Chapter 784: Chapter 678: A Lively Gathering

The courtyard house purchased for the Mo family was located on Pingfu Lane in the East City District. It was a large, perfectly square courtyard house with gray bricks, dark tiles, carved railings, and painted beams. The buildings were tall, spacious, and bright. A family had put it up for sale in order to immigrate, and Yang Liu’er had gotten her hands on it first. When she learned that Xiao Man wanted to buy a residence for the Mo family—something in a good location that didn’t look too old—she offered this courtyard to her.

It was indeed an excellent location. The neighbors were mostly old, local residents, and the courtyards of each house were so neatly arranged they seemed to have been planned. Hospitals, schools, and the like were not far away. The price, however, was not low for the time. Yang Liu’er had whispered mysteriously, "What’s this little bit of money? In ten or twenty years, the courtyard houses in this area will appreciate to an astronomical price. You’ll become a multimillionaire, or even a billionaire, just by living here." Xiao Man, of course, understood this and was grateful for the gesture.

Grandpa had insisted that Mo Jiabao wire the money for the courtyard house to Xiao Man, so when the property deed was processed, Xiao Man put Mo Jiabao’s name on it.

Grandpa found it hard to leave his homeland, and Grandma would follow her husband wherever he went. It was unlikely the old couple would ever move to Beijing to settle down. Mo Jiabao and Yu Wumei might not come either, but in the future, some of their children or grandchildren would surely want to live in Beijing. All descendants of the Mo family had the right to live in this residence. As for which child it would ultimately be passed down to, that was Mo Jiabao’s business.

Gu Shaojun and Xiao Man walked into the courtyard, where Master Jiang, the man in charge of the renovations, was already waiting. Master Jiang was the inheritor of an old craft, specializing in the restoration of courtyard houses. He and his team had spent over two weeks renovating the courtyard, and the work was now complete. Gu Shaojun and Xiao Man followed Master Jiang on a tour of the property and expressed their satisfaction. They settled the payment for labor and materials on the spot. Master Jiang handed back the keys to the gate, said his thanks, and left with his money.

The original owner had left behind a lot of old-fashioned furniture, all made of genuine mahogany and rosewood. It was bulky but extremely sturdy and solid. Though its age was unknown, none of it was damaged. Xiao Man decided to hire a few day laborers to clean and polish everything so it could be used again. Then, she would leave the doors and windows open to air the place out for about a week before purchasing various daily necessities and hanging up the curtains. By then, Mo Xinghua, Jiang Junlin, and Xia Qingting would be arriving.

Tang Qingshan found some time to bring Grandma Tang and Hao Wenli over to see the courtyard. Seeing that everything had been renovated to look brand new, they were also very satisfied. But when they went inside and saw the antique furniture, Grandma Tang frowned and said that since Xinghua and Jiang Junlin were newlyweds, they couldn’t use old things. So, Tang Qingshan had someone move the old furniture into a side room and went to a furniture factory to purchase a complete set of new furniture. Grandma Tang and Hao Wenli then discussed setting up a bridal chamber for the couple in the main house, and the mother- and daughter-in-law personally selected and purchased all the necessary items.

When Xiao Man found out, she just shrugged, admitting she had been careless and hadn’t thought things through that much.

Grandma Tang lovingly patted her eldest granddaughter’s hand. "You wouldn’t know about these things. At your young age, you don’t need to know too much. Otherwise, what would old folks like us be here for?"

Hao Wenli, on the other hand, said, "Don’t try to do everything yourself. We told you to leave this to your father, but you wouldn’t listen and insisted on running around yourself. How much time and energy can one person have? You have school, the hospital, and you’re part of a pharmaceutical research group. Sun Pharmaceutical also comes to you for everything... To be honest, having one Hao Hao in the family is enough of a handful. I really don’t want to see you running yourself ragged like a spinning top, too. You need to take it easy. Since you’re planning to get married, you have to take on that responsibility. Supporting your husband and raising children is no easy task. You can’t neglect your family for your career."

"Don’t worry, Mrs. Hao, I understand all of this," Xiao Man said with a smile, feeling quite emotional. ’Mr. Tang is quite the trainer,’ she thought. ’In just a few short years, he’s successfully transformed a career-driven woman into a doting, nagging, perfect wife and mother.’

Back before Hao Wenli married him, she had been a dyed-in-the-wool workaholic. According to Grandma Hao, Wenli had once sequestered herself for over six months for one of her works, not taking a single step out of the house. While doing research, she practically wanted to live in the library. She lived under the same roof as Grandma Hao but had once gone two whole months without saying a single word to her. Other times, she would go out to gather material and be gone for months, forgetting to send her family any news... It had all worried Grandma Hao to death. But after getting married and having a child, while she kept her job, her workload became significantly lighter. The situations described above basically never happened again.

That was why Xiao Man had to listen meekly to her lecture.

In July, the weather grew muggy and hot, but the Tang Mansion felt as if it had central air conditioning, its temperature perfectly comfortable. This, of course, was due to the Array that Xiao Man had set up.

The Tang Mansion had been very lively the past few days. First, Grandma Hao and Mr. Cheng returned from their honeymoon tour abroad, bringing many gifts for everyone, along with a heap of fantastic stories. The adults and children all gathered around them, full of laughter and cheer.

Next, Mo Xinghua and Jiang Junlin arrived in Beijing. It was just the two of them; Dapeng and Qiuyan, who had planned on coming along, were nowhere in sight. Xiao Man figured their family must have suddenly decided they shouldn’t disturb the couple’s "honeymoon" and changed their minds, not letting the younger siblings tag along.

Although Grandpa and Grandma had given them a heads-up before they left, and Xiao Man had also explained a few things, the young couple, Mo Xinghua and Jiang Junlin, were still stunned by the sheer grandeur of the Tang Mansion. They were here for their honeymoon and truly didn’t feel comfortable in such an atmosphere. So, Grandma Tang didn’t insist on them staying. After a welcome banquet, she had Tang Qingshan, his wife, and Xiao Man escort the young couple to the Mo Family Courtyard.

As expected, Xinghua and Jiang Junlin absolutely loved the large courtyard. The festive and comfortable bridal chamber that Grandma Tang and Hao Wenli had prepared for them was an even more delightful surprise, making them feel as relaxed and at ease as they did back home in Gongdao Village.

They had two months of summer vacation to enjoy as they pleased. The young couple was told to rest for a couple of days after first arriving in Beijing, but this was really because the Gu family and the Hao Family wanted to invite them over as guests. Zheng Shaolian was too busy to get away, but he also sent someone to pick the couple up. Xinghua and Jiang Junlin spoke with Zheng Shaolian on the phone and told him they wanted to explore Beijing a bit before going to see him.

Gu Shaojun didn’t get to enjoy a long vacation, but his schedule was more flexible recently. Besides weekends, he could squeeze out some free time in the mornings and evenings. This allowed him to join Xiao Man in accompanying Xinghua and Jiang Junlin around the city. After the four of them had spent a few days sightseeing together, Xia Qingting arrived by train.

And as it happened, Wei Zhenling also returned to Beijing that very day. He hadn’t managed to give anyone a heads-up; even Gu Shaojun didn’t know he was returning early.

Xia Qingting chose to stay at the Mo Family Courtyard, and Xiao Man naturally went along with her wishes. Gu Shaojun dutifully played chauffeur, driving the two friends—who were chirping like a pair of excited sparrows at their reunion—back to the Mo Mansion. He was no longer torn up about his fiancée being monopolized by Xia Qingting. He had it all figured out: ’If Qingting is staying at the Mo Mansion, Xiao Man will naturally have to accompany her. That means for the next two months, not only can I see my fiancée whenever I want, but it’ll also be easy to whisk her away. It won’t be like at the Tang Mansion, where my future father-in-law watches me like a hawk. How perfect!’

That evening, Xiao Man and Xinghua prepared a table of delicacies to welcome Xia Qingting. Just as the group gathered around the table, raised their glasses, and prepared to eat, Gu Shaozhen and Zheng Shaolian suddenly tracked them down and showed up. Zheng Shaolian had managed to find some time to see Jiang Junlin and Xinghua and had originally planned to take them out to a hotel for dinner. But upon stumbling upon such a grand feast, he naturally wasn’t going to leave.

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