Chapter 51: The Old House Without Worries

  Gu's father heard their gossip and chimed in, asking her: "Ya Ya, do you want to go to the city with Dad? Dad will get you a big room."

  Gu Xiang shook her head and said: "I'm doing pretty well in school, I don't want to transfer."

  "Is your mom still renting that small one-room house? Alas, my poor Yaya......" Then she scolded Dad: "You can just take your wife and go have fun, leaving me and your daughter in the countryside."

  Dad said as soon as he heard: "I've never said I'd abandon you! The houses I looked at in the city were all thinking of buying the first and second floors together. So you and Dad don't have to climb stairs either. We'll still live upstairs to take care of you."

  Gu Xiang thought her dad was looking at houses, it turns out they are really moving away!

  "Then let's go, what about YaYa?"

  "Do you think I don't want Yaya to come with us? She's right here, ask her yourself."

  Grandma asked Gu Xiang what she thought again.

  Gu Xiang is already such a big person, but was pulled by her grandmother with half of her body leaning against her bosom.

  "I really don't want to go downtown, although the house I'm living in now isn't very good, but my mom said that once she saves up some money, we'll definitely buy a house."

  What she said is true, her parents' generation still has a mindset of settling down and taking root wherever they are.

  It's impossible to rent a house for a lifetime.

  Gu's mother had also saved money for buying a house in her previous life, but it was later used to open a store and pay medical bills.

  "Your mom's salary is barely enough for you to eat and drink, when will we be able to save up for a house? Are you going to get married and still live there?"

  Grandma is thinking too much, Gu Xiang is only 14 years old, and she won't get married for at least another ten years.

  "Otherwise, YaYa, why don't you just move back home? Although the house is a bit old, it's still better than your mom renting a place outside."

  Although grandma spoke her mind, Gu Xiang was still a bit embarrassed. "Living in my dad's house, my mom won't agree."

  Her mother had a very stubborn temper and was completely cut off from her father after their divorce.

  After divorce, don't care about dad's money either.

  It's also because of this that Gu Daddy feels especially guilty towards the mother and daughter duo.

  "Grandma said, 'What's wrong with that? The neighbors around here are all about my age, and they don't often go out either. No one will gossip about you two. If you're willing to live in this house, of course it's yours. What's wrong with your mom living in your house?"

  Gu Xiang thought it was also right, when the time came, her father and his family would move away, and Gu's mother couldn't bear to ask her.

  Besides, with her father's wealth, it's also legally justifiable for Mrs. Gu to bring her daughter to occupy this old house.

  Grandma was thinking in her heart that Gu Xiang would be willing to stay here.

  Later she occasionally came back from the city and could live with Gu Xiang openly and aboveboard.

  Mr. Gu didn't care much about the house either, and he told Gu Xiang: "The property certificate of this house is under your grandfather's name, they are reliable people. Your grandmother also wishes you well."

  Although Grandpa didn't say much, he was very concerned about Xiang in his heart.

  He heard them talking about this, and without saying a word, he took the key to open the cabinet and handed the property certificate to Gu Xiang.

  Watching her grandfather and grandmother wearing presbyopic glasses and squinting at the property certificate, Gu Xiang's nose turned sour.

  She is determined to keep this house.

  In the future, even if her father repeats his mistakes and empties the house again, she cannot watch two old people become homeless.

  If all else fails, she would bring her grandparents to live with her.

  In her previous life, when Gu's mother was diagnosed with illness, her father's factory faced bankruptcy.

  Gu Xiang devoted herself to her mother until she passed away, only then did she go to Gu's father.

  At that time her father had owed a lot of money, the house was sold, and the whole family squeezed into a small bungalow.

  Later, his younger brother was born, and his stepmother left. His grandparents also passed away one after another.

  She was still young and couldn't help much then.

  Nowadays, Gu Xiang has learned to use an adult's perspective to judge the situation and avoid harm.

  Gu's mom saw her often running in that direction recently and wasn't very happy about it.

  Seeing her return home with a look of being well-fed and content only made him even more furious.

  "Look at you, all you know is eating, getting fatter and fatter." said Mrs. Gu to Gu Xiang who was flipping through stomach medicine advertisements.

  Gu Xiang took a piece of digestive enzyme tablets and slowly sucked on them like candy in her mouth.

  Then he took out the weight scale from the corner and weighed himself.

  The needle wavered between 57 and 58.

  Ever since forcing herself to eat regularly, she hasn't gone hungry this year, but absolutely became fatter than what her mom said.

  But knowing only the weight is useless, Gu Xiang thought that she still needs to measure her height when she has time.

  She felt she had grown taller again recently.

  Gu's mom looked at her and asked again: "What did your grandma say to you?"

  Gu Xiang didn't want her mom to know about this so soon, and every time her mom asked, she just laughed it off.

  The more times it happens, the less happy Mom is!

  But soon his mother didn't have the heart to pay attention to this matter either.

  Chen Wen is going to take the high school entrance exam, Chen Wu and Xiao Hei Pao are going to take the junior high school entrance exam!

  Gu's mother was truly heartbroken for these children.

  However, Auntie Guo obviously didn't take the hint. When Mom said she wanted to go see Chen Wen, Auntie Guo said that Chen Wen was at a critical point in her studies and couldn't be distracted.

  Mom Gu asked how the child's review was going.

  The elder sister-in-law of her husband's elder brother did not say a word about the specific situation except for showing off.

  After several times, Gu's mother also stopped sticking her cold buttocks.

  Xiao Hei Pang took an exam in the countryside, but his mother couldn't reach him no matter how hard she tried.

  Chen Wu was by her side, and Gu's mother still valued him highly, often going over to ask how his preparations were going.

  Also called Gu Xiang over, let Chen Wu take out what he didn't understand and ask his sister.

  Chen Wu has also lost weight recently and is no longer that short and round-faced little fellow.

  Also because he likes playing badminton, he has become lean and thin.

  He brought out a young man who was about half grown up.

  The half-grown young man was obviously embarrassed to let Gu Xiang tutor him.

  Every time Gu Xiang follows her mom there, he hides in his own room and doesn't come out.

  Gu's mother went in and asked him, he said it would all be fine, no need to teach.

  Gu Xiang flipped through his exercise book and papers, took a look at the "Primary School Entrance Examination Sprint Volume" he was doing, and told him to do more basic things, such as extracurricular exercises, which didn't need to be done so much.

  Chen Wu scratched his head and said: "My mom asked me to do this, this exercise is particularly difficult, I don't know how to do many of them."

  Gu Xiang went to tell her aunt: "I looked at Xiao Wu's test paper, some basic things he also got wrong. The foundation is not solid, no need to rush to improve. After-school test papers are just for practice and may not necessarily be tested, but the basics must be mastered."

  The little aunt-in-law said: "This exercise book was recommended by their class teacher, I heard that many parents went out to buy it specially. The girl who ranked first in their class stayed up all night every day to do it!"

  Gu Xiang didn't say anything else.

  The little aunt was originally very stubborn, now that she has made up her mind, even a 15-year-old child can't persuade her.

  She also privately told Chen Wu about her own ideas.

  But whether he listened or not was no longer something she could control.

  Gu's mother also made a few phone calls to the countryside, asking how Xiao Hei was doing with his studies.

  Xiao Hei Pang's dad said Xiao Hei Pang can now work hard and will go to bed at 11 or 12 o'clock at night. He shouted but couldn't move.

  Gu's mother heard this and advised him, "My family's Yaoyao is the same, she has to sleep at 10 o'clock every day, let alone before exams. But for the sake of the child, we as parents can't drag our feet. You should make more nutritious food for the child."

  Xiao Hei Pang knows he's good, and his dad is still very pleased.

  The two people exchanged parenting experiences again.

  Gu Xiang saw her and joked with her mom: "When others take exams, you're so anxious, but when I took exams, why didn't I see you like this?"

  Her mother glared at her: "When you were taking the middle school entrance exam, I couldn't even sleep at night and my mouth was all dry... wasn't that not letting you know? I was afraid you'd be even more nervous."

  The parents' hearts are all alike under heaven.

  Gu Xiang hugged her mom.

  His mother scolded him with disdain: "You're so big and still throwing a tantrum!"

  But he didn't push her away.

  After the middle school entrance exam ended, Gu's mother asked Chen Wenkao how it went again.

  Chen Wen said that the exam was not bad, and his aunt smiled proudly, saying that Chen Wen would definitely be admitted to the municipal middle school this time. She also said that the volunteer form he filled out for Municipal No. 1 Middle School was too low.

  Gu Xiang took a look and didn't say anything, she remembered that Chen Wen had barely made the cut-off score for admission to Municipal No. 1 Middle School. If he had been two points lower, his aunt would have had to scrape together tuition fees like a person with muscle spasms.