Zhang Cuimei and Si's Father were greatly shocked by Liu Dongdong's words.
Si Nian had only been married off to the countryside for half a year, how could she be moving back to the city already?
When they sent Si Nian to the countryside, they had resigned themselves to the idea that she would spend her whole life living in the rural village.
To think she would be coming back to the city so soon?
Their expressions turned unpleasant.
If Si Nian returned to the city and was seen by acquaintances, what would everyone think?
Although that Zhou Yueshen seemed quite decent, no matter what, he was a divorced man with three children.
If people saw her raising another woman's three children, they would surely criticize the Si family again for being so heartless.
Because of the Lin Sisi incident, everyone already believed the Si family had wronged Si Nian.
Even now, people still pointed fingers behind their backs, saying they were awful.
This matter could have gradually faded away with Si Nian's departure.
But now she was coming back.
Liu Dongdong said, "It's true. This news is spreading all over the village. I heard she's even going to become an English teacher at the Foreign Language Elementary School in the city center."
"You should know about this school; it's the one where Sisi helped Fu Qianqian with her speech before. I heard the school leadership recognized her abilities and invited her."
As she spoke, Liu Dongdong couldn't help feeling envious.
She could actually understand now why Lin Sisi hated Si Nian so much.
After all, Si Nian having such an opportunity was all because the Si family was willing to spend money to cultivate her when she was young.
Otherwise, how could she have this today?
For anyone else, being sent down to the countryside and marrying a rural man would make it very hard to ever turn their life around.
But Si Nian was different.
Beautiful and talented.
If she hadn't been the Si family's adopted daughter, Liu Dongdong didn't dare imagine what kind of glorious life such a person would have.
Unlike herself, like an ugly duckling in the mud. Even if she got close to them, she could only look up with admiration and envy.
What she obtained with all her might, others got effortlessly...
Liu Dongdong's eyes dimmed.
Hearing this, Zhang Cuimei and Si's Father looked even more astonished!
Their expressions then turned complicated.
Their biological daughter, Lin Sisi, had brought disgrace upon the Si family by stealing money, was now in prison, and held a grudge against them.
Yet their adopted daughter, Si Nian, even after being sent to the countryside, could be discovered and become a foreign language teacher, enjoying infinite glory.
This was precisely the kind of life they had hoped for their child, but because they abandoned Si Nian and couldn't save Lin Sisi, they ended up with nothing.
When Si Nian came to the city and became a teacher, outsiders would surely mock them for picking up the sesame seed but losing the watermelon.
Soon, Zhang Cuimei felt this was all thanks to them. Her thoughts aligned with Liu Dongdong's: "Such a big thing, and she didn't even tell us. No matter what, we are her adoptive parents. If it weren't for us cultivating her since childhood, could she have today?"
"When she comes, we must definitely have a good talk with her."
In the following days.
Si Nian took Eldest Child and Second Child to see their homeroom teacher about transferring schools, handling the procedures in advance.
Even in this era, the necessary processes had to be followed.
Though it wasn't as troublesome as in the future.
As for the new school, she got the contact information for the head of the Foreign Language Elementary School from Sister Chen.
She explained the situation of the two children.
Perhaps the head had too favorable an impression of her, as he didn't say much and told her to just bring them over.
Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) was older, so they were concerned about potential impact and required him to take an assessment.
Second Child didn't need to; he was only in first grade anyway, so at most he'd just repeat a year.
Although the procedures weren't difficult, finalizing everything still took several days.
It happened to be during the winter break. Just as the procedures were completed, Zhou Yueshen had also found a house.
Zhou Yueshen returned home and handed Si Nian a stack of documents.
"Here are the processed documents for the house. You keep them."
Zhou Yueshen poured himself a cup of tea and gulped it down.
Si Nian reached out to take them, glanced at them, and her hand trembled slightly: "The... the property deed? You, you bought it outright? You still had that much money?" Just how much had this guy saved? Besides the money he gave her, he had also paid the bride price and bought a car afterwards!
"Cough!" Zhou Yueshen almost choked: "I have connections. I lent out quite a bit of money over the years and had them all pay it back. This house was also found with a friend's help, it wasn't expensive."
Zhou Yueshen had, after all, been a soldier for over a decade and had met many people over the years. In short, it was quite complicated.
It was hard to explain clearly to her all at once.
But he was definitely not the type to hide secret savings.
The reason he didn't touch her money was that he thought her having savings would give her peace of mind.
In case any troubles arose in the future.
Si Nian opened her mouth slightly. This man had extensive connections, was good at business, and everyone seemed to follow his lead.
It was as if he was a born leader.
With such a perfect male lead persona, why did he have to end up as an inconspicuous, divorced older man?
Si Nian turned the property deed over and over. In these times, many people didn't have this document. If you got approval from above, you could build a house almost anywhere, but things weren't so casual in the city.
You wouldn't dare buy a house without proper documents. Even if nothing happened now, many troubles could arise later when urban property values increased.
Having this document was for peace of mind.
She was quite puzzled: "You seem quite smart, so why couldn't you tell before that Aunt Liu was treating the children poorly and that they were so thin?"
Was she complimenting him or scolding him?
"I knew she wouldn't treat the children too well, but I truly didn't expect her to go that far." Zhou Yueshen's voice was low: "Nian Nian, why do you think I was willing to pay three thousand to Lin Sisi and was in such a hurry to get married, even though I had already hired someone to help look after the children?"
When the matchmaker introduced them, he had been drawn to Lin Sisi's education, thinking she might be different from others and could take good care of the children. That would have been enough.
Otherwise, how would all these later events have happened?
Si Nian was surprised. So he also knew Aunt Liu wasn't good to the children, which was why he wanted to quickly find a wife to help care for them?
Even without her confronting Aunt Liu, as long as the new wife was good to the children, Aunt Liu wouldn't have lasted long?
Thinking of this, Si Nian hummed: "So it seems you quite admired Lin Sisi?"
"She attended high school. I thought she would be different from others." Zhou Yueshen said: "I was married once before, and many things happened."
He lowered his gaze, his voice growing even darker: "Nian Nian, no one can be perfect in every way."
Si Nian fell silent.
"Zhou Yueshen." She looked up at him. "You're right."
"But, it's all in the past."
Zhou Yueshen looked down, studying her for a moment.
The sternness in his eyes softened, his voice gentle. "Nian Nian, you're right. It's all in the past."
"Let's pack these next two days. We'll go over first to get used to it for a while."
Si Nian said okay.
She looked again at the cozy little home she had arranged, feeling somewhat reluctant. "I thought we'd be staying here for a lifetime."
Zhou Yueshen raised his eyes to look at his house.
A flicker of daze also passed through his eyes.
Yes, he had once believed that too.
"We will come back."
Just as Si Nian was busy preparing to move to Yunguichuan City, at the Si residence, Zhang Cuimei suddenly received a phone call from Lin Sisi and hurried to the prison with her husband.
...
