Chapter Eighteen: Peculiar and Unusual

When Li Zhu came back carrying the fruit, the two sisters had already calmed down. Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that their behavior tonight was unusually clingy. They were especially close to Jian Ping, showing no difference from their usual demeanor, but compared to that, Li Zhu felt somewhat neglected.

That evening, as the couple lay in bed, she couldn’t help but ask, “Did something happen while I was out? Why were Ayu and Xiang acting so strange tonight?”

“What do you mean strange?” Jian Ping immediately disagreed. The daughters’ closeness tonight was something they hadn’t experienced since the girls grew older and more mature. At first, Jian Ping found it a bit unfamiliar, but once accustomed, he wished they could be like this more often. Of course, he couldn’t bear to hear his wife’s words.

Li Zhu rolled her eyes at her husband in the darkness. Wasn’t it odd? In the past, the children would cut fruit without being told, even handing it to him with a fork. Though they did not forget her in this gesture, Li Zhu always felt like an afterthought.

Besides this, they talked about matters concerning Jiang Village and his work. Usually, the children showed little interest in their parents’ jobs and lives, except for the rare occasion. When talked about, the children would listen, but if the conversation became too fragmented, they would lose patience. So the couple mostly discussed things between themselves.

But tonight was different. The two daughters not only listened carefully; Ayu even gave her father some advice. Judging by Jian Ping’s reaction, it was somewhat helpful. Truly, they were university students now. Though their knowledge couldn’t fully compare to his years of experience, they understood quite a lot.

Naturally, the sisters were unaware of what was happening in their parents’ room. Even lying quietly in bed, their hearts still fluttered with excitement. In the dark, Song Xiang suddenly whispered, “Sister, do you think what Dad said is true? We’re not dreaming, are we?”

“What do you mean is true?” Song Yu got out of bed and turned over, her voice dreamy as she answered, “That we each have so many loans under our names? Or that we’ll have homesteads and houses in Jiang Village in the future? Or… if there’s demolition, the compensation money will be ours?”

By the end, Song Yu’s voice was barely audible. Yet Song Xiang, listening keenly in the night, heard every word clearly. Her excitement began to calm.

Indeed, their father spoke a lot tonight but never mentioned that this decision was made together by their parents. In other words, even he might not know how Li Zhu would react once she found out.

“Then, sister, do you think brother will still buy that house?” It was already April, and the couple’s wedding was less than a month ago. If they didn’t buy the new house soon…

“Brother has been taking sister-in-law back to Jiang Village these past weeks,” Song Yu stretched out on the bed, staring at the bunk bed’s divider. “You had a similar vacation schedule. Didn’t you go back with them?”

“We did go back!” Song Xiang hesitated, “But in the village, I don’t know what they were looking at.”

“Anyway, whether it’s the new district, the neighboring village, or our own village, brother has taken sister-in-law there again and again.”

“But they never said what exactly they were looking for or what they were thinking about.”

“So naturally, I don’t know either.”

“Maybe they need to discuss it more before telling us,” Song Yu raised an eyebrow.

In her memory, neither brother nor sister-in-law was impulsive. The more carefully they observed, the more it showed they had something on their minds.

Song Xiang was silent, then after a while replied sadly, “Probably.”

Hearing that tone, Song Yu opened her mouth slightly as if to comfort her but didn’t know where to start. After all, the three siblings had long since settled into their own lives. The sadness over growing apart was a thing of the distant past.

In the following days, Song Yu went to work as usual. Until Friday night.

Li Zhu looked at Song Lin and his wife, who had come back together for dinner, and asked, “Song Lin, how soon are you and Ying planning to finalize the house?”

Originally, when the An family bought a house outright, the procedures were handled by Song Lin alone. But now, since they were buying on a loan, the two couples agreed that Song Lin and Ying would first get their marriage certificate and then handle the process together.

Naturally, the Xuan family was unhappy about this. But Song Lin and Jian Ping had promised that although the house was being bought with a loan, the couple wouldn’t bear the mortgage burden alone for the time being.

Judging by the situation in Jiang Village, once Song Lin’s house was built, with proper management, not only could he handle the mortgage, but he would likely be quite well off. Moreover, the An family’s decision not to pay in full was not just about building the house in Jiang Village; they also planned to lease land there and run agritourism with villagers.

Thus, even if the couple bought the house with a loan, it wouldn’t be a burden. They might even have an extra house in Jiang Village.

With that in mind, the Xuan family tacitly accepted the loan purchase.

Yet, curiously, despite the family’s approval, the couple seemed less invested in the house purchase.

Li Zhu was thinking this when she noticed Song Lin and Ying simultaneously put down their chopsticks. Observing their expressions, Li Zhu instinctively felt something was amiss.

Before she could speak, Song Lin solemnly looked at his father and said, “Dad, Ying and I have discussed it, and we’ve decided to hold off on buying the house for now.”

The moment he said this, Li Zhu slammed her chopsticks down, her face darkening as she looked at them both and asked sharply, “Song Lin, did you really discuss this with Ying? Or did you decide this on your own and then convince Ying?”

Song Lin looked at his mother helplessly. He knew she had been particularly sensitive about the house purchase since his wedding, but to doubt him without even asking was somewhat excessive.

“Auntie, this really is the result of a serious discussion between Song Lin and me,” Ying took Song Lin’s hand and looked seriously at Li Zhu.

“Recently, during our holidays, we visited Jiang Village, Lin Village, and the new district. We also checked out new developments in Rongdi and Liangdi.”

“After seeing them, we realized that the Hongye Haoting we wanted to buy isn’t actually the best choice.”

“Especially the schools nearby—Hongye Haoting only has an elementary school, with no middle school at all.”

“Not to mention a high school.”

“However, while looking, we found several plots in Liangdi and Rongdi already fenced off.”

“It seems new neighborhoods will be built soon.”

“Moreover, there’s a plot in Rongdi near the Rongdi Academy. Though Liangdi is a bit farther from Shuncheng No.1 High School, it’s not too far.”

“If the school districts are drawn accordingly, we’d likely fall under Shuncheng No.1 High School.”

“That would save us a lot of trouble if we want to attend the high school division there later.”