Looking at Qin Ruan’s expression, even Qin Ruofeng couldn’t help becoming curious about what the old lady had shown her.
Meanwhile, back at the Shen family in the military compound in Mountain City, Feng Cui was in an uproar.
“Old Shen, what is this? Where did you get it?” Feng Cui demanded, holding three gold bars from a box as she questioned Commander Shen.
Commander Shen looked at her with disdain.
“You’re asking me where they came from? Weren’t you the one who told me to accept them?”
“When did I ever tell you to accept gold bars?”
“You forgot? The day the Qin family came to deliver the betrothal gifts. Doesn’t this box look familiar? I opened it and took a look. I wanted to refuse it, but you told me to accept it.”
“Huh? What did you say? These were part of the Qin family’s betrothal gifts?”
“Of course. What else would they be?”
“Oh my goodness! The Qin family is that wealthy?”
“Didn’t you see what they brought that day? Six bottles of Moutai. Have you ever seen anyone give six bottles of Moutai as a gift?”
“I wasn’t paying much attention that day. I was too busy chatting with the young lady,” Feng Cui admitted awkwardly.
“But did you at least notice the Moutai?”
“I saw there was Moutai at home. Don’t you usually have some too?”
“I do—but do you think I’d ever spend my own money to buy it?”
“So… what do we do now?” Feng Cui asked.
“What do we do? Nothing! Just keep it. When our grandchild is born, we’ll give it back to Jianing for safekeeping.”
“Oh, alright then. I’ll put it away for now.”
As she spoke, she carried the box into the room and found a hidden place to store it.
Shen Fengwei let out a sigh. It had been several days already before they remembered this. It seemed that drinking really did make people forget things.
After coming back out, Feng Cui said, “The Qin family really does seem to be wealthy.”
“They are. Didn’t Qin Ruan say they went back mainly to harvest tea? They even own tea mountains. Those alone are worth a fortune.”
“But with that much money… the Qin family was never sent away or persecuted back then.”
“The military records show that Old Master Qin donated all of his family’s farmland to the army. During the war, he also donated an enormous amount of money. That’s why they were only allowed to keep a small courtyard and a few tea mountains.”
“My heavens… they donated that much?”
Seeing Feng Cui’s astonished expression, Commander Shen nodded.
“What else did you expect? If they hadn’t donated eighty or ninety percent of their assets, do you think they would’ve been spared from being sent away back then?”
“And remember, he donated a huge amount of money during the war first. That’s why he received that special treatment.”
“My goodness… I really misjudged them.”
“Misjudged what? Ruofeng is a good kid. Didn’t you say yourself that Jianing wouldn’t be making a mistake by marrying him?”
“That’s true. Jianing definitely married the right man. I just never imagined the Qin family was this rich.”
“Even if they’re wealthy, it’s not as if all that money belongs to Qin Ruofeng personally. Most of the family assets will probably end up going to Qin Ruan.”
“But she’s a girl. She’ll get married someday.” Feng Cui frowned.
“Why are you worrying about whether she’ll marry or not? Don’t forget—Qin Ruofeng isn’t actually a biological member of the Qin family.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I’m just saying that since a daughter eventually marries out, won’t the Qin family’s future inheritance ultimately pass to the children Jianing gives birth to?”
“Enough, enough. Let the Qin family handle their own affairs. The old lady will certainly give Jianing and the children a share of the family wealth. That much is guaranteed. But the largest portion will definitely go to Qin Ruan.”
“Fine, fine. I won’t interfere. As long as our daughter has a good life, that’s all that matters. Even without all that money, Qin Ruofeng is perfectly capable of supporting her.”
“You’re thinking about it the right way.”
“Oh, Old Shen, do you think Jianing was right? Has Huo Tingchen really fallen for Qin Ruan?”
“Didn’t Jianing already say so that day? Stop worrying about it. Look at all the girls you introduced to him—he didn’t like a single one.”
“He’s just too picky. He rejects everyone,” Feng Cui muttered with a pout.
“Alright, alright. Go tidy up and start making dinner.”
“Our daughter left yesterday. I wonder what she’s doing today.”
“Don’t worry about it. She’ll be back in a few days.”
“Say, since the Qin family is so wealthy, when our daughter has children, do you think they’ll still let one of them take the Shen surname?”
After Feng Cui voiced that concern, even Shen Fengwei fell silent.
Because he honestly didn’t know whether the old lady would insist that the children carry the Qin family name.
After all, when Qin Ruofeng and Shen Jianing got married, they had already agreed that one of their future children would take the Shen surname.
“Xiaocui, we should trust Ruofeng. Since he gave his word, one of their children will definitely carry the Shen surname.”
“Alright. That’s good.”
“Keep those gold bars. Let’s wait and see how many children Jianing has. If she has one child, give her one gold bar. If she has a second child, give her another. We’ll save up more money ourselves too. Who knows? Maybe Jianing and Ruofeng will have several children.”
“Okay. We’ll save it all for our little grandchildren.”
“That’s right. No matter what surname they have, they’ll still be our grandchildren.”
“Old man, what do you feel like eating?”
“Let’s have noodles. It’s simple. There’s no need to make anything fancy. It’ll be easier for you too.”
“Alright, I’ll go make them.”
With that, Feng Cui headed into the kitchen.
Ever since Shen Jianing got married, the little villa felt rather empty with only the elderly couple living there.
Watching his wife disappear into the kitchen, Commander Shen sat on the sofa, lost in thought.
Qin Ruofeng had already reached the rank of regiment commander, and for the time being, there probably wouldn’t be any further promotions.
As for Huo Tingchen, his abilities were slightly better than Qin Ruofeng’s, and he was also younger.
The Huo family’s status was currently beyond what the Shen family could match.
Commander Shen also knew that Huo Tingchen had only been assigned to this military district to build up his credentials. After completing a few major missions, he would most likely return to the capital.
If Huo Tingchen and Qin Ruan ended up together, then both the Shen and Qin families would have ties to the influential Huo family.
If Qin Ruofeng sought promotion in the future, the Huo family certainly wouldn’t ignore him.
Commander Shen felt that he himself had already risen as far as he could in his career. But if he wanted to use his own connections to help his son-in-law climb even higher, they simply weren’t enough. At most, he could probably help Qin Ruofeng become a division commander.
The more he thought about it, the more Commander Shen realized he was planning too far ahead.
The younger generation should decide their own future. If he interfered too much, he might only end up making himself unwelcome.
After all, Shen Jianing was his only child.
Back then, many people still believed that a family needed a son to carry on the family line.
He wanted to sigh, yet somehow couldn’t.
“Old man, come help carry the noodles!” Feng Cui called from the kitchen.
“I’m coming!”
He went into the kitchen and carried their bowls of noodles out.
At this time of year, they were eating chilled noodles rinsed in cold water.
Feng Cui had made a spicy chili and egg sauce. All they had to do was mix it with chopped scallions and toss it with the noodles before eating.