Beijing. The Li Family’s New Residence!
When Li Yi arrived at the courtyard house with his parents and Juanzi, the elderly couple Li Shankui and Zhang Yuehong looked at their son’s new home with a mix of surprise, joy, and excitement.
Although the courtyard wasn’t very large—it couldn’t compare to the two courtyards they owned in Nianzishan Village—
But this was the capital! To be able to acquire a courtyard within the inner city of the nation’s capital—how incredibly difficult that must have been.
Moreover, their son’s residence had clearly been recently renovated; aside from the bricks and tiles, everything else was brand-new, making it a pleasure to look at.
Most importantly, on their drive over, the couple had seen the Forbidden City with their own eyes—it was just a street away from their son’s residence.
In other words, their son had settled right at the foot of the Imperial City—who knows, he might even be able to soak up some of the imperial aura!
Li Yi didn’t dwell on it too much. Once he arrived at the courtyard, he first unloaded everything from the car into the house, then busied himself with lighting the stove.
The courtyard had been vacant since the renovation was completed, and with the biting cold of early spring setting in, the house felt as chilly as a freezer.
To make it livable for the night, he had to light the stoves early to warm the house!
Fortunately, Li Yi had already prepared coal and firewood, so the stoves in the main hall and the west wing were soon ablaze.
After finishing these tasks, Li Yi glanced at his watch and realized it was already 4:30 p.m.!
He then told Juanzi to stay home while he took his parents straight to the Jiang family’s house!
Over at the Jiang household, upon learning that Li Yi’s parents were coming, Jiang Shiying and Ye Lingyun took the matter very seriously.
Although Jiang Shiying had met the couple before and knew they were honest, down-to-earth farmers who weren’t particularly fussy,
However, out of respect for their son-in-law Li Yi, they had the kitchen prepare dinner well in advance and specifically instructed them to add a few extra dishes.
They certainly couldn’t let their in-laws feel that the Jiang family was too high and mighty to treat them with proper respect.
More importantly, they had heard from their daughter that during her years in the countryside, Li Shankui and his wife had taken great care of her.
Especially during her first year in Nianzishan Village, not only was she in a strange place with no one to turn to, but she couldn’t even manage to feed herself properly.
While other educated youths at least had some support from home—with money and food sent by mail every few days—she was the only one completely neglected. Worse still, that scum of the Tang family even demanded she send the resettlement allowance the government had given her back home.
Jiang Xue’s memory of that time can be summed up in one word: hunger!
Just as she was on the verge of collapse, Li Na could no longer stand by and watch; she reached out to help her, and the two became close sisters and best friends.
From then on, Li Shankui and his wife would often have Li Na invite her over for a home-cooked meal.
Jiang Xue had told her parents all about these things; in her words, the Li family had done her a great favor.
That’s exactly why Jiang Shiying and her husband placed such great importance on the visit from Li Yi’s parents.
………
Li Yi’s courtyard wasn’t far from the Jiang family’s old residence—less than two kilometers as the crow flies.
Although the drive took a slight detour, it was still less than a five-minute ride.
Upon arriving at the Jiang family’s gate, Li Yi had barely stepped out of the car when he saw the gate to the old Jiang residence suddenly swing open.
Immediately afterward, Li Yi saw his father-in-law emerge from inside—whether he had been waiting there all along or was just about to go out.
Upon seeing Li Yi, Jiang Shiying’s eyes lit up, and he immediately walked toward the car.
Upon reaching Li Shankui and Zhang Yuehong, Jiang Shiying immediately said, “Brother Li, Sister-in-law, you’re here! Thank you for making the trip!”
Li Shankui, now aware that Jiang Shiying was a high-ranking official, replied somewhat nervously, “It was no trouble… no trouble at all!”
Seeing his father’s nervousness, Li Yi immediately took over the conversation and asked, “Dad, when did you get back?”
“I just walked in a moment ago!”
Then he added, “Let’s not just stand here—let’s go inside!”
“Wait a moment. My parents brought quite a few things for Xiaoxue and the kids. Let’s take them inside together!”
With that, Li Yi opened the back door of the car and pulled out two bulging burlap sacks.
Then, under Jiang Shiying’s stunned gaze, he took a basket and a cloth bag from the back of the car.
Seeing this, Jiang Shiying immediately said to Li Yi, “This much? Why didn’t you stop them? We don’t need any of this at home…”
Li Yi grinned and said, “I tried to stop her, but it was no use!”
Zhang Yuehong hurriedly interjected, “Dear in-law, we didn’t bring much—just a few old hens for Xue’er, some of her favorite snacks and eggs, and some clothes and bedding for the baby!”
“Thank you so much, Sister-in-law. Xue’er really has hit the jackpot marrying into your Li family…”
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group carried the items into the Jiang household!
Li Yi led his parents straight to the main hall where Jiang Xue was waiting. Before they even entered the room, Jiang Xue was already waiting at the door.
“Father, Mother, please come inside!”
As soon as Zhang Yuehong saw her daughter-in-law, she hurried forward a few steps, took her hand, and said, “It’s cold out here. You haven’t even finished your postpartum confinement yet—don’t catch a chill!”
“Mother, don’t worry, I’m fine!” Jiang Xue said with a smile.
“You silly girl. A woman has to take good care of herself during the postpartum period; otherwise, she’ll be plagued with ailments in her old age…”
Once inside, Jiang Xue immediately pulled Zhang Yuehong over to the small crib and said, “Mother, look!”
Zhang Yuehong looked at the two little babies sleeping soundly in the crib, her expression filled with emotion. She reached out with a slightly trembling hand, wanting to touch the children.
But just as her hand was about to touch the baby’s little face, she suddenly pulled it back.
She quickly wiped her hand on her clothes, then cautiously touched the child’s little face.
“Is… is that Yunrui, and that Yunjin?”
Jiang Xue pointed to the slightly older-looking baby on the left and said, “This is our eldest, Yunrui, and the one next to him is our youngest, Yunjin!”
Standing nearby, Li Shankui gazed at his grandchildren with equal excitement. Though not one for many words, he remained silent, yet his eyes never strayed from the two children.
Moreover, judging by his father-in-law’s attitude just now, they were indeed very easygoing and didn’t treat his son as a son-in-law who had married into the family.
This gave Li Shankui a slight sense of relief!
Ever since he learned that his son and daughter-in-law had moved into the Jiang family’s ancestral home, he’d been worried that the Jiang family might look down on his son or treat him like a son-in-law who’d married into the family!
The Li family had only this one son; he simply couldn’t be treated as a son-in-law who had married into the family.
It seemed now that he had overthought it!
What Li Shankui didn’t know was that Jiang Shiying had been dreaming of making his son a son-in-law who moved into the wife’s family’s home. Unfortunately, Li Yi was both capable and proud; he had already purchased the estate before the baby was even born—and not just one, but two courtyards.
Jiang Shiying realized this young man had a stubborn streak and would never agree to become a son-in-law by marriage, so she let the idea drop!
Just then, the main door swung open, and Li Yi saw his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun, walk in carrying a teapot.
Li Yi immediately introduced her to his parents, and so the group exchanged pleasantries once more.
After the pleasantries, Li Yi turned to Jiang Shiying and asked, “Father, is Grandfather home?”
As the eldest member of the Jiang family, it was only proper for his parents to pay their respects to the old man first—that was the bare minimum of courtesy.
“He’s not here. One of Grandfather’s old comrades-in-arms returned to Beijing today and asked to meet with him. He’s expected back this evening!” Jiang Shiying replied.
“Then I’ll bring my parents over once Grandfather returns!”
“Alright!”
While Li Shankui and his wife were focused on the two little ones, Jiang Shiying suddenly said, “Xiao Yi, come with me to the study for a moment!”
Li Yi knew his father-in-law had something to discuss with him, so he immediately said goodbye to his parents and followed Jiang Shiying into the small study next door.