Chapter 21.2

Grandma Miao had not been out of the house for years but still knew where the military compound was. When the guards called to announce the name of the visitor, Lin Wan put down the phone and went out to greet them.

“Aunt Lan, you look much better than before,” Grandma said in person, while Lin Wan felt somewhat nervous, vaguely guessing the purpose of Grandma’s visit. Cui Pingzhou was by her side.

Miao Xiulan spread out the bag she had brought on the coffee table in the living room. Cui Pingzhou’s eyes narrowed when he saw twenty-four gold beads, each the size of a longan, a pair of jade bangles that glimmered with emerald hues, and an opened scroll of well-preserved artwork, an authentic piece from a prominent Tang Dynasty artist. The most valuable item was a three-inch gilded brocade box, which was locked. Just the intricate patterns on the brocade box were antiques from before the Tang Dynasty.

If one box was this precious, the items inside couldn’t be underestimated either.

Grandma Miao spoke nonchalantly. Fifty years ago, the Miao family had not yet fallen. That year, her grandfather had donated two hundred thousand taels of silver for military supplies. When she married, her mother had hidden away these treasures for her, and what she had hidden in the bedposts were the least valuable of those items—these gold beads.

However, the gold beads were tangible; they could be cashed in or exchanged for goods in any era.

Grandma said, “Xiao Wan, Aunt Lan is here today to propose for my grandson Chuan. The two children already have a marriage agreement. I want to marry Xiao Ci into our family soon. The only betrothal gifts we can present right now are these. In the future, Chuan will earn more and won’t let Xiao Ci suffer.”

“Just these?” Grandma was being modest. Cui Pingzhou clicked his tongue. The older generation in Qincheng still remembered Grandma’s ten-mile bridal procession when she married. Ten years ago, her family had been completely stripped, yet she still managed to present such gold and antique treasures.

It was said that Grandma had moved many of her dowries before the family was confiscated; the rumors were not baseless. Cui Pingzhou now understood why Dong Hua’s family had been fixated on Miao Xiulan’s family, wishing for her descendants to perish just to monopolize her dowry.

Each item here was enough for an ordinary family to live off for a lifetime. Moreover, Dong Hua had seen Miao Xiulan’s storeroom with her own eyes back then, making it hard not to be tempted.

Cui Pingzhou was Jiang Ci’s stepfather, so it was not appropriate for him to make decisions for her. He gently looked at his dazed wife and called out, “Lin Wan, Grandma is waiting for your response.”

Both families were very willing about this marriage, but the only problem was…

Lin Wan hesitated and said, “Aunt Lan, Xiao Ci is only seventeen this year…” She had thought to wait until the girl was older, at least twenty, before getting married. She felt that marrying too young could lead to unplanned pregnancies, which wouldn’t be good at all.

Grandma Miao replied, “Xiao Wan, I’ve considered everything you’re worried about. Society has progressed; it’s not like our time when people could marry at fifteen or sixteen. The law states that one must be eighteen to obtain a marriage certificate, right? I know you wouldn’t want little Jiang Ci to have a wedding first and then get the certificate, so let’s set the wedding date for January of next year. Isn’t Xiao Ci’s birthday on the ninth? The twelfth is an auspicious date; what do you think about having the banquet that day?”

This left Lin Wan dumbfounded. Grandma had already made all the arrangements, and if she were to disagree, would Aunt Lan throw a fit?

Cui Pingzhou couldn’t help but chuckle; he covered his mouth with his hand and coughed lightly. Marrying off a wife… was bound to be a pressing matter. “I’m just worried it might not go over well with Grandpa Jiang.”

“Grandpa Jiang?” Miao Xiulan said, “I can persuade him. Are you two in agreement then?”

Lin Wan was speechless. “Not exactly.”

Cui Pingzhou turned to look at his wife and spoke on behalf of Gu Qingchuan. “Weren’t you always worried about Xiao Ci not being safe living alone? She won’t agree to come live with us. I can see how much Xiao Ci likes Chuan; she won’t marry anyone else. It’s better for her to marry him sooner rather than later.”

Lin Wan thought for a moment and sighed. She had married Cui Pingzhou to give the two children a legitimate status. If she had waited another two years, who knew what might have happened at that time?

With the landlord’s hat over Grandma’s household finally in sight of being removed, many were eyeing her family for their dowry. Moreover, Xiao Ci was working at the machinery factory, and those young men were like wolves, knowing full well she had a fiancé but still pursuing her relentlessly. It would be better for the two to marry sooner.

“Aunt Lan, I have no objections on my side. I’ll go back to the Jiang family with you and discuss it with the old man.”

“Good, let’s go right now.”

…

“Chuan Xiao Tingxiang has been discharged from the hospital. Why are you still staying at my house?”

It was not good to leave Xiao Jiang Ci in the next room. That girl was so good to Brother Chuan, bringing breakfast to his house. Jiang Dasheng thought to himself that if he could have a woman who cared for him so thoughtfully, he would have married her long ago.

“Xie Tingyu is back,” Gu Qingchuan said, lying back on the bamboo chair in the afternoon sun, his elbows shielding his forehead from the light.

“Let her come back if she wants,” Jiang Dasheng replied. “Isn’t she your little sister? Is she not doing well at her adoptive parents’ house?”

Even Jiang Dasheng guessed that the clever girl had surely heard that Brother Chuan’s family was about to take off the landlord’s hat, which was why she rushed back.

Where had she been? Three years ago, she had insisted on leaving.

“She’s eighteen now and has changed her surname; I need to avoid suspicion,” Gu Qingchuan sighed. “I thought about renting her another place, but she would definitely cry to death at my door. Back then, her mother used this trick, kneeling at my door with two children in the snow all night.”

Gu Qingchuan chuckled self-deprecatingly. “She really chose her spot well. Back then, our family’s door was the highest in the area. My mother died when she gave birth to me, and my father had been single for so many years. Now that I think about it, that woman might have had her sights set on my father. If she hadn’t died of illness that year, I might have had a stepmother by now.”

At ten years old, Gu Qingchuan could not understand a woman’s heart. Now, reflecting on it carefully, he realized that the fragile woman could be so ruthless. She refused help from neighbors, choosing to freeze to death at his door, hoping to find a good family for her two daughters. If she could also find a good home for herself in the process, that would be even better.

That year, Xie Tingyu was eight years old. Who knew if her mother had told her anything?

In any case, he was very annoyed now.

Jiang Dasheng could not help him with this kind of trouble. He took out a stack of cash from the house. “This is the money from selling mountain goods over the past few months. Those wild ducks and mountain chickens were quite popular. Now that it’s almost New Year’s, who wouldn’t want to eat some meat and pickle some salted goods? Six yuan each, no bargaining. I sold over two hundred, and it was exactly fifteen hundred yuan by yesterday. You take this to Xiao Ci.”

The remaining hundred or so he was reluctant to sell; he wanted to keep them for laying eggs to expand breeding next year.

“Okay.” Gu Qingchuan took the money. Xiao Ci should be off work soon. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. I won’t go to the market tonight; you leave the door open for me. I need to get a good rest.”

“Alright.”

Xie Tingyu wandered the streets and alleys of Qincheng all day. She indeed still liked this big city, surrounded by mountains and water, blessed with talented people and beautiful scenery, and close to Beijing. That year, when she and her mother knelt in the heavy snow, she could not endure the cold and hunger, wanting her mother to take her to the neighboring house to escape the storm.

Her mother had said, “Silly girl, the richest family in Qincheng is the one we’re kneeling in front of. As long as we can soften Grandma’s heart, you and your sister will be young ladies with no worries about food and clothing. In the future, Grandma will even give you a generous dowry. I will kneel to death if it means securing a future for you two.”

Now, she understood her mother’s intentions from back then. She wanted to move Grandma’s heart again with sincerity. If she could marry Gu Qingchuan… that would be even better. Brother Chuan was so capable; among all the young men she had seen, none compared to Gu Qingchuan in looks.

Xie Tingyu’s heart blossomed with joy; today her little sister was discharged from the hospital, and Gu Qingchuan should be home soon.

“Grandma, what are you doing?” Xie Tingyu saw Grandma cheerfully packing up Gu Qingchuan’s bedding and clothes, piling them on the square table in the hall, and she did not understand what Grandma was planning.

“Clearing a room for you,” Grandma Miao was in a really good mood today. Grandpa Jiang had initially disagreed, but after she mentioned that matter to him, he smoked a pouch of dry tobacco and silently nodded in agreement.

Was Grandma accepting her? Xie Tingyu felt a surge of joy in her heart and blushed. “Then where will my brother stay?”

There were only two rooms in the house.

“Your brother and Xiao Ci’s wedding date has been set for the twelfth day of the first month of next year. You don’t plan on leaving when you come home, do you? I can’t chase you out before you get married. Since we don’t have enough rooms, I discussed it with your future in-laws, and your brother will move into Xiao Ci’s courtyard.”

Grandma would definitely not give that seemingly weak yet scheming girl any chance to have any wrong ideas before her eldest grandson’s wedding.

All of Xie Tingyu’s hopes were dashed. She anxiously said, “Grandma, it’s all my fault for taking up space at home. Don’t clear out my brother’s room; I can squeeze into yours. Didn’t we used to sleep like that before?”

Grandma firmly refused, “No way. You sleep more soundly than a pig. What if Xiaotingxiang gets sick from the cold because of you? What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy that your brother is getting married?”

Happy? She couldn’t be happy at all. Xie Tingyu said miserably, “My brother is marrying a wife, not becoming a son-in-law. How can he live next door? Besides, they aren’t even married yet. It’s not proper for them to live together; it would sound bad if it got out.”

“What’s so bad about it?” Grandma sneered internally; this little girl was probably still daydreaming.

“I’m open-minded about it as long as Brother Chuan can get married smoothly. I don’t care whether he’s a son-in-law or not. I’ve thought of everything you could imagine. Tomorrow, I’ll find a craftsman to tear down this courtyard wall between us, and it will be one big yard. I’m more than happy to send my eldest grandson over. Who can stop me?”

No one could indeed stop her.

Xie Tingyu felt as if she had been drenched in a bucket of cold water, leaving her feeling thoroughly chilled. Grandma was so quick; in just one day, she had set the wedding date. Calculating, it was less than two months until Gu Qingchuan would marry Jiang Ci.

What was she supposed to do?

At that moment, Gu Qingchuan arrived at the door and heard the commotion inside. He rushed in, taking two steps at a time. “Grandma, what’s going on?”

His bedding, clothes, and odds and ends were all packed into two large bags. What kind of immoral thing had he done for Grandma to kick him out?

It couldn’t be, could it?

Grandma Miao shot him an annoyed glance. This foolish grandson still didn’t realize he was being targeted.

“I’m moving your things to the courtyard next door. You’ll be sleeping there tonight,” Grandma said cheerfully.

“Sleep where?” Gu Qingchuan felt like he was about to faint. On the left was Jiang Ci, and on the right was the Donghua family. He thought neither of the neighbors was reliable; where on earth was he supposed to sleep?

“Of course, you’ll sleep at Xiao Jiang Ci’s place. Are you hoping to go and die at the Donghua family’s?”

Grandma Miao truly thought her grandson was too dense. “I went to see Lin Wan and Jiang Dayou today, and I’ve set your wedding date with Xiao Ci for the twelfth day of the first month. Just wait for the marriage.”

Gu Qingchuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His brain couldn’t process it for a moment. “It’s settled? Then why do I have to go live there now… No, how did it get settled? Does Xiao Ci know? How can you live under the same roof before the wedding?”

“I’m not making you sleep in the same room. Isn’t there another room at Xiao Ci’s place?” Grandma Miao, angered, swatted at him. “Hurry up and take your bedding and get lost. If Xiao Ci doesn’t take you in, don’t bother coming back!”

Gu Qingchuan: “……” He felt so pitiful; he was being kicked out of his own home.

He stood at the door, holding a large bag in each hand, feeling lost as he looked left and right, wondering if he should go borrow a place to stay at Jiang Dasheng’s house.

Grandma Miao stood at the door, reminding him, “Hurry up and wait by the door of the courtyard for Xiao Ci. After you settle in, make sure to go back to the military compound quickly. Your Uncle Cui is looking for you; he said there’s something important to discuss.”