Gu Dahu stepped forward, grabbed Niu Erya’s arm, and urged, “Grandma, there’s no time to lose. Take us to the neighborhood office now—”
Gu Jie and Liu Hongmei, who had followed them in, felt extremely displeased.
They had wasted half a day off and didn’t get a single cent!
“What else can we do? Who would’ve thought that pretty boy actually knows people from the public security?”
Gu Weiguo kicked over a chair and angrily pointed at Niu Erya. “It’s all because of you, you old woman—good for nothing, ruining everything. I asked you to handle one thing and you—”
Halfway through his sentence, he caught sight of Gu Dahu and his siblings entering and immediately shut his mouth.
“Alright, eldest son, eldest daughter-in-law, go back to your workplace and cancel your leave. Focus on your jobs.”
Seeing that Gu Jie and Liu Hongmei hadn’t moved, Niu Erya hurriedly pushed them out the door, afraid her husband would explode in anger.
Then she glanced at the three siblings and curled her lips in disdain.
“Grandpa, Grandma, where will we live from now on?”
Gu Dahu already knew his grandparents’ home wasn’t spacious. He had never thought of living there before.
But now that they were here, he had to plan for himself.
The Gu family only had two rooms. The elderly couple occupied the largest bedroom, while Gu Jie and his wife lived in the smallest one.
A partition had been set up in the living room, where Liu Hongmei’s twin daughters, Gu Wenjing and Gu Wenfang, stayed.
There was simply no place for the three siblings.
“Our family already has many people and few rooms. It’s not like your home. Dahu, I know you’re a sensible child. From now on, you can sleep on the floor in your grandpa and grandma’s room.”
Niu Erya repeated what she had already discussed with Gu Weiguo.
Whether they got the money or not, they had never planned to truly take the three children in.
Gu Qingling immediately protested, “Grandma, there are cockroaches on the floor! I don’t want to sleep there. I want a bed.”
Gu Erhu followed, shouting stubbornly, “Since we were little, Mom never let us suffer. Grandpa, Grandma, since you took our upbringing money, you should spend it on us. If the house is too small, then buy a new one!”
“Who’s selling houses?”
Gu Weiguo frowned, feeling something was off.
But looking at the three young and seemingly innocent children, he felt he might be overthinking.
“Buy what? Do you think houses are that easy to buy? If you’re going to live in the Gu family, you must follow my arrangements.”
Niu Erya slapped Gu Dahu’s hand away and pointed at the broken porcelain on the floor. “What are you standing there for? Clean it up quickly, or don’t expect lunch.”
Gu Dahu clutched his stinging hand and was about to get a broom, but Gu Erhu snatched it first and threw it onto Niu Erya.
“Grandma, at home, Mom never lets us do this kind of rough work. If you treat us badly, we’ll go back and find Mom and tell her to take back the three thousand yuan.”
“You little brat, you’ve got some nerve! What three thousand yuan? What upbringing money? Your mother is lying to you!”
Niu Erya was so angry her chest hurt.
All these years, Xu Hua Ying had never mentioned that money. She thought it had been forgotten.
Now that Xu Hua Ying had a man backing her, she dared to bring it up again—and even wanted the money back? Impossible.
“Anyway, we won’t work and we won’t sleep on the floor. If you force us, we’ll go back right now and have Mom take back the three thousand yuan.”
Though young, Gu Dahu was calculating.
Like a little adult, he stood in front of his siblings, facing Niu Erya and Gu Weiguo without fear.
“Fine, fine, fine! I think you’re here to be treated like royalty! We can’t afford to raise you. Go back to your mother!”
As she spoke, Niu Erya pushed the three toward the door.
Just as they were about to be shoved out, Gu Weiguo finally spoke.
“Alright, Dahu, Erhu, Lingling, come back. Your grandma is muddle-headed. Since you’ve chosen to stay with us, how could we drive you away? Starting today, we’ll set up a small bed in our room. Dahu and Erhu can sleep on it. Lingling can squeeze in with Wenfang and Wenjing. We’ll buy a house in the future.”
“Then we won’t be doing chores like cleaning either.”
Gu Dahu made his demand.
They weren’t here to suffer.
Gu Weiguo glanced at Niu Erya.
She quickly nodded, though her face was full of disdain. “Fine, fine—you’re all little ancestors. You won’t have to do any work.”
After appeasing the three, Gu Weiguo and Niu Erya hid in their room to scheme.
That very night, the household of nine erupted into chaos because Niu Erya hadn’t cooked enough food.
Gu Wenfang, known for never tolerating unfairness, directly flipped the dining table.
The family descended into turmoil, alarming the neighbors.
Niu Erya sat on the corridor floor, wailing and rolling around.
“Oh, I can’t go on living! Sixth son, why did you leave so early? Your wife found a freeloading pretty boy, living in your house, eating your food, drinking your things, and even drove your three children out. What sin did I commit? I shouldn’t have let you marry her from the countryside…”
Her words spread quickly, and soon everyone in the residential compound knew that Xu Hua Ying had taken a freeloading pretty boy.
Behind her back, people criticized Xu Hua Ying for being heartless—abandoning her three children for a man.
On the second day after the wedding, Xu Hua Ying asked Xiao Huai Dong to ride a bicycle and take her and Xiao Nanchu to the steel factory.
“Dong-ge, I’ve already arranged a job for you as a security guard at my workplace. Today I’ll take you to meet the head of the security department and get your entry手续 processed.”
The steel factory was six or seven stops away from the small western-style house.
Normally, it took Xu Hua Ying over twenty minutes to cycle there.
But with Xiao Huai Dong carrying both an adult and a child, it took less than fifteen minutes.
When they arrived at the factory gate, people who knew Xu Hua Ying greeted her warmly.
Everyone curiously sized up Xiao Huai Dong and Xiao Nanchu.
“Comrade Xu, we heard you took leave yesterday to get married. These two must be your husband and child, right?”
Those arriving at this hour were office workers.
Rumors had spread earlier that Xu Hua Ying had married an illiterate rural brute with a child.
But seeing Xiao Huai Dong now—handsome, tall, and well-built—he didn’t look like a brute at all. And the child didn’t look like she came from the countryside either. Clearly, rumors couldn’t be trusted.
Seeing everyone’s curiosity, Xu Hua Ying openly held Xiao Huai Dong and Xiao Nanchu’s hands, handing out wedding candies as she introduced them.
“This is my husband, Xiao Huai Dong. This is Xiao Nanchu. From now on, she is my child too.”
Looking at the tall and handsome Xiao Huai Dong and the doll-like Xiao Nanchu, those who received candies offered their blessings.
Some, however, smiled on the surface while secretly showing disdain.