Actually, Lin Zhilan was somewhat surprised that her parents-in-law had left the house to Chengzhou.
At the end of the day, Chengzhou's status was simply a case of a child being valued because of his mother. Her parents-in-law deeply loved their eldest daughter, so they passed the share meant for her down to Chengzhou.
Previously, just to spite Su Ding and Fan Biyun, Lin Zhilan had helped Chengzhou claim the house, but in her heart, she hadn't really thought it through.
A house was certainly a good thing; otherwise, it wouldn't have caused Su Ding's family to make such a fuss.
However, Lin Zhilan didn't know whether accepting this house would be good or bad for Chengzhou.
As for the Jiang family, Lin Zhilan would absolutely never agree to let him go back there.
That meant Jiang Chengzhou only had the Su family as his relatives.
Setting Su Ding aside, at the very least, Su Jue was a good person.
Lin Zhilan could tell that Su Jue also cared deeply for this nephew.
For example, right now, while taking care of his wife and daughters, Su Jue would subconsciously push the duck skin that Chengzhou loved to eat right in front of him.
Benefits can sway people's hearts, and Lin Zhilan didn't know what Su Jue and Deng Jing were thinking.
She hoped the child could receive love and care from more people.
Chengzhou relied so heavily on her and Su Lang simply because he lacked a sense of security, or even, one could say, he was starved for love.
Lin Zhilan wished she could make everyone love her child, but she knew that was impossible.
After thinking it over for a long time, she decided to ask the child for his own opinion.
"Can you tell me a secret? Why don't you want this house?"
The little foreign-style house was very beautiful, and Jiang Chengzhou's room was also decorated very well.
If it were any other child, even if they didn't desperately want it, they wouldn't be this resistant to it.
Jiang Chengzhou stayed silent for a moment. "I don't want Grandma and Grandpa to be so good to me."
"I'd have to pay it back," he said.
Lin Zhilan felt both comforted and heartbroken. Jiang Chengzhou was such a kind child to consider so much.
Moreover, he had previously said he wanted to give the house to her.
That meant he didn't want to bear the weight of his grandparents' goodwill, feeling it was something that needed to be repaid.
Yet, in order to make her happy, he was willing to accept it, while simultaneously figuring out how to repay it.
"Chengzhou, do you want to make Auntie happy?" Lin Zhilan asked him with a smile.
Jiang Chengzhou nodded heavily, his eyes full of a sincere light.
Lin Zhilan smiled gently. "I want to make you happy too, just like how you want to make me happy. Perhaps Grandma and Grandpa feel the same way, so I respect your decision."
Jiang Chengzhou looked in Xu Yueyun's direction.
He happened to meet her gaze, which was warm and kind.
"Chengzhou?" Xu Yueyun asked nervously, "Do you have something you want to say to Grandma?"
Jiang Chengzhou: "Grandma, will you be happy if I accept the house?"
Xu Yueyun paused for a moment. "Yes, I will be happy."
Jiang Chengzhou nodded slightly. "Okay, I'll accept it."
He turned to look at Su Jue. "Second Uncle, when you are transferred back here for work, you can bring Second Aunt, Peipei, and Yaoyao to live in the house. I'm not in the capital anyway, so leaving the house empty would be a waste."
Deng Jing hurriedly looked at Lin Zhilan. "Zhilan, the house belongs to Chengzhou and Chengzhou alone. We have a place to live."
She thought Lin Zhilan had taught Chengzhou to say that.
Jiang Chengzhou said, "My aunt didn't teach me this. I thought of it myself."
Jiang Chengzhou wasn't stupid.
In his heart, he felt like he was taking advantage of the Su family.
Compared to his Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt, he liked his Second Uncle and Second Aunt much more.
The young, tender boy thought his plan was excellent.
He would accept the house, and his grandparents would be happy.
His Second Uncle and Second Aunt could live in the little foreign-style house, and he wouldn't feel so guilty.
As for his Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt, Jiang Chengzhou didn't care about them at all.
Su Jue put down his chopsticks. "Chengzhou, your mother was my eldest sister. When we were little, she would take a steamed bun the size of a fist, not eat a single bite of it herself, and divide it among us three brothers, while she would go peel a radish to eat.
Things like this happened many, many times. I have already taken so much from my eldest sister; I cannot take things from her child too."
Xu Yueyun had already started wiping her tears, and Su Bingcheng's eyes were also a bit red.
The children were all born during the War of Resistance. In those days, just surviving was an accomplishment in itself.
Su Jia suffered the most hardships.
Later, when their lives finally improved, the organization acted as a matchmaker and introduced her to that bastard from the Jiang family.
Old Man Jiang was a comrade-in-arms of the two of them. At the time, he made wild, extravagant promises, saying that once Su Jia married into the family, he would definitely treat her as his own biological daughter.
But what was the result? If they hadn't been in such a rush to have a child, Su Jia wouldn't have gone everywhere seeking medical help and medicine, going to great lengths just to conceive Chengzhou.
Having a child at an advanced age was what ruined her health.
Less than a year after Su Jia died, that man married a new wife.
Su Jue spent very little time at home, so he only knew the general gist of things and wasn't clear on the inner details.
Last night, Deng Jing had already told him the whole story about his eldest sister from beginning to end.
Su Jue hated the Jiang family, and his heart ached for his eldest sister and Jiang Chengzhou.
"I can't compare to your youngest uncle. I can't give you much, but I won't take what's yours either," Su Jue looked at Jiang Chengzhou seriously. "Whether you live in this house or not, we won't touch a single bit of it. This is the fallback plan your grandparents have given you."
Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them.
If his eldest sister could see this from heaven, she would probably feel at ease.
Jiang Chengzhou looked at Lin Zhilan as if asking for help.
Lin Zhilan smiled and said, "Your grandparents are going to live to be a hundred years old, so let them live in this house. You are still young now. The ownership of the house is yours, so wait until you grow up and understand things better, and then you can consider how to handle it yourself."
Only then did Jiang Chengzhou reluctantly agree.
Linlin only half-understood what was being said. Anxiously, she grabbed Xu Yueyun's hand, "Grandma, my brother is going back with me. He's not staying here with you."
Xu Yueyun pretended to be angry. "Weren't you just saying that you like Grandma? Why do you want to go back now?"
Linlin hooked her little fingers and said slyly, "Grandma can come back with me. My mommy and daddy still have to go back to work."
Yaoyao, sitting next to her parents, grabbed the edge of the table with both hands and tried her best to stretch her head forward. "Little sister, I want to go back with you too."
Deng Jing was stunned.
Yaoyao was truly a very introverted girl.
It was her first time seeing her daughter like someone this much.
Deng Jing asked, "Yaoyao, even if Mommy isn't there, do you still want to go?"
Yaoyao blinked, held up one finger, and said, "Just to play for a little while, then Mommy can come pick me up."
Su Pei stood nearby, hesitating to speak.
Deng Jing asked her, "What's wrong?"
Su Pei: "I want to go with little sister too..."
This really stirred the pot.
Both of her daughters were about to be kidnapped away by their little cousin.
Xu Yueyun looked at her little granddaughter. "You little sweetie, how are you so lovable?"
Linlin covered her mouth with her small hands, her eyes curving into little crescents, and said unabashedly, "My big sisters like me."
Deng Jing explained helplessly, "Your little cousin's house is very far away. It takes several days just to get there by car. You two are about to start school soon, so you can't go."
"Ah..."
Su Pei and Su Yao said in unison.
The two sisters slumped their shoulders in dismay.
Lin Zhilan smiled and said, "It's okay, your little cousin is going to stay here for a while longer. Do you want to sleep in the same room with her tonight?"
