By the time Bi Lizhu returned with the fruit, the sisters had already regained their composure.
Still, she could not shake the feeling that her two daughters had been behaving rather oddly this evening—unusually clingy.
And they were especially close to An Jianping. Toward her, there was no obvious difference from usual, yet in contrast, Bi Lizhu still felt inexplicably neglected.
That night, when the couple lay in bed, she couldn’t help asking,
“Did something happen while I was out?”
“Why were A-Yu and A-Xiang acting so strangely tonight?”
“What do you mean strangely?” An Jianping immediately objected.
The closeness the two daughters showed that evening was something he hadn’t enjoyed since they’d grown up and become sensible.
He had felt a little unaccustomed to it at first, but once he got used to it, he wished he could enjoy it even more.
Naturally, he didn’t like hearing his wife describe it that way.
In the darkness, Bi Lizhu rolled her eyes. How could it not be strange?
Usually, even without being told, the girls would cut some fruit—but tonight they even stabbed it carefully with forks and handed it directly to him.
They hadn’t forgotten her share either, yet Bi Lizhu still felt as though she was merely an afterthought.
Besides that, the girls had talked with An Jianping about Jiang Village and his work and other things.
In the past, aside from the occasional exception, the children didn’t seem particularly interested in their parents’ work or daily lives.
They would listen when the parents talked, but if the conversation got too trivial, they quickly lost patience.
So most matters were things the couple discussed between themselves.
When had it ever been like tonight— with both daughters listening so carefully, and A-Yu even offering some genuine suggestions?
Judging by An Jianping’s expression at the time, those suggestions had actually been useful.
University students really were different.
Even if they couldn’t completely compare with people who’d been working for years, they still knew quite a bit.
The sisters, of course, had no idea what their parents discussed in their room.
Yet even lying quietly in bed, the excitement in their hearts hadn’t diminished at all.
In the darkness, An Songxiang suddenly asked softly,
“Sis, do you think… what Dad said earlier was real? Are we dreaming?”
“What part do you mean—what’s real?” An Songyu turned over on her bunk, her voice sounding a bit floaty.
“Do you mean that we each suddenly have a huge amount of debt under our names?”
“Or that in the future, we’ll each have residential land and houses in Jiang Village?”
“Or… if there’s a demolition, would the compensation money also belong to us?”
By the end, An Songyu’s voice was barely audible.
But in the quiet night, An Songxiang heard every word clearly.
Her excitement gradually settled.
Yes—tonight their father had said many things, but he hadn’t once mentioned that this decision had been made jointly by both parents.
Which meant… maybe even he himself didn’t know how Bi Lizhu would react once she found out.
“Then, Sis, do you think Brother will still buy that house?” An Songxiang asked.
It was already April.
There was less than a month left before the couple’s wedding.
If they didn’t buy a house soon…
“Hasn’t Brother been going back to Jiang Village with Sister-in-law these past few weeks?” An Songyu lay flat on her back, staring at the slats of the bunk bed above.
“Your days off are about the same as his—haven’t you gone back with them?”
“We did go together,” An Songxiang hesitated. “But in the village, I honestly don’t know what they’re looking at.”
“Whether it’s the new district, the neighboring village, or our own village,”
“Brother took Sister-in-law around again and again.”
“But what exactly they were looking for, or what they were thinking, they never said a word.”
“So I don’t know either.”
“Maybe they need to discuss it themselves first before telling anyone,” An Songyu replied, slightly raising her brows.
In her memory, neither her brother nor her future sister-in-law were impulsive people.
The more carefully they observed, the more it meant they had their own ideas.
An Songxiang fell silent for a moment, then answered dejectedly,
“Probably.”
Hearing that tone, An Songyu opened her mouth to comfort her— but didn’t know where to start.
After all, in her mind, the three siblings had long since grown into their own separate families.
The stage where she mourned growing distant after adulthood had already passed long, long ago.
Over the next few days, An Songyu went to work as usual.
Until Friday evening.
As the family gathered for dinner, Bi Lizhu looked at An Songlin and Xuanying and asked,
“Songlin, when are you and A-Ying planning to finalize the house?”
Originally, when the An family was paying in full, the procedures could be handled by An Songlin alone.
But now that it had changed from a cash purchase to a mortgage, the two families agreed that the couple would first get their marriage certificate and then handle things together.
Naturally, the Xu family had been very unhappy about this.
It was only after An Songlin and An Jianping together gave assurances— that although the house would be bought with a loan, the mortgage wouldn’t be borne by the young couple for the time being— that things eased.
Especially given the situation in Jiang Village: once the house there was built, as long as it was run well, it wouldn’t just cover the mortgage, but might even bring in surplus.
Moreover, the An family’s decision not to buy outright wasn’t just because they were building houses in Jiang Village— they also planned to contract land there and run farmhouse tourism like the others.
With that, buying a house with a loan wouldn’t be a burden to the young couple, and they’d even gain an extra house in Jiang Village.
With all that considered, the Xu family tacitly accepted the idea of a mortgaged purchase.
Yet strangely enough, although the couple had the family’s approval, they didn’t seem in any hurry about buying a house.
As Bi Lizhu was thinking this, she saw the two of them put down their chopsticks almost at the same time.
Seeing their expressions, she instinctively sensed something was wrong.
Before she could ask anything, An Songlin looked at his father seriously and said,
“Dad, A-Ying and I have discussed it. We’ve decided not to buy a house for now.”
As soon as An Songlin finished speaking, Bi Lizhu slammed her chopsticks down with a bang.
Her expression darkened as she looked at them and asked sternly,
“Songlin, was this truly discussed between you and A-Ying?”
“Or is it something you decided on your own and then talked her into?”
An Songlin looked at his mother helplessly.
He knew she had been especially sensitive lately because of his wedding and the house.
But to distrust him without even asking—it felt excessive.
“Auntie, this really was a carefully discussed decision between Songlin and me,” Xuanying said, holding An Songlin’s hand and looking earnestly at Bi Lizhu.
“Recently, when we’ve had time off, besides going to Jiang Village, Lin Village, and the new district,”
“we’ve also looked at new developments in Rongdi and Liangdi.”
“After seeing them, we realized that Hongye Grand Court—the place we wanted before—might not actually be the most suitable.”
“Especially the surrounding schools. Hongye Grand Court only has an elementary school nearby, with no middle school at all.”
“Let alone a high school.”
“But while we were looking, we noticed that several plots of land in both Liangdi and Rongdi have already been fenced off.”
“It looks like new residential developments will be built very soon.”
“And in Rongdi, there’s one plot right near Rongdi Academy. In Liangdi, although it’s a bit farther from Shuncheng No. 1 High School, it’s not too far either.”
“If school zoning is determined later, it would likely fall under Shuncheng No. 1 High School’s catchment.”
“When the time comes, applying for admission to its high school division would be much easier.”
(End of chapter)