After dealing with Huangmao, the Yan family turned their attention to Yan Sui.
They were even more curious about why Yan Sui had shown up here than they were shocked by what she had just done.
The answer was simple—
“My adoptive parents found their biological daughter, so they kicked me out.”
Yan Shunzhong and Yan Shunxia exchanged a stunned look.
They’d raised her for so many years, and now they could just decide they didn’t want her?
Their eyes filled with sympathy as they imagined her as a pitiful little cabbage left to wither in the field.
“Child, you’ve suffered.” Old Madam held her hand, crying so hard her nose ran.
Yan Sui nodded earnestly. “Tell me about it. I was planning to go home and inherit the family fortune, but they tried to send me away with ten million. Can you imagine the disappointment?”
Old Madam: “…” She’d started crying too soon.
The other Yan family members turned away one after another, irritated just looking at her.
Yan Shunzhong cleared his throat and hurriedly asked, “Suisui, so you came back this time to…”
“Yeah. Living in the city costs too much, so I thought I’d move back to the countryside.”
Everyone understood.
“What about your job?” asked Yan Sui’s eldest aunt, Tian Xiangjuan.
Tian Xiangjuan was fair and plump, with a round face and a particularly kind look.
Yan Sui had looked through their information before. Tian Xiangjuan worked as a childcare teacher at a kindergarten in town, and her disposition suited the job perfectly.
“I’ve left the entertainment industry. I don’t have a job now.”
Tian Xiangjuan thought that Yan Sui still had money, so she could support herself even without working.
She turned to Yan Shunzhong. “Second Brother only has one daughter. His house was always meant to be Suisui’s.”
Yan Shunguo had been from Evergreen Village, so he naturally had a homestead there.
Back when he worked for Yan Zhaohua as both a driver and a bodyguard, his wages had been quite good, especially the generous year-end bonuses.
Once he’d saved enough, he built a courtyard house in Evergreen Village.
The house was older than Yan Sui, and no one had maintained it over the years. If she wanted to move in, she’d have to fix it up first.
Yan Shunzhong and Yan Shunxia both nodded in agreement.
They all looked to Yan Sui for her decision.
“I’d like to take a look first,” she said.
Yan Shunzhong stood up. “I have the key. I’ll take you there. It’s not far.”
The rest of the Yan family got to their feet and followed, except for Old Master and Old Madam.
It was a square courtyard house with a large yard out front.
A ginkgo tree stood outside the courtyard. They said Yan Shunguo had planted it himself, more than twenty years ago.
When they opened the gate, they found the place overgrown with weeds, some taller than Yan Sui.
Yan Shunzhong and Yan Shunxia took sickles and hacked the weeds down, cutting a path through the middle.
Only then did Yan Sui notice a well nearby.
Yan Shunzhong saw her staring at it without blinking. “What’s wrong?”
Yan Sui shook her head. “Nothing.”
The spiritual energy around this well was astonishingly rich.
She was definitely moving into this courtyard house!
Yan Shunzhong had just unlocked the gate and opened it, ready to go inside, when a voice came from outside.
“Shunzhong, what brings you here all of a sudden?”
Yan Sui stopped and glanced back.
Yan Shunzhong smiled as he walked out. “Suisui, this is Grandma Zhang. She lives next door.”
Yan Sui gave her a polite smile. “Hello, Grandma Zhang.”
Old Mrs. Zhang smiled and nodded, looking very gentle.
“Shunzhong, who is this child…?”
“Auntie, this is Shunguo’s daughter, Yan Sui.”
Old Mrs. Zhang’s aged eyes narrowed abruptly as she sized Yan Sui up.
“So you’re Shunguo’s child. You’ve grown so much. What brings you back all of a sudden?”
“She wants to live in the village,” Yan Shunzhong explained.
Yan Sui keenly noticed the reluctance on Old Mrs. Zhang’s face. Even the look she gave Yan Sui had turned unfriendly.
Yan Shunzhong, however, was busy going inside to clear the weeds and didn’t pay much attention.
Yan Sui didn’t mind and followed him in.
The yard inside was also spacious, with a clear view straight through to the far end. The layout was very orderly.
The main house was a two-story building with a rooftop terrace.
“Though this house was built a long time ago, hardly anyone’s ever lived in it.”
Building a house back in his hometown had been Yan Shunguo’s lifelong wish, but Yan Sui’s biological mother hadn’t agreed. She’d wanted to buy a house in the city instead.
Later, when Yan Shunguo went to work for the Yan family, she rented a place there with him.
They only stayed in the village occasionally, when Yan Shunguo would bring Yan Sui’s mother to live in the house.
Yan Sui walked around. There were very few traces of her birth parents here.
“Shunzhong, wasn’t this child adopted by someone? Why has she suddenly come back?”
Everyone heard the voice and realized that Old Mrs. Zhang had followed them inside.
Yan Shunzhong explained, “It’s a long story.”
The corners of Old Mrs. Zhang’s mouth twitched. “All the young people in the village leave to go elsewhere. Yan Sui’s certainly different.”
Yan Sui smiled faintly and replied casually, “After living in the city for so long, I felt like coming back to the village to retire.”
Old Mrs. Zhang: “…You’re so young. Why are you talking about retiring?”
“Retirement isn’t about how old you are. It’s about whether you have money in your pocket.” Then Yan Sui looked at Yan Shunzhong.
“Eldest Uncle, I’ve decided to move back. I may have to trouble you to find some people to fix up this house for me.”
From the moment she got out of the car, Yan Sui had fallen in love with Evergreen Village.
As she walked around, she’d sensed a faint stirring within her.
In just a few days, Suisui would be able to take human form.
Yan Shunzhong was a little hesitant to see Yan Sui make up her mind so quickly.
These days, the people who stayed in the village were mostly middle-aged or elderly, along with some children left behind by their parents.
The young people had mostly moved away.
Even his two sons had done the same: after graduating from university, they’d stayed in the city to work, only coming home occasionally when they had a free weekend.
Yan Sui was different. She was going against the tide, and that worried him.
He’d heard a little about what had happened to her online and wondered if she’d been hurt too badly by it.
“Suisui, I’m truly happy you’ve come back, but have you really thought this through? The village is nothing like the city. I’m worried you won’t be able to get used to living here.”
Yan Sui waved a hand. “Eldest Uncle, I’ve made up my mind!”
After struggling to survive in the apocalypse all those years, all she wanted now was to take it easy, not to strive for more.
As long as she didn’t go starting a business on a whim, the money she had would be enough to let her live comfortably in the countryside.
“Eldest Uncle, since my dad built this courtyard house, there’s no need to change anything. Just fix it up as it is.”
Yan Shunzhong nodded in agreement.
He didn’t know much about Yan Sui’s situation, either. Once she’d settled in, he could try to talk her around.
Old Mrs. Zhang’s expression shifted. If the house was going to be fixed up, did that mean Yan Sui really intended to take it back?
She’d guarded the house for so many years, thinking it had already become hers.
How could she possibly accept Yan Sui suddenly showing up?
Her grandson still needed to get married!
Yan Shunzhong took Yan Sui on a quick tour, then locked the gate again.
To his surprise, Old Mrs. Zhang was still waiting outside.
“Auntie, is there something else?”
Old Mrs. Zhang smiled. “Is Yan Sui really going to move back to the village? She’s lived in the city for so many years. I’m afraid she won’t be able to get used to it here.”
Yan Sui could tell how much Old Mrs. Zhang cared about whether she moved back to the village.
She searched her memory but couldn’t remember ever knowing her.
“Thank you for your concern, Grandma Zhang. With you living next door, I feel perfectly safe. I’m sure I’ll get used to it!”
Old Mrs. Zhang: “…” Who said I was concerned about you?
She managed a strained smile. “I mean, it’s such a big house. Fixing it up will cost a lot. What if you can’t get used to living in the countryside and all that money goes to waste? You’d be better off staying with your eldest uncle. Then, whenever you felt like coming back, you could stay for a week or so.”
Even Yan Shunzhong thought that was a good idea.
But Yan Sui shook her head. “This is the house my dad left me. I want to fix it up. You don’t need to try to talk me out of it, Grandma Zhang. I can afford this little expense.”
Old Mrs. Zhang was so angry her liver hurt. She hurried home and called her grandson.
“If you don’t come back soon, someone’s going to take the house away!”