Chapter 87

Unfortunately, the items were sold for a low price, and even then, they couldn’t save the lives of the two children’s mother.

“You’re getting married too, so I’ll hand these things over to you now,” Fu Bailu said with a pleased smile. “In the blink of an eye, you’re starting your own family and career. If your grandfather and mother knew this from the afterlife, they’d be at peace.”

The old lady patted Fu Qingshan’s hand.

“I’ve looked over your partner—she’s a good one. I’m sure your mother would have liked her too.”

“You’ll get half of what’s in the box. The other half is to be kept for the two children,” she continued happily. “They’ll be living with you two from now on, so you hold onto their share for now, and when they’re getting married, give it to them then.”

“I don’t want mine. Give my share to Bald Auntie!” Fu Linzhou crossed his little arms behind his back and shook his head. “Bald Auntie really likes these things! I saw it just now—when she glanced at the box, her eyes lit up like a lightbulb at night—pop!—and they got all bright and shiny!”

The moment Fu Zeyu heard his brother say that Qiao Xinyi liked the items, she quickly chimed in too:
“I don’t want mine either! Give mine and my brother’s shares to Bald Auntie so she can wear something different every day!”

Qiao Xinyi touched her face and turned to look at Fu Qingshan, asking with her eyes: Was I that obvious?

Fu Qingshan chuckled softly and gave a small nod.

Qiao Xinyi rubbed the tip of her nose. It wasn’t her fault she had little experience—these things really dazzled the eyes. She had never seen jewelry like this before.

They were simply luxurious beyond belief—blindingly so.
She didn’t know much about jade, but she could recognize pearls: these were big and perfectly round. And the colored gemstones—large, pure in color, and vibrant.
If they were sharing space with these other treasures in the same box, then the jade pieces must be top quality as well.

Not to mention the intricately crafted hairpins and ornaments, all made of solid gold!

That the Fu family managed to keep these heirlooms hidden all these years really did show their capability. There was a reason they were once considered a wealthy household.

And no one would have guessed that Fu Qingshan’s mother would entrust such valuable items to Fu Bailu for safekeeping. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Fu Bailu was just a maid who had married out of the family.

“These are meant for your future wives. If you give them to me, what’ll happen if you can’t find wives when you grow up?” Qiao Xinyi teased, pretending to drag the jewelry boxes over to her side.

But the two kids weren’t the least bit flustered. After seriously thinking for a moment, Fu Linzhou said loudly:

“Then when I get married, Bald Auntie, you can show them to my wife. After she’s seen enough, I’ll ask her to give them back to you.”

Fu Zeyu nodded in agreement beside him.

Qiao Xinyi affectionately patted the two little round heads.
“Oh, I see. Well then, no need to worry about this anymore. Looks like you two probably won’t be getting wives after all.”

That’s it. She had nothing to worry about with these two—they were clearly going to be their future auntie’s biggest fans.

Fu Bailu was laughing so hard at the exchange that she turned to Qiao Xinyi and said,
“You’d better remember what they said today. When they’re grown up and getting married, tell their wives exactly what they said—let’s see if they stick around.”

“They won’t run! They won’t!” Fu Linzhou puffed out his chest proudly. “If they try to run, my brother and I will chase them down! We run super fast!”

“Girls can’t outrun me and my brother. If they run, we’ll just catch them and bring them back!”

Listen to them—absolutely full of pride.

Qiao Xinyi felt a pang of regret. If only she had a phone, she’d record everything they were saying and all their funny expressions right now.

The two kids had no idea why the adults were laughing so much. They glanced at Fu Qingshan, then at Bald Auntie, then at Fu Bailu, and eventually started giggling along with everyone, grinning from ear to ear.

Fu Bailu wasn’t worried at all that Qiao Xinyi would try to take the children’s share of the valuables. She could tell — Qiao Xinyi might have said those things, but there wasn’t a trace of greed in her eyes. She was clearly just teasing the kids.

Besides, how could someone chosen by Fu Qingshan be the kind of person Zhang Zao was?

Fu Bailu trusted her own judgment and even more so, Fu Qingshan’s choice.

“There are house deeds in this box — one is for the house you’re living in now, and one is for the one I’m living in.” Fu Bailu opened the box and took out the old, yellowed property deeds. “Take them both. When I’m gone, that house will be yours too.”

Fu Qingshan was completely stunned. “The deed to my house was with you?”

Fu Bailu smiled. “Surprising, isn’t it? The day your mother became bedridden, she gave all these things to me and asked me to sneak them out of the Fu household and hide them.”

“Your mother was a smart woman — but unfortunately, she was born at the wrong time and had terrible luck,” she sighed softly.

“My brother and I always thought my dad took the deed,” Fu Qingshan explained. “Not long after we handled my mom’s funeral, he asked us both about it. He assumed she gave it to us.”

“After he married Zhang Zao, she searched the entire house inside and out within just a few days under the pretense of cleaning. Then she stopped and never mentioned the deed again. After that, my brother and I figured he must have found it.”

That was why Fu Qingshan had been so shocked into silence when the old lady pulled out the deed.

“I figured as much,” Fu Bailu scoffed. “It’s the thing Zheng Youliang obsessed over for half his life and never managed to find.”

“At the time, you and your brother were still just children. Zheng Youliang was your father, and given the situation back then, how could your mother dare to leave such an important thing with you?”

Two small kids, having lost their mother, with no maternal relatives to protect them, and a father as selfish and self-serving as that — there was no way they could’ve held onto anything.

That the deed had ended up with Fu Bailu — not only would Fu Qingshan and his brother never have guessed it, Zheng Youliang certainly wouldn’t have either.

After Fu Shuzhen passed away, Fu Bailu had never stepped foot in the Fu household again — she’d completely withdrawn from their lives.

And knowing what kind of petty man Zheng Youliang was, he would never believe that such an important item could be entrusted to someone outside the family. He would’ve naturally assumed that Fu Shuzhen had hidden the deed somewhere in the house or given it to her sons.

After so many years of not finding it, Zheng Youliang must’ve assumed the deed was lost. Since they never planned to sell the house anyway, he figured it didn’t matter.

“I’ve heard that people in the county town are already secretly buying and selling houses. I don’t know much about how it works, but since you and the kids are leaving Tong’an County and won’t be coming back, wait until the time is right and sell the house. Take the money and buy a new home elsewhere. In any case, the Fu family home must never fall into Zheng Youliang’s hands.”

“Don’t think it’s too little either — town property might not be worth as much as in the county or the provincial capital, but whatever you can sell it for, it’s better than letting it go cheap to Zheng Youliang’s family.”

Fu Bailu despised Zheng Youliang — and despised Zhang Zao and her two children just as much.

Now that Fu Qingshan had registered his household in the provincial capital, and the children would be leaving with him, they wouldn’t be living in the town again.

No one from the Fu family would be living there anymore. So what right did Zheng Youliang have to live there with his second wife and their children?

If Fu Qingshan and the kids put down roots in the big city, while Zheng Youliang’s son and grandson kept living in the Fu family home generation after generation, wouldn’t the Fu family legacy be turned into a Zheng family inheritance?

“Alright,” Fu Qingshan nodded. “No need to wait. I’ll start the process to reclaim the house in the next few days.”

Since the deed wasn’t in Zheng Youliang’s hands, this would be much easier to handle.