As soon as Su Wanwan entered, she noticed that her grandmother’s house really did have a lot of rooms.
She personally had no objection to moving here. She wanted to stay with her grandmother too.
However, she was still a child and couldn’t make that decision herself. They would have to discuss it with Ye Xiu’e.
Ye Xiu’e was becoming anxious after searching everywhere and failing to find her daughter.
Wanwan had always been introverted and never ran around.
She had searched the entire Ye family courtyard but found no trace of her.
Wait.
There was one place she hadn’t checked yet—Old Madam Ye’s room.
But Su Wanwan had always been a little afraid of her grandmother. There was no way she would go there.
Just as she was about to search outside, she suddenly heard her daughter’s voice.
Turning around, she saw Old Madam Ye holding Su Wanwan’s hand as they walked out of the room together, looking unusually close.
The entire Ye family in the courtyard witnessed the scene.
Their jaws nearly dropped.
Everyone knew Old Madam Ye favored boys over girls.
She didn’t even like her own granddaughters, much less a granddaughter from another family.
Normally, she wouldn’t even spare Su Wanwan a glance.
Why had she suddenly changed?
Ye Xiu’e hurried over.
After confirming that her daughter was unharmed, she finally relaxed.
Su Wanwan noticed the concern in her mother’s eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.
Old Madam Ye looked somewhat awkward.
She hadn’t fully adjusted to her new identity yet and remained silent for a long moment.
Su Wanwan secretly pinched her.
Old Madam Ye nearly cried out.
Then she quickly recovered and smiled warmly at Ye Xiu’e.
“Xiu’e, I’ve heard about everything that happened at the Su family.
It breaks my heart.
Those people actually bullied my precious granddaughter.
I could strangle them with my own hands.
Don’t bother building a house over there anymore.
Why don’t you and Wanwan come back and live with your family?
I promise I’ll treat you both well.”
The Ye family members felt their jaws drop again.
Ye Xiu’e was equally stunned.
Old Madam Ye had never treated her this kindly before.
This sudden change made her nervous.
“Mom… what are you…?”
Su Wanwan secretly pinched Old Madam Ye again.
Grandma, stay in character!
Old Madam Ye realized she had been acting a little too gentle.
Every time she looked at Ye Xiu’e, who had protected her precious granddaughter, she wanted to spoil her.
Still, she needed to maintain the original Old Madam Ye’s personality.
She coughed lightly.
“Ahem.
Xiu’e, what I’m saying is…
You and Wanwan don’t have anyone to look after you over there. You’ll only get bullied.
Why not move back here?
Besides, our village just happens to need a barefoot doctor.
You can take that position.
It’s the best of both worlds.
But let’s make one thing clear—you’ll hand over your monthly subsidy to me.”
The Ye family finally understood.
Their jaws returned to their proper places.
Oh.
So that’s what this was about.
Old Madam Ye had her eyes on Ye Xiu’e’s monthly subsidy.
Now that sounded like the Old Madam Ye they knew.
Su Wanwan secretly gave her grandmother a thumbs-up.
Well done, Grandma.
Old Madam Ye maintained a calm expression, but inside she was delighted.
Of course.
Did they think Ye Cuilan was some amateur?
Ye Xiu’e thought seriously about it.
She had always worried that she and her daughter would be bullied in Qingshui Village.
That was why she had endured so much before finally deciding to separate from the family.
She often had to travel to treat patients, and leaving Wanwan alone at home made her uneasy.
As for the monthly subsidy, she didn’t really care.
She had been handing it over to Old Madam Su every month anyway.
At that moment, Su Wanwan walked over and grabbed her mother’s hand.
Looking up with bright, sparkling eyes, she said sweetly,
“Mom, I want to live at Grandma’s house.
Grandma said she’s making braised pork for me tonight!”
The Ye family nearly jumped with joy when they heard there would be meat for dinner.
Ye Shengli actually did jump up.
Clapping excitedly, he shouted,
“We’re having meat tonight! We’re having meat tonight!”
The two daughters-in-law found it strange that Old Madam Ye had suddenly become so nice to Ye Xiu’e and Su Wanwan.
And now she was even cooking meat for them.
That was practically unheard of.
Still, when they thought about the ten-yuan monthly subsidy Ye Xiu’e would bring, they had no objections.
The happiest person was undoubtedly Ye Qingxue.
He had personally witnessed the village leader from Qingshui Village handing Ye Xiu’e over two hundred yuan.
That was a fortune.
Seeing that her daughter also wanted to stay, Ye Xiu’e finally agreed.
Her family had their flaws, but none of them were truly bad people.
More importantly, they would never abuse a child.
Having relatives nearby would make life much easier.
Her only concern was whether her sisters-in-law would mind.
But judging from their expressions, they seemed perfectly fine with it.
There was no reason to refuse.
Su Wanwan was thrilled.
From now on, she could be with her grandmother every day.
Once they decided to move in, the next question was where they would live.
Years ago, before the sons married, Old Madam Ye had been extremely capable.
The family had three strong sons.
Combined with Old Master Ye’s veteran subsidy, they had managed to save a considerable amount of money.
The Ye family had once been among the wealthiest households in Bali Village.
Because she knew her sons would eventually need homes, Old Madam Ye had purchased a large piece of land and built multiple houses.
Even with the whole family living together, there was still an empty room available, along with a large vegetable garden and several private plots of land.
By all rights, they should have been living comfortably.
Unfortunately, things changed.
The marriages of the eldest and second sons consumed a lot of money.
Then grandchildren began arriving one after another.
Five or six extra mouths meant five or six extra people to feed.
The women and children couldn’t contribute much labor, yet they still had to eat.
Later, Eldest Uncle Ye fell ill.
Old Master Ye also spent more and more time bedridden.
Medical expenses gradually drained the family’s savings.
Now they were barely getting by.
The entire household depended on Old Master Ye’s twenty-yuan monthly subsidy.
In theory, twenty yuan should have been enough.
But the Ye family had too few workers and too many expenses.
They rarely ate meat more than once a month.
And now, Ye Qingxue had gambled away this month’s subsidy entirely.
Feeling guilty, Ye Qingxue eagerly volunteered to clean out the empty room for Ye Xiu’e and Su Wanwan.
His motives weren’t entirely pure.
First, he hoped his mother would forgive him for losing the money and nearly causing her death.
Second…
He hoped Ye Xiu’e might lend him a little bit of her fortune.
Old Madam Ye immediately sensed something suspicious.
Her lazy youngest son wouldn’t suddenly become diligent for no reason.
Still, she wasn’t worried.
The room had been unused for years and was packed with clutter.
Cleaning it would take a lot of work.
He could go ahead and do it.
But if he dared mistreat Ye Xiu’e or Su Wanwan, she would personally skin him alive.
Afterward, Old Madam Ye took out some money and sent Old Master Ye to the supply cooperative to buy meat.
She instructed her eldest daughter-in-law to prepare a proper feast for dinner.
Tonight was worth celebrating.
Then she told Second Uncle Ye to rent two donkey carts.
He would accompany Ye Xiu’e and Su Wanwan back to Qingshui Village to move their belongings.