are unfair to you? At least I and your mom raised you, never skimped on your food or clothing, and even promised to give you a hundred thousand investment share. Isn’t that enough? How much more do you want? You think we treat you poorly? Let me tell you, once you go to another family, you’ll see that the best for you will still be us!”

Gu Minmin lightly snorted, just as she was about to retort, her hand was tightly gripped by Lin Sen. Then she heard Lin Sen say, “Dad, Mom, my marriage to Minmin has been planned for a long time; it doesn’t matter whether we get the certificate sooner or later. Besides, Minmin didn’t say that once we’re married, she won’t recognize you. We still plan to contribute to your retirement funds in the future. However, in Rong City, we don’t have many opportunities for development. Back in Quanshi, I have a house in the city, and my family can help us arrange for better jobs. Once we have children, my parents can help, which will reduce a lot of the pressure on us.”

Although, even if they stayed in Rong City and had children, his parents would come to help take care of them. However, the money his family provides combined with his savings would hardly be enough after buying a house, and there wouldn’t be much opportunity for development here. It would be better to return to Quanshi, where he could live in his own house with Gu Minmin.

Also because Gu Minmin no longer wanted to get involved in her family’s affairs, she didn’t plan to take the hundred thousand investment shares her parents gave her. She didn’t want to trap herself just for that money. While she still hadn’t completely lost faith in her parents, she wanted to maintain a bit of dignity. This way, she could avoid any unpleasantness later due to favoritism toward her brother and family property issues.

Lin Sen put things nicely, saying that going to Quanshi would benefit both him and Gu Minmin in terms of family and work. After all, they couldn’t stop the child from living a good life, right?

In fact, even if they opposed her, it was too late. They had already obtained the marriage certificate, and she had quit her job at the school. That meant she had cut off all options.

Chen Yun finally realized that Gu Minmin was determined to sever ties with them.

Last time, they parted on bad terms in the hospital room. Afterward, her older brother discussed it with them, and they eventually agreed to give Minmin ten thousand as an investment share. But in the past few days, they had only talked about it once. Minmin said she didn’t want their money, and at that time, they all thought she was just dissatisfied with the amount. Now, she had quietly taken the certificate, quit her job, and planned to leave Rong City with a man. How was that different from cutting off all ties?

Chen Yun felt a bit anxious. She certainly wanted a son, but Minmin had been raised by her for over twenty years. How could she just leave? From what Minmin said, it seemed she had decided that they, as her parents, could no longer be relied upon, so she didn’t need them anymore.

“We’ll give you twenty-five percent of the investment shares, and you and your brother will each have half in the future. Besides, we never said we wouldn’t help you buy a house. We can go look at places now; just buy one quickly…”

Gu Shunfa hesitated for a moment and added, “Yes, the things in your parents’ hands will eventually be left for you and your brother. We only have you two kids, and what we said before was just in anger. Could we really not care about you?”

Gu Minmin looked at her mother, who was speaking anxiously, and her father, who was filled with urgency, feeling only regret. If they had said these things earlier, she might not have made such a decisive choice. But during this time, she had seen very clearly that her parents’ attention would only be focused on the unborn brother in the future, leaving her with responsibilities that she shouldn’t have to bear. If she didn’t help, people from the Gu family would blame her for being ungrateful, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and heartless…

Perhaps they truly wanted to keep her with them at this moment and wanted to give her a share of what they had, but she knew that over time, these things would become obligations requiring her to do this and that for her brother.

“No need. It’s your hard-earned money; how you want to arrange it is up to you. I was being unreasonable before and causing unnecessary trouble.”

Gu Minmin sighed in relief, feeling much lighter after speaking out. She also felt the warmth that flowed from her fingertips. “Lin Sen’s parents are coming to Rong City in a few days, along with my uncle, third uncle, and aunt. Let’s have a meal together then.”

Lin Sen stepped forward and said, “We’ve informed our family about the marriage certificate. My parents also said we were impulsive. When they come, we can invite Minmin’s relatives to a meal to complete the formalities, and we’ll bring the bride price when the time comes.”

The uncle rubbed his face and nodded. “Then let’s wait for your parents to come. We’ll discuss it over dinner. Alright, you young folks go have fun; don’t linger here and make it awkward for us.”

Once they left, Chen Yun angrily said, “Elder brother, why didn’t you help me persuade Minmin just now? Are you really going to let her marry that Lin guy and live in Quanshi?”

Chen Wenqiang replied indifferently, “Rong City isn’t far from Quanshi; it’s only a three to four-hour drive.”

He raised his hand to stop her from speaking again. “Today is a happy day, so let’s not say things that will dampen the mood. If you want to say something, go home and say it. If Minmin wants to marry and go to Quanshi, when Xiao Lin’s parents arrive, I’ll see how to persuade her.”

“If the Lin family is good, it won’t be bad for Minmin to marry over.”

Others also agreed silently. So far, Xiao Lin seemed reliable. When his parents arrived, they could observe how well Minmin could get along with the Lin family.

Having better job opportunities, family support, and not having to worry about housing was far better than enduring the Gu family’s pressure here.

The young people’s future path is still long; there’s no need to cling to the little they have from their parents. It’s better to have their own than to depend on their parents. Besides, if Chen Yun and Gu Shunfa had a son, how much could they really give Minmin? It would be more trouble than it’s worth.

Gu Shunfa had a grim expression. Ever since Chen Yun became pregnant with the second child, her family had started to distance themselves from them. This was thanks to the contract signed when they made the investment; otherwise, they might not have gotten involved in their brother-in-law’s investment projects. With the current relationship, if they wanted to continue relying on their brother-in-law for benefits, it would not be easy.

He didn’t regret having Chen Yun keep the second child, but he regretted that he shouldn’t have let things get ugly with Minmin before. Now, Chen Yun’s family thought they were not worth keeping in touch with. This familial relationship would likely become more distant in the future.

He Jingxian and Wei Xiuhe exchanged glances and turned their heads to hide the sarcasm in their eyes.

With people who could scheme against their own daughter, who would dare to be sincere with them? They might end up being schemed against themselves.

Minmin’s decision, though sudden, wouldn’t turn out too badly.

Staying in Rong City, their relatives could help once or twice, but in the long run, they wouldn’t be able to assist much. Would they constantly need to guard against the Gu family?

They were also afraid that Minmin would get annoyed with them for too long, and she would end up compromising herself.

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Chen Yongxin chose a karaoke place diagonally across from the restaurant. Chen Jin and Zhuang Yao each took one of Gu Minmin’s arms and asked her what was going on.

“What else could it be? Just what you know now: I obtained a marriage certificate with Lin Sen, and I’ve resigned from the school. He works at a company, so it’s easy for him to resign.”

Gu Minmin felt relaxed now and smiled. “I’ve thought a lot about getting married, and it’s not just to make them angry. I truly believe this is the best choice for me at the moment.”

Zhuang Yao quietly glanced at Lin Sen, who was chatting with Chen Yongxin ahead, and said, “But after all, we’re in a different place. If he treats you poorly, it could be troublesome for your family to come and ask for an explanation. Besides, how long have you two been together?”

“We haven’t been together long, but we’ve known each other for a long time. I’m classmates with his cousin from the teacher’s college.”

“Oh, that’s why things moved so quickly toward marriage!”

Chen Jin said, “Cousin, I think you’ve done well!”

Taking advantage of the fact that they weren’t too deep in this swamp, it was better to get to the shore as soon as possible and not to risk everything for a small gem inside.

She then whispered, “Cousin’s husband’s performance just now was also very impressive!”

Now that Gu Minmin and Lin Sen were married and registered, she could finally call him “cousin’s husband.”

Behind them, Chen Ting said, “Chen Jin, you’re being a backseat driver again! You were telling her to fight for it before, and now you’re saying she did well. Why shouldn’t she take the money she deserves?”

Chen Jin turned back and stuck her tongue out at her, saying, “Hmph, now you know how good your uncle and aunt are to you, right? You should go to the Xichan Temple more often and pray.”

Chen Ting wanted to refute her but couldn’t find the words. She glared at her in annoyance, huffed, and bypassed them, heading straight for Liu Chengzhi, who was walking ahead.

Gu Minmin found it amusing. However, whether it was Chen Jin or Chen Ting, good or bad words, they all hoped for her well-being. At least not everyone among the relatives was like those from the Gu family, who wore such unpleasant faces.

As they arrived at the karaoke hall’s entrance, the eldest cousin and his wife said it was too noisy to take the child over and decided not to go out with them, turning back to the restaurant instead.

By the time Chen Jin realized what was happening, the three of them had already walked a short distance away. Junjun was lying on the eldest cousin’s shoulder, anxiously shouting “ah ah,” looking pitiful as he reached out with his little hands toward Chen Jin and the others.

The little kid wanted to come out and play too.

But everyone was used to it. The age gap between the eldest cousin and the younger ones was significant, and now that he had a family with children, they wouldn’t be able to play together much. It was likely that he felt he had more to talk about with the elders.

The second cousin was a bit better; he was serious about work but could also relax and have fun privately, not serious at all.

Originally, Chen Jin was excited to showcase her wonderful singing voice, but she unexpectedly ran into an old classmate she didn’t like, and her expression immediately fell.

“Chen Jin! Do you know…?” She’s back?

Not able to call out to her, Chen Jin ran away too quickly.