Chapter 231: Xiao Mo Felt Shy from the Compliments

After Huo Zhenting left, Xiao Mo played for a while with the other children.

All the kids were around the same age, and since Xiao Mo was great at telling stories and making jokes, it didn’t take long for him to become friends with everyone.

As soon as he caught a whiff of the delicious food cooking, he realized that Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu would be finishing work soon.

He turned to the new friends he had just met and said, “I need to go home to cook. You should head back early too! We can play together again in a couple of days.”

“Xiao Mo, let’s play a little longer!” the grandson of General Wang urged him to stay.

“It’s too late today. I need to go home to cook for Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu. I’ll play with you all next time,” he replied.

Once he got home, he began washing vegetables and preparing dinner. By the time Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu returned, the dishes were already set on the table.

The two looked at the food on the table and praised him, saying, “Our son is really capable.”

Xiao Mo glanced proudly at them and said, “Wash your hands and let’s eat!”

During dinner, he told them about the friends he had made, specifically mentioning Huo Zhenting.

Hearing this, Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu couldn’t help but chuckle. “He was just teasing you. Zhenting is a good friend of your brother-in-law. They grew up together, just like brothers.”

“What? He’s a good brother of my brother-in-law? My brother-in-law is such a serious person; how could he have a brother like that?”

Xiao Mo expressed his disbelief, planning to ask his brother-in-law about this Huo Zhenting when he got the chance.

Upon hearing his words, the two exchanged glances and cleared their throats, not quite knowing how to tell him that his brother-in-law was a bit of a troublemaker when he was younger.

After dinner, Uncle Lu went to the hospital for a night shift, while Aunt Lu took Xiao Mo for a walk around the compound.

Seeing him salute and greet people he met along the way, she couldn’t help but smile. This boy was certainly not shy at all!

“Director Shen, taking your son out for a stroll?” asked Colonel Song’s wife with a laugh.

The daughter-in-law of General Wang, who was also out for a walk, chimed in, “Director Shen, your son is really impressive. At such a young age, he’s very polite and sweet-tongued.”

Another young wife accompanying her added, “Exactly! He’s even more considerate than my daughter. My boy told me that after playing outside for a while, he said he wanted to go back and cook for you. Which child in this compound knows how to cook? How can this kid be so well-behaved?”

Aunt Lu beamed with joy, chatting with the women while holding Xiao Mo’s hand.

Even thick-skinned Xu Mo felt a bit shy from all the compliments, pulling Aunt Lu back home.

As they walked, he murmured to her, “The people here are really not reserved; they speak more straightforwardly than the aunties in Yushu Village.”

Aunt Lu teased, “Oh, look at our Xiao Mo, feeling shy now!”

“Hmph, who’s feeling shy? You can go play outside by yourself! I’m going home to see if Uncle Lu is back,” he replied, letting go of Aunt Lu’s hand and running back.

The next morning, Aunt Lu and Xiao Mo went to the neighborhood office, where Xiao An was already waiting at the entrance.

Uncle Lu had called the day before to inform them, and when the neighborhood office director, Qin Lan, saw them arrive, she hurried over and asked, “Are you Director Shen? Chief Lu called yesterday, and we’ve gathered some information about the situation. Currently, the house is occupied by the Xu family and the Lin couple.”

Aunt Lu pretended to be surprised and asked, “How could they be living there? Did your neighborhood arrange for them?”

Qin Lan explained, “It wasn’t arranged by us. I only transferred here last year, so I’m not very familiar with the specifics. One of the older staff members told us that Xu Mingwei’s mother claimed that the house belonged to their family. After Professor Xu’s family moved to the countryside, they moved in. If it hadn’t been for Chief Lu’s call yesterday, we wouldn’t have known about this situation.”

Xu An took out the property deed and the severance letter. “Director Qin, this is the property deed for that house. It was purchased for my mother by my maternal grandfather, and it has nothing to do with the Xu family.

Xu Mingwei was my dad’s half-brother, but when my parents went to the countryside, the two families had already severed ties. This is the severance letter written by Xu Mingwei.”

“They are currently occupying my family’s house, which is both unreasonable and illegal. I hope the neighborhood office can help us get this house back so our family has a place to live,” Xu An stated.

Before Qin Lan could respond, Aunt Lu sighed and added, “My in-laws were just brought back and immediately put to work. Otherwise, their two children wouldn’t have been able to find me. When my husband, Old Lu, heard that his in-laws’ house was occupied, he was so anxious that he couldn’t sleep last night. This morning, he asked me to bring the children over to see you at the neighborhood office to discuss how we could resolve this matter.”

Qin Lan said hurriedly, “Director Shen, you and Chief Lu can rest assured that our neighborhood office will definitely handle this. I will go to their house shortly to inform them that they need to move out quickly so that Professor Xu and his family can move in as soon as possible.”

Aunt Lu gratefully took her hand and said, “Director Qin, you truly are a good leader who cares for our neighborhood. I appreciate your assistance with this matter.

Once everything is settled, I will write a letter of commendation to your superiors to highlight how our neighborhood office is helping ease the burdens of the workers on the front lines.”