After Ning Xin finished explaining the situation, Hu Yuanping voiced her concerns on her behalf.
After listening, Shi Zhengyi comforted her with a serious expression: “In Xinnan, such a thing cannot happen. With me here, Xiao Ning, you don’t need to be afraid.”
After saying this, he may have felt that such a promise sounded a bit hollow. He thought for a moment and then asked, “Xiao Ning, is this house still under your father’s name? You and your brother haven’t transferred the ownership yet, have you?”
Ning Xin thought for a moment and shook her head. “Not yet.”
If she remembered correctly, the original book mentioned that when Leng Hui took Ning Yi’s transfer agreement to the housing authority to complete the transfer, the property was still under Ning’s father’s name. That had caused her quite a bit of trouble.
“Discuss it with your brother, how you two want to divide the house. Then I’ll give the instructions. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone take you both to the housing authority to transfer the ownership into your names. That way, no one will be able to set their sights on it.”
Shi Zhengyi naturally had no idea what was going through Ning Xin’s mind.
He assumed the young girl was worried that relatives from her hometown might come back to fight them over the family property, a possibility that wasn’t entirely unlikely.
Right now, although the house was large and enviable, it probably wasn’t yet at the point where a family would come to blows over it.
But in the future, as time went on, the talk of the house being a feng shui treasure site would inevitably spread.
If that happened, Shi Zhengyi felt that Ning Xin’s concerns were not unreasonable.
In that case, the best course of action was to eliminate all potential future problems before they could arise.
Shi Zhengyi’s suggestion was met with approval from everyone present.
It was only then that Ning Xin realized an issue, she hadn’t yet told her family about her plan to donate the medicinal kitchen.
Although she would definitely be the one running the medicinal kitchen, it would still occupy part of the family’s property.
And now, with the added matter of the fabricated “feng shui treasure site,” if she didn’t explain things clearly, her brother probably wouldn’t say anything, but it was best not to leave any unresolved feelings between them.
After thinking it over, Ning Xin left the others to discuss their next steps and quietly slipped out of the room.
She went back to the dining hall, where Old Madam Ning had already cleared the table and was sweeping the floor.
Seeing her, the old lady quickly asked, “What are those people talking about? Xiao Xin, I saw you talking with that Comrade Hu for quite a while. Did something happen?”
Ning Xin had no intention of hiding anything from the old lady. She nodded. “Yes, something did come up. Grandma, that uncle said he could help us transfer the house ownership sooner. He asked me to discuss with my brother how we want to divide the house.”
Old Madam Ning paused in her sweeping and looked up at Ning Xin with some hesitation. “Well… what are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had time to think about it yet.”
The old lady opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she held back.
After a moment, she sighed. “This is a good thing. Having someone help with the transfer should make it faster. I’ve heard from your Aunt Wang that transferring ownership these days is very troublesome. You need all kinds of certificates, and sometimes you have to make several trips without getting it done. You… discuss it carefully with your brother. This is a big matter. Don’t go into it half-heartedly.”
Ning Xin knew very well what it was that the old lady had left unsaid.
She was a girl. Her grandmother could treat her well in everyday matters, but she would never be willing to give the family house to her. After all, Ning Yi was the eldest son of the family, the male child.
In the old lady’s heart, girls always married out. If the house was given to her, wouldn’t the house’s surname change in the future?
But the old lady was sensible. She also knew that things were different in the city than in the countryside. In the city, men and women were equal, and girls also had the right to claim a share of the family property.
Moreover, Ning Xin was about to open her medicinal kitchen. If the house wasn’t given to her, how could the medicinal kitchen operate?
So, in the end, the old lady didn’t voice her thoughts.
Truth be told, Ning Xin also had some concerns at this moment.
In principle, she and her brother should each take half of the house. But the medicinal kitchen alone would take up three of the best rooms in the entire house. That wasn’t all, she also wanted to set aside other rooms for people to stay in for recuperation.
That meant the rooms she needed would account for more than half of the house.
For now, her brother was alone, so everything was manageable. But he would eventually marry.
When that time came, the issue of property rights would inevitably become very troublesome.
Thinking about this, Ning Xin felt a bit of a headache.
Hu Yuanping, Shi Zhengyi, and the others didn’t discuss things for long. By the time Ning Xin and her grandmother had finished cleaning the dining hall, they had already concluded their meeting.
Shi Zhengyi didn’t stay long either. He greeted the Ning family’s grandmother and granddaughter briefly and then left in a hurry.
But within just over an hour of his departure, he sent someone over with the train tickets he had helped Secretary Lin purchase. Along with the train tickets came two individuals who were said to be researchers from the Provincial Academy of Biological Sciences.
After arriving at the Ning household, the two researchers presented their credentials and then, using specialized tools they had brought with them, carefully took samples of soil, as well as some flowers and plant clippings, from the flower bed.
They packed all the collected samples in duplicate. The researchers took half with themselves, leaving the other half with Secretary Lin.
Secretary Lin took those samples and returned to the capital that very day.
Hu Yuanping, on the other hand, stayed behind to handle the remaining work that had yet to be finished.
Since instructions had been given in advance, both the arrival of the academy researchers and Secretary Lin’s departure were carried out discreetly. Given the constant flow of people coming and going at the Ning household, their actions went unnoticed by the neighbors.
Since grain collection often required trips to the countryside, Ning Yi was usually out early and back late, often arriving home only after dark.
But tonight, he came back much earlier than usual, walking through the courtyard gate before eight o’clock.
As soon as he entered, without even putting down his bicycle, Ning Yi called out toward the house, “Xiao Xin, Xiao Xin, come out quickly! Look what good thing I brought you!”
At that moment, Ning Xin was in the kitchen preparing ingredients for the next day’s breakfast. Upon hearing this, she didn’t even bother to wash her hands and immediately ran out.
She saw her brother standing in the middle of the courtyard, one hand on the handlebar, the other resting on the front basket of his bicycle, looking at her with a smug expression.
Ning Xin’s curiosity was instantly piqued.
She trotted over excitedly and peered into the basket. “What is it? Brother, did you buy some kind of delicious treat again?”
“All you think about is eating.” Ning Yi pretended to poke his sister’s forehead with his finger, scolding her playfully.
“Are your hands clean or not?!” Ning Xin touched her forehead and glared at him in annoyance.
The siblings’ laughter and playful bickering drew the rest of the family outside.
Zhuang Wenxia also poked her head out of her room. “Xiao Yi, stop teasing your sister. What good thing did you buy? Tell your Auntie too?”
Hearing this, Ning Yi laughed.
“Auntie, I was just joking with her! It’s not food, it’s that pulverizer she’s been nagging me about for ages to find for her.”
The moment these words left his mouth, Ning Xin nearly jumped for joy!
“Brother, you got me a pulverizer?!”
As she spoke, she reached for the item in the basket, looking a hundred times more excited than if she had received some delicious treat.
“I didn’t buy it, I couldn’t get one. It was Shaonian who helped you get it. Hey, don’t touch it, let me get it for you. It’s heavy! Don’t drop it on your foot!”
Seeing his sister reaching for the cloth bag in the basket, Ning Yi hurriedly steadied the bike and lifted the bag out for her.
Watching the young siblings laugh and chat as they carried the things into the kitchen together, Zhuang Wenxia unconsciously broke into a smile.
She couldn’t help but murmur, “These siblings really have such a good relationship.”
After saying this, she turned around and realized that her husband, who had been deeply absorbed in his work, had clearly been drawn in by the commotion outside as well.
He had also looked up and was now gazing at the retreating figures of Ning Xin and Ning Yi, wearing a thoughtful expression.
“What’s wrong?” Zhuang Wenxia asked, a bit puzzled.
“Nothing,” Hu Yuanping replied with a smile, offering no further explanation.
But in his heart, he couldn’t help but think back to what Shi Zhengyi had said earlier.
He wondered, after Xiao Ning discussed the ownership of the house with her brother tonight, would their sibling relationship still be as harmonious as it was now?
If, when the time came, their relationship could remain this good—
Hu Yuanping pondered for a moment and felt that if that truly happened, the future of these two children would surely be boundless.
As for what the Zhuang Wenxia and her husband were thinking, Ning Xin and her brother had no idea.
Anyway, at that moment, Ning Xin was absolutely over the moon!
She had wanted a pulverizer for a long time. Chopping meat fillings and vegetable purees often left her feeling utterly miserable.
Although such machines didn’t exist in ancient times, back then she only had to cook small portions!
Most of the time, she only needed to prepare meals for herself and her master, nothing like now, where she had to cook for a houseful of people every single day.
And that didn’t even include the tea snacks she sold.
So, she had discussed it with her brother early on, asking him to help find out where she could buy a small pulverizer.
If there was a juicer, that would be even better.
She had mentioned this to Ning Yi for nearly half a month, but there had been no news.
She never expected that just when she was about to give up all hope, this guy would surprise her like this!
Ning Xin and Ning Yi carried the pulverizer into the kitchen together. When they opened the cloth bag, Ning Xin saw a somewhat bulky, green-painted iron machine.
After setting the iron machine down on the table, Ning Yi took out the blades and the mixing container from the bag, assembled them together, and then plugged it in.
He looked around the kitchen, grabbed a cucumber, cut it into small pieces with a knife, and put them into the mixing container.
Then he pressed the switch.
With a whirring sound, the machine emitted a rumbling noise like a starting motor, loud enough to startle Old Madam Ning, who had come in to watch the excitement.
The old lady stepped back a couple of paces and scolded, “Xiao Yi, what is this thing you’ve brought? It nearly scared me to death!”
With that, she reached out and gave her grandson a slap on the back.
Ning Xin, standing off to the side, laughed so hard she doubled over.
Jokes aside, the machine worked quite well. Perhaps because the motor was powerful, that cucumber, nearly a foot long, was reduced to a fine paste in no time, falling into the basin placed beneath the machine.
Ning Xin picked up the basin and examined the contents. Overall, she was quite satisfied.
It certainly couldn’t compare to the juicers or high-speed blenders of later generations, but with this consistency, she could easily squeeze out the juice using a piece of cheesecloth, saving her an immeasurable amount of effort compared to chopping everything by hand.
“Brother, please thank Xu Shaonian for me. How much did it cost? I’ll give him the money.”
“No need. I already paid. Actually, the money wasn’t the real cost, the trouble of finding this thing was the hard part.
I didn’t mention it earlier because we couldn’t find one. You know, for this thing, Shaonian practically asked every food factory, guesthouse, and big restaurant in our entire province. They all said they had large pulverizers for public use, but they’d never seen one for household use.
In the end, Shaonian had to ask an acquaintance on a business trip to Yuecheng to bring this back. Never mind the cost, just the effort of carrying it all the way here over a thousand li, Shaonian called in a huge favor for this.”
Perhaps feeling deeply moved, Ning Yi uncharacteristically rambled on for quite a while.
Ning Xin was inwardly shocked.
She truly hadn’t imagined that getting this pulverizer would require so much trouble.
She couldn’t help but frown.
“Brother, how are we ever going to repay such a huge favor? We haven’t even repaid him for bringing you into that business deal yet.”
Hearing this, Ning Yi clicked his tongue and gave his sister a helpless look.
“Shaonian was absolutely right. He told me not to tell you where this came from, said he was afraid you’d overthink it if you knew. What’s there to thank? Between brothers, we don’t stand on ceremony like that. Besides, you make him herbal tea every day. If you want to talk about favors, he owes us plenty too.”
It wasn’t the same, and Ning Xin knew it.
She grumbled inwardly to herself.
The herbal tea she gave Xu Shaonian every day was nothing more than a bit poured from the family’s insulated dispenser, it cost her no effort. But this pulverizer, he had truly put his heart into it.
However, Ning Xin knew her brother was a straightforward person, without a single tricky bone in his body. Trying to explain this to him would be futile. She would just have to find her own opportunity to slowly repay the favor.
After preparing the ingredients and waiting for Ning Yi to finish his meal, Ning Xin told him about what had happened that morning.
She first told him about Leng Hui, then asked, “Brother, do you know that female comrade?”
Ning Yi looked utterly bewildered. “No. Don’t you know all the women I know? If you don’t know her, I definitely don’t.”
Ning Xin: “…”
She took a deep breath, patiently continuing, “The people I know are all neighbors or your classmates. Could this person be someone you met after you were sent to the countryside? Or someone you met while working at the coal yard?”
“No.” Ning Yi answered very crisply. “I don’t like interacting with female comrades. Everyone I know, you know.”
Ning Xin: “…”
How was someone like this ever going to find a wife?!
She glanced at her brother and began to deeply worry about his future happiness.
“Fine, let’s say you don’t know her. Let’s drop it,” Ning Xin said helplessly, changing the subject.
“Brother, you don’t have any objections to my plan to hand over the medicinal kitchen to the state, do you?”
“No objections. It’s a good thing. Why would I have any objections?!”
“But,” Ning Yi suddenly leaned his head closer to his sister and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Xiao Xin, be honest with me. That talk about a feng shui treasure site, you made that up, didn’t you?”
Ning Xin: “…How come you’re so sharp all of a sudden?”
Hearing his sister’s question, Ning Yi chuckled smugly twice before lowering his voice again. “I’ve lived in this courtyard for over twenty years, and I never knew it was some feng shui treasure site. How come the moment you want to open a medicinal kitchen, it suddenly becomes magical? You’re using this as a gimmick to get people to come eat here, aren’t you?”
He reached out and pressed his hand on top of Ning Xin’s head, complaining with a hint of concern, “Xiao Xin, you’ve gone too far, haven’t you? Those academy people took samples back. What if they don’t find anything at all? How are you going to handle that? They have specialized instruments, this won’t be easy to fool!”
Ning Xin looked at her brother, unable to articulate the mix of feelings welling up inside her.
She had always thought her brother was a bit simple, lacking in foresight, a kindhearted man who was somewhat naive. She never expected him to have such a shrewd side.
Or perhaps his naivety wasn’t genuine. Maybe he was simply pure-hearted by nature, and even when he saw certain people and situations clearly, he chose not to make an issue of them.
Seeing his sister remain silent, Ning Yi grew even more concerned.
He sighed. “Xiao Xin, wanting to make money is perfectly normal, but you can’t just go around making up lies. Otherwise—”
“It’s not a lie,” Ning Xin interrupted him.
“Brother, I do have something that can enhance the vitality of soil and plants. It’s a secret formula my master left me. But the formula can’t be disclosed, so I have to dissolve it in water and pour it onto the ground. It’s a last resort, but the effect is the same. So it’s not really lying.”
Ning Yi had long heard his sister mention that she had a master, and he believed it wholeheartedly.
Hearing Ning Xin say this, and thinking that those with unique skills might indeed have many rules and requirements, Ning Yi, though still worried, chose to understand his sister’s approach.
“If that’s the case, then put the house in your name. Write your name on the property deed. I’ve heard that to open a restaurant these days, you need to get some kind of business license. When they ask for the location, having the property deed in your name might make the process smoother.”
After confirming that his sister hadn’t been lying, Ning Yi casually brought up the matter of the house’s ownership.
Ning Xin was stunned.
“Wait, Brother, this house was left to both of us by Dad. How can it be put solely in my name?”
“Since it was left to both of us, what difference does it make whose name it’s under?”
“That’s not—”
“What’s with all the ‘that’s not’? It’s settled. I’ve decided.”
With that, Ning Yi stood up and stretched unapologetically. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep. Don’t stay up too late playing around. Get some rest.”
He then headed for the door.
“Brother, don’t go yet!” Ning Xin rushed over and grabbed him.
“Don’t leave. Sit down. Let’s talk some more!” Ning Xin forcibly pushed her brother back into his seat.
“Talk about what? What difference does it make whose name it’s under? It’s not like you’d kick me out if your name is on it,” Ning Yi said helplessly and indifferently as his sister held him down.
Ning Xin looked at her brother with a complicated expression in her eyes.
Had he been so easily trusting of people back then that he ended up being deceived?
Thinking of this, Ning Xin felt the weight on her shoulders grow even heavier.
She pressed down firmly on Ning Yi’s shoulder. “Sit still and listen to me!”
Ning Xin didn’t waste any words and got straight to the point. “Even if you don’t care, what about my future sister-in-law?”
“There’s no sister-in-law.”
“Don’t interrupt!” Ning Xin shot him another glare.
Ning Yi gave her a helpless look and made a “please continue” gesture.
“Two options. Option one: put both our names on the property deed, with the house split half and half. Since I’ll need to use more of it, after my medicinal kitchen opens, I’ll give you thirty percent of the shares as compensation.”
Ning Yi immediately became agitated, but before he could speak, Ning Xin continued. “Option two: put the deed in my name, and I’ll buy the house from you. Of course, I don’t have the money now, so I’ll owe you.”
At this, Ning Yi broke into a grin.
“Fine, fine. Owe me. We’ll talk about it whenever our Xiao Xin has the money.”
Ning Xin rolled her eyes at him. “Brother, one of these days you’re just begging to be sold by me!”
With that, she slapped away his hand as he reached out to press down on her head. “Let me finish! Consider this money owed to you. Within three years, I’ll buy a house of equivalent value to this courtyard and give it to you. In addition, I’ll give you ten percent non-contributing shares in the medicinal kitchen. Don’t glare at me. These shares aren’t free, I’ll still need you to work for me! You have to promise to come whenever I call.”
Ning Yi frowned. “Xiao Xin, why do you have to be so clear-cut with your own brother? Of course I should help you with the work. Why would I need shares? And since when do you need to buy me a house? Don’t I have my own hands and feet? Can’t I buy one myself?”
“You buying one is your business. Even close siblings need to keep accounts clear. I have to repay what I owe you. Ah, stop with all the nonsense. Just choose quickly, then go to sleep!”
There was never any doubt about which option Ning Yi would choose. He was genuinely thinking of his sister’s best interests.
Buying a house was still far off, no need to mention that yet. Getting the house transferred to his sister’s name so she could use it conveniently was Ning Yi’s current thought.
After the siblings settled on the plan and, under Ning Xin’s insistence, drafted an agreement, they went to the housing authority the next morning with an officer sent by Shi Zhengyi to complete the property transfer.
Thanks to the escort, the process was lightning fast. Otherwise, given the chaotic crowds at the housing authority, Ning Xin felt that even after three or four more trips, they might not have managed to get the certificate on their own.
After finishing the paperwork, it was nearly twelve o’clock. Tucking the new property deed into her bag, the siblings said goodbye to their escort and headed home.
But as soon as they reached the entrance of the alley and took a few steps inside, they saw a crowd gathered in front of their house, noisy and chaotic.
At the gate, quite a few people were craning their necks, trying to see inside.
The siblings exchanged a glance and, without a word, quickened their pace.
Seeing them, the neighbors parted to make way. Someone called out loudly, “Xiao Yi, Xiao Xin, hurry inside! Your grandmother is arguing with someone!”
Grandmother was arguing with someone? Since when did Grandmother argue with anyone?!
Their hearts skipped a beat, and they hurried even faster.
Once through the gate, before they had even rounded the screen wall, Ning Xin spotted several messy luggage bags scattered on the ground in the courtyard.
Then she heard a woman’s shrill voice shouting loudly in the yard.
“Oh my, just because a person is dead, his words don’t count anymore? Auntie, Master Ning was your own son! He agreed back then to let us move in. Even if he’s dead, his words still stand! By blocking us like this, are you saying you don’t believe me? What, do I need to dig Master Ning up from the ground and have him tell you himself?!”