After a short while, Da Ming playfully tapped Little Starâs face, marking their familiarity. With two children at home, there was much more laughter and cheer.
Taking advantage of having more people to watch over the kids, Tan Aixiang rode his bike out to buy two pounds of meat and some seasonal vegetables, and also invited Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin from next door.
In the evening, they prepared seven or eight dishes, waiting for Shen Boxu to return. Han Yi even had a few drinks.
Everyone was happy to know Han Yi had been recommended to a military academy.
"Study well at school, Xiao Wan is at home, we have everything covered, you donât need to worry," Aunt Jin sincerely rejoiced for him.
If her son were still here, he might have been as successful.
Ah, life is often full of unsatisfactory things.
Lin Wan saw the trace of sadness on Aunt Jinâs face and realized she was thinking about her own child.
In her previous life, she didnât know what ultimately happened to Aunt Jin and Uncle Jin. In this life, she was determined not to let the elderly couple be lonely and helpless.
"Aunt Jin, Iâm fine here, please donât run back and forth in the heat, Iâll bring Little Star to see you when the weather cools."
"Hey... Whatâs there to run about for... Business hasnât been great lately with the heat, Uncle Jin hasnât been going much to set up his stall either."
"If the weatherâs too hot, then donât go."
"Weâre being careful."
Shen Boxu had been feeling down lately, but seeing Han Yi today brightened his mood, and he drank quite a lot.
Tan Aixiang noticed it and said a couple of words to him, snatching the bottle of wine back from his hands.
"Iâm just happy to see Xiao Yi." Shen Boxu hugged the bottle tightly, dissatisfied.
Grandma, sitting nearby, gently soothed her grandson-in-law, smiling, "Let him drink, heâs been troubled enough with Rongrongâs matters lately, itâs a good chance for him to vent today."
Since Grandma had spoken, Tan Aixiang couldnât argue back, but advised Shen Boxu to drink less.
"Whatâs wrong with Rongrong?" Lin Wan asked curiously.
"Itâs all about money, isnât it?" At the mention of Shen Rong, Tan Aixiang was filled with anger.
The grandma also sighed, and since Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin lived nearby, they knew some of what had been happening. Lately, Shen Rong and her spouse frequently visited.
"Li Chang and Rongrongâs factory are allocating housing. Both of them are relatively junior, so they likely didnât qualify, but his father-in-law is a workshop director and has worked in the factory for over a decade. With many children in the family, they meet the criteria for housing allocation. Itâs not a big apartment, two bedrooms and one living room, but Rongrongâs in-laws have three sons and one daughter. Now the whole family lives in a crowded compound. His father-in-law intends to give this apartment to the eldest. The eldest already has two kids, and the four of them are squeezed into one room now. When the eldest moves out, the vacated room is just right for the second childâs family. Li Chang is the third, he just got married, and the young couple arenât in a rush. They plan to wait a few years until their service time is enough, then try to get a housing unit from the factory... This idea of the father-in-law is pretty fair, considering everything without bias or favoritism."
"Indeed, housing conditions are quite tough these days. Although a lot of apartments have been built across various factories, itâs still not nearly enough," Uncle Jin said, though he didnât work at a factory, he was somewhat informed. "Most families are like this now. Parents arenât inconsiderate, theyâre just asking the young couple to wait a few years."
"Rongrong isnât happy?" Lin Wanâs first reaction was this.
"Exactly, Rongrong is carefree and didnât mind much, but Li Chang, after discussing it with Rongrong at night, feels theyâre being treated unfairly. Li Chang himself is embarrassed to talk to his parents, so he instigated Rongrong to go back and complain to your uncle and aunt. She even wanted to drag your uncle and brother to argue with her in-laws." Tan Aixiang curled her lips, "Luckily, your uncle is sensible and didnât let her cause trouble. But the couple wasnât willing to give up and shamelessly talked to their in-laws. Rongrongâs father-in-law didnât say anything, but Liâs second brother didnât want to lose the new house either. Naturally, the eldest didnât want to give it up, so now... both sons started arguing. Finally, Liâs father-in-law couldnât take it anymore and strongly declared that whoever wanted the new house should pay 3,000 yuan to buy something at the base for the other son; the remaining compound rooms would be for the other son. Itâs fair to everyone â those who have the money buy the new house, and those who donât live in the original place. Let them decide among themselves, whoever comes up with 3,000 yuan first gets the new house, and the remaining two families draw lots to decide between the new house and the compound. The couple just started working not long ago, and donât have much savings. Theyâve already persuaded your aunt to give all the money she saved over the years, but thereâs still more than a thousand missing, so they thought of Grandma. Grandma, at her age, isnât working, what money does she have? Lastly, they tried to borrow from your brother... Iâm not working now, and canât earn much money selling soaps occasionally. Arenât we relying on your brother for everything at home? Where do we have money to lend them... but they just wonât let go, convinced we have money, and have come over multiple times."
Tan Aixiang spoke more and more upset. Even if they had money, she wouldnât want to lend it to them. Rongrong often spoke out of line, and her character wasnât great, but after all, she was her sister-in-law. Meanwhile, Li Chang appeared very cunning.
If she really lent them the money, it might just be wasted.
"Who knows what the couple is thinking, their parents have planned well for them, having a house a few years later isnât bad at all. Look at the cityâs development these past two years, itâs been improving. After a few years, who knows, houses might be even better than now. They donât appreciate the blessings they have. Spending money on it now, whatâs the point!" Aunt Jin didnât agree with the coupleâs choices. Being obsessed with immediate and tiny benefits could never lead to great success.
"If they understood, they wouldnât be asking family to lend them money." Grandma, though angry, didnât dare to speak too loudly, for fear of alarming the two children nearby.
"Well... thankfully, this matter has passed. Yesterday, Rongrong came back and complained to us, saying Li Changâs second brother got the money ahead and moved in." Shen Boxu wasnât very close with his sister, having been her brother for so many years, he certainly understood Shen Rong. He didnât like this sister... and took another sip of his drink.
"So how is Rongrong now?"
"They intend to use the 3,000 yuan to buy the new house," Tan Aixiang said.
"Sure, 3,000 yuan is more than enough to buy a house, but itâs not enough to build it, is it?" Uncle Jin estimated.
"Didnât my mother-in-law give them a thousand yuan?"
Talking about that thousand yuan, Tan Aixiang felt deeply wronged.
That money was meant for her husbandâs future, but now her mother-in-law gave it all to their daughter. Setting aside whether they would repay it or not, her in-lawsâ quickness in giving money to their daughter was unsettling.
Usually, when her mother-in-law gave money to her, it was never as fast as with the sister-in-law.
In Lin Wanâs view, although Liâs second son got the new house and appeared to have benefited, the fact was they lost out.
In another ten years or so, the compound houses would definitely be demolished. By then, those living in the compound would earn several housing units.
Shen Rong and Li Chang werenât completely clueless, and at least they got a house. If the location is well chosen, in ten years, its value would increase tenfold.
On the contrary, Liâs second sonâs apartment building likely wouldnât be demolished soon, at least for another twenty years. Relative to current conditions, it is the compound and house that increase in value faster. Sensible people know which benefits and which doesnât.
Liâs old couple, needless to say, actually the second method relieved them of much burden, it was well thought out from the start.
At least the Li family now had an extra property, and the three sonâs houses were all settled. The old couple would be relieved a lot in the future, no matter who lived in them. They would be the beneficiaries.
One must admit, wisdom comes with age.
Actually, Shen Rong should be grateful to her brother and sister-in-law for not lending them money.
Itâs not their familyâs problem, why bother with it. This issue isnât their concern either.
After dinner, they took Little Star home.
Arriving at the military academy doesnât mean Han Yi could start directly; he had to take a standardized test. Even with recommendations from the military, if the grades were too poor, he couldnât get in.
Besides academic subjects, there were also military aspects to be tested.
Lin Wan was initially worried for him, but seeing Han Yi so relaxed these past few days eased her worries.