Chapter 145: What About Grandma?
Gu Zhang insisted that the house and land both be registered in Gu Fei’s name. Gu Fei refused, wanting them to be in her father’s name instead. They argued for a while, but in the end, Gu Fei had no choice but to give in to her father.
The three of them were eager to tell their family the good news, so they hurried back to the estate in the mule cart.
The family had been craning their necks in the main hall. The moment they saw the three of them enter through the door, Mrs. Chen trotted out to meet them, looking at Gu Zhang with hopeful eyes. "Is it done?"
Gu Zhang smiled and nodded. "It’s done!"
"Really?!" Mrs. Chen jumped three feet high.
’Gu Fei couldn’t remember ever seeing her mother so happy.’
Aunt Liu, who was doing needlework in the courtyard, smiled and asked, "Mrs. Chen, what’s all the good news? You look so happy."
Mrs. Chen did her best to suppress a smile. "Oh, it’s nothing, nothing at all."
Er Lang, Sanlang, and Li Chunhua stood at the doorway. Seeing their parents’ joyful expressions, they too were overcome with happiness. ’It worked! It must have worked!’
Once inside, Gu Sanlang quickly shut the door and turned around. "Little Sis, did it really happen?"
Gu Fei smiled, pulling out the deeds for the land and the house. "Here. Can’t fake these."
Gu Qing chimed in with a laugh, "We even went to the government office to get the official deed. It cost us one tael of silver!"
Everyone laughed. Little Cao, nestled in her mother’s arms, had no idea why all the grown-ups were so happy.
Mrs. Chen, who couldn’t read, took the deeds and ran her hands over them again and again. Suddenly, tears started to fall. "I raised such a good daughter," she wept. "I’m only forty, and I never thought I’d start living comfortably thanks to my daughter so soon."
Gu Fei quickly wiped her mother’s tears. "Mom, don’t cry. This is nothing, really. It’s just a house to live in. I’ll make sure you have an even better life in the future."
Little Cao, ever the little imp, chirped, "Grandma, don’t cry. I’ll take care of you when I’m older, too!"
Everyone laughed. Mrs. Chen reached out and gently tapped Little Cao’s nose. "You and your sweet little words. You really know how to charm people."
Li Chunhua couldn’t hold back any longer. "Father, so when are we moving?" She couldn’t wait to live in the new house. She’d heard the courtyard there was about the same size as this one.
’The important thing is, that one will be ours. This one belongs to someone else!’
Gu Zhang said, "We agreed that the manager of that estate would move out today. He should be bringing the keys over soon. We’ll wait until after dinner, when everyone else in the courtyard gets back. We should let them know before we move."
The men from all the families had been taking their mule carts into the city to look for work, hauling goods for people to earn a few coins.
At that moment, Gu Erlang spoke up hesitantly. "What about Grandma? Is she moving with us?"
A sudden silence fell over the room.
When the family assets were formally divided, the agreement stated that Grandma would live with the eldest uncle’s family.
But they’d had no choice while fleeing the famine. The eldest uncle’s family only had one cart, and it was so full of their belongings that no one could ride on it. They couldn’t just leave the old woman behind.
It wasn’t that they were unwilling to care for her now. It was just that the old woman was a notorious gossip and loved to nag and criticize everyone. Besides, there were some things it would be better for her not to know.
Gu Qing added, "It’s great that we’re moving, but what about the other families?"
"When it comes down to it, Young Master Su lent us this place because of Dad. If we leave, what will happen to them?"
Gu Zhang fell silent.
Just then, Liu Zhuangtou’s voice came from outside. "Mr. Gu, the manager from the neighboring estate is here with the keys!"
His call drew the stares of everyone else in the courtyard.
Gu Zhang hurried outside, taking the keys at the inner gate.
Liu Zhuangtou truly hadn’t expected them to pull this off. He clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked at the keys, then gave Gu Zhang a thumbs-up. "Mr. Gu, you’re really something! Not only did you buy the land, but you even got the courtyard that came with it!"