“Old man, why don’t you head over to Second Brother’s place later and mention Ying’s car purchase? If they’d like to come along tomorrow, they’re welcome to join us for a look.” Chen Shuqin said.
Song Guozheng nodded. “Alright.”
Song Guozheng had five siblings in total—he was the third, with two older brothers and two younger sisters.
His eldest brother had passed away from illness when he was young, never having married. His two younger sisters were married and lived far away, only keeping in touch during holidays and festivals.
It was his second brother, Song Guoqiang, who lived in the same village as him. The two families had a good relationship and always supported each other.
Unlike their family with just one child, his second brother Song Guoqiang and second sister-in-law Xu Guihua had three children—two sons and a daughter. The eldest was Song Wenbin, the second was Song Wenshu, and the youngest was their daughter Song Wenjing.
The younger son and daughter both lived elsewhere, so his second brother and sister-in-law lived with their eldest son.
“Grandpa, are we really going to Second Granduncle’s house empty-handed?” Song Ying asked.
Song Guozheng thought for a moment. “Have your grandma grab two packs of AD calcium milk and some snacks.”
His eldest nephew Song Wenbin and niece-in-law Zhang Lan had a son and a daughter. The son, Song Yuan, was married with a five-year-old child, and the daughter, Song Yu, was still in school. The snacks were for the little one.
“Alright.”
When the grandfather and granddaughter arrived, Song Guoqiang’s family was in the middle of eating lunch.
“Oh my, Ying! Long time no see!” Aunt Zhang Lan hurried over to greet them.
Uncle Song Wenbin said to his son, “Song Yuan, hurry and get your second granduncle and little cousin some bowls.”
Song Ying said, “No need to bother, Uncle. We already ate before coming out.”
Song Guozheng added, “She went with her grandmother to her maternal grandmother’s place and just ate before coming. I also ate at home.”
“You’ve eaten, then have some tea.” Aunt Zhang Lan brewed two cups of tea.
Earlier today while selling the sheep, Song Guozheng had chatted with second sister-in-law Xu Guiying, so Second Granduncle Song Guoqiang’s family already knew about Song Ying’s plans to open a restaurant and buy a car.
Cousin Song Yuan asked, “Ying, what kind of car are you thinking of getting?”
Song Ying pulled out her phone and showed him. “Brother Song Yuan, I want to get this one.”
“A Tank Black Warrior 300? Nice. Ying, you like these big cars?”
Song Ying laughed. “Yeah, I originally wanted a Hummer, but it’s too expensive and I can’t afford it. I can only get something that looks similar to a Hummer, haha.”
Song Yuan said, “That’s true. Hummers are for rich people. We’ll just drive something in the hundred-thousand to two-hundred-thousand range.”
“Ying, let me see.” Song Yuan’s wife, Song Ying’s cousin-in-law He Miaomiao, leaned over.
Song Ying noticed her slightly protruding belly and asked, “Sister-in-law, are you… expecting?”
He Miaomiao smiled and nodded. “Yes. Your brother wants a daughter.”
Their first child was a son, and her husband wanted both a son and a daughter—so he wanted a girl this time.
Song Ying said, “Nice. Another daughter, and you’ll have one of each.”
As for herself, she planned to get married eventually and would definitely only have one child.
Her cousin-in-law had gone through a lot when giving birth to their first—an induced labor that turned into a C-section. She’d sworn back then she’d never have a second child. Yet here she was, just a few years later, pregnant again.
Sure enough, people were right—mothers are forgetful. They forget the pain of childbirth.
“Uncle, Brother Song Yuan, I’m picking up the car tomorrow. If you’re free, come with me—I don’t know anything about inspecting cars.” Song Ying said.
Uncle Song Wenbin asked his wife, “Nothing going on tomorrow, right?”
Aunt Zhang Lan said, “Go if you want to. I’ll hold down the fort at home.”
Song Wenbin asked, “Are your uncles going tomorrow?”
Song Ying replied, “Yeah, we’re taking my cousin’s car.”
Song Wenbin said, “Alright, when they arrive tomorrow morning, come get us.”
Her maternal uncle and cousin, her paternal uncle and cousin, plus herself—five people in total, the car would fit them all.
There wasn’t much more to discuss. Once the matter was settled, Song Ying and Song Guozheng left.
After the two of them had gone, Song Ying’s second grand-aunt, Xu Guihua, started chattering away.
“Yingzi’s going to open a restaurant in our village and build a new house—that’s got to cost at least two or three hundred thousand, right?”
Her daughter-in-law Zhang Lan said, “Mom, Second Uncle and Second Aunt have plenty of money. Second Uncle sold sheep this morning for over two hundred thousand, and with what they’ve saved before, they’ve got at least three hundred thousand or more altogether.”
“They’re not short on money at all.”
Her husband’s second uncle’s family had only this one granddaughter, and she’d already graduated and was earning her own money. There was nowhere for them to spend it. All those years of farming income and sheep sales—they’d probably saved it all up.
Xu Guihua listened to her daughter-in-law and nodded. “That’s true. Their family has nowhere to spend money.”
Her granddaughter-in-law He Miaomiao said, “Mom, Grandma, you’re saying Yingzi’s going to build a new house and open a restaurant—what about after she gets married?”
The house they’d build, the restaurant—they’d just give it all up?
Zhang Lan said, “What do you mean, what about it?”
Xu Guihua said, “Miaomiao means, if she marries into someone else’s family, won’t the restaurant have been built for nothing? Is that what you mean?”
He Miaomiao nodded. “Right. Unless she marries a man who moves in with her, or someone from the same village.”
Zhang Lan waved her hand. “Pfft, you don’t need to worry about that. Yingzi said a long time ago she was going to bring in a live-in son-in-law.”
The cousins on her husband’s side had all moved away. Second Uncle’s family was left with just Song Ying as their only descendant. If Song Ying had any conscience at all, she wouldn’t abandon her grandparents.
He Miaomiao heard this and said, “A live-in son-in-law… that works too.”
She’d thought that when Second Grandpa and Second Grandma got too old to move around, they’d have her husband or her father-in-law take care of them. That’s how it was on her mother’s side of the family, anyway, and the property would go to her nephew.
Maybe every place was different. Her husband’s family didn’t have that custom.
As for He Miaomiao’s way of thinking, no one else in the family knew about it, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have any other ideas—like taking advantage of Second Brother/Second Uncle’s family for not having a son, or trying to grab their property.
The old couple wasn’t without descendants. Song Ying was alive and well. Even in the most extreme case—if they had no descendants at all—it still wouldn’t be their turn.
What kind of society was this? People gave to whoever they wanted to give to, and didn’t give if they didn’t want to. If it wasn’t yours, don’t covet it, even if you were relatives.
As for the live-in son-in-law, Song Ying had meant it. It wasn’t something she’d made up as a child.
She’d always felt this way. She was an ordinary person, and she’d eventually marry and have children.
Before winning the lottery, she’d planned to save up enough to buy a house, buy one back in their city, move her grandparents in with her, and then find someone to marry and live there together.
After winning the lottery, she had more options. She could go back to the village, build a big villa, open a big restaurant, and live in the village.
As for the matter of finding a partner—she wasn’t going to leave her grandparents, and she wasn’t going to leave her hometown. Whoever married her would have to live here with her.
Anything else was off the table.
The next day, the group set off for the city. On the way, Song Ying was a little excited. She was finally getting a car of her own.
She’d gotten her driver’s license last year. She’d thought she’d have to wait a few more years before owning a car—at least until after buying a house. She never expected it to happen this fast.