Chapter 290: As Expected of a Married Man
Shi Lan couldn’t help but marvel at the convenience of technology. You could get an on-site experience without even leaving the house.
Mr. Jiang had four plots of land available, and she examined each one carefully.
Jiang Xia sat beside her, his arm wrapped clingingly around her waist and his head resting on her shoulder. Every so often, Shi Lan would ask for his opinion.
The two of them finally settled on the second plot. It was the largest one, which Shi Lan felt was most suitable. It would allow them to customize it to the habits of all five of them, leaving space to build their own recreational facilities.
For example, an ice room like Jiang Xia wanted.
After making their choice, Shi Lan said, "Dad, how much is this plot of land? Let me pay you for it."
Finding such a suitable plot of land, especially one this large, required a lot of effort. Even though it was Jiang Xia’s father offering, Shi Lan couldn’t just take it for free.
Jiang Hua deliberately put on a stern face. "My dear child, there’s no need to be so formal with us."
"Xiaxia is the Jiang Family’s only son. In the future, my money is only for him and his wife. Since you married Xiaxia, you’re family."
"But... but this land must be very expensive, right...?"
Land on the Capital Star was two or three times more expensive than buying a house outright. This was because land ownership was permanent, and you had complete freedom to build whatever you wanted, offering much more flexibility than a house, which came with certain basic requirements.
Shi Lan still felt a little embarrassed.
Du Yi chimed in as well. "Lanlan, it’s alright. Xiaxia’s dad has more money than he knows what to do with. He used to always complain about having too much money and nowhere to spend it. Now that you’re here to ’help,’ he couldn’t be happier."
"Yes, yes, my wife is right."
Jiang Hua nodded emphatically. Jiang Xia’s eyes darted about before he shook Shi Lan’s arm. "Lanlan, since Mom and Dad already said so, just let it go. Besides, my dad’s money is basically my money, so just think of it as spending mine..."
’This silly son of mine sure changes his tune fast,’ Jiang Hua thought.
’When I talked to him in the study about inheriting the family business, he insisted it was *my* money and that he wanted to be self-reliant.’
’I was just thinking that even though my son isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes, he’s got ambition and drive.’
’But now, in front of his wife, he only has eyes for her.’
He sighed. Still, Jiang Hua wouldn’t expose him. He truly didn’t care about the money for the plot of land; in fact, he was happy to give it to Shi Lan.
He said, "Don’t overthink it, my dear. Just consider it our wedding gift to you both."
Since they had put it that way, Shi Lan couldn’t very well keep politely refusing.
She could see their sincerity clearly. Jiang Xia’s family truly didn’t think twice about the plot of land. She finally relented. "In that case, I’ll accept. Thank you, Mom and Dad. Once the house is built, I’ll invite you all over for a housewarming dinner."
"Wonderful, wonderful."
Du Yi and Jiang Hua were both beaming.
After the laughter died down, Du Yi suddenly asked, "By the way, Lanlan, you’re already registered. Have you made any plans for the wedding ceremony?"
Hearing this, Jiang Xia’s previously languid posture instantly straightened. He sat up properly and looked at her with an expectant expression.
Shi Lan shot him an amused glance before explaining seriously, "There’s no rush for the wedding. My thinking is, since we all met on Black Star, I’d like for us to have a joint wedding ceremony when the time is right."
"He Hanshi is still quite busy on the Border Defense Star right now. The plan is to wait a while and discuss it when everyone has more free time."
"That makes sense. Admiral He is indeed busy with his military duties."
Du Yi nodded without further comment.
Jiang Xia slumped over in disappointment, propping his chin on his hand and sighing internally. He silently calculated the time. ’It seems so far away.’
But then, the thought of the red marriage certificate in his storage space made him happy again.
’It’s okay,’ he thought. ’At least Lanlan and I are legally married. It doesn’t really matter if the wedding is sooner or later.’
Just then, Wen Sen and his son walked in.
"Wife," Wen Sen said to Du Yi, "I heard Xiaxia brought his wife over, so Te and I came to see."
As soon as Jiang Hua heard his voice, his expression soured. But since Shi Lan was present, he didn’t show his displeasure as openly as last time.
Although Du Yi was surprised to see them, they were family, after all. She led them over to introduce them to Shi Lan.
"Lanlan, this is my other Beast Husband. You can call him Uncle, just like Xiaxia does."
"And this is my eldest son, Wen Te. You can call him Big Brother."
Shi Lan followed her lead. "Hello, Uncle. Hello, Big Brother. I’m Shi Lan."
Seeing this, Jiang Xia greeted them as well.
Although seeing them didn’t feel as warm as it used to, he was still happy that they had come over, especially since he’d brought his wife.
He proactively brought over chairs for them.
"Uncle, Big Brother, please sit."
Wen Sen smiled at Shi Lan, then turned to Jiang Xia. "Look at you, all married. You’ve matured quite a bit."
Jiang Xia, still holding Shi Lan’s arm, grinned shyly.
Jiang Hua fought back the urge to kick them out and simply had a robot serve them two glasses of plain water.
"Xiaxia, congratulations on your marriage,"
Wen Te added.
Jiang Hua finally spoke up. "If you’re here to congratulate Xiaxia on his marriage, where are the gifts? You are his uncle and brother, after all."
Wen Sen gave a feigned, helpless smile. "Of course we have them. With Xiaxia getting married, I, as his uncle, naturally came prepared."
With that, he produced a gift from his Space Chain, and Wen Te did the same.
They handed them to Shi Lan. "We wish you a happy marriage."
Shi Lan could sense the strange tension between Mr. Jiang and Wen Sen, but as the younger party, she pretended not to notice. Her eyes, however, unconsciously drifted to Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia took the gifts for her.
"Thanks, Uncle and Big Brother."
The smile on his face widened as he put the gifts away for safekeeping.
Speaking of marriage, Jiang Xia suddenly asked, "Big Brother, when are you getting married?"
He had always assumed he’d get married after his older brother, if he ever got married at all. But then he met Lanlan, and he couldn’t wait to get the marriage certificate he’d always dreamed of.
At the mention of marriage, Mr. Jiang’s mood inexplicably improved.
’Heh,’ he thought. ’Wen Sen and his son said they’d get married after Xiaxia came back, but Xiaxia came back and is already registered, and there’s still no news from their end.’
’Did the female call it off?’
Jiang Hua felt a bit of schadenfreude.
Unfortunately, Wen Te continued, "Actually, that’s what I came to talk about. I’m planning to have my wedding next Saturday. The preparations have already been underway for a few days. Here’s the invitation. Second Uncle, Xiaxia, you all have to come. And your wife, too, of course."
Wen Te handed over the invitation, and Jiang Xia took it, looking it over with curiosity.
’When I have my wedding, I’ll have to prepare all this too,’ he thought.
Hearing this, Jiang Hua wasn’t too disappointed after all.
’Tsk. It doesn’t matter if it was called off or not,’ he thought.
He suddenly remembered what Xiaxia had told them: Lanlan was an S-level female and even had a Fertility Value. A female that outstanding was hard to find even if you traveled the entire universe.
Wen Te’s female was an A-level, right? While that was still impressive, what made Jiang Hua truly happy was that they would no longer have any reason to mock his son behind his back for spending three years on Black Star without even finding a decent female.
At this thought, Mr. Jiang became uncharacteristically cheerful. "Of course, of course! It’s not easy for young Te to find an A-level female. While she might not be an S-level like our Lanlan, it’s still icing on the cake for our extended family and brings honor to our name. We will definitely be there."