Chapter 26

Fu Qingshan, their biological uncle, was stationed far away with the military and could barely return home even once a year. The boys had no maternal grandparents to help care for them either. In this small southern town, most men were traditional and patriarchal—men like Qiao Laiwang, who only went to work and took no responsibility for housework or childcare, were the norm.

Their biological grandfather didn’t concern himself with household matters, while the step-grandmother held all the power at home. The children’s father and uncle didn’t get along with her, so it wasn’t hard to imagine that life under her roof for those two boys wouldn’t be easy.

After Fu Qingshan finished speaking, he glanced at Qiao Xinyi’s expression. But her gaze was darting all over the street at that moment, so he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He thought for a few seconds before continuing.

“I was basically raised by my older brother. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Qiao Xinyi had been walking while scanning for any ‘house for sale’ signs along the street. Caught off guard by his words, she instinctively turned to look at him.

“My brother was five years older than me. After he finished middle school, my stepmother didn’t let him continue studying. He carved out his own path—found a mentor in the county’s transportation team, worked as an apprentice for half a year, and then joined the team full-time.”

“Back then, I was still in school. Once my brother left home, my stepmother would often hide my homework books, pour water into my backpack, spike my meals with croton seed powder before exams… Then she’d go around telling people that without my brother at home, I became lazy, didn’t like to study, and made up excuses just to skip school and avoid doing homework.”

“She didn’t want me to keep studying—said it cost too much—and complained that while I was at school, there was no one to take care of my younger stepbrothers or do chores at home.”

Qiao Xinyi’s eyes practically bulged.

“She was that vile?”

She had figured the stepmother wouldn’t be kind to her stepson, but she hadn’t expected she’d go to such lengths against a child. The word vile might be short, but it was incisive—and hearing it, Fu Qingshan actually felt a bit comforted.

“I finally managed to finish middle school, but she convinced my dad to stop funding my education. Said studying was pointless. Since she couldn’t get my brother’s salary, she wouldn’t even let me go to the county to look for work.”

“It was my brother who brought me to the county and paid for me to attend high school. After I graduated, he even planned to borrow money to help me buy a job. But I was stubborn—I secretly signed up for the army without telling him.”

Fu Qingshan hadn’t exaggerated earlier. With just a high school diploma, he was among the more educated recruits in the military. That background earned him more opportunities for advanced training and further studies than most, which had, in turn, helped him climb the ranks more smoothly over the years.

“My sister-in-law was a wonderful person too. After she married my brother, she often sent care packages to me at the base—food, clothes. Whenever she took care of my brother, she took care of me too.”

Fu Qingshan knew that though he didn’t have a good father, he’d had a brother and sister-in-law who had treated him like their own son. That’s why, after being transferred back to the province, his first plan was to bring his two nephews to live with him and care for them.

“Your brother and sister-in-law treated you well. Now that they’re gone and have left behind two young children, it’s only right for you, as their uncle, to take on their responsibilities,” Qiao Xinyi said with a smile in her eyes as she praised him. “They didn’t love you in vain.”

“My salary is pretty good—I can afford to raise two kids.” Fu Qingshan rubbed the tip of his nose, then added, “And I’ll be able to afford a wife too.”

Seeing Qiao Xinyi grinning with her big white teeth, he went on, “My brother died in the line of duty. After he passed, the government gave us a compensation payment. Each of the boys receives a monthly stipend of seven yuan until they turn eighteen. And when they go to school, their tuition will be waived.”

Qiao Xinyi understood immediately—Fu Qingshan was letting her know that raising these two children wouldn’t be a financial burden on him.

So Fu Qingshan had seen through her little intentions. And after realizing it, he responded by sincerely sharing real details about his life. That meant he was giving her a chance to get to know him. 

Qiao Xinyi was quite satisfied—Fu Qingshan really was a decent guy. 

Mm, she had good taste.

Seeing that Qiao Xinyi didn’t continue to ask about him or say anything else, though her eyes were still darting around busily like she was looking for something, Fu Qingshan asked directly, “Do you have any plans this afternoon?”

“I’m planning to look for a place,” Qiao Xinyi replied, then added, “I’m planning to *buy* a place.”

Fu Qingshan paused mid-step. “You’re not happy living at Li Jun’s?”

“Oh, I’m happy there,” Qiao Xinyi said, “but renting isn’t a long-term solution. I still need to buy a place of my own to settle down.”

“I was chatting with Li Xiuying the other day, and it came up by chance—turns out Auntie Liu hadn’t originally planned to keep renting out the room I’m staying in.”

“Li Jun is at the age to get married, and over the past couple of years, Auntie Liu’s been asking around to find him a match. Once he’s ready to get married, she plans to combine that spare room and the one next to it into a bridal suite for the couple.”

If Li Jun hadn’t promised at work that he’d rent the room to Qiao Xinyi—or if her situation hadn’t been so unfortunate that Liu Guilan took pity on her—Liu Guilan hadn’t intended to keep the room vacant for renting.

Qiao Xinyi understood. After all, these days, matchmaking and weddings often happened quickly. Once you hit the right age, if the young couple liked each other, they might be engaged in three to five months—and once engaged, it wouldn’t be long before a wedding date was set.

Liu Guilan was a straightforward person. Since she already had a plan in mind, she didn’t want to mislead anyone. Moving house was no easy task—no one wanted to rent a place only to have to pack up again a few months later. So renting the room to Qiao Xinyi had really just been a one-off exception.

If she hadn’t found out about Liu Guilan’s intentions, that would’ve been one thing. But now that she knew, she figured she’d better start planning early. Besides, she had the money, and her personality leaned toward owning rather than renting.

Fu Qingshan nodded. He thought about bringing up the idea of her possibly becoming a military dependent, but then he remembered they had just come from the family housing area that afternoon—Qiao Xinyi already knew what his living situation was like, so he didn’t mention it again. 

Since she was planning to buy a house, it meant she had her own plans.

“If you’re looking to buy, I can take you to someone,” Fu Qingshan said. “He’s a friend of Li Jun’s and works at the Urban Construction Department. The Housing Bureau falls under them, and he’s got a lot of inside info on housing availability.”

Qiao Xinyi gave her head a little pat. She had completely forgotten—this was still 1978. No one posted ads about housing on the streets, and real estate agents didn’t exist yet. Buying or selling a house relied entirely on word of mouth and personal connections.

The two of them took a public bus to the Urban Construction Department to find Li Jun’s friend, a clerk surnamed Qian. Fu Qingshan had met him once at a meal with Li Jun, so they were acquainted.

When Clerk Qian heard someone was looking for him and came out to take a look, he immediately recognized Fu Qingshan and lit up with surprise.

“It’s you! I heard from Li Jun that you got transferred to the provincial military unit. He said once you were settled, we should get together for a meal.”

He glanced at the female comrade standing beside Fu Qingshan and gave him a playful wink. 

“And this is…?”