TGCF Ch 41 Part 1 – Buying the Courtyard (I)

“Buying a house? Where did this house come from?” Xia Wenyues and her daughters were puzzled.

Xia Mian smiled, “Do you still remember the day we first arrived? I said I wanted to buy the courtyard house across the street.”

“Weren’t you just saying that to annoy Zhou Qianqian? Are you really going to buy it?” asked Mao Huimei.

“Of course,” Xia Mian laughed. “If I didn’t buy it, Dr. Ning’s plan would be disturbed.”

They all knew about Zhou Qianqian and the Huo family’s mistreatment of Ning Shaoyun, so it was only natural for Ning Shaobai to stand up for her. Xia Mian quickly recounted what they had experienced at the Huo family’s villa that day, deliberately emphasizing how Old Madam Huo had insulted them and bullied Ning Shaoyun until Ning Shaobai appeared to rescue them.

Hearing how they were being slighted, Xia Wenyue frowned, “That old lady is so muddle-headed, not even as good as the girls’ grandmother. At least she pretends to be decent in public.”

When Xia Mian’s story reached the part where the old lady was forced to hand over a check for 200,000 yuan, Xia Wenyue slapped her thigh and laughed, “Haha, you should take it back! Second Aunt has only ever heard of checks and never actually seen one! Money’s the most practical thing.”

Huilan laughed along, “Yeah, Sister Mian. You should take it back and make her regret it.”

“We didn’t take it back,” Xia Mian smiled. “Dr. Ning returned the check and said we’d buy the courtyard house across the street instead.”

Xia Wenyue was startled, “That courtyard is worth 200,000 yuan? You could buy an apartment for 100,000!”

Xia Mian laughed, “The market price is actually only about 60,000 or 70,000. Do you really think we’d accept that check?”

“You can’t take the check, and we can’t take the courtyard either!” Xia Wenyue said more seriously now. “That old lady may be unreasonable, but that’s her business. Extorting money from others—our family doesn’t do things like that.”

Xia Wenyue continued earnestly, “Second Aunt may not understand the bigger picture or have much experience, but she knows one thing: being honest and upright in how you live and work is never wrong.”

“On the surface, it may seem like you’re getting a good deal, but it’s not a good thing. You are harming your own integrity. Once someone strays from the right path, it becomes hard to return.” Xia Wenyue added, “Listen to your aunt. We can’t take that courtyard. If you want to buy a house, take your time looking. Renting one for now is also fine!”

“Don’t worry, Aunt.” Xia Mian took Xia Wenyue’s hand and reassured her, “Ning Shaobai only said that out to irritate the old lady. Otherwise, he could have just taken the check and left. Why go through all this trouble?”

“We’re not getting the courtyard for free. I’ve already prepared the money. Dr. Ning said Brother Rong Xin will serve as a witness during the purchase.”

“If there’s any advantage we’re getting, it’s that the location and neighborhood of this courtyard are both great. It saves us the trouble of looking all over.”

Xia Wenyue said, “But isn’t it the Huo family’s ancestral home? Will they really sell it to us?”

“There’s a whole row of houses there. Their entire family has moved to modern villas because no one wanted to live in these shabby houses.” Xia Mian explained, then she blatantly lied, “Besides, Old Master Huo saw how disrespectful his wife was to us. He’s probably compensating us. We didn’t ask for anything else—just to buy a house. It’s no big deal.”

Xia Wenyue was convinced. Apartment buildings with indoor plumbing and modern electricity are very popular now. Basically, if someone could live in an apartment, they wouldn’t choose these old courtyard houses. Only Ning Shaoyun’s place was renovated well enough to be comfortable.

At the entrance of the alley was a large courtyard house turned communal compound, similar in layout to Ning Shaoyun’s, with shared water pipes and a communal toilet in the courtyard. It wasn’t much different from their old home, where you had to put on extra clothes just to go to the toilet at night. It was certainly less comfortable than living in an apartment.

Xia Wenyue turned to another concern, “Is your money enough?”

Xia Mian smiled, “Enough. My mom left me some stuff, and I sold it to cover the cost.”

Hearing that, Xia Wenyue didn’t ask further. Having experienced a lot, she was very tactful in understanding social matters. Buying property was always the right thing to do, no matter where. If her family had money, that would be the first thing she’d do, too.

Knowing that Xia Mian would soon have her own house, the three Mao sisters were also delighted. No matter what, Xia Mian was family, and their blood connection made them feel closer. They would feel more at ease living in her house.

“What the courtyard across the street is like?” Mao Huilan mused.

“I heard it’s a two-entry courtyard,” Xia Mian answered. “It should be similar to where we’re living now. You can start thinking about which room you want and how to decorate it.”

Xia Mian left Xiao Feng to play with Mao Huizhu and went next door to find Ning Shaobai to inquire about the matter of transferring ownership of the courtyard. Recently, Ning Shaobai had been so busy that he was hard to catch, but Xia Mian had just seen him return. She strolled leisurely to the neighboring house, knocked on the gate, and a middle-aged man with a limp and a scar on his face opened it. “Xia Mian, are you looking for Shaobai?”

“Yes, Uncle Li.”

Ning Shaobai employed a couple to take care of his house. The husband, a taciturn middle-aged man called Uncle Li, was a former soldier discharged due to injuries, responsible for odd jobs around the house. His wife, Aunt Cui, handled the cooking and other housework.

Seeing that Uncle Li didn’t mention Ning Shaobai being out, Xia Mian stepped inside. As she passed the inner gate, she noticed a wooden ladder propped against the wall.

Seeing her pause, Uncle Li explained, “The forecast said it might rain soon, so I checked the roof.”

Xia Mian’s eyes glinted mischievously, and she made a shushing motion at Uncle Li before eagerly darting toward the ladder.

“Hey!” Uncle Li was about to stop her when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Ning Shaobai standing behind him, silently signaling him to stay quiet. Ning Shaobai then crossed his arms and watched what Xia Mian was about to do, an amused look on his face.

Uncle Li shook his head helplessly. He realized his usually serious employer turned into a child whenever this girl from next door was involved.

Meanwhile, Xia Mian had already climbed to the top of the wall. In a lowered voice, she began to drawl, dragging out her words, “Ning Shaobai~ Shaobai~~ Xiao Bai Bai~ I died so miserably~”

In the dim twilight, her voice sounded eerie enough.

She kept calling, eager to see Ning Shaobai’s startled expression when he rushed out.

Then she felt something poke her leg. Startled for a moment, she assumed it was a large mosquito and absentmindedly rubbed her leg with the other foot. But then she felt something smooth slithering across her leg, sending a shiver up her spine.

Just as she was about to look down and check, someone shouted in panic, “Ah! A snake!”

“Where?! Ahhh!!” Xia Mian was terrified. She frantically shook her leg, and suddenly, the wooden ladder beneath her feet gave way.

“Careful!” Ning Shaobai’s expression changed as he tossed aside the stick he was holding and spread his arms. “Xia Mian!”

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